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12.11.03 - 3:37 am You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. Psalm 18:28 I am upset with the world. I don't like that more often than not, we don't know how to rejoice with people when they're doing well. I hate that it becomes some sort of comparison game in which we see our own wretched situations and choose to disbelieve the other person's joy. Tonight I commit to putting a stop to that in my own life. I'd much rather celebrate with the angels and be an encourager than one who stares blankly at and offers a bland "That's grreat.. so anyway..." to those whose souls are on fire. I don't like that we don't like to be around the person who talks about God all the time. As KP said about one guy she knew, "I wasn't comfortable with someone who did. I felt unholy and just lesser around him. Lesser than what? I don't know really. Just lesser." It's so true. It's just not comfortable to be around someone who spouts out Truth you're trying to ignore. What did make me happy about her comment, though, was that in the end, she decided it would be good to spend more time with this Jesus-chatter. In the end, those with any sort of desire to catch flames will stick around, and the others will be burned from said-chatter's presence. I'm sure the boy in reference has some amazing friends without so many of the users and abusers hanging around. Nice. Another thing that really eats at me are meaningless greetings. In America, we've substituted "How are you?" for "Hello," and to adjust to our "politeness," we hesitate to tell anyone what is really going on in our lives. We assume that every person we pass is simply being cordial but not willing to spare a few minutes for real conversation. Unforunately, we're usually correct. I've been praying for a tighter reign on my tongue-- to only inquire when I really mean it-- and it's been harder than I thought. Old habits die hard, especially when they're so engrained that you've acted upon them before you were even aware of it. I just want people to believe that I'm willing to carry burdens when I ask how they are. I am. We've overbooked ourselves-- made ourselves busy so that we'll never have to look at our hearts. Could you honestly say "I am satisfied" if I asked you to stop everything for a few minutes and really think about your life and your character? Or would you stare unhappily at your withering heart, only to rush off into the next fruitless endeavor? I'm just tired of settling for the world's best when God offers life more abundant. I pray you are too.
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