SelahV Today

AMERICA NEEDS TO CHANGE

That's right.  America needs to change, AND SO DO I.

  I need to rethink the values I have.  I need to reevaluate my priorities.  I need to consider the complaints I have.  I need to look beyond my comfort zones and contemplate the comfort of others.  I need to appreciate the freedom I have and be grateful for the dedication of those who make my freedom possible.  I need to pray more and protest less.  I need to weep more for those who have less and give more to those in need.  I need to change.  Do you?

In America's election season, the focus is on the economy--ours.  The issues put before us by candidates and media are insurance, energy, terrorism, Iraq, Iran, and Aghanistan.  America wants more and better.  We want better education, better healthcare, more freedom, more rights, more leisure, more pleasure, more possessions.

I watched a video this week that speaks well to how America needs to change.

After watching this video I am more committed than ever to decrease  so Jesus might increase within me.  Jesus is all we need.  In Jesus is our only hope.  In Jesus is grace to cover all our sin.  In Jesus is redemption, purpose and eternal life.  I need to change.  Change comes with challenges, and challenges need courage.  And courage takes commitment.  And commitment takes sacrifice.  For these I pray.

Another powerful message I read was at Fire and Hammer.  He exhumed a chunk of historical record and gave voice to our nation's first president, George Washington.  Worth the read. 

Change.  "Change we can believe in."  Yes, but the only change we can believe in is through the sanctifying blood of Jesus Christ--not a politician's flamboyant, rehearsed, and memorized rhetoric.  It doesn't come through wordy commitments and empty political slogans.  Change for change's sake has no value.  Some things need to stay the same.  Values, righteousness, godliness and faith cannot be compromised in the process.  Ever.     selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]   

WHERE THIS BANNER WAVES, AND AMERICA PRAYS

On this day when fireworks explode across the land, I pray the Lord protects the soldier with His sovereign hand of grace and mercy.

As many raise the banner of America and it unfurls and waves, I pray we all remember the reason we take this time to honor the independence we declare.

  May we sense the pride, not just in who we are and where we live, but why God's blessed us with such abundance and privilege.  For with the privilege and abundance comes responsibility.  And we are our brother's keeper.

As countrymen and women travel to and fro to meet with family, friends and others in celebration, I pray the angels encamp around them as they go.  May their gatherings be filled with joy and may love abound in their activities.

As the skies light up the darkest veil, I pray the eyes of the lost will  open and and embrace the perfect freedom only Jesus Christ can give.  I pray we who are free in Christ will find a greater desire to fight the enemy of evil and stand against his desires to destroy our witness to the lost.  I pray we put on the whole armor of our Lord so we may not be vulnerable to the arrows of assault through pride and arrogance.  I pray we show mercy where there is none and forgive the unforgiveable.  I pray we release the bitterness of our souls and yield to the Spirit's control of our lives.  As flags are firmly planted in the ground, I pray our faith is grounded in the Gospel of our Lord and our allegiance to Him and He most highly we proclaim as our own.

God bless America and bring her to her knees.  God bless America and those who reside within her borders and abroad who claim her as their home.  God bless America through our generosity but more through the Christians who seek to provide Freedom to all who do not know Him.  selahV

[FOR THOUGHT-PROVOKING VIDEO ON PATRIOTISM TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND VIEW THIS.]

[FOR MORE on Freedom in Christ go HERE]

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

   

HERE I GO AGAIN

Bumper to bumper holiday traffic.  A roundtrip of 1,200 miles and approximately 13 to 14 hours.  Two babies and a teenager in the backseat for six of those hours.  Then we turn around and drive back through (most likely) worse holiday traffic because everyone is on the road to family celebrations and picnics.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US TODAY.

My grandson, Ryan, has already proven himself capable of navigating the highways of Dallas Fort Worth when he helped me drive back from Biloxi in April.  So again today, he will drive and I will give the directions.  And I am not so worried about him--but the other drivers who may start celebrating early, they concern me.  Well, that's it, friends.  Just lift us up in prayer as we take my granddaughter and her baby boys to Shreveport to pick up her car and travel on to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Bethany will be traveling on in the same kind of traffic.  Although, I believe hers will be worse because everyone will be heading for the beaches.  And she has the added factor of traveling with an infant and a toddler.  We can all use your prayers.  A few angels won't hurt either.  selahV

If ya wanna read something kind of cute, click on my KIDS' MATTERS blog for an interesting lesson on self-sufficiency.

       

TO BOAST OR NOT TO BOAST, WHAT A DILEMMA!

Sometimes folks believe it's expedient to proclaim their accomplishments.  It's necessary to commend themselves with their past success, their abilities, their knowledge.  Some even find it imperative that others know whom they know--with whom they rub elbows.  Ever once in a while they drop a name in an effort to elevate themselves in another's eyes.   Sometimes they denigrate others to defend their positions, or make themselves look better.  This is something we see all the more prevalent during election season as politicians tout their records and others try to expose the warts in their opponents.

I realize there are times when we are compelled to share what we know and how well we've performed.  There are times that our record is extremely germane to a situation in life.  Career moves are one of those times.  Often resumes are the rudder on which the ship will sail or sink. 

I've always squirmed a bit whenever I've written out a resume.  I know its purpose is to give a prospective employer as much information about my strengths and abilities as possible.  They want to know what positive attributes I can bring to their table should they consider me part of their team.  In a sea of resumes with a multitude of prospective employees for a particular position, we all want to stand out and make it to the next step in the process of getting the job.  And so we tell everything we can about ourselves in the most succinct way we are able and hope for the best.  However, in my heart I know my inadequacies, my weaknesses.  So I've always felt like I wasn't giving the entire picture of who I am when documenting my experience.

I remember an interview in which I really wanted the position for which I was applying.  My experience for the position was more than sufficient.  I'd made it through two levels of interviews, one including a series of personality tests designed to determine my compatibility with the rest of the team.  Even though I'd put my best foot forward, listed everything I could about myself that would give the greatest impression, the employer told me he had several applicants with similar capabilities.  I had some stiff competition.   He'd let me know after he'd called my references.  Then I waited.

"Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." Proverbs 27:2

When I was given the position a week later, the employer told me what pushed me a step ahead of the others in his mind.  My former employer, who was a Christian, was called and when he was asked what kind of employee I'd been for his company, he simply replied, "If she wants the job, you should give it to her.  You won't find anyone better."

I was extremely grateful that my past performance had followed me in such a positive way. I was fortunate that my former employer held my service for him in such high regard that he'd recommend me for any position I desired.  To him, it didn't matter what the job entailed, or how I measured up in a stack of resumes and sea of applicants.  In the final analysis, it didn't matter what I said about myself.  It didn't matter how well I tested on personality tests.  It didn't matter how much experience I had with the job.  It mattered what another man said.  selahV

[FOR ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE on what another man's words can do, visit my devotional at dailyIMPACT by SelahV.]

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] 

THE LORD'S SUPPER~~ANOTHER REASON WE SHOULDN'T TAKE IT LIGHTLY

When was the last time you partook of the Lord's Supper?  Have you ever passed the plate on to the next person without taking the bread and the cup?  I have.

There was a time in my life when I harbored bitterness and animosity towards a person.  They had been so cruel and mean to me that I was having a great deal of trouble forgiving them.  I thought I'd released it and surrendered the anger and bitterness, but God's Spirit reminded me of it when the pastor read this passage: 

"27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." 1 Cor 11:27-30

Hearing those words hit my heart like a lightning bolt.  I did not like being reminded of this person.  I wasn't the one who'd done something wrong, after all.  It was them.  I sat there struggling with that pain, justifying my feelings.  I reminded God of all they'd done.  He was having none of my excuses.  Eventually, I confessed my unforgiving spirit.  I asked the Lord to help me let it go, again.  I could not partake of the Lord's Supper that night.  In fact, there were two other times, I couldn't partake of it after that.  I still hadn't let go of the bitterness.  I hate to tell you what was necessary for me to be humbled.  It was not pretty.  The illness I endured, the brokenness of spirit, emotion and heartache was beyond anything I've ever experienced in my life.  I truly despaired unto death.

Verse thirty tells us that "many were weak and ill and some even died" because they drank "judgement unto themselves".  Perhaps they didn't examine themselves.  Perhaps they thought the sin in their lives wasn't all that bad and perhaps because they lived under grace, that they had nothing to fear.  Perhaps they were like me.  Perhaps they had some person with whom they'd had a grievance and it had never been settled in their hearts.  I don't know.  But one thing is certain.  This passage tells us we must "examine ourselves", and be very very sure of our relationship with God before we dare take of the bread and drink of the cup.  Besides "doing this in remembrance" of Jesus, I'd say this is another reason the Lord's Supper should not be entered into lightly.  What do you think?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] 

AFFIRMATIONS AND OTHER MEANINGFUL THINGS

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

I don't know about you, but I love it when someone compliments me.  And I receive such pleasure from affirming another.  It simply feels good.

Can you imagine going around criticizing everything you see another do?  Can you imagine finding nothing nice to say about a day in your life?  I can't.

There's so much negativity in the world.  I suppose that's why Paul encouraged us to dwell on that which is positive.  If there is anything pure and worthy of praise, think on that!  Oh, how I love that phrase.  It always reminds me to "count my blessings".  Sometimes I wonder how much better off the world would be if everyone purposed in their hearts and minds to compliment ten people a day.

When I was a youth leader, I use to give my youth 10 kernels of popcorn.  I told them they could throw them away when they saw someone do something kind and told that person they saw it.  I told them to make every effort to watch for times when goodness was visible.  When we had a youth event, they were to give the kernel to the other person each time they wanted to encourage them for something.  No words were necessary.  They just handed each other kernels of corn.  It was really wonderful to watch them encouraging each other and looking for the positive in one another.

As a child I lived with constant criticism.  I mean constant. I didn't like being me as a child.  The seeds sown in my life grew into thoughts of inferiority and unloveliness.  If not for the sovereign protection of my Lord, I probably would still be wallowing in self-loathing.  But God sent folks into my life (mostly through church, and Christian school-teachers) who planted seeds of affirmation that contradicted the criticism of my parents.

I think about that each time I see a child in the hallways or in a pew at church.  I think about that when I watch them walk down the street in front of my house, or down an aisle at Wal-Mart.  I think about that when I have a waitress I could disparage or a clerk I could chastize.  I even think about that when I get ready to hang up on a telemarketer.  Has anyone said anything kind to them today?  Will I?  Will you?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

LIVING AND WALKING IN THE FLESH...Or Simply "Struttin' Your Stuff"

How often do you find yourself "struttin' your stuff"?  So often I find myself walking along, minding my own business, then someone crosses my path and "POOF!"  Up go my feathers of pride.

I am not one to pick an argument or create a disturbance.  I do not find pleasure in conflict; I avoid it whenever it is non-constructive or begins to become destructive.  I figure my opinion is not all that important in the scheme of things.  I believe opinions are for the most part begging for arguments--why else would we find such delight in offering them when no one has asked for them?  Such was the case in a recent post I wrote.  It was an opinion piece.  I really wasn't thinking about the folks that might disagree with me should they venture into my stream.  I was simply stating things as I saw them.

I am not one to shrink from the obvious assaults on my faith.  However, I believe Christians (and I am one) must be ever vigilant when addressing issues in a public forum.  We must do more than give lip-service to our Lord.  We must remember to put on the whole armor of God when we address society's ills and culture's sin.  Otherwise, it is very easy to trip over stumbling blocks of pride and fall into sin ourselves.  I believe most divides and bitterness in relationships begin with a "haughty spirit". 

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

A relationship is easily maimed and destroyed because we believe ourselves to be correct in all our assumptions.  We sometimes sit behind our monitors and get tiffed at every word we read that sits in opposition to our views, i.e. "haughty spirit".  The stumbling block is the opposition to our view.  The "fall" comes when we forge ahead on our pathway to address the opposition and trip over our own pride.  (After all, they are wrong and we are right.)  The angel of light, Satan, loves to play with our pride.  He thoroughly and completely delights in pitting Christians against Christians.  He loves to use us as extentions of his legs.  He abhors it when we apologize or repent.

Remember when Satan played with the Son of God? He took Jesus to the pinnacles of the earth and tempted Him to look at all He could have if He would but bow down and worship him.  Satan was poised to give (ha!) Jesus everything on earth if He would simply give in to the temptation of pride.  Had Jesus bit into that proverbial fruit, we would all be toast, my friends.  Oh that we could be as He and not fall prey to our flesh and haughty spirits.  Oh that we would truly fear God and seek Him in all our ways.  That we would so deeply abide in Him that our flesh would die without a struggle!

"To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Proverbs 8:13

Know why we hate arrogant folks?  Know why we see conceit so clearly?  Because our eyes are filled with beams.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

Why do we succumb to pride?  Why do we find ourselves not worse or better than anyone else when we seek to pick specks from another's eyes?  God is sanctifying us.  We Christians should rejoice when another points out our pride and arrogance.  For when they do, if we welcome that reproof, we will be humbled.  And with that humility comes wisdom.

"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice."  Proverbs 13:10

Why do we quarrel (i.e. argue, debate, divide, and strive) with one another?  Pride.  No one enjoys being labeled arrogant, condescending, self-righteous, pride-filled and haughty.  No one likes to find themselves looking at the mirror of their soul when they see the faults in another.  But alas:  "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor." Proverbs 29:23

As case and point, let me add this little quote from a person who recently succumbed to the flesh:

"I guess it's a great way of finding out how prideful and condescending you really are, when someone else comes in who may not even be as prideful and condescending as I really am in my heart, but simply has the audacity to disagree with me. I don't tend to respond to such humbly. It would be far better for me and people like ______, both for me to only speak the truth in love, turn a deaf ear to insults, and a constant knee in prayer for myself and them. But unless the Holy Spirit zaps me, that's never going to happen perfectly unless I'm acting in a movie (and maybe not even then)."

To me, this person is a Christian yielding almost immediately to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within.  Can another with whom this person disagreed find the wisdom of falling prey to a haughty spirit and a pride-filled heart?  Possibly, but it may take a few more tumbles to bring about the humility.

[NOTE:  I wrote this post, because I, too, fell prey to the flesh and spoke with tongue-in-cheek witticism to BDW in my OBAMA post.   When I find another's words unbecoming and unseemly, it is my responsibility to respond as my friend, Byron, commented in my WOE UNTO YOU post:  "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."1 Peter 4:8.

Ah, charity!  Sweet charity.  Mercy.  Grace.  Gentleness.  Can you see how charity can cover the multitude of sins?  I do.  But that's another post.]  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WOE UNTO YOU WHO CAUSE ME TO STUMBLE!

I'm not the brightest lightbulb in the box.

  I've got a whole lot less education than most anyone who reads my blog.  I know less ecclesiology, theology, psychology, biology and methodology than the majority of people who happen by.  (Needless to say, I'm honored anyone would choose to read me.)  HOWEVER...

Since I became a Christian, the Good Lord in His all-knowing character saw fit to enlighten me on a few things from His inerrant, inspired Word.  One of the things was to "beware of the wolves dressed as sheep".  God warned me early on in my sanctification process that there would be those folks who'd come with every wind of doctrine and try to twist the Truth of God and lead me down a boulder-strewn path.  So I am ever-mindful of my Lord's prayer for me that I be protected from the evil one. (see John 17).  Nevertheless, occasionally I find myself persuaded to walk along after someone's pathway till I stumble across a boulder of ignorance and hypocrisy.  Oftimes I'm met with scrapes and cuts that sometimes heal easily--while others leave gaping wounds that take years to heal.  And even when they heal, they leave very noticeable scars as reminders to "beware of the wolves".  Whoa!

“Woe”.  I believe Jesus warns all Believers to be extremely careful with the knowledge, influence and power we have been given.  (All things are from God--you can't boast in your own success, you know.)  There are those who know a lot more than I, and those who know a lot more than you.  And sometimes, the Lord gets in one of His humorous moods and takes someone who knows less than you or me, and uses them to teach us a lesson or two.  He has great fun with those times, I think.  Sometimes God even sends in the kings of Babylon to enslave us, an Egyptian caravan to move us, a giant fish to reduce us to vomit to get us to follow after Him and His righteousness.

To prove His point, God is not all that concerned with our comfort.  Think about it.  Prisons of Rome.  Executioner's block.  Waterless wilderness.  Darkened caves.  Storm-tossed boats.  Hanging baskets.  Isles of Patmos.  No wonder Jesus warned us of the millstone; we can't all be Johns and Pauls.

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Me to stumble and sin..."?  WOE UNTO THEM!

As I wrote today in my daily devotional blog, "It's not the unbeliever that will be held accountable, for he is condemned already."  It's gonna be better that a millstone be tied around my neck and tossed in the deepest sea, than it will be if I lead a single child of God to stumble and consequently sin.  I don't know about you, but I take that admonition quite seriously.  How about you?

Has someone tripped you lately?  Have you fallen into sinful behavior because of another's penchant to sin? Have you been provoked to arrogance because another was arrogant?  Have you given into your own pride because another was condescending toward you?  Have you used another's sinful behavior to excuse your own?  Woe unto us who have.

Given the Lord's "Woe-of-Warning", what should Christians avoid doing?  What should we avoid saying?  What should we avoid supporting, endorsing, condoning and validating?  How relevant are my choices to the "little ones" who believe in and cleave to Jesus?  What difference does my example mean in the scheme of things?

Is what I tolerate today, the validation of tomorrow?

"Frankly, Scarlett," I do believe so. 

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

SHOULD BARAK OBAMA BECOME THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, I PREDICT:

His presidency will be accursed and plagued with nothing but trials and troubles that will make the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Father Phleger seem like a comic strip.

Obama professes to be a Christian.  He embraces the legitimacy of all religions in America.  He stands up for all and stands out for none.  His positions and pandering greatly concerns me.  Not for myself, mind you--because I am safe in the arms of God.  But Obama's continual drumbeat of inclusiveness to the alienation of conservative values is more than troublesome.  It's prophetic of the days of Noah.

I won't say Obama is a Muslim.  He says he is not.  But does he truly carry a Hindu IDOL in his pocket for LUCK as reported in THE HINDU, India's National online Newspaper?  Someone ask him, please.

When Kim Jong Il, the tyrant of North Korea, endorsed him, my objections to Obama were affirmed.  When the Hindu Democrats find him worth honoring with the Hanuman idol of their religion, my distrust for Obama simply increased.  I did not want him as my president before I read the recent article linked HERE.   And should Obama receive with honor the idol that has been prayed over into his office before August 24th, I will want him even less than before.

I quote in short from the India National Online Newpaper:

"All-India Congress Committee member Brij Mohan Bhama has organised a 11-day religious ceremony at Karol Bagh here for his success in the U.S. elections.

The idea of sending an idol of Hanuman dawned on him after friends in the United States mentioned a “prominent American politician who carried a miniature Hanuman idol in his pocket for luck,” Mr. Bhama said speaking on the first day of the ceremony on Tuesday."

Why do I predict an accursed presidency should Obama make his way into the White House?  Because Obama should not be hauling around idols in his pocket that honor any god other than the God of Whom he professes as his own.  The only True God, El Elyon.  And he must not take into his house or office or receive possession of this Hindu idol.  Why?  Because GOD says so:

"You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.  Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it.  You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing."  Deuteronomy 7:25,26.

Barak likes to slip scripture into a political speech to punctuate his points.  Maybe someone needs to slip this one into his pocket before his acceptance speech of the Hanuman idol?  And if that doesn't cause his idol to burn a hole in his pants pocket, then maybe this one will:

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me!" Exodus 20:3 selahV

For those who think America needs to change, take a moment and view this video.

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008]

DWARFED BY WEEDS OF LIFE

What's the difference between a beautiful prize winning rose and a mutant dwarf of its kind?  Care.  Nurturing.  Protection.  Sustaining life-giving water.  And pruning.  Such is the case between my roses last year and my roses this year from the very same bush.

All last summer, my coral rose bush and peace rose bush bloomed profusely.  Even this spring the bushes were abundant with blossoms.  Then it happened.  Morning glories climbed up the stems and choked them.  I'm talking covered in twisting vines.  The bermuda grass that I had chopped out and held at bay all summer last year, jumped the cedar divide and grew beneath it and surrounded the bushes.  Dandelions, broadleaf grass, anonymous weeds and dead leaves clustered in the midst of the once immaculately tended bed.  Lack of rain and my neglect to water, left my bushes thirsting in a drought of the vinedresser's tending.  Failure to prune off the old, and make way for the new left dried blossoms and dried stems to sucker what goodness the ground offered to keep the bushes thriving.  The result was a dwarfed version of last year's roses.  They look like minature tea-roses.  Each bud was the size of a Junebug.  In fact some are smaller.

What did this tell me?

As a Christian, if I do not weed out the broadleaf grass that crowds out my time spent with Jesus and God's Word, I will end up producing smaller and smaller roses for His glory.  If I do not yield to God's chastening and pruning of yesterday's accomplishments and successes, I will succumb to pride and arrogance and find myself following my own futile way instead of the Lord's.  If I allow the dandelions of life to take root and grow and reproduce more of the same, I will forever be entangled in their roots that rob me of sustenance and life-giving water for my soul and mind.  If I do not tend to the soil in which I grow and keep it tilled, fertilized and watered with prayer and communion with Jesus, I will find myself slowly drying up, and eventually producing nothing.  Can a wild rose bloom without the touch of the Master's hand?  Can a tame one blossom without His blessing?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WHEN DOING NOTHING IS REALLY SOMETHING

  The Bible says every Christian is given a gift to use for the glory of God.  Do you know what yours is?

We each have a gift bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit--He gives as He sees fit to give, it's up to Him.  From administration to teaching, service to exhortation, generosity to mercy, prophecy.  Sometimes I've studied these gifts and gotten so confused that I thought I had them all. Other times I've wondered what in the world my gift was.  I've questioned why I've been so blessed or cursed at times because I was able to do so many things.  Yet in all I've been able to do, I feel sometimes I've accomplished so little with the gifts I've been given.

Ever feel like that?

Jesus describes the kingdom of God with a parable of the talents:  A Master handed out talents to his servants; some invested theirs wisely and produced dandy profits.  However one fella buried his--he did nothing with it.  And when the master returned, he had nothing to show for what he'd been given.

Being a minister's wife, I've found myself organizing large events with the administrative gift, teaching classes with the teaching gift, serving with the service gift and sharing Jesus with the evangelist gift.  Again and again, I've seen these gifts utilized in me, yet could not for the life of me figure out how I could be doing what I was doing.  I believe that is because it was the Spirit of God doing it through me--not me of myself.  Why?

Because I would rather eat raw worms than organize events.  I'd rather commend those who've organized than strategize and chart.  I'd rather cheerlead than perform.  I'd rather give ideas than execute ideas.  I'd rather praise others than be praised (even though I bask in the glory of a compliment).  So to me, I think I've discovered the main gift in my life. 

Some folks have told me I have a gift of writing (haven't found that one in scripture).  A lot of people can write and they write nonsense.  In fact, they write intelligent-sounding nonsense.  So I don't believe that writing is necessarily a gift--but a vessel for the gift.  I've used my writing abilities to send notes to people, write skits for youth-led services, puppet shows for children's worship, publish magazine articles and even a newspaper.  But somehow, in my heart, I've always felt like it wasn't enough.  It's as if I'm waiting for some result that never appears--as if I've buried the gift within me somewhere.

Perhaps that is the mystery in the gift.  We will not always see the results of our gifts in our lifetime.  That is why it is so important to not wait till a more convenient time to use them.  Otherwise, we might end up like the servant who buried his talent.  He did nothing with it, and the Master was not at all happy to discover he had done nothing.  To the master, doing nothing was really something.  Something most displeasing of all.  selahV

"Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days." Ecclesiastes 11:1.

OH...DON'T FORGET to visit dailyIMPACT by selahV for the devotional thought I write each day.

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF selahV on 60th Birthday

According to my ten-year-old granddaughter and my birth certificate, I am now officially 60 years old.  That affords me more gray hair, a free pass to the Waterpark here in Oklahoma, and a bevy of other senior benefits throughout America.

I'm thinking seriously about letting all my gray hair come of age.  No more auburn-brown dye jobs.  That will save me approximately 159.80 a year, plus or minus a few bucks.

I figured out why they give you a free pass to the waterpark.  It's so you'll buy tickets for all those grandchildren you have when they come visiting.  Not much savings on the Lazy-River when you're trailed by 4 little ducks you've paid 9.95 a piece to have each enter the stream with you.

Another thing.  I feel sixty.  Woke up with laryngitis and my daughter's leftover summer-cold.  This too shall pass.

Same ten-year-old granddaughter told me I didn't look 60.  She said I looked 54.  What does 60 and 54 look like anyway?

I like being 60.  I like what I know and understand today that I didn't understand when I was twenty, thirty, forty and fifty.  So many things don't matter today that seemed so necessary then.  Tangibles mean less and intangibles mean more.  Less demands my allegiance today.  There's less to prioritize, less to worry about, less to take me away from the presence of the God.  There's more time to consider eternity, more reason to be patient, a greater desire to rest in His provision and sufficiency.  Yeah, I really like getting older.  The older I get the closer I get to heaven.  And that is definitely a plus for old age contemplations.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]   

   

SOMETIMES WE DON'T DO IT, Confession of a Toddler

It was naptime.  Three-year-old HayJae stared out the expansive livingroom windows that overlooked a sea of grass waving in the wind. "This is my home," she reasoned.  I agreed.  Lying in my lap, she looked up at me with her pensive brown eyes and said, "God is bigger than the whole wide world."  I wondered, where is this child going with this line of thought?

"He is?"

"Yes, He can't fit in our house."

"Well, where does he live?"

"I think in a castle."

"I see.  Does anyone live with Him?"

"I don't know.  Maybe the stars."

"Well, Jesus lives with Him."

A scowl of incredibility filled her face and she looked me in the eyes.  She pulled her tiny hands over her chest and said with all the adamant kindness she could muster, "No, Grama, He doesn't.  Jesus lives in our hearts."

"Well, yes, but He also sits on a big throne next to God in Heaven."  HayJae closed her eyes and thought a minute. Her face filled with a look of pure exasperation with me.  When she finally opened her eyes, she spoke in short careful sentences.   

"But, Jesus lives with us, too.  He lives in our hearts." She patted her chest.  "And He tells us what to do.  And sometimes we don't do it."   

What wisdom from a child.  Sometimes we are just as stubborn, tempermental and selfish as a toddler.  Sometimes we insist on our way without a care for the feelings of our sisters and brothers.  Sometimes we say things that should be controlled.  Sometimes we are impatient and irritated.  Sometimes we act before we think.  We forget that Jesus is in our hearts and live like He isn't.  Sometimes He tells us what to do and we just don't do it.

Is Jesus telling you to do something today?  Will you do it?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]      

PRAIRIE DOGS, DUCKS, TODDLERS AND OTHER UNTOUCHABLES

It began at the mall.  I took 3-year-old HayJae for a date-day.  First, she rode on the mechanical pony.  Then she played in the play arena with other children.  They chased each other, crawled through hollow drums and climbed on giant blocks.  Complete strangers to one another--innocent, trusting fun. (The stories I could tell from that experience, but I press on.)

  We were suppose to get HayJae's hair cut at the nearby Master-Cuts shop.

"I don't want to," HayJae whispered with eyes peeking through her bangs.  I tried to put her in the chair.  Her tiny arms clung to my neck with the hold of a boa constrictor.  Each time the beautician spoke to her, she burrowed her head deep beneath my chin.  Moments before she marched right into that shop as if she'd had her hair cut every day, now she wanted to be invisible. When she balked, I asked why.  "I'm afraid.  I want you to cut it."  Obviously, she trusted me and not the beautician.

Later we went to the Prairie Dog park (as it's come to be known).  We watched as prairie dogs chased each other in and out of holes.  She wanted to pet one, but each time she got close to one, it scampered off or down a hole.  "Prairie dogs bite you," she related.

"Yes, they do."

"Why did the prairie dog bite my brother?"

"Because he didn't want Ryan to touch him."

"Why?"

"Because he was afraid."  She still wanted to pet the prairie dogs, but didn't want to get bitten.  We went to feed the ducks and geese popcorn.  HayJae stood there at the pond's edge, tossing popcorn against the wind.  It ended up at her feet most of the time.  The ducks came close, the geese timidly stuck their necks out and snapped up the puffs of corn, then floated away.

"I wanna pet him," HayJae said as she reached her hand forward toward the white duck.  He quickly skimmed the water out of reach.  "Grama, he won't let me pet him.  Why?"

"He's afraid."

"Why?  I'll be nice to him."

"I know, but he doesn't know that.  He doesn't know you."

"But I wanna pet him.  I'll give him some more popcorn," she reasoned.  But the duck wouldn't get any closer.  It hugged the water and quickly scooted away with HayJae's attempts to touch him.  "He won't let me."

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Remember when you didn't want to have your hair cut today?  You said you were afraid.  You didn't know the lady who was going to cut your hair.  She wouldn't have hurt you either, but you were afraid because you didn't know her.  That's why the duck doesn't want you to pet him.  He doesn't know you."

"But I won't hurt him, Grama; I love him."

Untouchables.  Many people we cross paths with each and every day are unapproachable.  We often wonder why.  Many times it is because they do not know us.  Just as prairie dogs and ducks do not want to be touched and don't know HayJae would love them, some folks do not know God wants to love them.  Perhaps some are afraid because they've been hurt before.  They do not trust us to love them because others have hurt them.  Unlike the possibility of reaching out and touching the prairie dogs and ducks, we can, over time, develop trust with most folks who've been hurt.  Patience is the key.  Continual kindness and love.  For love never fails.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]    

SOUNDS OF WARNING AND PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT~~~When You Don't See It Coming

I was lying in my hammock last week on one of those wonderfully hot windy Oklahoma days.  My husband is adamant that I need more vitamin D.  So of late, I have tried to go out and simply lay in the embrace of my hammock, beneath the sheltering branches of my pecan trees and soak in the rays of diffused Vitamin D.

As I lay there watching the sway of the mighty limbs above me, I heard an intermittent "pop", "pop".  I stared at the spot where just last fall a horrible windy storm broke off the tops of my pecan trees and left them precariously dangling from the main trunk.  Some of these limbs had already fallen, but they weren't much bigger than a rosebush trellis, so I lay there looking at the shredded limb and wondered how long it could hang onto the tree.  I wondered how one could get up there to trim it.  As I lay there pondering, I realized that should that limb decide at that very moment to break loose, by the very angle in which it dangled, it would drop directly on my head.

I got up.  I prayed, "Lord, help me find a way to get that thing down safely."

Later I told my hubby about the creaking and popping that I took as a warning.  I wondered if there was any way he could get up there and trim it.  I told him how I felt about that gigantic 30-foot limb that hung by, what appeared to me, a few grains of wood.  Hubby went out and looked at the limbs and said, "Nah.  They don't look like they'll fall.  And even if they did, they won't fall there."  I usually trust my husband's opinion completely with things.  Just the submissive lady I am, I guess.  But for some reason, I didn't have much faith in his evaluation.  I replied:

"Well, I don't think I'm going to lie in that hammock till all these windy days are over in Oklahoma."  (If you know anything about Oklahoma, that meant on most days I wouldn't be venturing out to collect much Vitamin D.)  Well, hubby scoffed and reaffirmed his evaluation.

A new day.  The following day I went out to water Rowdy.  Lo, and behold, look what lay in the middle of my hammock:

Can you believe it?  God, in His omniscience, forewarned me.  Now, odds are I could have missed the fateful moment when the limb came crashing down.  But then who knows?  Nevertheless, that is not the point I wanted to make with this post.  The real point is that from my husband's perspective, standing there looking up into the trees, he could not see what I saw from my vantage point.  I was lying in the hammock.  I could see the angles.  I could even see the fragmented limbs.  Sometimes we make judgements and finalize decisions based on a limited view of things.  Such was the assessment made by my husband.

When I saw the size of that limb, I shivered at the thought I'd had the day before.  It was 9 inches in diameter.  The force that dropping 20 feet above me from that tree could very easily have killed me had I been lying there.  It further sent chills down my spine when I considered how my darling grandchildren loved to lie in it and stare at the sky and listen for the Cardinals whistle.  Is God not great?  I had no way of getting that limb down safely unless I found a tree-trimmer.  Hubby wasn't all that worried about it.  But God honored my desire and met my need before I or my grandchildren could be harmed.  He brought that thing down with a whisper of His breath.    

There are many things we are warned about in the Word of God.  He even gives us His Holy Spirit to punctuate His cautions.  God has an angle on life that we often do not, cannot, or will not see.  He has provided accounts of saints, and the wisdom of Solomon to show us the way.  He wants to keep limbs of circumstance and branches of consequences from crashing down upon us.  He seeks to protect us and give us the wisdom to know when to get out of harm's way.  His guidance is available to all.  It is infallible.  Oh that we would heed His alarms and alerts even when we cannot see what lies ahead in the hammocks of our lives.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]         

 

ARE YOUR ARMS TIRED FROM HOLDING ALL THOSE BANNERS?

All across America we see the banners raised.

Each and every day another meets our gaze.

 

We give, we speak, we battle on

with hearts so tried and true;

We reason, "It's a noble cause, we're guided by God, too!"

Today, I have a question that lingers in my mind,

"Where on the banner that I raise will Jesus' Name you find?" selahV

This poem I just wrote was inspired by a fellow blogger's post today.  I implore you to go read it in its entirety.  It does make me wonder if God is not pouring out His Spirit on women to prophesy.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Bigvai Volcy said, "Trust nobody and no one will ever betray you."

Can you imagine living your life like that?  Never trusting a single soul?  For fear of being betrayed?  Let down?

Frank Crane said, "You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough."

I wonder today, why is it we cannot trust people?  So often I've found that folks do not take what a person says and believe it to be what they really mean.  There was a time in history when a man's word was his contract.  A handshake was a valid agreement one could take to the bank.

Perhaps our world has become so untrustworthy is why we are suspicious of others.  Perhaps it is because we've been burned before. We don't trust the government because of corruption.  We don't trust law enforcement because of a few rogue cops.  We don't trust companies because of embezzlement in Enron.  We don't trust politicians because they promise what they cannot deliver.  The list is actually endless.  There are people we entrust our lives to every day.  Pharmacists.  Doctors.  Bankers.  Other drivers.  We are actually forced to trust others or we'll live in perpetual fear. 

Cardinal de Retz gives another explanation for distrust: "A man who doesn't trust himself can never truly trust anyone else."  Perhaps that is why we cannot trust others.  We cannot trust ourselves.  We know our weaknesses.  We know how vulnerable we are.  We know what we are prone to do and how we are prone to think.  And so when we meet someone, we put them in the same pod in which we live and grow.  And we base our trust in them on the trust we know is true in ourselves.  Another reason to become men and women of integrity, honesty and transparency.  Woe is me.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]  Don't forget to visit dailyIMPACT by SelahV for my devotional thought for today. 

WHEN PIGS WALLOW

When I was a little girl we raised hogs.  Daddy use to take me with him to feed them slop.  (Truly, that is what it was.)  When Daddy poured that slop into their trough, they'd all come running.  They'd be pushing and shoving to get at that gruel and had no manners whatsoever.

I use to love to stand on the fence and watch them wallow in the mud.  They were funny--especially when they had little piglets.  They'd root with their noses, and just wiggle around and turn over on their backs and flip around just like I would do when I went swimming in the Potomac River.  Daddy would warn, "Don't get too close, baby.  Those hogs will hurt you if you fall in."

I thought it must have been quite risky to fall into the pigpen.  Sometimes when Daddy was at work, I'd ask Momma if I could go watch the pigs and she wouldn't let me.  "Those hogs will kill you if you fall in."  When I grew older, I realized they knew full well, that had I been left to my own desires, I'd climb over that fence and tried to pick up one of those little piglets.  While those piglets were like little puppies, those hogs weighed a ton and the mommas can be quite protective.  But mostly, Momma didn't want me crawling into that pen and coming back all covered in stinking mud.

In the grand scheme of life, I've found my childhood experience a valuable lesson.  It's kinda like that scripture, "Don't cast your pearls before swine."  What happens when you toss pearls in a pigpen?  They get covered in slime, mud and slop.  So my philosphy is let the pigs wallow.  Some folks may watch the pigs wallow, and find it amusing and entertaining.  Some may not stay too long for the stench on the downdrift of a breeze.  Some may even hop in and try to grab someone who's carelessly fallen in or unwittingly jumped in to play with a piglet.  However, most people don't climb into pigpens.  They may stand on the fence.  They just don't want to join pigs in their mudslinging activity.   And who could blame them?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]   HEY!  Don't forget to visit dailyIMPACT by SelahV for my devotional thought today.

LIFE BEYOND THE MONITOR

I spend a lot of time behind this screen.  How about you?  I'm glad you spend time behind it because if you didn't you wouldn't be reading this.  And a great portion of what I feel God calling me to do is to put stuff in front of you.  However...

Life is really going on in a big way beyond this monitor.  My grandchildren are in Vacation Bible School and they are so excited about all they are doing.  Teachers are teaching Bible stories.  Song leaders are teaching songs about Jesus.  Love is being doled out in large doses and kool-aid is being consumed by the gallons.

I went to a church softball game last night and listened as the folks talked in the stands.  Life.  Sharing ideas, experiences and happiness.  My pastor was tossing a softball to his little year-and-a-half old grandson who had a huge mitt and was actually catching it.  It was so sweet a memory to store in my mind.

I had been worried about a Louisiana pastor friend of mine who hadn't been responding to emails.  I try to keep in touch with several and pray for them.  He finally made it back to his monitor screen and told me he'd had a HUGE week last week.  "Daughter graduated, family in, niece's and nephew's had ball games and they wanted Uncle Luke to be there. Memorial day, family in, wedding anniversary, spent day with a personal project for my wife yesterday, church work to the max and YARD WORK.  My extra time, the little I had, was spent in the yard.  We are so dry down here and I'm having to work overtime on the roses."

Life.  Beyond the monitor.  I need to work overtime on my roses, too.

My son's favorite saying (among many) was, "Momma, take time to smell the roses."  I think about that now.  I've got a stuffy nose.  And perhaps I've had a stuffy life of late.  I need to smell the roses.

I'm having lunch with a fellow pastor's wife today.  Going to meet her husband for the first time.  I'll probably pick up my granddaughter on the way home and bring her over to play this evening.  We need to swing in my hammock.  And my daughter could use the break.  I need to make a special dinner for my hubby because he is special.  I'm planning lunch with another friend for tomorrow...gotta catch up on our friendship.  I must get some greeting cards to send to some folks who need encouragement.  And I need to visit a neighbor.

Yeah...life beyond the monitor.  I could get use to this.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

 

STRUGGLES, DECISIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

I've struggled with a lot of decisions the past few months.  One major decision was with my dog, Rowdy.  Should I amputate his leg or not?  Will he be happy with only three legs?  Will he be physically able with only three?  Well, he's doing okay.  It's sad to look at that patch where a leg once grew, but it's amazing to watch how fast that guy can get from one end of the yard to the other.  The jury's still out on how happy he is, but I'm sure it is what my son would have done if he'd lived and been faced with the situation.  So I take comfort in that.

I've been thinking more and more about my writing.  Exactly what is God doing with it?  Am I utilizing my time in the best way?  I have the talents He has entrusted to me.  I have gifts He uses that are most effective though my writing.  And I have a behind-the-scenes email prayer ministry that my writing allows me.  I love what I do.  At times I love it so much, I feel guilty.  But to feel guilty about something God has given me is ridiculous!!  So I've decided to stop feeling guilty about loving to write.

I recently decided to stop writing with one situation I had.  It really made no sense as far as utilizing my writing abilities because the more places I can have my writing viewed, the better off I am personally in getting read.  But, sometimes, and rightly so, I make decisions that really have nothing to do with me--but everything to do with what God wants me to do with Him.  He has a reason for me to move in this direction.  You know me (or if you don't), I think God is up to something with my writing.

Some folks want to know why--they want the scoop on me, so to speak.  Others are just concerned about me.  Still others are just curious.  And then there are others who had no idea I was writing any other place than here at SelahV Today.  In fact some folks didn't even know I have several blogs in my sidebar that are mine.  I have some reasons that led me to make the decision to leave my other writing situation.  But the "why" is in God's hands.  I am truly not certain why I did what I did.  I'm a firm believer in the Sovereignty of God.  I love Corrie ten Boom's quote:

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future, that only He can see."

I've loved that quote for years.  I have lived seeing the truth in Corrie's wisdom when I reflect upon my life.  I don't devalue one single soul who has crossed my path.  I believe each and every person is significant to the plan and purpose of my life.  I don't know why and don't know how I will affect them.  But I know how many have affected me.  And a part of who I am is because of their presence in my life.  You are a part of my reason for being here today.  You.  You who read these words.  I truly believe that.  And I am grateful for you.  I am priviledged to have you stop by and read me regularly or occasionally.  I'm equally priviledged and honored if you take the time to comment.  But even if you don't, know that I think you are significant in God's plan and purpose. 

I may struggle with a decision.  So might you.  But our opportunities are endless when we place our struggles in God's hands and allow Him total control over the consequences.  We can truly change the world.  My desire is for the better.  selahV

[coyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]