27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #22

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm allergic to numbers. They just swim in my head. I would love to be like  those people whom I consider to be human calculators.. I'm glad that my "Human Calculator" family and friends allow me to borrow them when situations needing numbers are involved :D
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It's hard for me to appreciate money, when the value often doesn't compute..  in that context I find this quote comforting,
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 "All we have comes from God and we give it out of His hand." 
- 1 Chronicles 29:14b, Dutch paraphrase
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Now, when it comes to managing things for other people - I tend to do much better than with my own things. Which is a challenge in and of itself, for me to manage "my" things well. The quote reminds me of the better perspective to have about those things. They are not "mine" in the first place, they have been granted into my care for the time being. But I think it also allows me to be pretty fluid in what I do have. "What's mine is [most often] yours too" There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, I'll share! ;)
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I still think it would be better to have "number sense" being that today most of our interactions revolve around 
these green papers with numbers on them, but I'll leave you with a comment I posted on my friends facebook wall the other day.
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(PLEASE tell me someone notices the trend in the comment. I found it quite clever, but I think that just points all the more to my "linguistic/ artistic/ non-numbers brain")
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Soli Deo Gloria
:D

27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #23

I like to read books in.. um.. groups? clusters? slow-motion? *laughs* At any given time I am in the middle of 5 books.. ik, ik, that's just how I roll.. Max Lucado is a favorite author of mine, namely because he has a daughter named Jenna (means he's gotta be a great guy, right!). I feel he is also a gifted communicator, and a wordsmith who weaves his writing in such a way that it paints a vivid picture in my minds eye. As of late (well, started it last May actually), I've been reading through his book "Safe in the Shepherd's Arms: Hope and Encouragement from Psalm 23". Here's something that's been challenging me.. 

 "[In Psalm 23] David has found the pasture where discontent goes to die. It's as if he is saying "What I have in God is greater than what I don't have in life." - Max Lucado

I'm about to be 27. To me - it feels old, but in the grand scheme of life, I hope that my mission is not complete until 80 more years or so, and that those 80 years include a husband to do ministry with, and children to raise. However - I have to ask myself, "if all I have now is all I ever have, is what I have in God greater?" The obvious answer is "yes" - but daily, how do I practically live that out?  On the same page (21) of this book, Max tells a story about a man who had much in this life.. "When one of the wealthiest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, "How much did John D. leave?" The accountant's reply? "All of it." ..

No matter what I accumulate here in this life time, it is always and only going to stay here. My sisters car caught fire the other day. She is fine, but many "things" were ruined in the process. And it causes me to think - in a society that values things, status, "gain of _(insert next big thing here)__, can I find contentment in God alone? There are 3 things that last forever - God, His Word, and the souls of [hu]Man[s]. Do I prioritize accordingly?

Soli Deo Gloria

:D

27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #24

Do you ever read DearBlankPleaseBlank(dot)com? I can get lost on that website.. 

In leui of all my quotes seeming super serious, here's a good jovial one:

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Dear people who take the elevator down one floor,

Yes, I'm judging you...                    

Sincerely, it's really not that many stairs.

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When ever I can, I tend to try to take the stairs. As my facebook cover photo says, "If you have the time, isn't everywhere in walking distance?" When I lived in Fulton (where I went to college), I would walk to wal-mart (a mile-ish away), I'd walk to church, to Westminster (the other college in town), to meet up with friends downtown, or to my friends houses that were on the other side of town (20-30 min walk).. or I'd ride my bike if time did not permit walking.. I miss being active out of necessity. Now, it's optional every day, all day.. *sad day* 
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(don't get me wrong - I'm not dogging on people who need to use the elevator for medical/balance/I'm carrying 20 bags of groceries and it's easier reasons.. I just think we - as a society - are super lazy.. so next time you have the option, find the stairs! (unless it's a "fire escape only" - don't set off the alarm, most places frown on that!)
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Soli Deo Gloria
:D

27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #25

This quote has been one of my mainstay's for a while now. I find it quite timely tho, in light of recent events in my life. Last night, I was on-call for the evening emergency jobs, and wound up driving to the hospital at midnight:30.. As a terp, there are always those people that - it doesn't matter when you get the call - you'll be there. Then there are those people that you get the call and say, "really? there's no one else who can go?"..  That's when this quote resonates with me:


"Preach the gosple at all times, when necessary use words." - St. Francis of Assisi


And, to be fair, on the scale of: "ugh.. hmm.. eh?.. yup.. YAY" last night was between a "hmm" and an "eh?".. "ER" jobs tho are never timely, and after 2 hours at 2am, just about anyone turns into an "ugh" ;)

As I was driving home, thinking about this quote, I found it ironic that as I realized that my last 5 or 6 ER jobs have been at St. Francis Hospital.. *smile*

When I (as I'm not a night owl) am at my "worst", I'm always amazed how God gently chides me to "fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.. so that [I] will not grow weary and loose heart.." as I make Christ-like-ness my aim. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D





 

27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #26

This is one of my absolute favorite quotes..

"Until your mission is complete, you are  bulletproof." - Jim Elliott

 

There are many things in life that I think I choose not to do for fear of it turning into a fatal decision. There are many times I find myself worrying about a friend or a family member who is away on a trip, or out of the country - or really just out of my sight for the moment. 

I have a dear friend living in Honduras right now. One of my Dad's first comments (when talking abt my friend) is "it's dangerous over there".. *laughs* .. yes, it is dangerous. but when you think about it, really - so is everywhere else. It's just a matter of whether the danger is seen or unseen.. ;)

I also have a grandfather who, while he's not on his death bed, his health is failing. And my dad mentors a doctor/missionary from Egypt. The updates we hear abt the situation over there would cause most people to flee in fear. Then there's my "adopted kids" that I hope one day to know their names and hug their bodies and kiss their faces, that I often wonder about where they are now, and what they are doing/is being done to them.. 
 

And so, while I often find myself praying for my friends safety, for comfort for my grandpa, for peace and wisdom for those living in Egypt, and for my kids wherever they are, I must choose to trust that God knows the number of each persons days, and will keep each one of them here until that time. What Psalms 90 says in verse 12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.." rings so true to me.. and it's echoed again in Psalm 39:4,"Show me, O LORD, my life's end, and the number of my days.."

I don't say this to be morbid, but to affirm that I trust beyond a shadow of a doubt that God knows - down to the second - how much time we have here on earth. And until that "mission" is complete - nothing will keep us from accomplishing it. His Sovereignty is the greatest comfort I can imagine.

Soli Deo Gloria

:D 

27 Quotes/Phrases/Thoughts/Lyrics to live by: #27

So, in keeping with the annual FB posts of "# [how old I will be] things to list and tell abt myself" I've decided to post a quote that I like, or a phrase that I really support, or maybe even a song lyric or two each day and then expound upon that quote/phrase/thought/lyric as to why I like it/find it compelling/what imagery it conjures up in my mind this year. With the new FB settings tho, and being that some friends don't have FB, but now have G+, it seems to be a better idea to post here, then link it to my FB/G+.. I'm not sure I want the world (a.k.a FB and G+) to know I have this blog, but I think I've almost gotten use to the idea that it's on the web, so really anyone can find it.. and I'm not as anonymous as I like to think ;)
Hence, without further ado, here's the first Quote/Phrase/Thought/Lyric:


"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that really don't matter." Tim Kizziar

Being that I live in the Bible belt, I often run into situations in which I think "is that really something you (as a Christian, or as the Church) should be bragging about? 

To me, this quote reminds me that God is in the business of changing lives - whether it's publicly on T.V. through ppl like Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin, or whether it's super private, in a church of 20 people - and our aim should be "Christ-like-ness", not whether or not we've met our "goal" of having so many new people visit the church, or raising so much money for a new worship center or _(whatever)_. Not that those things are bad - as long as our PRIORITY is experiencing life change by-thru-and-from the person of Jesus Christ. 

It's also a reminder to me when I'm feeling competitive - "is this something that will last forever?" (There are 2 things that I know that will last forever: God's word, and the souls of humans).. I'm reminded that it's great to be good at what you do.. just make sure to have perspective of the bigger picture.. :)

Soli Deo Gloria

:D