CIM in Our Life Blog
Tue Jul 10, 2007
Mucky Stupid Swamps and Why I Want to Freeze Sometimes
Written by: Molly
The widow’s mite in Luke 21 tells us we aren’t being measured by outward measuring sticks when God looks at us. If we are to be like God, the obvious conclusion would be that we aren’t to measure in outward ways either. Which is a careful thing. Because on the one hand, we are reminded to “know them by their fruit.” On the other hand, “with what measure ye judge, ye will be judged by that same measure.”
We can look at various camps and see most of them falling on either side of the tension. I’ve been in both, and I bet that’s probably true for many of you. There was a time I was in the middle of a view that can be best described as, “Stop judging and just accept (whatever, whenever, man),” but found that I couldn’t square that view with the whole of the Book.
Then I spent some years ”correcting” that error by leaning over to the other end of the spectrum, where everything is measured on what can be outwardly seen (whether it’s clothing styles or certain terminology or parenting philosophies or whatever that particular group holds up to be the “true test” of faith).
In getting out of one quagmire, I fell into another.
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Fri Jun 08, 2007
Quiet Time
Written by: Stephanie
It was a breezy summer afternoon. My two young children were tucked away in their rooms for “break” time. I, too, needed some quiet time, and was all ready with my books, journal, and cup of hot tea. My plan for this particular afternoon was to take my break outside, relaxing on the chaise longue. It had rained heavily the night before, so the weather was perfect; warm but not hot, sunny with the occasional fluffy cloud and a refreshing breeze.
I wanted to sit on the patio directly outside our back door so I could hear the kids if they needed anything. The chaise longue had been sitting on the deck near the pool, so I walked up the stairs to get it. Not thinking about the torrential downpour that had occurred the night before, I picked up the longue and hugged it to my left side. Immediately I felt cool water rushing down my side, over my hip and down my leg. Water had been trapped in the pipe-like frame of the longue, and when I lifted it up, the water splashed onto me and the deck, creating a puddle of rusty green water. The water gave off a slight odor, as did my sweater and skirt.
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Thu May 24, 2007
Big Round Living
Written By: Molly
God is always comforting but never comfortable. — C.S. Lewis
How is it that with God, I always feel like He is enough, but that where I’m at on the trail is not?
Is this partly a product of a modern mind—thinking in terms of starting and stopping points, of linear projects with linear completions—setting itself up for failure? I catch myself thinking in terms of locations on a map, whereas I have a feeling the Shepherd’s thinking more like, “Are you following Me or are you not?”
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Wed May 09, 2007
Jesus is Lord
Today, I am sitting in an empty classroom, sipping on some water and eating an apple. I decided not to give my students an exam, but there is a rule in our university that we must still remain in the classroom for the entire two hour exam period. As i have been sitting here, I have been reflecting on the past semester and how many times and ways God has blessed me. I have an amazing wife, a great apartment, a great family, friends, a career outlook that looks promising, and of course, health coverage - It does not sound all that glamorous, but take it from someone that has not had it most of the last ten years - it is a huge blessing! However, that is just the beginning. I have a fully stocked fridge, clean drinking water, electricity, indoor plumbing, a car, a computer, and many, many more things! And i fully realize that because of all of this it puts me in the top .01 percent of the world as far as wealth, if not higher. I am humbled and greatful just thinking about it.
I think one of the strangest things about all these blessings is that I am not thankful every minute of every day of my life. Matter of fact, i find it quite astounding that I do not thank God with every breath I take. But, my heart often falls into sin and selfishness, and many, many days I am not thankful. So, i am extremely thankful for this quiet two hours to sit back and reflect. More specifically, i would like to reflect more on the role that God plays in my everyday life. Or, as David would say in the Psalms: "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me" (Psalm 3:5) and "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." (Psalm 9:1,2)
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Tue May 08, 2007
Greetings, Y'all
My thanks to Nate and Jeff for the invitation to join this little blogging cadre! I'm looking forward to joining folks in the conversation here as we talk about issues of faith and justice. I've been blogging now for just a few years. I began posting missives to the blogosphere initially as a way to connect with the younger members of my church, but soon found that it helped me with my own writing. It also really refined my thinking theologically, because to express a thought publically requires the ability to articulate the underlying reasons for that thought. Well, it should, anyway.
I'll try to add a post a week here, but I also post daily at www.xanga.com/Beloved_Spear
Further up and further in!
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Fri May 04, 2007
Identity
I have met people recently that are in darkness. They are how I used to be.
I used to find my identity in things like drugs, music, intimacy with the opposite sex, and dancing. Something I realized last night was that I am not independent. Everytime I say "I am me" or "I am independent" I'm already causing myself to have a relationship with something outside of myself. I'm relating to the sentences, to the concepts, to the language.
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Sun Apr 29, 2007
Getting God all Wrong
Guest Writer: Molly
Through a variety of different means, I have found myself mulling over what it means to walk in the Spirit. As New Testament Believers, am I to expect God to speak to me in each and every situation—regarding the details, regarding answers for my questions about what I’m supposed to decide about this or that real-world option, this or that time-and-space choice?
I think a compilation of charismatic-ism (God speaks and He speaks all the time) and Calvinism (God is intimately involved in every single thing that happens, planning it, causing it, using it), whether properly comprehended or misapplied (or maybe a mix of both) have conspired to make me feel like I’m going crazy sometimes.
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Mon Apr 23, 2007
Reconnecting the Social Gospel and Personal Salvation
Recently I had the opportunity to go to Pittsburgh and feed a meal to approximately 150 homeless people. Each time that I do this, I realize that it is an extremely rich experience that makes me understand the importance of the social gospel and the role that it plays in my personal relationship with Christ. In other words, I do not seek justice and care for those in need to earn salvation, but because the Lord has loved me, I seek to love others in the same manner that He has loved me. For me, a personal relationship with Christ and the social gospel are both parts of my being "a new being in Christ" and cannot be separated. At the end of the night in Pittsburgh I realized that the people that I served have done more for me, then I could ever do for them.
I think that for many people the social gospel and the Doctrine of Personal Salvation now seem antithetical, but for much of history, for many Christians, they were one and the same. Of course this was not the case for everyone, but for the overall majority - a person that personally dedicated their life to Christ through faith alone, became a new person in Christ, and longed to “imitate” Him through bearing good fruit and performing good works.
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Thu Apr 19, 2007
Mother Love
Written By: Stephanie
The final push…blood, sweat, and tears. My daughter entered the world squishy-faced, eyes half-opened. Her cry bounced off sterile hospital walls. I was in another world…what just happened to me, to my body, my life?
Everything I believed about motherhood was wrong. My daughter didn’t look like those peachy babies you see in magazines. She was wrinkled. Red. Screaming. I loved her, but I was scared of what her presence meant for me. The love I felt was like none I had ever known. It was a deep ocean inside me, I knew then I would never reach the bottom. A deep ocean, but also a deep gash. My old life had been sacrificed; I was no longer singing this song by myself. The tension of grieving my old life and wanting to give my all to my child was almost unbearable. My heart was permantly tied to this wrinkly red bundle of possibilites. I felt the pain of her present and future suffering, powerless stop it.
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Mon Apr 09, 2007
Giving Thanks for Other Christians
I have recently been reading through Ephesians and it has really affected me. It has made me think about being thankful for all of God's gifts and also to be thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ. I often find myself very thankful for His gifts, but am regularly very critical of my fellow brothers and sisters (especially those I deem hypocritical). It is something that I need to continue to work on and I pray that someday it will flow through me more naturally and regularly. Here are some of the passages that I have been reading in order to regain focus:
13 Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. 15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
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