but the greatest of these is love

I love everyone.

Or, at least, I try to.

It can be a difficult goal to aim for, but, hey, Jesus managed to love the bastards who tortured & murdered him so I guess it won't kill me to make more of an effort to love the Mercedes driver who cut me off in traffic or the know-it-all in my cast who knows how to play everyone's part better than they do. However, in a world filled with unloveables (your's truly ranking quite high on that list), there are some people who not only make it easy for me to love them, but they make it a pleasure for me to adore them.

Mon joies de vivre.

People who make this writer flee to her thesaurus because phrases like "beautifully wonderful" & "truly amazing" are lackluster bits of drivel that can in no way describe the true beauty & perfection that these people have attained in her eyes.

People for whom I would lay down my life without a moment of hesitation.

People who make it a little easier for me to understand our Heavenly Father's indescribably powerful love for us.

People I absolutely and legitimately LOVE.

I feel so fortunate to have these people in my life, and I've realized I should probably make more of an effort to let them know how I feel. So New Year's resolution #1:
live out the love I feel for the phenomenal people in my life
Here's to the new year.

♥
mjl.

martin martin martin

i'm Lutheran.

Martin Luther: Leader of the Reformation and Inventor of the Snuggie

due to my frequent proclamations of my love for Lutheran doctrine/liturgy, carefree irreverence towards life, and belief that coffee and donuts after church are the third sacrament, this fact should be about as surprising as me saying i'm German.

i really do love being Lutheran, though. because although Lutheranism may carry a lot of heavy foam reminiscent of Catholic mass during some of our services (i.e. liturgy, creeds, etc), once you sip past it all & get to your creamy & delicious mocha underneath the foam, it basically provides, what i believe to be, the simplest and most true to scripture route to get to Heaven which is faith in Jesus Christ.

no need to live a specific lifestyle, wear certain clothes, pray to certain saints, have a certain amount of children, go confess to an intercessor, or feel burdensome guilt over what you've done...just admit when you've done wrong & ask forgiveness of the one person who really matters, and you're good to go.

there's a pretty succinct and accurate summary of the Lutheran doctrine called the Five Solas, which reads as follows:


sola scriptura - sola fide - sola gratia - solus Christus - soli Deo gloria
scripture alone - faith alone - grace alone - Christ alone - glory to God alone
although it looks a lot longer than what i said earlier (just having "faith in Jesus Christ"), it's still the same principle, just empowered by the specific parts that embody it.

scripture alone - the Bible is the inspired Word of God: a source through which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, his people. it is therefore the source of any Doctrine and is accessible to all (not just priests & elders)

faith alone - faith in Jesus Christ, not good works or anything else, is the only way to achieve Salvation. this doesn't mean Lutherans believe that good works should be thrown out altogether (obviously living a life that is "pleasing in God's eyes" is something that one should strive for & naturally want when walking in a healthy relationship with Him), just that they're not at all necessary to earn God's love or salvation.

grace alone - the Salvation we receive comes strictly from God's grace. it is absolutely and unquestionably an unmerited gift that we haven't earned or deserved in any way, but receive anyway because of his undying love for us. (take that all of you denominations & religions that say you have to do this, wear that, & say this to earn God's favor & salvation because there's not a damn thing you can do! God's going to love you anyway, so HA!) it's a little humbling, i suppose, to have to admit that you're basically crap at your core, but shouldn't be too shocking a revelation since mankind, although absolutely capable of being loving, selfless, and kind, is, in its essence, a sinful & selfish race. this should also be extremely heartening, though, to know that God adores you in spite of your flaws and still wants nothing more than for you to be with Him in paradise.

Christ alone - Jesus is the only way to Heaven. he's also the only mediator between us & God since He was both human & divine, which means no pope, preacher, saint, or virgin can bring you any closer to God because you already have a direct and loving relationship with Him all by yourself.

glory to God alone - pretty much what it says, and similar to the grace alone principle. all glory in life is due to God alone. any good that we do is not because of our own talents or accomplishments, but because of the gifts God has given us. again, very humbling, but true nonetheless. besides, mankind needs to be taken down a peg or two on the whole ego front anyways. on the whole, we're all far too pleased with ourselves. when i was younger, my dad used to let my sisters & i sit on his lap & "drive" down some of the back alleys behind our house, which basically meant we had our hands on the wheel while he did all the real work, but to my sisters and i, we were the drivers. that's how i view the relationship between us & God when it comes to our accomplishments in life...we can hardly boast in anything we do when we're being completely guided & steered the entire way.

and there you have it! Lutheranism 101. take it or leave it if you don't like it or agree with it, but now, at least, you have a little bit of an idea behind what we believe. and really, from what i've heard from friends and others in other Christian denominations, it's pretty chill in comparison with a lot of other stuff out there. we're not big on the whole guilt for your sins thing since we understand that, on a cellular level, we're born to screw up on a daily basis.

like martin says, "sin boldly".

don't live life in fear of God's wrath, rather live in the peace & joy of His unending love for you.

amen & amen.
mjl.


Be a sinner and sin boldly, but more boldly have faith and rejoice in Christ.
- Martin Luther -

looking up

today is a good day.

i had a checkup with my primary care physician this morning, & everything is looking healthy & normal. i can't even begin to describe how good that feels. to say that i feel utterly blessed beyond compare by my adoring, Heavenly Father is a gross understatement.

you know, it might be kind of weird, but the only place i can really talk about this kind of stuff is on my blog, otherwise i'll start crying like the pansy-ass that i am. but i can't help it! every time i think back to the vomiting, the fevers & shivering, the visits to the ER, and week-long hospital stays, and thinking of how scary that whole ordeal was (not knowing what was wrong with me, being told night after night that i'd be able to go home the next day only to have the cycle of fever & nausea return the next morning), i can't help but tear up when considering what my life is like now.

i'm acting again. i'm working out & feel stronger than ever. i'm able to eat almost anything i want without fear of getting ridiculously ill. and i am so elated at the turn of events my life has been taking lately.

i'm growing up. and as truly terrifying a prospect as that is, i feel ready for it because i know that my Heavenly Father is going to be with me no matter what. as cliche as it may sound, he truly will not give me anything i can't handle, and because of this illness, i understand that a little better now.

the lowest point i've ever felt was the third or fourth night i was in the hospital (for the second time). one of my doctors had just left the room after telling me they still didn't know what was wrong with me, and that i'd have to stay another night. my family members, too, had vacated the room briefly, and i was able to be alone for a little while.

i remember staring up at the cross on the wall next to my bed and just crying. i'd thought that i'd finally figured out why God had given me this disease, and that everything was going to be ok, only to have it all ripped out from under me by one visit from my doctor.

i can't recall a time i've ever felt so truly alone.

i was so frustrated and upset with God for letting me go through all i'd gone through only to be told that i'd have to endure it even longer. i had lost hope, and my faith, though still standing, was under severe attack. but as the days went by, and i was overwhelmed by the onslaught of prayers, well wishes, & sage advice from the most vivid display of Christ's love personified in the form of my family & friends, it became easier to accept the fact that i don't need to know every why behind what happens to me, and to truly understand that sometimes God puts us in severely shitty situations in order to make us stronger. and i truly believe i've become a stronger person because of all i've gone through.

as truly awful as all of the crap that comes with this disease can be, God has been with me, and continues to stay with me, the whole time, holding me and caring for me, even when it felt like he wasn't there.

c.s. lewis said it best, "i know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. you are, yourself, the answer."

God is love.

love is all you need.

my beginning philosophy class would therefore conclude that:
God is all you need.

amen & amen.
mjl.