Ignorant Historian

Since the end of tax season, I’ve been working on getting new (and old) habits in place.  I thrive on a routine, so I knew that establishing a good one early was key.

One of my major problems for both healthy living and a healthy budget is the amount of fast food I was eating.  Part of that was fueled by the stress and busyness of tax season, and part of that is just my weakness for junk food and ice cream.

So, once tax season was over, I made the plan of not eating out unless:

1.) I’m with a friend.

or

2.) My schedule requires it (usually just on Wednesdays).

It’s not been easy.  And I’ve not been perfect, either.  If I was graded, I’d probably have just barely squeaked out a C that first week.

But I’m doing much better than I would have been if I hadn’t even tried.

As hard as it is to admit, food is an idol in my life.  I really wish it was something that you could quit cold turkey. Progress would be easily measured then.  Instead, I’ve been having to work on ways to not let my desire for food rule me.

One thing our pastor said Sunday in his sermon on lust and purity was this: Say “Sex is not my religion.  Jesus is my religion,” when temptation comes.

I’ve adapted that for my struggle and now when the temptation hits, I’m telling myself, “Food is not my god. Jesus is my God.”

I might have to say this a dozen times a day, but it’s a great reminder to put food in it’s proper place in my life. It’s a great blessing, but it is not my ultimate comfort.

I’m like a child…I can’t make myself eat something I don’t want to eat.  If I try, I seriously gag.  So, the key for me is to keep it something that I want to eat, but that is also cheap, easy and healthy.  Monday, I’ll post recipes that I currently have in my arsenal that I know make great leftovers and are tasty and decently healthy.

Photo by Tammy Green

While we celebrate Christ’s resurrection today especially, it’s something to remember year round.  If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, we have no hope!

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;  and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.  Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;  and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Praise God, He is Risen!

Still Remembering Jesus’s Death and Resurrection

No FQF today, in honor of something much bigger.

ETA: Check out this fitting post on the Cross and Christianity in our present culture.

I’m tired of going to bed alone.

I don’t mean that in a sexual sense, just that singleness seems synonymous with loneliness the most at bedtime.  I can fill the rest of my life with fulfilling relationships, but this is one area where that just won’t do.

The other night was one of those nights where I just can’t get myself to go to bed because it’s hard to remove all the distractions I use to keep from remembering I’m alone.  These nights aren’t that frequent, but when they happen, they’re overwhelming.

But Saturday I found hope in this:  These nights are numbered.  Of course, I’d like to think that they’re numbered because I’ll soon have a partner in life, but even if that’s not true (or never will be true), they are still numbered as my days on this earth are thankfully numbered.  One day, God will save me from this world (via His returning or my death) and there will be no more lonely nights, no more tears.

“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:4, NASU

If you are a follower of Christ, you have the same hope.  Whatever misery you know or trial you are facing, these days are numbered.  That’s not the only hope…we also know that God will give us the grace to handle whatever situation we find ourselves in.  But sometimes, knowing that this too shall pass is a greater comfort.

If you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, you are right to be hopeless.  I don’t mean that there isn’t any hope–God has/is offering you the same hope in Jesus Christ–but if you refuse this hope, life really is hopeless.

These nights will continue to be hard, but I’ll take heart in remembering that they are numbered.

Photo by Gord McKenna

Christmas is filled with fun times with the friends you care the most about.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is cozing up with your family by the fire.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is finally being free of the bonds of schoolwork.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is a home decorated in tinsel and green.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is a mailbox full of Christmas cards.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is the celebration of God humbling himself, taking on the flesh of sinful man, being born a baby.  The greatest gift I could ask for on this or any holiday.  The incarnation that made our salvation possible.

Indeed, this is Christmas.

Photo by funkyshapes

I thank God He’s given me food on my table in abundance.

I thank God that He’s given me family and friends who love me and show me more grace than I deserve.

I thank God for giving us quick travel that I may visit my family who’s over 1,000 miles away on this day.

I thank God for giving me not only a well-paying job in these times, but a job that I like.

I thank God for allowing me to be part of a church who, though not perfect, is seeking to grow together towards christlikeness.

Most of all, I thank God for giving His Son to save a wretch like me.

So happy Thanksgiving, and remember to thank God for the many blessings he’s given you…no matter how many or how few, they’re more than we deserve.

Photos by CarbonNYC, Julie McLeod,  aka Kath, me, Phillie Casablanca, and DrGBB

Melissa, AKA the Scholastic Scribe, gave me 5 words.  In turn, I’m to write about these words and what they mean to me.  Comprendo?  Let’s go! (There’s a bit of audience involvement at the end…don’t be shy!)

Here are my words.  I must say, she did a great job of picking them out…they are words I’m passionate about!

Blogging

To be honest, I don’t really remember why I started blogging.  I wanted to keep up with my friends, I suppose, but that was rather fleeting.  When I started 3 years ago, I had no idea that I’d grow to love it so much.  From the opportunity I have to practice and share my writing to the great comments I receive, there’s so much to love about blogging.

Faith

Now this one’s a biggie, isn’t it?  If you’ve read the Ignorant Historian for any length of time, you know my faith is important to me.  It’s more than an intellectual pursuit or an emotional fulfillment.  It’s really all about the object of my faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He’s my Creator, Savior, and Sustainer, and because of that, I owe Him everything.

You probably also know that I don’t like to leave my faith at the church steps when I leave Sunday afternoon.  Though I’m by no means perfect, I strive to apply my faith to every aspect of my life, from my interactions with others to how I spend my free time.

Friends

I don’t talk a whole lot about them on the blog, but I have some great friends.  I’m at a time in my life where I don’t have as many friends as I’ve had before, but the ones that I have are deep ones.  I’m thankful they put up with my quirkiness (really, you don’t see half of it on the blog) and that they’re willing to share life with me.  Without my friends, I’d probably be a hermitress, so I definitely owe them for that.

Words

So, one of my words is “words.”  Quite circular, no?  I really do like words…when I write a blog post I sometimes spend several minutes agonizing over the just right word.  For me, it’s not about picking out the biggest word, it’s about picking the most accurate word.  I try to leave no room for interpretation so that I’m not misunderstood.  Come to think about it, this might also contribute to my disinterest in poetry…so often the words can be taken multiple ways.  I just wish that I could be as careful about my oral speech!

History

Obviously, I like history or I wouldn’t have called this blog the Ignorant Historian (though that itself is taken from the Jane Austen quote, something else I love!).  I was a history major in my undergrad, and several of my favorite courses were history classes, whether at OU or at seminary.

When I was deciding on whether or not to be a history major during my junior year (my other two options I was considering were linguistics and letters–history, philosophy, and languages), I took a class in colonial South American history.  That’s when I fell in love…the professor was a storyteller.

Really, that’s what history is, stories about people.  I don’t get how many people *cough* my current and former roommates *cough* don’t like history.  Perhaps they’ve never had a good history professor, so they’ve come to think of history as a collection of uninteresting facts.  That’s not it at all!

So there are my 5 words.  Now it’s your turn…would you like 5 words?  Just ask in the comments, and I’ll serve you up 5 personalized words for you to ponder and write about!

Photos by DeclanTM, Resclassic2, Muffet, and phault

I hinted at this post in the comments section a couple of weeks ago, but now I’m diving in.

I don’t like the adjective “Christian.”

[Take a deep breath.]

No, I’m not one of those who wants to throw out the term “Christian” altogether.  It’s in the Bible, and I think it’s a great term.  Sure it’s been misused, and that’s why I often identify myself as a “follower of Christ,” but I don’t think we should give it up.  After all who wouldn’t want to be called after the name of their Lord and Savior?

I just wish that we wouldn’t use it as an adjective, or at least not use it so indiscriminately.  For those who hate grammar, I’m saying that I’m fine with sentences like “He is a Christian” but don’t like phrases that begin with “Christian”: Christian music, Christian fiction, Christian bookstores, etc.

There’s two major problems I’ve seen with using “Christian” this way.  First of all–and most seriously–we risk labeling something Christian that is not godly, or at least that we haven’t taken the time to determine if it is godly.  Here are a couple quotes that I think bring this point home:

“The danger of labeling things ‘Christian’ is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we have been told are safe and acceptable.  When we turn off this discernment radar, dangerous things can happen.” – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, p. 86

“In short, we are easily deceived by cultural values painted in Christian veneers (or clothed in Isaiah 40:31 T-shirts).” – “The Gospel and the Gosselins” by Julie Vermeer Elliott in Christianity Today

Just because something is labeled “Christian,” does not mean it is in line with the teachings of that term’s namesake.  I’ve read many a Christian book, heard many a Christian song, watched many a Christian video (okay, only a few, because I haven’t seen that many) that has made me cringe because of the poor teaching it was presenting, everything from the misguided to the blasphemous.

As a Christian, I’m called to be discerning in every choice I make, from the type of entertainment I imbibe to the type of thoughts I intake and make my own.  In a way, God’s asking that we never turn off our brains.  Every moment requires active attention.  We should be asking questions like,

What is this author really saying?

How do these lyrics affect my view of myself, others, and God?

What view of the Word of God does this video present?

While many Christians are quick to point out that which clearly is not biblical (e.g. Playboy or Phillip Pullman’s novels), we forget that the most dangerous untruths often present themselves as half-truths.  Things that present themselves in Christian clothing often demand the most scrutiny.

So that’s the first danger, passively taking in as good that which we haven’t determined that is good.  Secondly, we risk labeling something Christian that  is simply of poor quality. 

This is clearly the less substantial danger of the two, but it’s something to consider.  Let’s face it, your average piece of “Christian fiction” is of lower quality than your average piece of fiction.  There’s a big market for things with the word “Christian” on them, and publishers and companies are more than willing to cater to the demand if it’ll gain them an extra buck or two.  Sure, there’s some good stuff out there with the “Christian” label, but it’s not all good.  By allowing this stuff to masquerade around as “Christian” we’re allowing the world to continue to view us stereotypically as uneducated simpletons.

I’m not seeking to throw out the baby with the bath water, but I am urging my fellow Christians to be discerning.  If you’d like a great resource on where to get started, I couldn’t recommend something better than Tim Challies’s The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.  It’s not a book of rules, but rather a look at what the Bible has to say about discernment.

Recently, a friend asked me why I believe in God.  So much of what I write here has that as a base assumption, but I shouldn’t assume everyone thinks on the subject of God’s existance, because I know many of you don’t.  Here’s my answer, only slightly edited:

You asked me why do I believe in God, and as I said, it’s two-fold.  First, it logically makes sense…though I grew up with many of the same truths that I hold today, by and large, they aren’t unquestioned.  I’ve studied, compared, and pondered and while I by no means have everything figured out, I’ve never found anything that is uncompatability within my worldview and how it relates to the real world (or when I have, I’ve changed it).  I think that my worldview will continue to be refined for the rest of my life, or as long as I commit to seeking truth.

Secondly, and the part that is way more than academic (and because of that seems more “real”), is the emotional/spiritual side, whatever you want to call it.  I’ve had too many situations that may be explained away as coincidences by some, but I can’t logically believe that I’ve had so many fortuitous coincidences…the simpler explanation to me is that there is a God who is working in my life and the lives of those around me.  One example is that in last Friday’s mail I received the exact sum (from 3 different people) needed to make my first Turkey payment due two days later.  Repeat this type of occurance over and over, and you have a good idea why I believe that these things are answers to prayers, not cosmic accidents.

But then there’s the bad stuff.  As you know, I’ve had very little evil in my life and I can only thank God that He spared me, because there’s so much out there.  Even in the little hardship I’ve faced (like the fire, or my ongoing, rather unwanted singleness), the good that came from it was quite apparent.  I don’t mean to intimate that this is always the case.  You’ve already faced more evil and hardship than I’m likely to ever see God-forbid.  I don’t think that I have all the answers to this, but rest assured that because the greatest evil ever done was our putting Jesus Christ, our innocent Lord, to death with our sins, God understands and has purposes far larger than we can see.  My biggest question for God is why did He ever create man in the first place knowing that we would be such wretched messes?

I don’t expect you to go, “by jolly, I’ve got it!” when you read this, but I do hope that it was helpful, if only to understand me a bit better.  I know there’s nothing I can say to convince you, nor would I want to.  I’d seriously love to hear your thoughts on this.

And that goes for all of you as well, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Photo by lfar