What is an Adventure?

Perhaps I have written about this...

But I don't suppose it can be spoken of enough, and definitely not too much.

So I'm guessing you've all noticed my blog's title (I know, call me Captain Obvious).
It's there for a reason, and definitely not because I am trying to join some hipster movement.

I like adventures, and I go nuts over fantasy stories.
My reasoning is simple, really.
The protagonists and all their struggles look like me, and the heroes in all their grandeur remind me of Jesus.

Stories speak to something deep in our souls, something that Jesus' kids like to call that "eternal" call.
I know you know this story, sometimes I think we were born with it in our DNA. But bear with me as I tell it yet again, won't you? Won't you sit with me and listen (or read, I suppose) to the story that makes my blood sing, my heart rejoice, and my feet to dance?
It starts like this...

We were never called to be here, at least not like this. Life was made because the God of the Universe lacked one simple thing. In all His perfection He was (and is) love embodied, yet He had no one to love. So He created a beautiful world, the most impressive utopia ever imagined. He put all of the most wonderful things ever imagined into it, more than man could write about or even study in a few lifetimes. Like an overeager lover setting up an exciting first date, He set up the world for us. He wrote His zeal in the clouds, built it strong in the mountains' foundations, and weaved it into the core of the earth's very atoms.

Then all of creation eagerly waited, looking for that day when God breathed life into a creature unique from all the others -- a creature that looked like Him, thought like Him, and talked like Him.
Can you imagine the shock and the joy on that day? The most perfect Being ever had done it, He created A MAN, a mirror image of himself.

As if things could not get better, He proceeded to make another, just as unique yet just as mirrored to Himself as the first. The woman was different from the man, yet still she looked like God, talked and thought like Him. God recognized that they were made in His image, that like Him they needed an equal to love. So he gave them to one another, to love as He loved them.

For a little while everything was Perfect, untouched and unscarred. Can you imagine the joy that the creation felt each morning? Surely the air vibrated with it!

And then it was all gone in an instant. The simple choices of men and women, the stupid pride tore them away from God like flesh from bone. The rend was instant, and the earth screamed with it. The innocence of man was destroyed, how could humanity go on being like God now? Perfect love had been destroyed when trust was cast aside and disobedience was embraced.

....So man was separated from God, this we all know. I see you there, nodding your heads in frustration and sighing in boredom. Deal with it for a moment longer, and listen now. I am not a bard or a poet, but try to see where I am coming from, what my heart's cry is. Lifeblood will be found here, just wait and see....

Centuries, millennia passed. The world sighed time after time with exhaustion, for it could no longer bear the weight of the would-be-gods of man. Mankind had meant to be loved and be lovers (in the purest fashion, my friends. Don't let your minds stray now!), yet they had begun to stamp and push and shove, each fighting to Be the God that created them, rather than be His image and reflection. They did not understand the beauty of the 'simple' reflection of the Sun on the Moon in the evenings (that beautiful moon that brings so much light to the dark!), but instead strove to be the Sun.

Yet God cared not for men's futile attempts to be Him. He could have erased it all and started anew... But out of the same love that sparked the creation, He made it fresh instead. In His mercy God made the nightmare into a dream, for all who would see the Way that was made. Just as before, He Himself did it. In a moment He restored what in another moment had been destroyed. And in His way, He stretched out the firmament to make it permanent. What was made firm then was the love that will never end, a love that came and died for man, a love that longs to be in close connection.
An unending God declaring who He is -- Love.


...So maybe you liked my story, and maybe you did not. Stay a moment longer, won't you? Come see how it applies to you, to stories, to adventure (if you don't already)...
Here is where the adventure is: not in the horrors or temptations of life, not in the horrible valleys that seem to have no end of darkness, and certainly not in the struggles and griefs that each of us must face as men on earth. The adventure lies in the doing, If it is done with God. For Jesus Christ (surely you know His name?) did more than sacrifice Himself so that we would not die. He made a way so that we MIGHT LIVE.

Now then, like the greatest heroes of old that we tell our children about, and whose stories tug at our deepest beings, we too are on the greatest of adventures. If you choose to accept Jesus for who He said He was, that is... Then you will find the adventures that have magic and fairies to be nothing compared to those we will face as His followers, for He is our guide, our destination, our rear-guard, and our constant companion. You will find, if you follow Jesus, that like the heroes of old you will face valleys and rivers and mountains and battles and times when it doesn't seem like you can go on (at times you will even have to crawl)... You will find times when it seems all is lost, times when you wonder why you started the adventure at all, times when you find adventures aren't always that great, times when you cannot see if good or bad lies around the corner... at times you will be betrayed by those you held dear, at times you will be frustrated by your enemies, at times you may be captured... and some of you may even be killed on the course of the adventure.

But this is the Best kind of adventure, you see? Not because of the bad, but because you know that NO MATTER WHAT the hero faces, he/she will Always win, will always reach the finish line, will always defeat the enemy.

Our solution is assured. Jesus said so when He died, and said "It is finished." And as if we weren't sure, He came back again, in Glory to lead the charge. Our struggles are before us, yes -- for the world has still not completely accepted its King again. As long as it abstains from His love, creation will writhe with the tragedy of it. For man was not created to BE God, but to be Loved by God, and to love Him. We destroyed it, but guess what? Still He loves us.

Dare I go on? I fear my words are at an end... all adventurers need to rest, you know. And anyway, I can only speak of the adventure for so long. There comes a time when the adventure must be Lived. I hope to see you along the way, my dear friends. Join us, won't you?

Live this adventure with my Jesus and I, if you care or dare. There is plenty of room for more. ;)

i gotta have that "single person" post now...

So another one of my friends got engaged yesterday.

Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thrilled.
I mean, I already have their wedding gift half-way done.

But I couldn't help the little mental sigh that came. You know the one.
Please don't get me wrong, I am far from in a hurry to be in a relationship. But my mind can't help but make the tally. This friend in a relationship for almost two years. That one entering into a more serious relationship, those ones going Facebook official (because apparently that's a big deal), and my other friends with several guys pursuing them.

Oh dear, there's that sigh again. The inner mirror turns and looks at me, and sighs again. I'm not unsatisfied with what I find in me, yet I can't help the next sigh that comes out.
I find myself in this strange place of wanting and yet not wanting, because I know that now is not the time.

Here's the deal: I am trying to be content in being single, and I don't care who knows. It's not because I disdain relationships (because I don't), or because I'm trying not to be jealous of my friends (because I'm not), or even because I am trying to find patience for right now (well, I'm always trying to do That). It's more because I believe that God has called us to be content where we are, regardless of circumstances.

Maybe this is just another single girls' post. I'll be honest that someday I do want to be in a relationship, to be married to a guy (who I unashamedly hope is like my dad and brothers). But my desires and dreams don't center around this one thing. My dream for a husband is that someday I can pursue the rest of my desires (and his) with him, not pursue him.

Because the ultimate goal and desire in my heart is God. I don't care how cheezy it is, but I want to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and to walk in  this way towards him-- whether I am single or not.


It seems my heart is settled, so why the sigh?
Maybe to laugh at myself...
Maybe in relief that it's not me yet....
Maybe in answer to the reminder that someday....


Sigh. Looking out at the snow, I remember I have bronchitis-- that's probably why I sighed. Oxygen getting to lungs, that's an important thing. ;)
I sigh again, surprised to find it is one of utter contentment.
When you know you're looking for God, life can be nothing but an adventure-- whether sick or single or whatever status you happen to have.

Laugh a little harder and longer, and more often at yourself.
Dance in the rain if you like to, but not just because it's cheezy, because you can.
Sing in the morning and in the night, because the morning will just come again.
Say "I love you" to the people around you and mean it with your actions too...
Pursue God with all your heart and all you have.... He'll be found.
And you'll find life, don't worry kids. You really will.

And thanks, everyone, for reading my #odeToCheezy post. Be encouraged!

Surprise Packages

Waking up this morning was hard.
My body was tired, my muscles sore, my attitude a jumbled mess of emotion.
Despite my troubles, my worries and my pains, there is a burden on my heart I cannot ignore.
I lay and I dread getting up, but my burden pushes at me, wants to lift me by the shoulders and get me on my way. Tell them, it whispers.
My spirit has jumped up to grab the burden, and in spite of myself I find myself begrudgingly following, tagging along with my childlike side, which is racing after the burden. Together we grab it, and I find myself, heart and soul, being lifted up, encouraged and strengthened as this balloon-like burden lifts us up, not down.

What is this?

How can this be?

He did it!


In my humanity I forgot. In the space of a day I got tired, and my weariness led to frustration. I forgot- but somehow I have it still. This burden, this message, this gift, this life.....


He hasn't left me.
My burden has a name, and He's given me a heart.
He gave me His heart.
I am astounded again, but somenow I can speak.
Would you hear it?
Listen well...

His heart is the heart of a man who saw the darkest things, wept over them, and loved them.
And still He came! And loved.... And he loved us.
He loved me, with all my mess.
And you, he loved you too, even in your brokenness!
He fought for us, I tell you! He fought to bottle your tears and catch your fall.
He gave his life for it, for you, for me.

But He came as a surprise, you know.
To you, to me, to his teenaged mom.
Things weren't supposed to happen that way,
And no one saw it coming.
The signs told about it and the earth declared it, but we were still confused, lost in the dark.
Yet for all our confusion, he came.

He came the weakest He could be, a simple baby in a humble family, in one of the darkest times of the world.
The world must have stopped for a second, when nature realized that God just became man.
Can you imagine, the wind holding its breath?
And then came the baby's first cry, announcing himself so normally to the world, no pomp at all.
But nature couldn't hold itself back, the heavens needed to rejoice.
They saw what we couldn't. A Savior was born! Hope breathed life into the world, and the peace on that day couldn't be contained. Peace exploded into joy as the stars arranged themselves to point to the world- He's Here! He did it! Look, come and see! Soon all shall be restored! 
Then the Heavens shouted as the hosts of angels came to declare- these other beings created just to serve Him, how on that lovely night they praised Him! Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace to men...

He surprised the world.
Death didn't stand a change, and darkness fled before him.
Many didn't see, they couldn't. But still he came, accomplishing His purpose.

He brought life into the world.
He set the earth in motion, to begin the restoration.
Still he is here... Surprising us.
How could we know, how could we see?
We cannot predict the plans of God....
But we can encounter them, and be moved by them.
Or we can ignore them...

Here is my prayer for you, and for me, this Christmas morning.
I pray that we would be surprised around the corners today.
Those moments you dread, those darkest deepest shadows of your heart...
I pray that we would find Him there, a light in the darkness.
I pray that He would invade your hearts with life, as only God can.
I hope that today, you will remember His love as I did, and you will know His heart.

And I pray that we would be those people talked about in Isaiah, who "walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, his light has dawned....."
I pray that you would rejoice! That in the darkest times you would hold on to hope, you would know peace, and even when you shouldn't, you would feel joy.... For you are Loved.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
And the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
There will be no end."
-Isaiah 9:6-7a