pardon for sin, a peace that endures, Your presence, strength for today, hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine - great is Thy faithfulness indeed!

yes, yes, it's ANOTHER post. :) first off, if you didn't see my last post, go back and listen to the two songs I put in. the other older posts you can ignore if you want to, but the songs are important.

I've been reading a ton lately, and I just wanted to put up some of the wisdom I gleaned from Brave New Family, which is a collection of essays, articles, and excerpts from all of G.K. Chesterton's work. (as an aside, excerpt is a very funny word.) anywho, this book has been rather incredible for me, in conjunction with the other stuff I've been reading, the conversations I've been having with God, and some of the "stuff" that's been going on in my family lately.

basically, today was absolutely hell until about 7:00, and then it got a lot better (we went to church this evening instead of tomorrow morning, and it was a really incredible service). like I said, no details on the family stuff at this point (simply because it involves people other than myself, and also, frankly, the details just aren't important). but a lot of issues have been surfacing that just need to be dealt with, and that is hard to do. especially with someone extra in your house who didn't grow up there, and hasn't had a good family situation ever before. so things are complicated. life goes on. my friends are like family, and my church is like family, and my family is working on being more like family too. and God is.......incredible.

actually, though this may sound crazy, I'm glad all this painful stuff has been happening. I mean, aside from the fact that it will make my family stronger and healthier (which I can already see is in the process of happening....sort of a refining process), I have been forced to discover and experience and rely on God in a way that's never happened before. and I have more peace about my life than I have ever had before. the more I have to trust, the more I learn what a beautiful and good thing it is. the things my head has known to be true for a long time, my heart is learning to know and trust as well. Donald Miller says that you only truly believe the things that you show with your actions. like, if you treat everyone else like garbage and only care about yourself, you only truly believe that you exist. obviously, physically and scientifically, the other people exist, but in regards to how you treat them and who you care about, you only believe in yourself. so my head has believed in things about God for a long time, but my heart hasn't learned (or been forced) to believe them until now, if that makes any sense. things like God is good, all the time. and God is faithful, even when life is tough.

I think one of the biggest things I have been learning (apart from the incredible love of God that surrounds me and the peace of God that fills me up when I'm empty and afraid) is this one truth that I never realized at all before this year: life doesn't owe me anything. and neither does God. I mean, it sounds like it makes sense, but to actually believe it and let it influence your attitude and actions - that is a lot harder. but it's true, and once you realize that there are no guarantees of comfort or happiness in life, it makes it slightly easier to rejoice in the middle of pain. note that I said slightly. :P

but enough of me, on to Chesterton! I won't go into vast detail on all of these, and there aren't a ton of them, but there are a few things that I thought the world should know. (so I'm posting them on my blog, which like three people read. go me. :P)

"Many a man has been lucky in marrying the woman he loves. But he is luckier in loving the woman he marries." Just sit with that thought for a moment. sometime in the future I'm going to post about marriage and love. and my very interesting, ever-changing views on the subject.

"The first fact about the celebration of a birthday is that it is a way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly, that it is a good thing to be alive [this in itself gives me such a thrill! because I love birthdays - other peoples' as much as my own even]....But there is a second fact about Birthdays, and the birth-song of all creation, a fact which really follows on this; but which, as it seems to me, the other school of thought almost refuses to recognise. The point of that fact is simply that it is a fact. In being glad about my Birthday, I am being glad about something which I did not myself bring about. In being grateful for my birth, I am grateful for something which has already happened." He goes on to talk about the fact that a birthday is something you receive, something over which you have no control, you do not choose or create for yourself. "And I say it is a narrow view of life, which leaves out the whole of that aspect of life; all receptivity, all gratitude, all inheritance, all worship." I never thought of celebrating one's birthday as worship. Interesting thought. but I guess when you think of all of life as a worship service - your responses to everything as worship or not worship, grateful or not grateful - then it does fit, and it's a beautiful thought.

There isn't a specific quote for this idea, but Chesterton basically says that while men roam the world seeking adventure and opportunities to be courageous, they either neglect or are running away from the biggest adventure of all: being a part of their own family. The family is basically the most complex thing God created. It is also one of the most beautiful and worthwhile things you can work at. It is messy and it is hard, but no one can say it is dull, boring, or unadventurous.

Then there's a stanza from a poem about Christmas. With how insane some parts of my life have been lately, it gives me some comfort:

"The world is a wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings [a fire-drake is a dragon, btw. think Smaug.]
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star."

And lastly is a humorous quote - for in Chesterton there are plenty of these. I love that he keeps me thinking serious thoughts and laughing at the ridiculousness of life at the same time. This one is about golf:
"I have no disrespect for the game of golf; it is an admirable game. I have played it; or rather, I have played at it, which is generally regarded as the very opposite." :D

And that's it for now. I have a lot more on my mind, but it's not ready to come out yet. I just want to say, God is good, all the time. that, and I love you guys very much.