In the House of God, Forever

"When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive."  I read this recently in a book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye (how about that for a title?) by Joshua Harris, and it really struck home. He goes on: "We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience to govern us, we will miss the gift of the moment. We'll arrive at that point in time we expected to provide fulfillment and find it lacking." I'm an expert at escapism, a professional when it comes to daydreams. I look forward to events and times in my future with an eager desire for that which I don't have right now. My next travelling excursion, for instance (whenever that is). Marriage. Children. The grand opening of my greenhouse colony on Antarctica. The publication of my book on the fascinating behavior of hungry tourists. Et cetera. I am an escapist, and proud of it. 

But can escapism go too far? Is it possible to overdose on daydreams? If dwelling on the future means that I completely forget the present, then my escapism has gone too far. When I put all my energy in waiting for the Someday, I fail to serve God in the Right Now. Josh Harris was making this point in terms of romantic relationships, but this concept of contentment, of serving the Lord no matter what time, could be applied to lots of areas in my life, not just to romance. There is a season for everything. Summer is on its way in all its sunshine and green-grass glory, but if we sit around in the basement waiting for winter to be over, we'll miss the beauty of the snow.

I find myself face to face with the ugly side of me, the side I don't want anyone to see. I try to hide this ugliness even from myself, but I know it is there. I know my temptations and how easily they come. But the moment I realize this, I see the grace of God, making me free. When I recognize my sin (yes, I just said the S-word), then I can completely understand forgiveness. Only when I hate my sin, hate myself, that is when I really love Jesus. When I am up to my neck in sorrow, that is when I know the fullness of joy.

"Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." ~ Psalm 23:6

The Best Time of Year

January has been going all too quickly and I've been petrified that will February will roll around without a blog post. Nothing very exciting has been happening, though some extremely pleasant things are being planned and dreamed about. All the same, January has shown some very fine moments to us on the islands, not the least of which being a little rainy season to spice things up a bit. So, to catch up on 2011...

New Years

I went to my first real New Years Eve party at which I was not the hired musician. This was quite nice, except for the fact that I spilled white wine all over myself when we turned off the lights for the fireworks, causing me to smell like rotting grapes the rest of the evening.

Resolutions

My biggest new year's resolution: learn how to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano. I've been playing the piano for years, but for some reason (call it lack of enthusiasm or lapse of memory skills) I haven't learned this song by heart, despite repeated requests. Then a few months ago, someone made a comment that it was "rather silly" not to know this particular song. Therefore, to prevent further accusations of silliness, Happy Birthday is on the top of the list.

Saying Goodbye

A friend of mine went off to college on the mainland, in the middle of a snowpocalypse, and we had a picnic and bonfire on the beach as a going away party. A many-people game of Bloody Murder ensued, with zero casualties. It was a chilly night, and the bonfire was nice to warm up by, although there was a serious lack of marshmallows. I've been experimenting with my new camera and was able to capture this lovely shot:

Chickens

In spite of all efforts of carefully aimed driving, the wild chicken population continues to increase.

Contentment

This word seems to be the theme of my thoughts this month. What exactly is contentment? Is it sitting in the house complacent with all the things you're not doing? Hardly. Is it being OK with circumstances beyond your control, giving it to God, while doing what you can? I'm still dwelling on all the intricacies of this word and doubt whether I'll ever fully understand how to live it out.

Looking forward to:

Devoting more time to music

Writing regularly

Meeting new people

Travelling (I hope)
Enjoying the todays