Trinkets, originally uploaded by nebraska_becky.

Yesterday was my Nana’s birthday, and so to honor her I would like to reprint some of her very own words, which Papa copied & sent to me a few months ago. What I usually remember most about Nana was how she could, in her 70s, still view the world through a child’s eyes. How she delighted in life even though life in those last years was very painful. Now, as I reflect further on my grandmother and her life, I hope to remember her by her faith, as expressed in this note:

I am mindful of the many blessings bestowed upon me every day by Jesus Christ. I am reminded, through His Holy Spirit to give thanks for the simple things in life,
for family
and friends
for food
shelter and clothing.
The love Jesus Christ has placed in my heart, through faith, allows me to love all mankind, to give of myself to others, and to do what I can to help make this a better world in which to live.

Ephesians 4:31-32: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Thanks for the reminder, Nana. xoxo

With a 3-day weekend last week and a 2.5 day weekend this week, I’ve finally had some time to do some important things, such as: cleaning (my room, the kitchen floor, the dishes, clothes…my ears…you name it, I’ve cleaned it at least a little), spending time with Roommate Annie, sleeping, & making a small dent in my reading list, which now looks like this:

1. Worldliness, ed. C.J. Mahaney (finished Feb 6, 2010)
2. Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges (I’m 3/4 done with this one, but it was so convicted that my sinful self fled from its presence…should probably finish it sometime)
3. The Dangerous Duty of Delight by John Piper
4. A Call To Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson
5. David Brainerd: A Flame for God by Vance Christie
6. Holiness by J.C. Ryle
7. Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney

Gosh, I love having such a huge stack of books to read!

O that God would stir me from my complacency, my apathy, my comfort! So many of us are living in this fluffy fairytale life, myself included. You may say, “my life isn’t a fairytale, because my [insert relative] has cancer” or “my car broke down” or “my boyfriend and I broke up.” Ok, sure. I hate to minimize that for you, but I have to. Because for many of us, we’re still living that life…the life of iPods, caramel macchiatos, frequent trips to Target for things we don’t need… you know what I’m talking about. And because of all that, we’re pretty comfortable. We can cozy up with a blanket in front of the television. And hey, because we’ve worked so hard, that’s our right. That’s what we deserve. And that’s fine…after all, nothing says we ALL have to go be missionaries.

It’s good to serve in the church. I believe that God commands it, by saying that everyone should use his/her special gift by employing it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I’m not really that involved in serving my church right now. But even if I was, I have no doubt it would be something comfortable. Watching the babies in the nursery. Vacuuming the sanctuary.

My challenge to you is to do something uncomfortable. The Bible DOES command THAT, by commanding us to share the Gospel. I mean, when is sharing the Gospel with an unbeliever ever comfortable? Today I realized that there are people in a place called Haiti that are tired, sick, angry, and profoundly broken-hearted. That does not make me as uncomfortable as it should; although, the fact that I barely knew where Haiti was made me pretty uncomfortable. And that was good, because I had become desensitized to destruction. Wake up, people! Some of our Christian brothers and sisters are over there, as well as countless others that still need to be saved.

Listen up comfortable and complacent people like me! Take $25 that you would have spent at Starbucks in the course of a month and give it to the Baptist Haiti Mission. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a Baptist because the relief money is going straight to supplies, hospitals, tents for shelter, etc. After you give, don’t sit back and cross your arms and feel good about yourself, because you and I have barely scratched the surface. And if you need to be stirred from your complacency, check out this blog post on Pyromaniacs, and these pictures.

-Becky

P.S. – Even if this earthquake had never happened, it just doesn’t seem good to get too comfortable in this life…at least, not to the extent that engenders apathy and a cavalier attitude toward the heartbreak and suffering of others.

Home for the Holidays, originally uploaded by nebraska_becky.

The concept of “home” as always been a bit blurry & distorted to me. Honestly, I haven’t moved that much. Not nearly as much as your average army brat, or missionary kid. When I was 7 we moved from Connecticut to Ohio, and when I was 9 we moved from Ohio to Nebraska. Big deal. Still, I’ve always envied people who have lived in one place for all of their lives. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to just plant yourself somewhere and grow some nice, thick roots?

And then there’s this thing where my parents, in a state of what I perceive to be utter insanity, have continued to move. Virginia, Connecticut, Florida. In college, I was supposed to go “home” for Christmas…and was that Florida? Beats me. Is “home” where your parents/guardians are? If “home” is where I find the people I love, then I’m really in trouble…they’re scattered all around the country! How many homes can I have? Or perhaps my home is where somebody has prepared a room for me?

All I know is that my true home is in heaven. And maybe, as long as I live on this earth, home is wherever I want it to be. Home is my office with the sunlight slanting through the tall windows, the coffee percolating in the corner, and the voices of my much loved professors drifting soothingly down the hallway, reminding me of how comfortable my life really is. Home is at my parents’ house, when I wake up in the morning and my mom tosses Cassie the Poodle on my bed to greet me with slobbery dog kisses (thanks, Mom). Home is at Applebees, with Todd, eating three-cheese chicken penne & an 8 oz. sirloin and wondering where our lives will take us next. Home is at Cornerstone Bibe Church every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening where I know I’ll hear the truth even if I don’t hear it anywhere else. Home is at Laura & Jay’s, because even though I feel like Steve Urkel most of the time (busting in with no invitation in all my annoying splendor), they show me nothing but love & generosity. And anyway, Bear the Eskimo Spitz thinks I’m part of the family.

So now let me end this really lengthy post with this: I think I’m ready to create a new home for myself…in Crete. I have this sort of “moving fever” where I’m just dying to go through my belongings, throw a bunch of them away, organize, and move. I want to decorate a place for once, the way I want it. I want to exercise and learn how to cook…two things that I seem unwilling to do unless in complete isolation. Yes, there will be days when I will find myself profoundly lonely. But I’ll be OK. So…off to Crete I go! Is it May yet?

Floating Leaves, originally uploaded by nebraska_becky.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I realized it’s been about a month since I last posted, so hopefully this will serve as a proper update. I know you’ve all been waiting at the edge of your seats…

Giving thanks to God is something that Christians should never brush aside or put off until something really “big” or “great” happens. It’s not something we should save for Thanksgiving day, either. No, we are called to give thanks in all circumstances – for the good & the bad, the blessings and the discipline, the triumphs and the failures. We should thank God for even the small, seemingly mundane things. Here are some things that I’m thankful for:

1. My salvation. Thank you God for meddling with my thick head and my darkened heart so that I could understand, truly, the depths of your mercy & grace and the purpose of my life here on earth.

2. I am thankful for my family. No one knows me quite like my parents. And hey, it’s always proper to be thankful for the people that you inherited all your weird habits from, right? Thank you mom & dad, and papa too, for supporting me while I was unemployed and for continuing to offer me help & advice.

3. My church family…what would I do without you? You surround me with your love daily. Special thanks to the Gilberts & Cornells for all you’ve done to…well, take care of me, I guess!

4. My friends. Amanda, Amelia, Todd, Kirsten, Maryle, Heidi, Annie…the list goes on and on. You guys either keep me sane, or make me insane, but either way it’s always great! I love you!

5. My job…I’ve been working at Doane for about a month, and I LOVE it. God could have provided me any old job & I would have been content with it…but this is a “way over the top” sort of blessing. It’s so wonderful to be home at Doane again.

6. A new cellphone. Yep, rather mundane, but I dropped the old one in the porcelain throne & realized how thankful I am to have a cellular phone.

7. The essentials. I have food, clothes, a warm place to lay my head at night, and (so far) reliable transportation. I sleep, I wake up, I breathe. It’s awesome.

8. Now for the seemingly bad…I am thankful that God took my grandma to heaven to be with Him. So much good has seemed to come from it, including my grandpa’s salvation. And THAT I am thankful for. I’m also thankful for that awful break-up last spring. A little discipline was just what I needed to draw near to the Lord.

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ…” 1 Corinthians 15:57

Have a great day, everybody!