Hello, my name is Graced.

Sometimes, I find myself thinking of someone more in terms of their past rather than in terms of their present (and future) in Christ.

I characterize people (myself included) more in terms of their regrettable past and forget to diligently seek for evidences of grace in their lives.  To think on what’s true would be to think on who they are now and who they will be as God continues His perfect work in them, not on who they once were.

His people are constant works in progress, sinners who show evidences of God’s grace in their lives.

In Christ, our names aren’t to be mired in association with sins that have been nailed to the cross and paid for.  In Christ, our names are Graced.  And we are to think rightly of one another in this way and in truth that cannot be divorced from love.

And what of the one whose sin continues to hurt and destroy?  Can we still see them with eyes of faith — faith not in them but in the One who can change hearts?

Posts to come — soon, I hope.

Though I haven’t been writing here, I’ve been writing in my journal … and some of those thoughts may soon find their way here.

The days have just been slipping through my fingers, but recently, there have been more moments of quiet and rest deliberately interspersed in between.

My friend sent me a song about a week ago (thanks, Garnet) that I’ve been singing and humming all week.  It’s a simple, repetitive song, but something about singing snippets of Scripture to myself has been like applying a balm to my heart.

I set my eyes on what I cannot see
I set my eyes on the eternal…

You are my great reward
Forever I will be with You…

I know that this momentary light affliction is working in me
An eternal weight of glory, an eternal weight of glory…

For You are God and You know what You want…
And You give and take away, the only Initiator of seasons of change…

Consider it pure joy when You face trials of many kinds
The testing of your faith develops perseverance
Perseverance is needed to run the race…

This is my confidence, this is my confidence
I’m living for another age…

My only confidence, my only confidence
It’s an eternal weight of glory being worked in me
I’ll consider it pure joy
I will consider it pure joy…

Christ in my heart

(by Justin Rizzo)

Studying on a beautiful afternoon.

It’s beautiful today.  The sun is mild and warm, there’s just a breath of a breeze, and the sky is a clear, clear blue.  There isn’t even a wisp of a cloud in the sky.  In short, it’s too beautiful to stay locked up inside … so what do you do when you have project deadlines and group members who are relying on you to do your part?

What can you do but study like this?

At least one of us is able to relax and enjoy the weather …

The Puritans declared the sanctity of all honorable work.  In so doing, they rejected a centuries-old division of callings into “sacred” and “secular” … This Puritan rejection of the dichotomy between sacred and secular work has far-reaching implications.  It judges every honorable job to be of intrinsic value, and integrates every vocation with a Christian’s spiritual life.  It makes every job consequential by regarding it as the arena for glorifying God and obeying God and for expressing love (through service) to a neighbor.
(Leland Ryken)

God help me see my studies as an arena for glorifying You.  It’s not about me being solely immersed in explicity Christ-related things or a different set of circumstances; it’s about Christ in me.

Director of Human Genome Project’s Testimony.

Dr. Francis Collins is the director of the Human Genome Project, and he submitted his personal testimony to CNN. I was really encouraged after reading it. Here are some excerpts from it (enjoy!):

I had to admit that the science I loved so much was powerless to answer questions such as “What is the meaning of life?” “Why am I here?” “Why does mathematics work, anyway?” “If the universe had a beginning, who created it?” “Why are the physical constants in the universe so finely tuned to allow the possibility of complex life forms?” “Why do humans have a moral sense?” “What happens after we die?”

But reason alone cannot prove the existence of God … You have to hear the music, not just read the notes on the page. Ultimately, a leap of faith is required.

For me, that leap came in my 27th year, after a search to learn more about God’s character led me to the person of Jesus Christ. Here was a person with remarkably strong historical evidence of his life, who made astounding statements about loving your neighbor, and whose claims about being God’s son seemed to demand a decision about whether he was deluded or the real thing. After resisting for nearly two years, I found it impossible to go on living in such a state of uncertainty, and I became a follower of Jesus.

The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God’s majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.

Pitter patter.

Just now, as I was studying at my desk, it went from a still quiet to a thousand pitter patters.

I opened my window just a crack so I could hear it better.  You should hear it — tapping, pattering, tinging and pinging.  Big drops splashing and splattering; small drops landing more softly.

To some, rain gives rise to complaining and cursing.  To others, rain gives rise to grateful praise.

It’s the same rain.  The difference is just a matter of perspective.  A matter of knowing the Who who sends it.

I have called Thee Abba, Father!
I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
All must work for good to me …

Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
What a Father’s smile is thine,
What a Savior died to win thee;
Child of heaven, shouldst thou repine?

(From a hymn by Henry Francis Lyte, 1793-1847)

“America has chosen a president.”

I recommend reading the thoughts of Al Mohler regarding the results of this election: America has chosen a president.

Every American should be moved by the sight of young African-Americans who — for the first time — now believe that they have a purchase in American democracy.  Old men and old women, grandsons and granddaughters of slaves and slaveholders, will look to an African-American as President…

We should look for opportunities to work with the new President and his administration where we can.  We must hope that he will lead and govern as the bridge-builder he claimed to be in his campaign.  We must confront and oppose the Obama administration where conscience demands, but work together where conscience allows…

America has chosen a President.  President-Elect Barack Obama is that choice, and he faces a breathtaking array of challenges and choices in days ahead.  This is the time for Christians to begin praying in earnest for our new President.  There is no time to lose.

Deep roots.

There’s something to be said about trees with deep roots.

There’s no denying the reality of the elements.  There’s no denying the reality of the effects of seasonal changes on the tree.  But the tree’s roots reach deep and sustain the tree through every season.

I’m praying for deeper roots as I grow.  Roots that reach deep in the ground of His person, His Word, and His character.

There are seasons that a woman physically goes through that tempt her to fall and rise with her emotions, to reflect on the curse and her mortality more than on the Redeemer, and to heed her physical condition above her spiritual calling.

There’s no denying the struggle is real, but so is her Creator and her Helper.

Deep roots.  That what is unseen may sustain her through what is seen.  In every season.