Christmas is here!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Since we are on the subject of reading, right now I am in a hurry to finish the Hobbit. The second part of the movie is releasing next week and I am hoping, seriously hoping that I will be able to complete the book before I watch the movie.

I am a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and I love his books. Thankfully, I am half-way through the Hobbit, so I guess, I should be done by the end of this weekend. Let’s see.

The movie getting released is, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.’(Click here for a sneak preview)

My Favorite List—Books

I love to read and there are some books that I would to re-read at all times.

A Tale of Two Cities:  I was introduced to this book in high school and how I loved it! I was studying French in school and the French Revolution from this novel added the much zing to the subject.

The Adventures of Oliver Twist: I received this book as a birthday gift. Charles Dickens has been my favorite writer since then. I remember being brought to tears as I read the account of this poor orphan.

Pride and Prejudice: Yeah, a book many folks love to hate. I came across this book in high school. I enjoyed reading this novel and it was the beginning of many Jane Austen series.

Jane Eyre: This book by far all means is my favorite. Dunno why, but I quite like the story and the suspense it contains.

I think, I’ll stop here. What are some of your favorite books?

Thought for the day

November Rain

Grumbling and Complaining?

We Are Far Too Easily Displeased

by Jon Bloom | November 15, 2013

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:14–15)

I am a grumbler by (fallen) nature.

Just this morning a malfunctioning software program required my attention. Experience told me the likely course: at least two times on the phone with customer support and at least two glitches in the fixing process. Forty-five minutes minimum. Probably more. (All proved true, by the way.) Immediately I resented this time-stealing inconvenience. And when my wife called in the middle of dealing with it, out of my mouth came my displeasure.

Life problems don’t get much smaller. What is the matter with me?

The matter is that I too easily listen to the lies of my pathologically selfish sin nature, which assumes all of reality should serve its preferences and grumbles against anything that doesn’t. The truth is, when I grumble, I have lost touch with reality.

What Grumbling Gauges

Grumbling is a gauge of the human soul. It gauges our gaze on grace. It tells us that we’re not seeing grace.

Grumbling pours out of our soul whenever we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve. Sometimes we’re even crass enough to think, to hell with what we deserve, we’re not getting what we want.

Grumbling is a symptom of a myopic soul. Selfishness has caused tunnel vision and has fixated on a craving(s). The soul has lost sight of the glory and wonder and splendor and hope that is the reborn, redeemed life and thus it is far too easily displeased. Grumbling is evidence of soul-vision impairment.

What Gratitude Gauges

The opposite of grumbling in the soul is gratitude. And gratitude also gauges our gaze on grace. It tells us that we are seeing grace.

Gratitude pours out of our souls whenever we we’re receiving a gift we know we don’t deserve and we experience a humble happiness. And as sinners who have received the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24), we are receiving these gifts all the time.

Gratitude is a symptom of a healthy, expansive soul. The gospel of grace has given it panoramic vision, allowing it to see that this grace will be sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9) to meet every need (Philippians 4:19) when inconvenience, crisis, weakness, affliction, unexpected demand, suffering, and persecution hit. In fact, in all these things this grace will make us “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Accents of Heaven and Hell

Gratitude is the accent of the language of heaven because there everything is undeserved grace. No creature that basks in the eternal, deep, powerful, satisfying, overflowing joys of heaven will have merited being there. Each will be there solely by the grace of God, which is why we will all sing,

To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Revelation 5:13)

But grumbling is the accent of hell’s language because it’s how a creature’s pride responds to the Creator’s decision to do or allow something that the creature does not desire. Grumbling scorns God because it elevates our desires and judgments above his.

That’s why the world is so filled with grumbling. It’s ruled by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and its citizens speak the official language.

Do All Things Without Grumbling

And that’s why Paul tells us to “do all things without grumbling” (Philippians 2:14). The children of God should not speak with the accent of hell.

Rather, our speech should always be gracious (Colossians 4:6); it should have the accent of heaven. Those who have been forgiven so much (Luke 7:47) and promised so much (2 Peter 1:4) should speak words that are always salted with gratitude (Ephesians 5:20). That’s one way we “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Gospel gratitude is a foreign language here. We are citizens of a better country (Hebrews 11:16).

Doing all things without grumbling is humanly impossible. But thankfully not with God (Mark 10:27). What it requires is getting our eyes off ourselves and onto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and all God promises to be for us in him. It requires seeing grace. Being different comes fromseeing differently.

Here’s the Bible logic that provides the escape from the temptation to grumble (1 Corinthians 10:13): “all things work together for [my] good” (Romans 8:28), and “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), so therefore I can “do all thingswithout grumbling” (Philippians 2:14).

Yes it is hard. It’s a fight. God told us it would be that way (1 Timothy 6:12). But we will grow in the gracious habit of cultivating gratitude through the rigorous exercise of constant practice (Hebrews 5:14) of seeing grace.

Lord, help us speak more in the accent of heaven!

Prone to grumbling, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to scorn the God I love;
Here’s my eye, O take and peel it
Till I see the grace above.

Then “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart [will] be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

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Recent posts from Jon Bloom:

• God Desires You Far More Than You Desire Him
• Five Ways to Refresh the Saints in Your Life
• Lay Aside the Weight of Discontentment

Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) is the author of Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith and serves as the President of Desiring God, which he and John Piper launched together in 1994. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Pam, their five children, and one naughty dog.

Pic of the Day: A TreeHouse

The HemLoft Treehouse (Whistler, Canada)

For more, check here.

Monday Quote

Faith endures as seeing Him who is invisible; endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life, by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind.-A.W.Pink

My Favorite List—Movies

Top ten movies that I love to watch again and again:

1. Little Women
2. Dark Knight
3. LOTR (1,2,3)
4. While You were Sleeping
5. A Few Good Men
6. Iron Man (1,2,3)
7. Dil Chahta Hai
8. The Wedding Planner
9. Harry Potter Series
10. Avengers

 What about yours?

Waiting

I have always wondered why waiting is such a tiring experience. Is it because waiting slows down things? Or is it my perception that waiting causes a delay for whatever I am waiting for? Sometimes, this impatience that grows within me is a result of the world I live in. You can get everything—practically everything in a jiffy. Click the mouse and you have paid the bills! We live in a world of instant gratification. We don’t have the time to wait…patiently.

In the light of hurried living and busyness, I am glad in a way that God calls me to wait. To wait upon Him for the things I have asked in prayer. It is in this period of waiting I am called to exercise faith in who God is and His ability to bring about what I have asked for. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

God knows what He is about. It is my own foolishness or the result of leaning on my own understanding that I tend to become impatient. He is wise and does all things according to the counsel of His will. I am called to trust Him and His timing.

Waiting requires courage and strength of soul. Hence the psalmist in the Bible encourages us “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalms 27:14)

So, if you are in the period of waiting upon God, take heart. God is good and loves you and desires that you know Him better in this time of stillness. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Thankful

Just want to thank God for all His blessings.

• Christ, His word, and His promises
• Life, laughter, and love
• Family, friends, and food
• Work, weather, and workouts

NH7 Weekender—One Fine Day

As mentioned in my earlier post, my sister and I were supposed to attend all the 3 days of the music fest called NH7 Weekender. The tickets had arrived a while back and I couldn't wait to be a part of this experience. Little did I expect to fall ill.

Right before the fest, I came down with the flu. Now that’s what I call perfect timing. To be honest, I was miffed and quite disappointed. Maybe I thought, a little bit of rest should do it. Nothing. I was getting worse.

So, I missed the first day of NH7. I was too sick to miss the excitement. I managed to get the meds from my family doctor hoping to at least make it for the second day. Thankfully, the next day I was feeling a bit better and off I went to the fest. My sister and her colleague were with me so it was fun.

We mainly stuck to Dewarist stage and boy, it was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Raghu Dixit Project’. I am not into folk rock, but it was good. I was too tired to stand in front of the band, so I just sat on the lawn and enjoyed the music.

And yes, I got to attend just one day against the three days that I hoped for. I guess, some things just don’t go as planned. And I made my peace with that and cherished the time God graciously gave despite my health.

One of Those Days

Every once in a while I experience one of those days.

It happens when you least expect it or least want it, but it’s there.
One of those days...unexpected things, missed lunches, exhaustion....

Last Friday, our company celebrated Diwali. I was excited and looked forward to that day. What better way to end the week?

But on Thursday, I got a call from my senior saying that she would not be in office which meant I would be the one reviewing the completed task for one of the projects we were working on. Oh no! Am I heading for one of those days?

Yes, sure enough. Friday arrived and even as I tried to enjoy, I ended up running around and keeping tabs on the status of the project I was involved in. I barely managed to say hi to my colleagues at work, missed my lunch, and my feet were hurting from the constant running around.

By the time, I finished my task; the Diwali program was almost done. Yeah, rite! I managed to see the prize distribution.

When I got back home, I was exhausted and hungry. (Didn’t have lunch, remember?)
Whew! Some day huh? Yes, it was one of those days!

Take Your Pick

Some interesting sites or articles you may want to check out!

Coffee and Timing: When is the best time to drink coffee?

Don't Lose Your Cool: It's not wise to lose your temper. God's word says so.

Reading More: Good tips on reading more.

Autumn: Wow pictures to check out!

Pic of the day!

Early morning sunshine lights autumn leaves on Oct. 24, in London, England. Fine weather is expected in parts of the United Kingdom on Oct. 24. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)