It Really Bugs Me When...

Christian artists sings songs with unclear and possibly harmful messages about God. I was listening to K-LOVE last week (because I had forgotten to grab my iPod) and I heard this song with a lyric that basically said, "I could write the most beautiful song in the world and it still wouldn't be enough."

And I was like,

Now, I know that they probably meant, "I could write the most beautiful song in the world and it still wouldn't be enough to reflect how amazing You are." But it comes across that our best and most beautiful creations are "not enough...for God." Like God is some judgmental critic, sticking his nose in the air when we sing off key or write a poem that doesn't deserve a Nobel Prize. (However, I do think God wants you to stop letting children speak/sing-talk 1/3 of your songs. Please.)

Which is why I love the message behind Amy Grant's "Better Than a Hallelujah." Yes, we should do our best for God, whatever our endeavors. However, artists need to be careful when they push the message that us and our various ways of glorifying God are insufficient.

No, there is no way that we as faulted creature/creations can fully express the immense glory of our Creator. However, our Creator made us in His image so whatever we do, if it's to glorify Him and his Creation, then it is "enough."

This is not my most eloquent post, but I think you all get the gist of what I'm saying. Any thoughts?

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

                               - Bilbo Baggins

I'm very drawn to the idea of living simply. It's one of the major reasons I have remained a vegetarian (which I promise I'll discuss in length some other time). I'm not really sure if there is one way to sum up simple living. As naturally complicated creatures, it's very easy to project our inner intricacies to our exterior lives. The world is not always simple. We learn this every time we turn on the news. How can we be simple in a world that demands us to constantly multitask?

For me, simplicity is not defined as avoiding deep thought or engagement in our local and global community. Much to the contrary, I think those things encourage me to live simply. I think it comes down to prioritizing what you consider essential in your life. In their song "Heaven Go Easy on Me," The Head and Heart says, "It is that the good life is a simple one? Sittin' in the yard watchin' the leaves go by. Reading good books and playing songs." That may be a dramatically reduced summation, but I think it reflects how I would define the simple life. We simplify our lives when we focus all of our endeavors toward achieving the goals that we have for ourselves. I ask myself, "Will X allow me to grow spiritually, intellectually, emotionally? Will doing X allow me to serve others? Would I regret not doing X?"

For Bilbo, the simple life is eating good food and enjoying the company of his friends and loved ones. Isn't that a fairly universal goal? You don't have to become a super-vegan, zero-waste, only-own-3-outfits kind of person to live a simple life. You just have to remove the clutter of the non-essentials in your life. Simplicity isn't hard when you have a core of inner peace to take shelter in when everything else is screaming for your money, attention, and energy.

How do you simplify your life?

Grad School Brings Out My Inner Gollum

I don't know about you guys, but here's the list of things I am capable of doing when I'm hungry: NOTHING. I'm fairly sure that Gollum/Smeagol is my spirit animal.

When my stomach starts growling right before my 6 pm class starts:





Then 15 minutes into class, my stomach wails:





And I answer questions and engage in discussion like a good student but on the inside I'm all:





Until I finally get home to a nice home-cooked bowl of cereal:




On the weekends, I'm Smeagol. The end.

Your Story is Important

I've been recently fascinated by the idea of storytelling. It's something we tend to forget as we age. Kids are always telling these wildly detailed and often embellished stories about even the simplest things. The more we grow, the more we start thinking that telling our stories is selfish and unnecessary. And because of this, our stories have less and less meaning.

In reality, our stories should mean more every day. As our lives go on, our stories become less about my trip to the zoo and more about that time my best friend told me she was having a baby or when I found out my loved one had cancer or when I did something on my bucket list that I thought I'd never do. Our stories mean something. I have realized that I began stripping the power from the things that once meant a lot to me. Some of this was due to fear of vulnerability, some of it due to a lack of self-confidence that anybody even cared to hear my story. We don't like to burden our friends and family with the things that we can hardly say out loud.

No longer, friends.

We can't afford to hide ourselves away from the ones we love. I am done with telling myself that I should be able to heal on my own. I'm done with marginalizing the fear and pain that I have endured in secret. I'm done with hiding in the dark when I have already been told time and time again, "You are loved no matter what." My Creator didn't make me to hide. I was made to live in love - boldly, joyously, and without fear.

Until this week, I thought that to really "tell" your story you had to go all out. Ellen DeGeneres (a member of my celebrity must-hug-before-I-die list) announced her sexual orientation on her television series. She didn't want to live in fear and hide who she was anymore. I thought I had to do the same (luckily I don't have my own tv show.) But that's not everyone's journey. Every story has a different nature. I have told my most personal and painful story to three people now. I thought I needed to do more but it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have to do anything. I have given my story to those whom I trust and to those whom I needed to know.

Not all of us need to shout our stories from the mountaintop. Just the telling itself can be incredibly life-giving. I started by simply typing mine out. I shook as I did it and made myself read it several times through so I could digest what I had done. And it was amazing. Now I'm moving forward.

If you have a story inside of you, find a way to tell it. The thing about burdens is that they decrease as you share them. As one who is often on the receiving end of my loved ones' stories I can assure you, it is an honor to have that trust. Don't let yourself think you are a burden and that your story isn't worth telling. As Maya Angelou said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

Be kind to each creature, including yourself.

What's a Creature to Do?

My roommate and I saw half a dozen people on the side of the road yesterday afternoon. Several of them had packs or shopping carts full of their belongings. As naturally empathetic people, we both wished we knew what to do. But we were hopelessly unhelpful. We had no cash; we didn't intend on offering our apartment to someone who may not be trustworthy; we didn't have any idea of resources they could turn to for food or shelter.

What's a creature to do?

I'm always struggling between being a fearless disciple and using my God-given judgement to avoid unfruitful or dangerous situations. Sometime, all I can do is pray. I do think it's important, though, to be aware of what I can offer. Even if I can't give up my bed in the interest of my safety and the safety of my neighbors, I can at least increase my awareness of what resources exist in my community for those in need.

I don't have the capacity to save everyone from the hardships they will endure. I also don't have the right to judge others about what got them into their situations. In every situation, however, I can and will speak to my Creator. I often end my prayers with a plea to "help me to help others." It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by the sadness and pain in the world, but recovery is a two-way road. I don't expect God to swoop into every situation like Superman and save the day so that we never suffer just as I know that God also does not forsake us. That's why our Maker created hearts like mine, my roommate's, and many others' - hearts that are given to compassion and mercy.

The next step side is to use that motivation to gain knowledge about how to apply it. We are the hands and feet. We can't afford to clumsily throw cash and one-time offerings at our fellow creatures. We have to listen to them; challenge our precepts and judgments; and meet the need so that it glorifies our loving Creator, not us.

I don't always know how to put that to action but I can certainly pray about it until I have a greater understanding. Any thoughts?

In kindness,
Noelle