Roses of Grace

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV   I'm supposed to wear glasses. I'm not quite sure what my prescription is, but I'm farsighted in both my eyes, though my left is nearly perfect. Because my left eye works well enough for me, I haven't worn glasses in years. I've grown accustomed to a slight blurriness wherever I go; especially when my eyes are adjusting to a different level of light, seeing anything small and far away/too close up requires a good deal of blinking.  I don't wear glasses because I don't like to have to remember to put them on, and the idea of contact lenses freaks me out. Carrying on like this has its downsides, though. I'm risking a lazy eye, since my right eye doesn't do as much work and therefore isn't stuck as strongly in place. My depth perception takes more effort, and sometimes I can get a headach...

Today is a cold January day, and I just came back from a run. Here in North Carolina, it's 38 degrees outside; not quite freezing, but when it's windy it sure feels like a lot more chilly. The cold is one of the most prohibitive things about my goal to run three times a week, and today is no exception. It takes a lot of willpower to just get out the door.  When I do get out the door, it's easier to continue going. But the cold air is an oppressive force, howling at my uncovered ears (I usually wear a headband, but today I forgot) and nipping at my hands and feet. Within seconds I'm clenching my fists together within the sleeve of my hoodie in a mostly fruitless effort to keep them from feeling frostbitten. But the wind goes straight through the fabric as if it's not even substantive enough to keep out the air , and I resign myself to half an hour of shivers.  My mind wanders, and after continuing on jogging for a few minutes, I realize that my toes are starting to f...

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, If he himself could his quietus make With a bare bodkin? - Hamlet, William Shakespeare   A dream of mine is to buy an RV. I'd save up some money and go on a road trip across America; no plan, no itinerary, nothing to hold me to some artificial standard. It would be freeing, a real vacation. Instead of all the pressure of ordinary life, I would just do whatever I felt like on any given day. Go see the Grand Canyon! Sure; just pull up the GPS and drive there. Want to take a jaunt up to New York? Simple. On the way, why don't I stop by St. Louis? Nothing's stopping me.  Writing this now, I'm struck by how terrifying it would be to put this plan into motion. Sure, it would be fun for a while. But it would come with a whole host of other problems. Who would help me if I needed it? Would I be able to afford a pla...

Taking initiative is not an easy thing to do.  I say this from experience. Many times I've told myself "I'm going to write later," or "I'm going to finally clean my room this afternoon." But if you were to count up all the times I've said something like that, and compare them to all the times I've actually done it, well... the results wouldn't be flattering.  Why is this the case? Why is it so hard to get up and do something of your own volition? I'm reminded of Newton's first law of motion, the law of inertia: an object at rest will stay at rest, unless an outside force acts upon it. In layman's terms, if you act like a couch potato, you're going to stay on the couch. Inertia isn't just physical. If your mind is used to doing nothing but playing video games or reading books all the time, then that's what your mind is going to do. While there may be nothing wrong with playing video games or reading books—both activitie...

Hello, everyone!  My name's Emma Thrasher. I'm a bookworm, writer, tea addict, and Tolkien fanatic, but most importantly I'm a princess of the King of the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth. I'm writing this because I want my words to bring glory to the kingdom of God, and to bless my brothers and sisters in Christ in any tiny way that I can.  All this talk about myself has me wondering about identity. If you were asked to describe yourself, maybe in a job interview, what would you say? Your name and age, maybe a couple hobbies. That's what my mind jumped to. Or, in our identity-oriented culture, you might mention your political or socio-economic leanings, or your educational level. And while those are all things that make up who you are, they aren't the core.  The core of who you are is defined by your worldview. What do you believe about God? What do you believe about man? What about truth? Marriage? Justice? Love? Is there any purpose to life, or are we ...