Embrace the paradoxes

Embrace the paradoxes. There is beauty beyond comprehension in the mysteries, in not knowing all the answers, yet belonging to the One who does, and in being a child with endless questions but belonging to the faithful Father. Question for a short time, but do not let the questions hold you back from wonder, amazement, and worship. Fall on your knees and stare, and laugh. Stand confidently, and dance, and walk without fear, whether God answers your questions or not.

The power of God's Word

This past year I've been reading more of the Bible than I used to. It's been refreshing and renewing to dive deeper and deeper into the Word, and to be saturated with daily reminders of God's love and grace.

I just finished reading through The Message, which I highly recommend. It felt really different at first, but before long I found myself really enjoying that difference.

There are so many good things to read, but there's no substitute for simply spending time with the Lord and His love letter to us. Some days it's hard to carve out time because of our busy schedules, but it's worth it. God's Word grounds us in eternal truths and refocuses us for the path He asks us to walk, with His light to guide the way.

Hospitality, service, and encouragement

Over the past few weeks, God has overwhelmingly opened up doors for me to reach out to those in need and to show hospitality to people who were discouraged. People who had a loved one die, people facing fearful surgeries, people needing home-cooked meals or a freshly-baked loaf of bread, even people stuck on the side of the road where their car stopped in a dangerous place at night, were all somehow put on my path recently by the Lord.

A few months ago I prayed sincerely for the Lord to provide opportunities for me to share what I have, or to touch others' lives in some way, to really bless others, as God has blessed me. It has been amazing to see Him provide those opportunities, and, as always, in blessing others, we get more than blessed ourselves.

It's been such a delight and encouragement to my soul to see God using us, feeble instruments though we are, to help others, to help them stand when they are weak, and to let those who are suffering know they are not alone.

Praise God for comforting us, so we, in turn, can comfort others.

Disciplining our disappointments

Tonight I heard someone speak about the concept of disciplining our disappointments so that they do not get the better of us, but instead become launching points for good choices and a better future. As a Christian, I do think that we should be embracing that mentality, given that all our failures were nailed to the Cross, that the Lord has a plan for our good, that He will even turn what has been bad into good, and because we already know that ultimately, everything will turn to glory since we are now children of God. We are blessed to be able to bring the optimism of God to our disappointments.