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I've been thinking.

Not really anything new there - I still can't relate to the idea of turning off your brain. But lately I've been spending most of my thoughts on questions about God.

Does God predestine who will be saved?

Do we have the ability to choose things that cause God to change His plans?

Once you're saved, can you turn away and lose your salvation?

When the Bible talks about God's chosen people, is it referencing ethnic Jews or all Christians?

Are spiritual gifts still given to individuals today?

Should every believer speak in tongues? Are you a better believer if you do?

Do you have to have faith to be healed?

Do you grow your own faith or does God give you faith?

What role should our experiences play in shaping our theology?

Why isn't the Holy Spirit mentioned more in the Bible? Why so many instances of pairing the Father and Jesus in a passage without a trace of the Holy Spirit?

Will the earth end or be renewed?

That's just a few. ;P And don't worry, I'm not going to tackle all of them right now. In fact, I'm not going to tackle any of them.

See, in all those swirling thoughts and hours and hours of listening to or participating in debates and discussions and study and theories... I've also been setting aside time for two passages: Psalm 119 and Jeremiah 31. Psalm 119 because I'm memorizing it, and Jeremiah 31 because I'm studying it in-depth for a Bible study I'm a part of.

Jeremiah 31 has been especially enlightening. I've never studied it before or given it much thought at all, but as I've been reading it over and over again new things are continue to pop out. Things like God's mercy toward His wayward people, but also His justice. Things like the verses on how He destroys, but He will rebuild. Things like His many, many, many promises in just that one chapter, and how many times God is the one acting and His people are doing nothing.

But overall, I think the theme of Jeremiah 31 is faithfulness.

God is faithful. Yes, you were disciplined, but He will bring repentance from that. Yes, He caused you pain, but it was so that you would grow. Yes, you're in ashes and ruins, but He will rebuild you.

There is hope for your future (vs. 17). You will sing and flourish and be replenished. Why? Because God is faithful.

So that's something I've been focusing on as I study questions like the ones above and many, many more. God is faithful. It's not a question - it's a truth. One that applies to all those other questions.

'Cause I don't know the answers right now. It's entirely possible I never will, though I don't intend to stop looking. But God is good, and God is faithful - so no matter who initiates salvation and why some people aren't saved, no matter why some people are healed and others aren't, no matter why the Holy Spirit has such little stage time or what God plans to do with the world in the end... He will be faithful. Steadfast. Sure. He will keep his promises, and though I may not have the answers now, I have all of eternity to figure them out even when they stop being applicable.

So. How does this apply to you?

Well, something I've been noticing for quite a while now is that my generation - high school and college-aged people - has a whole bunch of zealous truth-seekers in it. People who thirst for truth. People who are sick of the fake smiles and filters and "God knows, and that's enough" answers. So many people my age are asking why?

If that is you, if you're asking why, I encourage you to find truth first. Truth that is clear in Scripture, like the goodness and faithfulness of God. Then, as you dive into those questions - which you should absolutely do - keep those truths in mind.

You may not find answers. And that's okay. Keep looking, and hold on to the truths you know while you do. :)

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

-Jeremiah 31:3b (ESV)

Song of the Month

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Updates

I feel like I haven't stopped much this month, but looking back, I didn't have a very full calendar. A few birthdays and hangouts and appointments.

It was an exhausting month, though, not going to lie. I've been pushing myself mentally, emotionally, and physically for a while - and to be honest, I enjoy stretching myself like that. Getting more school done, spending more time on my business, taking more hours at work, committing to more time with God, focusing on friendships and questions and enjoying the moment.

It's hard. But it's a good tired. (:

Spring is taunting us, though - last week it got into the 70s and I was using air conditioning, and yesterday it snowed.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On the writerly side of life, I'm writing 2k+ a day. Why? Because I graduated to drafting at the beginning of March! *cheers* Roamer is officially going on the page, and I'm thoroughly enjoying writing it. During the plotting stages, I struggled to connect with Roamer as a character, but as soon as I started writing it was super easy to get in his head and spill his (very skewed) perspectives across the page.

I'm having fun. ^_^

Speaking of that, by the way, I believe I mentioned some goodies for you guys last month... XP

The Book Nook

Of Sea & Smoke Gillian Bronte Adams This is a fabulous sequel, you guys. Adams made me crazy with all her cliffhangers, made me laugh, and came this close to making me cry. Rafi is hilarious. We finally got character dynamics between him and Ceridwen. And it's a spoiler to tell you what happened to Jakim, but it was pretty awesome. Never seen anyone use God as a plot twist before XP Conclusion: go read this series. I can't recommend it enough. And then tell me so we can bemoan having to wait for Book 3 together. Star Rating: 5 stars Continue Reading

Coral Sara Ella This book was... dizzying, but in a good way. Ella does a fantastic job with her POVs, which is the immediate thing that stood out. The next is how gut-wrenching it is. This is one of the most thematically heaviest books I've ever dealt with. It's brutal - I suspect because it's based off real life events. And while I disagree with some of the ideas presented, and wish the romance had been less of a focus, I found it a raw, honest look at suicide. It's a hard read. It lags in parts and some of it is theologically off. But it makes you think, and gives you a glimpse into the hidden battles that are so prevalent in our society. Star Rating: 4 stars Continue Reading

Flashfic

Funny how subjective things can be. Take up and down, for instance. On a planet it’s pretty easy to tell. But out in space, up and down may not exist. And oftentimes, when you’re between stars or planets, there are two downs and two ups. When you’re going up you’re also going down, and visa versa, because of the opposite gravities.

Or “exotic”. I’ve been a lot of places, mind you, and I’ve seen a lot of things most folks would call “exotic”. But for me, they’re commonplace. But this - this - is my exotic.

I believe it’s called a dog.

I knelt and extended my fingers, a cold slice of some kind of meat from my human sandwich clamped between them. The mangy mutt eyed it and me, turned around to leave, then turned back as if he couldn’t quite resist.

“Here, boy,” I murmured, using the few English words I knew. “Here, boy.” I clicked my tongue.

He cocked his head at me, ears perked, black eyes glittering the snow’s reflection.

I edged closer. “Here, boy.”

A growl rumbled out of his throat as his ears flattened, and I stopped my advance, lowering the meat a little. “It’s okay,” I said in my own tongue. “I won’t hurt you.”

His floppy ears lifted again, icicles casing the tips of the hair. What a magnificent creature. Some would call him plain, or ordinary, even ugly. But to me, he was a dream come true.

Earth was legendary for its dogs, though most humans were completely blind to the fact. No one else had managed to tame their own dog-like beasts in the whole of the universe, at least as far as I knew - and I knew an awful lot.

Cold seeped through a hole in my boot. My sock got wet and my foot fell asleep. Still, I waited.

Finally, the dog took a step forward, nose quivering as it explored my unearthly scent.

“C’mon,” I murmured in my own tongue. “I just wanna help you.”

Poor mutt’s ribs were showing through his skin and mangy fur - not the healthy kind of seeing ribs where you know the dog works for its living and is happier for it. The ribs where his stomach was so hollow the bones protruded like a spaceship’s edge and almost knifed through his skin.

Abruptly, the dog leapt forward, snatched the meat from my fingers, and leapt back, growling as I reached for him. I stopped. He slunk away down an alley, glancing back at me once or twice to make sure I wouldn’t follow and try to reclaim his prize.

I stood and grimaced as needles flooded my foot.

Nobody wanted that dog, that was plain. I usually collected lifeless, useless objects from planets as souvenirs, but this time… maybe this time it would be okay to take something else. Something that clearly needed a home anyway.

I turned back to begin the trek back to my spaceship. I’d come back tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. And once the dog trusted me, if we got to that point, I would see if he would come with me to travel the stars.

Life gets lonely out there, y’know. You stop making friends so you can stop saying goodbye. But maybe, just this once, I’d break my own rule and make one last friend. One that I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to for a long time. One that needed me as much as I needed him.

I smirked up at the sky. The lights hid the stars, but I could imagine it out there. Take that, Cirius. I’m going to get me a dog.

A Smile a Day

Words from the Wise

“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth! ;)

~Joelle

(P.S. Psst! If you head over to my site and find the Subscribers Only page, here's your password to get inside (copy and paste the bold parts and the asterisks) *IamAUTHORized* ;) Hop on in there and have fun!)