100th Post and 6 Months of Blogging....

Well hello everyone, I'm so sorry for my long and unexplained absence!!! I could list a multitude of very plausible excuses but that would be rather silly....sooo, suffice it to say, I've quite missed you all!

A lot can happen on a blog while you are gone, things like somehow having  65  followers....you all amaze me and I'm so thankful for your support and encouragement through comments and the like...

Another thing, I just realized that this is my 100th post, yikes! I can't believe I've blogged that much in the last 6 months or so..... : )

I'd thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite posts from the past 6 months, but I'd also like to hear what your favorites have been. So please, share your thoughts!!


January

Frozen Peas and Friendship
What on earth do those two things have to do with each other you ask? Well I'm so glad you did. Yesterday was Thursday and on Thursdays my dear sisters, several other home schooled friends and I have a sewing class at a wonderful place way out in the country. But this is no ordinary sewing class, we also cook and bake, read books out of the fantastic library in the attic, fellowship, discuss theology, herbs, world events, the arts, politics, femininity and feminism, drink tea, and occasionally chase runaway horses and chickens! This particular week I was working on a new jean skirt, one can never have to many of those can they?.......



February

The Blessing of Ordinary Days 
After being asked 3 times in two days, just what exactly I do during the day as an "older" home schooled student, that doesn't have a job outside of the home, and, to outward appearances, spends quite a bit more time than normal just staying home.I thought it might be fun to blog what a "average" day is like for me, so here you are. Below, I have journaled (with my pictures and words) what yesterday looked like.  Out of all the days in the week (besides Sundays), Mondays are the most routine and consistent ones for me. (As an aside... though the account below says "this morning", it was actually written yesterday).....




March

Two Year Olds, Lunatics, and Kings?
It’s happened more than once. Some object will be taken away, some behavior will be stopped, and my two year old brother will get frustrated and lash out at my mom or one of her “minions.” (we're still working on that) : ) Humorous in a way – it never hurts, although he thinks he’s revenged himself sufficiently.A few weeks ago my dad made a remark about this to the rest of our family during our evening Bible reading. He made a comparison between a small boy hitting an adult, and a human snubbing God.It is nearly impossible to be harmed by a toddler’s cuff. It is also impossible for a human to somehow disparage God’s greatness by insulting him. Many humans disbelieve the warning in Galatians 6:7.....




April
What's The Point of Romance?
Today’s culture seems to have an virtually endless supply of answers to that question.  We’re bombarded with “suggestions” from the latest novels, newest films and catchiest tunes on the radio. After pondering many of these “suggestions,” I settled upon what seemed to me to be five of the most prevalent (and somewhat conflicting) messages that many people believe about romance today: 1. It’s ok to be selfish, because you are the most important person in your life.2. ......


May

Draw Near To God
So often my heart is troubled with questions about God’s will. I know I am not alone either. It seems as if the most wearisome and difficult search for young people today is to discover the will of God. As servants of God, our heart’s desire should be to know and to do His will. But how are we to discern the will of our Savior? Just a few weeks ago, I lay awake praying and wondering what He wants me to do. I am so ready and willing, if only I knew His answer! Questions race around in my head, bring fear to my heart, and steal valuable sleep..........


It was really hard to just pick one from each month, I feel like I've grown so much as a writer, and just as a person really in the last six months.....thanks for sticking with me through the journey!


Okay, I'll stop now before I get to sappy : )

I'd also like to kow if there are any topics you'd be interested in having me write about, I'm always looking for more ideas!

And just one more thing.....I 'm thinking that I will take the rest of June as a unofficial blogging holiday. My family leaves for vacation tomorrow, and the rest of June is filled with some wonderful but time consuming things. I'm sure I'll still do a bit of posting, but this way I wont feel so bad for not writing.....

I pray you all have a lovely rest of the month!

Blessings,
Tessa

22 years ago.....

22 years ago today, these two cuties tied the knot!

I am so grateful for the amazing example of TRUE love that my parents have lived out before me...
Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom, I ♥ you!

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

~ Proverbs 5:18

Someone Worth Dying For?

Were you someone worth dying for? Pastor Dan (the associate Pastor at my Church) digs deeper into this popular Christian song by MIKESCHAIR

Sometimes I wonder if my wife secretly enjoys putting a kibosh to all my fun. It starts with a change in the radio station. Vonny apparently needs a switch to the oldies. And eventually it happens, depending on my mood. Without warning, the silence of song transition gives way to the trademark opening of an 80’s classic. This is no time to question why an 80’s song is on the oldies station. Nothing is more important than rushing to the radio, turning up the volume, and breaking into song like an inspired lead vocalist. No matter that I hack through phrase after phrase, changing words as I go. As long as I regroup for the chorus, that’s what matters. I hope the neighbors don’t hear, but it’s time to put on a show for the kids! They almost seem impressed…But then it happens.

In the afterglow of stardom, Vonny will ask, “You do know what that song’s about, don’t you?” And there she will have done it again. No explanation needed. The fun is over. My fame is crushed. I have conquered another song with a message I conveniently ignored. And since I will want to know what she’s talking about, she has likely ruined the song forever. My narrowing potential for fame has only further narrowed.

That said, a few months ago, during a communion devotional, it was my turn to play the killjoy when I mentioned a popular song on Christian radio. Sorry if I ruined it for you. I’ll admit it; I like the song. It’s catchy. It builds in intensity. And there’s a spirited call to believe with reference to Jesus dying on the cross. It’s called “Someone Worth Dying For” by Mikeschair. In the song, people are described in their various places of relative hopelessness. The intention of the song is to help restore their joy and purpose. So the cry of the song is for them to understand and believe the (supposedly) reassuring refrain that they were “someone worth dying for.” I’ve sung along many times. Again, it’s catchy. But is the climactic line of that song worthy of my joyful expression?

I suppose it could be a logical conclusion: If God was willing to sacrifice His Son for us, he must find value in us. It’s certainly far more likely for me to invest self-sacrificially in someone I find great worth or potential. And what’s more, we know God does value us. He takes joy in us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are adopted and precious in His sight.

So what’s wrong with that line? Despite my best efforts to see something different, the song’s critical phrase employs the increasingly popular approach of using the gospel to raise one’s self-esteem. The death of the Son of God reveals our worth, so we should feel good about ourselves. But here’s the problem.

The cross is not about your worth. It’s about His grace.

It’s not about Him showing the greatness of your value by the degree of His sacrifice. It’s about the depths of his loving mercy to die for ones so undeserving.

I don’t think I’m being petty here. Paul seems to revel in the amazing work of Christ based upon our undeserving status apart from His work. In Ephesians 2 we are described as being “dead in their transgressions,” “living in the passions of the flesh,” and being “by nature children of wrath.” This despairing picture changes, not in light of our revealed worth, but through the response of our amazing God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved…” (verses 4-6). Our worthiness comes as a result of His work, not as the basis for His work. And our status apart from Christ is stated sharply in Romans 3, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless…” (Romans 3:10-12).

Many trending preachers of our day find the opening themes of the gospel—regarding our utter fallenness—to be unnecessary and unattractive. So they leave out the bad news and go straight for the good
stuff. You need to think better about yourself. Look what Jesus did for you. You must have been someone special if He did that for you. But to soften up the bad news of our status apart from Christ, is to rob the good news of a gracious God. Our worthlessness is an important part of the gospel story. There’s a reason John Newton wrote of God saving a “wretch like me.” And there’s a reason that revisions of the song have
changed it to a “saint” or “soul” like me.

Sorry to break the news to you. You were not someone worth dying for.You were saved by grace. You did not deserve His atoning death. Isn’t He wonderfully merciful?!

I take great joy in meditating on how little I deserved God’s gift. Everlasting love being directed at me is enough. I don’t need to eliminate the pity He showed. No need to worry about my emotional wellbeing. My
delight in Him gives birth to hopefulness and purposefulness and worship.

For a wonderful and inspiring contemporary alternative to Someone Worth Dying For, watch “You Love Me Anyway” by Sidewalk Prophets online with lyrics. Our lowliness is powerfully contrasted with God’s greatness— just as it should be! Sing it out.
                                                                                                 

Pastor Dan Gunderson serves as       

Walnut Hill’s Associate Pastor.
You can reach him at 356-3111 x104 or
pastordan@walnuthillbible.com