We've Moved!

Hi friends. Due to the fact that my name is no longer Wesley Hughes, I thought now would be a time to move on over to a new website. You can now find my ramblings at www.thewayhomeblog.wordpress.com . I hope to move my archives to the new website eventually, but for now, when you'd like to reminisce about old times with my previous blog posts, you'll have to come back here. See you on the other side.

If you'd like to keep following me via email, there's an easy way to do that on my new site!

love,

me

The Empty Tomb

Never has so much life come forth

from something so bare, so lifeless.

I enter in, and what I expect I do not see.

The air is fresh, fresher than I had expected.

But where is my Lord.

He is not here, they say, He is gone.

Gone? That cannot be.

Just the other day I saw him laid here.

I saw his body, broken and torn.

I saw the stone rolled over the entrance.

Darkness.

But now that stone is gone. 

And where He was laid to rest,

Now only linens and rags.

And angels.

Angels reminding me

of what my master told me.

That He would rise. 

And here I stand, in the empty tomb.

A house of death

Now bursting forth with life.

My teacher lives.

My savior lives.

He is risen.

I must go tell the others.

The Still Small Voice Of God

I'd like to dedicate this post (and this picture) to my dear friend and fellow blogger Laura Lea, who encouraged me to keep posting! 

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

I don't know about you, but this is not my spiritual strong suit. I'm more of a fidgeting doubter than a still truster. But as much as I fight it, I love the freedom in this verse. It's amazing the duties we put on ourselves as Christians, all of the tasks we think we need to accomplish and the parts of our lives we need to change, when really what He wants from us is our trust in Him. "Calm down," He says, "you're not in charge of your life. You don't have to complete the puzzle, I've got you. Don't forget who created the world and holds every atom in its place. It certainly isn't you." I tend to think that it is me. It's not until I put down my to-do list and stop, sit down and force every anxiety out of my mind, and rest in God's presence, that I truly remember who guides my life. I think what God is saying in this verse is that oftentimes that's all we need to do, just stop and realize that God is God. The gospel isn't a to-do list, it's the good news of God's grace and mercy on our lives, and the liberating revelation that we don't have to do anything but love God and let Him do His job. How much more peaceful would my life be if I could only remember this? I think as a culture we are losing our ability to be still. It's a plague of our times; it's nearly impossible to find quiet. But just as Elijah found God in the "still small voice" following the earthquake and the fire, so in those fleeting silences will we find our God, who patiently waits for us to finish our to-do's and just be still. 


Happy Easter, He is risen.

A New Shade Of Red

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the world for the first time? Or here's one I think about a lot: maybe I'm weird and maybe it's just me, but how cool would it be to hear the English language and not be able to understand it? I've often wondered what it would sound like, to be able to hear the sounds, the intonations, the rhythm of the language free of all intelligible meaning. I listen to other languages and try to imagine what English must sound like to the non-English speaker. Or imagine what it would be like to see the color red for the very first time, or touch a flower petal for the first time. I have experienced each of these things in my lifetime, but unfortunately I was a baby and have no recollection of these firsts. I kind of wonder if that's what Heaven will be like. This world is broken, it is fallen, it is but a dull reflection of what it was meant to be. And amazing as this world presently is, apparently in the end it is going to get a whole lot better. If you've ever been anywhere tropical, you'll know that colors there are not the same as they are in America. It's as if the equator has magnetized the pigmentation of plants to concentrate in the tropics. They just have better reds than we do. But in Heaven, I hope, I bet, when I see red for the first time, it will be as if I've never seen it before in my life. When I touch the ground for the first time, it will be a sensation the likes of which I have never experienced. And when I see God's face for the first first time, I will know that I never really knew Him in this life. I sought Him, I communed with Him, I worshipped Him, I served Him, but this God--the true God--when I see Him face to face, it will really be the first time.

And then I probably won't care about that English stuff anymore.

I'm Back!

Apologies for the interruption, I know you have been devastated. So without further ado, my latest musings.

I’m beginning to wonder if a lot of the situations I try to keep myself out of are the exact situations that God wants me in the most. I spend my whole life trying to make myself comfortable, stable, happy and content, lacking and wanting nothing. When change is on the horizon, I stress out and worry what problems will arise as my world evolves. If I’m discontented, I twist and turn and whine and struggle to find which aspect of my life is leaving me unfulfilled, and then I embark on a mission to fix it as quickly as possible. And I think I’m starting to realize that no matter where I am, I’m exactly where God wants me to be, and if I’m in one of those tumultuous times, then I’m really where God wants me, because those are the places where He can teach me the most. I picture God sitting there watching me run around like a chicken with its head cut off, waiting patiently for me to stop searching all around me and just look up for once. I know all He wants to say to me is Wesley, chill out, if you’ll just let me show you what I’m doing here, you will enjoy this growing process a lot more. He’s going to mould me and shape me through difficult experiences for the rest of my life, so I could make it a lot easier for myself by just accepting that fact and looking for God’s lessons during those times. Also, interestingly enough, I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least a little bit discontented, on the verge of some sort of change in my life, and somewhat uncomfortable with my situation. I think God would probably like for me to realize that life isn’t about trying to get to a certain point and staying there. He wants it to be about seeking Him and finding satisfaction in Him no matter what my circumstances are, because He knows that I will never be at home in this world, and I will never be fully satisfied without Him.

A Prayer

Lord I want to love You,
To long for You, adore You.
Lord I want the song I sing
To be about and for You.
Lord You gave me all I have
So I could give it back to You,
Lord You gave Your life for me
And I will give my life to You.
Lord I want to love You,
To long for You, adore You.
Lord I want the song I sing
To be about and for You.

Sandwich-bugs

I wonder how many bugs I've eaten in my life. I'm sitting here eating my lunch, watching one of those little red dot bugs stroll along my table, thinking "get that thing away from my food!", and I can't help but wonder how many of those little guys have sneaked onto my sandwiches just in time for me to take the bite they happened to land on. If I spent five minutes examining every meal I ever sat down to eat, ensuring no bug intrusions before I commenced eating, I probably STILL wouldn't escape the occasional bug consumption. Just a quick reminder of how little control I have over all of the proverbial sandwich-bugs in my life. I could spend all of my energy trying to maintain control of every little thing in my life, but when it comes down to it, I just can't keep all the bugs off of my sandwiches. So bring it, sandwich-bugs, you don't scare me.