Hi Friends, I wrote these words several years ago, and my heart is circling back to them today. I wanted to share them here. In bold below is a chorus I sang about this, and below that are a few thoughts. I can see the fire in Your eyes I have this problem. And since misery loves company, I am lumping you all together and sticking you squarely in the same boat with me. Here’s our problem: we have an inner-Pharisee. It’s unsettling to me that I could stare at Scripture for years on end, memorize it, know it, sing it, and the Lord could say my heart is far from His. The Pharisees spent their days memorizing the law. Their mouths said, “yes, yes” to the words, and their hands moved quickly to comply. Tithes from the mint, check. Tithes from the dill, check. Don’t miss a spice, don’t want to steal. Pray, check. Did it loudly. Be a good example for people watching, check. Don’t want the people to get sloppy in obedience. I imagine that the Pharisees began with sincerity. I imagine they started with the desire to be pleasing and do what’s right. Maybe I imagine this because when my inner-Pharisee has taken center-stage, I usually started with good intentions. So how then did I get here? For me, I think it starts with the search for a check-list. How many times have I felt stuck, unsure which direction to go, and I throw up my hands to the sky and say, “just tell me what to do and I’ll do it!” This is not the plea of someone looking mostly for connection. This is the plea of someone looking mostly for answers. And so the check-list search begins. Do this, do this, do this. Got it. Check, check, check, and I’m on my Pharisee way. But there’s nothing pleasing to God about the Pharisee way. And when I wake up enough to evaluate my heart, there’s nothing pleasurable about it for me either. I want to come to the Scripture not looking for a check-list, but looking for His eyes behind the lines. I want to search these Words, listening intently for the inflection in His voice. I want my hands to be quick to comply. And I want my heart to be talking with Him, interacting, alive, all the while. That every act and intent to obey would come from real relationship with Him. There’s a Man behind these pages. He is where the search begins. — Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends,Ever feel utterly helpless when you hear about injustice? Pain, suffering... and the lack of truly helpful solutions can feel like the nail in the coffin of it all. And yet, Jesus. Let’s talk about that.In bold below is a chorus I wrote about this, and below that are a few thoughts. The Lord is good, He is kind, He is just See how He lifts up the poor from the dust See how He sets them on thrones like princes Clothes them in His righteousness Things are not as they seem. So often...
Hi Friends, Shawn and I are back from Mexico, and we are grateful for so many things… the time away, the sunshine, and my amazing parents who dazzled the Blanc boys for a week with crafts and world famous Sloppy Joe’s. (After a childhood’s worth of guesses, I’d say the secret ingredient is oregano, but you can’t ever be too sure…) Something we loved about Puerto Vallarta was watching the intermingling of tourists and local residents. It seemed like a lot of locals would get off work and come...
Hi Friends, “Do you ever read these stories and think, what am I doing with my life?!” My cousin and I were chatting over tacos. He and I both love to read, and we were discussing an autobiography about the life of a well-known pastor. And after reflection, my honest answer to his question is… no. Not anymore, anyway. It’s not that the lives of the saints or the stories of Christian “greats” aren’t inspiring or helpful. It’s just that, at this point in my life, I’m beginning to see that the...