Main Character Energy

“What you think about when you think about God is the single most important thing about you.” – A.W. Tozer

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I thought it was a great quote, hence why I took the photo, ideally timed to the moment the pastor looked my way and caught me with my phone out (perfectly acceptable in this venue, but I felt a generous heaping of Catholic guilt for having my phone out at a service…)

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But for a few days afterward, I sat pondering this quote, since something didn’t sit quite right. Who am I to decide who God is? I’m so small! It’s been almost a decade (!!) since I first decided to follow Jesus intentionally, but every day I’m blown away by how little I know and how far I have to go. I brought it up in prayer and asked God what to think. And because God loves me (spoiler alert, He loves you, too), He responded generously, through wise words and homilies:

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1. There are only two ways that we can live our lives: we can be egocentric (I am the center of my life) or theocentric (God is the center of my life).

I work with a bunch of 23-year-olds who teach me cool kid slang, and one of the things they have shared with me is the idea of “main character energy.” Unlike some of their other phrases, this one is pretty self-explanatory. “Main character energy” is seen as a good thing: you’re in control of your life, in the driver’s seat, running the show.

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But here’s the thing: that’s exhausting. And it’s also a facade; try as we might, we are never in control. There may be moments when we feel on top of the world, but talk to anyone who has lost a loved one, faced an unexpected illness, or suffered a tragedy. Every moment is a gift. The only main character is God, and the good news is that He LOVES us, and He’s taking care of everything. We don’t have to carry the world on our shoulders; He’s got us.

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2. Because of this, the question is not “Who do I think God is?” (an egocentric question) but “What does God think of me?” (the theocentric question).

One of the books I’ve been devouring recently is Peter Kreeft’s commentary on Augustine’s Confessions, called I Burned for your Peace. No pun intended, but this book is 🔥. In it, Kreeft quotes C.S. Lewis (my guy) on this very topic:

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C.S. Lewis says he read somewhere that the most important question is what we think of God, and he replied: “By God Himself, it is not! How God thinks of us is not only more important but infinitely more important.”

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So if the real question we should be asking is “What does God think of me?” then what is the answer? It is a terrifying question… until we remember the character of God. God loves us wildly – He is WILD about you. He loves us more and knows us better than we love and know ourselves. He wants to give us everything, and our happiness delights Him endlessly.

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If you want to know Him better, ask Him to tell you what He thinks of you. A great place to start is The Father’s Love Letter (reading it is great, listening to it will make you cry probably).

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In conclusion, I am not hating on the pastor above, or on A.W. Tozer (who, by the way, I share a birthday with, and whose book The Pursuit of God is a favorite of mine!) I just think that it is so dang counter-cultural to remove ourselves from the center of our lives and to allow God to be the main character. It requires surrender, trust, courage, and faith – but the good news is that those are fruits of the spirit, and the Holy Spirit offers them to us in abundance!

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This week, I’m asking the questions, “God, where are the places in my life that I have not yet surrendered to You? Where am I fighting to be the main character?” And, most importantly, “God, what do You think of me?”

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Spoiler alert: He thinks you’re the best. And so do I.

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In Christ,

Jane

What I’m loving lately….

The podcast is back!! Ep. 96 Behind the scenes of The SundayMonday

We’re back for a new season, and since we’re almost to 100 episodes, I wanted to take the opportunity to share what the SundayMonday looks like: both back when it began in 2021 and how it looks today! I share behind the scenes of the podcast, newsletter, and website, and answer all your burning questions about my feelings on Instagram. Tune in on Spotify, iTunes, or anywhere you find podcasts!

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​The happy way to drop your grievances by Arthur Brooks​

Y’all know I love Arthur Brooks, and this article on why we should stop complaining was great. My favorite quote: “Grumbling is like the autumn hoarfrost which, when it falls, destroys all the labors of the gardener,” the 20th-century Bulgarian theologian Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev observed; it “withers all the virtues of the soul and makes bitter and useless the fruits of suffering.” Yikes!

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Single tracking my weekend

I have a poor habit of stacking many events in one day, especially when it comes to Saturdays. This past weekend, I only had a brunch scheduled, and it was SO lovely to enjoy the company of my friends and just relax without worrying about where I had to be next and inevitably being late. I’m going to try to be better about that this year!

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Into the Canon!!

This year, I’ve felt a pull to dig more into church history and scripture. I love the Navarre Bibles, and the book on the Confessions I’m reading (linked above) has been incredible in opening my eyes to so many theological and philosophical realities of our faith. The best part is that yesterday, my BFF Erica called me and said she’s feeling called to go on a similar adventure! So we’ll be embarking on this journey together. If you have any great resources or reads, please send them our way 🙂

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The first cherry blossom of SPRING!

We had a warm day today and let me tell you… it changes things. Come on, springtime!! I was elated when I saw these cherry blossoms on my way to run club last week. Swoon.

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Prayer requests

• My friend who had a baby last night!
• For safe travels this weekend
• For my grandpa and cousin who had birthdays yesterday!

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