The REAL Question
The question is NOT - "What would Jesus do?"
The question IS - "What will YOU do with Jesus?"
The question is NOT - "What would Jesus do?"
The question IS - "What will YOU do with Jesus?"
As I mentioned Thursday, initially C.S. Lewis thought myths are lies while J.R.R. Tolkien completely disagreed.
Patrick Curles writes in Tolkien's Impact in Literature and Life
There are truths, Tolkien said, that are beyond us, transcendent truths, about beauty, truth, honor, etc. There are truths that man knows exist, but they cannot be seen - they are immaterial, but no less real, to us. It is only through the language of myth that we can speak of these truths. We have come from God, Tolkien said, and only through myth, through story telling, can we aspire to the life we were made for with God. To write and/or read myth, Tolkien believed, was to meditate on the most important truths of life.
Scripture tells us that God wrote knowledge of Himself on our individual hearts. This is born out by the fact that, irrespective of geographical location, the one thing common to all societies that have ever existed is that they all show signs (archeologically) of religion. I've heard it said that "religion" is man reaching towards God (although Christianity is God reaching out to man). If there were no God, why would man strive for so long trying to find Him?
I think man not only tries to find God, but that man does also search for truth, unfettered by modern philosophy. It's paradoxical that man doesn't want to take responsibility for his own actions. It's this perspective that keeps man from pushing too hard to find God and leads him to embrace relativism... leads him away from God.
Frequently you'll hear that there is no absolute truth (but the sentence itself is making an absolute statement and is therefore self-defeated.) Good myths (as opposed to evil or bad myths) give us an opportunity to learn, to think, to gain knowledge. Those that are well written allow us to walk in the heros shoes, to feel with him or her the full gamut of emotions. It's far more than escapism. They enrich us as individuals. True, well written, myths are a feast for our minds and spirits, our inner eyes and ears. Oh yes, and our hearts.
There's truth in Tolkien's work that we can recognise, contemplate, and appreciate. If you've not read Tolkien I do encourage you to read first The Hobbit and then The Lord of the Rings. If you've read him once, I urge you to read him again... that's what I'm going to do...
I haven't written since November... where does the time go when we're all having so much fun?
After I wrote last.. came Thanksgiving... Christmas... New Years... and tomorrow is Easter... on this specific journey God took me to the very edge of my faith... It was the middle of February... we still hadn't sold the house... hadn't found a new one... both my husband and I were getting tired of driving back and forth every weekend... my youngest son was in some sort of trouble... we didn't know where he was or really know exactly what was going on.... I was afraid... oh yes, and the 3 month extension my company had giving me was running out... we felt 'led' to step out on faith and schedule the movers to pick up our household goods... they were coming in five days... but we didn't have an address to give them on where to deliver our stuff... my husband was in a barber shop getting a hair cut... I stayed in the car... I was so afraid... for myself... my son... my family... I cried...
I went to my Lord... I didn't want to sin... which is what 'worry' and 'anxiety' are... sin... I wanted to be like Job and trust the Lord... I confessed my anxious fears... and turned it all over to Him... basically I stepped off the cliff... not knowing what would come next... I gave Him my fears... and recalled wonderful verses of provision... I thanked Him for all that was going on... even though I didn't understand why it had to be so hard... and after a few moments of prayer... of talking with my Lord... a peace that "surpasses comprehension" engulfed me. Why does it always take me so long to get there?
I received a phone call explaining my son was in the hospital... he'd had an allergic reaction the night before to some medications he was taking for the flu.... and he'd stopped breathing... they'd taken him to an emergency room, he was in the hospital... but he was OK... then, that day... we found a house here... the next day our offer on it was accepted... now we had an address to give the movers... that week we also received an offer on our house back home... and... of course... we accepted it... within 14 days... two short weeks... we would find all of our belongings picked up and moved... delivered to our new home... moved in.. my husband and I were finally back to living in the same town...
Here we are.. in our new home... week before last we closed on both... my son's doing well... another son coming home in May for a 4 week visit with his family... my mom's coming to visit... so is a third son... and we're almost unpacked...
God is GREAT!!
He has never taken me to the edge of my faith... and just let me fall... not once... not ever in my entire life... why do I waste my time getting anxious? I should gladly walk to the edge of the cliff called "fear" and step wonderfully into His outstretched hand...
I've come to understand that faith is like a muscle... in order to grow it must be exorcised... and not once has the One who is leading this expedition called "my life" let me fall... He loves me.... WOW!
You see... it's not how much faith I have... or that any one person has... it's what a person (me, you, whomever) places their faith in that's key... if I believe a piece of plastic or stone or wood or whatever is "a god" and it's not alive and real... what good would that do?... Nothing... nothing would happen... But if I believe in a living, real, involved, all knowing, all powerful, all present God... what can't He do? He certainly can lead, guide, protect, love, and save me.
Tomorrow's Easter... about 2000 years ago... God came to earth as a man... named Jesus... he'd lived a sin free life... he was beaten beyond human recognition... he voluntarily laid down His life... to pay a debt he didn't owe... because I owed a debt I couldn't pay... he created me in order to have a relationship with me... but sin made it so we couldn't... His death paid for my sins... and now...
I serve a living Savior, He's in the world today... I know that He is living no matter what men say... I see His hand of mercy... I hear His voice of cheer... and just the time I need Him, He's always near... He lives... He lives... Christ Jesus lives today... He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way... He lives... He lives... Salvation to impart... You ask me how I know He lives... He lives within my heart... (Alfred A Ackley)
The new direction? Oh yes... well... I'm a J.R.R. Tolkien fan... and I've delved deep into a study of Christian mythology writers.. I also love C.S Lewis (a very close friend with Tolkien) and his Chronicles of Narnia... my current plan is to expand this blog to be more than just an individual's journey.... I'm hoping to be able to discuss not just "The Lord of Rings" but other Tolkien stories as well that present the very real battle, which is actually being waged today, between good and evil.... I think a lot of people just see the fantasy of the story and perhaps miss what Tolkien was really trying to do and say.... Did you know...
Tolkien was a philologist... he studied word "history", if you will... and worked on the Oxford English Dictionary after returning from the British Infantry and World War II... he then went on to being a professor of literature and language at Leeds in England.... he loved words... more to follow...
May God bless your Easter..
My last post was June 22nd.... seems like ages ago... 3 months IS a long time... a lot has been happening with me and my family....
I had the gastric bypass in early July. I've lost 45 pounds so far, but that's not why I had the surgery... I'm diabetic. My grandmother died as a result of complications from diabetes... I tried to lose the weight and would go up and down... nothing seemed to work permanently... while I wasn't eating candy.. cakes.. pies... chips.. etc.. I was eating rice, potatoes, pasta and fruit... all of which cause me to gain weight. Some will tell you portions matter... now... after the surgery... I know that's true... I eat so much less now... obviously I didn't need to eat everything on my plate before... that was a big part of the problem... my folks made me clean my plate... that's how I was raised... and our restaurants and families, meaning well... load our plates up. We (most of us) are eating way too much food!!
My doctor had been trying me on various medications for kidney problems... and after a series of reactions he said that I just had to face it... I was diabetic and I'd have problems and be on various medications the rest of my life... immediately I responded with, "No I will not!"... then I started doing research...
I found that medical studies claimed that the gastric bypass cured 70% of the diabetics and it drastically reduced high cholesterol (I had this too)... shortly after finding those articles I heard that medical studies showed that obese women who had the bypass showed marked decrease in stroke and heart disease... far greater than previously thought... since I had tried dieting and exercise I decided to talk to a doctor about this option... long story short... I had the surgery and since I was diabetic I have increased the number of years I'm likely to live.
Results: Not only have I lost 45 pounds in 10 weeks... but my cholesterol is normal and my diabetes is in control... I'm off 70% of the medications I was taking before surgery and expect to be off all medications within a year.
I caution anyone considering this surgery... it's NOT a quick fix.... it is also extremely serious surgery... people can and do die from the surgery and/or its complications.
The biggest change in my life is dietary.. my eating has changed and changed for the rest of my life... I eat only about 6-8 ounces per meal... 3 times a day... if I over eat, even a little, I get sick for 30 to 40 minutes... really sick... if I eat something high in sugar.. I get sick to my stomach... if I eat something high in fat... I get sick to my stomach... I do not like being nauseous... I watch carefully what I eat.
It's a life style change... FOREVER!
If one were to force themselves to go back to their old eating habits... they can undo everything the surgery has done... who in their right mind would want to do that? Not me!!!! I never want to go through this again... I also never want to weigh 239 pounds again!!!
Other changes? I take lots of vitamins... I've joined Curves... and I jealously watch what I put in my mouth... there's precious little space in me for food... I'm very selective about what I put in that space.
Now... I'm back... I'll write more tomorrow about another big change.... for those of you interested... I'll post periodically about the results of this surgery... the good and the bad.
Take care....
For those who don't read the comments, the following is a point that needed to be made concerning my previous post and is by Mike Johnson of the Siberian Grinder...
The presumption that the best for a person with heart-disease is healing from their illness is naïve, and therefore undermines the study. People were obviously praying for the patients’ best. The best for those people, and for any person, is to glorify God by cherishing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all. Sometimes, it takes a trial like a bad heart for someone to break before him. In that case, the bad heart is that person’s best, and should be regarded as a blessing, and maybe even an answer to prayer.
Believers do not only pray for the Lord's best, they also pray that "the Lord's will be done."
Remember those cool billboards bearing "messages from God"? They used to be all over. I don't get to travel around as much as I used to and so I don't get to see them any more. The one-liners were definitely thought provoking and would make my day whenever I had the opportunity to see one. A while back I found the following in a Reader's Digest magazine (only saved the one page) attributed to Tom Kuntz in New York Times. (The last one slays me.)
Each message was signed "God".
- Let’s meet at my house Sunday before the game.
- Loved the wedding. Invite me to the marriage.
- Will the road you’re on get you to my place?
- That “love thy neighbor” thing – I meant it.
- Do you have any idea where you’re going?
- Need a marriage counselor? I’m available.
- Follow me.
- Keep using my name in vain, I’ll make rush hour longer.
- I don’t question your existence.
- What part of “thou shalt not” didn’t you understand?
- I love you… I love you… I love you.
- We need to talk.
- Don’t make me come down there.
Some may find these impudent or irreverent, but I don't think there's any disrespect in what the author of those billboards was trying to communicate. Tell me, what did you think as you read them?
I now have a clue that before I know it, it's going to be Christmas and I'll be shouting from the rafters, yet once again, "Who stole my year?" This is typically followed by, "I want it back, and I want it back right now!"
I look at my last post and what do I see, but low and behold it was January 5th. Typically, I get to December and want to know who stole the year... but now, for the first time, I actually may have a chance of catching the wiley character because he (or perhaps she) ran off with only a single month. I wonder... behind which virtual tree can I hide in order to catch him/her abscounding with the next month.... or maybe I'll get lucky and find that person taking only groups of days or even a single day (that'd be a big break). Come to think of it there were several times in 2005 when all of a sudden, time would be out of whack and I'd realize I was missing a day. And, just yesterday, I had a couple of hours turn up missing. Hey, I think I'm onto something here...
What about you? Have you ever had someone steal time from you? Maybe if everyone who has had that happen got together we could come up with a composite sketch of the thief. Or maybe if there are lots of us spread around this tiny globe we'll figure out it's a gang. Maybe we can find the center of their operations and recover some of our valuable time.
Do you remember that 70's song by Jim Croce, "Time in a Bottle"? It started, "If I could save time in a bottle the first thing that I'd like to do is to save every day till eternity passes away..." Maybe someone's doing exactly that.... only since they had trouble saving their own time, they've been taking mine and maybe yours.
Well, I for one am onto their tricks, and one day I'm going to figure out what's going on and when I do someone's going to be in big trouble and I'm going to be much younger than I am right now...
Some schools here are still out for Christmas break, but most of us had to go back to work today.
I can just imagine the enjoyment with which two teenage sisters looked forward to the day, they probably had it all planned out. Their father was going to let them have the car for the day... after they dropped him off at work, they sped away eager to get started. Perhaps they planned to go shopping, or in our 70+ weather, maybe they were going to the beach. Their plans for today no longer matter... heart-breakingly and tragically, shortly after they dropped their dad off at work, they and another young driver where all dead.
Scripture tells us in Hebrews 9:27,
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment...
This judgement is not about what we've done to save ourselves. If we could do that, Christ wouldn't have needed to come and die. It's not about giving to the poor, feeding the hungry or homeless, following tradition or rituals, nor even about being a "good person." This judgment is only about what we, as individuals, have done with the Christ.
We owe a sin debt to God (the debt of not being perfect by our choices) and a final choice.... pay the debt ourselves (we never can) or accept what Christ did on the cross as the only payment acceptable by God. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
What about you? Are you ready to meet this appointment that specifically for you someday, someplace is already scheduled? Don't you think it's going to be the most important appointment of your life? None of these 3 young people, nor their parents, had any clue, early this morning about what lay ahead for them. None of us do. Many, many, many of us put off making a decision concerning Christ till after we've done this or that; stopped this or that; or somehow became more deserving. But, it honestly doesn't work that way.
I strongly encourage you to look at scripture for yourself. Specifically:
Romans 3:10 - There is none good, no, not one...
Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death... but the free gift of God is eternal life
If you will honestly ask God to reveal the TRUTH to you He promises to do exactly that.
This is a new effort. Until recently I had a boring, static web site that I was typically too busy to mess with in order to keep it up. And when I did have time, I'd have to go to my PC, refamiliarize myself with Dreamweaver and go on from there. The times between updating it became longer and longer.... Then my son started blogging... (it's great to learn from our kids isn't it?) his site The Siberian Grinder is pretty cool... pardon the pun. Plus it has great pics of my son, two of my adorable grand kids and awesome daughter-in-law (yep, I'm blessed ;-)
There are things I really want to say, to share with others. I'm hoping that the sharing will generate a lot of discussions. I've often felt that I want to wrap up, like a present, what I've found in order to give it to other people. I can't do that of course, but I can share nonetheless. So here we go.....
First, though I have to figure out all the details of Movable Type. I researched carefully Blog options before selecting Movable Type. This is just the thing for me... an easily updatable web site, that is hopefully at a minimum thought provoking, provided by a server application that I can use from anywhere and will allow me to set up blogs for a few family members. Now to figure out how to make it more my style....