Fame

I'm gonna live forever! Baby, remember my name...

I had a disturbing conversation with my daughter last week. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said famous.

So I asked some more questions. Would it be good to be famous for a year and then have no one remember you? No, that would be sad, she responded.

When I asked her the good parts of being famous, she said she would have fans.

I went on to illuminate some of the bad things about being famous...not knowing who likes you for who you are and who likes your fame. Not being able to go where you want without being bothered. Not having privacy.

I'm not sure that she was affected at all by the conversation.

The problem is...fame is this huge draw in our culture. Even I want to be famous occasionally...or maybe a little more often than that.

What does fame bring that draws our attention? Why is it so important to us? It isn't just the wealth. Somehow we all have a desire to be known. A desire to be appreciated. And our culture has magnified that into this huge monstrosity.

And is it important what we are famous for? I'd rather not be (in)famous for something horrific. I don't really want 15 minutes of fame, either. I want to make a difference for Christ. If I'm gonna be famous for something else, I think I'll just pass.

Maybe its about making a lasting difference. We don't need to be famous to leave a legacy that goes beyond ourselves. We don't have to be famous to be important or change someone's life.

If it's about living forever...I've already got that. I am all set!

Summer

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

I can feel your petty pace creeping in,
and I approach the next months with trepidation

How to arrange this time with all four of us at home so that we aren't screen fried and scatterbrained.

How to fit in the things we enjoy and also make a difference in the lives of others...of each other at the very least.

How to make this time significant.

How to not long for tomorrow, not strut and fret, but content myself with summer.

Fugitive

Human relationships have their ups and downs. They are close and then they seem distant and then close again. Our relationships with God also are like this because we are human. He isn't...He is perfect and never distances himself from us.

Sometimes I feel like a runaway bride. When Christ takes me deeper...lets me hear His Spirit more fully...woos me...I Love it. And then I run the other way. Not deep into sin although I know sin is something that often distracts me. Not away from my faith completely. But in fear of this closeness that I long for.

I know that I long for this closeness because I pursue it in other relationships and affections. Instead of going to the One who can bring it, I lose myself in the world of a book or in a TV show or in the friends I'm chasing. And I know none of these can fill me. If you have read my blog, you know that this is a constant battle. Sorry to be a broken record here...but I'm still working on it.

God promises in the often quoted and so ignored in my head verse Jeremiah 29:11. God's plan for me is good...to prosper me and not to harm me. So, why is it sooooo hard to let go of control? Why is it so hard to dream? Why is it so hard dive into that deep relationship with God?

He keeps pursuing me. Running will just cause more stress. Why do I keep running?


I'm a fugitive
Running from the life that I was meant to live
(from Stolen by Brandon Heath)
((and yes you should listen to the whole song))

Boasting

"as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus." 2 Cor 1:14 NIV

When was the last time you boasted about somebody else?

When was the last time you knew someone well enough that you could boast of them?

Do we look at each other in order to see spiritual growth and working of the Spirit in someone's life? Or are we too preoccupied with ourselves?

How does one go about boasting of someone? In the verse it talks of this on the day of the Lord Jesus. When He returns and judges, I hope I can boast in you my friends and readers...but why wait?

Hunger

I read the Hunger Games trilogy this last week... To be honest I read each of them in the course of 4 days although they weren't consecutive. All three were amazing!

One thing they made me examine is how I spend my time. In the dystopian future in the books, the people of the Capitol live in excess while those in the Districts barely keep from starving. It made me open my eyes. The Capitol folks focus so much on entertainment that they have forgotten or never known compassion or sacrifice.

I am not so different from them. (skin crawls)

The time I spend on entertainment...books, movies, shows...is huge. In fact, I don't know what I'd do with that time if I had it back. How would I keep myself occupied? I get bored when I don't have a story to follow. Would I get more sleep? Would I pour more time into keeping my house? (if you know me then, you know THAT wouldn't be likely). I honestly don't know, and I'm afraid to find out.

But the books are challenging me: examine the things your culture demands--do they make sense? For example: Why do we do the things we do? Why is the external so important? Why do women shave their legs? Why do we have so much food when others subsist from day to day?

The books have given me lots to think about...so they can't be all bad. right?