Psalm 73

1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.[a]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

all the time

Tertullian

Today, while I was reading Feminine Threads (which I talked about here), I came across a quote from the early church father Tertullian. I just had a share it. I've decided that I want this read at my wedding.

"How can I paint the happiness of a marriage which the church ratifies, the oblation celebration of communion confirms, the benediction seals, angels announce, the Father declares valid? Even upon earth, indeed, sons do not marry without the consent of their fathers. What a marriage that is between two believers! They have one hope, one desire, one way of life, one religion. They are brother and sister, both fellow servants, not divided in flesh or in spirit- truly 'two in one flesh,' for where is one flesh there is also one spirit. They pray together; they prostrate together; they carry out fasts together. They instruct one another and exhort one another. Side by side they are present in the church of God and at the banquet of God; they are side by side in difficulties and in consolations. Neither ever hides things from the other; neither avoids the other; neither is a grief to the other. Freely the sick are visited and the poor are sustained. Without anxiety, misgiving, or hinderance from the other, they give alms, attend the sacrifices [of the church], perform their daily duties [of piety]. They are not secretive about among the sign of the cross; they are not fearful in greetings; they are not silent in giving benedictions. They sing psalms and hymns on to the other; they challenge each other as to who better sings to God. When Christ sees and hears such things, he rejoices. He gives them his peace. Where two are together in his name, there is he, and where he is, there the evil one cannot come."

I hope you find this as beautiful and encouraging as I do! Happy Monday.

C.A.

{picture found on pinterest}

Psalm 16:11

{typographic verses}

Margaret

my little sister is so beautiful. {photo: me}

coco kinda day

I know, there's nothing special about a Wednesday but that doesn't mean you can't look nice!! I'm also not going anywhere to day. I think that one should still look you're best even if you don't have plans. You get more done when you feel pulled together. At least that's what I think.

Like Coco Chanel said "A girl should be two things: Classy and Fabulous".

Monday Exercise, Physically and Spiritually.

I have discovered the secret to having a good monday. Work out. seriously. I know it sucks to get up early and go to the gym but it's amazing how awesome I feel the rest of the day after doing that.

I got up around 6:45 this morning and was at the gym by 7:15 and on the treadmill. I got home around 8 and dove into life. After showering, making my bed, doing my morning devotions, and eating a filling breakfast (scrambled eggs and a bowl of blueberries) I was able to dive into school. I have gotten so much done today! That's the best feeling ever.

I have a hard time staying focused but after exercising in the morning and sticking to a schedule throughout the day, I am able to stay focused and get a lot done (which is very satisfying). I challenge you to do the same. You will feel amazing.

But enough about my amazing morning. Ha. I do have something specific to say, really I do.

For my Church History class I'm reading a book called Feminine Threads: Women in the Tapestry of Christian History by Diana Lynn Severance. I've only read the first chapter so far and I'm already in love. To give you an idea of what the book is about, here is the back of the book:

"From commoner to queen, the women in this book embraced the freedom and the power for he Gospel in making their unique contributions to the unfolding of history. The true story of women in Christian history inspires, challenges and demonstrates the grace of God producing much fruit throughout time."

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite passages that I found today in the first chapter with you. The beginning of the chapter talks about the women in Jesus' genealogy. It mentions how really only five are named specifically: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. It also talked about how the first three are Gentiles and three are known for their immorality.

"Tamar was a Canaanite widow who played the part of a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law Judah, compelling him to protect her and provide her with children. Rahab had been a prostitute before she came to worship the God of Israel. Ruth was a Moabitess who also came to worship the God of Israel and married into Boaz's family in Bethlehem. Bathsheba was the wife of a Hittite and committed adultery with King David, later becoming the mother of Solomon, the greatest King of Israel. Whatever social, moral, or racial stigmas these women once faced, they are part of Jesus' genealogical record. From positions of disgrace they were elevated to places of usefulness and honor." (pg. 17-18)

I love the fact that Jesus' could've chosen to be apart of a blameless, perfect Jewish line of people. But he came through a line what was defiled with women who were disgraceful at first, before worshiping God. Not only did Jesus humble himself by becoming human, he humbled himself by becoming human through a genealogy that was disgraced. That is so amazing me.

Further in the chapter, it talked about how Paul said that the married should stay married and the single stay single. This passage really struck me and was encouraging.:

"The idea that singleness could be an honorable option for women was revolutionary. Yet, logically, it made sense. Freedom to choose marriage or a single life devoted to Christ enhanced a woman's position individually, because marriage and family were no longer requirements for a woman's self-worth. All was relative to the ultimate foal of living a Christ-pleasing life. The world was passing away, and everything was less important than a life lived for Christ. Remaining single allowed one to be consumed by the things of Christ and not by the things of the world. Singleness was a gift from God as was marriage; and marriage was good, as was singleness." (pg. 29)

I feel like the statement above ^^ is, in Christian circles, often discouraged. Marriage is the "thing". But being single is just as good in God's eyes. One is not better than the other.

The last section I want to share is sort of long I know but I didn't want to paraphrase it cuz it's just so good.

"Many in the twenty-first century are offended by Paul's instructions concerning the place of women in the Church. Some say Paul is simply conforming to his culture by suppressing women and not giving them authority in the Church. This is hardly consistent with Paul's personal, working relationship with women and his earlier statements of the woman's spiritual equality and her godly submission to her husband. By grasping at authority and position for women in the Church, many fail to realize that in Christianity , the position of a humble servant- washing the saints' feet as Jesus did- is the highest position... As Eve in the Garden focused on the fruit of the one tree she was forbidden to eat, so many who claim women should be priests and ordained ministers focus on the Scripture's prohibition of women assuming authority over men. In doing so they ignore or demean the numerous roles and positions of ministry for women in the New Testament, including ministries of showing hospitality, fellow-laboring as missionaries, instructing other women, evangelizing and sharing the Word with others, teaching children, and help;ing those in need and distress. In these ministries of serving others, women in the earliest churches set a pattern and examples followed by Christian women in ensuing centuries of the Church." (pg. 36)

The main thing I realized from this chapter that I had never really noticed before is the fact that women were just as involved in the early church ministry as the apostles and men were. They were just as much missionaries as women now are. God was using women in the expansion plan in the beginning just as He is now. How Cool!! I'm so blown away by what these early Christian women did. I can't wait to see what the rest of this book holds! You can be sure that if anything else pops out at me, like these passages did, that I'll share them.

I hope you had a marvelous Monday, even though it is a Monday.

God Bless,

C.A.

jeremiah 33:3

{this is the chalkboard right outside my room}

peace

I think it's finally winter here in Lancaster. The weather has been awful, Super windy and cold. But it snowed last night! It looks so lovely. God has blanketed us with peace today. Iloveit.

{photo: andrewandcarissa}

the Esther paradox

"The great paradox of Esther is that God is omnipotently present even where God is most conspicuously absent. Jesus' last words were 'Go and make disciples of all nations... And surly I am with you always, to the very end of the age' (Matthew 28:19-20). And then, ironically, he left! Nevertheless, our Lord is omnipotently present even where he is most conspicuously absent."

-Karen H. Jobe.

{I think this can be said of now as well as in Esther's time}

happiness to crown you

"God has in himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you." -Thomas Brooks

food

{photo by me. click it and it will enlarge.}

"OMG, are you the girl from Harry Potter?" [Emma Watson]

{this video just makes me very happy. Emma is such a beautiful person!}

Twenty Freaking Twelve

Happy New Years!! I cannot believe it's 2012. I felt like this year would never come!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday (I know I did, maybe I'll post pictures..) Do you have any New Year's Resolutions? Mine are above.

May God Bless you Richly this Year!!

xoxo