Category: Life

“Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast”

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Here are the beautiful words to one of Charles Wesley’s hymns, I don’t know the hymn, but the words are touching, and so rich.  I’ve been reading through a book for the past year or so, divided into 52 weeks with different Wesleyan meditations.  Each lesson includes a different hymn by Charles Wesley; this is one I recently read, then discovered again today, and was touched.

This is the book here, if you are interested, “A Life Shaping Prayer”.

Come, sinners, to the gospel feast;
let every soul be Jesu’s guest;
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bid all humankind.

Sent by my Lord, on you I call;
the invitation is to all:
Come, all the world; come, sinner, thou!
All things in Christ are ready now.

Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed,
Ye restless wanderers after rest,
Ye poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.

This is the time: no more delay!
This is the Lord’s accepted day;
Come thou, this moment, at his call,
And live for him who died for all!

someday

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someday everything will start making sense
the fog will clear
and the sun will shine brightly again

someday i’ll stop questioning all that’s right in front of me
and have a reason to trust again
to start to trust you

someday i won’t be blinded by fears
i’ll start to run again
like there was nothing holding me back

someday i’ll throw off these chains i keep clinging to
and realize i’m much, much faster
without them

someday i’ll be able to scream and yell
and tell you exactly what i keep wanting to say
that i love you and hate you all at the same time

someday i’ll be totally honest to everyone
instead of lying to myself
and anyone who looks into my eyes

someday it won’t matter anymore
because you’ll already know what i’m going to say
before i even say it

someday i’ll learn to trust
someday i’ll actually be loved
someday i’ll really, really live

but probably without you.

i know

Meridith2 Comments

It’s been a while.  I can’t believe I’ll admit this on cyberspace, but previously, at my place of employment, wordpress was unblocked, so some of my posts (and ideas for posts) came while I was at work.  That’s all changed now.  It’s blocked.

At work is usually the time I have to sit and think about serious theological issues, or life.

Now, I’m at home, contemplating life.  Decisions.  Why things are the way they are.

Some of you, blogging was a great way for me to stay in touch with you all, but seems many of us have fallen off the blog train.  Come on people!!

Well, it’s February 21st.  I’m looking so forward to Spring, you have no idea.  I can’t wait for the days to be longer, to run every single day (and actually WANT to run), dream, laugh, run through fields of grass…. okay maybe not that, since those of you who know me well know I get the WORST allergies in the spring that seem to last forever.

We head back to Nicaragua in seriously just a few short weeks… 3 weeks I think?  I’m getting more excited about it, much more than our first trip.  Nicaragua isn’t the first place I’d choose to go on a missions trip, but I’m learning to see God’s heart in it all, and to embrace the fact that something that’s been really close to my heart is again apart of my life… travel, people, culture.  I’m blessed.

Well, this blog was really just to tell you all I’m still alive, if anyone still reads.

Blessings.

prepare the way

MeridithLeave a comment

Prepare the way for the LORD.
A voice.  In the wilderness.
Calling.  Shouting.
PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD!

 

I was reading in Isaiah 40 this morning, actually, I was reading at first in Luke 3, then refrenced back to Isaiah 40… the prophecy of John preaching in the wilderness.

John’s central message was preparation, but part of that preparation was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”.

The Season of Advent has finished, and we are now in the Season of Christmas.  The central theme of Advent is looking at Christ’s first coming, but looking forward to his second coming is also another theme that is often overlooked or missed.  This morning, I was struck with a question I hadn’t really thought about before…. what does it mean for US to prepare the way of the LORD?  For his second-coming?

Verse 5 in Isaiah 40 talks about the Glory of the LORD being revealed and says, “all people will see it together” in NIV, in another translation it says “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”.  I still can’t help but think of the second-coming of Christ in this statement.  All people saw the salvation of God in the face of Jesus Christ, but when he comes again, we will ALL see with our own eyes what we’ve lived out in faith.  It also made me think of 1 Corinthians 13, the latter part of the chapter, verse 12,it says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known…”.

Soon we will see it all together.  The Glory of God.  Revealed.  The fulfillment of our faith and salvation in the face, body, and death of Jesus Christ, and in his return for us.  What do you think, what does it look like for us to help prepare the way for the LORD today?

I think Matthew 28:18-20 gives us just a small glimpse of our duty and role

Repentance, Forgiveness, Baptism… same message still today!

Standing by the Cross

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I just love this song… the picture of being so close to the cross, and really understanding the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross.  I especially think more about the cross as we approach Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas.

We have so much to be thankful for, I’m amazed at his mercy and grace, new every morning.


Sweet the moments, rich in blessing
Which before the cross I spend
Life and health and peace possessing
From the sinners only Friend

Here I’ll rest forever viewing
Mercy poured in streams of blood
Precious drops my soul bedewing
Plead and claim my peace with God

Standing by the cross
The cross of Calvary
Looking up to my sweet Jesus
Mercy given full and free

Truly blessed is the station
Low before His cross to lie
While I see divine compassion
Beaming in his gracious eye

Here I feel my sins forgiven
While upon the Lamb I gaze
And my thoughts are all of heaven
And my lips overflow with praise

Standing by the cross
The Cross of Calvary
Looking up to my sweet Jesus
Mercy given full and free

the blinker

Meridith1 Comment

the blinker loudly sounds, filling the silence
drip, drop, drip, drop
again the rains have come
again i am taken back

taken back to a place i’ve known
a place i’ve long been
in the silence, a familiar sound rings
reflection, honesty, hope, alone

the days grow colder, along with my heart
the daylight comes and goes so quickly
wishing to be warm again
wishing to see the sun again

wanting to love during the season of transition
hoping to open my heart soon
to be filled with love during the orange
then during the red and green and blue season
maybe forever

long lost hope during the time
smiles, hugs, warmth, fire, family, love
where is my hope?
where is my chance to love?

not yet, not now, not yet, not now
seems like the answer has always been
alone, Alone, ALone, ALOne, ALONe, ALONE
the silence screams

yet a morsel of hope remains
it just won’t seem to leave
maybe this year
maybe this fall
maybe this time
my thoughts race

then the loud silence is filled
with a blinker
now the car is turning
now it is silent again

maybe.

some sweet stuff

Meridith1 Comment

Check out our weekly eConnect newsletter for church… written this week by yours truly!

If you want to see some of my intense running pictures:

http://racephotos.net/PhotoDetails.asp?nPhotoID=1029249&sReturnKey=R:744074

http://racephotos.net/PhotoDetails.asp?nPhotoID=1001022&sReturnKey=R:744074#order

And the finish: http://racephotos.net/PhotoDetails.asp?nPhotoID=982422&sReturnKey=R:744074

Have a good weekend folks!

Marathon diaries: “week zero”

MeridithLeave a comment

According to my training, this is the hardest week, because I am forced to rest.  So true.  All I want to do is run actually… what kind of a sick addiction is this??  I just ran 26.2 miles on Sunday!!

I’m still sore, and still discovering weird marks and bruises on my body.  The human body and mind was created to do crazy, seemingly impossible things.  I remember when I first began running several years ago, I could hardly muster to jog a mile without getting out of breath and tired.  I still can’t believe  I ran 26.2.

My heart is quiet today.  Thinking about many things.  I’m sitting here in my office, probably should be doing other things, but I’m very pensive today, needing space.  Needing air to breathe.  Speaking of, I really need a plant in my office, a big one.  And I also need to go see a dentist, my teeth are being weird.  Wow, random.

There’s a lot I could say about Marathon weekend.  Many unexpected things, many expected things.  The rain was one of the unexpected-expected things.  This will be only the 3rd time in 39 years that it’s rained during the Portland Marathon, which is odd, considering it’s Portland, and it’s October.  Strange.  It was refreshing though, made the experience even more intense and hard-core I suppose.

I think this peace and calm I feel today is just what I needed.  After the marathon, I felt really restless, anxious, and wondering what was going on.  Running for over 5 hours is crazy… actually your body goes into fight or flight mode without food for that long, and because levels of cortisol are raised in the body.. the stress hormone.  Weird, the body is weird.

There are so many spiritual parallels with running, it’s crazy.  This journey has definitely been a spiritual journey just as much as physical. Training the body to do unimaginable things.  Training the heart and human will to follow the Spirit.  Both difficult to do.  I’ll spare you from all that now.

For now.  Work.  Later, first run since Sunday!  Yes!!! 😉

Worship through nature

Meridith1 Comment

I’ve been studying Church History for the past few weeks, and digging deeper into the Church Fathers’ ideas about worship.  Part of what has really intrigued me is the idea that things such as Baptism and the Eucharist were mediums through which God could (and can) be experienced.  Worship not of water, food, or nature, but experiencing God through these things.  Sometimes as evangelical Christians we are afraid to experience this, because we don’t want it to appear that we are actually worshipping the sky, or trees, or that the experience of being baptized in water that we worship the act of baptism.

Note: I’m not writing this blog to spark up a theological debate… just FYI.

Anyway, I LOVE Fall.  There is something so magical and mysterious about the changing of seasons anyway, and that combined with the nights growing cooler, the rain coming back, and harvest, it just captures me.  The other day, it was overcast and rainy, and all I could do was sit in my room and stare outside, because it was so beautiful.  Fall is one of the things I missed when I was in Thailand, and last year, to experience Fall again was one of the greatest gifts.

The next few months are my favorite of the year.  Watching football (High school football… I seriously could care less about watching college or pro… sorry), drinking Starbucks, reading, warm socks, playing outside… I love it all.

Anyway, some of my favorite hymns to sing just remind me of harvest and fall time, in fact, they are hard for me to sing any other time of the year…. two I can think of right now are “All Creatures of Our God and King”, and “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty the King of Creation”.  Both are rich in imagery about creation, and seeing God in creation.  Creation being a medium through which we can experience and worship God.

The text of these songs is beautiful, but the music that accompanies is also stunning.  God has created this world, his finger-prints are all around us, yet we complain about the weather, and often times don’t stop to notice the small things.  Seems crazy, but somehow running has taught me to notice those small things.  Last Saturday, I ran 20 miles in mist, rain, and some fog, but it was incredible.  When I left for my run it was eerie, but so beautiful at the same time, looking out on a sleepy world, and getting completely drenched as I ran for 3 and a half hours.  Yes.  It’s true.  (That experience is a blog in and of itself!).

The Psalms are full of examples of seeing God in creation, and worshiping HIM.. not the creation of course.  This concept is very biblical… here are a few verses… Psalm 24:1-2, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon rivers.”  Psalm 19:1, “The havens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork…”.  The book of Job also is full of the worship of God in creation, and the acknowledgment that God is in control of the elements, in chapters 38 and forward, God lists out the ways he’s involved in all creation, and that creation is at his command.  Personally, I think as a culture and society, we’re pulled away from the connection of God and creation because we are not as aware (and dependent) on farming, and harvest.  Instead many live off processed and packaged food and don’t see the necessity (or value) or fresh, farmed food.  In the Bible, we can see the dependence people had on God blessing the harvest, and being in control of the weather, simply because people were dependent on the land producing food…to live!!  It was their livelihood (this is another blog, research paper, or doctoral thesis…).

Anyway.  Read the words of this hymn.  Let it sink in.  It’s so beautiful.  And of course listen to David Crowder’s version of it… it’s amazing.  We’re doing this on Sunday… with my friend Leila playing fiddle… it’s going to be amazing, like the unfolding of a letter… word by word, sentence by sentence.  Unfolding beauty and grace all in one.

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Oh, praise Him!  Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
Oh, praise Him!  Oh, praise Him!
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along
Oh, praise Him, Alleluia!
Thou rising moon in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening find a voice
Oh, praise Him!  Oh, praise Him!
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Let all things their creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
Oh, praise Him!  Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father praise the Son
And praise the Spirit three in one
Oh, praise Him!  Oh, praise Him!
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Fridays and Peanut Butter M&Ms

MeridithLeave a comment

Well hello there my faithful readers.  Apparently I’m making up for not blogging much over the past few months.. purging of the mind and soul I guess.

What is it about Fridays???  They always are SO SLOW!  I don’t know what the deal is.. some kind of conspiracy probably.  I have a few things on my to-do list today, but for some reason, I’m blogging now.  While eating peanut butter m&ms.. at 10:30 am no less.

I’ve been injured this week, so haven’t run much.  Last Saturday, upon completing 16 miles, as soon as I stopped running my knee started throbbing in pain.  I stretched and rested the remainder of the day, and limped around Sunday and Monday, deciding I needed a couple days off.  Tuesday, I slipped on my running shoes, and as soon as I took two steps, my knee began to scream at me.  Wednesday I ran a mile, then turned back and walked home.. I couldn’t do 8 in that kind of pain.  Last night I decided on a short bike ride after worship practice, at 9:30 PM (probably not the best decision.. kind of like the time I ran in a thunderstorm a couple weeks ago).  I did a couple miles, and so far so good on my knee.  My crazy marathon-runner-friend Suzanne was telling me today about doing water running…. humm, I’ll have to think on that one.  Or maybe tomorrow I’ll just do a longer bike ride.  We’ll see.  Yoga and a potential massage might be just what I need too.

Alright.  Now organic almonds with M&ms.  Taste and see that the Lord is good.

So I’ve been thinking a lot, about a lot lately.. which isn’t new.  You who know me well know I think a lot.  It’s interesting how God intervenes in our lives in the strangest ways.  Sometimes we think he’s leading us one way, sometimes we wonder where he is, sometimes we ask more questions than we thought possible…sometimes at the end of the day, all we can do is just sit in his presence and keep saying “I trust you Lord”, “I trust you Lord”, even when it hurts to say it.

I was reminded today of that glorious day… when we will see Jesus face to face… in heaven one day. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.  And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’… I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment…”. (from Revelation 21…).

No guarantees are given for an easy life.  I think about my friend Lisa.. who was in a car accident almost exactly a year ago in Thailand.  She’s still recovering, yet the brightest shining light for all to see today.  You are an inspiration Lisa.  Today during teacher devotions Dave reminded us of the verses listed above as he recalled the past year, and his wife miscarrying.. twice.  Pain and tears may mark our journey, but we never walk alone through it.  Our pain and tears are held and seen by him.

Our own personal “Theology of Suffering” may be different for each person… but if we believe in the end God is good, and that those who seek Him lack no good thing… we will somehow begin to muster the strength to walk by faith.  One step at a time.

Wow, I didn’t mean for this to be so serious.  In the beginning, I was just thinking about the fact it was Friday, and that I love chocolate almost as much as Lindsey Jones right now.  I’ll refrain from eating the whole package of M&Ms.  Self control.

Happy Friday.  Having dinner with some of my favorite people tonight… Michelle and Marvin.. you guys rock!

Later.