Roller Skates

Let's say you're a kid who has a pair of shiny roller skates, given to you by a godparent, favorite relative, or other special person. You can put them on and go outside and get those skates a little beaten up by skating the life out of them or you can keep them in their box closed up all nice and shiny. When you grow up and they no longer fit they will still be nice and shiny.

Now stop.

Think.

What did your special person want you to do with the skates when they gave them to you? They wanted you to use them of course. They gave them to you to enjoy, not to hide away for fear of messing up. 

God gave you life to enjoy it. When you refuse to enjoy life you are refusing to use God's gift. Don't do that to Him. Go on a walk. Listen to music. Eat good food. Make friends. Don't spend 100% of your time doing what the world deems important: making a million dollars, seeking prestige, cleaning your house, drudgery. You can waste your whole life by doing unimportant things you don't even like for a prize that won't make you happy. Don't be that way. Go enjoy what God has given you.

Don't keep those skates inside.

We are all just sick books anyway

There we are. Sitting on our shelves along with all the other broken books. He comes along and picks us up and puts us on his cart and takes us back to his workshop. We know that we are broken, but we are much more broken than we know. He takes us in His hands, prying, picking, and exposing the most broken, sick parts that we didn't have any idea existed. And then He breaks us. He breaks us all apart. And it hurts. He starts cleaning us up, cutting away all of the gross and sticky bits that cling, things that get in the way. When He is not cutting us or patching us up, He sets us on a table to dry, sometimes putting boards and bricks on top of us. And we wonder sometimes, if perhaps He's forgotten. But He hasn't. He never does. While we are sitting there drying, He is measuring and cutting and gluing together a new cover, a cover that is exactly the right size and made especially, specifically for us. Then He takes us off the table and glues us into the cover. It fits perfectly. 

Day 184: unbrokenness

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Today I'm thankful that I don't have to be broken forever. The verse pretty much sums it up. Go read it in context for something really cool. :)

What are you thankful for today? 

If you don't get what I mean by unbroken or don't understand how to get there please email me at beautyofnormal@gmail.com.

Have a great evening. :)

Day 178-181

Day 178: Bible study apps

Today I am thankful for Bible study apps. There are three apps that I use often.

The first one is Olive Tree. I use it most often for following along during sermons. It's great because there are many highlighting options and you can make notes within the text.

Accordance has a built in lexicon. It's not written in a way I'm familiar with but it does work offline. Also, you can search for a word and it will pull up every verse the word is used in.

The CBN Bible app is great but requires Internet access and is a little slow sometimes. You view one chapter at a time. In the sidebar there are pull down boxes with commentaries, a concordance, and a lexicon where you see information for the selected verses.

Day 179: the people of a certain nearby church

I'm thankful for those people because they donate bunches of stuff to the students from my school. Like laptops, cars, kitchen supplies, furniture, etc. Very, very thankful for all the needs of poor college students being met. God's good like that. :)

Day 180: when my brother makes breakfast

(And I'm running late). This happened to me a couple days ago. I was late and was going to the kitchen to find something to take with me as I ran out the door. And there was my brother, scrambling eggs. And he'd made some for everyone, I think. Very thoughtful brother. Love him bunches. :)

Day 181: sunshine

I like how it lights up everything and feels cheerful and warm.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 43: inability

Life is not about me. Sometimes I take myself too seriously...especially when I don't know what road to take. Not that decision making isn't important, but it sometimes feels like the fate of the world hangs in the balance, like if I make the wrong decision my life will crumble... I get so stressed out. Sometimes about things that are relatively small, or that might not be big deals to other people. But I don't have to be afraid of making the wrong choice. In light of eternity these choices are small...and I can't mess up God's plan. That's what I'm thankful for today: my complete inability to wreck or ruin God's ultimate plan to bring Himself glory. Life is about Him.

Do you ever get stressed about decision making?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 37: refiner's fire

Today I'm thankful for those hard things the LORD allows His children to go through. The things that make us stronger, even when they hurt. Things He uses to smooth our rough edges and make us more like Himself. Life is not always easy. It doesn't always make sense. But I'm so glad that He's got me and that it's for my good. 

I usually listen to Guy Penrod sing this, but he wasn't on YouTube and these kids made me happy :)

What are you thankful for today?

Days 33 & 34

Day 33: music

Today I'm thankful for music. Particularly uplifting music that reminds me about the important things...you've probably been able to get a pretty good idea about the kind of music I like if you've been listening to the videos I included in some of my posts :)

Day 34: non-metaphors

Also, I'm thankful for some things that are not metaphors. Specifically, the servanthood of the followers of God and His adoption of them as His children. I think they are often treated as metaphors. But they aren't. They're true. They're REAL. And that makes me so, so happy.

What kind of music do you like?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 31: identity

Today I am thankful for my identity. I'm thankful that my identity does not have to be found in what people think of me or how well I measure up to my own standards. My identity is in Jesus Christ. He has bought me with his blood and reconciled me to God. I belong to Him.

So who am I?

I am a creature created by God for His glory and for relationship with Himself. He has created me specially and specifically as a woman. He has set me apart to Himself. I belong solely to Him, and not to any other. He desires to fill all of my longings with good things. But ultimately, I will only be satisfied in Him alone. He will cause me to fly with wings as eagles as He catches me up in troubled times. For in my weakness, there He chooses to expose His strength. He has created and fashioned every part of me: He has selected my DNA, my family, and my time and place in history. He has chosen each person and circumstance to be in my days, for He holds my times in His hands. And He is good. So I will not fear.

This is who I am. 

Even if you've already heard this song, please watch the video. It's well worth it.

Where do you find your identity?

What are you thankful for today? 

Day 24: courage

"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." Luke 1:11-12

Today I am thankful for the gift of courage. 

My dictionary app (Merriam-Webster) defines courage as: the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous; mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

I am thankful that when I am afraid, when I don't know what to do or say, and don't know what the outcome will be, that God will be with me and direct me. He will give me the strength and words in the moment to accomplish what He wants. And I'm glad that my courage, the strength to do what is hard, doesn't have to come from within myself. 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 6: a facet of grace

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6

Today I am thankful that God has not let me be; that is, that He has not left me as He found me.

Awesome song. 

The video kind of makes me dizzy but if you just listen to it it's okay :P