Saturday, February 26, 2005

Core Values

I've been thinking... not very much because this week I was too sick to do anything much but sleep. But I did think a little and I always end up back here. I guess I'm glad I didn't do all that stuff we did last week any earlier because I might have gotten too busy "succeeding" to notice what was really important.

This was really important. This was way more important than "success". This was success.

Reading

When I look over what I wrote down for core values a couple of months ago, I don't see much I want to change besides grammar...

  • Biblical world view - without this Christianity is shallow, maybe just a façade
  • critical thinking - when Christians don't exercise this they miss the point
  • well-read
  • limited media input - no TV - TV is an anesthetizing agent
  • train children - this is central
  • family devotions - this sets the tone although its not very effective without a Deuteronomy 6:4-8 lifestyle

I should add one more - PERSEVERANCE. This one is so foundational in my thinking that I didn't even think of it when I made my list. Its a given. But in this world I live in, its not a given for most people.

Perseverence

In all fairness, it wasn't part of my thinking, either, when I started this journey.

I was almost angry when John (my fiancé) wrote these verses in my Bible before he went off to France for the summer, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

Mature

Maturity.... perseverance...


Hope

I suppose I would have really freaked out if he had given me Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Suffering wasn't on my map at all!

Back to what's really important... to have planted a bigger church but of shallow Christians would be to leave behind a sorry legacy indeed. I want to leave behind a legacy of "real" Christians.... people who think, who love God with their minds, ...people who will endure to the end.

4 comments:

Luke and Yuko ELLIOT said...

Nice work on the illustrations! That's funny that you were annoyed at dad for writing scripture verses in your Bible :) Good thing he was into reduplicating verses instead of cutting them out, though!

Laurie Elliot said...

It was his choice of verses that bothered me. He must have given me one of the first NIV New Testaments off the press and he chose the verses to say that he hated to be separated for the summer. But I didn't make the connection immediately (I was kind of dense) and wondered why he was chose such a morbid inscription.

The illustrations by the way, are from a power point presentation I made to use when we were in Ellington last summer.

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurie!

I am so happy to read your blog! I remember you telling me this story before many years back while I stayed with you all.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about perseverance. When we live day to day, in and out, it's so easy to forget about this virtue in Christ.

:)

Robin

Laurie Elliot said...

Thank you for writing, Robin. Your comment was so timely! With everything that has happened at Goshogawara this week I felt like giving up last night. But I read your comment and then I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I CAN'T "give up" - I'll just have to give it to Jesus and let Him carry it.

This morning things are happening again. We'll have to see what GOD does.