"Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants."
--Henri J. M. Nouwen

(For some reason Blogger won't let me space out my lines, hence the "decorative" dashes)
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1) Music! All my favorites at my fingertips. I always have my Christian music playlist down at the bottom of this blog and I have recently added to it a little Rat Pack-ish collection. LOVE that.

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A Pemberley series by Elizabeth Aston:
(not recommended for youth without a parent-read first)

"You will never catch me coppers!!"
-Luke

"Know who you are in Christ. Live who you are in Christ, and be done with who you used to be. That's what's being said here in Colossians 3. We have been crucified and raised with Christ, so we must put aside the practices of the past.

Let me read this list to you: fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth, and lying to one another. Not very pretty, it is? But that's who we were.

Outside of Christ we are capable of any and all sins. Did you catch what I said? Outside of Christ, which is not who we are anymore.

Know who you are, live who you are, and be done with who you used to be.

Listen to this next list, starting in verse 12: the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing on another, forgiving one another as Christ forgave us, charity, the peace of God ruling in your hearts, called in one body, and thankful. Wow. That's a tall order, but that's the goal.

I want to make sure you're aware of the verses that command all of this. Start in verse one where it says we have been raised with Christ. That's how we know who we are-we've been raised with Him.

Then in that same verse we're told to 'seek those things which are above'-live out who we are.

Now look at verse five where we are commanded to mortify the members which are upon the earth. In other words, be done with who we used to be.

Take some time this week and study these over-know them, remember then. And let's not forget to pray for each other all week and check with each other as we live this out and put aside who we used to be."

-"Hear me, I'm not dismissing the severity of your sin, but I understand the greatness of the cross. Your sin has been covered. It's gone. You're not that person anymore."
-"I think I'm starting to see. The cross is huge. It's why we're who we are."

Ruth Bell Graham's headstone reads:
“End of Construction – Thank you for your patience.”

"I love that. The sanctification process was a life long construction project for Ruth Graham. And what a humble final epithet for a woman of fame and influence. It goes back to an observation I have made over and over. Maturity in Christ always results in humility. All of us should pray for grace as we undergo our own maturing process and especially as we watch others under construction.

...the process maturing into what is already true about me. I am righteous. That became my status when I put my faith and trust in Christ. My construction process is trusting that truth and building my life around that truth.

My own construction project has been erratic. It feels like I have spent a lot time leaning on my shovel and not making much progress. But then I look back and see a lot of work has been done over the years. Someday soon the construction project will, praise God, be finished. "
-Dave Burchett