Sewing on the robes, pouring the oil out

In ancient times when a king conquered a kingdom he would have the garment of the dominated ruler sewn onto the hem of his robe. It was a living symbol of his victories and far reaching power.

Recently, I’ve been meditating on Isaiah 6. “In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD…” The passage speaks of the anguish of mans state when measured up against the holiness of the awesome, all magnificent God. Even Isaiah, probably one of the most righteous men to walk the earth wanted to claw his way under the tiles of that temple floor when he saw the vision of the LORD.

Isaiah describes that the Lord was seated on the throne high and exalted. Further he adds, “The train of his robe filled the temple…” Aside from being an impressively long robe, how is this significant? Because it is a symbol of his authority, victory, and power, every nation is under his feet.

Scripture often refers to God’s people as “temples”. 1 Corinthians says that our “bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit”. Therefore, I ask myself, am I allowing Christ reign perfectly supreme in my heart? Is every “robe” (so to speak) sewn onto His? Or are there areas of sin (some of us like to call them “things” because it sounds nicer) that I have not surrendered? I can only be used at the level that I am willing to surrender. Until I see surrender as a beautiful gain, I will still be losing.

Reading through John 12 I came across another passage that made me stop and examine my own heart in regard to this. Mary of Bethany lavishly pours a jar of pure nard onto Christ’s feet. Her unashamed love for her Savior is expressed in this one simple act. “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” John 12:3b.

When we love Christ with all our hearts it is our lavish offering to Him. A fragrance poured out. Loving Christ looks exactly like what Mary of Bethany displayed. Unembarrassed. Pure. Worshiping. Intent on only the approval of One. When we truly grasp the sanctity of this kind of love everything else follows. Our “house” or “temple” is filled with the fragrance of a life poured out. A life of worship. A life where Christ sits enthroned.

Random photos from various places my curiosity led me in the last little bit (had fun with the retro-esque editing!)

All generalizations are false, including this one. – Mark Twain

The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder. - G.K. Chesterton

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity. - G.K. Chesterton

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn. - C.S. Lewis

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy. - C.S. Lewis

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. - G.K. Chesterton

16 Truths

Just a little glimpse into some of the highlights of college, dorm life, the work place and just the funny people that make my life so rich. A shout out to my roommates who are always bringing me towels!


Truth 1: Stinky
You're sitting in class and a classmate beside you knows you to be a generous person, they stick their stinky feet on your chair so they can be more "comfy" but the problem is...they are wearing rain boots without socks and it "sendeth forth a stinking savor"...

Truth 2: Nasty
You're stumble into the dorm after a 3 mile run and are excited to cool off. You jump in the hair and soap residue skuzzded shower and later you find out you have foot fungus. (That's probably why boot person has problems.)

Truth 3: Up Late
Your roommate snores into the night. In the spirit of positivity, you decided the gray rings around the eyes could become the new cosmetic fad.

Truth 4: Humbling
You clean out the dorm fridge having a thorough rant about how girls never label or discard their old food and then you find the chicken casserole you made 2 months ago sitting in the back all
fluffy and green with mold. No alibi.

Truth 5: Napping
You are trying to take a little afternoon nap and your roommate is banging away on her little djembe in the next room. You can either take the high road or the low road in this situation. High road: pray she hears from the Lord that demons need to be cast out of the basement
with her awesome drumming ability. Low road: the djembe takes and unfortunate, little
tumble over a ravine.

Truth 6: Job
You enter the office for your first day of work and realize the guy sharing a desk with you thinks he's a cartoon character. He rolls around on the floor with an imagined hand gun and always
makes you the bad guy in his dramas. How can you honestly refer to anything
else as weird after that?

Truth 7: Crying
You boss lets you call him "Papa Bear" and cries over you everyday because he feels the father heart of God for you. Pretty much makes you feel like a million bucks every day of your
life!

Truth 8: Texas
Your two Texan roommates have more clothes than you, your sister, your best friend and your sister’s best friend combine. But you get to benefit from this little set of circumstance and work the system..."I haven't had time to wash my clothes this week...can I borrow
your shirt...and your scarf...AND your necklace...oh and by the way I don't
have any more clean undies."

Truth 9: Towel
"I need a towel!" You holler. Down the hall to anyone who may hear and take pity on the poor naked person trapped in the bathroom with nowhere to go! Help!

Truth 10: Free Samples
You have a whole plethora of soaps, shampoos and lotions to try out in the bathroom. And no one is looking. Then you can see if you like them for when you decide to fork out the cash and buy them. But sometimes, you just can’t decided if you really like them so you keep
going back for more.

Truth 11: Unexpected Guests
Have you ever heard the phrase, "You never know who may be watching?" Well, this is a big one. So you're wandering around the "girls only" dorm in your little leggings and tank with your
messy bun and suddenly you hear a masculine voice. Where could it be coming from? Ahh! You scream and realize that one of the girls is skyping her boyfriend and he can see you! Scurry away!

Truth 12: Fowl Odors
The hallway always smells like...well a mixture of all things bad. Is it the people? Gas from the people? The trash the people let pile up? The rotting food in the fridge the people never clean? The hair clogged in the drain—cast off of the people? You may never know.

Truth 13: Celebrate
After sweating for an entire summer enduring unbearable heart with no air conditioning, staff leadership decided to tweak the modesty policy just a bit. The tank strap thickness was moved from a three finger to a two finger--oh ya! (Shorts still have to be knee length--perhaps some class to follow much younger and braver than we will be able to win this battle, but for now we celebrate our victories.)

Truth 14: Work
When you work at a Christian College, work rarely happens, just
a lot of prayer.

Truth 15: Confession
After living in a Christian community for a good amount of time, you just have to be raw and honest and say you get tired of hearing “Christianees” like: Manifestation, anointing, Holy Ghost Party, and weird ones like “zapped by the Holy Spirit.” Don’t get me wrong, these are just fine, but sometimes it just gets to be a little much. Picking up what I'm throwin' down?

Truth 16: Cafe
We call it the cafe. It’s where we get our food. High in carbs, minimum protein (and most of that is mystery meat). There is a small enduring clan of us with food allergies who still have not gone extinct. We survive off of dry lettuce as we watch the stronger ones bit into their Juicy Lucy’s vigorously, pinkish oil dribbles from their lips. You sniff the fragrance it wafts and take another
bit of dry lettuce. We will survive.

Hope this entertained you a little.

Abiding,

Bethany

You

I thought I knew you.
I was sure I did.
But then I took time.
I took time to sit in your throne room.
And I found you to be more
beautiful than I’ve ever known.

Intelligent

I will bet on my very last cent,

That I am more intelligent,

Than the average Joe who’s late on rent,

Or a money changer whose back is bent,

And the carp Catholics eat near ‘round lent,

Or the time it takes to write to Kent,

And the mouse that nested in the upstairs vent,

Plus the check your aunt Alberta sent,

Include you and every other gal and gent,

Because look at all the time you spent,

Reading what is unintelligent!

But For You...

Note: Just found this little guy that I completely forgot about—one of my first poems about Jesus. Written my freshman year of high school. Simple and clumsy, but I like it still.

I loved you before time began,

You are in my perfect plan,

Why you suffer, you don’t understand,

But for you, a nail pierced hand.

I molded your body from the dust of the ground,

You feel lost, remember, it’s me you've found.

Security is in me! Embrace, take hold!

But for you, my arms were bound.

My plans for you are infinitely great,

You cannot perceive,

How I felt on my last day’s eve,

But for you, my life’s last breath,

That you may believe.

A Prayer to the God of My Life

God You are faithful as the day is long...

There is no time when you are unfaithful.

You are faithful when I am faithless.

You are the giver of faith.

You open up the eyes of my heart to have faith

And in giving me that faith I receive an assurance of what I hope for.

My faith is useless if not backed up with obedience.

You call me to add to my faith:

goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

These are the fruits of the Spirit.

You are called the Author and Perfector of my faith.

By faith I know that I am justified, am being sanctified and will be glorified with Christ.

This may be what You mean by exercising our faith so that it might increase.

Your word says that if I have faith that moves mountains

but I lack the transformed heart and action of love, I AM NOTHING.

There is a righteousness that comes from faith it is close to me—on my lips and heart.

The conviction that comes from faith causes me to confess that: Jesus is Lord.

You are the faithful witness and Your name itself is: Faithful and True.

See just a few verses....

Romans 10:9

Ephesians 2:8

2 Peter 1:6

1 Corinthians 13:2

Revelation 19:11