At the moment, I'm listening to Alfie Boe sing songs I love and having a "happy place" experience...but I'm not sure that counts. :D But I thought up a list of stuff:
- getting a new book (or two or three or seven) to read...reading takes me to another universe and shows me new experiences and lets me meet amazing people that i wouldn't otherwise.
- traveling somewhere, like a road trip...my mother has told me that when i was a baby, i was the happiest in the car going somewhere. I love seeing new places.
- tea! ^_^
- going to a concert or play, because i love music and drama.
- seeing family or close friends again after a long time...like going home after a semester of college or when i came back to school after sitting out.
- the nearly almost sure possibility of going to Red Cliff Bible Camp this summer again! That's super exciting, like wriggle-in-my-seat exciting.
- fireworks! I love fireworks with a passion.
- the wind in my face, like during a storm. It stirs something in me (prolly happy-juices and endorphins and other prosaic chemicals) and awakens a response to the beauty. It's like if it were any more intense, i would split into pieces because of the immense filling of me to try and appreciate it.
- going clothes shopping with money i don't have to feel guilty about spending on clothes...doesn't happen very often, but it's fun.
- hearing that something i worked hard on actually won something.
- hearing that someone close to me is expecting a baby or got engaged or something.
- singing! well, making music in general.
There are a lot of other things, but that's a start.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Day #5 - Something in life that gives me balance...
That's easy, and i was just talking to a friend about it last night. Simply put, it's my relationship with Jesus Christ. And when i say "relationship", i mean relationship because it's much like any earthly relationship...best friends, courting, marriage, Father/daughter, mentorship, whatever...only with what i call the God-factor thrown in. The God-factor is that spin on life that comes from factoring God into the equation, and it super-sonic-sizes everything beyond belief. Life is far more joyful, more peaceable, more exciting, more colorful, more meaningful with God there.
And note that when i said peaceable, i didn't say "peaceful". True peace will never come to this world until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom on earth. But knowing that He knows everything, controls everything, and is working for the individual good of His children is what stabilizes my world. In all actuality, i can't see how people can live with themselves and with life without having God there to ease the pressure simply because of His saving presence. I know i would have committed suicide multiple times up to this point of God hadn't been there to stabilize me. And it's stupid, so stupid, to not tell despairing people that God is hope! Not only did He create the very universe and it's laws that have been turning scientist and philosophers on their heads for centuries, but He also has a plan to fix its fallenness. All the sin and pain and horrible things and natural disasters...that's not normal. That's part of the Fall that happened way back in the garden of Eden, and Adam's decision affected all of nature and mankind. But God's wrath toward all that was appeased through the person and work of His Son, Jesus. Basically, God the Son took on a human body and died in it...and then resurrected it in a perfect state to give us hope of a like-perfect state! This is hope, a living hope that functions as an active anticipation rather than wishful thinking. It's a certain hope, a saving hope...a hope there for the taking should mankind but accept it. Based on that hope, I can have all those other things i mentioned...joy and peace and love and stability and so much more.
Especially after this past summer counseling at a camp, the world looks different with an awareness of God. He's always been there, but you start thinking about someone more and more often the more you spend time with that person. I spent so much time with God this past summer, and just knowing Him better changes my outlook. It changes how i love people and why. Love has so many facets...sometimes i think there are as many facets as there are people. It changes how i view my circumstances. Like this past week, i've been really agonizing over graduate stuff...over getting a campus job to pay for a master's degree, about being officially accepted into the program, and finishing my undergraduate work. I've been concentrating on a certain direction and position, and i found out that the position i wanted was now taken. But in the same email that told me that, it said that there was something open far greater than the one i actually "wanted". It was like God saying, "Well, while you were kicking that wall over there, I was working on this! See what I am doing for you!" That's God...working in spite of me, through me and for me. Life is an adventure when God is holding your hand and guiding your steps. Each turn is delightful, even through the pain, because you know that the end is so sweet.
So that's my balance. When it comes to my Friend...i know i can tell Him anything at all and that He's always there for me. When it comes to Lover...He leaves notes for me to find, He's written a book telling me how much He loves me, He orchestrates things on purpose to help me grow and to delight me because He delights in my delight in Him. When it comes to Father...i can ask Him any question and He answers, He always has time for me, He chastises me in a perfect way, His arms are always open to support me and His shoulder has borne a world of tears. As my Teacher...this is mixed with everything else because He's always teaching me about Himself through life in general. Everything that happens He allows for a purpose, and that purpose is to show me more about Himself to the purpose of glorifying Him. He is a Person, a Being concerned for me and interested in molding me like a Creator shapes what He makes. It's an amazing life, a meaningful life. I don't have to keep my balance on my own because He is there and I'm His child. It's that simple.
And note that when i said peaceable, i didn't say "peaceful". True peace will never come to this world until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom on earth. But knowing that He knows everything, controls everything, and is working for the individual good of His children is what stabilizes my world. In all actuality, i can't see how people can live with themselves and with life without having God there to ease the pressure simply because of His saving presence. I know i would have committed suicide multiple times up to this point of God hadn't been there to stabilize me. And it's stupid, so stupid, to not tell despairing people that God is hope! Not only did He create the very universe and it's laws that have been turning scientist and philosophers on their heads for centuries, but He also has a plan to fix its fallenness. All the sin and pain and horrible things and natural disasters...that's not normal. That's part of the Fall that happened way back in the garden of Eden, and Adam's decision affected all of nature and mankind. But God's wrath toward all that was appeased through the person and work of His Son, Jesus. Basically, God the Son took on a human body and died in it...and then resurrected it in a perfect state to give us hope of a like-perfect state! This is hope, a living hope that functions as an active anticipation rather than wishful thinking. It's a certain hope, a saving hope...a hope there for the taking should mankind but accept it. Based on that hope, I can have all those other things i mentioned...joy and peace and love and stability and so much more.
Especially after this past summer counseling at a camp, the world looks different with an awareness of God. He's always been there, but you start thinking about someone more and more often the more you spend time with that person. I spent so much time with God this past summer, and just knowing Him better changes my outlook. It changes how i love people and why. Love has so many facets...sometimes i think there are as many facets as there are people. It changes how i view my circumstances. Like this past week, i've been really agonizing over graduate stuff...over getting a campus job to pay for a master's degree, about being officially accepted into the program, and finishing my undergraduate work. I've been concentrating on a certain direction and position, and i found out that the position i wanted was now taken. But in the same email that told me that, it said that there was something open far greater than the one i actually "wanted". It was like God saying, "Well, while you were kicking that wall over there, I was working on this! See what I am doing for you!" That's God...working in spite of me, through me and for me. Life is an adventure when God is holding your hand and guiding your steps. Each turn is delightful, even through the pain, because you know that the end is so sweet.
So that's my balance. When it comes to my Friend...i know i can tell Him anything at all and that He's always there for me. When it comes to Lover...He leaves notes for me to find, He's written a book telling me how much He loves me, He orchestrates things on purpose to help me grow and to delight me because He delights in my delight in Him. When it comes to Father...i can ask Him any question and He answers, He always has time for me, He chastises me in a perfect way, His arms are always open to support me and His shoulder has borne a world of tears. As my Teacher...this is mixed with everything else because He's always teaching me about Himself through life in general. Everything that happens He allows for a purpose, and that purpose is to show me more about Himself to the purpose of glorifying Him. He is a Person, a Being concerned for me and interested in molding me like a Creator shapes what He makes. It's an amazing life, a meaningful life. I don't have to keep my balance on my own because He is there and I'm His child. It's that simple.
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