New Look

I just noticed this new "look" on a friend's blog and immediately loved it.

I have to admit that I had a hard time reading my previous look (maybe you felt the same way?). All the colors and lines were too distracting. I love simplicity, straight lines....like reading a book. But the beauty of this blog is that it allows you to change the look as the reader! Brilliant! Just pick one of the fun choices along the top and - surprise! - a whole new look. How great is that? :)

I'm working on a new post about time and I have to admit that I'm having a hard time finding the time to finish it. There's honesty for you. Hopefully within the next couple days... Lord willing. Please don't give up on me. I'm still trying to find places for writing amidst my life as mother, wife, daughter and friend. I really don't know how other people manage to blog every day - I've decided that I must just be a slow writer.

Thanks for your patience and grace!

Is Theology Practical?

"Bonhoeffer openly thought things through and taught his students to do the same. They followed lines of reasoning to their logical conclusions and considered every angle to have a sense of absolute thoroughness, so that nothing depended on mere emotion.... One wished to arrive at answers that could stand up to every scrutiny because one would have to live out those conclusions. They would have to become actions and would have to become the substance of one's life. Once one saw clearly what the Word of God said, one would have to act on it and its implications, such as they were." ("Bonhoeffer" by Eric Metaxas, pg. 127)

What you believe to be true determines a lot about your life. I believe that everyone makes a trillion decisions a day and they are all affected by the beliefs you hold, both consciously and subconsciously.

So what do you believe to be true? What beliefs determine what you choose to eat today, how you react to your kids' bickering or your annoying co-worker? How will your core beliefs affect the way you react to your spouse at the end of a long tiring day or handle another family conflict?

As Christians, believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the study of theology allows us to clarify those beliefs, make them a part of who we are, the way we think, and then live them out.

Here are some examples:

1.) Incarnation
Definition: Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, takes on flesh and enters the world, His creation, as a human being. He is both fully man and fully God. (for more on this topic go here and type "incarnation" in the search bar)

Why it matters: Life is repetitive and seemingly endless. I thought that before I had kids and now I believe it even more! I cook and everyone is hungry again in ten minutes. I clean and when I turn around it's a mess again. I wipe noses and butts all day long. So much of my life as a mom of little kids seems so purposeless and meaningless. BUT it does matter because God Himself entered creation and showed that the physical stuff is important! Jesus lived a whole life. He worked, slept, ate and had relationships. The first 30 years of His life were "daily." And He called us to live like Him, to see that our life matters, even the seemingly insignificant. I can clean the toilet to the glory of God and I can make another meal for the ungrateful because I'm living it for Him! He cares and He understands.

2.) Trinity
Definition: "There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory." (basic catechism answer)

Why it matters: I'm a little girl in a woman's body who remembers very well what it was like to be kicked out of the sacred inner fellowship of "the girls." I find it easier to keep my relationships on surface level, to let people get only so close and then shut it down. There are many days I think I would prefer a book over a friend but always find myself lonely and longing for more. Why? God has always existed in relationship and I am made in His image. I cannot exist by myself and be who He made me to be. I was created to be in fellowship with others. Like John Piper has said (in this sermon), my little finger can't leave my body, go off into the woods, sit on a stump and ask God what it's purpose is. It finds it's purpose by working within the body. The same is true for us! I find myself in my relationship with God and with His church. I am made in His image.

3.) Redemption
Definition: "In speaking of the work of redemption, Edwards principally means the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but also includes all of God’s actions, both eternal and temporal, that preceded and prepared for the coming of Christ (like election, creation, and God’s work in the Old Testament), and all of God’s actions subsequent to the coming of Christ (like the Holy Spirit’s work in the world following Pentecost)." (I like this definition so much - here is where I found it.)

Why it matters: The longer I'm a parent the more the world scares me. I sometimes wonder if it would be best to just keep my three sons sheltered here in my home far away from all influences of "the world." But the belief that God is writing His story and it is one of redemption gives me great hope and a truth to cling to. I am living in God's story even when it doesn't seem like it! I often think of Jesus' disciples on the day of His crucifixion and wonder at how lost they must have felt but this was IT! This was the culmination of all of history - the moment of redemption. Oh God, give me eyes to see You and Your story and my place in it and help me to teach that to my sons as we walk through this world.


I could go on with thoughts on eschatology (what you believe about the end of the world), missiology (the church's mission in the world), ecclesiology (what is the church?) and other theological concepts that have the potential to largely influence how we think about life and actually live it day to day.

So what does your life say you believe?


As I've been working on this post I'm realizing how big of a topic I've chosen to tackle. Yikes!! I have to admit that I feel very much over my head (fyi: my husband will be checking this, and following posts, for heresy before I send them out) but it has been good to think through some things. I hope that you find this thought provoking and encouraging also.