Hugs from Jesus

'Twas the day after Christmas, and one poor little blogger

was tired of presents, talking, eggnog or

wrappings and trappings and new things galore

when all she had wanted was to know her Lord more.

Merry Christmas, readers! M. here apologizing for the terrible poetry above, composed by yours truly. I was hoping it would combat the writer's block and help me to collect my thoughts a little better.

I've been thinking a LOT lately. I'm off school, so now I actually have time to think about what I want, when I want! I've been thinking about school next semester, scholarship options, job options, taxes and applications, living on campus, and all of that fun college stuff in my near future! I've also been thinking about Christmas (obviously) but I didn't really know how to explain what I felt.

This week, I was considering what I'd post about for Christmas time. This is the idea that kept forming in my mind: "Presents have been unwrapped, delicious food eaten, relatives welcomed, thank-yous yelled, babies completely spoiled with gifts, laughter and excited chatter heard through the house, new items tried out, gift cards and money spent, and at the end of it all I ponder these things in my heart... that Jesus is, and always will be. And He wants to know me."

Lately I've felt a pull on my heart like never before. I feel like Jesus wants to hug me! To literally embrace me and remind me that I am His, and I can never be taken away from Him. Yes, He loves me; He gives me hope and peace and joy, but at the end of the day, He just gives Himself. Completely, with no strings attached, He is there for me. 

The super busy lifestyle I live makes me forget that. I forget how treasured I am and that there is a higher calling than just meandering through life, when life is actually a marathon. I need to be striving for the ultimate prize, like Paul talks about. I don't think I'm doing that for two reasons: a) I stink at sports, and b) most of the time, I don't mind settling for less than the best. The first one's just a joke (though I am bad at sports) but I truly struggle to remember that I'm not running the race for me, and it's worth every effort that I can give. That Jesus that I was taking about, the one who gives all of Himself to be my Father and my friend, He is the one I should run for. And the best part? He's the prize, too! (I hate this race metaphor sometimes, but I think it works alright.)

Through the presents, food, relatives, and rushing... Jesus is. He waits with arms open, for us to run to Him for an embrace...  yet we open another gift and say "Thank you." We eat more food and chat with more people and go to more parties, and still Jesus waits. Christmas ends, we go back to our lives, yet He's still there. Sometimes I imagine Him saying to the angels, "I can't wait to talk to M. today!" We miss a quiet time, then two, then months have gone by without us noticing. He's still there. He'll always welcome us.

Do you ever feel guilty after not spending time with God? Do you go back to Him hanging your head and apologizing? Or do you avoid Him because you're afraid of the lecture? Or do you grow callous and just run through the motions without emotionally investing? I've done all of these (A LOT). Guess what? He's still waiting! He still is overjoyed to spend time with us. 

Do you ever feel like God just tolerates you? Why?

Take a look at these verses. This time, read them out loud. I know that you're tempted to gloss over the Bible verse section. I do it all the time. READ. EVERY. WORD. OF. THEM. OUT. LOUD. (Colors added for emphasis.)

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

1 Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

For this next set of verses, I've rewritten them (Go ahead, Bible thumpers; wag your fingers!) based on the 1 John 4:8 claim that God is love. I've also taken it out of stereotypical Bible verse format so that maybe you can see it in a new light.

God is patient.

God is kind.

God does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud.

He does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs.

God does no delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

God ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS perseveres.

God never fails.

The greatest of these is Jesus.

(Verses used: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13.)

Let me ask you again: Why do you feel like God just tolerates you? News flash: He doesn't!!! Stop believing the lie that you've been fed by your church, your friends maybe, and your own conscience. This lie you're hearing says that God thinks you're not worth His time if He's not worth yours. 

You are ALWAYS worth it to God. That's what Christmas is all about!! It's reminding ourselves that Jesus knew that it was worth it to give ALL of Himself to become a baby, to live, to die, and to rise again, because it meant that He could give us a great gift - a hug! And more than that, He could know us, and we could know Him.

Through this season and through next year, I want to follow the path God has for me. I want to trust in His love, because it's the love that truly never fails. I want to remember that God rejoices in me, when I obey Him and when I stumble. I want to be satisfied with Jesus, and with Jesus alone. 

Merry Christmas, everyone. -M. :D

Inner Dialogue and (Sort of) Christmas-ish Thoughts

Here's the inner dialogue that's been going on in my head the past month or so:

"M, you need to post something. It's the holiday season and you have so many topics to choose from."

"M, you should post something. You've got free time today and it's been a while."

"M, you have to post something today or your readers will think you've died."

And then there's the other side of my brain:

"No.
(That side of me makes such a good argument.)

Anyway, I'm back (sort of) to talk a little about Christmas. Because, you know, it's like (looks at calendar) A WEEK AWAY?!?! Oops. I probably should start my Christmas shopping, don't ya think? (sheepish grin)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In church on Sunday, we talked about Christmas, not just the first Christmas, but the second one! You see, for every time the first Christmas is mentioned in the New Testament, the second Christmas (literally, Christ-coming) is mentioned eight. That's a pretty significant ratio. I love thinking about what Christ's coming will be like, and there's a pretty detailed description in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encouragie one another with these words."

Unfortunately, I want to know EXACTLY what's gonna happen. Will we all disappear randomly? Will we have to wait to see Jesus? Are the people we know who've died already in heaven, or are they waiting somewhere? WHY DON'T WE GET MORE INFORMATION??? (Ahem. Sorry 'bout that.)

Unfortunately, this complaint I have is actually a pretty consistent problem of mine. I always want to know exactly what's gonna happen in life. What am I getting for Christmas? Where am I going to school next year? What career am I going to have? You know, simple stuff like that.  It shouldn't be that hard for God to just let me in on all of His plans for my life, right? When it actually comes down to it, this problem is me not only wanting to know what God's plans are, but wanting to be in control of these plans that God has. I don't want someone else to run my life!

As I've said before, this is a problem of mine... so I need to change, obviously. God knows what's best for me, whether I like it or not, and in the end, it kind of comes down to trusting that God is not a mean Father but a loving one. It's the same thing as a parent keeping their child away from the hot stove, even though the kid might scream and beg to touch it. The parent knows what's best for their son or daughter, so they will keep them from harmful things like that, and the child will develop a respect for their parents by their trustworthiness.

So what does all of this have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing. (Just kidding!) :D

I think what it has to do with Christmas is that Jesus came to earth so that we would know the Father. He came so that we would know the Father's love. And He demonstrated ultimate trust in God's will by being willing to do so much through His life, so that we could know that it pays to trust in the Father too. Jesus was a living picture of trust through His whole story:

He trusted God to give Him the right earthly parents. He trusted God to make Him into a baby and be dependent on people for His care. He trusted God through His childhood, not being able to show His deity to the world yet. He trusted God's timing even when His mother said He should act (John 2:4). He trusted God as He performed miracles, healed many sick, and gained a following during His three years of ministry. He trusted God when He knew He was going to die. He trusted in darkness and in fear. He didn't waver as He was beaten and mocked and crucified.

Which do you think was harder for Jesus: Leaving heaven for Christmas or fulfilling what He actually came to do?

That's what my problem has to do with Christmas. It didn't matter which was harder for Jesus because He trusted God enough and was willing to do BOTH of them! That's the Savior we celebrate, one who is trustworthy AND willing to trust. He's worthy of my worship and my trust in every situation, from an awkward Christmas party to a serious sickness in the family.

So, do you trust Him?

That's what I've been thinking about this season, I guess. Take it or leave it. :) I pray you all have a Merry Christmas, and I'll hopefully be back to post something before the New Year!!
-M

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."(Proverbs 21:30, NIV)

Fall, Movies, Excitement, and Other Random Happenings

Hi everyone!

Well, it's been way too long since I posted, so here's the collection of thoughts, projects, and happenings in my life lately. :)

• I'm back in school! I'm doing online coursework for the year before I transfer to university on-campus next fall. I finished a Christian worldview course about a week ago and REALLY enjoyed the class. It stretched my mind in lots of different ways, which you all know I love. :D Right now, I've just started taking Old Testament History!
• I work full-time now!! At least almost full-time. I nanny/babysit for two different families and I absolutely love it! I can't even think of a better place that I'd want to work right now. 
• I CUT MY HAIR OFF. Well, I actually paid someone else to do it, but ya know. :) It's kind of a longish pixie now.
• I recently got the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan and have just started reading it. So far, it's really convicting and theological and just all-around awesome. I also recently read C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory and I really loved that, too. Have any of you read anything interesting lately?? Comment below! :)
• Fall is finally here, and Winter is in sight!! Fun fact: Winter is my favorite season, hands down.
• I've been thinking about grace a lot lately. God's grace isn't clean, it gets dirty. Grace has to cover every sin, not just the "little" ones. When we understand God's grace, we become free from fear of perfection, because we are no longer required to be perfect. We are free to just be ourselves and chase after God with all of our hearts!
• I changed the blog background! (Again!) I went with blue this time, and I really like the new fonts I found. :)
• My brain is about to die. I've watched a lot of movies lately and have been thinking a lot about the worldview in each of them, (big surprise!) so hopefully I can still put together a set of coherent thoughts when I need to. (Which, looking back on that sentence, probably won't be happening anytime soon...) Recently I've watched The Maze Runner, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Citizen Kane, The Patriot, (edited) and The Magnificent Seven.
• We have a new page coming soon to the blog!!! L. had a really cool page idea for us to add, and we're excited for you to see it! Stay tuned...
• My friends are awesome. Jus' sayin. :)
• I color-coded the apps on my phone. It's kind of relaxing to just scroll through and see all of the colors. :)
• I'm running out of relevant information to put in these bullet points...
• Our cars have all been dying!!! And our house has lost power three times in the last week. It's freaking me out. 
• I keep waiting for something really exciting to happen, but I don't know why. Maybe I've just had too much routine lately. (But if there's too much excitement, I completely shut down and can't function until I have routine again...)
• Last Saturday, I got 7 pies smashed in my face. L. and E. were responsible for two of said pies. I'm totally getting them back for that, but I haven't quite decided how yet. :D
• I went to a concert over the weekend that was absolutely amazing!! I got to see Colton Dixon, Francesca Battistelli, Jeremy Camp, and Hillsong United, along with others, but those four were my favorite!! (I also got to start sponsoring a little girl in Thailand with an international program!!! I'm super excited about that!)
• Here's a verse that I fell in love with the other day! At Bible study a few days ago, the teacher had us do something called lectio divina with verses we were assigned. (Look it up on google; it'll tell you what that means...) The verse I got was 1 Corinthians 1:17 - "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of of Christ be emptied of its power." The phrase that stood out to me was "words of human wisdom" because words are so meaningful to me. I was  thinking that maybe the way we preach the gospel is with a language of love and grace, rather than words. The cross kind of transcends the very limited power of words, which I find fascinating. My mind's been on this thought a lot for the past few days.
• There are pushpins in my bulletin board in the shape of a heart. Just in case you wanted to know. :D

There ya go! Enjoy trying to decipher my life! (Hint: Oh, wait. There aren't any hints. I can't even decipher my life!) I guess you could say it's kinda... simplex right now! (Hahahaha! I see what you did there!!) Oh, man, I'm laughing at my own puns. This is really bad. I'd better go and save whatever dignity I've got left. Bye!

-M.

Drawings

  Hey guys! Here's my most recent drawing/inking: dun-na nun-na nun-na nun-na...BATMAN!!!

I got the idea from a picture that my brother showed me. And I'm very pleased with how mine turned out..what do you think?

   I also drew this one from a series of books written by James Patterson, the Maximum Ride series

  And I'll end with this..it's a quote from a book that I'm reading..

"When we risk ourselves, our time, our careers for what we believe, we can accomplish things we never imagined. We can achieve the impossible" ~Bill Strickland

~E.

One Year Ago...

Guys...  

(*cough*and gals*cough* I'm apparently here to comment and fix any errors that M. made. -E.)

(BTW this is completely M's post! Don't tell her I'm here;))

Friends...

GUESS WHAT?! (What? oh hey people! It's L. I snuck into M.'s post:) (Oh hey L.! How's it going? M. doesn't know we're here, right?)  (Hey E. you can join me in sneaking around!  I don't know if she has caught us yet.)

It has been one (uno) (eins) (What??) year since Simplex began. Allow me to share the story with you....

"What should we call it?" E. and I deliberate as we sit in front of my computer. Ideas are tossed out quicker than bad cheese. "We could smush two words together and make a new word. It catches people's attention." (M.'s idea..) We go through a LOT of names... Something about a literary fortress? (M.'s idea..) Nah. We settle on mystery. (Also M.'s idea...) "Of what?"

"This is too complicated..." I say. Complex... hmmm. I thought blogging would be simpler than this!! Simple.. Complex.. "Simplex!" I call out.

"What...??" (I was more like: "whaaaaaaaaaaaa.....???) E. looks at me, confused. I explain. "Simplex is something that is simple and yet at the same time, it's complex. Like rain. Or God's grace." (M. literally thought of this in about 10 seconds!) That's M. for ya!)
"Just put something down!" (We have tried to make a name probably for an hour...) (ha! More like 'two' hours! :D it was roughly 11:00pm by then and we were both exhausted)

Here is a picture for you!

The story above may or may not be exact, (its pretty close;)) but the process for making the pages, first post, and design for Simplex went along those same lines of taking forever to make decisions...(like forever) :D But we made it. On October 12th, a year ago today, our blog went live online. And look where God has brought us today! (I'm still amazed at what He has done, and where He has brought me - all of us - since then;)) (I did not know that story until I read this. What troopers they are!)

We have a new author, L! (she mentioned me :)) We have published 58 posts ranging from random to theological (and just plain weird;) mostly by me:)). We've hit over 2,000 page views!!!! (Can I get a round of applause, people?! woot! woot!) The background has been changed multiple times... (mostly by M. once by me) and God's been glorified through it all. (AMEN!!)
Thanks YOU, readers, for making our last year of blogging a wonderful one! (Yeah thanks guys! Especially the three of you who comment! God loves you all though!)

Catch you later! Stay tuned for more Simplexities here! (Siml..sompx..coxcity...Whaaaaaa.....??? ;)) (What???)

-M. (and L.:)) (Don't forget about me!! Otherwise known as: - MOOO!! - *cough* I mean: - penguins are cool - AAAAHHHH I'm going insane!! -- insert evil witch cackle here -- E.)

THE AFTERMATH:

M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (clicks)
M: (scrolling)
M: (gasps)
M: (viciously scrolling)
M: (screams; faints)
L and E: (high-five)