Sarah Joy Albrecht » scripture

Half-Empty : Optimism, Pessimism and Realism

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:18:14 +0000

I’m getting pretty sick of people with the whole optimist outlook. Call me rude or whatever else, but isn’t it appropriate at times to be angry, upset, etc? I see optimists as people who don’t have the sense to take off the sunglasses when it starts raining.

Now, some people call this pessimism. I, however, argue that I’m a realist. I see the world more or less as it is.

Some say the glass is half empty; others say the glass is half full. I simply say the glass is too big. Maybe the person was expecting too much. I have at this point begun to see the world with resignation. Things are neither good nor bad. They just are.

Thoughts, gentleman?

Dear John,

Bad things happen, and they happen to good people. We live in a fallen world. It is a wonder than any of us are okay at any given time. From a spiritual perspective, I wrote about this in my post regarding the earthquake in Haiti.

While we don’t have control over what happens in life (and giving up control to God is very liberating), we do have control over how we react to them. We can choose to push back in anger, as if we are owed happiness and perfection — or we can accept the circumstances, make the best of them, and praise God anyway.

Another thing we can do is make a habit of doing good to others, even people who are not kind to us. As you pointed out, bad things are never in short supply. Consider for a moment, then, the impact you can have as a person by doing good things to others. Quite simply, it is shocking, heart warming and compelling to the recipient. It is unexpected.

My friend Nate started a site called ItStartsWith.Us — a “club” of sorts (free membership) where a mission is given each week to do something that will make a difference. It could be as simple as putting someone’s cart away in the grocery store parking lot (hmm… might have to suggest that one to him ;) ) or writing a thinking-of-you note to a child who is suffering from terminal cancer. Please take a moment to check out the site. Consider the Change the World statement and the idea behind it. We’d love to have you join us.

Since being intentional about helping others, I have realized just how far a little kindness will go, and how strong it is against the “bad things” in this world. Bad things can happen, but a little bit of love goes a long way.

We cannot see the love in this world if we are only looking out for ourselves.

Realistically,
SJA ;)

PS: You can follow Nate @itstartswithus. Please mention my name when you introduce yourself :D

Half-Empty : Optimism, Pessimism and Realism

What Do You Do When a Bible Verse Hurts Instead of Helps?

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:10:46 +0000

Note:

After I posted this, I caught something as I watched again — I said that we aren’t justified through faith. That’s not quite what I meant. To clarify, before someone else catches it:

Galatians 3:7-9 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Ephesians 2:7-9 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

My point was that faith by itself is meaningless. It’s what we have faith in that justifies us.

Have you ever gone through a hard time, read the Bible, and then felt more condemned than encouraged?

Here, I offer some thoughts on what to do in this situation based on the temptation of Christ as recorded in Matthew 4 .

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and feedback.

Do you think this interpretation is correct? What do you do when scripture hurts?

What Do You Do When a Bible Verse Hurts Instead of Helps?

“We can’t take someone else’s rights away to avoid our responsibilities.”

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:10:35 +0000

Saw this at Mommy Life and had to share!

Twelve year old Lia Mills wrote this speech for a contest at school. On March 12, 2009, she was given the Susan B. Anthony Young Leader Award.

My favorite line: “You have to remember that with our rights come responsibilities, and we can’t take someone else’s rights away to avoid our responsibilities.” (Wow. Applicable in so many ways!)

Mills ends the speech by bringing in a quote from Horton Hears a Who!

The full version of the speech can be found here.

“We can’t take someone else’s rights away to avoid our responsibilities.”

I Made a Meal for Jesus

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:39:39 +0000

This week, I came across Andrea’s blog and her encouraging words are really sticking to my heart — especially after our recent Hoki fish (a.k.a. Hokke in Japan) meal that was scrapped on the cutting board.

Her post made me giggle. “Sorry Jesus. Those fish were pretty on the outside but were infested with worms on the inside. Looks like we’re having hot dogs instead! Would you like mustard, ketchup or both?” There’s got to be a parable in there somewhere…

Andrea is a mom of four children, close together, and is soon expecting baby #5 to arrive. I could relate to every word of her post! I appreciated her reminder that Jesus my friend.

Please stop by her blog, The Flourishing Mother, and send her hug in the comments ;)

Thursday, March 19, 2009 – I Made a Meal for Jesus

I made a meal for Jesus.
I think He would eat chicken….maybe? Along with His felafel.
I made it with Love.
Instead of lamenting I am 20 weeks pregnant with my fifth, tired, and why doesn’t anyone ever bring me a meal out of the blue when I need it? Or why isn’t there some magic fairy meal-maker?
I cut up the onion, celery, carrots, carefully.
Thinking how He would enjoy eating it.
Probably sopping it up with yummy, crusty bread. And maybe some wine?
I would use my best china, of course.
It gave me immense pleasure.

So maybe when I am making dinner each night for my family… (and breakfast. and lunch. and snacks. Oh mamas, it never ends, right?)
…I’ll think of serving Him.
And how He would smile. And enjoy it. …and I’d probably cry.
‘Cause He would understand my heart.
And what I put into it.
And why.
And He’s already given me everything I will ever need, so He wouldn’t need to bring me a meal.
‘Cause I feast daily at His table.
And because of that, I am honored to serve Him.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve; and to give His life as a ransom for many. ~Matthew 20:28

Jesus is our friend.

John 15:12-15 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

When my friends and I were reading The Purpose Driven Life together, “Becoming Best Friends with God” was a chapter that really humbled me. Andrea’s posted brought back wonderful memories of PDL discussion in my friends in Laura’s living room.

Here are some excerpts from Chapter 11 of Rick Warren’s book:

“God wants to be your best friend.”
“In Eden, we see God’s ideal relationship with us: Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate friendship with God. There were no rituals, ceremonies or religion – just a simple loving relationship between God and the people He created. Unhindered by guilt or fear. Adam and Eve delighted in God and we delighted in them. We were made to live in God’s continual presence, but after the Fall, that ideal relationship was lost…”
“Then Jesus changed the situation. When he paid for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God was split from top to bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again available.”
God “planned the universe and orchestrated history, including the details of our lives, so that we could become his friends.” (Acts 17:24-31 from the Sermon on Mars Hill)
“The classic book on learning how to develop a constant conversation with God is Practicing the Presence of God . It was written in the seventeenth century by Brother Lawrence, a humble cook in a French monastery. Brother Lawrence was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks, like preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of praise and communion with God. The key to friendship with God, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you begin doing it for God, whether it is eating, bathing, working, relaxing, or taking out the trash.”

In October of 2007, I wrote the post, “Can I Trust in Jesus” after visualizing Jesus, as our close friend, sacrificing himself on our behalf. Here’s an excerpt:

Imagine you are sitting at home enjoying a delicious meal with an old friend. As you are talking, the familiarity is so great, it is as though he can read your very soul. You love him deeply and never wish to be separated from him. Your friend is kind and good. For as long as you can remember, he has never wronged you – or anyone else, for that matter – in any way.

Suddenly, you hear a loud crash in the adjacent room….

Time to go wash some dishes for Jesus ;)

I’ll leave you with this (of course I recorded it!):

I Made a Meal for Jesus

Psalm 139

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:57:19 +0000

This Psalm is one of my favorites. I go back to it often and apply it to many situations and aspects of life.

Today, I am thinking especially of verse 16, as two family friends are struggling to live and as there is an online friend whose sister in Brazil just caught a potentially fatal virus from a mosquito bite and is not doing well.

How comforting it is to remember, especially when those whom we love are ill, that it is the Lord who determines the length of one’s days and not the doctors.

Something to think about – how does remembering this affect the way that we respond when someone is ill? Personally? To the person whom is sick? To those whom we are comforting?

Psalm 139

1O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.
13For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.
19O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139

God is Awake

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 03:58:10 +0000

I woke up with the feeling that someone was in my room. I turned over and about a foot from my face stood my four year old daughter.

Once my heartbeat returned to normal, I checked the clock. It was 3:30AM.

Tabitha was shaking and whimpering.

“Sweetie, lets go into the bathroom so you don’t wake up daddy,” I said.

Tab wasn’t moving too readily, so I scooped her up and helped her use the potty – sometimes the sensation of having to use the bathroom will evoke a bad dream.

She calmed down a little bit and asked for “belly medicine” – that is, a Tums.

“Tab, I can give you a Tums – but I don’t know if that will solve the problem,” I said.

“WHY? What’s wrong with me?” she asked and started to cry again.

“Well, it’s just that you seem upset,” I said. “What’s are you thinking about?”

“I’m so so so afraid that bad guys are going to come into our house and get us.”

I gave her a big hug and soaked a wash cloth in warm water and washed her face. “I did lock up all the doors and windows downstairs and the house alarm is on – I do that every night. So, it’d be hard for anyone to get into our house. But, you know, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for someone to break in if they didn’t care about being caught…. not that we have anything of value.”

That’s the honest truth. I’m not going to lie.

I put Tabitha back into her bed. She pulled her covers up, over her nose and her hazel-green eyes darted all over the place in fear.

“Tabitha, please listen to mommy, okay? In Bible, in Proverbs 15, God tells us that His eyes are in every place watching over everything. Do you know what this means?”

“That He can see me, right?”

“Yes, just like He can see every spot in our house. Remember, He can even see daddy when daddy’s in Japan and see you at the same time, right?”

“Because He is God,” she said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes, because He is God. The cool thing is that this means that you don’t have to be looking all around room for bad guys because God’s doing the looking for you. The Bible also tells us in Psalm 121 that God, who made this whole earth, never ever sleeps. God’s watching over you even while you’re sleeping.”

I noticed the covers were slowly moving towards her chest and were no longer shielding her face.

I leaned over, brushed aside her dark brown hair and kissed her forehead. I took one of her hands and held it with both of mine, as if to give it a reassuring hug.

“Tabitha, we have a choice to be controlled by fear or to be controlled by our trust in God. You know what control means, right?”

“Yeah – to be bossed around.”

Sure, that worked.

“Yep. Kinda like that. When we’re bossed around by fear, our tummies hurt, we worry about things – like bad guys or monsters or people in our family getting lost or hurt. We get so worked up and so upset that we can’t sleep.

When we spend time trying thinking about if every window is locked or when we try look to every in corner of our rooms, we are not trusting God to do His job. And you know what? There’s no way, even if we tried really really hard, to see in every corner of our house at the same time – it’s impossible.”

I continued, “You know what honey?”

“What?”

“Adults get controlled by their fears, too, when they don’t trust in God. Their tummies hurt, they can’t sleep, and sometimes they can’t even eat they’re so controlled by being afraid. It’s not just kids who have this problem.

Do you remember your swimming lessons last year?”

She nodded.

“What did you have to do to float on your back?” I asked.

“I had to hold really still and relax.”

“Yes. And, you had to trust that the water was going to hold you up, right?”

“Right.”

“What happened if you tried to hold yourself up and you started thrashing your arms and legs?”

“Then I’d sink.”

“Yes! And when we trusting in God, our soul can relax and be at peace – just like how our bodies relax in the pool in order to float. We have to hold still and trust that the water will hold us up. I want you to put your head on your pillow and trust that God is going to hold you up. I want you to relax and picture yourself floating in your pool, and instead of being afraid, I want you to think instead about God doing His job and watching over you.”

“Okay.”

“Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being who you are and that your eyes are in every place, even in every corner of our house. Help Tabitha and mommy to trust you to do your job of watching over every place. Help us to be able to sleep knowing that you never ever sleep. Help us not to try to do your job for you – because that will only make our tummies hurt and will make us worry even more. No matter how hard we try, we can never be like you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, even for our sin of worrying when we need to be trusting in you. Help Tabitha’s tummy to feel better and help her to get the sleep she needs. Please comfort her her and give her strength to turn her fears over to you. Thank you for giving me this sweet little girl, who has taught me so much about my own walk with you. In your name, Amen.”

“Amen,” she said.

She put her arms out as if she was floating in a pool, closed her eyes, and fell fast asleep.

Bear with me as I tell another story:

Our movie theater plays second-run movies for free on “family days”. Once, during a family day, I was sitting in the theater watching a short film – The Madagascar Penguins in: A Christmas Caper - which played before the opening credits of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The theater was packed with children and their parents. I could overhear the ladies in the row behind me talking:

“After the movie, I have to go get my glasses fixed. Can you run over there with me before lunch? It should just take a moment,” one lady said to the other.

“Sure. No problem. I have no plans after this. How did you break your glasses?” her friend asked.

“I’m a little embarrassed to admit this,” she explained. “I have this fear that something will happen in the night and that I won’t be able to see to find my way around. I have really bad vision. I can’t sleep in my contacts. So, I wear my glasses to bed. They keep getting broken, but I don’t know what else to do.”

My heart ached for this poor lady. She was controlled by her fear! She could not rest. It was impossible to turn around and lean over to talk to her, as I was holding Micah, who was less than a year old, on my lap. He was quite fussy, and I ended up walking up and down the theater aisle with him while my older four children intently watched the movie.

When our fears control us, we do silly things like sleeping with our glasses on. Our souls are not at peace.

When we respond to our fears by trying to take on the attributes of God – like, for example, omniscience and omnipresence – we will be plagued by restlessness. We think we are taking control by thinking about all the possible precautions against robbers (and there is no harm in being responsible in locking our house – so long as our trust and hope is in the Lord and not in a deadbolt) breaking in or by staying awake and looking in every place. Yet, in reality, instead of controlling the situation, we become controlled and enslaved by fear.

Omnipresence and omniscience aren’t the only attributes of God that we are tempted to take on.

We try to control situations by demanding perfect justice when we are wronged. We refuse to believe that the Holy Spirit can and is working in the hearts of men. We sacrifice relationships because people do not meet our expectations.

We try to be self-sufficient – planning for ever possible circumstance or by refusing help when really need it. We judge people who can’t get it together . We miss out on being blessed by God through others.

We want to live eternally and try to keep from aging by devoting ourselves to a regimen of exercise, antioxidants and vitamins, and wrinkle creams. Or, we freak out in the car when our two year old climbs our of his car seat, fearing he’ll be instantly killed unless that seatbelt is fastened.

We try to be perfect and good and never sin on our own accord. Instead, we become self-righteous. We are controlled by what others think of us and keeping up the image of perfection rather than trusting in Christ for our salvation. We know deep down that we are fakes. We worry that God knows this and is out to get us.

We try to love our spouses unconditionally by our own strength and end up putting conditions on the relationship. We end up suffocating our spouses and destroying our marriages.

When we try to be God, we will always fail. We will quickly grow weary, and our souls will not be at peace. We feel the burden of the ultimate sin of pride when we think that we can do God’s job better than He can.

The Bible says, in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

How freeing it is to submit to the rule of the Creator of the Universe – who actually loves and cares about us! – rather than be ruled by our fears! We are no longer weighted down by our sin. We are free. We can live at peace.

If you find yourself not sleeping, or if you feel like something in your life is a burden to you, ask yourself, “Am I trying to take on God’s job instead of trusting in Him?”

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” – Victor Hugo

Photo Credits:
Swim Lessons 2008 by Philms via Flickr

Sleeping by william.n via Flicker

God is Awake

Humility, Casting Cares, Receiving Strength… In That Order.

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:21:03 +0000

Excerpt from a note to a friend :

Sounds like things are a bit rough at the moment, but I want you to know that I love you dearly and I am thankful to have you as a friend! Hang in there! I hope that it encourages you to know that I am praying for you.

During hard times, there is nothing more important than staying in the Word and daily turning each of our trials over to a Sovereign God who loves us. (So that our hurt does not cause us to stumble!)

I’m kinda going through a rough time myself, and I have a few thoughts I’m clinging to today in my difficult circumstances… I hope that you don’t mind me sharing them with you:

Sometimes it’s hard for me to think of God as loving and as a friend. When relationships break around me, sometimes I project that God must be turning his back on me, too. But, this isn’t so! It helps me to remember that there is nothing about me that deserved salvation – that I was an enemy of God! Yet because of Christ’s blood, I am now called His friend…

(John 15:15-16 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.)

…and His child.

(Galatians 3:23-29 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.)

Even as I read the passage above from Galatians, I’m sitting here thinking “what does it mean to be ‘clothed in Christ’ – what does that look like? how can my actions reflect being washed in Christ’s blood when I am hurting and don’t even feel like being around those who are contributing to my stress?” How am I supposed to be acting, despite my hurt?

(snip … personal information about me… point being, I’m right there with you in this struggle)

I hope that sharing these verses and thoughts were of of encouragement to you. They are to me, even as it feels like a battle to even turn over my anxiety…

(1 Peter 5:6-8 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.)

…to God – like a chore to do this. As I read this verse, I’m thinking maybe that’s why the verse starts out talking about humility before casting anxiety. I am convicted that that’s what it takes for me to turn things over to God – humility. It is prideful thinking when I say “I’m a strong woman! I can handle these things and this stress!” In my overwhelming circumstances, I try to claim that “I can do all hings through Him who strengthens me” and yet I forget the rest of this passage – that to receive God’s strength, I must first humble myself and have a gentle spirit… this is so hard for me!

(Phillippians 4:5-13 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. God’s Provisions But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me;
indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.)

(snip – side note – coordinating dropping off an item)

Thinking of you and praying for you. I don’t want to add to any of your stress… but, please let me know if you ever want to go out for a beer and just have fun fellowshipping together… or if there anything else that I can do that would be helpful and not a hindrance to you.

Much love,
Your friend,
Sarah Joy Albrecht

Humility, Casting Cares, Receiving Strength… In That Order.

Sarah Joy Albrecht » scripture

Half-Empty : Optimism, Pessimism and Realism

Related Posts

What Do You Do When a Bible Verse Hurts Instead of Helps?

Related Posts

“We can’t take someone else’s rights away to avoid our responsibilities.”

Related Posts

I Made a Meal for Jesus

Related Posts

Psalm 139

Related Posts

God is Awake

Related Posts

Humility, Casting Cares, Receiving Strength… In That Order.

Related Posts