Raison d'être*

*Raison d'être is a phrase borrowed from French where it means simply "reason for being".

I entered the blogging world a couple of years ago, writing semi-frequently on "Grannymom's Spot". That blog tends to be, for the most part, about my family and personal experiences. I have decided that it will be kept private, for family and invited friends.

For a few days, I have been pondering what to do about cyberspace. This morning, as he is wont to do(entirely unbeknownst to him), John Piper rocked my world with the following essay: Boasting Only In the Cross

He writes,

"You don't have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by a few great things. If you want your life to count, if you want the ripple effect of the pebbles you drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on for centuries and into eternity, you don't have to have a high IQ or EQ; you don't have to have to have good looks or riches; you don't have to come from a fine family or a fine school. You have to know a few great, majestic, unchanging, obvious, simple, glorious things, and be set on fire by them."

My few great, majestic, unchanging, obvious, simple, glorious things include:

GREAT: GOD. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Three in One. The Father chose me from before the foundation of the earth. The Son redeemed my life from destruction, dying in my place on that cruel cross, and rising again to be the mediator on my behalf. The Holy Spirit lives in me, guiding me, leading me, reassuring me, and pointing me to the Cross.

MAJESTIC My home is in heaven. This world is not my home. I really am just passing through.

UNCHANGING God loves me. Whether or not I'm having a "good" day from man's perspective, my God never changes. Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He doesn't change. He loves me during the darkest days, He loves me during the most treasured moments, when I can scarcely breathe for joy.

OBVIOUS He blesses me. With family, and friends. With material blessings and spiritual wonders. With air and water and food and clothing. With thorns and stones and cuts and bruises, and heart-wrenching sobs that turn me to Him, He blesses.

SIMPLE I love Him. We love Him, because He first loved us. I love Him enough to want to tell others how very good He is. I can't begin to approach any sort of true description, but here on this blog, I will try.

GLORIOUS I bring Him glory. How cool is that? By simply living my life with my heart turned towards my God, I bring Him glory. By being willing to live in an obscure part of the Canadian countryside, far from any "big-wigs" or influential people, I bring Him glory. With a kiss on the cheek of my husband, or a snuggle or back-scratch for my little grandchild, I bring the God of the Universe glory.

So, this blog is about the ordinary things in life, and what God is teaching me through them. If you didn't bother clicking over to John Piper's exhortation, please do so. He says it so much more eloquently than I do.

I have to ask: What sets YOU on fire?