Thinking about the focus of our faith:

But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” —luke 10)

Only one thing…shall not be taken away.

Jesus, I am like Martha. I invite you into my home so eagerly, but then forget the one thing: You are here! And the nicely set table, the freshly baked bread — all of those things will amount to a pile of ashes someday. Only You remain.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ . . . Not that I have already obtained or have already become perfect, but I press on . . . but one thing I do…—philippians 3

All things loss… knowing Christ.

I forget, Lord, that there is only one thing I must do: press on to You. I convince myself that there are so many other things I should strive for when really, You are all. I often wonder how Paul continued with such fervor for so many years. This is how: he kept it simple. He just loved You.

Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…—hebrews 12

I can almost hear You when I read this: “Danica, Danica, why are you so encumbered by so many things? Look to Me. I am every answer, every need fulfilled. Me.”

Be Thou my wisdom
and Thou my true Word.
I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father
and I Thy true son.
Thou in my dwelling
and I with Thee, one.

Thy true son.

I don’t just want to do the right things, Lord. I want to be You to the world I live in. I want to sit at Your feet so continually that I am eventually transformed completely. Be my true Father; I’ll be Your true child.

Ryan found another picture of a baby at 25 weeks. Hard to believe that our little one is already so perfectly formed–10 little fingers and toes, a face that bears our resemblance… It’s pretty amazing that God can create all of that in only a few months. Amazing.

This baby is the same “age” as mine.

Makes me wonder what my baby looks like.

3.5 months, and I’ll know.

Crazy.

It’s been hot and humid here, but the balmy early mornings, waking up to the whir of fans, remind me of vacation in California. I wouldn’t mind going back sooner than later.

But speaking of visits to that wonderfully sunny state, I’m so proud of Julia. My mom said this:

“We were totally proud of Julia. She received many encouraging words of praise from attenders in the audience — members of the LA Guitar Quartet, for instance. Comments on her tone and intrepretation. She had worked very hard on the latter and really excelled.”

She got to play for the LA Guitar Quartet! How very, very cool!

What wonderful opportunities the Lord has opened up for her. It’s a great testimony to sowing and reaping. She’s been a great steward of her [thousands of!] talents.

And today she’s playing tennis with Dad. I can only imagine playing tennis at a perfect court on a perfect day.

Yay for her!

…birthday, Julia.

On worship:

Our bodies naturally reflect what affects us. I cringe when a glass of milk is about to be knocked over; I open my arms wide as my daughter runs to greet me; I jump up from the couch with my hands upraised when my team scores the winning goal; I gratefully applaud unselfish acts of service; I cry when a friend’s child dies. Is the church the only place where our bodies can’t express what our minds are comprehending and our hearts are feeling?

. . . Some think it’s hypocrisy to express honor towards God physically when they don’t feel anything in their hearts. On the contrary, it’s only hypocritical when we act a certain way to give others a false impression of our spirituality. A better response is to acknowledge our lack of desire for God as evidence of our innate sinfulness, and to begin to fill our minds with truths about His kindness, mercy, holiness, grace, and goodness, especially expressed to us in the Gospel. We then act in faith, trusting that God will give us a greater passion for Him. (source)

And one of my favorite lines:

So our goal must be to help people hear, see, and understand the right things.

For anyone who wonders what I’m thinking when worship starts at 10:30, that’s it. I’m thinking, “If we could see You better today, Lord, we would be changed. Help me to declare Your truth in a way that opens the eyes of hearts.”

When we see differently, we act differently. All of life — everything we do — is a response to what we believe to be true. May the great Truth, the reality of Him, penetrate our hearts in such a way that we live up to our name: people of faith.