Back From Break - Book and Cross-Stitch

 Hello again. After a much-needed "quiet time," though also busy time, I'm ready to get back into blogging and being inspired and motivated by others' blogs to learn and do.

Most of the quiet time has been used to steep myself in some good books to help me grow in the confidence and spirit of the love of Jesus and to help me face some of the areas of my heart that need a strong makeover. It seems that no matter how long we walk this Christian life, we still can be blind or callous to our own faults and sins (even though sometimes we've noticed parts of them) and we need to get a good look at ourselves, repent of sins, and also see how much our Savior loves us and is drawn to us in our sinful weakness to forgive us, pick us up, change our hearts deeply, and strengthen us to walk with him as he continues to mold us into his likeness. I'm so thankful he doesn't give up on us, but is "faithful to complete the work he began in us."

The book that most touched my heart with his love is:

I also got the study guide and as I slowly and thoroughly made my way through the borrowed book (so I couldn't mark it up as I would my own) I took notes and answered application questions. 

Oh, what a drink of cool water on a sweltering day! I recommend this book to everyone. Twice. Thrice. Annually for the rest of one's life.

Here's the beginning of the introduction:

("Parsimonious" means frugal to excess, rather like Scrooge.)

The title and first chapter come from Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

His very core, his heart, is gentle and lowly - meek, humble, not harsh, reactionary, or easily exasperated. We can come to him with our pain, our failings, our self-disgust and he doesn't turn away. He is accessible. 

We just have to come to him, cry for help, and take his yoke (which is restful, not heavy). Sometimes we spend too much effort (labor) in trying to clean our own selves up, only to fall back into the same prideful, self-serving ways.

Instead, he wants us to accept what he's offering us - rest, learning, love, a light load because he's actually doing the carrying. We can leave our efforts, our desire to change ourselves and others, our wanting to look good, our frustrations when things aren't happening as we think they should...in his very capable and much more loving, caring, gentle hands.

Other Scriptures upon which chapters are built remind us that:

    

    * So often the Bible says he had compassion. He loves people; I should be a conduit of that love and         I should let him love me and build my confidence in that fact.

    * It is his joy to give comfort, grace, mercy, and pardon. It's not a trial to him.

    * He can sympathize with our weakness. He's not distant and unfeeling. Also, as C.S. Lewis noted,             he is the only one who has taken the path of temptation clear to the end and won; he never gave             in, so he understands the strength of temptation even better than we do.

    * He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward.

    * He will never cast out those who come to him.

    * His heart recoils at the thought of having to be angry with his people despite their repeated                     disobedience and warnings.

    * He lives to make intercession for us, teaming up with the Father to keep us in his grace.

    * He advocates for us, which means he comes alongside us and aligns himself with us.

   

There are more, but this is getting kinda long. I just wanted you to get to see what some of the wonderful blessings of Jesus' love are.

This books has helped me to gain more confidence that Jesus does love me, massive warts and all, and I also see better that I can have confidence in him to handle things that I might want to criticize; he doesn't particularly need my help to fix things. In fact, I often get in the way rather than help. Sigh. 

But he loves me. And he can help me love others better. I'm praying much for that.

And to help me remember all this, I'm cross-stitching myself this pattern (to which I added the words):

I've changed some of the colors to ones I prefer and can't wait to show the finished product to you. I've been watching a lot of Father Brown Mysteries as I stitch and, while I don't agree with some of his theology or some of his tactics, hearing him frequently say that God loves and forgives is encouraging.

I pray that your day is full of the love of Jesus.