Roses of Grace

So, the world's in a bit of a muddle right now, in case you haven't noticed.  At the time I'm writing this, Russia has invaded Ukraine . This is one of the first acts of outright war that I've seen in my (admittedly quite short) life so far, and it's leaving me and my friends and family shaken. And it just seems like the cherry on top of what's been an absolute roller coaster of the past few years—the Covid-19 pandemic is obviously prominent in everybody's minds, but there have been an unprecedentedly large number of personal crises in my own life, too.  And I'm not alone. So many of us right now are wondering: what do we do? Why is this happening? Where is our stability? We've seen events that shook the globe, and events that have shaken our lives just as surely.  So, how are we to respond?    First of all, I'd like to mention what sets Christians apart. Christians believe that the God who made the world is utterly and completely sovereign over...

What if there was a bus that connected Hell and Heaven? What if souls from Hell could ride that bus, and interact with people they knew in their life who God took to live with Him forever?  What if the souls, put face to face with the truth, still refused to repent?  That's the premise of The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It's a wonderful work of fiction that, in characteristic Lewis fashion, contains multitudinous nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout that reflect the truth of the Bible.  Though The Great Divorce is most certainly not intended to be factual—Lewis himself says that it's not written to speculate about the nature of the afterlife—it contains a striking image of human nature. Lewis deals with topics like moral relativity, the pride of "respectability", and the shame that comes from trying to constantly hide your sin.  Another recurring theme is "too much of a good thing". One of the most striking scenes is a conversation between a mother ...

If you're like me, you have a very specific mental picture of what a "war movie" is. Lots of loud, intense scenes with gunfire, bombs, and bloodied men running for cover. Sights of the atrocities that occur on the front lines. Lost friends. Trauma that you can't recover from. But while A Hidden Life could be classified as a war movie, it paints a strikingly different picture, but a picture that is just as true.  A Hidden Life is a 2019 film directed by Terrence Malick. Rated PG-13 for "violent images and thematic material", it takes a look at an Austrian farmer by the name of Franz, and his family, in the early stages of World War 2. I won't say too much, for fear of spoilers, but I'll say that this is one of the most thought-provoking movies that I've ever seen.  I said earlier that A Hidden Life could be classified as a war movie, but it could just as easily be classified as a peace movie. Because that's what we see throughout the film. ...

In one of the recent snowfalls my area has had, we went sledding.  If you're from North Carolina, you probably know that this is somewhat of a rare occurrence. I didn't even know we owned a sled, since we hardly ever got to use it—in past years, we were always too busy with stomping around in the white stuff to go out and sled, and the last time I actually went sledding was when we lived out in the country when I was 5. So, I have very little experience with sledding, and this was an adventure.  On the whole, it went quite well. My mom pulled us across the field, and since it was so icy our speeds got pretty high. But the hill we'd chosen was not only quite steep, but it ended by going uphill instead of flattening out. I realized this once I was already in motion, and—since I was legitimately afraid that this wouldn't end well—decided to roll off the sled once it got to the bottom, rather than risk a fractured spine from whiplash.  It was really fun. But I was a littl...

One of my "New Year's Resolutions" this year was to go through the Couch-to-5k program. I put that in quotes because the program only goes for a few months, so it certainly won't last a whole year. That is, if I continue.  Heh. It's winter, and though in North Carolina that doesn't usually mean snow, this year has been a good one. As I'm writing this, there's a couple inches of real fluff on the ground, and it's been in the below-freezing range all day. Personally, I love it. I love staying inside, wrapped up in blankets and with a hot cup of tea, ready to hammer out a few more pages on my novel or blog posts. It's the most pleasant way to spend a day, in my opinion.  So... running? I haven't gone in two weeks.  Now, I know running is healthy. I know it's good to be disciplined, and to do hard things whether you feel like them or not. And, theoretically, I love exercise. It's good for you, it can be fun, and it has zero downsides....

If you are a Christian, God has made you a promise.  That promise is manifold. He will be your stronghold in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9), he will guide you and care for you like a shepherd (Psalm 23), and all for you will work together for good (Romans 8:28). These are things that he has promised, irrevocably, long ago. He's not going back on them; they're set in stone. And they're something you can cling to in the darkest days.  But in the valley of the shadow of death, it can be hard to see your Shepherd. How can you be sure he's there? He's promised, but how can you be sure that the promise will be fulfilled?  One good way to reassure yourself that God will, in fact, keep his promises, is to look back at times in the past where he's proven himself trustworthy. And a good example of trusting in God's promises even when it seems that there's no possible way for it to be fulfilled is Abraham.  Abram was old. Sarai, his wife, was old— way too old to h...

So, you've become a Christian.  Maybe you were brought to church by a friend, or maybe you attended a youth retreat. Maybe you've been going to church for years, and you've only just now understood the Gospel. Whatever the reasons or context, you've been brought into the church of Jesus Christ, and you are on fire with the Holy Spirit.  What now?  Maybe that's not you. Maybe you've been a Christian for years, and you've experienced a recent revitalization of faith. An answered prayer, a good book, or even simply hearing a powerful sermon has stirred up your well of faith, and you're filled with rejoicing and hope for the future. What do you do next?  It's a great feeling, to be full of the strength and power of God. It's like starting off for a hike on a beautiful day; you hear the birds chirping, and the cool breeze blowing in your face, revitalizing you. The sun shines on your back, and the path ahead is so easy to follow that all that's le...

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast ; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7    What do you do if you think someone's better than you?  The category of "better than you" is a pretty broad one. I'm not limiting it to "more skilled", or "more worthy". For our purposes, this includes things like "more popular", "richer", and "happier", or even "more Godly"; anything that sets someone else above yourself in your mind.  So, what do you do? Generally (among my demographic, which happens to be teenage high school girls, though by NO means should you consider yourself safe from this sin if you're a. older, b. younger, or c. male) there are two responses. And they're b...

We've all been there. You think life is going fine, you're plugging along at school or sports or work, when all of a sudden—boom—your entire life has been turned upside down in the blink of an eye.  You've probably experienced this recently, with all the world-shaking events that happened in the years of 2020 and 2021. Covid cancels your plans, locks down your hometown, or takes away a loved one you'd thought you'd have nearby all your life. Maybe you've lost friendships through neglect or disagreements. And it doesn't seem like things are getting much better. Uncertainty is a powerful force, and it's not something that can be dismissed easily. For Christians, feeling afraid of it can be difficult to deal with. Shouldn't we be stable in all circumstances? we wonder; after all, Jesus is our solid rock foundation, according to Matthew 7:24-27. I know I've sometimes felt ashamed of my own fear for the future. I know God has my future in his hand, ...

This is a great song. Sometimes, when I'm thinking about my writing or music, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the particulars. Should I write fiction or non-fiction? Where should I try to get published? What song should I learn to play next? How long should I practice every day? And, of course, the biggest one: What if nobody cares?  The desire to be seen is a big part of everyone's life, I think. It's not just artists. Everyone—whether you think of yourself as "creative" or not—has to deal with that question at some point or another. Who will care if I ace this test? Why should I try to do well at my job? What if I spend hours agonizing over a presentation to give, but when I give it, it slips out of everyone's mind as soon as I sit down?  I'm not here to tell you that it shouldn't matter to you if anyone cares about your work. It's a natural thing to want to be recognized, and while it can sometimes be difficult to deal with all the doubts, ...

Love is patient and kind ; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7    Kindness is something that automatically goes with love. Right? This attribute of love is the one that seems to be the most obvious in our mind. Kind actions are loving actions. That's just how it works. And kindness—defined as the "quality of a sympathetic or helpful nature" by our good friend Merriam-Webster—is clearly loving. Sympathy? Of course. Help? Obviously; most people want those who love them to help them. But I think it's easy to forget what the Biblical definition of lovingkindness is.  Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." There we go: kindness means...

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, ESV   Love is patient. Three simple words, describing an attribute that's as familiar to many of us as the air we breathe. If you've grown up in a Christian home, as I have, then you've learned about the love of God all your life. And you know that the greatest and next-greatest commandments of the Bible also deal with love: firstly, you shall love the Lord your God, and secondly, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The Bible also goes into detail about what love is . In 1 Corinthians 13, we get a rundown of why love is necessary (verses 1-3), what love looks like (verses 4-8a), and finally, why earthly love is just a shadow of the love we'll e...