Royal Wedding: Prince William and Catherine

Sarah reminded me that today was the Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding.
I was eager to see what Kate Middleton's bridal gown would look like and found myself pulled into the Royal Wedding vacuum. It was so beautiful to watch--the dresses, the ceremony, the exchange of vows, and the priestly blessing were all so elegant and perfect.
Watch the Royal Wedding Live!
The Royal Wedding Page
William and Catherine become Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Strathearn, and Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus
'First Kiss' on Balcony of Buckingham Palace
Royal Wedding Hats
Duchess Catherine's Dress:

"Workers washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean."

It was a Fairy Tale Wedding...like stepping between the pages of the Cinderella in the Brother's Grimm.
But it made me so excited...
For the wonderful gift of salvation He has given me:

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."~61:10

I also thought it interesting that Kate Middleton is not nobility, yet she married Prince William and can be Queen Catherine the Sixth.
It reminded me that, although I am not of royal blood, the Son has chosen me for his Bride and His Father has adopted me as an heir to his eternal blessings.
What a blessing it is to be called an heir and child of God:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."~Galatians 4:4-7

Sacrificing...

Yes, we ate pancakes (waffles, actually) on Shrove Tuesday.
No, I didn't wear the ashes of remembrance. But I did see a boy at school with the black print of coal on his forehead.

And I prayed and prayed about what I was going to do for Lent (if I am doing it, that is) and I decided that yes, I might be doing it...or not.
Either way, you'll never know.
And it won't matter because I'm working out my salvation through fear and trembling just as you are working yours.
And though we're all working in different ways, most of us are working toward that same goal of holiness.

I hope you enjoy reading these two posts as much as I did:

• A Sojourner Rests: Forty days and forty nights
• Russell Moore: On Mardi Gras

Last of all, I have a question for you:
Paul says in Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”

(Since Lent is about giving something up) Would you give your salvation up so that someone else could be saved?

I thought about this last night, telling God I was so sorry—sorry that not everyone is or will be saved…sorry that I am so selfish and wouldn’t be willing to do so.

Can you even imagine what life would be life without God? I can’t—I can’t remember a time when He wasn’t there for me. One moment without Him would be Hell. That’s what Hell is—life without God.

So, think about it. Really think about what Paul said.

Would you wish yourself cut off from the life-giver, from the reason for the world, from your every breath, for the sake of your brothers?

‘til next week, friends,

Anna

Please remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Japan, Hawaii, and the Pacific Coast who are preparing for and suffering the evils of a tsunami.

A Complaint Free World...

Now wouldn't that be nice?
Apparently, some people consider it possible!
My mom bought this book about the church* that created the challenge.
So here's the deal:

1. Either buy one of the complaint free world bracelets or use one you already have. Let me warn you: pick something that's easy to get on and off--you're going to be doing a lot of that if you're anything like me.
2. Be constantly aware of your complaining.
3. Every time you catch yourself complaining, switch the bracelet to the other hand.
4. If you catch someone else complaining, switch your bracelet to your other hand. (you just complained about someone else complaining)

Good luck--strive to honor the words spoken through God's servant:

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.” Philippians 2:14-16

*Although the church is of Unitarian Denomination, I think the idea is brilliant!

The Beauty of the Bible...

I've recently been reading as the Spirit leads me...or trying to. It's hard to fall out of a reading program because I'm so fond of schedules. This morning, I read Psalms 40.
When I reached the end, I thought, "I need to share this on the blog today!" Then I reconsidered. "But it's just a Psalm," I thought, "Nobody will want to read it."
But I still felt like I should post it.
I felt ashamed that I would think that I should share a special blog post that I had written and would blow your mind with the revelation of it...
I think too often we get caught up in words of our own when we should be consumed by the Word of God.
And I have to ask myself, "How often do I sit in awe of the fact that the God of Eternity used humble human hands to write letters of love to me?"
There shouldn't be anything that captures my heart or my love more than the beauty of His Words:

"To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth--Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me."

What is your 'One Thing'?

A few days ago, my mom and I were listening to Francis Chan’s talk on the Desiring God conference. We are both big fans of his speaking and love his books. This time, he was speaking about prayer. He talk was on Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love, A Personal Journey. When he spoke of prayer, it hurt my heart. I longed for and greatly desired to have a relationship with God like he does.

It’s not that I don’t love God…I just feel like I’ve become numb over the past few years.

When I was little, I would jump at the chance to pray for anything. My dad called me a little “Prayer Warrior.” I loved praying to God and I thought that prayer must have been my Spiritual Gift.

Over the past few years, I’ve become awkward when I pray. I stumble and feel embarrassed when I’m done. I don’t feel eager to pray; I avoid it at all costs. The only time I don’t feel this way is when I am alone. I can pray to God then, when there’s nobody around to hear me except Him. But I’ve found that prayer for me has not been a walk of love, but a walk of requests and thanksgiving.

Mr. Chan opened my eyes to my sins—I haven’t been walking with God in love. I can’t imagine if I only went to my Dad just to ask for something or gave him brief thanks for something he’d given me. Our relationship has been built on spending time with one another.

That’s how it should be with God. I’ve found that the way love speaks to me the most is through time and gifts. In my relationship with God, that should mean giving up my time to read the Bible and speak to God, sacrifice idols in my life, offer praises sweet as incense to Him.

Mr. Chan spoke of times when God had answered his prayers. Sometimes the prayers were crazy—like the time he went golfing with his friends. They all had new drivers and he had an old, used one. On his drive home, he prayed to God, telling Him about how he felt about the drivers and how he wanted a new one, but felt selfish for doing so. The next day, Mr. Chan went to speak at a church and they told him, “We’ve heard that you don’t accept honorariums, so we wanted to give you this driver instead.” Isn’t that crazy?

In the end, he said he’d been “camping out” on this verse from Psalms 27:

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

He said he was trying to have this as the one thing he desired for a week.

I always jump at the opportunity to do something proactive. So, I tried his challenge.

Let me warn you: it’s really hard.

But it’s brought me to realize that my God hasn’t been the God that I actively love and actively loves me. He’s been the background God—a dead God that did something that changed my life a long time ago, but isn’t important enough to be my friend.

Now let me ask you, “What is your one thing? What is the one thing that you desire, the one thing that you seek? Is there room in your life to give up asking for other things—at least for a week—and seek after this one, beautiful thing?”

You have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses...

I opened my Bible a few nights ago and came upon Isaiah 43. Sometimes I feel so moved by the Spirit that I can't stop until I read the rest of the story (even if I've read it before). This rarely happens; I admit, it's hard for me to always enjoy reading the Bible. Anyway, I decided to get out a pencil and underline the verses that "spoke" to me.
These are the verses that have stuck with me throughout the week:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

"Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

This line really struck me:

"You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses."

I felt so guilty and had to ask myself: How many times do I use God and treat Him like a dump for my sins when I should be on my knees to worship Him at all times?

God's everlasting love is such a wonderful mystery to behold. He is ever-faithful to remember my sins no more.

And, even so, I continue to forget the wonders of His love.

What a wonderful God we serve!