Scripps Sundays

Some awesome words below from Nadia Bolz-Weber.....  “I’m a pretty freaked out right now. Maybe you are too. And when I am afraid I always think about this Gospel story. . . . while they were sailing Jesus fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.    They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.    He said to them, “Where is your faith?” - Luke 8 Jesus and the disciples are caught in a storm at sea.  The text says they were in danger.  Real  danger. Their boat was literally filling with water, so if they were freaking out it was not due to neuroses or an anxiety disorder . . . it was because their boat was about to sink. As human beings we are wired for certain responses when our lives are in danger.  Adrenalin is releas...

I am so proud of your discipline of noticing, savoring, and practicing gratitude.  May you continue to soak it all up, little one.    “The mystical possibilities of every moment are revealed to us in our intentional pauses… If we practice living mindfully, we slowly begin to see the holiness of so many things that remain hidden when we choose to rush through the hours, striking tasks from the list of things we must accomplish before day’s end. It will be a happy moment when we remember to add the wise act of pausing to our to-do lists.” –Macrina Wiederkehr,  Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day

While we could not be prouder of you for your recent honor at the 5C's....  I wanted to pass on this reminder that I saw recently  that real identity comes from knowing that:  You are God's child:  You are his beloved child, no matter what you do or fail to do. He created you and formed you.  You are profoundly loved:  No failure at school, no struggle, no tragedy can ever change God’s love for you.  Your identity is received not earned:  "Christian identity is the only identity that is received, not achieved." - Tim Keller  This identity is redemptive:  2 Corinthians 3:18 states "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and someone shared a definition of sanctification that I had never heard and that I absolutely resonated with and loved. "Sanctification is giving all that we know of ourselves to all that we know of God."  It reminded me of this wonderful quote from Prince Caspian below when Lucy is talking to Aslan.  When asked about college, I so appreciated hearing you share with others over the Christmas break about how you were learning so much about yourself.   As you continue to grow and learn more about yourself, I am praying that you will continue to wade more into the beauty of who you are and the mystery of who God is and that you would find Him bigger each year.