Friday, April 13, 2012

On a Personal Note: No good

This post is going to start out like a typical post but end a little differently so stick with me...

Today has been blissful.
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It began with a baking success (homemade cinnamon bread) paired, of course, with caffeine.
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Then came a cuddly morning with my men.
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Followed by a visit with a friend who I feel like I've known forever.
(who brought me these gorgeous s & p shakers)

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Then it was off to explore the breathtaking Duke Gardens.

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Finally a sunset drive down some back roads with some country music serenading.

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I was putting these pictures on my computer thinking about how idealistic they look and some of the back story behind them.
For example:
-I only need caffeine in the morning because I am a limited person who has to sleep/do nothing for 8 hours a night to feel decent
- My cuddle bug in his pjs whined to watch tv or eat cookies at least 15 times this morning
- My friend and I don't just talk about what is happy in life right now but also the things we struggle with
- You can't visit the Duke Gardens without being reminded how many people are there right before/after cancer treatment at Duke Hospital
-Even our back roads drive made us witness a car accident in which at least one driver didn't have insurance

The world is broken.
The world won't ever satisfy us because we weren't made for it ultimately.

It was strange to be in a garden today and think...
God put mankind in a garden to begin with. A perfect garden. And I look around this garden and see people with bald heads from chemo, a group of college girls talking about how their self-proclaimed "selfishness" will probably lead them to never marry or have kids, and children fighting over toys.

But God.
So often in Scripture when we read a passage filled with the depravity of mankind, it is followed by a "but God..." statement
So I want to leave you with what is the point of us seeing the brokenness.
To wallow in it and miss the joy in life? To feel hopeless? To try to fix it? To become numb?
I don't think so.
I think it drives us to these truths-

In Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col 1:17

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(Psalm 16 ESV)




7 comments:

  1. Being driven to Truth--love that. Thankful for you, even when you make cry (shocker).

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  2. Thanks for this, Lauren. My fav post of yours ever. What a great reminder. You seem to leave this path behind you wherever you go, pointing others to the truth that Christ is in everything. I only have to look up in my kitchen to see the "In Him we live and move and have our being verse". Thanks for that. :) Keep living the truth.

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  3. Thank you, Lauren. That was such a good reminder. Perfect post.

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  4. so true. And it's so easy for me to look at people's highlight reel on social media and think their life is "wonderful". This world truly is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing Jesus. Thanks for pointing to Him.

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  5. loved meeting you tonight at the lattes and blogging meetup! your site is so cute! 1. where did you get that AMAZING huge coffee mug...i love it. also love all your pics from the gardens! so pretty, and your child is adorable :)

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  6. Great post, Lauren. One of my faves. I need to write a real-life post like this one.

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  7. Thank you thank you thank you!!! for giving the back story. That is the thing with blogs, everyone is living an ideally beautiful life. I think we have to be careful that we're not creating graven images for ourselves through blogs and photoshoots and beautiful things etc. There are back stories to everything! Thanks for your honesty. Love it.

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