Monthly Archives: April 2011

Immeasurably More

It had been one of those days.  I had worked hard, but by the end of the day, I felt as though I had nothing to show for it.

 

 

I may have…

completed paperwork for a new settled case or two,

addressed a few unexpected issues on existing cases,

input new cases into the database,

reviewed draft documents in a timely manner,

answered numerous emails,

and made a significant dent in the inbox on my desk.

 

But in my assessment of the day’s productiveness, I completely overlooked all of that. Because I had barely scratched the surface of cases that I had scheduled for follow-up on that day, and several items on my “to-do” list were only halfway done.

It was almost as if because I couldn’t quantify the work I had done (by my own self-imposed and rather meaningless standards of crossing an item off an arbitrary list), then it didn’t matter.

But I tried to convince myself that although I couldn’t measure it according to my less-than-ideal standards, the clearly evident work was no less significant. . .in fact, I may have accomplished even more than I had initially planned.

And that’s when it struck me.

It’s the same with God’s love, with God’s truth, and with God Himself.

 

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power

through his Spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power,

together with all the saints, to grasp

how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you

may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV – emphasis added)

 

I can’t measure God by my less-than-ideal human standards.

But I can clearly see His evidence. . .evidence which far surpasses my expectations and imagination.

And I can know HE IS.

Measuring my productiveness on a purely list-based, quantifiable, good-for-my-resume basis doesn’t work.

Measuring God’s love and ability on my limited human basis doesn’t work either.

It will always come up short.

Because God is so. much. immeasurably. more.

The Little Things in Life…

Sometimes cereal just plain tastes better when eaten out of an orange 1940′s-style Pyrex bowl handed down from MeMaw’s kitchen.

 

Thanks to both of my grandmothers, I have several of these colorful bowls (in varying colors and sizes) taking up residence in my kitchen cabinet. And they are some of my all-time favorite dishes!

 

Yes, it’s the little things in life. . .

Kelly’s Senior Photos

Although I am currently enjoying learning about the slightly-more-technical side of photography and how to take photos that I actually like using manual settings (which most certainly includes plenty of practice), I am not a photographer.

And although sometimes I tend to post a lot of photos, this is not a photography blog.

But a couple of weeks ago, in light of a fast-approaching high school graduation, I had the opportunity to spend a Saturday afternoon with Kelly, her sister, and her mom for a “senior session”.

Kelly’s older sister, Kim, happens to be one of my dear friends from college, and (knowing that I had practically been begging for willing human subjects so I could practice my less-than-desirable exposure skills) had mentioned a while ago that if we could coordinate schedules, they would be interested in having me take Kelly’s senior photos. 

I’m pretty sure when she first mentioned it, I agreed, but under one condition similar to the following:

 

“You have to promise not to hate me if the photos are all terrible!”

 

So after she promised not to hate me and our schedules finally matched (which in and of itself is kind of a miracle), we met up for the session.  I dragged them all around the area from vacant office buildings to UNCC’s campus to a local park (where I’m still amazed that it didn’t start POURING down rain), but I don’t think they minded too much, and we all had a great time!!

Kelly, thanks again for letting me practice on you and for trusting me to take “at least a handful” of good photos!  I had a blast spending the day with all three of you!  Keep seeking the Lord with your college (and all future) plans.  He will not let you down.  Ever.

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways, acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (English Standard Version)

 

Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He Is Risen!

 

“But the angel said to the women,

‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.

Come, see the place where he lay.’”

Matthew 28:5-6 (ESV – emphasis added)

 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Forgiveness in the Ugly

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of the Son [Jesus Christ] he loves,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. . .For God

was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

and through him to reconcile to himself all things,

whether things on earth or things in heaven,

by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Galatians 1:13-14 & 19-20 (NIV)

 

Sometimes I lose perspective. Sometimes I lie to myself. Sometimes I just forget. But let it go on record that I sin.

Often.

My fleshly nature rears its ugly head in sometimes private, sometimes public, but always painful ways.

Last week, I had one such sin encounter that left me feeling utterly empty, broken, and convicted. And let me just say…

It. Was. Ugly.

As I replayed in my head a conversation (unfortunately not with myself) that had erupted from a place of intense frustration, I began to feel the weight and face the ugliness of the sin responses that I had exhibited through my words:

The sin of fear – maybe more like sheer terror

The sin of pride

The sin of self-reliance and a complete lack of trust

The sin of a desperate craving for financial security

And to make it worse, at one point in the conversation, I may have even tried to justify these responses by citing that God just wasn’t practical enough.

Ugly.

And as I continued to process the words that I had said, I knew I didn’t really believe them. I was angry. I was frustrated. I was scared. But out of those emotions, I had allowed myself to say things that didn’t reflect my core beliefs. Things that didn’t reflect who I’m striving to be. Things that didn’t at all reflect or honor the Lord.     

I lost sight of eternal perspective.

I lost sight of the gospel.

I lost sight of Christ.

All because I got lost in a moment of sin.

Ugly.

And yet, there was beautiful redemption in the midst of the ugly as the recognition of my sin served as a humbling reminder to the very core of my being of just how radically I have been transformed in Christ.

Because of His sacrifice.

Because of the cross.

Because of His victory.

Sin is horrible and ugly. MY sin is horrible and ugly.

But while my fleshly nature is displayed far too often, I’m no longer bound my sin. So I sought forgiveness and let it wash over me in a flood of relief and restoration.

And in the aftermath of the ugly, there is great peace.

Because there is Christ.

(If you’re reading from a feed reader, you may need to click over for the video.)

Five Signs of an Exam Week

This morning I completed my second exam in my second semester of Biblical Greek.

<huge sigh of relief>

And as I looked around my house this morning while making final preparations for said exam, I noted 5 out-of-the-ordinary signs indicating this week was, indeed, an exam week:

   1. I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing Greek.

   2. I haven’t made my bed for several consecutive mornings.

   3. There is laundry everywhere (clean, dirty, and questionable).

   4. I made coffee from home on a Wednesday morning.

   5. And my kitchen table has looked like this for the better part of two days:

 

 

So while it may not have been pretty, and I am in no position to even guess what kind of a grade is coming my way, I am very much looking forward to a night of blissful post-exam sleep and getting my house back in order!

Adventures on an Abandoned Farm

Not too far from my house, there’s an old run-down farmhouse situated on several acres of land that’s for sale.

Several times when I’ve driven past the property, I’ve thought (or said out loud if someone’s with me) that it looked like a fun place for a photo shoot, but I’ve never taken the time to actually stop and get a closer look at the location.

But last week, I convinced my amazing friend and roommate, B, to accompany me on an adventure to check out the property.

 

 

When we pulled up to the house around 6:30 in the evening, it looked a little rough and…well…abandoned, but we still had some daylight, and I was determined to explore. As we approached the house, several things became immediately apparent:

all of the window panes were broken,

some of the bricks of the foundation were missing,

the screened-in front porch was in need of extreme repair,

there were still curtains hanging in the windows and furniture in the house (and a TV from the 1960’s outside the house), and 

the porch door was hanging open.

Oh, and to make matters creepier, there was an old upright piano on the front porch right inside the door…

As we rounded the corner to the side of the house, I noticed that there were several sheds out back as well as a barn situated further back in the woods.

It was at this point that B may or may not have said something to the effect of: “You mean you didn’t realize there was a barn back here?”

Ha!

Okay. So maybe I wasn’t as observant as I thought…

But now that I had realized that there was indeed a barn back there, it certainly seemed like a good idea to get a closer look.

However, as we neared the barn, the following sequence of events occurred:

A rooster crowed (it was someone’s pet, but still…)

A dinosaur-sized bird flew off a tree and swooped low to the ground right behind the barn

A pile of evidence indicating unwelcome human inhabitation was noted

Sufficiently creeped out, we then heard a rustling sound in the woods, stopped just long enough to snap a couple photos of the barn, and hightailed it back into open land where in the very least we could be spotted from the road.

 

 

Then after walking around the other side of the house, we came to the general consensus that this property, while certainly interesting and full of character, may not be the best place for an extended photo shoot after all.

But it was never-the-less a fun adventure for a weeknight. . .an adventure that reminded me of just how much I love old, abandoned, run down structures and all of the stories that they are guaranteed to represent!