Forgiveness: strong and STRONGER than

C.S. Lewis - one of my favorite writers- once said "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." 
A powerful challenge God had modeled for us. Forgiveness is something that fascinates me: the power in it and the love behind it. 
The words of Lewis have inspired me as I have begun to explore the depth of God's forgiveness in comparison with the lack there of within our human hearts.
Throughout the Old Testament we see Hebrew words for forgive that echo a pardon, atonement, sacrifice, a cover up. 
But it is not until the Law is replaced by God's GRACE in the only true picture of forgiveness -Christ's propitiation, that this new word emerges; that is the Greek word Aphesis: to release from bondage; remission of penalty. It is the most powerful, all encompassing form and is ONLY used to refer to God's holy and perfect forgiveness. 
In Matthew18:23-35 where Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant after Peter inquires how many times must we forgive a brother. The word there is Aphiemi: to send away; to let go. This is the forgiveness we are capable of in and through Christ. We as humans are called let go; give up a debt. 

I find it refreshing to know that 1:God has given us ultimate forgiveness through the Cross. 
2: He has provided us with a forgiveness to bestow on others and therefore only touch on the power of His love and grace. 
3: We cannot forgive ourselves with the same Almighty power that comes from God, yes we can cope and respond healthily to our actions, yet there is no pressure to provide a release only the Lord is capable of. In HIM and only in Him can we experience true freedom, liberty, forgiveness. 
No pressure necessary :) Praise GOD! For He indeed has done it all, giving us a quiet rest, solid rock, and unending love.

~Shannon

19: reflecting- writing from the very beginning

Preface: I am back from my hiatus. Due to dreary work of summer courses and the beautiful ever lovable beach my time has been consumed elsewhere in the recent weeks. However I have vowed to return with much excitement for the fall. 

19: During the week of my birthday last month as I was thinking about how much i missed this blog space, the thought of my innate need to write {since the time i could move beyond tracing the dotted lines } crept up on me. I reflected upon the long ago moments of frustration, appreciation, excitement, and full on brattitude {a word deemed only for a child of my horrific potential}, at any rate I would scribble down just what i thought for none other than mom and dad to find strewn across the house: in their bathroom closet, mom's bible, the fridge, the counter etc... 

That was what i did ; ask my dear mother if you must.

So here I remain, with a need to write about anything and everything...slightly more refined by my  God-given convictions and understanding for more or less, some degree of tactfulness. 

Oh and i must share just a few little images from the past few weeks 

Here is a DELISH and EASY-as-PIE recipe i found via pinterest 

Carve out tomatoes 

Combine short grain rice with feta, parsley, garlic, olive oil
and season with salt&pepper

Place rice mixture in tomatoes and bake @ 350

And i have no picture of post-cooked stuffed tomatoes because Mitchell and I inhaled them in .5 seconds.

Beautiful view at Worlds End

A time to bring it back to the Mainstay

So as I was getting dressed the other day, I had all the elements to my outfit planned out....but then the shirt I was intent on wearing was no where to be found and I mean no where. What in this crazy closet of mine was i gonna finagle an outfit with now! 
After trial and error I found it. My favorite: blue and white stripes. Though it was not the beautiful grey blouse I originally had in mind, this nautical basic T is my old-reliable, my mainstay. 
Mainstay: chief support
Much like this shirt was not what I planned on or thought I needed, it was a time to bring it back to the basics, when all else had failed, this shirt would work.  My Mainstay, Jesus Christ, the chief support of my life. Where I must return day in and day out when all my feeble attempts fail. He is there always. 
The new mercies and unending love He has for each and everyone of us can not compare to that of a tirelessly worn top, but only as a humble reminder of how I under estimate  the faithfulness of my Lord just as I sometimes overlook the beauty of a basic-T :) 

shirt - AE [mens;old]
pants - Crewcuts [boys {$4}]
shoes- Target
necklace- The Limited
ring- The Loft