Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?

God is the giver and sustainer of all life, and as Christians we enjoy liberty or freedom in Christ. But, are we to pursue happiness? Our pastor always says, “God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness.”

A quick search of the words ‘happy’ or ‘happiness’ in the NKJV Bible produces just 24 results, whereas searching ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’ produces 610 results. Scriptures have much to say on God’s holiness, but the Bible also call us to “be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15).

It is so easy to focus on being "happy." We buy this or that to fill some void and think it will make us happy, we can't wait until we are married because then we will be happy, or when we have kids, or when they move out, etc. Our constant striving to find this elusive happiness leads to discontentment. It also causes us to miss out of the joy and blessings we have today, because we are looking toward tomorrow.

We should be focused on Christ and His word and pursuing holiness with the same zeal we strive to find happiness. As we come to know Him more fully we find true, lasting, joy and not a passing feeling of happiness.

Are you striving toward holiness or always chasing elusive happiness?

Potpourri Friday-Grab a tissue!

Not much makes me cry--this did!
A story of the love between two brothers, one with a severe disability, and the other who shows great compassion. Watch the short video (here)--it is well worth your time.

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow!

The Purpose Driven Wife

Man’s purpose in this life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.1). What does it mean to “glorify God”? How do we “enjoy Him”? 

For starters, by glorifying God we are not adding to Him anything, as if He was lacking in something and needed it from us. We glorify God when we praise and worship Him for who He is. We bring glory to Him when we live a life that points others to Him. Everything we do, big or small, must be done with this purpose in mind.

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)

By glorifying God, we are able to enjoy Him, both in this life and in the one to come (forever). We now enjoy spiritual communion with God as we enter into His presence in worship. When we glorify God in our lives, we are able to fully enjoy Him and the many blessings He provides.

“In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” - C.S. Lewis

We should filter all our actions and choices through this filter: “Will God be glorified in this choice? Will doing this (or not doing this) cause me to enjoy Him more?”

Glorifying God and enjoying Him forever is the real purpose-driven life.

Oh, Look, A Shiny Thing

We live in a day and age with fast food, microwave ovens and 200+ channels at our fingertips. Our world is constantly on the go…and so are our minds. We are easily distracted and always wanting to be entertained. Our minds are repeatedly bombarded with one image after another in rapid succession. It’s no wonder why quiet time seems like a relic from the past.  Every second or every day we have the entire sum of all human knowledge available on the internet. Constantly checking our email, Twitter and Facebook accounts, receiving phone calls on our cell phones no matter where we are. We spend so much of our time “connected” to the world around us.

There are times when I feel like there are 1,001 things running through my mind at once (I know most men think only one thing at a time, but all the women out there know what I am talking about!). I sit somewhere to spend some time in prayer, and it goes something like this….

“Dear, Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. May Your name be glorified….oh, I better start the laundry…right, praying….quiet my heart Lord….yes, that’s right, I forgot to take the roast out of the freezer….” You get the idea.

It took practice to learn how to use all the gadgets we carry around with us, and it takes practice to learn how to spend quality, uninterrupted, quiet time with the Lord in prayer. The refreshing, renewing and communion that comes from such quiet time with the Lord is a precious gift, and a necessity for our daily strength and focus. This is something I am making a priority each day. I start my morning away from technology, to study God’s word and pray. It helps keep me focused on Christ and keeps my mind calmer throughout the day.

How much time each day do you spend connected to friends, family and the world with messaging, calling, tweeting, etc.? How much time each day do you spend “connected” to God in prayer?

Have a great day! I have got to get back to...now, what was I doing?

Fitting the Pieces Together

This past year I put together the largest jigsaw puzzle I have ever done- 3,000 black, grey and white pieces of Picasso’s Guernica. It was more challenging than expected, and took a very long time. When it was finished, I couldn’t bear to take it apart, so we glued it, and framed it, and hung it on my son’s bedroom wall (It has since traveled off to college with him). At the end of the whole process, I could stand back and appreciate the art; in the midst of putting it together, however, all I saw was black and white and grey. There were just hours and hours of matching shade variances, looking for matching lines and patterns, and testing to see if pieces fit together. At times, I didn’t want to continue (I am way too OCD to stop in the middle though!); I didn’t want to look for one more piece. Adding to the difficulty of the puzzle, as if the sheer number of pieces wasn’t daunting enough, is the fact that all the pieces were virtually the same size and basic shape! Some puzzles provide such random sizes and crazy shapes that putting it together seems easy. In the end, I was rewarded with a nice conversation piece, and my son has something to look at in his dorm besides white cinder block walls.

Over the last few months, I have become a medical jigsaw puzzle. I have had new symptoms that didn’t fit any specific, common diagnosis. I have undergone more tests than I care to remember. Just like putting together the Guernica puzzle, it was difficult at times to focus on the bigger picture-the finished product. Both my doctor and I had to take a step back at times and get a glimpse of the larger puzzle and stop comparing lines, colors and sizes. I am thankful that we live so near Chicago and have access to great hospitals. I am grateful that I have a doctor who enjoys putting together puzzles as much as I do. He wasn’t willing to quit in the middle either. He asked for help from colleagues to complete the whole puzzle (now would be a good time to give thanks to my daughter, whom I mercilessly begged to help me finish my Picasso puzzle-love you girly!).

Hopefully, by the end of the week, the “puzzle” will be put together and finally finished; and I will be updating you with some answers (Lord willing). In the meantime, are there any “puzzles” in your life that you feel like giving up on? Do you get bogged down in the details and forget you are working on a masterpiece?

Hospital Gowns and the Righteousness of Christ

I have had my share of doctor’s appointments, tests and ER visits. One thing that never changes is the fact that I don’t like putting on hospital gowns. No matter how many times I wear one, I still feel exposed. Do you know the feeling? Sitting there constantly checking that you are fully covered. Feeling vulnerable, insecure and self-conscience.

Many times I have been asked to go into the women’s locker room area of a hospital radiology department and put on a gown, then go sit in the separate waiting area until my name is called. You walk towards the waiting area, checking and rechecking that you are fully covered. You pull, yank, and adjust the gown as you sit and check again that the slightest movement didn’t uncover your most private areas.  Each person sits in the waiting area, no one speaks, no one makes much eye contact, everyone clutching their gown as if their life depended on it, and yet no feeling of security is to be found.

Romans 13:14 tells us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and Philippians 3:9 states that we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, not our own. When we have genuine faith in Christ as Lord, we are clothed in His righteousness. Unlike the hospital gown, His righteousness does not leave us exposed. God looks at us, and instead of our sinfulness and filthy rags, He sees the righteousness of Christ. We do not need to feel insecure and vulnerable. We can sit in the “waiting room” of this life fully assured that when our name is called, we can stand before God on judgment day fully covered.

Are you “fully clothed” in Christ’s righteousness, or are you constantly grasping at a thin gown to try and cover yourself?  

Choose Your Own Ending

When my kids were younger, they loved those mystery books where you choose your own ending. They got hours of enjoyment out of them, since the story could be different every time. On this Lord’s day, I decided, in an effort to get some of my readers commenting, I would try a similar thing. (I know somebody is reading, so won’t you leave a comment below? It’s easy!)

My husband and I are spending the day in Iowa visiting a sister church, and hopefully getting to meet some new brothers and sisters in Christ, while encourage a friend of ours who pastors there.

Do you have any special plans today? How does your family spend the Lord ’s Day? What is your favorite part of the day? Now is the chance to “write your own ending” to my blog!

Today, I am going to....