16/365 Acceptance. Religion. Pollution. Coffee.

Did I post a picture of a coffee mug yesterday? I believe I did. That's alright. It is... my life.

Today started off ultra polluted and gray again. That's also alright. It is... our life. It does not feel alright a lot of the time, but I do find that in acceptance lieth peace. That is no mere trite saying either. I have to work to accept it. There are a lot of tricks and disciplines to this. Still, the fact remains that at it's core, the acceptance of what you have been called to, or given, is what leads to contentment, even joy if you dare hope for it.

Thinking on acceptance, and whether that is just my explanation for living in a fateful manner or a believing my life is ordered by a very real and active God, my mind wandered all over the good roads of philosophy and religion and the contents of my coffee mug throughout the day. 

The oldest boy hung out in the kitchen with me all afternoon, talking and asking questions and popping up with things like, "Whenever someone talks about another religion, you kind of wonder, is THAT one true?" And it's an excellent question, and a very real experience. Then with big, six year old eyes, Sadie looked at me last night and explained how her classmate only believes in God a LITTLE bit. That is not good, she said. Well, I tried to explain, it's very understandable and normal for many people not to believe in God at all. You shouldn't make her feel bad about that. Because you now believe He is true and very real, you can pray that she would know Him someday too. And you can tell her why He means so much to you and why you love Him. But that is all you should do for now.*advice/criticisms welcome in the comment section

"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.You make known to me the path of life;in your presence there is fullness of joy;at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."~Psalm 16

Sparing you the way my own head works through all the questions and answers of whether this life lived in and by faith is tenable, I'll just say that running (adrenaline) plus singing the creeds (This I Believe by Hillsong) can do wonders for your spirit. Well, that and reading the good Word and working it out in prayer and life with others, and reading things like Ravi (this summed up what I tried to share with my boy today http://www.rzim.org/just-thinking/think-again-deep-questions/. *ensue ten year old with blinking, staring eyes) 

The pollution and my reading this morning started me off, the running did me in, and the afternoon with my kids sent me over the top. And at the end of it all, my prayer is to say more than ever before, "I have no good apart from you... in your presence there is fullness of joy."