In Which I Start Again

Well, hello stranger. It's been awhile, hasn't it?

I didn't intend to be silent for so long, but it seems that writing is a bit like exercise. The less you do it, the harder it is to get back into the swing of things. And the longer I went without putting my thoughts into words, the less I felt like they needed to be written.

And while lack of diligence is a part of the problem, I think I've figured out the other piece to my low motivation. You see, when I started this blog I had no clue what I would do with it. I knew I would write, and I knew I would write through the lens of my faith, but that was all I knew. So I chose a pre-made design template, quickly came up with one of the few blog names not taken, and hit publish. And the only analogy I can come up with is that going about it this way is similar to choosing an outfit before you know where you're going. And now that I've arrived, I'm dressed all wrong. Also, analogies aren't my thing.

But I mentioned earlier in the month that some changes were coming to this space, and they certainly are. Truth in the Journey is getting a new look, a new name, and a new web address. Abby, the lovely talent behind Abby Leigh Creative, spent some time on this site, took an in-depth look at everything, and gave me some wonderful feedback on developing some direction and where to go from here.  And I'm happy to report that I have a new name for this place and some clear purpose. I've made some helpful and loving writing connections, and am looking forward to the coming year.

What that means for you, the reader, I'm not entirely sure yet. You will more than likely need to resubscribe, but I will give you plenty of warning and opportunity to do so. 

You probably won't hear from me for another few weeks, when I launch the new space. Until then, I'll leave you with my three most popular posts of 2012, as well as my personal favourite. Having only blogged for six months, it feels a bit presumptuous to do a 'best of' list, but everyone else is doing it, and I've always been a bit of a follower.

Most popular:

Going Home: "And so I'm finding my way home, one verse at a time. And sometimes the law-lover in me says to read more, do more, always more."

When You're Ready To Let It All Go: "And there's that blue door. The one that has only seen the likes of us."

On The Source of Inspiration: "I crave inspiration, but I'm tired of just being inspired."

My personal favourite:

Just To Get God: "The reason my delight doesn't overflow into the casual areas of my life is simply because Christ isn't my primary source of delight."

Happy New Year!

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Weekend Words

 

Some changes are a-coming to this little space. Hopefully I'll have a bit of an update for you next week, but until then enjoy your weekend and these words.

                                                                                                     

The gospel does say that through it you find your life, but first you must lose your life. It is not self-serving postmodern pragmatism.

 Tim Keller

The larger scandal is biblical ignorance among Christians. Choose whichever statistic or survey you like, the general pattern is the same. America’s Christians know less and less about the Bible. It shows. 

Albert Mohler :: The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It’s Our Problem

  

Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself. 

C. H. Spurgeon


                                                                                                       

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Trusting the Process

A friend and I sit with our coffee and we talk about decorating. At first about couches, and oddly shaped rooms, and painting. But inevitably, the conversation goes where our hearts naturally lead us. We talk about never being satisfied, about always needing something else or something different, the breeding of discontentment that comes from always wanting more in a world that always has more. How it never stops.

I mention our dining room, how when we became debt-free last year, we took a bit of money to make some changes. How I spent weeks and weeks, and expended far too much energy on every little decision, because there was more than the appearance of a room at stake. It was a reflection of my worth. And I tell her that in the end, I still don't like it.

"See," she says, "that's just obnoxious."

                                                                                                                                        

As I wait for little girls to fall asleep, I read an article about the 45 most powerful images of 2012. And they break my heart. Some for the sheer beauty and wonder of creation, some for the devastating power of nature, for the confusion and passion that leads to violence, for the gut-wrenching reality of poverty. And the image that won't leave my mind is a little boy holding his infant sister. He's crying, because his illegally built home has just been bulldozed by the government. He and his family are squatters, and apparently, that's enough said.

And this boy hugging this tiny baby girl, with her soother and her pink hood and a wrapped around blanket, she goes to bed with me and she has breakfast with me. And I look at my three girls, my own heart split into thirds, and I wonder whose heart she holds. Her own broken mother, just outside the lens.

I tell myself the usual. That this time will be different and I will care more. That this time I will. not. lose. perspective. But then I can't find the perfect shelf for my living room, and my baby won't sleep, and my hair colour isn't quite right, and perspective is gone before lunch.

                                                                                                                                 

And I read Tim Keller again, when he says that a sense of God's absence is a sense of his presence. That the way you know you’ve met the real God is that you are hungry and thirsty. And that makes me think of Lore, and how she said that the answer isn't balance, but tension. And this reminds me to hope. Because I am weak and imperfect, but I'm no longer a slave to guilt. I can't keep my heart broken any more than I can mend it. No amount of my own strength or will can give me God's eyes. I pray to be steadfast.

And through all of the striving and trying and guilt and despair, I stop and remember, and give thanks for the tension. Because here is not where I will worry. When I think I have it all figured out, when I no longer question, when I no longer want a new perspective, then I will worry. Until then I will trust the One who walks with me down this road.

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

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Weekend Words

The weekend isn't over yet! Enjoy some wonderful reading this afternoon with these weekend words.

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Jesus stands at the door knocking (Rev. 3:20). In total reality, he comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissoute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. That is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message. Christ is standing at the door; he lives in the form of a human being among us. Do you want to close the door or open it?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer :: God is in the Manger

I’m celebrating my imperfect Christmas. Maybe no one wants to Pin it or sponsor it, maybe Martha would weep in her Cape Cod cottage over it, but I’ll be one of the few and the proud.
I’ll be the last one stringing coloured lights and crappy garland, I’ll be the last one making family recipes instead of Food network approved fare, I’ll be the last one hanging kindergarten ornaments, and I’ll save my homemade presents from the tinies in the little box I call My Glory Box because this is my crown.

Sarah Bessey :: In which I celebrate the imperfect Christmas

And I think God wants us not only to give with the right hearts but to give in the quiet, in the dark and in the background. We can give time and money and energy to the small people in our lives, in the kitchens and on hands and knees to those in need. We can give generous ears to those who need to tell their story.

Sarah Markley :: For When We Clothe Pride With Generosity

The deepest message of the Bible is the promises of God to undeserving law-breakers through his grace in Christ.

Ray Ortlund :: How to read the Bible
 
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When December is Draining

I know you're failing.

Even though we have yet to reach the first day of December, you're already getting it wrong.

Maybe your gifts won't be handmade. Maybe your tree will be fake.  Maybe you don't shop on Etsy, the chocolate chips in your cookies aren't fair trade, you don't knit or crochet. Your children wear snow suits in their car seats, there isn't a single organic label in your kitchen, maybe you don't have a Pinterest account. Maybe you plan to buy a lot of gifts this Christmas, because you just love to give. Maybe some will come from Wal-Mart. You might drink cheap coffee, love hospitality more than decor, not own skinny jeans, tall boots, or a single Apple product.

Maybe you can't sew or cook or bake or garden or upcycle or recycle or mod podge or restore or paint. Maybe your Christmas decorations aren't retro or shabby or chic or french or vintage.

Maybe every decision you make leaves you guilt ridden, or maybe you just don't measure up. You might be unsure that God loves you, you might be consumed with the opinion of others, you might think you stick out on Sunday morning. You might think you're good, you might think you don't matter.

It could be that just loving your spouse and children well drains all of the everloving life out of you. Maybe it's all you can do to love your God and love your neighbour. And in a generation that is claiming to rediscover the roots of simplicity, I'm betting that we're no less consumed or self-righteous than those before us.

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Maybe this year, for real, we make Jesus the reason for the season, not our goodness or fairness. Because no matter how good or worthy, whether it comes on stone tablets, online pin boards, or a facebook status, law will beget law. And I become so consumed with the things I should be doing, and so worried about being a 'good' Christian, that the issues and people that should be dear to my heart become a list of obligations. Guilt and shame start to overpower conviction, and Satan has me right where he wants me, overwhelmed and discouraged, burying my head in the sand.

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The gospel of Luke has 24 chapters. What if we take these days before Christmas to reacquaint ourselves with Jesus? Because I have to believe that chasing after the heart of God will overflow into all other areas of my life, and the things I'm attempting to care about will become things I truly do care about. The only thing that doesn't seem to slide into moralism is seeking the face of Christ, and I want to desire him with not just my mind, but all of my heart.  I want to be rid of my 'yes grace, but...' view of life.  Yes grace, but you're not doing this. Yes grace, but you should be doing that. Because regardless of who you are, or what you do or don't do, God loves each one of us the same. Just. the. same.

So, a chapter of Luke each day, for 24 days. A prayer for greater intimacy and knowing, as we celebrate the God who came and became and is coming again, the hope of the child who grew up and conquered sin and death.


Linked with thanks here: 
A Holy Experience
A Merry, Meaningful Christmas 

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