Same blogger, new blog!

Please visit me on my new domain: victoriasramblings.com. You can expect the same delightful word play and life lessons you've been getting here!

Hope to see you there!

Very married.

January 19, 2013

Well friends, I'm not 'Victoria Easter' any more. I'm Victoria Wilson! I'm sure I'll update my blog URL (along with my email, social media accounts, bank accounts, etc etc) in the coming weeks. For now, I'm just basking the glow of being a newlywed and wondering how I ever grew up this quickly.

Much love,
Victoria

Worry and God's Will

When I decided to look at Psalm 37 with an eye for how my expectations should relate to God's will, I didn't expect so much of this chapter to be about worry. As much as it pains me to admit, I am often a Mr. Worry:

Poor Mr Worry.  

Whatever happened, he worried about it.  

If it rained, he worried that his roof was going to leak.  

If it didn't rain, he worried that all the plants in his garden were going to die.

You get the idea. (And if you're not familiar with Britain's Mr. Men series, you should be. They are fantastic.)

Equally shocking to me was the realization that my worrying does demobilize my ability to trust that God will establish my steps (Psalms 37:23). Anxiety, as Kevin  DeYoung says in Just Do Something, is living out the future before it arrives. Anxiety could also be described as the enemy of trust. We must understand that God's will is always taking place - why, then, do we worry about God's will? It has happened, it is happening, and it will happen!

Delighting in Christ allows us to be certain about our future. God wants us to trust His promises for tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that. Several of these promises for the children of God are found in Psalm 37 alone:

• We will dwell in the Lord's land. (verse 3)
• We will be given the desires of our heart. (verse 4)
• God will act when our way is committed to him. (verse 5)
• We will have righteousness and justice. (verse 6)
• Though we fall, we will not be cast aside. (verse 24)
• God will be ever generous with us. (verse 25-26)

And those are just a few verses! It's important to understand that this secure future was purchased by the atoning blood of Jesus. Christians around the world have just celebrated (or, if you're like me, are still celebrating) the birth of the Christ-child. Christmas, though, isn't ultimately about a cradle - it is about the cross. We must not forget that God came to dwell among us. We must not forget that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Jesus is the answer to Job's cries for an arbitrator to represent both infinite and finite parties in Job 9. And it is Jesus who will empower you to be anxious for nothing, but to cheerfully and expectantly watch God's will at work in your life. 

Unlikely Christmas Thoughts

This morning, I find myself in North Carolina. My hometown. Though I oddly feel like a stranger in my hometown, there is one place where I never feel like a passerby - Broad River Coffee Company. It's where I worked my first job. Was introduced to indie music. Learned how to pull a perfect shot of espresso. Where I, in many ways, was first introduced to adult responsibilities.

And this rainy Christmas Eve morning, I find myself drinking a cup of coffee as a nondescript customer. I'm continuing to study My Expectations and God's Will and another set of verses from Psalm 37 shouted for my attention.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 (ESV)

What in the world does established steps and not being cast headlong have to do with Christmas? I'll tell you.

On Sunday, traveling through Tennessee on my way to the Land of the Pine, I stopped to attend Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. What a passionate, Christ-exalting congregation! The sermon was the final of their Advent series and entitled "Christ our Mediator". The pastor brought to light that Jesus is always mediating, or interceding, on our behalf before the Father. The wonder of the Christ-child isn't that he remained a baby, but that he grew up to be a man and atone for the sins of the world - my sins and your sins. Now, Jesus stands in Heaven and says, "Father, I know Victoria has sinned and she doesn't deserve your grace. Here, look at my perfect sacrifice on Calvary. Apply my payment to her sin debt. I love her; she is mine."

Have Yourself a Guilty Little Christmas

Don't count me off as Ebeneezer Scrooge's little sister! Hear me out. Tonight I began my Christmas shopping (T-6 Days, I know) and was struck with an overwhelming sense of guilt. What happened to good tidings of great joy? Read on.

It is more blessed to give than to receive, I don't deny that. What I learned tonight is that giving for the wrong reasons is a horrible excuse to fulfill the old adage.

Have you ever felt guilty for not giving someone a gift? I think at Christmastime, those feelings become even more acute. The dreaded moment when an unsuspecting someone approaches you with a, "Guess who's got a present under the tree!?" (Maybe your buddies aren't that corny - I hope they aren't - but you get the idea.) You are in a tight spot my friend.

If you were me about 6 hours ago, you would have slide into the car like Bo Duke and put the lead out to make it to some Stuff-Mart. I did the ritualistic scouting of the gift aisles and thought the usual last-second shopper thoughts. "O, they might like that (insert item he really wouldn't like)." "If only that had (insert seriously ugly item) in a different color, she would really like it. I guess this one will work." And the last stitch-effort "You know what, I'll just get them a gift card."

Yep. Classic guilt.

Thoughts on the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

December 14th 2012

9:30am

Newtown, Connecticut

Sandy Hook Elementary School

What to say?

I, like so many of you, have been at a great loss for words reflecting on the Sandy Hook Elem. Shooting. And yet I, like so many, are trying so hard to think of things to say. My thoughts won't be long, but I hope they will be meaningful.

So, what do we say in the face of tragedy? Not even just an accidental tragedy, but a heartbreaking and horrific pre-meditated atrocity.

A Delight to Trust

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:1-4

As we trust God, we become friends of faithfulness. We land in His land. We are granted the desires of our heart. To trust in God, then, is truly a delight.

Psalm 37:4 is echoed in Job, "For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God." (Job 22:26 ESV) It is important to note that in Psalm, as in Job, our heart's desires are not our heart's whims. God does promise to grant us what our heart desires, under the banner of our first delighting in Him. As we delight, we will desire the right things - we will desire what the Lord desires for us.

In a brief word, what does the Lord desire for us? To be like his Son, Jesus Christ.

Lord,

Meld your desires with my desires. Make my expectations resemble your will for my life. May I look more and more like Christ daily.

In Jesus' name,  

Yes and Amen