Never fully answered

"As I drove home, the deepest part of me cried out to God, 'Oh Savior, why?

Why is it so difficult for my friend Merwis and others like him to understand about You?'

To this day, that question has never been fully answered."

David Leatherberry

Afghanistan: My Tears

Pg 152

To Remember

Juvenile Justice in America pg 84

"Finally [...] [they] followed up on a sample of serious adolescent female delinquents and found neither marital attachment nor job stability to be strongly related to female desistance [as those were found to be reasons for both male and female delinquents to quite crime]. Instead, desisters underwent a cognitive shift, or transformation, in which they experienced successful "hooks for change." These hooks "facilitated the development of an alternative view of self that was seen as fundamentally incompatible with criminal behavior."

Important. Never forget.

Praise Be to the One and Only God!

Thank you God! That you are ALIVE! You are a living God! You are not dead, you are not made of wood or stone. You were not crafted by my hands and I cannot bend you to my will! Thank you God! That you are GOD. That you hear our cries and you respond to us! Thank you God that you are not far away, you are not distant. You are living and active in this world and our lives! You are continually moving among us, setting the captive free, answering prayer, and healing the sick!

You, the most High God, have promised to live in me, to do life with me, to love me and guide me. And you are faithful to do all that you've promised. Thank you God for coming to us, for rescuing us, for favoring us and living among us. Thank you God that we are your people and you are our God. A living God, a listening God, a loving God, a relational God.

You are separate from me. You have your own mind, your own will. I cannot put my words in your mouth, I cannot tell you what to do. I am submitted to YOUR will, my life is surrendered to your Life, my decisions are submitted to your Desires. I am no longer my own. Thank God!! Thank you that I am not god! Thank you that I am not in charge! Thank you that it is not MY will to be done! Thank you that you are greater than I; thank you that you are God.

I praise you God! You are ALIVE! You are REAL! You are a loving father; you are justice and goodness and faithfulness and love. You are jealous for us. You are beautiful and fierce and dangerous. You are everlasting. You were here before me, and you shall Be when I am not. Gracious God, thank you! Praise you. All that you do is right; and you make Right out of our wrong. Praise you! Thank you that you are in control of all things! That nothing matters. The wrong done to me, the pain inflicted on my heart, it matters not! It is such a little thing in light of eternity, where death is no more and every tear shall be wiped away.

Thank you that all authority was given to your Son at the cross. Thank you that he has come to make his home in me; that His spirit communes with my spirit. He is my guide, He is my prophet, my priest, my counselor, my guide. Thank you that you have given me all power and all authority of the darkness of this world. We are in a war, one that's end has been determined, but one we still fight to rescue others from becoming causalities. But you have given us all power over our enemy. Thank you God! We have all that we need!

Thank you God that I am no longer bound by my former self! You no longer see my failures, my mistakes, or my sins; instead, these were given to your Son to bear, and I was given His righteousness! He took the cost of my failure, and I was given the gift of His righteousness and perfection. Thank you God! I have been forgiven! I am free! I am FREE! Praise God! I've submitted my life to you and you have given me freedom! Now, to live a life of love to you. A life characterized by thankfulness and love; of dignity and respect. One worthy of the calling you have bestowed upon me. To live a life that is free! Free from sin and darkness, one that honors the King of Kings! Lived not because of obligation but out of desire and gratefulness.

Praise be to God! The Most High! The Living God! Shout His Praises from the mountaintops! Tell the world that He is God and that He is worthy of Praise! Tell them what He has done for them! He has freed them! He desires relationship with us! Praise Him, Holy One! Hallelujah! Hallelujah God! Holy One!

You are not stone or wood, that you are dead. But You are alive! You are above all else! You are obligated to no man! You are God! Worthy of all Praises! We humble ourselves, God, and ask you to walk with us, be with us, commune with us; help us to live worthy of you! Let us not take you for granted, but remember what You've done and who You are!

Yes, gifts are nice. Yes, "happy birthdays" are great.

But what I'm really thankful for are the things people do and say that make the day better. The things they did that show me that I'm seen and they add to my life in a way that mattered and made a difference.

I don't need gifts, I don't need money, I don't even need words or actions necessarily.

That's why I don't like to give birthday cards or say happy birthday.

Your birthday is a celebration of your life on earth. If I'm going to celebrate a person's life, showing them that I am happy they are on this planet, then God forbid me to simply SAY it to them on the day when your obligated to. I don't want a reminder that someone was born and for me to throw a remark their way. I don't want to celebrate simply because "it's what you do." No, I want to make sure that they KNOW that I am THANKFUL that they were born.

Happy day of your birth! We are better because you are here. I appreciate your life.

So yes, the wishes of happiness and prosperity are good.

But it was the thoughtful unsolicited action that brightened my morning. It was the cancelled class so that I could have free time that showed me I was appreciated. It's the kind words of encouragement and support on days that aren't obligations, that remind me I am seen.

I think, when I have a family, I want to have unbirthday days. Spontaneous nights where I have a birthday celebration for my son or my daughter or my husband. Days that we celebrate that that person is alive, and how thankful we are for them.

I want to send birthday cards at wrong dates of the calendar. Because on THAT day, I am celebrating and appreciating their life. Perhaps in person this will be different because then I can do some physical act or gesture to show love and appreciation on the day they were born. But again, if it's only shown on the day that STRANGERS are obliged to say "Happy birthday" then I think it's pretty cheap show of affection.

This is exemplified by the infamous (to me) "Happy birthday Emily!"

So, as I am thankful for all the kind gestures (which I really DO appreciate them!), I am very thankful for the early present of an intimate childhood companion, the morning surprise that helped me get out of bed, the funny voicemail that made me smile, the cancelled class that allowed me to enjoy stolen moments of this busy day, and the future dinner with a man that shows appreciation for the day of my birth EVERY day.

And this is how I celebrate my life. By people that see, participate in, and support my life.

Life by the Spirit

Life by the Spirit involves active obedience to the direction of the Spirit (v. 16), constant warfare against the desires of the sinful nature by the power of the Spirit (v. 17) and complete submission to the control of the Spirit (v. 18). Such a life will be an experience of freedom from the control of the sinful nature and the control of the law.