We take so much for granted in our technology-driven world. This ultrasound picture seems old hat to us today – most every expecting mother gets a picture of her baby – but not too many years ago this would have seemed like a miracle.
And now we can actually see a baby move its hand and kick its foot! (Sorry about the double picture – I’m not very techno-savy! The top one is the video.)
There are millions of births every year so what’s so special about a baby being born?
Are you missing the everyday miracles of life? Have you stopped today in awe and amazement of all that God has created? Have you thanked Him for all that He has done for you? The myriad of blessings He has showered upon you today – and for eternity?
We take so much for granted in our technology-driven world. This ultrasound picture seems old hat to us today – most every expecting mother gets a picture of her baby – but not too many years ago this would have seemed like a miracle.
And now we can actually see a baby move its hand and kick its foot! (Sorry about the double picture – I’m not very techno-savy! The top one is the video.)
There are millions of births every year so what’s so special about a baby being born?
Are you missing the everyday miracles of life? Have you stopped today in awe and amazement of all that God has created? Have you thanked Him for all that He has done for you? The myriad of blessings He has showered upon you today – and for eternity?
Did you ever have one of those days when you’re getting much accomplished, you’re focused, organized, and feeling a bit like you’re in the midst of a marathon? Yesterday was one of those days for me.
It was a productive day; I got laundry started in the morning. Since it was a payroll week I had those duties as well as my regular office work to complete and thankfully all went well. I didn’t pay attention to the clock except when I was ready to leave work and realized I could get groceries AND pick up kids from school AND be home in time to make a real home-cooked dinner while I finished up laundry! YEA! That’s a banner day at our house!
Dinner came and went, the kids got their homework done, I paid some bills while I watched a show with them, and when the show was over I sent them off to brush teeth. We prayed together, tucked them in, and then I looked at my husband and said, “I’m ready for bed!” He didn’t comment right away, but moments later he came to me and said, “You do know it’s not 9 o’clock yet, right?”
No, I really didn’t know that! I was on autopilot, doing what needed to be done, not looking at the clock, and since the show we watched was on DVR I simply assumed that it was over at 9, which is bedtime at our house.
And so it came to be that last night I was in bed by nine. I felt a bit foolish, but also knew that my body was tired. Honestly, I figured I would wake up very early and told myself that I would accomplish much in those wee hours of the morning.
I slept nine hours! And boy did it feel good! I am so glad I didn’t pay attention to the clock, so glad I let my body tell me when it was time for rest, so glad I didn’t look at that time last evening and decide to do something else with it. Yes, there would have been time to watch a show, read a book, check my e-mail, or write a blog. But at that point last night none of those things held any importance for me. And I am so glad!
Jesus said “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
I wonder if God ever wonders if we realize what time it is? There may be days He has much for us to accomplish, and days He wants us to rest. He created us, He created time, it would make sense that He will see to it that we have the time for all that He wants us to accomplish, to experience, and to be – if we can only get our eyes off of the clock on the wall, and instead allow Him to order our thoughts, our plans, and our days.
Did you read the Yahoo article about over-used buzzwords in the work place? (“Buzzword” ATW – according to Webster’s – is ‘an important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen’ or ‘a voguish word or phrase’).
The popular words at work used to impress? Among others, ‘leverage’, ‘reach out’, ‘it is what it is’, ‘viral’, ‘game changer’, ‘disconnect’, ‘value-add’, ‘circle back’, and ‘interface’. The article even advised us how to use such ‘cutting edge’ vocabulary.
First, use them ‘properly and judiciously’ they are, after all, for communication purposes and if no one knows what you’re saying then you’ve missed the point entirely.
Second, ‘consider your audience’ – they suggest asking if a non-native English speaking audience would understand what you are trying to say.
I liked the last one best – ‘check your own understanding’ – try asking yourself if you know what you’re saying – and make sure that everyone is on the same page as far using the same definitions for the words you choose.
While this was all mildly interesting to me, and not really relevant to my workplace vernacular it did prompt some further pondering. What kind of ‘buzzwords’ do I use in the spiritual realm? You know – that place we Christians gather each week to meet and ‘fellowship’ – to ‘worship’ and ‘praise God’.
Please note I am not trying to be irreverent (ATW – ‘lacking proper respect or seriousness’) about church, but I am wondering how much our ‘God-speak’ makes sense to those who are not ‘part of the body’.
Paul says, “I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible.” (1 Cor. 9:22)
We all have a tendency to run with the pack and repeat what we hear. I’ve written about ‘Christianese’ and miscommunication before, but buzzwords seem to be something we use to impress or to go along with the crowd.
“The preacher was really annointed today and we totally felt the Spirit in worship.”
Huh?
Sometimes we have to untangle our thoughts enough to be deliberate about the words we choose. Do we know what we’re saying, and more importantly, what we’re communicating to others?
Have you ever tried the exercise where you repeat back what someone has said to you? It’s amazing how much we get wrong! They ‘say’ one thing and we ‘hear’ something entirely different. Not unlike the childhood game of ‘telephone’ where you whisper a word in the next person’s ear and when you get all around the circle the word you come up with is not the original word at all, but totally wrong – and often hilarious in contrast.
Satan loves to twist our words and use our miscommunication to cause rifts among believers and confusion and misunderstanding when we try to share God’s love with those who don’t know Him.
Don’t even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black. Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One.. (Mt 5 36-37)
Not too long ago my good friends Lisa Troyer and Beth Beechy were hosting our Circle of Friends radio program on 95.9 WNPQ in Canton. Something Beth said has stuck with me since then. “What if we had a mirror that reflected the way God sees us?” I remember a collective gasp in the studio as we thought about that question – ‘Wow’.
Think for a minute – what would that look like? What would we see in a mirror that reflected only what God sees? That means seeing ourselves the way God sees us – the way we truly are.
What would we see?
A woman, or man, covered in grace. Covered by Christ’s blood and washed clean of our sins – a beautiful bride for Christ.
I don’t think we would focus on the details that distract and dismay us – or be able to criticize the things we don’t like about ourselves – our height or weight or eye color or hair. We wouldn’t see any of those things. It would be all about seeing the ‘big picture’ – not the minute stuff that irritates us or we compare with other people.
No, this mirror would be a mirror of Truth. No lies here. No shame or fear or sins from the past to haunt us. We wouldn’t be looking for the kind of ‘beauty’ that we look for now – ageless skin, perfect features – I think we would see clear down to our souls – down to the essence of who God made us to be. We would see ourselves as God created us.
Wow. That would be pretty powerful.
We may not have a physical mirror like that – but when we look into the Word of God it reflects our lives through the mirror of God’s truth. We can see ourselves as we really are because the Bible reveals it to us. But there’s more! It’s not enough to simply see ourselves as we are – the good, the bad, the truth of how God sees us – we have to do something about it!
James tells us that ‘Those who hear God’s teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like.’ (James 1:23-24)
It sometimes seems like a balancing act. We must not ‘think of ourselves more highly than we ought’ (Rom 12:3) but we also should never cheapen the sacrifice Christ paid on the cross to bring us His mercy and grace – ‘where sin abounded, grace abounded much more’ (Rom. 5:20)
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Paul saw himself as the chief among sinners (1 Tim 1:15) but he also saw himself as covered in grace – ‘by the grace of God I am what I am’ (1 Cor 15:10) and tells us to follow his example (Phil 3:17)
Can you say with Paul, “follow me as I follow Christ”? Can you offer the grace you have received to others? Will you move from gazing into the mirror of His truth to becoming a refection of Him yourself?
Crying really isn’t the appropriate response when hearing someone’s pregnant, is it? I don’t mean the tears of joy kind, I mean the real, sobbing kind. The “poor-me-I’m-so-sad-and-feel-so-bad” kind.
Well, that’s exactly what I did when I heard the news that my sister-in-law was pregnant. Two? She gets two? Married only 6 weeks before me, and she gets two before I get one? While I’m what may be light-years away one? Not that I’m not happy to have nieces and nephews, but both of my sisters-in-law pregnant at the same time may be more than I can emotionally handle.
I just for the life of me can not figure out what God is thinking. I swear my uterus is going to be shriveled up and no good by the time we are in a place where we can start our family. Our parents will be too old and frail to enjoy their grandkids, and my children will have no cousins their age. None. They’ll be the only ones at the “kids” table at Thanksgiving, everyone else having moved up to the adults table. I will probably even be on Medicare by the time they graduate high school.
God is totally messing up on this one.
He just is not moving things according to plan. This is not how my life is supposed to go. Did I wind up on the naughty list somehow? Does He somehow manage to run out of blessings by the time He gets down to my name? Why isn’t He doing things the way we’ve discussed?
For I know the plans I have for You, Emily.
Oh no. These are not Your plans, God…these are OUR plans. Mutual. I get some say in all of this.
For I know the plans I have for You, Emily.
Okay, God. They’re Your plans. You are God after all. I have to at least acknowledge that.
For I know the plans I have for You, Emily.
You have plans? Actual plans for my life? You, God, have a plan and purpose for this crazy life of mine? Thought out, specifically designed plans just for me?
For I know the plans I have for You, Emily.
Did you hear that? God has plans for me. For me, Emily Megan Smith. Custom, unique, plans for me. So maybe they’re not my plans, but they’re my Father’s plans.
Did you ever wonder if it’s okay to ask God the tough questions? Recently I heard a message preached by Dwight Jarboe, CEO of Missionary Maintenance Service (MMS) Aviation www.mmsaviation.org, entitled ‘That’s a Good Question’. He broke questions down into two categories and defined them this way: “Honest question: A question I ask expecting the answer may change me. Dishonest question: May simply be a way to advance my agenda – the answer is not important to me.”
God respects honest questions. I would even go so far to say that He invites them. Sometimes He answers us – and sometimes He is silent. Here are some of Dwight’s reasons why God may remain silent:
1. God may withhold an answer if I am disrespectful.
2. I may be unable to understand the answer.
3. I may be unable to cope with the answer.
4. God may answer with silence because the answer is silence. Sometimes my questions themselves are answer enough.
I loved this message! First, because I’ve known Dwight personally as an elder of our church for many years and know the depth of his character and godliness. I’ve also been blessed to hear his wisdom on more than one occasion! But secondly, these thoughts have stayed with me because they have caused me to look at my own questions for God.
I’ve never thought about how honest my questions are – that is, what am I expecting in return? When I approach God with the things that puzzle me – do I do it out of honest searching, or more of a ‘this is what I see and what are you going to do about it’ attitude? The second one horrifies me – but in all honesty I have to admit that could be my attitude at times if I’m not careful.
Are you ever presumptuous with God? Demanding an answer, instead of asking an ‘honest’ question – one that, given the answer, might very well change your heart and life?
I want to come before Him and lay out what I’m searching for, then be willing to wait for His answer. Knowing there is one. God’s ways are a mystery to me – but not to Him! There’s a great deal of comfort for me in that.
And when He is silent? There’s a reason for that, too! “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD.” (Is. 55:8) There is so much that I don’t – and my finite mind can’t – understand about God and His ways. There are times when I don’t even know what questions to ask! And then there are those times I couldn’t handle the answer. There are times when I really long to know the future, but mostly I’m just glad that I didn’t know what was going to happen before it did and that God saved me the burden of carrying the knowledge beforehand.
Sometimes we think God is silent, but He’s already answered our question! We just haven’t seen it yet, or understood the answer.
I’ve thought most about Dwight’s observation that sometimes the question is the answer. The process of seeking, asking, waiting for a response gives us a chance to ponder, meditate, and consider what we already know about God. We have the answer already – we just have to remind ourselves who God is and what He has done for us!
Yes, I know it’s Tuesday and that is not a typical day for a wedding,
but nevertheless a wedding happened on a beautiful Tuesday evening in September.
It was lovely.
And the sweet young couple is just as married today as they would have been had they waited ’til the weekend to walk down the isle.
Our family is delighted to welcome our newest sister-in-law and Aunt Kristen to the family. Baby-brother-in-law Matt chose well!
In a couple of months we will have another occasion to celebrate. My favorite mother and father-in-law will be celebrating FIFTY years of marriage!!! Now that is cause for celebration! And proof that it doesn’t matter what day of the week you get married on – it’s the investment that is made after the wedding day that pays off big dividends!
Some people typically celebrate those major milestones with a trip to Hawaii or some other exotic destination. But not Bob and Esther – this summer instead of making travel plans they have been walking, and walking, and walking; all in preparation to walk in a marathon next month. They never cease to amaze me.
So while all my kids were home and dressed up last week for the wedding I decided to take some family pictures – possible Christmas card pictures – I told everyone to smile.
There’s a joker in every bunch.
But we kept snapping and snapping and snapping.
And we’ll keep snapping every time we’re together until we get that
PERFECT family picture..
or not.
So the wedding wasn’t on a typical night,
And my in-laws aren’t celebrating their anniversary in typical fashion,
And I didn’t get the typical Christmas card picture of my dreams
But one typical thing did happen on that beautiful Tuesday night.
Yup, that’s a frog he’s holding.
(at least he didn’t put it on his head – this time)
So, I’m sitting on the floor of the dressing room crying. Can anyone relate? I hate what I see in the mirror (and yes, Beth, I’ve read your blog- I’m looking at the ‘long term effects’ of not sticking with my exercise program – because it wasn’t ‘that important’ to me!)
I’m running through all the excuses in my mind – my hypo-thyroidism, medications I’m taking that make me gain weight, age, and all the other things that cause my ‘metabolism slow-down’ and I still come up with the fact that I let go of the ball. I dropped it. I went into what I call ‘survival mode’.
Have you ever been there? Life piles up on you and you get overwhelmed with all the circumstances of your life…maybe it’s a financial crunch , or job and deadline stresses, or difficult relationships. Maybe it’s emotional or physical pain.
For me, it started with a transitional season in our lives and an unknown future. We were ‘homeless’ for about three months (living off the kindness of our children and other relatives) with everything we owned in storage and wondering – what’s next? Then when my husband began driving transport vehicles to support us I found myself living alone for much of the time and – yup! That’s when it happened. I shifted into ‘survival mode’. Doing whatever it takes to get through today and leaving everything else for ‘later’. Some other time. When I have the energy to deal with it. When I feel better, get more sleep, am more creative, after I get this other thing done…Even the excuses piled up on me!!
Survival mode. There are times in our lives when we can get overwhelmed with the daily grind. Life can creep up and knock us over the head. That’s the time we need to re-group. God tells us in His word to ‘redeem the time’ (Eph. 5:15 & Col. 4:5). According to these verses it has to do with wisdom. To know how best to use our time we need to ask God what He wants us to do.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10). “…for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal 6:9) By God’s strength, and with His wisdom, we can prioritize each day and live it fully without regrets.
It’s time to move from a surviving mode to a ‘thriving mode”!
I’ve been struggling with something lately. That awful, twisted feeling of jealousy. I think I want what someone else has – ‘Oh, I wish I could go on a vacation like that’…’, ‘If only I got paid that salary…’or ‘If I had money/a job/an opportunity like that and if my children/home/car/life were different…’ I’ve looked at my life and theirs and come away unsatisfied.
Ewww! Not a good place to be.
I looked up the word ‘jealous’ in Webster’s: it means ‘intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness’, ‘hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage’ and ‘vigilant in guarding a possession’.
Did you know that the Bible says God is a jealous God? (see verses in Ex. 20:5, Deut.4:24, 5:9 among others). He wants no one put before Him – and He is worthy of that honor. There is a ‘godly jealousy’ that Paul had toward his spiritual children the Corinthian believers (2 Cor. 11:2). When he writes to them in the next chapter it is a different ‘jealousy’ altogether – “I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be, and I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that among you there may be arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish fighting, evil talk, gossip, pride, and confusion.” (2 Cor 12:20)
Yeah, I’m not talking about the godly jealousy kind. Me? It’s the low-down dirty ‘I want what you got’ attitude. It’s also known as envy – a ‘painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined by a desire to possess the same advantage’. Uh, yeah. That’s the one.
Proverbs 14:20 says envy is ‘rottenness to the bones” and James tells us that ‘where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there’ (James 3:16)
So when I ask myself where these feelings come from I know right where to look – the old fleshly nature of me – the ‘old man’ – the one who is filled with sin and the one I battle daily. Peter tells us to ‘rid ourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind’ (1 Peter 2:1) Have you noticed how jealousy and envy are closely associated with more bad attitudes and sin? One thing just leads to another (to go from jealousy and envy to malice is to actually desire someone else’s pain!)
Now that I’ve recognized this (call it what it is!) sin in my life – how do I get rid of it? Peter goes on to tell us in verses 2 and 3 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” God’s Word is the only thing that can set my attitude straight!
Romans 12:15 says to ‘be happy with those who are happy, and to weep with those who weep’. The secret is found in 1 Corinthians 12:24-27 ‘The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor. Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.”
Mmmh – that means when I look at my brothers or sisters in Christ and want what they have it’s like my eyes watching my hand put a piece of chocolate in my mouth and wishing I had some – put that way it does sound ridiculous, doesn’t it?
My brother and I weren’t always “buddy-buddy” growing up. For the most part we had a pretty good relationship, but as the little sister I’m sure I tended to get on his nerves, and I know I was a terrible tattletale. We definitely had periods of time where we didn’t get along so well. I remember asking him once why he didn’t like me, and he told me, “Because you’re you.” You can’t blame a 12 year old boy too much for making a quip like that to his annoying sister, and now we are very close (we even lived together for a while during our college years). Although I can joke about it now, that comment stuck with me for quite a while.
We so desperately look for love and approval, don’t we? From siblings, parents, boyfriends, husbands, friends, or wherever we can get it. Often feeling like we have to earn it, we have to be something or do something worthy of it. But the truth is we don’t have to look very far, that love is there all along for us, and that it exceeds any earthly love we could find.
Psalm 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Lamentations 3:22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The world tells us we’re not good enough, we’re not pretty enough, skinny enough, talented enough, smart enough, worthy enough.
But our Father tells us, “I love you my child, because I am good, because I am God, and because I made you. I love you simply because you’re you.”
I love autumn. The heat of summer is over, and perfect days of just-right weather – not too hot, not too cold. There seems to be a freshness, newness in the air. Oh -the possibilities!
One of my favorite things about fall is the beauty of the changing trees. I missed the fall color when we lived in Nebraska. The lack of trees there meant a different kind of ‘color’ – mostly yellow.
Here in the midwest I love seeing the vibrant reds, the oranges, vermilion and golds.
The thing about leaves is that in order to change color – they have to die. And the years that autumn is the prettiest – its a hard frost that does it. There’s some pretty good spiritual illustrations in all of this! Paul says we must die daily. (1 Cor. 15:31) When I see the trees changing color I think of Col. 3:3-4 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Have you ever wondered about the really vivid trees? The ones that pop out of the sea of other colors? They are glorious in their death. Paul says, When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. (1 Cor. 15:36)
I want my life to be like that one, vibrant tree. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. Then I have hope that I myself will be raised from the dead…I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above(Phil. 3:10-11,14)
So maybe it’s not my closet’s fault, or the roof, or global warming, or even the clothing manufacturer. Maybe, just maybe, my clothes are not shrinking. Maybe, perhaps, just possibly, it has more to do with me than with my clothes. What do you think?
(Heavy Sigh) Yes, it’s true; I have become less than intentional about my physical exercise. At some point this summer the idea of walking for my health became less important to me. It would be easy to say, “I just didn’t have time”. But more and more I’ve come to see that those words have nothing to do with the twenty-four hours I’m given each day, instead I should be saying “It’s just not that important to me”.
Think about it, think about all the things we say “sorry, don’t have time” to. Exercise is one of them for me. Filing is another thing I often tell myself “I just don’t have time”. Weeding the flowerbeds, cleaning out the garage, washing windows, sending a card, making a phone call, or being intentional about relationships – actually stopping to sit and visit. “I’m busy, I just don’t have time!” And yet, I have time to write these blogs, check my e-mail, (AND FaceBook), even in the midst of work, ministry, and mothering. I really do have time to do the things that I want to do.
I use to tell myself I just didn’t have time to sit down to read my Bible and spend some time in prayer every day. Oh my, substitute the words “it’s just not that important to me” in that space. Ouch.
And the sad thing is most of those things we don’t have time for have a real life consequence that we will find ourselves having to make time for at some point. Exercise, diet, taking care of myself, may not be important enough to me for me to make/take the time for today, but the long-term effect can be devastating. Other things may not be as devastating but they will still be overwhelming – the important paper I can’t find, the weeds that reseed themselves, and the garage I may no longer be able to park a car in.
And then there are simply the things we put off, (again, substitute don’t have time/not that important) that can never be regained – the “thinking of you” card, the words of encouragement, the time spent with a loved one.
Just as I won’t allow my kids to use the word “fair” (hello, it’s a four letter word that begins with f, and it usually simply means “I’m not getting my way”!) I am trying hard to no longer say, “I just don’t have time”.
Either something is important enough for me to give my time to, or it’s not. In some ways it’s freeing to be able to look at it that way. But in other ways it is nothing but convicting. Ouch! The truth really does hurt, but I have a feeling it’s about to set me free.
Recently I was flipping through the TV channels and caught a show that both fascinated and repelled me at the same time. It was a show about hoarders. That is, people who are unable to throw anything away.
Now, I’ve confessed my own pack rat tendencies, but these dear people had deeper issues than my laziness and disorganization. I found out that it’s not that they want to live this way – they are unable to force themselves to make decisions and things just pile up on them – literally. One dear man could not get the door to his one room efficiency apartment shut – it was that full of what everyone else would call ‘garbage’. In another lady’s house her ‘stuff’ had piled up to shoulder height – in every room! While her son was impatient for her to just start throwing things away, she needed to look at every single thing and eventually was simply overwhelmed by the enormous task of deciding what to keep and what to throw away.
Easy for me to think, ‘Just get a back-ho, Honey, and take it to the dump!’ But it was much more complicated than that and I found myself having a great deal of compassion for each of these people caught up in the cycle of not being able to get rid of anything.
It made me pause to wonder if I’m not more like these precious people than I would like to admit. Am I hoarding things in my spiritual life? Holding on to shattered dreams and unfulfilled plans? Am I unable to let go of old hurts and wounds, salvaging every scrap of disappointment or heartache? Or piling up justifications for my attitude and responses to other people? Have I let the mess of my sins drop on the floor of my life, afraid to let go or allow God to have full reign and clean me up?
It seems so simple – just get rid of it! But when we deal with our emotions it gets a little messy and sticky and hard to straighten out. Our decision making becomes impaired because our perspective is clouded. Just like the people who sought out help to clean up their homes, it is a process that takes the support of someone with the ability to help untangle the mess. Spiritually speaking, that’s our Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Being willing to call a mess what it is – a mess – is the first step to getting help. To say, ‘There are things in my life, Lord, that are long past time to get rid of.” To realize that holding onto things is unnecessary and detrimental to our health and well being – both physically and spiritually.
I think it may be time for me to get out the broom and dustpan – and maybe even a shovel or two!
I spent last week on the beach. Every time I go to the ocean I have to take a few moments, standing in the sand where the water laps at your feet, looking out and soaking it all in. I just cannot begin to grasp the magnitude of it all. How the ocean never seems to end, how it is bigger and beyond what I could try to imagine. I can’t look out across the water without thinking about God. How He is bigger and beyond anything I could imagine, how He is the creator of things that are beyond my imagination. As I stood on the shore, this song (one of my current favorites) played over and over again in my mind.
“What Do I Know of Holy” by Addison Road
I made You promises a thousand times I tried to hear from Heaven But I talked the whole time I think I made You too small I never feared You at all, No If You touched my face would I know You? Looked into my eyes could I behold You? What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean? Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful? What do I know? What do I know of Holy? I guess I thought that I had figured You out I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about How You were mighty to save Those were only empty words on a page Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean? Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful? What do I know? What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy? What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame? And a God who gave life its name? What do I know of Holy? Of the One who the angels praise? All creation knows Your name On earth and heaven above What do I know of this love? What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion? Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean? Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful? What do I know? What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy?
Did you know that Circle of Friends has two daily radio programs? One on WNPQ 95.9 Canton and one on WHKC 91.5 Columbus. Both programs are on at 10 am Monday through Friday. If you are unable to get them on your radio dial you can listen to the Canton program by going to their website www.thelight959.com and clicking on the ‘Listen Now’ button.
There are some wonderful ladies that help with the radio ministry.
My closet did it again! This time it shrunk my blue jeans! What is up with that?
I think it must be the builder’s fault. Yeah, that’s it, he must have used some sub-grade material that allows the suns rays to get thru the roof and shrink the very fiber of my clothing. Let’s see, we’ve been here 11 years.wonder if he’ll honor that roofing warranty? Maybe it’s even covered by homeowner’s insurance?
Or maybe GLOBAL WARMING is causing this!!! I bet that’s it. I knew it would happen someday. Up to now global warming has seemed a far-fetched idea to me. But now that I have first hand experience of its nasty effects it’s not so out-there anymore!
Or perhaps it’s the clothing manufacturers fault! That would make even more sense! They probably hydrate the fabric with some amazing “fit-guard” substance when they manufacture it, and then it dehydrates when it sits on a closet shelf.yeah, that’s probably it.
Well, I don’t know what is causing this alarming rate of shrinkage on my clothing; I need to investigate it a bit more before I decide what to do.
I think I’ll grab a cookie, or two, to munch on while I Google my suspicions.
Did you ever wonder about the origin of Labor Day? The celebration of America’s work force is over one hundred and twenty years old! The first parade was held in New York City in 1882 when ten thousand workers took an unpaid day-off to march from city hall to Union Station to not only honor workers but also to let their voices be heard about issues in the work place. Although several other states would hold parades during the next twelve years, it wasn’t until 1894 that Congress actually declared that the first Monday in September would be a holiday.
It’s tough to imagine the conditions workers suffered in the 1800′s… 12 hour work days, children in ‘sweat shops’, low wages. While we like to think all that is in the past, the sad fact is that conditions like these still exist in many third world countries today.
We have much to be grateful for in America, yet I would venture to say that as a whole, we are mostly ungrateful.
Mostly, we complain about our workplaces, employers, co-workers, vacation hours, salaries – the list goes on.
Perhaps this year, in today’s economy, more of us will take the time to be thankful for having a job at all.
God wants all people to eat and drink and be happy in their work, which are gifts from God. Eccl. 3:13 (NCV)
Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Ps 128:1-2 (NCV)
I love this picture. (And not just because it was back in the day when I could wear short-shorts!) It was taken on Lake Michigan. My sister and I had spent a weekend at a state park along the lake. We had a great weekend and this was taken in our last few minutes before going back to school and work.
What I remember about that weekend was the laughter. We sailed, hiked the sand dunes, played in the water, and laughed. A lot. But my very favorite memory of this trip was the time I spent alone with God on the beach. Have you ever felt so in tune with the Lord that you felt as if you were in His very presence?
God desires an intimacy with us that surpasses anything we know on earth. He knows us. Knows our very being. He created us, and desires a fellowship – a oneness and closeness that no human being can match. If you don’t know Him personally this may all sound a bit strange to you, but I felt so in tune with God that day on the beach I was playing tag with Him on the sand and in the waves!
There is a popular song out by the group Big Daddy Weave called Fields of Grace written by Darrell Patton Evans and published by Intergrity’s Hosanna Music. It’s all about running and playing in our Heavenly Father’s ‘fields of grace’. Part of the lyrics say, “There’s a place that I lose myself within. There’s a place that I find myself again.”
Have you found that place? That place where we dance with our Father God in His fields of grace…
I am 23 years old, and I am worried about my husband’s cholesterol.
Doesn’t sound right, does it? Not to me at least. Nope, this is something people should have to worry about later on in life. All those Honey Nut Cheerio commercials talking about lowering cholesterol are about middle-aged men! Not 25- year-olds.
We have to have yearly screenings at work to get health benefits, and you get an extra discount if your spouse gets one as well. So Eric had his cholesterol tested and it was sky high. Seeing as how his father and his grandfather are both on medication for their cholesterol, he realized that it was something he had to take care of now.
Which means, unfortunately for us, a lifestyle change. Ugh. Don’t you hate that? Changing your whole life?? I love to cook, I love to cook delicious, fattening meals and desserts. And, more importantly, I love eating all that stuff as well. And now, well, according to my husband, I’m not allowed to.
So here I am, all of 23 years old, reading every label on everything I pick up at the store to see which is better (not cheaper!), buying egg substitute (didn’t know you could actually “replace” eggs!) and wheat germ (are you really supposed to put anything in your body with the name “germ?”), scrounging around for recipes that actually taste good and are good for you (do they even exist?), and sending him to the doctor to make sure he isn’t actually going to keel over any second due to clogged up arteries (thanks to his wonderful wife who has been feeding him nothing but heart-killing food for the last two years!).
And, I’ve had to learn at thing or two about LDLs, HDLs, and triglycerides. Which are bad, which are good, how to lower the bad and raise the good. If you’ve ever seen a picture of cholesterol building up in an artery, it’s not a pretty sight. The more bad food you put into your body, the worse it gets. As amazing as all of that stuff tastes, it leaves behind something that puts your health at major risk. The idea that there is so much cholesterol in your body that it makes it difficult for your blood, essentially your very life, to run through you is a very scary idea.
Paul knew the same was true of our spiritual lives. When we decide to put in junk, it builds up so much it makes it hard for Christ to flow through us. It leaves behind very little room for Him. It may be appealing, and we may excuse it in our minds not to be harmful, but its effects can be devastating. That’s why he writes in Philippians 4:8 –
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”
“The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.” Isaiah 41:17
One of the world’s most dedicated missionaries, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, has said that “the purpose of life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.” We can never meet this goal without our obedience to the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples that their love for Him would be measured by their obedience.
Our world does not know what this means. Too many of us refuse to reach outside our everyday lives. We become little, meaningless, plastic people sitting inside a snow globe. We sit on our little snow globe benches and wait for someone to shake the globe and change the world.
People who are obedient to God are the people who will trust in Him, take a risk and do something unexpected that will have an impact for eternity.
My dad is Kevin Kate. He is an ordinary man in some ways. A few things make him different. My dad refuses to live in a snow globe. He wants to change Eternity for as many people as he can. He knows he has to trust God to help him do it.
In 2006 my dad started traveling to Haiti to drill water wells. He drilled wells here in the US for 20 years and knew the Holy Spirit was urging him to use his skills for God. He knew that he could not be obedient to the Holy Spirit without trusting God.
Haiti is an island not far from the Florida coast, but it seems like the edge of the world. It was beautiful once. But now the land has been deforested and stripped. No top soil remains for good farming. Almost 2 million Haitians do not get enough to eat every day. Haitians that live in remote villages are most vulnerable. Every year heavy tropical rains rush down the deforested mountains and wipe out the shacks where the people live. Their meager fields are destroyed. Bad roads keep them isolated. There is no fresh water readily available. At best it is miles away and because children walk all day to carry water for their families, they cannot go to school. Without the wells that are drilled by men like my dad, many children die every day from drinking filthy water.
It is dangerous to travel in Haiti. Many times it will take my dad hours to travel a few miles. The roads are sometimes lined with UN troops and other armed men. Sometimes they are lined with bandits. Supplies are very hard to get. Every time my dad leaves for the plundered island of Haiti he risks everything. He may never see our farm again. He may never see my mom again. He may never see me again but still he goes. He knows that 3,000 people a day will benefit from a clean water well. He knows children will be free to go to school. He knows that if he can leave a well behind he has increased the survival rate of those using it. But most importantly, my dad knows that if they are given a better chance for survival, they are given a better chance of meeting Jesus.
On his last trip in 2008, my dad got hit in the head with a drill pipe that flew from the drilling rig. He came home with two black eyes, a concussion, a brain bruise and four skull fractures. He needed surgery and it took him a long time to recover completely. My dad could have died. It was enough to stop anyone from going back.
But my dad knows God protected his life. Every day he remembers the Haitian people. He remembers the pastors that were praying for him as they tried to get him to a hospital. He remembers the Haitian lady that insisted on taking care of him there. She remembered he had drilled a well in her village. It didn’t matter that she didn’t speak his language.
My dad has planned more trips to Haiti. He listens to God and he waits. He waits for equipment to get through customs. He waits for the tropical storms to clear this year. But mostly he waits for God to say “Go.”
**Editors Note: Proceeds from the Circle of Friends Worship Team song “Pour Your Love Down” go to support Kevin Kate’s Water Well Project. Click on the ‘COF Worship Team’ link on the left to see the video or donate to the project. Read more about Kevin Kate on our ‘News’ link.
Shhhhh.can you hear it? Yup, that’s right, that’s the sound of silence. Peaceful silence. Ahhhhhhh.
School started for the majority of our family last week but, due to the different ages and schedules of the Beechy kids, the week was still part of the summer marathon for me.
Today everybody is in their place for this school year: Leah as a first year high school business teacher; Krista in her senior year of college; Emily is off to the high school again; Megan and Clay to elementary.
And I am home alone. And it is quiet.
I tell myself I could get use to this. But I enjoyed this summer way too much to really believe it. I had everybody at home, it was loud, it was busy, it was messy, it was exhausting, and it was good!
This is simply a different kind of good.
This, for me is a “re-energizing” kind of good. A bit of peace in the midst of the chaos that fall brings. After today I will think about school again, I will think about working thru the schedules of the three who play soccer, (all on different teams of course) I will think about the upcoming Circle of Friends events, I will think about doctor appointments and cleaning the house, and, oh yes, that job I’ve had as a bookkeeper for the past twenty years.but not now.
