Bedtime Poetry

A few weeks ago, I received in the mail a book of poetry from a very dear friend. I read the entire volume on a road trip back from Denver, and my soul laughed for joy. I marked several favorites in the table of contents, but I want to share with you one of my top three picks.

Miracles
by Richard Jones

I need to witness miracles today--
a river turned to blood,
water become wine,
a burning coal touching the prophet's lips,
black ravens swooping down
to bring a starving man bread and meat,
a poor fisherman raising the dead!
I've heard theologians say
this is not the age of miracles,
but still, I'm easy to impress.
I don't need to climb out of the boat
and walk on water; I'd just like
to put my head on my pillow
while the storm still rages, and rest.

it's the end of a long day...

...and I find myself, as usual, utterly worn out, used up, and weary.

Tonight, as I was praying, I burst into exhausted tears. Three times. It's been that kind of day.

But, before I get some much-needed sleep, I want to get you thinking. Isn't this the way it should be?

Do you believe that God gives you exactly what you will need to make it through this day? Of course you do. Tomorrow will worry about itself, right? Today has enough troubles of it's own.

I propose this rather disorganized corollary. Each day, God gives you exactly what you need for today. Use it all up. Give everything you have to those around you and to your ministry here on this earth. Because, tomorrow, God will give you exactly what you need for that day. You don't need to save anything for tomorrow, so you should finish your days empty and clinging to God for strength. It is in our weakness that he is glorified.

I pray that I'll continually be aware of this complete reliance on God for my daily needs.

what if he had a habit of this?

Over Christmas break I had the lovely opportunity to read for leisure instead of for one of my many English classes. Between all the wedding planning and Christmas sugar I managed to complete seven(!) books.

Among these books was the incredible book Sex God by contemporary Christian author Rob Bell. Don't dismiss it or stereotype the book because of its title. The entire book is full of deep yet bite-sized meditations about the nature of God and the nature of humanity and about all the spiritual implications of human sexuality.

I wanted to share with you one of my top five favorite passages of the book. I'll probably share another later.

"If [the husband] really thinks he’s the head, then he would surrender his desires and wants and plans. He would die to his need to be in control and do whatever it takes to serve her, to make sure she has everything she needs. He would die to himself so that she could live.

He would lay down his life for her, like Jesus laid down his life for the church.

This is submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

How would she respond if it were crystal clear to her that her husband was placing her needs ahead of his own?

What if he had a habit of this?

What if she knew without a shadow of a doubt that his love for her was so great that he would give his life for her in the blink of an eye?"

This type of self-sacrificial love is so rare, but is therefore doubly powerful when it does occur. I am nearly finished with a narrative essay that I am writing for my advanced composition class. In this class, every writing assignment that we turn in will be about the subject of love. In fact, Lewis' Four Loves is one of our textbooks. Anyway, I am writing about the instant in which I knew that my now-fiance's love for me was really something spectacular. And it was a moment in which I realized that he truly grasped what it means for a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church.

He showed me that he made a habit of putting my needs before his own, of giving everything he could to me, even when I could give nothing back. It is a humbling thing to be loved in such a way, and I am grateful to experience this kind of love not only from my Savior, but also from my man.

I am tremendously blessed.

indulgences

If you've spent much time with me, you know that two of my unique passions are literature/linguistics and health food. Today, with an hour before my next volleyball practice, I am indulging in both.

An oh-so-delicious spinach/peach/banana/blueberry smoothie:


And my latest word nerd purchase (a guide to oaths, ring tones, ransom notes, famous last words, & other forms of minimalist communication):



This is my happy face
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