From my commonplace book…

I told my people that God had created all our worships, reverences, tendernesses, loves.  That they had come out of His heart and were put into us because they were in Him first.  That all we could imagine of the wise, the lovely, the beautiful, was in Him, only infinitely more than we could imagine or understand.  That in Him was all the wise teaching of the best man and more; all the grace, gentleness, and truth of the best child and more; all the tenderness and devotion of the truest woman and more.  Therefore, we must be all God’s, and all our aspirations, all our worships, all our honours, all our loves, must centre in Him.

(from The Parish Papers by George MacDonald)

I can’t help but meditate on Psalm 73:25-26 (NIV)

Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

In a wretched world, there is hope.  There is beauty.  There is truth and tenderness.  There is love.  Because there is God, and this is His world afterall.  I can’t stop thinking about Philippians chapter 4 these days…rejoice…the Lord is near…do not be anxious…the peace of God will guard your hearts…the peace of God will be with you.  I need these reminders daily, and so do you if you see and read the same newspapers and networks I do.  We cannot forget to centre everything of ourselves in Him!

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)