Tag: faith

A Violet

Therese Lisieux was a Carmelite nun who lived in the latter half of the 19th century. Although she lived a very short life, dying at 24 from tuberculosis, the writings she left behind about flowers are compelling and influential in church thought. As Therese would meditate on flowers she would learn lessons about God. Her writings on flowers were compiled into a book called The Story of a Soul.

Sometimes she wrote about individuality and our place in God’s Kingdom. In one passage she wrote, “I realized that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wildflowers to make the meadows gay.”

What that really drives home to me is that whether you live your life in the Limelight among other people or not, you are important and God thinks you contribute to the beauty of creation. The violet is no less worthy than the rose. She goes on to say that the Saints are like lilies or roses and that we must be content to be the violets or daisies that God smiles at when He looks down. What I think this means is that while Saints’ souls have been perfected by fire, we are beautiful too. We can’t all be Saints, and we should not all be Saints. We may not stand out in a crowd of souls like they do, but if the world was filled with all the same kind of people everything would get very monotonous. Everyone’s variety and individuality is needed. It makes God smile, and anything that makes God smile is a necessary thing. God uses a macro lens when he sees us, examining our beauty in detail so that even the smallest of us flowers is gorgeous to Him.

Along those lines, Therese wrote that all of us can be perfect when we become that which God designed us to be. Popular culture seems to focus so much on perfection. And in Christianity we avoid the very concept because none of us are without sin, and to be truly perfect is to be sinless. But this is another, interesting idea of perfection that I like. God has designed each and everyone of us with a unique personality and temperament, with different skills and interests, and with different purposes. When we live out our purposes and function in the way He designed us, we are perfect. Obviously our souls are not perfect because we are sinners. Everyone needs Jesus. But our personhood can be perfect.

Then the question becomes, what are my gifts and what is my purpose? How can I fully live in accordance with my design, including my personality, temperament, and life circumstances? To what degree am I already doing this or to which I might have already fulfilled my purpose at least by and large?

I know that I was meant to be Craig’s wife. So day in and day out I fulfill that purpose. I was meant to be Angelica’s mother. God chose me to be her mother. So I try to fulfill that purpose to the best of my ability. God designed me to be very creative. So what is the purpose of that creativity? Although I enjoy making art I am by no means proficient at it. So what is the purpose? It could just be so that I can enjoy it. God wants us to be happy. He wants us to be holy first, but wherever possible we should be holy and happy. My life provides the opportunity to be happy and gives me chances to work on myself to be more holy. I should take advantage of both opportunities. What role is creating things or doing photography supposed to play in my life?

What about my writing? As a writer I sometimes feel so isolated. I always thought I would go to grad school, get an MFA and then a Ph.D, and start teaching at the college level. I thought that I would know other writers from my days in grad school and that I would be publishing books. But I was not destined to do that. God had other plans for me, better plans. But my passion for writing poetry remains, and I have very little opportunity to use that voice above a whisper, at a volume that other people can hear me. So what am I supposed to do with all my poetry? What is the ultimate purpose to me being a poet? I might get a book published but I might not. I may try to publish more chapbooks since I really enjoy chapbooks, but there is no telling if that will come through and I have not submitted in a very long time. Is God’s plan for me to have a book published? Or does He have other plans for me and my little poems? Do I need to start submitting again? Or am I supposed to take some other avenue?

Moving to Colorado with my husband has brought about tremendous change in my life. New place, new people, new schedule, new terrain, new opportunities. I am sure that this move was important. What am I supposed to be doing with it? I’m getting involved with my church and I feel like that’s the right direction to go in. I don’t know what will come of my involvement, but maybe my hands are needed. I want Angelica to really get something out of living in Colorado for 3 years, whether that is simply amazing and beautiful experiences, or a friend that she’s supposed to make, or maybe getting plugged into this church will make a big difference in her life.

Like everyone else, I have so many facets to my personality. I’m kind of a mixture of Victorian lady, 1950s housewife without the good organizational skills, and a dark, Gothic princess. God made me these things, and there must be a reason for each one of them. So how can I live out my life in such a way as to be authentically who God made me, fulfilling his design for me and reaching perfection in what He wanted me to be?

I may never be a rose, either in God’s eyes or the world’s. You never know, but probably not. But sometimes I don’t want roses when I go to the market. I want a nice bouquet of daisies, or maybe some violets. How does God want me to bloom?

He Will Take Great Delight in You.

God delights in us. He loves us as His children. Just as we take delight in our children’s first steps, happy faces, school accomplishments, happiness, and talents, so does God with us. No matter how old you are, whether you are on spiritual milk or solid food, God loves you as His sons and daughters. We make  God happy. He likes to watch over us. Our happiness is His happiness, our triumphs His triumphs. Our pain is His pain, our hurt His hurt. He is deeply connected to us. He wants to watch us lead good lives, live out our holy purpose, follow Him, and follow our dreams.

Just my happy thought for the day!

Dreaming With God

This is an interesting biography/bible study written by a ballet dancer. It is about following your dreams while walking with God. There are some good questions at the end of each chapter. There’s only a little space to write, so if you want to journal through the book you should probably get out a separate notebook. But the book is a worthwhile read and the questions are good to ponder. It talks about a couple of things, well several really. But the two messages that stand out are 1. to be open to what God is trying to do in your life and go where He is trying to send you. 2. To realize God gives you your gifts and your dreams for a reason, and you should see where you can go with them. It is an inspiring little book and an elegant read.

Headcovering- a Spiritual Reminder

My veils remind me daily to submit to my husband. But more than simply supporting my husband in the decisions he makes for our family, it should remind me to be gentle. Serenity is precious in the sight of God. As a woman I should cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit. Lately I have been under a lot of stress, and I have somewhat lost touch with my femininity and my role as a wife. Some of my old, hard edge has come back. I need a refresher on patience, quietness, calmness. I need to be more humble.

I need to increase my prayer life. Drawing closer to God will refine me until I am the woman He wants me to be, and the wife my husband deserves. It is also important to me to set an example of kindness, submission, patience, and love to my daughter.

Part of the answer is to be more intentional when I wear my veils. I have been wearing them for a long time now, and perhaps putting on my veils has become so routine that I have let the beauty and power of it fade away. Wearing my veils has become too mundane. I have lost touch with the spirituality of headcovering. It is time to start donning my veils with intention. Before I put my headcovering on I need to pause and think about the meaning of it. I need to commit to obeying God, submitting to my husband, being gentle, guarding my tongue, and having a sweet and quiet spirit. Headcovering should never be mundane no matter how vital it is to headcover daily. Just as we should strive to pray daily without letting our prayers become rote, I need to headcover daily without letting my headcoverings become just a daily part of my wardrobe. It is so much more than that. Headcovering is spiritual, feminine, and powerful. It has brought me closer to God. I need to leave my complacency and let the headcovering that God expects of me bring me closer to Him. Obeying the Lord pleases Him, but doing so intentionally is even better.

Delight

This verse poses two interesting ideas. First of all, delighting in the Lord. It is so easy, especially when you are in spiritual doldrums, to see God more as  judge and creator of rules and morality. And He is these things. But He should also be a source of joy, someone to delight in. God should be seen as a loving Father, the creator of all things beautiful and good, a light in a very dark room. And Christ should be a friend. He even refers to the disciples as His friends.

Then there is the last part of the verse, the part that says that if we do delight in Him, He will grant us the desires of our hearts. God does want us to have the desires of our hearts, but through our relationship with Him the desires of our hearts are supposed to be transformed. It is only human to have some selfish desires, but as we grow in faith the desires of our hearts are supposed to change. We are supposed to say, Lord, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is okay to have dreams and ambitions and want to use your gifts, but it should be with the attitude that what you really want is what will fit with God’s plan.

I am not good at this. I am more into my will being done than anything else. It is just so hard not to have dreams and desires. Sometimes it feels like what God wants is for me not to be human. Sometimes I can step back and say, thy will be done. But most of the time I very much want what I want. It is difficult to remember that God’s design for my life will be so much more beautiful than anything I could come up with myself. Then though, I think “Why would God give me a desire in my heart, if He did not want me to have it, to follow it?” Some of my desires are purely selfish, but others aren’t selfish at all. They are for me, but they harm no one. Where is the line? What is okay and what is not? How do you reach the point of such abnegation of self that you really are willing to let go of everything you wish for, everything you hold dear, and say “Thy will be done?”

A Beautiful Woman

I try to be a nice person. Really, I do. But periodically I bite. Proverbs tells us to add sweetness to our speech and to speak softly. Sometimes I don’t speak very softly. I am loud.

My husband and I almost never fight. But on the occasion we do, I am usually loud and sharp. I need to add more kindness to my words. My speech is not sweet. It is acidic. It eats away at everything, burning it. I ought to have a gentler and quieter spirit, which is beautiful to God. God does not look at a woman and find her beautiful for her clothes and her figure and her makeup. He finds women beautiful who have gentle and quiet spirits. (Not that it isn’t okay to wear nice clothes and makeup.)

He expects us to cultivate what is on the inside, not the outside. He values the gentle, the grateful, the obedient, the modest, the submissive. He wants sweet speech and soft words. How can I practice these things? How can I be a woman after God’s own heart? Here is a list I have come up with. Many of these things I already do – I just don’t do them enough. If you think of anymore, comment or email me.

  1. Never raise my voice. You can not have a gentle and quiet spirit if you are yelling.
  2. Pray regularly to tell God what I am thankful for.
  3. Listen for the Holy Spirit as I write, pray, and think. Follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. Be obedient.
  4.  Try to cover up any low cut dresses with my infinity veils when I go out.  Showing some cleavage is okay when I’m at home, and practically unavoidable at formal events, but for the day to day I should be well covered. It is hard not to buy things that show a lot of cleavage when your breasts are as big as mine, but by wearing the right kind of veil I can buy all kinds of dresses and still be modest.
  5. Obey my husband. When a woman obeys her husband, she obeys God, who has place her husband in authority over her. This doesn’t mean I can’t lobby and petition for what I want and need. I can and I do, rather vigorously at times! But I am my husband’s helpmeet and God has ordered me to submit. So ultimately, my husband has final say.
  6. Be less prideful. God hates a haughty heart. I need to search myself for pride and tear it out. Am I too prideful when I get a pretty dress? When I have a day that I feel I look extra good?  When I add to my book collection? When I learn new things as I study? There is a fine line between appreciating things and feeling good about yourself, versus being prideful. Maybe one way to combat this is to give thanks to God for whatever I am proud of, whether it is a publication credit, a day of good complexion or hair, or my awesome library. And not to focus on it. Take a picture of me or my clothes or my library, and then move on. Be humble and remember that anything good that I have or achieve is through the Grace of my sovereign God. Enjoy the beauty in my life, but remember from whom it comes.
  7. Dive into the Word. A gentler, more peaceful spirit is a natural byproduct of being immersed in the Word.

I have a lot I need to work on. The Christian walk is a never ending journey, a constant refining of gold from dross.

God’s Promise.

God's Rainbow. Noah and the Flood.

 

I love the true meaning of rainbows. This is what the rainbow really means. A promise from God never to flood the Earth again and wipe us out. A covenant with us. Many times nowadays people think of gay rights when they think of the rainbow, but God created the rainbow and He gave it a meaning first. No matter how much you stick rainbows on flags that represent other things, this is what the rainbow has always meant and will always mean. I understand the gay community wanting some sort of flag or other symbol to show solidarity, but at the end of the day God had the rainbow first.

Bible Journaling

A woman in a Christian group that I’m in posted a couple of beautiful, colorful collages with Bible verses and Jesus on them. I asked who did them and she said she didn’t know, but that she had a whole bunch on her profile that I could download. I did just that and I’ve begun posting them to Instagram, putting a call out to find the person who made them. But it gave me the idea to make some myself, and look up my own Bible verses that I like. Instead of using paintings, which is not all but most of what she uses, I am downloading free stock photography, making collages, and editing the pictures with an app I really like, then adding a verse.

I think this may be my new way of Bible journaling. I may even start a separate Instagram for these images, but for now they are mixed among my poetry and family photos. I have tried Bible journaling in a Bible before, but I hate to cover the verses with anything. Not to mention, I have no talent. I can neither draw nor paint. So my Bible journaling did not really work out. Instead of worshiping through the creation of art, I was just sullying Bible verses. But this allows me to worship and make something beautiful to share with the world. I am creating beautiful art for the Lord. Obviously the work isn’t all mine, but the selection of images, arranging of images, editing of images, and choosing the verse are all me. I am using multiple, stunning tools to create something in worship of the Lord.

This makes me happy. I am always looking for an outlet for creativity and worship. Some of my poems are about God, but many are not. While my theology is infused in everything write, most of it is not overt. I still offer my poetry to the Lord and give joyful thanksgiving for the inspiration and creativity he gives me to write. But I wanted a way to really dig into the Bible with my creativity. I am so happy right now that I have found something.

Soon I might start doing alcohol ink on tile. I have been looking at some gorgeous alcohol ink online and I kind of want to try my hand at it. I tried my hand once before and got mixed results, but why not try again? Someone suggested to me that I should use my blow dryer to create really cool designs. I love the colors and abstract designs. Some alcohol ink artists create realistic, concrete images with their ink, but I’m not really interested in doing that. I like abstraction, pure color, and random designs. In everything I do, from poetry, to art, to worship, I focus on color.

I have been reading poetry and writing poetry. In short, I am going through a real creative renaissance right now. I hope it keeps up.

Prayer: Thank you God for the opportunity to worship you with my passions and gifts. I pray that what I offer to you, through all my creative work, is pleasing to you. Thank you for my gifts and opportunities. Where you close one door, you open another. In Christ’s name, Amen.