wyhr.orgWendy’s World

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants.”
~Esther de Waal, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict

Meekness is the strength to surrender.

In chapter 10 of It’s Not About Me Max Lucado writes some excellent stuff on legalism. I realize not everyone uses that term on a daily basis so let’s look up the definition. Wikitionary defines legalism as “a philosophy of focusing on the text of written law to the exclusion of the intent of law, elevating strict adherence to law over justice, mercy and common sense”. Now here is what Max Lucado writes:

“Legalism discounts God and in the process makes a mess out of us.

Legalism is joyless because legalism is endless. There is always another class to attend, person to teach, mouth to feed. Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work but never joy. How could they? They never know when they are finished. Legalism leaches joy.

Grace, however, dispenses peace…’Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines and asceticism of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs, but by the lift…’

Grace offers rest. Legalism never does. Then why do we embrace it? ‘Those who trust in themselves are foolish’ (Prov 28:26 NCV). Why do we trust in ourselves? Why do we add to God’s finished work? Might the answer include the word boast?”

Hence the title of the book It’s Not About Me.

“With life comes change.

With change comes fear, insecurity, sorrow, stress. So what do you do? Hibernate? Take no risks for fear of failing? Give no love for fear of losing? Some opt to. They hold back.

A better idea is to look up. Set your bearings on…God. For though life changes, he never does.”

~Max Lucado, It’s Not About Me

This dialogue in The Vampire Diaries caught my eye. I wanted to share. It’s about giving up and what I feel when faced with the impossible.

Stefan (vampire): “I’ve seen a lot of evil, Matt, more than you can imagine,” Stefan said. “I’ve even lived it. It’s always going to be a part of me, no matter how I fight it. Sometimes I think the whole human race is evil, much less my kind…I can’t tell you there’s a point or if things are ever going to turn out all right.” Stefan looked straight into Matt’s eyes and spoke deliberately. “But I’ve got another question for you. So what?”
Matt (human) stared. “So what?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“So what if the universe is evil and if nothing we do to try and change it can really make a difference?” Matt’s voice was gaining volume in disbelief.
“Yeah, so what?” Stefan leaned forward. “So what are you going to do, Matt, if every bad thing you’ve said is true? What are you going to do personally? Are you going to stop fighting and swim with the sharks?”
Matt was grasping the back of his chair. “What are you talking about?”
“You can do that, you know. Damon (evil vampire) says so all the time. You can join up with the evil side, the winning side. And nobody can really stop you, because the universe is that way, why shouldn’t we be that way too?”
“Like hell!” Matt exploded. His blue eyes were searing and he had half risen from his chair. “That’s Damon’s way, maybe! But just because it’s hopeless doesn’t mean it’s all right to stop fighting. Even if I knew it was hopeless, I’d still have to try. I have to try, damn it!”
“I know because I feel the same way,” Stefan continued. “There’s no excuse for giving up just because it looks like we’re going to lose. We have to try–because the other choice is surrender.”

“Someone once told me that the power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less, and he was right.

But power isn’t happiness…”
~Connor Mead, Ghost of Girlfriends Past

I read this today and thought I would share:

With a handful of Cheerios, I tip-toed across the deck in my backyard trying to sneak up on the fish in the pond… As I approached the railing, 15 enormous goldfish raced toward me, their large mouths frantically opening and closing in eager anticipation of an expected treat.

So, why did the fish so furiously flap their fins? Because my mere presence set off a conditioned response in their tiny fish brains that told them I had something special to give them.

If only we always had such a response to God and His desire to give us good gifts—a response based on our past experience with Him that flows from a deep-seated knowledge of His character.

I just don’t understand why the U.S. can not make a commitment to decrease our impact on the environment. Well I suppose we did in 2007 when President Bush committed to decrease our carbon intensity by 18% by 2012. The thing is carbon intensity is the ratio of carbon emissions produced to GDP. Critics say that the U.S. can achieve this goal by increasing GDP or decreasing carbon emissions. They’re totally right. It feels like a sneaky way to make us think we’re doing something positive.

I sure hope the U.S. proves them wrong…but I have my reservations.

If you’re interested in this topic, I just read this article on the BBC website about China making an environmental commitment (using carbon intensity).

“Growing up, everything is pushed on you,” she said. “You’re trying to be the smartest, trying to compete with everyone.

Heroin, she said, was an escape.”*

Escape is defined as getting free, freeing oneself.
Transcendence is defined as going beyond one’s self.

The two are very similar in my mind and it reminded me of what I read in The Sacred Romance. We are in fact seeking to transcend. We were made that way. We were designed with heaven in mind. We weren’t meant for this world and that’s why we constantly try to escape it via alcohol, love, food, drugs, work, sports…

It’s sad.

It’s sad because we don’t go to the only One who can curb our craving for escape, who can give us a taste of heaven. We don’t go to God and He’s the one we need.

*This quote was from a New York Times article titled Young and Suburban, and Falling for Heroin.

I know, I know. I finished this study up months ago. The thing is – there’s an epilogue. Since it was such a great study I felt compelled to complete the whole book (this is not a common occurence). I’m glad I did because I found this:

Were there but some deep, holy spell, whereby
Always I should remember thee…
Lord, see thou to it, take thou remembrance’s load:
Only when I bethink me can I cry;
Remember thou, and prick me with love’s goad.
When I can no more stir my soul to move,
And life is but the ashes of the fire;
When I can but remember that my heart
Once used to live and love, long and aspire–
Oh, be thou then the first, the one thou art;
Be thou the calling, before all answering love,
And in me wake hope, fear, and boundless desire.
~George MacDonald, Diary of an Old Soul