This Man

 

This is one incredible person. Ladies and gents, for those of you who don’t know him, Zack Hensley is unbelievable. Not only is he my boyfriend, he’s my best friend. I’ve never had someone sharpen me in so many ways as this man has over the past year. Since we started dating almost 5 months ago I have watched in honor and respect as he has continued to grow in love for God and people. I don’t know that I’ve ever met another man nearly as kind as he is… except for my dad- both are powerful men of patience and faithfulness. I am so blessed to have him in my life. 

There’s Something About the Pipes

The title of this might be a little misleading, but I’m not referencing my enormous biceps, though Magnum and Steel (as they are aptly named) can hold their own. …okay that’s a blatant lie… I’m 115 pounds on a normal day…. I’m referring to singing. The other night I was singing on a worship team and was overcome the moment we began to utter the first song “Let the light of Your face shine down on my heart…” It hit me like a ton of bricks, and as the music swelled to its climax and we began to sing of Go’s holiness, I remembered how I come alive in voicing my prayers through song. Again and again the Psalms say, “Sing to the Lord”. If you’re not an avid singer, try it. Not everyone loves music in the same ways, but I promise you, even if you can’t carry a tune, but you sing the Scriptures back to the Lord, more depth of insight into the layers of the Word of God will open up to you. Try it! Do it regularly for 6 months and see what happens over that period of time and I guarantee you’ll be hooked, not necessarily to singing, but to the Bible!

One more reason I just don’t like cats…

Promises

I’m typing with way too much coffee pumping through my bloodstream, so this will likely take at least triple the time I normally spend on posting, but you can’t complain because, let’s face it, you’re not on my blog because you expect to read anything new.

I got the chance to see a really great documentary this week that I HIGHLY recommend. If you have a chance to see it, do! It was directed by Carlos Bolado and follows the perspectives of children in Jerusalem on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides in a relatively peaceful period between two Intifadas. See it!!!  

GASP

I almost passed out when I realized how long it’s been since I’ve posted. Something about full time job/ full time school has a silly way of hindering the creative juices.  However, I will say that I have been jumping back and forth between opression and elation with the weather patterns. You see, Fall is the best time of year, hands down- the only problem is that the Mid-West has litttle to no ability to makek up its mind when it comes to landing on an actual season… therefore I sip my Pumpkin Spice Latte in utter defiance of the 87° temperature outside whilst grumbling to myself about how hot I now am.

More thoughts…

The difference between humility and being a pushover is the motive. Though the two can look the same to the untrained eye, the difference lies in whether or not your motive is the overflow of love for God or the fear of man.

Willingness

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; doe not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked; thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

One of the primary issues in our individualistic culture is the hatred of any and all things weak. As a dear friend of mine pointed out to me earlier today, by nature, there is nothing in the human heart that gravitates towards treating the ones in pain with compassion. Logically, it would make sense that one who is broken, down and out, fighting for some semblance of pleasure in their miserable existence, would evoke compassion from those around them who have in their immediate circumstances a better life, whether external or internal. This is not the case, however. It’s simply true that humans do not automatically have a “compassion chip” that makes us desire to treat that person with gentleness. Instead, the ones who are weak are treated with harshness.

Take the homeless. Have you ever watched someone interact with a homeless person after they’ve had a few drinks? That which could have been hidden by social acceptance is now on their sleeves once the alcohol hits their bloodstream and out comes all manners of mockery and contempt for the situation of the underprivileged. “Why don’t you get a job?!” they scream in their distaste. “The only reason you’re begging for money is because you’re too _____ lazy to do anything!!”

I watched this same type of scenario unfold a couple weeks ago right outside a club as I past by. An elderly panhandler sat on the curb, seemingly half-drunk himself, while a partially dressed clubber staggered out of the thumping environment with her friends, who sat highly entertained by her shocking disregard for social rules. Why didn’t the homeless man react? More likely than not it is because he is either used to it happening on a regular basis, or he agrees with his accuser, or both.

Why do we react so extremely to those who no longer wear the façade of perfection? Well, what if the individual whose life is spiraling out of control into an abyss of hopelessness makes you their prey and never leave you alone? Or so we tell ourselves. Actually, we have all kinds of reasons. Some are legitimate. Sometimes it’s not wisdom for a 16 year old girl to take care of a violently drunk man who is passed out on the street. In most cases, however, the case is not that extreme. In most cases, we just can’t be bothered.

Why do I bring the point up? It has nothing to do with me wishing everyone would get their act together. The point is that I need to get my act together. The synapse between the life of Jesus and my own is far too big. I do not want to forget that people are going to hell everyday. On the one hand, men and women were not made for hell, so we show the way by being like Christ, but more than that is a Man who is worthy of souls who love Him forever. It’s more than the issue of heaven and hell; it’s about whether or not I agree that He’s worthy. It is weather or not I love Him to the point that it overflows.