oh fyodor.

tonight at church my pastor managed to quote God, j.r.r. tolkien, fyodor dostoyevsky, and kanye west. all in one sermon.

could there be any local church more perfect for me?

i vote no.

i laughed to myself about how great it was that he was quoting those people, and he also slipped in one of my favorites quotes from him. it's about optimism and pessimism. he occasionally reminds us that neither of those perspectives is the Gospel. the Gospel doesn't tell us to see despair in every situation (pessimism), but Christians often think they're supposed to be optimistic and find a silver lining in every situation. and it's frustrating to me, because sometimes there is no silver lining. so it's nice to be given the freedom to say "my work environment is toxic, and there's nothing good about it. but God is in control, and i'm comfortable resting there, but not in a silver lining."

and there's this one line in a hymn that i repeat to myself over and over and over and over again while i'm at work, and we sang that song tonight.

"from life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny."

here comes monday.