Jesus is the (gluten-free) Bread of Life

Doesn't this picture just fill you with happiness and excitement and coziness? Being at home for a couple weeks is providing me the luxury of slowing down to enjoy simple things like this. Waking up has become a joy - to look outside at the white surroundings and clear sky. Vancouver isn't the same. I love the feeling of being tucked away in my house with tea and a book, surrounded by a small city and more country than I could ever explore. And snow. Lots and lots of snow!

I've loved spending so much time with my Eli. Having a nephew around is like a constant treat. Whenever you feel like it, if he's awake, he is always up for a cuddle or hold and it just makes you so happy!

I'm halfway through "Jesus Amoung other Gods". There are so many great points, sentences, quotes, from the author and other authors that he adds in. I just want to share them all, but since I didn't underline and there are way too many to go back and find and type out, I'll just post a few:

Ravi is talking about our hungers..the hungers for truth, knowldge, to express, to belong, to be loved, hunger for justice, for imagination, for significance..etc. He says "Not only do we remain unfufilled when we pursue these hungers, but in their very pursuit comes a disorientation that misrepresents and misunderstands where the real satisfaction comes from." This is so imporant to know, and so true, I read it about 10 times to really grasp it and feel the weight of it.

Then he talks about when Jesus fed the hungry, when Satan tempted Him by telling Him to change stones into bread. Also how Ravi himself was raised in a country (India) where food is a major shortage in many areas and it is hard to sit comfortable with food in your stomach when many around you are starving. Then the author asks, "How much more relevant could God be than to be a provider of food for life?" and "What good is religion if it cannot feed the hungry?" But, he points out, Satan was very close to the HALF truth. And a half truth can be so interwoven with a lie that it becomes deadly.. Ask yourself this question: "What kind of following would result if the sole reason for the affection towards the leader is that He provides his followers with bread?" Both motives would be wrong, for the provider and the reciever. These are the terms of reward and punishment that are mercenarily tainted and have diminishing returns, at best engendering compliance, but not love. Their appeal, too, is soo lost when offered as enticements or when withheld to engender fears. Dependence without commitment will ever look for ways to break the stranglehold.

Ravi goes on to talk about the real nourishment to our bodies, the only one that will suffice us entirely for eternity. People in the Bible were obsessed with bread. Their primary purpose and expression of enjoyment of life had seriously displaced both what bread was meant to do and what life was meant to be. I love this. The fact is, is that Jesus is our bread. We have to eat to live and be sustained. We have to partake in Him. How can Christians say their living in Christ when they aren't daily taking from Jesus as their source, like He has asked us and told us to do?

One more thing I love.. Ravi talks about every other religion having a leading exponent. There becomes a bifurcation, or a distinction at the heart of every other religion, between the person and the teaching. Mohammad, to the Koran. Buddha, to the Noble Path. Krishna, to his philosophizing. Zoroaster, to his ethics. And these teachers only point to their teaching or show some particular way. You listen to Zoroaster. Buddha's Noble Truth's instruct you. With Mohammad, the beauty of the Koran woos you.  But...

"By contrast, Jesus did not only teach or expound His message. He was identical with His message. 'In Him,' says the Scriptures, 'dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily.' He did not just proclaim the truth. He said 'I am the truth.' He did not just show a way. He said 'I am the Way.' He did not just open up the vistas. He said, 'I am the door.' 'I am the Good Shepherd.' 'I am the resurrection and the life.' 'I am the I AM.' In Him is not just an offer of life's bread. He is the berad. That is why being a Christian is not just a way of feeding and living. Following Christ beings with a way of relating and being."

Ah! I could eat this up. Alot of truth I really need to hear this fine Tuesday morning.

A treat

This video seems to be trending all over the internet, especially around my fellow uni kids to destress from exams and have a laugh. I watched the Jimmy Kimmel Halloween Candy one and laughed so much! Now, he came out with a Christmas one. A slight bit of my being feels bad for laughing at the little kiddie's expenses, but hopefully it doesn't emotionally scar them too badly and they can look back and laugh. Look at it Here. What stuck out to me the most is the little kid with the most presents under the tree is the most spoiled, rudest, and acts out the worst. It's really sad and I found pretty hard to watch!

On another note..I just realized in the overhead picture to my blog, the girl has no pants on and perhaps no undies either..:s I'm a bit disturbed and am thinking it's time for a new picture. Any suggestions??

Vernon

Mmmm, my current hemisphere (?) looks like this: An oversized comfy chair in one of my favourite colours, lime green, in the "upstairs" of Bean Scene coffee house in Vernon, British Columbia. I stumbled upon the "best coffee house in Vernon" by chance. I drove into old downtown with my Aunt this morning when she came in to work at their shop for the day. All my life, one of my favourite things to do is explore. So, naturally, I wandered around the old streets, lined with artsy shops, used book stores, and fine boutiques with "rare" treasures. When I walked into the Bean, the warm and comforting smell of java beans and wooden-rustic-mixed with rich purples and greens atmosphere assured me I'd come to the right spot! The dread-locked girls at the counter were sweet, and gave me the hotest cup of coffee I've ever had in-house, and a wi-fi network password POUR GRATUIT! (amazing, considering all other coffee shops charged for internet..I'm spoiled in Vancouver ;))

The downstair's layout is a compact space crammed with odly-shaped wooden tables, bar seating at the window, and COMFY CHAIRS. Upstairs is, well, MORE COMFY CHAIRS! Brilliant! They know how to draw people in. It's like being at home but not at home. The long stairwell upstairs is grandiose, lined with an intricately-designed carpet that could have been imported from Persia. The chandelier is something out of a Jane Austen novel. Upstairs is bright and beautiful. There are 3 different coloured walls: A rustic red, country yellow, and royal purple. And then there is the most beautiful table in the middle of the room. A long dark wood (sorry, I know nothing about wood types), with King and Queen-like chairs lined with red satin. Elaborate but cozy?! The windows are streaming in sunlight, looking out over the street, bar stools to sit at. There are a number of little tables scattered around, a fireplace, and a round table (my favourite). All the different coloured chairs have the comfy-factor. I tested them out. (Goldilocks?) Oh, and classical music is playing. Oh gosh, I just overheard a little girl asking her Dad where her pink book went (as she crawls under the coffee table..) Her dad answers (IN A HARRY POTTER ACCENT) "It was blown to smithereens daaahling". !!!!!! It's the simplest things with me...


And, the puzzle piece to fit it all together is a black coffee with cinnomen on top and a delicious book. I did bring my current read: "Jesus amound other God's" by Ravi Zacharias..but, did stop on the way here into two used book stores and bought a mystery novel that I confess, may take the front seat after this blog is done. I love used book stores, and books for that matter. There's something about walking through tightly-packed and narrow isles where books are piled up to the ceiling with every genre and book you could want that gets my neurotransmitters firing. Oh shoot, am I turning into my sisters?! Yes, both Melissa and Rachel would never pass up a pop into a used book store, and it is not unheard of for either to splurge on a few rare books. I'm starting to find the value in it too, though. When you're looking for one used book in a stack of thousands, and have perused too many used book shops to count, it's a fantastic feeling to find the needle in the haystack!

I have a view of snow-capped mountains looking over a valley. I have clothes on my back, money at my disposal, family that loves me, and more time than I've had all semester to do absolutely nothing. I am well aware of how blessed I am, and am grateful for it. Not many people are this "lucky". I think. Or they don't realize what they have. I know God could take all the comforts of life away and I would still be happy. At least I have to be well aware of that and check my heart constantly to make sure I know where my real treasures lie. I've been thinking about that lately, wondering if I value my "things" or "experiences" too much. I've heard a few people say that the way to test if money (or material things) are an idol to you is how generous you are with it. I would say this is accurate. I don't see money or things as treasures to be stored up and valued over everything. I take pleasure in giving away because I've seen over and over how much God has provided for me (and people I know) and given me OVER and ABOVE my needs. He gives me "wants". He lets me play and I believe, takes pleasure in seeing me enjoy His gifts. I do my best to budget and use money wisely, but I also don't worry about not having enough, or spending a little too much on someone else to bless them.

If God took it all away, I would still praise Him. And even more than before. Not to look spiritual, or in the hopes of gaining it all back and more. I would praise Him because He would still provide my needs and because I know He still loves me no matter how much or how little I have. And because He is my CREATOR. And how could I ever worry about what I have or don't have when the maker of the world, who made me, knows me and loves me and has promised to take care of me forever. Who has told me where I will go one day, and reminds me of the reason I am here on earth. In a funny way, when I remember that, everything else seems to fall out of view and nothing seems as important as my faith in Jesus Christ and relationship with Him.

I really, really love today.

(and this is a little capture of my surroundings..)