Keep Calm & Carry On

In 1939 the British government commissioned three posters to be used to boost morale during the dark days of World War II. The first two were printed and circulated but the third was kept in reserve, to be used only in times of extreme crisis. It remained uncirculated and unknown to the public until the year 2000 when one was discovered in an old, discarded box by an English shopkeeper. His wife liked it so much that she framed it and hung it by the register of their book store. The message is simple and short, just five words topped with a graphic of the king's crown: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It became immensely popular and is now one of the iconic images of the 21st century. 

That poster is a simple message of calm, long forgotten, now well-beloved. Why would 21st-century Westerners, now safe from German bombs, be so attracted to a war-time slogan about keeping calm in the chaos? Because we live in an anxious, harried and hurried world. Because every human heart longs for peace. 

The Sabbath, too, is a simple message of calm---long forgotten by most of Christianity, but well-beloved by those who have experienced it. It is a place of calm in a world of unrest. On the Sabbath we lay down our work and respond to the call of our King, "Come to Me, all you who are worn out and burdened down, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) This next Sabbath, go to Jesus and experience His rest. No receipts, no chores, no timecards, no commercials: just Jesus. All.

*You can hear the story of the poster here.

those who will stand for the right

“…those who will stand for the right, though the heavens fall.”

a noble calling, for sure.

but I wonder if it might actually be easier to stand for the true, right thing when the heavens are literally falling, 

than when people are calling you narrow-minded.

She Hurts

She measures
herself to her sister and falls short.
She argues
with her dad, but he’s not listening.
She flunks
geometry without trying.
She sleeps
with her boyfriend because he’s such a jerk.
She looks
disgusting to herself.
She aches
when she is alone and not.
She runs
away, hoping someone will find her.

She comes
back and to realize nothing’s changed.
She prays
in tears and cries in words.
She eats
nothing but sleeping pills.
She dies
only in her dreams and wakes up crying.
She hides
razors in the bathroom drawer.
She cuts
beautiful lines into her skin.
She bleeds.
She scars.
She thinks
that by her stripes she’ll be healed.

It's the painful part of His faithfulness.

The more I resist the lessons that God is trying to teach me, 

the harder He lays them against me.

It's the painful part of His faithfulness.