The best part of my lovely spring break week was that Malori and I got to hang out more than normal - not that we wouldn't have talked anyway, but it's just more fun being in the same city... dinner at Bravo Tuesday then dinner at IHOP on Thursday... I had chocolate chip pancakes for the first time ever - yum!! We went back to her apartment and ate GirlScout cookies and watched SBFSB (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, in case you couldn't crack that code). So much fun -- I've really missed that movie, but all the song lyrics came right back to me, and so did my love of the "lonesome polecat" song and bizzare dance choreography! "Milly and me's goin' to town!"
"You mean men are learnin how to dance!? Yes, it came direct from Paris, France!"
"Oh, they acted angry and annoyed... But secretly, they was overjoyed!" "Each nest is twitterin, they're all babysitterin. Spring, spring, spring!"
We also had several lengthy conversations this week.... there are a few things going through my mind and going on in my life right now that I don't exactly feel free to blog about in any detail, but it's so helpful and encouraging to have loyal Christian friends that I can talk to! So hooray for Malori!! :)
So switching gears, last night, I went to dinner with some friends, then came home and watched When Harry Met Sally, followed by most of The Breakfast Club. There were a couple of scenes that really hit me and brought me down for whatever reason... you know how sometimes the smallest thing can throw off your whole mood and change the way you view everything around you. I was suddenly feeling really negative and pathetic and annoyed with men and all sorts of things.... I sat down to write a blog and truly couldn't come up with anything positive to say. I played around on facebook, then finally decided to read my daily chapter of Proverbs before I went to bed, and one verse after another perfectly addressed the things I had been so down about. I had a random fleeting thought (which I do believe came from God) that reading that chapter was like taking a small dose of the antidote to the mood I had been in.
Then, being myself, I pondered that for a little while. How the enemy is viciously seeking to destroy us and poison our hearts -- whether with something that works hard and fast to knock us down, or a more subtle poison that weakens us over time. And how helpless we are without God -- not only eternally, but our heart and soul here on earth -- are dying without Him. And how God's Word and the TRUTH & WISDOM it offers is the only "antidote" to the constant barrage of attacks and soul-killing lies our culture and Hollywood tend to feed us. The only 'medicine' that will truly heal and restore us. I'm not trying to be overly dramatic, but after letting myself dwell on some small thoughts that started while watching those movies, my soul felt poisoned -- you know, that weak, sick, fading feeling of negativity and depression, losing heart and a growing desire to just give up..... but I began to gain strength and feel refreshed after reading just a few verses and dwelling on God and what He thinks of me. It was exactly what I needed at that moment.
It makes me especially sad/concerned for those who don't know God, or simply don't care what He thinks... people who feel that their only hope is fighting one "poison" with another. Using alcohol, drugs, sex, violence, etc. as a method to escape some other pain, or to numb out to a culture that does everything it can to destroy their self-esteem. They are trapped in a growing web of lies, and the more they try to escape, the further they dig themselves into a pit, totally oblivious to the fact that they're being held captive by the enemy and going down a dangerous path that leads to death.
I so want them to know that there is freedom and healing available in Christ. There is deep fulfillment in Him, but you have to seek Him with all your heart to get there. It can't be halfhearted or lukewarm or apathetic; it has to be real. But there is an opportunity to live above the lies and cruelty and pain and trials we all experience here on earth. There is peace in the middle of awful circumstances that no one around us can quite understand. My life is not perfect, and my faith certainly isn't perfect either. Yes, I go through spells where I don't feel close to God, where I really struggle to hear from Him or to understand His purpose in certain things, or feel that He has forgotten me and wonder if I'm destined to be alone forever. I have those selfish moments of feeling pathetic or inferior or a bit prideful or just totally negative. BUT, in the deepest part of my heart, I know God, and I know He is the answer. I have come a long way in trusting Him, and I know that when my heart and focus is set on Him, I am at peace. My Deliverer is the Lord, and I always come back to Him.
Proverbs makes it clear that wisdom is far more valuable than anything else we can acquire here on earth. That we should seek God and His wisdom with all our heart! There is death and destruction awaiting those who live selfishly and ignore the warnings of God. But there is real LIFE and power and peace available when we know God and trust His heart, when we live our lives based on the wisdom and truth found in His Word, and remember that He is the antidote, the cure, to every type of poison the enemy can possibly throw at us!
Some verses that have hit me lately:
"Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!" ~Matthew 6:22,23
"People ruin their lives by their own foolishness, and then are angry at the Lord."
"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."
"Ears to hear and eyes to see - both are gifts from the Lord."
"The Lord's searchlight penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive."
(~Proverbs 19 and 20)
"Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants." ~II Timothy 2:22-26
"Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be also.....
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today..... The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it..... The way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced."
~Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount
Wait. You went to IHOP and didn't invite me? Um... I am upset.
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