many conversations recently. many thoughts, many ideas, many moments.

perhaps one of the most exciting moments has been the one on Saturday in which i bought my plane ticket to see sista hillary in nyc! "i can't wait" has rarely been so very true. july 14th, here i come.

more wonderful moments: i recently read surprised by hope by n.t. wright and there is still so much whispering, weaving, wandering about in my mind it that i find myself not entirely sure how to begin articulating my thoughts. so i'll give myself a bit more time and instead share some more well-prepared notions of others i've come across recently...each of these ideas and many more are shaping my thought life at the moment...

• Ending human trafficking is not idealistic or naive. It is audacious. And it is people of audacity who change the world. - Rob Morris, President and Co-Founder of Love146.
  
• Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said, in essence, “Pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints of God, and pray for all men. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
  
• I believe that if we take justice, beauty and evangelism in terms of the anticipation of God's eventual setting to rights of the whole world, we will find that they dovetail together and in fact that they are all part of the same larger whole, which is the message of hope and new life that comes with the good news of Jesus' resurrection. - N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

mmm, mmm good.

"deep ocean, vast sea"

honest, i really do want to blog more.

even more honest, there's so much and so little somehow going on at the same time these days that i get a little shaky everytime i think about trying to put a pen to paper (finger to keyboard?).

i've been thinking on so many levels recently. i realize that could sound arrogant, but that's definitely not what i mean. what i mean is, there are days where watching a tv show feels like the highest intellectual endeavor i could possibly pursue, and others when seminary and all its offerings are entirely compelling and enticing. there are days when i go to bed wondering if i've had a single original thought, and days when i'd give up eating macaroni and cheese for a year (yes, that would be a huge deal) if i could just will my brain to slow down.

this probably all sounds like i'm not peaceful these days...like i'm extremely stressed or tired or unbalanced. but to be perfectly honest, i think this may be just right. every day is different in a way, and exactly the same in others. same home, same job, same faith, same love of my life to wake up next to, yet new thoughts, new understandings, even new beliefs some days. perhaps this is what growing up looks like. if so, i think we'll all be okay.

(blog/song title - "deep ocean, vast sea" by peter murphy)

be careful, believer.

there are a lot of facebook statuses and overheard conversations i've encountered recently about people being "scared" about the election, fearful for our country, likening political candidates to figures such as....Satan.

be careful, believer. be careful.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. - Col 1:16

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work - Titus 3:1.

i am not telling you to not pray for our country, to not pray for godly decision making, to not stand up for what you believe. but as a follower of Jesus Christ - you are called to submit to the authorities He has put in place. He has put in place. God is in control. our perspectives are very narrow, very small. God has gone before, behind, and with us into all of time.

stop being disrespectful. stop thinking you know everything.

do what you can (i.e. vote according to the convictions God has placed on your life) in faith and let God be God.

and stop slandering people. now.

watch the election tomorrow night in faith that whoever becomes the next ruler of our nation God has placed there for a reason. "be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution" (1 peter).

do not be afraid, believer, do not be afraid.

"the Lord your God is with you" and He longs for your eyes to be fixed on Him, on eternity. "be anxious for nothing." He is in control.

God establishes governments to maintain some level of order in a broken world - not to fix anything, not to play god.

let's stop believing that God for a millisecond can stop being God. let's recognize that if Jesus Christ ceased thinking of us for a moment - life would end. "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together."

do not be afraid.