Life

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. "

1Timothy 6:6-19

On Friday mornings I get the priviledge of hanging out with some of my favorite girls as we pull ourselves out of our warm beds and peaceful sleep and love on those we are called to love by serving breakfast at The Bridge. This morning in particular, Lauren, Jenn, and I were in the back: banana, nutrigrain bar, yogurt. Banana, nutrigrain bar, yogurt, and the occasional clumsy spill (ok, ok, not occasional. Jenn and I were incredibly klutzy this morning). As we were chatting while we worked, we suddenly heard one of the most strikingly powerful voices we had ever heard. One of the men had gotten on the microphone and began singing "How Great Thou Art". I think Jenn's words describe it far more accurately than I can...

"this morning when that man started singing, what was cold in my stomach and on my insides began to fill with warmth as he hit every note. it was one of the most beautiful sounds i have ever heard. it might not be because he was the best singer around, but you felt his heart in it, his desperation, and the words he was singing, you could tell that he believed them and needed them."

I followed that beautiful statement with a question to Jenn and Lauren that I knew was rhetorical for all of us:

Have you girls ever felt, especially when we go there, slightly envious of some of these people, in their incredible hunger, desperation, dependence on the Lord? I feel that way almost every time we leave, and ABSOLUTELY...hearing it in that man's voice this morning made it even more present. The toys and trinkets and things of this world draw my heart away from Him, and make the ability to have an insatiable hunger for the Lord seem nearly impossible. How crazy is this life, that this flesh of ours fights Him every moment He attempts to humble us and do a good work in us, yet His Spirit inside absolutely tugs on my heart for this kind of humility and passion.

Be reminded of who He is, the blessed and only Ruler, King of kings and Lord of lords...in whom life that is TRULY life.

So thankful for the women in my life. SO thankful :)

Which is worse, an economic or spiritual crisis?

Today at lunch I was reading David Daniels' blog, a former College Pastor of ECHO and now the Senior Pastor of Pantego Bible Church in Fort Worth, and came upon the most sobering website.

http://www.globalrichlist.com/index.php

Go. It WILL surprise you.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Loving Autumn

As I walked out of my apartment this morning into the amazing 58 degree weather, I suddenly knew it was going to be a great day. Why you ask?? Because Autumn is finally on it's way (it sounds so much better calling it Autumn instead of Fall)! My favorite season. Here's all the reasons I LOVE Autumn:

1. The weather: duh. Living in Texas for 21 of the 23 years of my existence, this is definitely a no brainer. The movement from crazy hot and muggy temperatures to the coolness (dual meaning in that term) is wonderfully refreshing. Sit outside and read a book, go for a run in the afternoon. The opportunities expand.

2. Electricity: stemming off of numero uno, the amazing temperatures allow you to open your windows, enjoy the fresh air, and turn off that AC, thereby helping you save some extra cash for those Christmas presents (or that amazing dress at Anthropologie. Which one, you ask? All of them, obviously). To each his own...

3. The colors: Though I love the pastels and jewel-tones we find in spring, there is something fun about the transitions to deep reds, browns, and oranges. As we used to say in the lovely Caswell house, it makes everything "warm and inviting". (miss you girls!)

4. Football: All I must say is...."Hook 'em!". Done and done.

5. The clothes: as much as I enjoy fun summer dresses and tank tops, who can beat jeans, the cozy turtlenecks, crazy boots (peep-toe booties are in this season!), coats, scarves, all of it! Sure it takes up more room in the closet, and several items must be dry-cleaned due to the slight smell they contain coming out of the storage containers. But so worth it!

6. Fireplaces: So I could be a little premature on this one (probably more suited for a "Loving Winter" mentality), but shoot...Kara and I have already used the fireplace. Don't worry, only candles people. Just remember. Open the flue, or else smoke everyone out of your house (sorry Kaylita and Haybug).

7. Pumpkins: Everywhere! Dawning the doorstep, inviting people in, in pies, in bread, and most importantly at your local Starbucks in the form of a latte! Grab a cup of coffee, a good book or a great friend, and enjoy the several hours of bliss :)

8. Holiday season: Autumn marks the onset of the holidays. Old friends coming home from all over (LA, Europe, Colorado, Philly, even College Station!), spending time with family, a break from work, and increased sales...gotta love that retail!

Now by no means is this wonderful list of mine exhaustive, but they certainly highlight all the bliss that is associated with Autumn. So get out your scarves, grab a latte, and let's go play in the leaves!

Religulous

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/01/film.religulous.ap/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail

I sure am a fan of articles, particularly those presented by cnn.com (not sure how this news source became my news of choice, but it is what it is).

Has anyone heard of this movie? The wonderfully anti-religious Bill Maher has decided to create a movie, or documentary rather, "challenging the validity and value of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths". The interesting spin on this is that he has teamed up with director Larry Charles (yes, friends, Borat...) to make this film. Quite the duo I must say.

After reading this article, the incredibly feisty side of me (wait...Carly?? Feisty?? Heavens no!) wanted to go off on how frustrated this makes me, how Bill Maher has no intentions of making a documentary that has any intrinsic value but rather wished to elevate himself and raise some laughs through bias and blasphemy....and my frustrations could go on. Like I said: feisty.

But as I thought through the movie and would I be willing to go see it to understand what it was about, I couldn't help but be slightly sorrowful for not only the fact that there is so much disdain for the Lord and the truth of who He is and who we are because of that, but also that in fact there are millions of men and women that subscribe to the same ideas, not because they don't like what they find out about an all-knowing, merciful, compassionate, jealously-loving, sacrificial God, but because they don't like what they see in those that claim His name, both in His followers and the institutions they are a part of.

I think the final lines of the article are what grabbed me most: "Comedians have always made jokes about religion. It's a rich topic. I did when I was a young comedian, but they weren't jokes that got right to the essense of it, which is, this is dangerous and this is silly."

Interesting how many world views there are. As Christians, sure, we screw things up a lot. We claim the name of Christ and then turn around and gossip about our friends, or crusade after moral issues like abortion and homosexuality, completely forgetting that those are merely symptoms of a greater issue. But at the end of the day, we can all agree that there is something terribly wrong with this world. The dangerous part is not Christianity or Christians...though at times we absolutely mess up and make things worse. The dangerous and silly thing is not even in the truth we believe about the end result of life for those who do not believe (though we may believe this to be true, a good argument for the grace of Christ should not be "follow, or else reside in a firey pit for eternity"). The danger is living a life, earthly and eternally, apart from the One who created you, gave you life, sustains you, passionately wants you.

I know...probably going too far on just a movie. But Bill Maher is simply the spokesman for many others. This is our culture. These are the brothers and sisters that we are told to GO and baptize. What faith we need.... And I promise. I'll try to come up with a funny post next time. But let's be honest, I'm not that funny.