SOMETHING JUST ROCKED MY WORLD

Something just rocked my world

I have been wondering a lot about what the Body of Christ should look like lately. I mean, let’s face it! People are talking all the time about the Body coming together, being united, but what I can predominantly see –I didn’t want to say all I can see, are divisions, judgment, criticisms… Just recently, I attended a prayer gathering and felt so constricted inside. Like I was not able to join in. Maybe it’s just me, I thought at first. Maybe I just don’t fit in. I started fearing that I was always going to feel alien among Christians. It’s very unsettling to know, hear that you’re part of the body of Christ and be ill at ease with your “family”.

So I asked God: “What don’t I fit in here? How am I supposed to join heart with these people? Can you help me find my place in your Body?”

You know what He said? He made me understand He is the One that gives me my place in His Body, that unites me to His people. It cannot come from a human effort, since it’s something not from this earth. That might sound a little simplistic, but I know deep down this is the answer for me –and maybe more people out there. How do I know? Well, somehow, I’m not worried about it anymore now. I may still not get why people yell when they pray, talk about God but then seem to act in such and such other way… But somehow, it doesn’t affect me that much anymore.

But God didn’t stop there! I told Him how sorry I was that we, His people, so little looked like Him. My heart was heavy I tell you! But as always, He showed up in a way that was nothing like I expected. You know, kind of the Jesus’ style in the Bible, when He is asked if the Jews should pay taxes or not and He responds in a much higher way, going right in the heart of the matter. Well, this time, God just simply gave my His eyes for His Body. More accurately for His bride. The way He looks at us, poor wounded broken divided people is with loving eyes. HE is the one that unites us. And what’s so beautiful about it, when God sees things a certain way, it starts happening, no matter what sorry state we are in. That God of ours!

You may wonder how this is all gonna happen. Well, me too. Recently however, I read this verse that clicked into my mind:

“He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.”  (John 11:51-52)

Hmm interesting I thought.

Then, I happened to watch this video.

… and you need to hear about it. To see it. And to be in awe, just like I was.

FRENCH FLYING MAN

How amazing! The video enclosed shows what a friendship can accomplish compared to a mere master/animal relationship… This time, I can get my French pride out of the drawer -I just never get to use it- and say: “That’s my country fellow.” Watch..

I JUST LOVE VIOLIN

These are ladies man!!!! But seriously, one of them has such long legs that’s all you see!!!

CHRISTIAN HEDONISM, WHATS ZAT?

Here, read this article… And I know, if you think just like me that the word Hedonism sounds barbarian, get over it man! There is some cool stuff in there, enough to make us -at least me- think and maybe rethink our lives, our way to love Jesus. Isn’t a Christian life very simple after all? I tell ya, I wish I was a child, so I wouldn’t have to think of this, but I would just do it!!!

What Is Christian Hedonism?

My shortest summary of Christian Hedonism is: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

We all make a god out of what we take the most pleasure in. Christian Hedonists want to make God their God by seeking after the greatest pleasure—pleasure in him.

By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God.

The Difference Between Worldly and Christian Hedonism

Some people are inclined to believe that Christians are supposed to seek God’s will as opposed to pursuing their own pleasure. But what makes Biblical morality different than worldly hedonism is not that Biblical morality is disinterested and duty-driven, but that it is interested in vastly greater and purer things. Christian Hedonism is Biblical morality because it recognizes that obeying God is the only route to final and lasting happiness. Here are some examples of this from the Bible:

Luke 6:35 says, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great.” It is clear when Jesus says “expect nothing in return” that we should not be motivated by worldly aggrandizement, but we are given strength to suffer loss by the promise of a future reward.

Again, in Luke 14:12-14: “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor . . . and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” That is, don’t do good deeds for worldly advantage; rather, do them for spiritual, heavenly benefits.

Should Duty Be Our Main Motivation?

But some will say, “No, no. These texts only describe what reward will result if you act disinterestedly. They do not teach us to actually seek the reward.”

Two answers to this objection:

1) It would be foolish to say, “If you take this pill, I’ll give you a nickel,” if you expect the desire for the nickel to ruin the pill. But Jesus was not foolish. He would not offer blessing to those who obey him and then hold it against us if these blessings motivated our obedience.

2) Even more importantly, there are texts that not only commend that we do good in the hope of future blessing, but command it.

Luke 12:33 says, “Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.” The connection here between alms and having eternal treasure in heaven is not a chance result—it is the explicit purpose: “Make it your aim to have treasure in heaven, and the way to do this is to sell your possessions and give alms.”

And again, Luke 16:9 says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal habitations.” Luke does not say that the result of using possessions properly is to receive eternal habitations. He says, “Make it your aim to secure an eternal habitation by the way you use your possessions.”

Therefore, a resounding NO to the belief that morality should be inspired more by duty than delight.

Don’t Be Too Easily Satisfied

Hebrews 11:6 teaches, “Without faith it is impossible to please [God]. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” You cannot please God if you do not come to him looking for reward. Therefore, faith that pleases God is the hedonistic pursuit of God.

As Christian Hedonists we know that everyone longs for happiness. And we will never tell them to deny or repress that desire. It is never a problem to want to be satisfied. The problem is being satisfied too easily. We believe that everyone who longs for satisfaction should no longer seek it from money or power or lust, but should come glut their soul-hunger on the grace of God. We will bend all our effort, by the Holy Spirit, to persuade people

• that they can be happier in giving than receiving (Acts 20:35);

• that they should count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus their Lord (Philippians 3:8);

• that the aim of all of Jesus’ commandments is that their joy be full (John 15:11);

• that if they delight themselves in the Lord he will give them the desire of their heart (Psalm 37:4);

• that there is great gain in godliness with contentment (1 Timothy 6:6);

• and that the joy of the Lord is their strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

We will not try to motivate anyone with appeals to mere duty. We will tell them that in God’s presence is full and lasting joy (Psalm 16:11) and our only duty is to come to him, seeking this pleasure.

(Adapted from John Piper’s article, Christian Hedonism: Forgive the Label, but Don’t Miss the Truth.)

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 By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

L’HISTOIRE D’UN ANE…

Un jour, l’âne d’un fermier est tombé dans un puits..
L’animal gémissait pitoyablement pendant des heures,
et le fermier se demandait quoi faire. Finalement, il
a décidé que l’animal était vieux et le puits devait
disparaître de toute façon, ce n’était pas rentable
pour lui de récupérer l’âne.

Il a invité tous ses voisins à venir et à l’aider.
Ils ont tous saisi une pelle et ont commencé à
enterrer le puits.

Au début, l’âne a réalisé ce qui se produisait et se
mit à crier terriblement.
Puis, à la stupéfaction de chacun, il s’est tu.

Quelques pelletées plus tard, le fermier a finalement
regardé dans le fond du puits et a été étonné de ce
qu’il a vu.

Avec chaque pelleté de terre qui tombait sur lui,
l’âne faisait quelque chose de stupéfiant. Il se
secouait pour enlever la terre de son dos et montait
dessus.

Pendant que les voisins du fermier continuaient à
pelleter sur l’animal, il se secouait et montait
dessus.

Bientôt, chacun a été stupéfié que l’âne soit hors du
puits et se mit à trotter!’

La vie va essayer de  t’engloutir de toutes sortes
d’ordures. Le truc pour se sortir du trou est de se
secouer pour avancer.

Chacun de tes ennuis est une pierre qui permet de
progresser. Nous pouvons sortir des puits les plus
profonds en n’arrêtant jamais… Il ne faut jamais
abandonner! 

A ne jamais oublier, surtout dans les moments les
plus sombres.

ABOUT A FROG

Recently, we had a conversation about frogs with my roommates. You have to know I just adopted another animal–a fake one, of course, one of these rubber rings for babies, so I guess that’s how the whole thing started. They wanted to know why on earth I’d choose such a random animal. well, as you may know, French people are very nicely nicknamed Frogs by their neighbours (The Britts). There is a reason behind that. During one of these numerous wars that took place between both countries (before we decided that really, French couldn’t live in GB and Britts, well, they liked better their island), the English organized a blockade around France. We were close to starvation -dramatic version-. So much that we ended up eating what was handy, which was rats in the cities, frogs and snails in the countryside. if the last have become delicacies, I just want to reassure any worried reader, we no longer eat rats -or not that I know and leave this privilege to our Asian friends (Just kiddin ;))).

And now, ladies and gentlemen, after this small history account, here’s a fun parable about FROGS

Enjoy…

The Frogs

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods,

and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other

frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how

deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs

they would never get out. The two frogs ignored the

comments and tried to jump up out of the pit.

The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that

they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs

took heed to what the other frogs were saying and

simply gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he

could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him

to stop the pain and suffering and just die. He

jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he

got out, the other frogs asked him, “Why did you

continue jumping. Didn’t you hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He

thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story holds two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue.

An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift

them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can

be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what

you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.

The power of words… it is sometimes hard to

understand that an encouraging word can go such a

long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob

another of the spirit to continue in difficult

times.

Special is the individual who will take the time

to encourage another.

Therefore encourage one another and build each

other up, just as in fact you are doing.

(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

or at least I thought so… But today, I found myself snuggling close to the fireplace towarm up my stiff body, thick socks on my feet (oye, they are upside down!). Damage repaired… outside the windown, everything looks white and clean and the snow is falling harder and harder with every passing minute, making me wonder if this is finally the snow storm I’ve been praying for all winter. However, the weather lately had prepared me to be in a spring mood -or mode whatever hehe-. So, despite the snow, I’m going to talk about SPRING.

 

Recently, I had a conversation about winter with a friend. I remember being struck by his description the seasons. « Winter is usually sad, quiet, he said… Everything looks empty, asleep or even dead… One yearns to see a change, and there are none, at least that you can observe. Worst of all, this standstill seems to be lasting forever. But in fact, transformations are happening underground and one day.. all this long process comes to the light and it simply looks beautiful. » Humpf… That’s pretty much me. These past months have felt soooo long. Everything I undertook simply didn’t seem to work. I was stuck and hated not knowing where all this was heading…. Until I realized I was just on the stage, whereas, behind the scenes, was the eye of the director. Somebody stronger and wiser than me, who held times and seasonss in His hands. You know, once you get this (took me 2 months and some 23 years ;), you don’t fight anymore with God, it doesn’t matter anymore if you don’t hold the reins. And it’s not long before you start seeing His work into your life. My favorite part has become to acknowledge that my own wisdom is very VERY limited. I just love asking God : « What do you think of this? How do you see that problem? ». What a beautiful relationship God has offered us

HAPPY EASTER :=)

Just found a message in my mailbox advertising this movie, and since it’s a good one -rare thing nowadays-, plus its message definitively matches the Easter season, I’m sharing :)))

Plot Outline: Most(Czech for ‘The Bridge’) is a beautiful Oscar-nominated movie and winner of many prestigious film festivals. It tells the story of the close relationship between a bridge operator and his young son and the fateful day when both try off an impending rail disaster. A steam train full of hundreds of passengers are unaware of the danger as they head towards an open drawbridge. Most is both a heart-wrenching and glorious story that portrays the greatest measure of love, sacrifice, hope and forgiveness known to man.

 

 

LOVE… WHAT ABOUT IT?

I recently read a post about love http://queenautumnlee.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/love-or-loneliness/ ; for some reason, it caught my eye, I was quite interested to read what this person had to say about it. She was in fact quite honest about her feelings, asking herself what her real motivations were behind the fact she wanted to get married. Made me feel like to respond tit for tat (smth I never do when I don’t know sb):

So many people actually get into a relationship because of one of the motivations you listed (money, desire not to be lonely, good job of the spouse…) although they wouldn’t recognize it for themselves. Being not married, I don’t know all the tips to find love… at least in this area ;) But I have understood that, when you build a relationship based on instrumentalizing the other, using him to fulfill smth in you, it’s a wrong start. Only God knows truly how to fill the holes that we all have in us because He made us with these needs.

I think love involves both feelings and will, which makes it so strong…. But I think love is smth beyond emotions. It’s the choice to open up to sb, let him enter in your heart, and give yourself to him. It’s scary, makes you vulnerable and involves a lot of trust… But if you don’t open up, then you will spend your life behind your walls… You think you’re protected, but in fact you’re lonely. Now, the issue is to find the person trustworthy enough for you to let him come close.

Yeah, maybe I could begin by opening half the door… then a little more… and a little more… see if the person is faithful with what I entrust him/her with… and then…

But again, there is no recipe for love nor relationship… (Remind me not to categorize this under “recipes” I would not trust my own abilities really, and I’ve become more and more aware of how much I’m dependant on God’s wisdom.

What do you think?

Now, once this piece of wisdom out and my conscience at peace, I’d rather laugh about it all.

SMOOTHIE MANIA

 

It caught me just recently, when I heard from my sis she was working in a café. Oh, I instantly pictured her, neatly dressed in black, looking smart while running from a table to another, efficient when creating all kind of beverage. That’s when I got the idea to try and create smoothies. After a little while, I became quite good. Here is my latest creation: 

 

 CITRUS SMOOTHIE

You will need:

- 1 banana

- 1 lemon

- 1 big orange

- 2/3 cups of orange juice/milk (if you like the smoothie more creamy)

- 6 ice cubes

- one plain yogurt

Squeeze the lemon juice. Blend in a mixer the fruits, together with the other ingredients and the lemon juice. Put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours. Enjoy!!!