tres.

:: Coffee and mascara. I love them both. I have a hard time feeling truly awake when I’m lacking either. And lest I sound high-maintenance, I’d like to also say that they are pretty much all I need to feel awake. Coffee=breakfast. Mascara=make up. That’s it. That’s all.

:: While I was busy putting out garbage, Jameson found the cell phone. I could tell, because suddenly I heard a woman’s voice on a phone. I hurried over to see whose number he’d managed to dial (my sister in law? Lore?), and as I approached, heard, “This is 911 Emergency. May I help you?” Oh, dear! How on earth?? I apologized profusely, hung up, and thought, that’s it. I’ve entered the world of true parenting, where anything — anything — can happen the minute you turn your back.

:: This morning I wrote in my journal about the challenge to maintain zeal, as commanded in Romans 12:11 — “Be fervent [zealous] in spirit…” I’ve written this before, but the notion that zeal is for teenagers, and cool and calm wisdom is for adults is just hogwash. Zeal is supposed to be married to wisdom, but never left behind. And I need zeal.

With these thoughts in my head and heart, I read my mom’s entry for the day: Without sacrifice, there is no fire.

As with all other things, zeal cannot be “put on.” You can’t do zeal. The fire-in-your-bones sort of passion is a by-product of dying to yourself, of offering a living sacrifice, of choosing Him and His ways — daily.

So Lord, help me today to make choices that enthrone You.

Let love for You consume me
Let passion burn like fire in my soul
Let zeal for You consume me
Be my all —
Be my all.

6 Comments tres.

  1. Lori Ruehle

    Caedmon once got his hands on a phone and dialed 911, hung up, then dialed and hung up again. Apparently, they tried calling back our number when he was calling again, so they didn’t get an answer, so they sent two police officers to our house to make sure everything was okay….that was unexpected to say the least, but it makes for an interesting experience.

    Reply
  2. Lore

    hmmm. . . your phone seems like it’s out of control these days. tell ry i have more thoughts on the emergent church when there isn’t a three hour time difference and a wedding in the way. ah. five days. i like the sound of that.

    Reply
  3. Ryan

    @Lore: Found this on Wikipedia tonight: “The emerging church is a controversial 21st-century Protestant Christian movement whose participants seek to be like the christians mentioned in Revelation 3:16 and to engage postmodern people, especially the unchurched and post-churched. To accomplish this, “emerging Christians” seek to deconstruct and reconstruct Christian beliefs, standards, and methods to accommodate postmodern culture. Proponents of this movement call it a “conversation” to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature. The predominantly young participants in this movement prefer narrative presentations drawn from their own experiences and biblical narratives over propositional, Bible exposition. Emergent methodology includes frequent use of new technologies such as multimedia and the Internet. Emergents communicate in open dialogue rather than the dogmatic proclamation found in historic Christianity.”

    While wikipedia is no authority, this nevertheless sounds like a bunch of ballyhoo and poppycock to me. Perhaps we’d just be better off “putting off childish things,” and following those who have gone before us–that served Timothy well, and it ought to be enough for us!

    There is nothing new under the sun, and I again stress that anything “positive” coming out of “the emergent church” (hoity toity) is nothing but Christianity that’s been around all the while.

    That said, can’t wait to talk about it to learn more about your experiences.

    (We’re VERY excited to see you!!!!)

    RD

    Reply
  4. Lore

    my experiences huh? so you think I “prefer narrative presentations drawn from [my] own experiences” over the word huh. . . i see where this is going. . . =)

    can’t wait to talk!

    Reply
  5. sam

    Ah yes, the days where anything can happen when you turn your back. Reminds me of the time I was working in the backyard with the kids. IR was there, then suddenly gone. We found him a few feet away toddling out of the garage with a measuring cup with what appeared to be anti-freeze residue and three drips down his shirt. (How it ended up within his reach, not sure.) Needless to say, my eighteen month old and I spent some quality time bonding in the local ER as they did bloodwork to determine whether any was ingested. (It wasn’t.) Ahh…the memories…

    Reply
  6. julia

    Coffee and mascara… I totally agree!

    We’re missing you very much here in Long Island. The presents that you sent us makes me miss you all the more. It’s just seeing your handwriting, and having the fresh memory of your extreme thoughtfulness! (Like fair-trade coffee!) You’re amazing!

    We all miss the little man, too. I just can’t believe that he’s mischievous enough to be dialing 911!

    And as for your big guy, I miss his jokes… especial during times of intensity. He always makes awkward things more comfortable.

    I don’t usually write e-mails instead of comments.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.