Cliché

Cliché: A phrase or expression that lacks freshness or originality

·         You are what you eat

·         The grass is always greener on the other side

·         Curiosity killed the cat

·         If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

·         Calm before the storm

·         I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!

There are plenty more where those came from!

Ever find a new song that you really, really like? I know when I do, I listen to it incessantly. (Ask Erika…I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined a few songs for her by repeatedly playing them in the office). Anyway, I like something, so I want more and more and more of it. This also counts for food. PB&J-classic, right? I’ve loved it since I was a kid. Eat it every day for a few months though, and the mere thought of bread, peanut butter, and jelly in the same sentence will leave you wanting to hurl. Same with the songs-after I listen to one about 87 times, I’m going to get sick of it. Unfortunately, it’s going to lose much of the meaning it once had, and I’ll more than likely not remember the song with fondness for at least a little while. “Your Love” by Brandon Heath-great song. If you play it anywhere near me in the next few weeks though, I may blow a gasket. Just kidding, but you probably shouldn’t test it.

I remember in high school English classes my teachers would always warn us not to use cliché phrases. They wanted us to find unique ways of expressing our thoughts-in our own words. I most definitely understand their reasoning and heart behind this advice, but how does a phrase or word become cliché? I mean, at one point it had to be an original thought. The first person who said, “Cool beans” probably did not realize the implications it would have for future Americans. Kidding again…but really, what makes it cliché? Does a cliché cease to have importance or meaning just because it’s been thrown around a few too many times?

So, why do clichés matter? Why am I thinking about them? Great questions! Here’s the deal: at times, I can treat Scripture verses-the TRUTH of God-as cliché. I can take the Truths handed to me by pastors & people of incredible faith and my heart can be hardened to them. I don’t think I’m alone in this, but maybe-hopefully-I am. It’s terrifying, because we desperately need to remember how in need we are of a Savior every minute of every day. I don’t want to have a hardened heart. I don’t want to take for granted the power of Scripture or the meaning of the stories I’ve heard since I was a child. Examples (more than likely, we all know these...probably even have them memorized):

·         John 3:16-“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.

·         Philippians 4:13-“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength”

·         Proverbs 3:5-6- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”

·         Galatians 5:22-23- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law”

The list could go on I’m sure. Songs like “Jesus Loves the Little Children” are the same way. I need to keep reading those verses and singing those songs though. I need to stop taking them for granted or writing them off. I’ll admit that sometimes when I hear someone say Philippians 4:13, I’m tempted to roll my eyes. Why, Danielle? That is NOT okay. There is incredible power and Truth in that short little sentence, and having it memorized or hearing it a bajillion and 2 times should not make me view it as any less true. Yes, Jesus does love the little children-and we are included in that. Jesus loves me! He loves You! How incredibly awesome is that? Those words-Jesus loves you-may be thrown around a whole lot, but they sure do matter just as much today as they did the first time they were said.

Easter is coming up, too (obviously). I’ve heard the story about Jesus dying on the cross for me too many times to count. I know lots of people have it pretty much memorized. I know that I’ve read the account without feeling too much, and I know I sometimes view it as cliché. Since I’ve heard it and know it, I can tend to belittle it-I don’t let it keep impacting me. But, I can’t keep doing that. I cannot take it for granted. I cannot let myself just see it as a simple story. Cliché or not, the verses and songs and the Truth matter immensely.

So, I don’t want to take any of this stuff for granted ever. I don’t want you to, either.

God, please help us. Challenge us and show us if we are starting to see any part of You or our faith in You as cliché, and help us find meaning in all of it. We love You, and we need You.

You Are What You Eat

I’ve had the privilege of recently reading Francis Chan’s Forgotten God. It is a fantastically challenging, convicting, eye-opening book. Although I’m merely in the elementary stages of processing the information found in its pages, here’s a thought. It stems from the following statement made by Chan in Forgotten God:

“I know in my own life I don’t just want to do what my mentors do; I also want to spend time with them. I have found that through spending time with those I respect, I become more like them than I would by simply trying to “do what they do”. 

                       

Most of us know the popular saying, “You are what you eat”. If that’s the case, I’m a walking, talking combination of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, macaroni & cheese, and bowls of cereal. Just kidding : ) In a similar way, I’m sure we’ve all experienced this concept in our relationships with others. We tend to conform, at least in some degree, to those we spend the majority of our time with. If I hang out with people who love well and encourage, I’m more likely to show love and be encouraging. If I’m surrounded by complainers, the temptation to complain will certainly grow. If I surround myself with those who constantly use foul language, chances are I will begin to let a few foul words of my own slip. So, what would happen if I spent more time with God? In theory, I would become more and more like Him. I’d begin to view others & myself-even the world-the way He does. I’d learn more about His love, & I would see more and more of His heart.

Obviously, God’s commands are essential. They protect us & guide us as we strive to discover what it means to live surrendered moment by moment, day by day, to our God. I do think, however, that by solely focusing on the commands and regulations, we miss the point. We miss the relationship aspect, and we risk falling into the trap of legalism.

I don’t want to miss out on communion with my Creator. I don’t want to live striving to follow all of the rules & learning to be a robot. I want my Lord to show me how to be like Him. I want to spend my time walking with Him, learning why He has given us these instructions. I do need to follow His commands, but I want to know why they are in place for us, and I need God to show me.

Seems simple enough, right? So, why don’t I spend more time in communion with my Savior then? Why is it so easy to make excuses and so tempting to find distractions? How can I ever hope to be transformed into the image of the one true God without spending quality time with Him?

So, my prayer and challenge is that we would learn to long more and more for quality time with our Creator. I pray that we would experience His character a little more fully each day and that He would give us the discipline and desire to fight the distractions and temptations that so often deter us from drawing closer to Him. I pray that His Spirit would fill us and that day by day we would look more and more like our God.

8 Weeks

8 Weeks. 56 days. 1,344 hours. 80,064 minutes. 4,838,400 seconds. That’s how long it took to forever etch Camp Shipshewana into my heart & life-to meet some of my best friends; to be simultaneously encouraged & challenged; to live in true community; to be used by the Lord as we together ministered to hundreds of children.

Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly 8 weeks. Maybe it only took a few weeks. Maybe it happened on the 3^rd day of staff training. Maybe I got it several months later when I helped with Snow Camp. Whatever the case, this quaint little camp will always stay close to my heart. How could it not?

Now, I’m incredibly fortunate to be living here. This is week 14 of my internship. I’m still learning. It’s a much, much different feel than summer camp though. Have you ever heard silence? Well, there’s a lot of it here in the off season. It isn’t bad-just a different pace of life. I went from the community of girls living in Platt 2^nd, where it was rare to not run in to a friend as you walked down to the hall or to the bathroom, to a little cottage with no occupants other than my thoughts and an occasional ant.

This Monday, I hit the official 3 month mark. It’s strange, and I have not quite decided how I feel about it yet. Part of me feels as if this has been home for years. I can hardly imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else. There’s another part, however, that feels as if I’m still just visiting for a week. This part longs for the community of Trine or of summer camp. This part of me is all too anxious for the next 2 months to pass so that the next season of life can begin.

 I can’t let this part of me rule my next 2 months here, though. In 2 months, there are 8 weeks. So, here’s to the 8 weeks of this internship that remain. May I not take them for granted; realizing if it weren’t for those first 8 weeks I spent here in the summer of 2009 my life would surely look much different than it does now.