Sombrero Galaxy

50,000,000 light years from earth!

Footnote to All Prayers

Poem by C.S. Lewis
This poem is intended to be a footnote to all prayers.
We do not, and cannot, fully understand, comprehend, 'get' God. Not completely.
And this poem is a reminder that in all of our shortcomings, God 'gets' us and makes up the difference, I guess you could say.
Though, it's much more than making up the difference.
So when you pray. Allow God out of the box we've put Him in.
Be open with what you say to Him, because no matter what you say, He'll translate it according to your heart.

"He Whom I bow to only knows to Whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring 'Thou',
And dream of Phedian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols which cannot be the thing Thou art.

Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshipping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, adress
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts.

Unless...

Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;

And all men are idolaters, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense.
Lord, in Thy great
Unbroken speech
Our limping metaphor translate."


Poem by C.S. Lewis

* Ineffable:

1. Incapable of being expressed; indescribable or unutterable.

2. Not to be uttered; taboo.
* "Phedian fancies..." - Phedias was a sculptor in Athens who oversaw the sculpting of the Greek gods. (Makes more sense now.)

Nothing

This is a post about nothing, because I want to say something, but I don't know what to say.

There's an analogy somewhere in there. But I'm not sure where it is.

I have an idea.

I'll call it...Psalm 40

"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed."
-Herman Melville

This quote is generally in the line of, "Until you've walked a mile in someone else's shoes, be careful to judge them."

But it expounds upon that and brings it into a more personal and self-reflective light.

It makes me think of the program that people participate in called the "30 hour famine", where young people don't eat for 30 hours to better associate with those who have no option of getting food. In the idea behind it, I think it has some merit. However...to call it a 'famine'...most of us have no clue what a famine is.

Dictionary.com...What do you have to say?
–noun

1.	extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.

2.	any extreme and general scarcity.

3.	extreme hunger; starvation.

Yeah, I'm fairly certain it is not possible to have a famine within 30 hours. Again, I understand the idea behind it, but we cannot comprehend famine in a little over a day. It's like saying that I know what it's like to live outside because I went camping once.

My brother, dad, and I camped in the Wyoming wilderness a year and a half ago. Just the three of us, sleeping in an 8x8 tent. Chewing on meat and crackers when our bellies started rumbling. And each night it sounded like the coyotes were just outside of the tent, baying away at the moon that wasn't out. It sounded as if they were no more than 20 feet away; but when the nearest hospital is over 2 hours away, everything that could put you there seems closer. The coyote was acutally across the meadow, more like 1/2 mile away.

But I also had the comfort of being able to prepare for the circumstances that we were putting ourselves in, accompanied by the knowledge that this would only last for 4 days and then the waterproof canvas would once again be replaced by the egg-shell-white painted drywall. So I couldn't even begin to understand the unknowns of not have a place live. Not only the unknown of where my meal is coming from, or the unknown of where I'll take a break for the night, but the even more daunting unknown of 'how long?'...
I think that would be the most difficult challenge. Time.

The boundary of having a timeline is one of the most comforting things I can think of.
It's why I like mapquest and google maps...because they not only give me a route, but they also tell me how long it should take me if I follow the rules of the road.
It's what I appreciate about youtube...because I know how long I need to set aside to watch the dude sing 'mah-ya-he mah-ya-ha...'

I think David, a king in a palace, actually may help those of us who are 'well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed' have compassion rather than criticism, so I'll leave this off with a quote from him. As you read it...let it be from you as well. Where are you waiting patiently for God? Where are you feeling like 'troubles without number' are surrounding you? How are you needy?

Maybe when we realize our own need, we deepen our compassion for others.

Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced ;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.

Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.

May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
be appalled at their own shame.

But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay

Quotes

So I realized the problem with my blog. I don't have any direction with it.
So, I've decided on a direction.
I love quotes.
I love thinking about quotes.
I love sharing my opinion about quotes.
So I'm going to offer favorite quotes of mine, think about them, comment on them, and then hope to receive your thoughts on the quote.


So, I'll begin with one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"Personality has the power to open doors, but Character keeps them open."
author unknown.

I think what I like about this thought is that it's about long term vision.

It's not just a thought regarding a specific moment, time, or situation. It can be applied to almost any situation involving people.

We are often drawn to those individuals who are funny, witty, beautiful, quick, athletic, sharp, thought-provoking, controversial, edgy, or a slew of other personality traits.
It's different for different people.

Personally, I like the people who listen to what is being said, and then offer a witty response that they really don't expect to be caught, but if you do catch the layers of humor they put in there...it's like that moment when you're putting gas in your car at the station...and you want to hit it right on the dollar (Which I'm wondering why we do that? All of our other purchases have odd penny amounts on them, why do we feel that gas is something that we want to be on the dollar. Is it because it is one of the things that we can control, and anything in this world that we can control we cling to?!) Sometimes you have to go: Click, $20.94; Click, $20:96; Click, $20.99 and then hope that your next click is just enough but not too much.
But it's like those moments when you hit it right on the Dollar the first time!!! It's really not a huge deal in the larger scheme of things, and to be honest, no one else really cares...but just to know that it happened to you...

We are drawn to personality.

However, personality can be like pancakes.
I love the thought of pancakes...it's a mix of nostalgia/syrup/breakfast that fosters a feeling of comfort. So I love thinking about eating pancakes.
But eating them is a different story.
That first bite is amazing and everything you hoped it would be.
The second bite is good too, but you definitely feel the need to wash it down with orange juice.
The third bite, you're starting to wonder why you got a stack of 4 and didn't stick with 3.
Fourth, you just wish someone would interrupt you so that you wouldn't have to finish this stomach bloating mass of sugar covered flour.

That's my feeling with personality. It can get tiring quickly.

But Character.

Character is what people are really looking for.
Is this person not only unique in their perspective on life, but are they also consistent.
Are they dedicated to their values?
Does their life match up with their mouths?

I want character. I don't want to be the flash in the pan.
I want to look for character and not just what is popular.

But if I don't have character...could I just take off the hinges?

"Personality has the power to open doors, but Character keeps them open."

immutable

There once was in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace. This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, because the infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words, by God himself.
-Blaise Pascal

Missions

We are called to go out into the world and reach all nations as ambassadors of Jesus.
I've been struggling with what that looks like...I mean, we're called to do it, so does that mean that however we do it we're doing it right?!
I think about the mission trips that I've been a part of, especially where we come in contact with kids.
There is usually some sort of fun activities, and some learning activities, and inevitably, one of the youth (Kim) becomes attached to one of the kids (Sammy) and it's reciprocated. Throughout the week Kim will say to Sammy that they love them and Jesus loves them too. Sammy, in some cases, might even link the love given and received by Kim with God's love. We see this as preposterous, because we know that we can't even come close to measuring ourselves in comparison with God's eternal love...but can the child?
Finally, at the end of the week, Sammy and Kim share an Oprah moment together before they separate. Sammy tells Kim to write and she caught in the moment, acquiesces.
Then it is reiterated that God loves Sammy and will never leave her, and the next moment Kim jumps into the van and laughs at the latest inside joke among the group, pausing to wave as the van drives out of the parking lot...another person that is come and gone in the life of Sammy.

What has Sammy just learned about love? Something that might be a pretty solid reality in life: People who love you come and go without much more that a wave, and typically much less.

Will this encounter...that's actually repeated in Sammy's life for the next 10 weeks throughout the summer, be a positive impact or will it harden her to life and love...and God?
Especially when Kim promised to write...(the letter has yet to come)
Just like Kim promised that God would always love her.

Are we perpetuating a problem and offering a hollow gospel, just so that we might, individually, be missionary for a week each year?