Showcasing the Brilliance of Others...

Random things I've read recently that were really, really good:  

When a man of God cares for
His sister in Christ
With all his heart,
He does not betray her trust
No matter his part,
No matter his cost.
He would pray for her, stay with her
Through any strife.
He would fly for her, cry with her,
Die for her life.
He’s a rock she can lean on,
An angel she can see.
He’s a secure paragon,
A bodyguard for free...

read the rest of this poem here - and the comments too. :D 

 And click on the picture to read an absolutely brilliant post on Christianity and violence... something I really, really appreciated reading, since it was struggling with that whole issue that got me started writing one of my westerns - attempting to reconcile "love your enemies" with the whole idea of the American West threw me for a loop for a bit. Though I am glad that I, along with my character, did eventually figure it out - and when it came time for the MC to pull the trigger, he did so, as much as he did not want to, and saved several lives in so doing. It is a very serious matter... but one that needs thinking about.




This post made me want to stand up and cheer - girls, we have been called to follow Him! Not to hit 18 and mindlessly head off to college, there to have our faith blown to smithereens because we never took the time to learn what it actually was we believed! And not to self-righteously stay home and spend 10 years perfecting our floor-scrubbing skills, patting ourselves on the back that we're better than those that didn't! 
STOP putting God in a box and LEARN TO LISTEN TO HIS LEADING! He does not create using a paper punch! What has He called you to do?

And click on the picture to read another post along similar lines that I really liked... 

In a slightly different vein, I absolutely love this quote:


"So that is the outline of the official story - the tale of the time when God was the underdog and got beaten, when he submitted to the conditions he had laid down and became a man like the men he had made, and the men he had made broke him and killed him. This is the dogma we find so dull - this terrifying drama of which God is the victim and hero.

"If this is dull, then what, in Heaven's name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore - on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him "meek and mild," and recommended him for pale curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand." ~ Dorothy Sayers



Go here and here to see where I got it, and to read a rather fascinating set of posts on religion in books. 





 Enjoy them all and feel free to let me know what you thought of them! :)