Anti-Everything???

I've been accused lately of being "anti-everything". While I think that is an unfair assessment, it did cause me to pause and think. Am I portraying, on this blog and other forums, and in real life, a person who is known by what she is against? I am the type to take up a Cause and fight for all I'm worth. It's just who I am. But am I also fighting for something or just always against something? By definition, standing for something is standing against many other somethings. But I'm starting to think that how we fight and how we define our beliefs, whether for or against, is more important then I initially thought.

I don't like being thought of as a person who is only against something, some belief or lifestyle or mindset. To me, that's starting to sound really negative. I'd also like to be known as a person who stands for something, some belief or lifestyle or ideal. So I thought about the ways I would define my beliefs, and I came up with this list:

Anti- "biblical" courtship; against "biblical patriarchy" and Quiverfull doctrines; anti-abortion; anti-mainstream medicine; anti-immunizations; anti-circumcision; anti-legalism; anti-American Nationalism; anti-neutered foods and chemical living; anti-politically correct diet; anti-GMO crops and foods; against authoritative, punitive parenting; anti-modern-day prophets; against following the Mosaic Law; anti-Futuristic eschatology; anti-big government; anti-institutional childhood education; anti-unnatural, invasive childbirth....

Aaaaand I could go on. But I won't because that list is rather painful to read. I think it paints a picture of a person who is always up-in-arms about something. A picture that really isn't true of me, who I am, and what I believe. So let's turn it around, shall we?

I am pro-dating with boundaries and in agape love; pro- Biblical equality and Biblical headship; pro-having children; pro-life; pro-holistic medicine; pro-natural immunity; pro-intact men; pro-grace; pro-Kingdom of God all over the world; pro-organic, sustainable living; pro-whole foods diet; pro-natural, God-given, sustainable crops and foods; pro-peaceful, grace-filled, God-imitating parenting; pro-scriptural and individual revelation; pro- Law of Liberty; pro-Preterist eschatology; pro-Libertarian self-government; pro-homeschooling and life-learning; pro-natural childbirth.....

....get the picture? Is it just me, or does that second list paint a little different picture than the first? While the first list is just as true as the second (and, really, there cannot be one without the other), it is incomplete without the second. It is only one side of the coin, one half of who I am. Presenting that one half without the other is imbalanced and can cause misunderstanding, I think. I also think that focusing entirely on the negative can cause an unbalanced perspective of life.

I don't mind being known by what I am against. But I would also like to be known by what I am for. I write against damaging beliefs a lot, and that probably won't change anytime soon. But I am going to try to balance it more by writing about what I am for. Because I am just as passionately for as many things as I am passionately against. There is a time to speak out against evil, and a time to speak out for good. I pray that God would give me the discernment to know which is which. (And perhaps the discernment to know when to keep my mouth shut, but that's a different topic.....;) )

Encouragement

"How long, Oh Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me,
Oh Lord, my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against [her]!"
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord
Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

~Psalm 13

The dichotomy of thinking that God has forgotten me while believing that He has blessed me and shown mercy. This I cannot understand. On the one hand, I am full of doubt that God is doing anything good in my life; on the other hand I know He is. But I am obviously not the first person to have this war in my soul. The Psalms can be so comforting. It's nice to know that the human heart is the same now as it was several thousand years ago.

"How long, Oh Lord?......My heart shall rejoice."

Bid Me To Come...

Father, always near, I wait for You here,
Resting in the Love that vanquishes fear...

The love that vanquishes fear. That's where I want to abide, to live, to wait. In that Perfect Love, fear cannot abide. This is where I am waiting...waiting for God...waiting for Him to speak, to act, to reveal His heart to me. Are You always near, even when I feel You far away? Abba, Father...I long for peace.

Waiting, not a care, silence everywhere,
Yet here, in my heart, a still, small voice...

I must calm the storms in my life, the storms in my heart, to hear the silence of God. Be still and know. Resting, waiting, in Perfect Love and communion with my Savior. Sometimes I wish He'd call me from the thunder for I am afraid of the still, small voice. It is so easily missed.

...bids me to come, and I will follow.

Suffer me to come, risen, wounded One;
I've found shelter in Your Fathering arms...

There is no shelter anywhere else. I am the little child whom the Savior beckons to Himself. Father, call me to Yourself. I feel so battered and torn; my heart a battlefield! I need You, need Your healing shelter.

Suffer me to hear Your voice in my ear,
Beckon me with words that draw me near...

I am desparate to hear Your voice, to draw close. But my doubts drown out the voice of Love. Oh, that I could rest, without a care, in Your arms! Speak to me, Abba...I long to hear Your voice!

...bid me to come and I will follow.

I will follow You....

Even though I'm afraid. Even though I can't see through the darkness. Even though I wonder if You care enough to speak to me, to hold me.

...where You want me to...

Even if You go where I don't want to follow. Through the wounds of my deepest heart. Through the ugliness of my pain and sin. Through the darkness of my fears, doubts, anger, to the Light. Even there, yes, Lord, I will follow You.

Bid me to come, and I will follow.