To Love the Truth Day 4: Sunday Song

Each Sunday during October, I decided to highlight a song that speaks to the Truth. It's an opportunity to hear, reflect, believe, and worship.

Today's song is "Will Justice Reign?" by Kathryn Scott.  It describes our longing and need for Truth...echoes of Isaiah 59.  

Earth groans and waits for her king to come 

with trembling hands of broken innocence. 

She bows her knees neath her heavy load 

for time has held her ransom.

Will justice reign? Will truth prevail? 

Will any take their stand for mercy?

Who'll choose to walk the narrow way 

and touch a broken world with healing?

Will justice reign?

Her children cry from sorrow's depths. 

Grieving for life as it COULD have been. 

But we close our eyes till the image fades.

Living on the borrowed time of excuses.

Will justice reign? Will truth prevail? 

Will any take their stand for mercy?

Who'll choose to walk the narrow way 

and touch a broken world with healing?

Will justice reign?

Celebrities Are People, Too!

Shocking, right?  But really. They are...they're just like us.  Well, Mindy Kaling is at least.

I just finished reading Mindy's second book, Why Not Me? and I found myself laughing out loud through most of it. I loved her first book so I was very much looking forward to this one, but recently I've found myself rather disappointed by a few author's sophomore releases so I did have some doubts.

I didn't need to worry, though. Mindy picks up right where she left off in Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, which concluded with her role on "The Office."  Now considered established in her career, Why Not Me? chronicles her journey as executive producer of "The Mindy Project" as well as her experiences in dating.

I will say that there were portions of this book that were a little tedious for me. She writes at length about work and it's not nearly as funny or interesting to me as the rest, but I'm willing to credit that to personal differences. I doubt she would enjoy each one of my blog posts either.

I think my favorite part of this book was the section on relationships. Mindy is just like the rest of us. She doesn't want to be alone and has a WILD imagination (I won't give it all away, but my favorite chapter is called, "A Perfect Courtship in my Alternate Life". Hilarious and relatable.)  She writes with a beautiful blend of self-deprecating humor, vulnerability, and heart and after reading this book, I really just want to be her friend.  And find my soul snake. 

Who should read this book? Women with a sense of humor (or ones who wish they did) or anyone looking to escape their own reality for a while.

**I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

To Love the Truth: Day 3

Today I find myself asking this question: Where is Truth? Where has it gone? 

Yesterday I told you were haven't lost all sense of Truth, but yet even this week our country has been devastated by the actions of those who clearly have completely disregarded it. 

Scripture tells us that this is nothing new.  Isaiah speaks again and again about this. He mourns that justice and integrity have disappeared. 

"Justice is driven back, 
and righteousness stands at a distance; 
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey."
~Isaiah 59: 14-15~

Our world needs Truth.  People are desperate for it.  Dying for it.

So what is it? Where is it? I promise I'll get there next week.

To Love the Truth Day 2: Why Truth?

I guess you can blame my mom and dad for this one.  In a way, truth was destined to be a part of me.  My name, Allison, means "little truthful one."  While ultimately they chose my name because they liked it, they were well aware of the meaning and for that reason I like to think I've been called to love the truth.  To testify to the truth.

So why is truth so important?

Here are a few verses that give us a hint.

John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

1 John 2:20 - "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."

3 John 3-4 - "It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth."

Because once you hear it and believe it, Truth changes everything.  It frees us.   We must learn to love the Truth because our very lives depend on it, as it says in the verse I posted yesterday.

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Truth is also important on an ethical level.  Even those who don't believe in God acknowledge that some socially accepted degree of truth must exist for the sake of humanity.

Think about it.  The very art of communication requires that we tell the truth.  Imagine living in the world where we didn't have at least the expectation that people tell the truth.  Life would quickly become chaotic without the norm of honesty.  Similarly, truth is necessary for human dignity.  If you believe human life is of any amount of value, you must live honestly and assume that others are telling you the truth as well.  How would you ever even make a decision? 

I know some of you may think we already live in the chaotic world described above.  I assure you that while things seem bad, we aren't there *yet*.  We are still more or less surprised when big lies are exposed and people behave dishonestly.  We still appalled by those actions and are outraged to have been deceived and betrayed.  The day someone's double life is exposed and no one bats an eye: that's when we'll know we've lost sight of all Truth.

Truth is absolutely necessary for society to function.  Our lives are ultimately dependent on Truth.

31 Days to Love the Truth

Scroll down to read day 1::

Click here to read the other days. I will add a link each day as the post goes live. 

Day 2:: Why Truth?

Day 3:: Where Has Truth Gone?

Day 4:: Sunday Song

Day 5::Our Source of Truth

Day 6::The Truth of our Condition

Day 7:: But God

Day 8:: So What?

Day 9:: The Truth of our Condition

Day 10:: Our Future Home

Day 11:: Sunday Song

Day 12:: No Longer Slaves

Day 13:: Fully Known

Day 14:: Blameless

Day 15:: Rich

Day 16:: We have an Advocate

Day 17:: Deeply Loved

Day 18::  Sunday Song

Day 19::  Nothing to Fear

Day 20:: He is Good

Day 21:: He delights in me

Day 22:: He Restores

Day 23:: Psalm 103

Day 24:: I Belong

Day 25:: Sunday Song

Day 26:: Walking in Truth

Day 27:: Adoration

Day 28:: Truthtellers

Day 29:: Truth in Community

Day 30:: Sharing Truth

Day 31:: For the Whole World

I guess you could call this my October resolution.  I am participating in 31 Days - a writing challenge in which you pick a topic and post about it every day in October.  I've read several of these series in the past couple years and I've always thought about trying it but always wimped out....mostly because I never had anything I was anxious to write about for 31 consecutive days.

But here I am.  Writing.  I guess you can thank Emily Freeman, because last night I finished her book, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live and I felt convicted.  I need to stop giving myself excuses for why I'm not "ready" to share my art with the world. I want to write. I've wanted to since I was a girl.  I've written so many blog posts that I never shared because they weren't good enough.

But here I am, God's poem.  And today and the rest of October I will stop censoring myself and I will write.  And I will write about Truth and what I have learned to love this year.

My inspiration comes from 2 Thessalonians, and that is where we will start today.  The phase "to love the truth" is actually found in a word of judgment in chapter 2 verse 10: "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."

Wow. There's already so much write here.  To love the Truth brings our salvation.  I'll be looking at Truth these next 31 days.  What is Truth?  How do we love it?  Join me this month as I think through it right here.