I'm Ashlee. I'm on an odyssey to know my Father and know myself. This is a collection of my daily (ideally) devotional pursuits - quotes from books I'm reading, verses, and perhaps some thoughts of my own.
My hope is that you may find this journey somewhat interesting to follow and perhaps find some inspiring tidbits that will help you on your journey to well-being. Please remember to make good use of my Ask box for absolutely anything. I'd love to hear from you! And follow me - I will follow back! :)
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and may you find peace and self-acceptance in Him.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Come in, O strong and deep love of Jesus, like the sea at the flood in spring tides, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash out all my cares, lift up my earth-bound soul, and float it right up to my Lord’s feet, and there let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by his love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to him that if he will put his ear to me, he will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of his own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at his feet for ever.
C H Spurgeon
I don’t always agree with everything Spurgeon taught, but boy, did he have a wonderful way of putting things.
Did you ever ask yourself the surprisingly difficult question: How does one choose evil? How do we commit sin? The will can choose, by its very nature, only that which is good. I am personally convinced that the exercise or use of free will in a given situation of guilt is that the will, desirous of some evil that has good aspects (if I steel your money, I will be rich), forces the intellect to concentrate on the good to be acquired in the evil act, and to turn away from the recognition of evil. This need urges the intellect to rationalize that which was originally recognized as evil. While I am doing something wrong (in the act of doing it), I cannot be squarely facing its evil aspect; I must be thinking of it as good and right. Consequently, free will is probably exercised primarily in the act of coercing the intellect to rationalize than in the execution of the act itself.
John Powell, reading for April 12th
Just Me Thinking (reblogged from my other Tumblr)
To a lot people…
- God is about being safe.
- God is about escaping hell and eternal damnation
- God is about being healed
- God is about being right
- God is about religion
- God is about finding worth
- God is about finding happiness
- God is about giving off the right kind of image
-…
(Source: redhatwanderer)
You yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.
1 Thessalonians 4:9
You and I can profit by asking ourselves: What do I see when I look through the lens of my attitude towards myself? Am I more a critic than a friend? Do I look beyond the surface blemishes to find the truly beautiful and unique person that I am? Or do I play the destructive “comparison game”? What verdict does the juror of my mind pass on me: “good at heart” or “guilty on all counts”?
A healthy Christian attitude towards self acknowledges and accepts the human condition of fragility. But we always see ourselves walking through life hand in hand with the Lord, feeling glad to be who we are, knowing that He accepts and loves us as we are. Our Father who is mighty has indeed done great and beautiful things in us and for us, and holy is His name. Only through the lens of this vision can we find the peace and joy which are our legacy in Jesus. Only if we see ourselves in this way can we experience the fullness of life which He came to bring us.
John Powell
A healthy and growing person accepts the condition of weakness. “People are mistake-makers and I’m one of them. That’s why pencils have erasers, you know.” Healthy and growing persons are also good communicators because they are ready to share openly and honestly. They share not only the light and bright, but the weak and wounded side of themselves.
Defenses of our wounded egos lead us into endless and sticky games of phoniness. Fortunately, there is a positive, creative, and health-producing anecdote. It is simply to accept ourselves in the human condition of weakness and to admit our limitations. Such openness, willingness to share ourselves, warts and all, make us real. It puts us into the kind of contact with reality that enables us to grow up and become all that we can become.
John Powell
