“The beauty is that loving relationship becomes both the means and the end of personal identity. It is both how we exist and the goal for which we exist.” —Hannah Anderson in Made For More
I know the way of the hermit. It has surprised me to learn that to be a hermit, one need not live alone. I am a wife and a mother of two, and yet, I am also a hermit. I interact with people face to face or over the phone only when it is necessary. And sometimes not even then.
During a live broadcast of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission today, Heath Lambert spoke about the grave problem of pornography in our churches. I applaud him for shining light into a dark, dark secret within our churches. I became aware of this event through the #ERLCsummit hashtag on Twitter.
Think your skills and talents aren’t of the spiritual persuasion? Au contraire! Whatever God has blessed you with can be used to build His kingdom.
Moses told the Israelites, “See, GOD has selected Bezalel … . He’s filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill ability, and know-how for making all sorts of things, to design and work in gold, silver, and bronze; to carve stones and set them; to carve wood, working in every kind of skilled craft. And he’s also made him a teacher, he and Oholiab … . He’s gifted them with the know-how needed for carving, designing, weaving, and embroidering in blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics, and in fine linen. They can make anything and design anything.
“Bezalel and Oholiab, along with everyone whom GOD has given the skill and know-how for making everything involved in the worship of the Sanctuary as commanded by GOD, are to start work.”
Amanda stood toward the back of the small room singing while mentally criticizing the woman standing front and center. Amanda noted the outstretched arms, the robust singing—nothing wrong there, but something undefinable about her stance screamed self-satisfaction. Her body posture looked less like worship and more like wonderful am I. Less like adoration and more like aren’t I amazing?
“Wind the lazy jib sheet around the winch and prepare to tack. As I bring the bow into the wind, be ready to release the working sheet then tighten the new working sheet for a close reach. Ready about?”
If you’re a sailor, you’ll understand that these are words I might speak while teaching someone to sail.
Here’s some other things you might hear me say while sailing:
Tonight my husband, Todd, and I assisted in administering amateur radio exams. Yes, we are both HAMs, which came in very handy during our sailing adventures. To legally use the amateur radio frequencies, a person must pass an exam to gain their radio station license. Gaining one’s HAM license doesn’t demonstrate that one is an expert in all things amateur radio, rather it’s “a license to learn.”
“The beauty is that loving relationship becomes both the means and the end of personal identity. It is both how we exist and the goal for which we exist.”