{"id":2470,"date":"2014-03-11T22:58:23","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T22:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/merebreath\/?p=2470"},"modified":"2014-03-11T22:58:23","modified_gmt":"2014-03-11T22:58:23","slug":"why-do-i-do-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/merebreath\/2014\/03\/11\/why-do-i-do-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do I Do This?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019ve been asked why I spend so much time reading about, listening about and talking about God. It started out as a sort of hobby, but it isn\u2019t any more. It is work. It does take time. Sometimes there are other things I\u2019d rather be doing. But I found this quote that explains perfectly why I blog, why I talk like a church lady, and why I use Facebook and Twitter the way I do:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons we like our friends is because we like who we are when we are with them\u2026this is true of Jesus \u2014 when he and I are close, I like who I am. When we seem distant, I am a disaster. Well dressed, perhaps, putting a good face on things, but lifeless \u2014 like a cut flower. As a buddy said over lunch the other day, \u201cWhen I am in Christ or he\u2019s in me or however you describe that, everything is different \u2014 the way I see myself, the way I see you. I am the man I want to be.\u201d (source)\u00a0<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is true for me as well. I don\u2019t like the person I was before I started pursuing God.<\/p>\n

Think of me as a bucket \u2014 one with some rusted holes in the bottom of it. Before I found Christ (He always had me, I just didn\u2019t want to make eye contact), \u00a0sure, I\u2019d find something, someway, to fill myself up temporarily \u2014 but it never lasted very long. Pretty soon I was desperate for a refill. Grasping. Panicked.<\/p>\n

If you want to understand art, you must learn about the artist. \u00a0You and I, we are works of art. The artist is the Almighty God. Who was and is and is to come (studying Him is inexhaustible). My Artist knows how I work, what I crave and He knows how to fill me \u2014 because He made me that way. But more importantly, only He knows how to keep<\/strong> me filled.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to study Him \u2013 the source of all life, of all truth, of everything \u2014 by studying my Bible, by considering His art, by looking for clues about Him and it is helping me understand everything else. I can\u2019t seem to get enough. Everything is clear when I look through these glasses. It is as though I\u2019m seeing the world for the first time. Everything is so vivid, so beautiful, so intentional. I started looking for Him and now I see Him everywhere and I don\u2019t want that to stop!\u00a0I\u2019m addicted and praying that I stay addicted, \u201cLet your Holy Spirit be a constant witness to my soul, remind me that You are my salvation. \u00a0Break my bones and put me back together in such a way that I might dance joyfully and shout of Your praises\u201d.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0For the record, He has been quick to take me up on the invite and I know He\u2019s only just begun to work on me. After seeing Him work in my life, I\u2019m more excited than a kid on Christmas morning! \u201cBe gracious to me, God, and reveal my trespasses. Though my sins are red as blood, make me whiter than snow. Make me willing and obedient. I desire to count all a sacrifice to You.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0I know, I know! I sound like a nut job! But when I see how good it is when He changes me, I can\u2019t help but want more. It is as though He is taking broken pieces of pottery and making something beautiful and useful out of them. Piece by piece. Yes it hurts \u2014 sometimes more than others, but then I see how it effects my loved ones: this sort of work, it\u2019s not just good for me \u2013 it is good for my husband and my kids, too. So far, they prefer Crazy Church Lady Abra to the Abra I was in previous years. Glory be to God!<\/p>\n

I know I\u00a0could<\/em> apologize to those I am annoying with all the God talk, but I\u2019m not going to. Not because I don\u2019t think I am annoying \u2014 no doubt I am in any number of ways. \u00a0But instead, I\u2019m going to ask you to join me. \u00a0The truth is that even when He is challenging me (pruning, breaking bones, plucking out, refining \u2014 the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a contrite heart), that it is less painful than going on with a mediocre understanding of Him and the payoff is overwhelmingly more fulfilling.<\/p>\n

Spiritual fulfillment: what every person on the planet wants, what psychologists \u00a0charge $100 an hour to help you find, what the self-help section of the books store is trying to sell you \u2014 it is free and it\u2019s sitting right in front of you!<\/p>\n

This thing, this fulfillment I\u2019ve found, it\u2019s\u00a0exciting and I can\u2019t seem to shut up about it. So, feel free to block me, to un-friend me, to call me a crazy church lady, but honestly, I really wish you\u2019d just join me on this wild adventure!<\/p>\n

\"Colossians<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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