"The god's we worship write their names on our faces, be sure of that. And a man will worship something-have no doubt of that, either. He may think that his tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of his heart- but it will out. That which dominates will determine his life and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Refuse to accept the status quo. I challenge everything. It is important to me that I understand why I do what I do and I'll challenge everyone else too because that is how I learn. Christ-follower, student, teacher, artist, musician, mother, wife, daughter, friend, home-schooler, doula, home-birther, knitter, abuse survivor, advocate of women, children, families and peace, I value relationships more than anything in this life. There is room for my life for my passions for birth, music, lit., nature, art, dance, knitting, cooking, Scripture, film, theology, philosophy, writing, and loving my family. I know I don't have all the answers and I'm willing to listen, I don't argue for the sake of arguing or to win but I am passionate and opinionated while being open to change. Wrap all that up and then some and serve it with a cup of coffee, a glass of wine and some chocolate and that's a little bit of who I am. Just an ordinary woman in my every day rebellious ways.
posted by Jessica | 12:06 PM
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by Jessica
I found a beautiful, disturbing essay linked from Maggie Dawn's blog about one person's reaction to pain, particularly a child's deep pain. It really resonated with me and I hope you take the time to read it. Go here to check it out.
posted by Jessica | 11:54 AM
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by Frances R. Havergal
I love this hymn, it's beautiful. This hymn has had a lot of meaning in my life along with hymns such as "It Is Well" and "Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult." I love that these hymns unabashedly address the challenge facing Christians of living with pain and struggles. What I think sometimes happens though with these songs and even with some of Scripture is that we begin to believe that our lives with Christ are going to be all peaches and cream by simply "letting it go- giving it to God." What do we do when our lives aren't peaches and cream? What if "letting it go" just gives us more? How do we continue to worship in spite of the pain and challenges we face? Does living for Christ mean an absence of pain? It doesn't take long for most of us to answer "no" to that question but I wonder how many of us live as though we believe God somehow owes us that. The truth is, the peace and hope we have in Christ may not look like the peace and hope we desire for ourselves. God's peace doesn't equal everything going our way to ensure our greatest comfort. No, God's peace exists even in the midst of turmoil and it's a much more subtle experience and we may feel as though it's not what we thought we had signed up for. God's peace, love, mercy, grace, and hope doesn't mean everything is going to be easy. Sin is still a factor in our lives and will be until we are with God and can truly experience "no more pain." Until then we must continue to challenge one another in the Christian community to worship in the face of pain.
Where have we been? Hmmmmm, that's a good question. We've been "around." Busy doing other things: life. Thanks to Ophelia and her teacher we've rediscovered the joy of drawing and painting. Art is often one of those things we don't have time for but we've been making time for it and have remembered how much we love it. Taking time to be creative is important, hope you can find a way to make that happen for you today.
posted by Jessica | 9:20 AM
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