[The King is enthralled by your beauty." Psalm 45:11]

I've blogged this same bit in september 22nd in 2007, bu  t felt that it would be alright to borrow it again for you guys to read, it's still something that very much touches my heart. Today I felt in my heart something saying that this new season is once again about growing and what is the most dangerous and adventurous and challenging and rewarding thing I can do is to grow to be more of myself to be more the one I was created to be. And I think this text in a way spurs me toward that freedom. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

__________________________________________________________________

I want to be beautiful
And make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart
And be amazed
I want to hear you say
Who I am is quite enough
I just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful.
(Bethany Dillon) 

Warrior Princesses

"Me, a princess?"
"You are the legal heir."
"I never lead anyone."
"We will help you to be a princess, to rule. If you refuse to accept the throne then the
kingdom will cease to exist as we know it."
--The Princess Diaries

In God's name we must fight them!
--Joan of Arc
Women are often portrayed in stories and tales as the "Damsel in Distress." We are the ones for whom men rise up and slay dragons. We are the "weaker sex"; said to faint at the sight of blood, needing to be spared the gory details of battle whether on the field or in the market place. We are the ones waiting in our flowing gowns for the knight to come and carry us away on the back of his white horse. And yes. There are days when a knight in shining armor would be most welcome. We do long to be fought for; loved enough to be courageously protected. But there is a mighty fierceness set in the heart of women by God. It is true to who we are and what we are created to do.

Women are warriors too.

Redeemed women of God have tender, merciful hearts, backbones of steel and hands that have been trained for battle. There is something incredibly fierce in the heart of a woman that is to be contended with, not dismissed, not disdained, but recognized, honored, welcomed and trained.

(Stasi and John Eldredge: Captivating , p. 186-188) 

[BLOG A KORAN day]

This blog is my participation to 
"Blog a koran day 9/11" by Tall Skinny Kiwi
In order to understand, I need to know,

when I get to know, I begin to love.

Loving, I want to know,

knowing, I begin to understand.

Recently, I had a sabbath meal with friends.

One of our newest friends is a iranian muslim.

It was a privileged to sit by their side,

eating bacon sandwiches and know

that we are both valued and loved by God.

I value friendships, fellow travellers highly.

We are made to make this journey together.

Sometimes you don't agree on everything,

but it doesn't mean you can't travel together.

It's good to have something to talk about ;)

"In essentials unity

In non-essentials liberty.

In all things love."

If we think we know the Truth,

we can invite others to seek Him 

with us, with grace and love.

If we invite others, we have to take

responsibility about them.

I have a friend, a lover and a King

who said "Follow me."

"I am the way, the truth and the life."

Many books are written about him,

many songs are composed about him,

many arguments are held about him.

In my opinion, nothing beats getting to know him personally.

A book I read recently was written by a former muslim,

and she often said that not many muslims have

read Qu'ran in a language they understand.

I must confess I've never read Qu'ran, would

be interesting to read it to see what our

muslim brothers and sisters believe in.

Also I think that everybody should read the Bible,

in order to understand what us Christians believe in.


This is a quote from Qu'ran that talks about Jesus:

"Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how God makes His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!" (Sura 5:75).

Now I must go and sleep,
tomorrow is another exciting day.
Good night, lovely dreams of a better world
let us respect and love each other

30 Seconds to Mars - Closer To The Edge

Heard a cover version of this song this afternoon when my housemate

had his band practice in our front room (brilliant anyway,

to have a live band playing all afternoon at your house, and they were pretty

good too, and with definitely no shazam needed with songs like

hotel california, don't stop believin', africa and walking in memphis...)

and I liked it so I thought I'd share it! Enjoy!

[a problem and a simple resolution]

They're all reactions! One thing begets the next. A man has a weakness, he's flawed. That flaw leads him to guilt. The guilt leads him to shame. The shame he compensates with pride and vanity. And when pride fails, despair takes over and they all lead to his destruction. It will become his fate... Something's gotta stop the flow. -Jacob (Pathfinder) in the movie Ink

...

Welcomed in to the courts of the King

I've been ushered in to Your presence

Lord, I stand on Your merciful ground

Yet with every step tread with reverence

And I'll fall facedown

As Your glory shines around

Yes, I'll fall facedown

As Your glory shines around

Who is there in the heavens like You?

And upon the earth, who's Your equal?

You are far above, You're the highest of heights

We are bowing down to exalt You

So let Your glory shine around

Let Your glory shine around

King of glory, here be found

King of glory

- Facedown by Matt Redman

[..1..2..3..]

A bohemian longing for law and order/ 
a revolutionary in a self-proclaimed cage of eternal sunshine/ 
idle intelligence running in circles of cultural tight ropes and language barriers/ 
ill-timed beginnings and so many false smile ends always one too late/ 
deep secret fragile desires/ 
and so many re-constructed mondays/ 
Freedom, you bring me hope of an eternity ahead!


I would definitely need a project larger than my own self/
I need other human beings
to share to bounce of to grow with to feed to laugh to cry to listen to
How can I see if I have ever grown or even grown up
if there is no one to measure it against
no one to draw the little pencil line on the door frame.


Thoughts that had no reason to be worded out loud
echoing off walls of these empty halls

Haunting presence of the dreams of a shared existence.

[About Boys]

Everyone knows that girls every now and then get together
to talk about boys. Yes it is true, as boys are true mystery to us.
Boys are fascinating and I generally think that
God made very well when He decided
to create Adam.

Here some wonderful quotes about boys by mr Mark Twain:

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.
- Life on the Mississippi


There comes a time in every rightly-constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer


We think boys are rude, unsensitive animals but it is not so in all cases. Each boy has one or two sensitive spots, and if you can find out where they are located you have only to touch them and you can scorch him as with fire.
- Mark Twain's Autobiography

Missing Generation pt. I

Last week I attended a great and enlightening seminar by Pete Hughes about the Missing generation.
As someone who is a member of that generation and so are most of my friends,
 I find this discussion very interesting and thought-provoking.


Here some quotes from articles or blogs I have recently read:


"Unfortunately what 20-30’s often hear in church is not encouragement to take huge steps in their faith, but to take on huge responsibilities within the church. Churches can all too easily channel the drive, energy and enthusiasm of the 20-30’s into church-based activities – helping with the cleaning rota, youthwork or music – or all three.  Instead of inspiring our young adults for discipleship, we often cause them to burn out and lose all heart for discipleship and the church. What could be character-building, can also become soul-destroying. 
from:

Missing Generation - reaching 20s- 30s

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10206#article_page_2 by Krish Kandiah

Soul Survivor leader Mike Pilavachi, addressing the council, said a culture of consumerism, individualism and entitlement has “eaten into the psyche of 20-somethings. What that mitigates against completely is commitment to community,” he said, explaining that 20-somethings are always in a futile search for perfection, are afraid of going into the real world and show a great deal of pain in ministry times. “We’ve got to help them,” he said. “We’ve got to love them, we’ve got to listen to them, but also we’ve got to find ways of gently, lovingly but definitely challenging some of the things that come from a culture of consumerism, individualism and entitlement." 
from:

Christian Youth Needs Guidance

http://revivalmedia.org/tag/mike-pilavachi/ 

Read more from

The 18-30 Mission: A Missing Generation