Surprise!

I read a blog about how a man prayed and asked God to surprise him that day!   How sweet, I thought,  I LOVE surprises.  I will try that. 

Then, as I was thinking of this,  all the ways I had been 'surprised' lately came flooding into my mind and I had to offer up many thanks for the many ways God has already 'surprised me'. 
-a beautiful new journal (reasonably priced) with my favorite colors and subject matter depicted artistically on the front that I found in an unusual place digging through a bunch of office supplies while on a trip to buy stuff for work.  NOT LOOKING FOR IT.   SURPRISE!  :)
-getting to go to an auction with my mom,  that ended up being very entertaining.  I also saw some old friends and made some friends there,  one of which turned into a date :)....a very good SURPRISE!
-visiting my son's church, meeting some wonderful people, some with the same careers as me, some with careers I've always wanted, being ministered to by the wonderful pastors there (including my son),  eating great food and garnering a few new recipes/food ideas.
-finding an audio book by my favorite fiction writer on my library app for the drive home...FREE!  LOVE those surprises, too!  :)
-ooooh . getting to go 'all the way across town' . (my son is soooo accommodating)!  to the only tea store that I've ever known, so to me it is the best in the world (but I have yet to find better tea) and sample butterfly blue tea (Quite surprising and amazing)-  I'll take a picture next time,  it was beautiful and good.
Never mind.....why should I when there are better pics on the internet?  Anyway, this is it!
I can't tell you why,  but there is something very peaceful about a pretty cup of tea!
-mmmmm
the restaurant we ate at in the strip mall nearby had the best baked onion soup!
-lately
being under some duress at school, I was surprised by my student finding some stress-relieving music and playing it during class!  (she is only a 4th grader-have to think it was a 'God thing' :)   It really helped!
-oh   I could probably go on forever, if I kept thinking about it,  but it is now time to surprise myself with a good breakfast!  LOL

You will not want to look at this post.

The image of 'gehenna' and 'maggots' means decomposition. Once a body is dead it loses its beauty and strength and coherence, it begins to break into its constituent parts, to stink and to disintegrate. So what is a 'totaled' human soul? It does not cease to exist, but rather becomes completely incapable of all the things a human soul is for--reasoning, feeling, choosing, giving or receiving love or joy. Why? Because the human soul was built for worshipping and enjoying the true God, and all truly human life flows from that. In this world, all of humanity, even those who have turned away from God, still are supported by 'kindly providences' or 'common grace' (Acts 14:16-17; Psalm 104:10-30; James 1:17) keeping us still capable of wisdom, love, joy, and goodness. But when we lose God's supportive presence all together, the result is hell.

Okay,  I did warn you!

Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others . . . but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

 We run from the presence of God and therefore God actively gives us up to our desire (Romans 1:24, 26.) Hell is therefore a prison in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us and therefore are locked from the outside by God (Luke 16:26.) Every indication is that those doors continue to stay forever barred from the inside. Though every knee and tongue in hell knows that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11,) no one can seek or want that Lordship without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3.This is why we can say that no one goes to hell who does not choose both to go and to stay there. What could be more fair than that?

So what about Jesus?  In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says that no physical destruction can be compared with the spiritual destruction of hell, of losing the presence of God. But this is exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross-he was forsaken by the Father (Matthew 27:46.) In Luke 16:24 the rich man in hell is desperately thirsty (v.24) and on the cross Jesus said "I thirst" (John 19:28.) The water of life, the presence of God, was taken from him. The point is this. Unless we come to grips with this "terrible" doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him he was experiencing hell itself. But consider--if our debt for sin is so great that it is never paid off there, but our hell stretches on for eternity, then what are we to conclude from the fact that Jesus said the payment was "finished" (John 19:30) after only three hours? We learn that what he felt on the cross was far worse and deeper than all of our deserved hells put together.

"The results of his suffering he shall see, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11). This is a stupendous thought. Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, "It was worth it." What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost.

If we say hell does not exist..... we have to realize we are saying to Jesus, the pre-eminent teacher of love and grace in history, "I am less barbaric than you, Jesus--I am more compassionate and wiser than you." Surely that should give us pause! Indeed, upon reflection, it is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.

Why talk about the afterlife?   First, it tells us that people only get in the afterlife what they have most wanted-either to have God as Savior and Master or to be their own Saviors and Masters. Secondly, it tells us that hell is a natural consequence. Even in this world it is clear that self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness makes you miserable and blind. The more self-centered, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and self-justifying people are, the more breakdowns occur, relationally, psychologically, and even physically. They also go deeper into denial about the source of their problems.

On the other hand, a soul that has decided to center its life on God and his glory moves toward increasing joy and wholeness. We can see both of these 'trajectories' even in this life. But if, as the Bible teaches, our souls will go on forever, then just imagine where these two kinds of souls will be in a billion years. Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God, and God, in his infinite justice, sends us where we wanted to go.

If you want more!  http://www.timothykeller.com/blog/2008/8/1/the-importance-of-hell

This is all from Timothy Keller who is an amazing, phenomenal preacher, clearing up things for me that I have wondered about for decades.

Junk Collectors

I don't really know why I feel compelled to write today....except that it is warm and cozy here by the 'fire'  and looking at art on pinterest makes me feel nostaligic.
I was blessed to attend an auction today.  I know that may seem weird, but I truly love these enterprises.  It is actually a social occasion.  total strangers congregate, meet and talk about stuff and help each other organize and tote their stuff . :) . ...today I was looking through a box of old (1800s) photographs and postcards with a total stranger and another guy I knew.  It was fun. 
Then I got the giggles when the auctioneer kept saying how valuable and wonderful everything was....a very odd assortment of stuff among them, whale teeth.....who can say that they have a whale tooth?"  the auctioneer said? " 
"Who can say they NEED a whale tooth?"  I shot back, laughing.
Other items were broken, and there was a tiny mirror.  The autioneer's recorder said,  "You can see one eye with it!"  I thought that was pretty funny.
"Ooooohhh,  pretty," he says about a bunch of ugly, plastic jewelry.
Joking aside,  there was some cool things there,  presidential buttons from 50 or more years ago,  many valuable coins. It is fun to watch the serious collectors nod when they want to go up or shake heads when the answer is 'no'. 
And, I don't know why, but it is fun to collect old junk!
Someday I would like to write a book about auctions.  It's just such a human experience.  I felt a little embarrassed, but I snapped a few pics....the expressions are priceless.  I just love how everyone talks to one another, jokes around and in general is convivial and downright nice....And there is a part of me that is laughing inside at how seriously some people take their 'junk'.   :) .   
I do love people.
and pumpkin pie
and sour cream raisin.
I got both. 
:)