All is Well

Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Resolved…….

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……..I like that word, resolved.  Resolution.  And as I am prone to do, I am contemplating what it means to be resolved.  The dictionary defines it as such:

to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine(to do something): I have resolved that I shall live to the full.

Maybe I am parsing words here, and I probably am, but there seems to be a difference between resolutions and being resolved about something, though both words come from the same origin.

Resolutions, in my mind, are a list of goals–a list of actions–that I hope to accomplish in the next year.  Like losing weight.  Reading the Bible all the way through.  Being more involved in church.  All of these are perfectly fine and good resolutions, and my journaling from today includes a mid-size list of resolutions.

But being resolved is a different animal.  If I am resolved, then I have come to a definite or earnest decision about something.  I am resolved to__________?  Fill in that blank and just notice how much stronger that sentence is, than a list of resolutions.

I have a list of resolutions, but only a few things that I am resolved to do in 2012.  (determined, settled upon, no turning back).  I am resolved to be a better parent by being my “present” in my children’s lives.  I am resolved to make time with My Jesus and my God my top priority, before the day.  And I am resolved to other things, determined and settled upon them.

I’m reminded of an old, old hymn:

1. I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world's delight;
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.

2. I am resolved to go to the Saviour,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.

3. I am resolved to follow the Saviour,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth, He is the living way.

4. I am resolved to enter the Kingdom,
Leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,
Still will I enter in.

Chorus:
I will hasten to Him,
Hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Greatest, Highest,
I will come to Thee.

And in scripture, what a beautiful passage 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 is; a true picture of being resolved:

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I can’t think of a better verse to wrap up the year with.  May God make me, make you, worthy of his calling and may He fulfill every RESOLVE for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in me, and in you, and me in Him and you in Him according to the GRACE of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

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Top Ten Movies 2011

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I’m not a huge movie watcher, unless it is epic and at the theatre.  But here is my pitiful list of the top ten Movies I watched this year.

1  Harry Potter 7 Part 2 certainly did not disappoint.  It was a fantastic ending to a series of books that my children have grown up on.

2.  Muppets Movie was everything I had hoped it would be.  I love the muppets so much.  The jokes are simple, the characters so unique and fun.  Awesome movie

3.  The Help:  Well done adaptation to the terrific book by the same title.  Laughed much, but also was a good treatise on the fact that we are only slightly removed from the time of civil unrest and horrific treatment of African-Americans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GYmhc8Xk8g

4. Despicable Me:  Really enjoyed this movie!  The minions were fantastic.  I want my very own evil minion.

5.  Voyage of the Dawn Treader:  I wondered if the Chronicles of Narnia could maintain their momentum.  This moving answered that question with “Yes.”  Beautiful movie.

6.  Inception:  A great workout for the mind.  Ingenious story idea.

7.  The King’s Speech:  Epic story.  Learned so much, as well inspired by watching someone fight through all the way to the other side and stand in confidence to lead his country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAm7gRXFiRo

8. 127 Hours:  Wow.  Showcases the strength of human will.

9.  Winter’s Bone:  Tough movie, gritty, haunting.  Very well acted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrWu2GrY7m4

10. Toy Story 3  I was skeptical that a third Toy Story movie wouldn’t work, but it absolutely did.  Great job Pixar!

 

 

Dealing with Disappointment, Discouragement and Depression

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A Blog is an interesting phenomena.  There’s a certain amount of vulnerability in blogging.  Should one be completely honest?

That’s where I am tonight.  I’ve had a most discouraging day, fighting to keep the monster of depression at bay.  I would have to say that it has been a failure of the day, and my only option now is to go to bed in hopes of redeeming the day tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day of 2011.  Another year is gone, another long year lays before me.  I truly appreciated and grasped on to Jon Bloom’s “Year End Prayer for Weary Waiters“.  Here is an excerpt, though I encourage you to read the entire prayer:

O Jesus! When will “soon” be? We know that you are not slow to fulfill your promise “as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9). Forgive us when it feels slow to us. You know we are dust (Psalm 103:14) and that our brief years are full of toil and trouble (Psalm 90:10). Many of us are weary and struggle to keep perspective. Our indwelling sin plus trouble plus waiting tempts us to cynicism as “soon” unfolds over millennia. We do believe, Jesus; help our unbelief (Mark 9:24)!

So our prayer at this year’s end is simply, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)! We will wait for you as long as it takes. We trust that you will come when the time is full. May that time be soon. You said it would be. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus

I, like so many others, am a weary waiter.  It has been a long life.  I long for home.  I long for Jesus’ return.  On the day that I go home, the fight against doubt and unbelief will be over.  The fight against depression will be over.  The fight against failure will be over.  The fight for joy will be over, because I will inhabit a joy unspeakable, unexplainable, unfathomable.

I’m not a patient waiter.

 

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Blog News: Updating for 2012

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I love New Year’s Day.  I imagine it is because I always approach it with high expectations and resolutions.

This blog has become an important piece of who I am and what I do.  I think through writing.  When I am unable to express myself through writing, I find myself frustrated and disoriented.  But when I get a chance to sit down and put my thoughts on paper, it helps me to settle.  It helps me to make sense of the chaos in my mind.  It helps me to breathe.

So tonight I’ve spent some time getting my blog ready for 2012.  I’ve done some changing of page titles and added content on those pages.  Also, if you will look at the sidebar and scroll down, you’ll see I’ve made some changes there as well.  First, that obnoxiously long categories list is now in a drop down menu, allowing me more space for widgets and things that are important to me.

Secondly, I’ve added a feature called “I am reading”, which displays a picture of the book I am currently reading and what page I am on.  THAT’s a nerdy thing to do!!  If you click on the book, it will take you to that book on Amazon.

I’ve added a few other things on the sidebar that you can explore.  I don’t know why my “Recent Tweets” feature is not working.  I’m still working on it.

The last thing is that I’ve added a “See Related Posts” feature that will be at the end of each post.  It will list previous posts that are related to the current post.  Very cool.

I have much more to say about New Year’s, which I will be doing over the next couple of days.  I welcome any and all feedback on this little slice of the blogosphere.  🙂

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