Goodbye!

This is my goodbye post. I've really enjoyed blogging here on how He loves us for the last three years, but it's time to move on.

Starting now, I'll be blogging on a new site: Kira Writes.

A few different things went into this decision, and I hope that it will be a profitable one. Please go check out the new blog and make yourself at home there. (I'll leave this one up for archive perusal, should anyone be inclined)

For the last time, thank you for reading, and goodbye!

-Kira

Happy Things

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on appreciating the little things around you and my life has seemed so full of those things lately that I wanted to do a post compiling some of them. So, here is a list of  my happy things.

- coffee on the back porch
- finishing the first round of edits on a manuscript
- early morning runs
- ultimate frisbee in the rain
- finishing the Psalms in devotions

- spontaneous bakery trip
- walks in the Virginia July heat with my sister
- looking forward to a camping trip on the lake with the whole family

- getting to bed early
- fireflies
- talking on the porch swing with Grandma
- making sweet potato pie (more pie than sweet potato)

- my sister's hair dyed blue
- listening to the sermon at church
- audio books on long drives
- waking up on time
- being caught up on e-mail
- writing outside
- watering the garden
- cinnamon rolls for breakfast
- seeing siblings after a lot of travel
- happy dogs

- a new tank top for running in the heat
- reading books for pleasure
- training for a half marathon with Daddy
- purple and orange sunsets over fields
- pink and blue sunrises over mountains
- finding new blogs to read for encouragement
- being able to be impromptu

What are some of the things that give you a little joy?

-Kira

Hard Words to Say

"You're right."

Some of the hardest words in the world to say. They seem to twist up your stomach before you can finally push them out, often just barely loud enough to hear.

No one wants to be proved wrong, let alone admit to it. For a very long time, I was more likely to try to continue arguing for the wrong side than to concede a point, even after knowing I was in the wrong.

It doesn't matter how trivial or important the matter - everyone wants to be right. It all comes down to pride. We feel a need to be seen as great in the eyes of people around us. By God's definition, that makes us fools.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
Proverbs 12:15

We're all born fools, with a desire to win every argument, triumph in every debate. But there is hope for us. God doesn't just leave us with the news that we're fools; He gives us the example of a wise man to follow - the example of listening to advice.

Ah, listening to advice! What a marvelously difficult thing to do. How much easier it is to remain a fool and think yourself right than to listen to someone with more wisdom and learning. And yet, that is what we must do if we are to grow in our walk with God.

We were not saved so that we could only be forgiven our sins, but so that we could grow to be more like Christ in our character. A crucial piece to that puzzle is learning from those who are wiser than ourselves when we are shown to be wrong.

I'll be the first to admit that I hate saying that I'm wrong. There's something about it that seems to diminish me as a person. I feel like I'm putting myself below the other person and elevating them above me. (Hey, wait - isn't that what Philippians 2:3 says to do anyway? Well...back to the topic at hand) If I can't be right about things, why should I try? Why should anybody listen to me? I want people to respect me and my opinion and my advice. But I can't give advice unless I can take it.

Listening to the wise words of people more mature in their faith than us makes us wise along with them. When we accept criticism and input from authority graciously and gratefully, we are working toward being like Christ, growing in wisdom.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a rightous man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:9

As painful as it is to admit when we're in the wrong and accept instruction from other people, it's worth it. The rewards well outweigh the difficulty.

So next time you find yourself in the wrong, try saying those two little words: "You're right." They become easier with practice.

-Kira

Why Are You Here?

Why are you here right now? Why are you on this earth? For that matter, why am I here too?

Sunday School Answer: Because God put us here.

True, but not the whole answer.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it quite nicely:

1. What is the chief end of man?
Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

We are here to bring glory to God. To point to Him and say, "That's my God. He is incredible beyond all imagining, powerful beyond any other strength, and the only Holy One, Who is faithful to His people."

I listened to a podcast on devotions a while ago in which the speaker (I can't remember who it was) made a lot of excellent points and suggestions about how devotions are supposed to work in our lives. One in particular stuck with me.

The first thing we should be looking for when we read the Bible is how this passage reveals God.

Not what it says about Israel. Not what it says about faith. Not how it applies to us.

How it reveals God.

I forget that this life is about God. I'm not here to be happy or successful or anything self-serving. I'm not even here to serve the people around me. I'm here to serve my God and no one else.

Yes, that means serving other people. Maybe it means happiness or success. But those things are not of first importance. God put me right here, right now to serve Him and glorify Him.

Maybe that means giving up my comfort zone. Maybe that means praying for someone who has hurt me. Maybe that means working faithfully when I want to stop.

Whatever it means for me, for you, for everyone, it all comes down to why we're here.

To glorify our God.

-Kira

The Bible is Incredible (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, I read Psalm 119 all the way through for what I think was the first time. To be honest, I had put it off for a few days because I knew it would take a while, but it turned out I was wrong to dread it. Almost immediately, I was blown away by the deep longing for righteousness and the Word of God expressed by David.

With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:10-11

Just take those two verses for example. David is called a man after God's own heart, and this cry shows it to be true. While David was a great sinner (like the rest of us) his desire was to be like God in righteousness and goodness.

Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
Psalm 119:40

I underlined this verse as soon as I read it. When was the last time I desperately longed to read the Bible and know God's law?

I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Psalm 119:75

God doesn't give us trials just for the fun of it. He hurts for us (as shown by what He did on the cross). We are not put through hard times lightly. They are for God's glory, the ultimate purpose of our existence.

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.
Psalm 119:142

Righteousness is not subjective, nor will it ever be. Right and wrong is not an opinion. It is fact and we can know it through Scripture.

My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.
Psalm 119:171

The only right response to what God has given us.



All that to say, the more I read of the Bible, the more amazing it is! It leaves me excited to learn more and see what else God has for me to learn. I hope it is the same for you.

-Kira

Devotions and To-Do Lists

"Devotions aren't something to mark off a to-do list."

I can't remember when I first heard that, but it's stuck with me for a long time. The intended meaning is that you shouldn't rush through devotions to get through the next thing, but should rather spend time on it and put in effort.

What made it into my head though was the literal meaning. I've had the subconscious thought for a long time that if I write down the word "devotions" on a to-do list, it doesn't count. If I actually do them and mark it off, it's even worse.

For the past few days, I haven't wanted to read my Bible and so I just didn't. I of course felt guilty about it and, one day, wrote devotions on my to-do list. I tried to ignore the nagging feeling that it was wrong and told myself that it was the only way that I was actually going to do devotions that day.

That's when I realized that the guilt I felt is ridiculous.

The idea behind saying devotions aren't for a to-do list is a good one. We, as believers, need to invest in our relationships with God just like we would other people. We need to spend time in His Word and in prayer on a daily basis in a deeper way than we would spend time on the dishes. The Psalmist tells us that the righteous man spends a lot of time in the Bible.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:2

But sometimes we just don't want to. We're busy or in a bad mood or don't feel like it or any number of other things. It's so easy to just shrug our shoulders and miss it for one more day.

It's only this last school year that I've been able to make a consistent habit of doing devotions. The key word there is "habit." Habits take effort to form. If you wanted to form the habit of running, you'd have to make yourself run regularly, even when you didn't want to. Day after day, you'd lace up your shoes to log some miles.

Devotions require the exact same thing. It's not different because it relates to God. It should be a normal part of our lives and we have to work to make it that way. Sometimes running makes it onto the to-do list and sometimes it is enjoyed.

The long term benefits come from investing when it's hard and when it's not. If you want to run a marathon, you have to do those long runs that make you want to die. But they make race day easier. If you want to be grounded in God's Word, you have to spend time in it when there are a million things you'd rather be doing.

So go ahead. Write devotions on your to-do list if that's what it takes to get it done. Enjoying it is a benefit that comes with time. Even now, when I generally like doing my devotions in the morning, there are still days that I dread the time and have to make myself do it.

The rewards will come, but the foundation must be laid.

-Kira

Summer

It's summer. That means cut-offs, bonfires, ice cream, and boredom. One fantastic thing about the summer is that most of us don't have a full week of school to keep us busy (sorry homeschoolers who are still trudging through Saxon - I feel your pain). That usually means a lot of free time and the question of what to do with it.

I've been asking that question lately. I have a particularly free summer ahead of me and I'm a little short on ideas. One thing that will make it into my daily schedule is a couple hours of writing. I've got more time to focus on improving my skills now that they are not needed for research papers. I'll also be spending a lot of time running and swimming. But other than that, I don't have a lot going on.

Actually, what to do with my summer has entered into my prayers almost every day recently - having nothing planned has kind of been getting to me.

The first thing I had to realize is that Summer 2017 isn't actually "my summer." I have the habit of calling it that, but it's not in any way accurate. Just like the rest of my time belongs to God, so does the summer. It's not my summer - it's God's summer.

That only changes the thought process though. I am still faced with more free time than I know what to do with. But the question has now changed to what does God want me to do with all that free time?

That's a little bit of a hard one to answer. Chances are, He's not going to write me a detailed e-mail with everything He wants me to accomplish in the next few months. So here's my current conclusion, based on a lot of thought and prayer: I just need to live.

Woah, crazy, right?

What I mean by that is that maybe I don't need to be obsessing over what I'm supposed to be doing or finding some big thing to fill up a lot of time. Yes, stuff like that happens (camps, jobs, writing, etc.), but I don't need to seek it out in order to feel fulfilled. Living day to day can be just as satisfying as doing huge things.

Living isn't just going from thing to thing to thing. It's also stuff like turning on the oven so your brother can make cookies. Or maybe it's reading a book to better understand some aspect of theology. Or it could be helping with dinner because you have the time to do that.

I can't stand going to bed and feeling as if I haven't done anything all day. It drives me crazy. I used to think that meant I needed to do some big thing or complete a checklist every day. But it actually means I need to be a good steward of the time that has been given to me. If that means finishing a huge project, great. If it means going for a walk, reading a book, and swimming with my siblings, also great. The noteworthy things don't define me and I don't need them to fulfill me. Being a good steward isn't just doing the intense and big stuff that gets noticed. God gives us big blessings and little blessings. We do big things and little things. There's a place for both.

I guess my main point today is that we don't always have to be in search of what we think are important things to do. It's okay to just take what comes day by day and do it with all your heart.

-Kira

Not A Real Post

Rather than writing a full post today, I'm going to direct you to TheRebelution.com. Why? Because today they published an article I wrote!

Here's the link, if you want to check it out:
How to Heal Broken Relationships

The Little Things

Life is busy. Pretty much anyone who ever lived would agree. There's work, school, family, sports, church events, and everything else that claims hours and days of our lives. Most of that stuff is really good. We were made to live full lives and glorify God with our work. But often, we let it overwhelm us and forget to enjoy it.

I've been noticing the little things lately. And by little things, I mean the stuff that I would usually ignore in favor of all the work (or made up work) that I have to do. Why would I watch my little blonde, blue eyed sister pick flowers on a hill when I have a book to read? Why would I listen to my brother whistle whatever song is stuck in his head when I have finals to study for? And why would I lay in the hammock with previously mentioned little sister when I could be writing a blog post?

Reading books, studying for finals, and writing blog posts are all excellent things to do. In fact, I partake of them quite regularly. But it's also good to admire how your sister's hair glows in the setting sun, to appreciate the cuteness of your brother's off-key whistle, to let a four year old crawl all over you as you sway three feet off the ground.

A lot of times, I deny people my time and love, even in small increments, because I "have too much work to do." It's ultimately denying myself something good as well. There's always more time to do that work, but my sister won't be four forever. I won't live with my siblings for much longer. Appreciating the little tiny things now is just as responsible a way to use time as is scribbling away at notes for a test.

Yes, sometimes we do have to ignore the little things in order to get our work done. But how often could we postpone the work for five minutes to trace a hand with a crayon, climb a tree, or walk down the street.

I'm not only talking about time with siblings - that's just the biggest way little things are manifested in my life. Maybe a little thing for you would be reading a chapter of a book, actually tasting a few sips of morning coffee, or staring up at the clouds to think for a couple minutes.

The little things are good. They are refreshing. They stay in your memory and make you smile. People are often included in little things. A fifteen minute walk with my sister gives us time to talk. Sitting next to someone silently can be comfortable. The little things are what strengthen important relationships - the ones we don't want to lose.

Little things are smelling the summer air, snuggling under a blanket at the end of the day, warming your hands by a bonfire in the middle of friends on a late July night.

What little things have crept into your life lately? Take a minute and enjoy them. You won't regret it.

-Kira

Book Review: Jane Eyre

Classics. Those books that have lasted centuries, only to be left on the bookshelves of well meaning readers, unopened, unexplored. The shelves in my room hold many of these works of art, most of them as yet unread.

However, during the week of the neck injury awhile ago, I needed something to entertain me (other than Netflix - one can only take so much bad television). So I decided to tackle one of the books that I had been putting off for much too long. I figured my inability to move would provide motivation to actually finish the venture this time.

I chose Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and completed about half of it before I was up and moving again. It happens to be quite a thick book though, and it took me a few more weeks of regular life to reach the end.

Miss Bronte's protagonist, Jane, is a plain little girl at the opening of the story. Her life, young as she is, is already marked with suffering. Jane is an orphan, entrusted to the care of a guardian who does not love her. To get rid of the troublesome child, Jane is sent to a charity school where she receives an education and eventually ventures out into the world on her own. Life does not get any easier though, as she begins finding her way in the world, and Jane is left to face many difficult situations which try her courage, morality, and love.

As is often the case with old books ("classics"), I found Jane Eyre to be much more gripping and intriguing than I expected. The story is compelling and well thought out. Jane is a character who takes some getting used to, but is easy to grow to love. She is surrounded by a supporting cast with interesting backgrounds who leave their mark on the girl. Her tale is told by a woman with an excellent vocabulary and skill in crafting sentences.

I appreciated the moral questions raised by Bronte and how they were answered. As someone who loves to read, I'm finding it tragically and increasingly difficult to find books written in the recent past with clean language, themes, and choices. Jane Eyre was a breath of fresh air in that regard. Jane had to make terrible decisions, but she was strong and chose well. Emotion did not dictate the choices in her life - sound judgement and convictions did.

Though quite long, Jane Eyre was worth the read. I kept coming back to find out what would happen to the heroine and how she would respond throughout the weeks it took me to finish the book. Jane has left an impression on me, and, I have to say, I'm sorry the story's over.

-Kira

Copy Cat

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. That the person who is annoying you to no end by copying your every action is doing so because he admires you. It's true and it's a really great thing to remember when you find yourself getting irritated by people doing said imitating.

But what about the flip side? What if you're the one doing the imitating?

When I find myself trying to copy or follow someone, I have to start asking questions. For example:

Who do you want to imitate?
Usually friends.

In what do you want to copy them?
All sorts of things - relationships with siblings, when they do their math, what shoes they wear, etc.

Why do you want to do what they do?

Now this is the tricky one. Why exactly do I want to follow in their footsteps? It's often because I admire them and I want other people to admire me too. But the Bible says there's a problem with that. I wasn't made to fit into someone else's blueprint - to take the same classes, listen to the same music, or have the same job. I was made to be special and unique.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27

I was made in the image of God. You were too. Neither of us were created to mold ourselves into someone else's image - we were given one at the very beginning.

The Creator Who made us to be like Him knows us so intimately and loves us so deeply that it shouldn't matter what people around us think or if we match what they do. He doesn't want us to try to be a carbon copy of another one of His creatures - He wants us to be ourselves.

Next time you catch yourself trying to copy someone else, think about why you're doing it. Is it because you genuinely want/need to do it or maybe because you want to be a miniature of them? You don't need to be someone's clone. Your Creator made you just as He intended.

-Kira

Book Review: Crazy Love

There's nothing quite like a book that makes you take a good hard look at yourself. Crazy Love is one of those books.

I mentioned Crazy Love a few weeks ago in a different post before I had finished reading it. Now that I'm done, I had to review it because I absolutely loved it.

Francis Chan's Crazy Love is about how incredibly out of this world God's love for us is. It comes through in His every action - from salvation to the creation of caterpillars. Our sin left us with no claim to His love, but He poured it over us anyway. By the bucket full. When we stop and actually try to fathom for a moment the depth of this love, we are left with no other reaction than to pour out our lives in service to Christ.

We have no reason to fear death, no reason to conform to this world, no reason to worry or stress or be caught up with ourselves. This life is about God, even though we're the ones living it. Chan makes that incredibly clear in his book.

Crazy Love is not overly eloquent or complicated. While I usually enjoy finer language in a book, Chan made his point simple and I appreciate that in this case. Rather than detracting from the book, the simplicity of the writing allowed me to focus on the message and how it applies to me.

It took me awhile to reach the point spiritually where I can see the benefit of conviction when I first feel it, rather than wanting to run in the other direction, toward complacency. It has led to a deeper appreciation of books like Crazy Love and how God uses them in my life. Francis Chan is not shy about saying that the church as a whole is not following God completely. But he doesn't just leave it there. In "A Conversation With Francis Chan" at the end of the book, Chan stresses that he's not attacking the church. Rather, he loves the church and wants to urge her to follow Christ's calling.

"I'm not coming up with anything new. I'm calling people to go back to the way it was. I'm not bashing the church. I'm loving it." (Crazy Love, pg 180)

Over all, Crazy Love was a convicting and, more importantly, encouraging read. It has led me to examine my own life and walk with God and to spend more time focusing on Him.

-Kira

You can find Francis Chan on his blog: crazylove.org

And his Crazy Love website: crazylovebook.com

Write to Examine

If you know anything much about me at all, you probably know I want to be a writer. I've wanted to be a writer basically forever and I still hold that desire close to my heart. I wrote a novel for school because I want to be a writer. I stalk author's websites because I want to be a writer. I started this blog because I want to be a writer.

That last one is what I want to talk about today.

I don't remember my precise reasoning for starting this blog almost three years ago. It might have been for the writing. I might have been excited that other people could read what I wrote. Who knows? But I do know exactly what it's done for me.

It has helped me in my walk with Christ.

Over the past three years, my posts have been rather sporadic and random. Some were life updates, some were stories, and some were about spiritual things. Writing about the things that God taught me was really hard at first. I was worried about putting my faith on the internet (even with just a few people reading). I was especially worried that I would mess it all up and say everything wrong.

But, I must say, I am so glad that I did start writing about my faith. Now there are hardly any posts that don't have to do with what God's teaching me through His Word and the circumstances in my life and I am so happy about that.

My main purpose in writing this post is to urge you to do something similar to what I do.

Don't get scared on me, I don't necessarily mean starting your own blog and putting it out there for everyone to see (but if you want to do that, I do encourage it). What I mean is writing about how God is growing you. That could be on a blog or in a journal or on the back of a napkin at a particularly dull dinner party.

A lot of people will say that they aren't writers, and I get that. But I think there is real value to be found in writing about your walk with Christ on a regular basis, even if writing isn't your thing. And yes, I only mean writing - not talking or thinking or anything like that (though those are good too). Here's why:

When you write about something, you have to get your thoughts together on that subject. If you're working on a research paper about the federal government for example, you have to focus and organize your thinking around that one topic.

Writing about your faith is no different. When you make yourself put forth the effort to examine and record the details about one specific thing that God is doing in your life, it becomes clearer to you.

Writing also requires spending time thinking about the subject upon which you are writing. In this case, that means dwelling on how you grow and how you fail and on how God is working things in your mind and circumstances. Those are incredibly valuable things to think about.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8

I'd say your sanctification falls into quite a few of those categories.

Another benefit to writing about God's work in you is that it opens your eyes to your growth, and God's faithfulness to you. When you force yourself to take 20 minutes to think about what you're learning and struggling through and write about it, you see God so clearly.

When you do it by topic, you also think about that topic and see where it comes up in your day to day life. For example, when I was learning about contentment (as if I'm done ;), I wrote a blog post about it. I started noticing when I wasn't content, which helped me to change. I remembered the verses God had shown me, and I was able to pray that He would help me be content in those situations.

One final way writing about my spiritual life has helped me so much is that I can look back and see where I used to be against where I am now. This doesn't only apply to writing proficiency, but also to spiritual growth. It's so incredible to go back to old posts or journal entries or read through the notes in my Journaling Bible and see everything God's done for me. It reminds me that He is faithful, because I so often forget. And it reminds me that He's not done with me yet, because I forget that too.

So those are the reasons I would strongly urge you to make a weekly practice of taking a step back and writing about whatever theme seems prevalent in your life. It clarifies it so that you can work on it and praise God for the little victories of sanctification. You can never go wrong with examining your walk with the Lord, and writing is a very profitable way to do so.

-Kira

The Bible is Incredible

Well, duh. Of course the Bible is incredible! Anyone who has ever been to any sort of Bible study/Sunday school/sermon can tell you that.

But I'm still going to write about it.

Since I've been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan (as mentioned in my last post), I've been filled with wonder at just how amazing God is. And, by extension, His Word.

One of the things that's really been standing out to me lately is how many tiny things are so important in the greetings of Paul's epistles. Let me show you what I mean.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:1

Alright, what do you see here? For so long, I've just seen Paul introducing himself. "Hi, I'm Paul. I'm a Christian. This letter is for you."

But there is so much more!

Paul introduces himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Think about that for just a minute. If you're a believer, who is responsible for that? Let me answer that for you: it's God. If it weren't for the fact that He loves me so much and desires to spend eternity with me, I wouldn't be saved.

And I thought it was just a greeting.

Paul, an apostle-not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.
Galatians 1:1

In Galatians, Paul's main message is that the churches of Galatia are being too legalistic. His purpose is to remind them that they are saved by grace, not by works. And he starts with that reminder in the first verse.

Paul is an apostle, not because of anything that he or any other human did, but because of God. His identity and salvation have nothing whatsoever to do with himself or other people. They are found fully in God.

Let's do another one!

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God...
Romans 1:1

Want to take a stab at this one?

Romans was the first book to start bringing before me the importance of even the introduction of the author. Paul was called to be an apostle and servant, set apart for God's use. He is no longer his own, but belongs fully to God because of the ransom paid for his life.

That's a lot more words than Paul uses, but I think it's what he's saying. Translate that into your life. Are you a complete servant of the One who called you? Are you set apart for His purpose and not your own? That's really convicting to me.

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker.
Philemon 1

This greeting centers more around who we are in relation to each other as Christians. First, we are family. God has adopted us into His eternal and perfect family, so we are all brothers and sisters.

Second, we are workers with one another. We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). No matter what our age, race, or position in life, we all have the same purpose and goal: to live for God.



That's only four verses and doesn't even touch on the final greetings, but it still blows me away when I really think about what they say.

Please, please do not just take what I said and move on. Read your Bible carefully and consistently for yourself. You don't have to finish the whole thing in a year or even read a full chapter at a time. But really examine and meditate on what you read. This is just what God's been showing me through my reading (which I've only really turned into a habit this past school year). Go and see what He wants to show you through yours.

-Kira

On Death

So I've been reading a lot about death the last couple days. Not intentionally. It's just happened to come up in a couple books I'm working through this week.

This has resulted in my thinking about death. And the time before death. And how that time should be spent. You know, now that I think about it, this reminds me of one of my semi-recent posts: Borrowed Time.

Anyway, back to today. Let me start by giving you a sampling of what I've been reading and then tell you what's running through my very scattered brain.

The first book is Meditations by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. No, I didn't just pick it up because the cover looks cool - it's for school. To be honest though, I don't totally dread reading it. Aurelius isn't all that boring.

Meditations is a book of personal thoughts, resolutions, and observations of the world from the worldview of a Stoic philosopher/emperor shortly after the time of Jesus. Aurelius' goal was to live a virtuous and moral life. Here are his thoughts on death:

Death: something like birth, a natural mystery, elements that split and recombine.

Not an embarrassing thing. Not an offense to reason, or our nature.
(Meditations, Book 4)

People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out.

But suppose that those who remembered you were immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do you? And I don't just mean when you're dead, but in your own lifetime. What use is praise, except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable?
(Meditations, Book 4)

Those two excerpts basically cover Aurelius' views on death as told in his Meditations. According to him, death is not something to be feared and there is absolutely no use in trying to get people to remember you and your fame.

The second book I've been reading this week that brought up the subject of death when I least expected it is Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm not very far into it yet, but his perspective on death and "posthumous fame" still gave me pause.

In about fifty years (give or take a couple of decades), no one will remember you. Everyone you know will be dead. Certainly no one will care what job you had, what car you drove, what school you attended, or what clothes you wore. This can be terrifying or reassuring, or maybe a mix of both.
(Crazy Love, ch 2)

That's pretty straightforward. The chapter containing these sentences is about how everything and every time is about God - including the miniscule piece of eternity that our lives occupy.

Reading these books at the same time has left me thinking a lot about death, as I mentioned before. But it hasn't been depressing. In fact, the result of all my meditation on death has been that I've been thinking about life a lot. Particularly my life. It may be an easy question, but who is my life supposed to glorify?

Now, Aurelius was not a Christian. In fact, even though his book is full of virtues and morals, he heavily persecuted the Christians. It was a crime not to worship Caesar and guess who the Christians didn't worship? His answer is that your life isn't really meant to glorify anyone. You go about your business, try to do the right things, and eventually die.

Francis Chan on the other hand is a pastor. He is so passionate about his faith. So his answer is that our lives are supposed to glorify God - even though they are incredibly short in light of eternity. He uses the illustration of all of us being extras in a movie about God to make his point.

We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live. I don't know about you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God. First Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." That is what each of our two-fifths of a second is about.
(Crazy Love, ch 2)

Question: Who is my life supposed to glorify?
Answer: God.

Harder Question: Who does my life glorify?
Harder Answer: Usually me.

It's not natural to instantly give God the glory or to act in every little thing in a way that honors Him. But that's what we've got to strive to do. God is too great and wonderful for us to make this about us! Even Aurelius realized that fame and glory don't actually do us any good. So if they're not going to help us out anyway, we may as well make our lives about God, right?

But that's not how it's supposed to work either. We don't just glorify God because our glory won't last. Our lives should be lived as a response to everything He's done for us. For me, that includes salvation, putting me in the beautiful mountains of Virginia, piecing together my family so that I understand His picture of adoption, letting me be homeschooled, and tons and tons of other stuff. What does it mean for you?

When I think about all the stuff God has given me in my life that I don't deserve, it makes me want to live for Him. Yes, I still mess up. All. The. Time. But His grace means I can try again. I don't have to stay down.

I'm going to leave you with a quote from Francis Chan, because he said it well.

The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift.
(Crazy Love, ch 2)

-Kira

Whatever Situation

I'm back! Sorry for the three or four weeks of no posts. A lot has happened (some of which actually pertains to this blog post :).

Anyway, I'm not writing to give excuses today. I'm writing to tell all you people about something I've learned over the last couple months (and am still learning).

Back in February, I was reading through Philippians for devotions and I hit Philippians 4:11. It goes something like this:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

That verse has been haunting me ever since.

Of course, there's the initial conviction of "Wow, I'm not even in prison and I'm unhappy with stuff in my life!" But this particular thing turned into more than that.

Last month, our family went down to Florida for about a week as a vacation. After the first couple days, one of my sisters got sick. I followed the next day. It just felt like a really bad cold, so we kept going to Disney and Universal and just took cold medicine like it was going out of style. A couple days later, one of the boys started getting sick. Our last day there, five of us were down and we couldn't leave the house.

When we got home, we figured out that we had all caught strep throat and that was why our symptoms were so weird. Eventually, people started getting better, but I couldn't seem to quite kick it. That may or may not have been partially due to my insistence upon playing soccer a few days after we got back. Anyway, I was down for a while longer than everyone else and ended up with a small sinus infection just to make things more interesting. Strep sapped my energy and made me achy and tired - essentially to the point of not wanting to move very much.

(I promise there is a point to this long and rambling story.)

Once I finally got better, I started going for my morning runs again. I hadn't run for a couple months because of shin splints and it was incredibly exciting to finally be able to get back into it. Unfortunately, four days in, I injured my neck pretty badly. I was stretching to loosen up and something popped, leading to pain, blacking out, and the inability to move my head.

That meant a week and a half of laying in bed with no running, no soccer, no driving, and no school. For the first few days, I couldn't even hold up a book long enough to read.

Hours upon hours of Netflix in bed was not how I had imagined spending that time and I wasn't happy. At the end of the first week I ended up crying just because I didn't think I could take the pain and the helplessness and frustration any more.

Back to Philippians.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

That was some situation I was in. Paul probably didn't want to be in prison any more than I wanted to be sick or stuck in bed. But he was able to say that he was content. I wasn't.

But that verse just kept coming back to me.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I had a plan for all that time I was out of commission and it did not involve being sidelined. God had a different plan though and guess what - His won.

This post is about contentment. I wasn't content with my circumstances and situation, but God's been working on me. I have by no means perfected this quality - far from it. But now I'm on the lookout for ways to be content in whatever situation I am.

-Kira

Book Review: This Changes Everything

I recently had the privilege of reading the book This Changes Everything: How the gospel transforms the teen years by Jaquelle Crowe for free in order to review it. And let me tell you, I loved it!

I had expected to enjoy the book since it was written for teens about living for Christ. I trusted the author, having read her articles before, and figured her first book would be good as well. So I was surprised at what an impact it made on me.

Jaquelle's book just came out today (I got it early - yay! ;) and I would highly recommend you go read it.

This Changes Everything is about how we, as teenagers, should be living our lives for Christ right now. We don't have to (and should not) wait until we're older. We are just as much God's people now as we will be in two or three or five years. We are not exempt from following God's Word because of our age and Jaquelle wants to make sure we know it.

The book is written very simply, not because teens need it that way, but because it can be stated that way. No one needs big words to understand that we are to lay aside everything tearing us away from Christ and live only and fully for Him.

That being said, I would not only recommend this book to teens, but to everyone else walking with Christ as well. Teens aren't the only ones who need reminders of these things. Even though Jaquelle is talking mainly to teenagers, everything she says applies equally to all believers. We are all called to a relationship with God and to go against the norms of culture.

If you're interested, you can find This Changes Everything on Amazon and Crossway and I'm sure some other places too.

I cannot tell you how wonderfully Jaquelle shows that the gospel does, in fact, change everything in our lives.

-Kira

Borrowed Time

A while ago (I honestly can't remember when), I was having a conversation with my mom about I don't remember what. It must have had something to do with big decision making or spending time or something like that because she told me about doing random things for her boss at a job a long time ago. None of the other employees wanted to do things like drive across town to get something from the store, but she was okay with it.

When asked why, she said that her boss was paying her for her time so it was up to him how she spent it. It didn't really matter whether she was at a desk or in the car - she was being paid to give control of that time to someone else.

This wasn't just a random story though - she had a point. Our whole lives are the exact same way. They belong to God and we should be happy to spend them however He pleases.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

That thought is so incredible to me. God spent so much to save us and so our bodies, lives, and (on a smaller scale) time belong to Him.

Just the idea that every second of every day that I live belongs to God changes how I think and the choices I make. Think about it - what if you had to report to God what you did all day? Would you be on Facebook right now? Would you be done with schoolwork by now? I know I wouldn't waste time nearly as much.

But wasting time can happen in a lot of different ways. It might be spending too long on Facebook. But it also might be reading a trashy novel. It could be all sorts of things. Just because we seem to be doing something good (like reading) doesn't mean the actual thing we're doing is edifying.

We are called to use our lives to further the kingdom of God and every second that we waste is a second that we're not doing that.

That's not to say it's wrong to rest - just the opposite. Rest is a very good thing, but it must be done wisely. Too much is laziness, too little isn't good for you.

God has only given us so much time on this earth. We've got to be good stewards of it.

- Kira

Extra

I've noticed lately that I have a lot of stuff in my life. And a good portion of it's extra. Some of it, of course, like school, is important and should definitely be there. Other things though, like a Goodreads reading challenge, really don't need to be taking up space and time.

A few months ago, I saw a documentary called Minimalism. It mostly followed these two guys who wrote a book on the subject and they explained how great it was. One of the things they said over and over was that, without all that extra stuff around you, it's easier to think and relax and enjoy yourself.

Now, I'm not by a long stretch promoting minimalism. No way. But it brings up some interesting ideas.

What if we made an effort to get rid of just a few of the extra things in our lives? It would clear a lot of space in our heads (and maybe our rooms).

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

Jesus came to give us abundant life! To me, that doesn't mean waking up in the morning dreading another day on this earth filled with its busyness. No, we're supposed to have joy in our lives. We've been remade! We are new people, cleansed by Christ and filled by the Holy Spirit.

As new people, we have a new purpose in life and that purpose is (according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism) to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Forever starts now - not when we get to Heaven.

God wants us to have joy in our lives. A lot of times, extra stuff that causes extra stress gets in the way of that. We're rushing around, trying to fulfill priorities we set for ourselves and finish checklists we wrote up with success and happiness in mind. But it doesn't really cause a lot of happiness.

For me, getting rid of the extra things means unsubscribing to a writing workshop. It means not going to a weekend high school retreat. It means not worrying about a reading challenge, but enjoying the books. That's what I've got so far, and I intend to keep looking for ways to cut out the things that don't let me live my life with joy.

And guess what. When you get rid of the extra, you'll find you have more time and brain space for the things you do keep. Like school. Soccer. Church. Family.

Don't get rid of everything. But maybe get rid of enough to enjoy life and your Creator a little more.

-Kira

Splendid

A couple weeks ago, I got to see the movie/documentary Is Genesis History? To be honest, I went into it not really expecting to learn a whole lot - or at least to just add to the list of facts stored away in the back of my mind that prove events in the Bible.

And I did learn a few more facts - really cool ones. But the thing that most affected me about that movie was the majesty of God.

We've all heard it since we first started going to Sunday School: "Look, God made those trees outside and all the mountains and oceans and rivers. Isn't our God incredible?" And then of course, we must nod and agree like good little Christian children because if we don't, we will never get to snack time.

Of course God is wonderful - we've always been taught that and we've seen it for ourselves on the occasional hike on a particularly beautiful mountain or the sparkle of a starry sky in the middle of the country.

But you know what? I take that for granted a lot. More often than not, I'm that kid at church, agreeing that God is great and would you please pass the goldfish?

That's the wrong attitude. We can't just dismiss how splendid our Creator is - though none of us would ever admit to doing so.

It's become one of those cliche things that everyone talks about, but almost no one believes with real conviction. But we should. When we look at the world around us, we should hardly be able to speak for joy at the beauty and detail of creation.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. -Romans 1:20

Now, this verse is talking about how the unrighteous and those who don't follow after God have no excuse for their immorality, but it applies just as much to Christians. We can see the work of God in the things He has made and there is no excuse for our complacency.

Let's all take every chance we get to admire the glory of God. He has given us a piece of Himself in our ability to appreciate beauty, so let's put it to use. It's not inconvenient. It's not hard. Let's revel in God's creation and give Him praise.

-Kira