haters gonna hate

It is true. There are people in our lives who love to hate. They love to hate what we love. They love to hate what we say. They love to hate what we do. And most of all they love to hate who we are. They love to hate the expression of Truth because the lies still bind them in darkness.

Let us not be haters. Let us be lovers. Let us be lovers who love the haters. Let us be lovers who feast only on Truth. Let us be lovers of the One True God who speaks only Truth because He cannot abide the lies of sin and death.

Let us love so big, so deep, and so wide that the haters can no longer deny the glory and goodness of the Truth. Let us love so big, so deep, and so wide that the haters become lovers, transformed by blood soaked Truth and Grace.

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remember you are dust

Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

How easy it is to forget we are dust.

How easy it is, with warm bodies, full stomachs, and money in the bank to forget we are dust.

How easy it is to mindlessly nod along as the pastor exhorts us to remember our position were it not for Christ’s intercession.

How easy it is to go through the motions of acknowledging sin and accepting grace without actually doing so.

If it is difficult to remember we are dust, and to dust we shall return, then it becomes exponentially more difficult when, after the sign of the cross is brushed onto foreheads in ashes and oil, we are told to turn from sin and be faithful to Jesus.

I'm posting over at Deeper Story today, head over there to read the rest of this post.

suffer one another

It is easy to fight with each other. It is easy to read between the lines of the written word, regardless of its length, and imagine there is more or worse being said, imagine there is more or worse implied than the words have communicated.

It is easy, reading words on screen or page, to condemn the author of the tweet, blog, Facebook post, or book. They are not next to you or to me as we seethe with fury and religiosity, unable to believe another Christian could hold that position, could say those things, could do those things, and still call him or herself a person of True Faith.

It is easy to believe that our own positions, our own opinions, regardless of how well researched they are, are correct.

It is easy to draw a line and declare us versus them. It is written into our history, as Adam distanced himself from his wife, declaring she was the one who suggested they eat the forbidden fruit, and as Eve distanced herself from the serpent, declaring it was the one to blame.

It is easy to declare that you and I are not those kinds of Christians. It is easy to distance ourselves from those with whom we disagree.

But.

This post is part of the At the Lord's Table series that Preston is doing over on his blog. You can read the rest of it there.

worth reading—02.10.12

I could tweet a million different times so you could see all these amazing posts. Or I could just do what I used to do and compile a list.

Y'all. I am such a bad blogger lately. I know. Insert excuses about seminary and my internship and work and friends and, and, and. Instead of excuses I will offer up what I have been reading and loving lately.*

• Tindell Baldwin's blog [from back in December] about commitment love is beautiful. It speaks of love that is founded on commitment, it speaks of love that never fails, not because of feelings because feelings can, do, and will fail. But to have two people of faith who are committed to each other, and committed to their commitment to one another, that is commitment love.
• If you're not already reading / following The Good Women Project, stop what you are doing and go do that. Right now. Seriously. Their most recent post, "You are OK, But It's Not OK" is AMAZING. I'm not going to say anything else in hopes that will convince you to go read it.
• Are you reading Preston Yancey yet? WHY NOT?? Also one of my favorites, he is talented, has a big, full heart that longs to love and serve the Lord, and he's just pretty legit all around. He is doing a series called "At the Lord's Table: A Blog Conversation" and it is amazing. Go. Read it. Dream big about the Church.
• Have you heard of Wyatt and Winn? I hadn't either. I found them through the Good Women Project, and immediately fell in love after reading this post. The love and friendship makes my heart ache in the best of ways. I think it will do the same for yours.
• This next person is so dear to me. We lived in the same city for such a short time, but in that short time we became friends, bonding over writing, Lady Gaga, and the desire to hear truth spoken boldly into dark places. I don't know that I would still be writing if it weren't for her. Please read any and everything that my dear friend Nish has ever read. And if you don't agree with her politics or her parenting, get over yourself and realize that she's hilarious and isn't trying to make you believe or do what she does. She is just being honest, and the world could use a little more of that.
• Lauren's most recent post, "You Can't" is honest and true. Her heart to see others freed from the lies that keep us from Christ is inspiring and just one of the many things that makes her a beautiful human being.
• Lastly, and this one is going to cost you, go to iTunes and buy anything that Max Dubinsky has ever written. It won't cost you more than $0.99. His book of short stories, We Can't Go Home Again is...incredible. I don't like reading short stories. I never have. And then I read Max's book. I don't know that I will ever like short stories, but I will always read what Max writes. He's also recently edited and published the first short story he wrote. You can download it for the bargain price of only $0.99. And, really, you should.

Well, there you have it. When I'm not reading textbooks, I am reading these people and their blogs. Or, apparently I am taking pictures of myself studying. Ahh, the life of a seminarian.

*I am still posting monthly at Deeper Story, and am hopeful that writing more for class will encourage more writing here. And thank you for reading me and my sporadic thoughts.

it is about us

So often I think it is about me. About us. About women.

Probably because I am one.

I think of our broken hearts, shredded and lonely, waiting and wondering if anything but Christ and loneliness will ever live here.

I think of tears cried in the darkness and at empty kitchen tables, and smiles forced over cups of coffee pretending stories of others’ togetherness are simply a source of joy.

I think of how it feels to wonder who and to wonder why and to wonder why no one ever just asks, because you never know unless you ask.

But I rarely consider the responsibility you bear, brother.

I rarely think of what it must be like to be the one to ask the question, to make the first move, as your broken, lonely, shredded heart beats a bit faster as you wonder what she will say.

I rarely think of what it must like to face the choice of relationship instead of independence, to choose to love another as Christ loves the Church. For the rest of your collective time on this earth.

Brother, that must be so daunting.

I do not know if I could handle that responsibility.

Of course I have my own responsibility to bear in that same agreement, for the rest of our collective time on this earth.

But, brother, I rarely consider your side.

I rarely wonder what you think or feel late at night in the darkness or at empty kitchen tables or over cups of coffee, or perhaps for you it is pints of beer and cigars.

Brother, I am sorry for thinking it is just me, it is just us, just women.

It is about us, men and women, with hearts on the mend, waiting and wondering if anything but Christ and loneliness will ever live here.

This post is also featured today on Good Women Project. Please take a second to check out their site.