Flashlights, Sandbags and Potting Soil (and marriage)

While you can talk about hypothetical situations, you don't really get to observe how someone will react until the event actually plays itself out.

Over the weekend, we lived through "Erika" - a hurricane turned into a tropical depression, turned into just a big rain storm.

Let me just say that Jason and I had very different ways of preparing for the storm.  And in the process, I realized that we both have a long way to go (me more than Jason perhaps), in allowing room for someone else's perspective on things.

The Flashlight:
Jason: "Honey, we need a flashlight."
Me: "We have a flashlight already..."
Jason: "But it's just a small one..."
Me: "We have lots of batteries for it... it would be sufficient..."
Jason: "I still think we need one. We need a big one.  It would be good to have regardless of the storm."
Me: "But, what do we really need it for?  We don't need it to see anything during the daytime.  Sunset isn't until 8pm, and besides, when it's dark, we go to sleep, so really, there's no need for a flashlight."

Somehow, I think living in S. Asia for 3 years (with very infrequent electricity) prepared me well for hurricanes.  And I do realize now there is no harm in having a reliable flashlight, but I've already built my pride up, so I'm not about to tear it down ;-)

The Sandbags:
Jason: "Honey, I got something to help us prepare for the storm...."
Elizabeth: "Uh oh, please tell me you didn't buy a flashlight..."
Jason :"Nope, this was free."
Elizabeth: (relaxing a little, but still uncertain): "What did you get?
Jason: "SANDBAGS!"
Elizabeth: (silence)
Jason: "For our back porch, to keep the water out.
Elizabeth: (silence and increased blinking as if that could somehow double check my hearing at the same time)

Turns out...the sandbags were at least somewhat helpful... :-)

Jason: "Yup, they were giving them out, lots of people were getting them..."
Elizabeth: Oh my heart.  Seriously?  We do not need sandbags....I can't believe...."

There was a bit more discussion as I tried to grasp what would compel my husband to get sandbags.  I definitely didn't agree with it, but also couldn't entirely disagree with it either.  I mean, the next 3 days were forecasted at 100% chance of rain with flood warnings and watches for our areas - and our ground was already soaked from previous rain.

So, yeah, a few sandbags probably couldn't hurt...but again, my dire need to be self-sufficient combined with my ever rising ego refused to entertain the idea that we might need sandbags.

Jason: "Honey, this is me taking care of our family and our home...so, I think it's good."
Me: (still silence for the most part)

The Potting Soil
Me: "Honey, I might go to the store and get some potting soil to replant these plants..."
Jason: "What?
Me: "Yeah, I need to re-plant those plants we were just given...my goal is to keep them alive."
Jason: "Do you really need it?"
Me: "Yeah, for the plants, when I re-plant them in bigger pots, I need more soil..."

Uh oh...Nala and Reagan...are on the wrong side of the sandbags :-)

Jason: (silence)
Me: "So, I was gonna go get some, did you want to come with me?"
Jason: "Why do we need potting soil for plants that are going to die anyway?"
Me: (frown and frustration) "Honey......come on......"
(after a few minutes)
Jason: "Well, sure I'll come - maybe we can stop and get some more sandbags."

---------------------

It's about priorities.
It's about listening.
It's about entering into someone else's world, even if just for a minute.

Marriage requires you to take on a new perspective.

It's a perspective that we should be taking on all the time -- the perspective of someone else.

The re-potted plants in the new potting soil :-)

Considering someone else's needs, wants, desires above our own.

We can do this in our lives as singles, but we must do this in our lives as married people.

I'll admit, I'm not very good at it.
I want what I want, and I want it when I want it.
And if your needs differ from mine or infringe upon my wants, then they are wrong and ridiculous, and how is it we could have possibly joined our lives together in holy matrimony given that we differ on these two seemingly life or death issues!?

Until......just a drop of reason trickles in.

We step back and a sunbeam (or sometimes a rain cloud) of reality gives us the perspective of the other person.

It huts a bit, but our fingers begin to loosen the death grip on our own agenda.

And it all of the sudden becomes about caring well for someone else.
Being there for them, in his or her own frustration, dilemma, joy, excitement, fear or anxiety.

We are able to enter their world, even if just for a minute.
We can listen.
We can make them the priority, not the flashlight, the sandbags, or the potting soil.

It's not whether you win or lose...

Growing up, I played just about every sport available.  I even played on a basketball team where I was the only girl.  I'm not sure who was more committed to it, my dad or me :-)

But playing sports did give me a well-rounded upbringing and I'm thankful for all I learned in each sport I played.

Given that sports was a part of our lives, my dad would often say:

'It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.'

Now, as I grew up, I would come to know just how enjoyable winning actually was to my dad.  And is to me too.  #competitive #monopoly #basketball #canjam #volleyball #bocceball  --Basically, if you've played any kind of game with my dad, you know what I'm talking about.

Still, his mantra and his example showed that attitude and character were worth far more than winning.  Well, at least most of the time :-)

Unfortunately, I don't hear this idea communicated very often today.

I started reading the book "Ordinary" by Michael Horton about couple months ago.  I shared some brief quotes and my reflections on those quotes from the first chapter in this post.  I read the following quote in chapter 3, which reminded me of my dad, and how vastly different his viewpoint was from from the mainstream culture of today.

"Behind selfish ambition and this exuberant cult of the immediate experience-in-the-moment lurks a haunting nihilism.

We came from nowhere and we are going nowhere, but somewhere in the middle of it all, we have to make a big splash.  Every moment must be charged with excitement.  "If the dead are not raised," Paul famously concluded by quoting a line from a Greek comedy, "let us eat, drink, for tomorrow we die." (1 Corinthians 15:32)

The technical term of this is narcissism. (pg 54)

"In other words, winning is everything today.  The point isn't even what we win, but that we win.  the goal slips from view - or rather shifts from someone or something else to ourselves." (pg 55)

This quote is convicting on several levels.

It reinforces the truth that "we are but a vapor" (James 4:14).

It calls to attention our infatuation with the worldly elation that comes when all praise and glory falls on us for one reason or another. (Matthew 6:1, Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3:23)

This warped way of living has so infected our being that we have settled for our own temporary self-righteous towers of popularity rather than the eternal relationship for which we were created.

As C.S. Lewis says, "We are far too easily pleased."

The long journey to retrieve realistic thoughts

There was a (long) season of my life where I was all too comfortable with the intricate details of traveling to another country and back again.  Packing was easy and I could get through customs and immigration in my sleep.  I was rarely stressed, and the airport (in any country) felt like home.  I knew exactly how much 3oz of liquid was, and always had extra zip-lock bags.  Traveling with only a carry on for any length of trip meant wheeling that around and carrying a small "personal item."  Still, I was still the fastest person through security on any given day.  Delayed flights were opportunities for blog posts, jet-lag was no problem for melatonin, and I always had exactly what I needed, or could easily figure out something with what was available locally.

I've been out of the routine now, for a little while (minus traveling for 5 weeks to S. Asia last summer on a Discover Trip), but the travelling life image came back to me yesterday as I was thinking about my own thoughts and feelings.

Except this time, it wasn't the easy breezy trip prep, journey and unpacking as it had once been.  It seemed much more involved and in the end hardly worth it.

Let me explain.

Two nights ago, I was in Walmart waiting for my husband, Jason, to get some shampoo.  Unknown to me, he decided since he was over in that area to pick up something else he needed.  While it felt like an eternity to me, he came back in what was probably a fairly long 9-10 minutes.  I doesn't soudn like saying it like that, but at the time it felt so long that I started to wonder if he had checked out at another register and might be waiting for me in the car!  Note: He would never do that, and I know that!

Anyway, while I waited, the negative thoughts started in.

"Why is he taking so long?  Doesn't he know we have other things to do?  Doesn't he understand that I am waiting for him?  He is over getting his own personal things, but I have spent the past 15 minutes getting stuff for our family as a whole.  Why do I always have to wait for him?" and on and on the thoughts went.

I struggled.  I fought.

I tried hard to get the positive, or even just the realistic thoughts back in my mind... those truths of: "My husband loves me.  He knows I'm waiting, and I know that he will come as fast as he can.  He isn't in this store for his own sake, he is intentionally getting things we need.  He knows we have other things to do, he will come back soon....Remember the days when you wished you had a husband to wait for?"

There were traces of those positive truths here and there in my mind as I waited -- kind-of like a flight confirmation code gives you the promise of your trip.

But in order to get to the other side - to the land of realistic thought patterns, bags have to be packed, someone takes me to the airport, I have to remove my shoes, get through security, find the gate, at the right terminal, deal with delayed flights, jet-lag, arrival, customs & immigration, locate a taxi, experience strange smells and sounds, unpack my bags, rest, and then, finally, the positive outcome of retrieving the appropriate attitude filter for the situation.

Wow.

Way. To. Much. Work.

For others, positive or realistic responses to a (stressful or annoying) situations come easily and quickly.  I've noticed it's this way for Jason.  When a potentially unnerving situation arises, it seems like Jason rarely (if ever!) is negatively affected or responds negatively to it.  His ability to react well to frustrating circumstances is unparalleled to any I have ever seen!  Especially my own.

It takes me a long time to get there.

Like traveling around the world, it takes an insane amount of mental energy to move from the instantaneous negativity taking off, to actually begin the descent and land on a realistic viewpoint.

So is it worth it?

Is it worth the hassle of traveling around the world to get those realistic and positive attitudes to replace the negative ones that come so immediately?

On the one hand, I've put in the hard work of going to the far corners of the earth to get those truths and have had some victories overcoming the negative assumptions that flood my mind.  Being able to see clearly or to move through a situation with realistic perceptions is freeing!

But, I've also struggled to choose the right response and the outcome hasn't been so great.  Either because I gave up halfway, because the journey was too daunting (aka: my pride was too great), or because the other travelers involved (aka: Jason) didn't do what I was hoping in the midst of my journey which then complicated everything!

While it is a fight, and while it doesn't result in victories by my measurements every time, I know that there is a point to it all.

"In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.  Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received from me -- everything you heard from me and saw me doing.

Then the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:8-9

We are not to fill our minds with these things just for the sake of thinking nice thoughts.

We are not to persevere in this mental challenge when it feels like it is impossible just to fill our time.

These attitude shifts and expectation adjustments result in the peace of God being with us.

That, I do believe, is worth it.

Stories within stories

Setting up for the interview

"Most of our interviewers don't ask about my childhood… it always starts when Darryl and I met, and then focuses on Darryl's Major League Baseball career…"

Tracy Strawberry trailed off as she gracefully recalled traumatic events from her childhood and into her adults years before she ever met Darryl.

On Monday, March 9, I had the honor to listen to 4 hours of Darry and Tracy Strawberry share their life from their earliest memories until current day.

Darryl is a former National League Baseball legend.  Tracy is his adorable and dynamic wife!  Together, they are a representation of God's faithfulness and forgiveness.

My Uncle Chuck and Aunt Sharon's ministry MARKINC arranged the interview for a new resource they are putting together for those struggling with addictions.  I ended up being involved because the interview was held at Wycliffe Bible Translator's headquarters!

Both Darry and Tracy Strawberry have intense stories of redemption.  Stories that they want to share with others, because they are stories about God and His undying pursuit of them throughout their lives.

Uncle Chuck and Aunt Sharon
Wycliffe Headquarters, March 9, 2015

Darryl and Tracy shared from personal experience about the power of addiction.  They talked about making wise choices to not place themselves in situations that would bring temptation.  They shared about how at one point they became followers of Jesus, but that sanctification is a continual process, and it is not easy.

My favorite part was probably when Darryl talked about the change he saw in Tracy when she started reading God's Word - the Bible on a daily basis.

"She would get up early, and read the Bible.  I would come downstairs and she would say, 'Hi Honey!' - and I wanted to know why she was so happy all the time.  I wanted that."

They explained in their testimony that it wasn't about being happy or having a lot of material possessions, as much as it was about the Lord's work in their life - and how that allowed them to have full confidence in Him.

Both Darryl and Tracy have huge stories hidden within their typically more famous story of Darryl's baseball glory years.

That started me thinking...

Darryl and Tracy Strawberry
March 9, 2015

What are the stories inside my larger story of who people know me by?

A newspaper headline about me only declares the major stuff that people can see.

But what about all that is unseen?

What are the stories that no one knows about?

What about the stories that seem insignificant, but contribute powerfully to who I am?

What makes up the larger stories and the underlying stories that God has given to each of us?

Is it really possible for each and every story

no matter:

- how big or small,

- how unimportant or how serious,

- how close or how far away from the Truth

to be redeemed by our great God?

Hard to believe, and even harder to live out out, but I am going to claim these truths today:

"For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God

reconciled everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross.

This includes YOU who were once far away from God.

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body.

As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless

as you stand before him without a single fault."

~ Colossians 1:19-22

God's okay with it.

Today while running I decided not to listen to sermons as I have been recently, but instead went back to my running music- a mix of pop, Christian, country – whatever has a fast enough beat to keep me going.  I tend to run faster and better with music and I think and process more because I can more easily tune out music than I can a sermon.

All that to say, while listening to music today on my run, I had a revelation.

It is something that I already know, but I think today, the head knowledge moved a little bit more into my heart.

It is the fact that, “God knows what will happen in the future, and He’s okay with it.”

Let me expound a bit.

God knows if I will have a baby in the next year or the next 5 years.  He also knows if I won’t ever have a baby– in spite of anything I might try to do to have one.  And because it is His plan, and He is sovereign, he is okay with it.

God knows if Jason will stay at his job, or get another job as an administrator – God knows if it will be in Florida or somewhere else.  And because it is His plan, and He is sovereign, he is okay with it.

God knows how growing old will affect my parents, and Jason’s parents, and He knows all the plans related to all of that. (*note: my parents are NOT old now… but they might be one day, maybe...probably not... but maybe).  And because it is His plan and He is sovereign, he is okay with it.

God knows if my single friends will get married, or if they will remain single for another year or 5 years or forever.  And because it is His plan and He is sovereign, he is okay with it.

God knows if ISIS members will continue to kill those in their path, and how many, and how hard and how long.  Saying God is okay with this of course sounds awkward, but I still believe that He is sovereign and redeems even these hard things for his glory and our good.

God knows which of my friends in South Asia will believe in Him and which will not.  He is sovereign over these things in such an incredible way that all people are without a good excuse to reject Him. (Romans 1:20)

I realized that if God is okay with all these things happening in whichever way they might happen (of course, according to His will all along), then what right do I have to be anxious about any of them?

I mean really.

Let me repeat that: If God is okay with what will happen…then…why am I worrying about it now?

And it's not only that His plans will prevail, but that they are good.

Maybe not what I would expect.
But good.

While this truth invokes a "what will be will be" attitude on the surface, it should not manifest itself in a lackadaisical approach to life.  Not at all.

Accepting this truth means that while we go through life's situations - we fully recognize that God is already in them and already beyond them.  And regardless of the outcome, He has a plan for our good. (Romans 8:28)

Sitting in this truth today... or running in it rather, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace about a variety of *stressful* situations in my life at the moment.  I didn't feel like I all of the sudden got the answers or that the way was any clearer, but rather that whatever the outcome ends up being, it will be okay, and it will be good.

Simple truths.
Known all of my life.
Making their way into my heart.

2015 Goals

In November, Jason and I celebrated 1 year of marriage and decided to set some goals for our second year of marriage.

We came up with one big family goal (which is for Jason to finish his Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration) as well as some smaller goals for each of us individually, as well as together.

I'm hoping that when there are distractions (whether positive or negative), we can remember our goals, and do what we need to do to keep them a priority.

In addition to the goals Jason and I made together, I realized that I unconsciously have come up with several other goals for myself.  In reality, I probably now have too many.

The first three actually are related to my blog, so I'l start with those.

*1 - #weeklypost: to write a blog post every Tuesday - I started this a couple weeks ago, and so far have accomplished my goal! Yay!

*2 - #todaysjoys: I'm making it a goal to briefly write about something that brings me joy every week.  I'm going to shoot for this post to be on Mondays since that's an overwhelming day as it's the start of the work week and it would be good to begin it with something joyful.  The first "Today's Joy's" post will be this Monday, Jan 5th!

*3 -  #wordlesswednesday: I recently saw this on another friend's blog.  I'm thinking it shouldn't be a difficult goal to reach.  This weekly blog post is a simple picture or a few pictures posted on Wednesdays.  No words.  Just let the pictures speak for themselves.

*4 - #bibleinayear: On October 14th, I committed to reading through the Bible in a year, for the second time in my life. I'll confess, it started off really well, but has dwindled with the busy-ness of life and holidays.  I'm planning to get back into a routine of morning reading in this new year!

Top: All the Harry Potter books
Bottom: Nala's amazement and uncertainty that I can actually read
all of these massive books this year!

*5 - #harrypotter: Somehow I found myself with the whole set of Harry Potter books for a steal of a deal and am committing to read them this year.  This is a HUGE feat for me - who honestly does not read much at all. This goal is in honor of my sister Natalie - since she mostly convinced me to get the books in the first place.

*6 - #spanish: I still have the desire to learn Spanish... although I have NOT made any significant improvement in this area.  I may need to set a more realistic outcome for this one.  Perhaps deciding on a few key phrases I want to learn, rather than total fluency.... so yeah, still refining the details of this goal.

*7 - #organizing: I will be home in Delaware for 2 days prior to a work trip to Liberty in February.  In addition to spending time with family, my goal for that time is to help my mom clean out 1 room in their house - that will probably be the old schoolroom where the four Wilson kids learned everything we know... well... almost everything :-)  If it's not that room, it'll be a section of the basement!

*8 - #walkwithmyneighbor: I started walking with my neighbor, who is from Trinidad, a couple of months ago.  We usually will walk 1-2 times/week.  I hope to continue walking with her this year!

*9 - #photography: I am still researching if Photoshop or Lightroom would be  a good investment for me personally.  I absolutely love taking pictures, and love doing things with them, but have never invested in a solid photo editing software.  I was planning to dive into Photoshop, but the more reviews I read on both Photoshop and Lightroom have left me conflicted, so I haven't taken the plunge either way yet.  Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!

*10 - #yummyhealthyfood: I'm putting this on this list for two reasons.  My list felt incomplete with 9 items, instead of 10, so I had to add one more.  And the second reason is because Jason and I are trying to find more healthy ways to eat.  We've cut back a lot of sugar and carbs in the past few months - still have a long way to go.  I'm hoping that we can continue on this path this year and find some EASY and DELICIOUS ways to make meals for dinner as well as DESSERTS!

365 Chronological Bible Reading Update

I started reading through the Bible chronologically for the second time in my life about a week ago.

How's it going?

Really well!

I'm on Day 10 (of 365), and right in the middle of the book of Job.  If you don't know the story, it is about how God allows Satan to brutally torture a man named Job.  This man Job is a faithful follower of God, and while he goes through chapters upon chapters of processing his distress and frustration, the Bible tells us he never disowned God in any of it.  

I thought I'd document a few verses that have stood out to me thus far.

Job 2:13: "They [Job's 3 friends] sat with him on the ground.  Seven days and nights they sat there with without saying a word.  They saw that his suffering was too great for words."

A good reminder that an enduring, silence presence in the physical place can be the best comfort for struggling friends.

enduring ("seven days & nights")

silent ("without saying a word")

presence ("with him")

in the physical place ("on the ground")

Job 3:13: "I could be resting in peace right now." - Job's first speech.

When I go through struggles, I want to avoid thinking about what could have been instead.  This is typically brought on by the Jones's, or known more today by Facebook.  What could have been is no longer an option for the present moment.

Job 4:5: "But shouldn't your devout life give you confidence now?  Shouldn't your exemplary life give you hope?" -- Job's friend Eliphaz

What comes to mind here is that only God gives hope.  Our devout life, or our exemplary life is but a fading flower in this life.  We cannot hold on to it any more than we can 

Job 8:2: "Does God mess up?  Does God Almighty ever get things backwards?" - Job's friend Bildad

I like the bluntness of this verse.  When in doubt about a situation, remember that No, God does not mess up.

Job 11:7-9: "Do you think you can explain the mystery of God?  Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?  God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, stretching further than earth's horizons, far wider than the endless ocean." - Job's friend Zophar

Ahhh, take a deep breath.  Isn't it reassuring to hear these things?  It's frustrating to not know all of the ways of God, but at the same time, I am very glad we do not know it all.

Job 21:22: "But who are we to tell God how to run his affairs?  He's dealing with matters that are way over our heads." - Job

Another good reminder that we are not God, and we have no idea of the bigger picture that only He can see.

Job 25:1: "God is sovereign, God is fearsome - everything in the cosmos fits and works in his plan." - Job's friend Bildad

Enough said.

Springs in the valley - C. Cowman (Aug 11 reading)

This was especially encouraging to me today...

“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (Gen. 45:5)

When you are disappointed or vexed or hedged in or thwarted; when you are seemingly abandoned, remember, son of God, heir of Heaven, that you are being prepared for the higher life. You need courage, patience, perseverance, and it is in the hard places that they are developed. You need faith, and you will never have it unless you are brought to circumstances in which you are compelled to act by the invisible rather than the visible. You need those Christian graces of which the Bible speaks, and of which the pulpit preaches; and practical life, with its various vicissitudes, is God’s school in which you are to acquire these things. Do not be discouraged or cast down.

When you are bestead, remember that God is dealing with you as a good schoolmaster. You will thank Him for His severity by and by.

When God is dealing with you, do not accuse Him. Do not cry out, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” Remember, that to those who are exercised thereby God shows His love and His Fatherhood. Bow yourselves meekly to the chastisements of God, and study not how you can get away from the trouble, but how you can rise above it by being made better by it.

I knew I had been sold,
For circumstance
Dark as a desert pit
And dismal as the slaver’s caravan
Surrounded me,
And seemed to crush me down;
I had been sold.

I also had been sent.
The circumstance
Shone with the light Divine,
And through the wrath of men
God put me in His own appointed place.
He set on high
And none could bow me down.
I HAD BEEN SENT.
– JOSEPH, BY M. MANNINGTON DEXTER

Had we no tests, no great hedged-in experiences, we would never know what a wonderful Deliverer and triumphant Guide we have!

He never limits us, except to liberate us!

"Be faithful and patient every day and trust God"

This morning during our weekly chapel meeting, the staff of Wycliffe received a blessing through Steve and Linda Sheldon sharing some of the journey that God has taken them on over the past 50 years they have been with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

I jotted down a few of the life lessons they've learned and put into words...

"God is just as interested in us as he was in the people we were working with." - Steve Sheldon 

"Be faithful and patient every day and trust God"

"I was surrounded by people who needed to know the Lord and that was exciting to me!" - Linda Sheldon

"It's not about me and I, but about "we" - and what we do together."

One of the villagers told Steve (who wears glasses), "Even though you have 4 eyes, you don't see very well.  I'm going to teach you how to see."

We need to see beyond what we can physically see.

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness through this couple and their family over the years.  Thank you for the blessing they are to me and so many others.

Predestination, Free will. Election, Choice. Does it matter in every day life?

I believe it does.  What you believe about God matters.  And if it doesn't matter for every day life, then what does it matter for at all?

--If I believe that God is any bit, even 1%, out of control because my salvation depends on my choice, then I have great reason to live in fear.

--If I believe that God is 100% in control, and my 'choosing Him,' is only because He first chose me, then I can live freely.

**If I believe that God knows what everyone will do, but didn't necessarily plan it himself, then who did plan it?  Me?  That's scary, and allows me to become quite proud.

**If I believe that God has a plan for every person on the planet, then that makes Him God, and no one else, and that keeps me humble.

--If I believe that God chose all/died for all, but some choose to not follow God, then, it's a shame God's plan isn't working out for him - and I am apt to believe that God didn't know what He was doing, and I know better because I can choose God.

--If I believe that God chose some/died for some and not others, then thus far, things are going according to His plan, and God knew and planned all along what would be - not so that I would understand, but because He wanted to.

**If I believe that all are chosen by God, but only the ones who choose God are saved, then I must share my faith because someone else's salvation could depend on me.

**If I believe some are chosen by God, I must share my faith not because it depends on me, but because I do not know who is chosen and who is not.

In all of this, I believe that God has a plan beyond my comprehension, and I'm okay with that.

I believe in a God-centered theology where He has a plan, He is in control, and He chooses us.

I pray for wisdom to see Him more clearly and look forward to maybe one day understanding more fully His sovereignty in all things.

For now, I walk by faith, thankful for assurance of His choosing me.

Just some light-hearted thoughts for this Sunday evening.

Objections, criticism, comments, and of course, agreements are welcome.