SelahV Today by hariette petersen

LAST ONE IN...

IS GONNA GET WET!

FIRST THINGS FIRST!  I shall not be as attentive to this blog in the next couple of days.  My grandchildren are coming to visit!  We're having a party for my eldest granddaughter (in her twenties).  The one from Alaska who blessed me with my first great-grandson last March?  Yeah...her.  She's in for a week and we're gonna celebrate...

...but not just her birthday.  She's expecting again!

Hip, Hip, HOORAY!  Another greatgrandchild is on the way!

As for my parting words on this blog-- possibly for the rest of the day--don't forget that tomorrow is launch day at sbcIMPACT and dailyIMPACT.  What is cooking on your grill may not be as interesting as the conversations being served up over there.  We shall see.  You be the judge!

NOW....everyone ready to party?  selahV 

BEST PART OF TODAY

It won't be long, now.  He'll be up and at 'em.  I've made the coffee.  And then the best part of today occurs.

My husband gets up.  (So grateful he can.)  Then we go out on the front porch and have our devotional time.  It's such a blessing to sit and read the Word together, discuss it and then pray for the needs of our loved ones, our church, our community and world.

It's not a big planned out undertaking to have a time of devotional conversation with a spouse.  (I use to think it was.)  We use our Sunday School quarterly as a jumping off place.  (A new thing we're doing.)  In the front of each lesson is a little daily guide to acquaint us with the lesson for the following Sunday.  (And before you vanilla-bland folk, who think the lessons are watered down, get your knickers in a knot, hear me out.)  We do what the quarterly writer suggests for the day.  Then we sit and discuss it.  From there our conversation leads to things we see in our world that need our prayer or attention.  Never a time passes that we aren't led to another part of God's Word where He blesses us with more insight, encouragement or knowledge.  We've put Him in charge of our time together, you see.  And He shows up to fellowship with us.

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Jesus, Matthew 18:20

We listen to one another.  We share with one another.  We pray with one another.  We laugh with one another.  Yesterday we cried a bit.  But the best part about today is that we are together, united in purpose, seeking the Lord.  We are preparing for Sunday!  Our Lord's Day.  We are looking forward to what He will do with us and in us--then and today.  The best part of today--that's it.  selahV

[copyrighted, Hariette Petersen, 2007]

WOMEN! WE'RE SO PREDICTABLE

  OR ARE WE?  Is that a fair statement?  Woman are predictable?

My husband told me the reason he loves me so much is because I'm unpredictable.  Go figure.  But truly, although men can't figure us out, they think they can lump us in a bunch and say we act the way we act and think the way we think because, well--we're women!  Are we being profiled?

As I've already posted, I will be writing a devotional over at sbcImpact on a daily basis under the subtitle Daily Impact and launched on September 1st.  I already posted a little intro to see what interest might be sparked by the plan running around in my heart and mind as to the format, the voice and slant of my new Baby.

I say Baby, because it is brand new.  It shall have--to my understanding--no other participants contributing to the posts.  Just me.  So what's up?

A couple of commenters, and I admit they are a bit biased toward me, have noticed what they view to be a hand on a Bible that, in their opinion, looks like a man's.  Since I wasnt' there to take the photo and to my knowledge no one else was in the mix of conversation, I'd have to agree that the hand does look more like a young man's hand than a 59 year-old woman's.  That said, I have to laugh.

My very first blog about what I hope to create with the site is greeted with a discussion thread dividing over gender issues.  It's hilarious!  I am also, to date, the only female on the collaborative blog and I think that is daringly fun.  I rather like being a mother hen and for most of the contributors--if not all--I am their elder.  RESPECT.  I might finally get some.  I may even let the grey grow out in my hair.  No more Clairol #44 for me!  Who knows?

Well, my dear readers--and you know how nice I am to you over here--would you take a minute and drop by Daily Impact and cast your vote on the issue.  Men are welcome--in fact, I encourage you to help me in this search for truth and journalistic integrity.  selahV

FUTURE IMPACT

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

If I am to believe Corrie, one of the most imfamous Holocaust survivors, I am to see the fact that every person, every experience in any given day, is allowed in my life to prepare a future that only God sees.

Scripture tells us that God has plans for our lives.  And for those who seek Him, He is faithful to show Himself to them.  For those who trust in Him, He is faithful to show Himself trustworthy.  For those who rely upon Him, He is faithful to show Himself reliable.  For those who adhere to Him, He is faithful to sustain and keep in His grace.  The list is endless for what God is to the individual who loves the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

In my lifetime of 59 years (yeah, I'm telling), God has brought so many people into my life that have been there to prepare me for my future service to Him.  He had a purpose for me when my biological mother tried to abort me.  He had a purpose for me when she later abandoned me at age three.  He had a purpose for me when I was left to the cruelty of a step-mother to raise me while my father involved himself in multiple community services and employment.  He had a purpose for me when I was molested by trusted relatives.  He had a purpose for me when my husband of over 42 years and I met when I was just fifteen years old.  He had a purpose for me when He took me through each and every day of my life.  And though I did not know the purpose for each circumstance and experience I had at the time I walked through it, God did.

God did; yes, he did.  And He does today.  I may balk at the impact of various things in my life.  I may close my ears to His voice.  I may shut the doors of His opportunities in His face.  But, nevertheless, He is everpresent, guiding, directing and placing people in my life to lead me to fulfill His purpose and plan for my life.  I am significant.  He has made me to be.  Not for myself, but for Himself.

YOU are significant.  Not for yourself, but for Him.  He has led you to this little post of mine because He has a reason.  I don't know what it is.  And you may not know either.  But we have met today and today has left an impact for a future that only He can see.  Perhaps you have an idea of why.  Perhaps you don't.  It doesn't matter.  God knows and He will use it to glorify Himself in whatever way He chooses.

I do not really know why Geoff Baggett chose me to be a part of his collaborative blog on Southern Baptist Life and ministry.  But he did.  I do know that whatever is written in that blog is part of God's plan.  Though we (you, I and other contributors) may not see eye to eye on some subjects, the plan and purpose is really not our doing.  For God's thoughts are not ours.  His ways are not ours.  He has a higher purpose and plan for every single day we are blessed to breathe.

Corrie ten Boom believed that.  She was released from the German death-camp due to what some have said was a clerical error.  Yes.  She walked right out of that camp.  Just like Peter walked out of prison when a group of followers were praying for him.  And just as Peter went on to spread the gospel and write books to guide us today, Corrie went on to speak, write and spread the gospel as God had purposed for her to do.  The very circumstances and people she encountered which we read about today have blessed others, inspired others and challenged others.  Oh, that I could be as used!   

I am not certain of my future with sbc IMPACT.  I am not certain of the next moment in my life.  I am only certain of one very important thing.  God is certain to be God and He will bring about His plan and purpose for me.  The great part is when He gives me a peek into how He has used me and what He will do with my obedience to His voice behind my right ear.  Tell me.

How did God impact your life today?  I will tell you about how He did me at Daily Impact.  Come see me there as we launch on September 1st.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

HIGHER, MUCH HIGHER

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:8-9.

It was 1981.  I was determined to be a writer.  I'd put it on the back burner of my mind for over 15 years.  So I went to the county library and checked out every book on writing that they allowed.  Every book I read told me it was not going to happen.  I needed a degree.  My high school diploma didn't cut it.  I needed to read the classics. What in the world were they?  I needed some kind of credentials.  How do you get a resume of credentials unless someone publishes what you have to say?  Letters to the editors won't work.

All the professional advice from those books told me to expect hundreds of rejections.  "Don't even think you'll be published for two or three years."  Okay.  I read the advice and as customary to my personality, I said to myself, "they don't know the God I have.  If He wants me published, I'll get published."  So I began writing and submitting to magazines.

Write what you know about.  Don't try to write about what others know.  Write for free just to get published. But every day, day in and day out, write.

That was no problem, I'd been keeping diaries and journals for years.  When I became a Christian, I wrote puppet stories for children's worship on Sunday mornings.  I wrote skits for youth to perform.  Yet, any hopes of real writing was shelved due to ministry as a teacher, youth leader, deacon's wife, and finally a minister's wife--did I mention I had children? 

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I cried out to God.  Why Lord?  Why can't I ever have time to write?  Why can't I go to school for journalism or creative writing?  Why are our finances so limited that I can't even afford typing paper and postage? (pre-computer days, can you believe it?)  My mind swirled with ways I could accomplish my ambitions while serving the Lord, too.  My mind was muddled with impossibilities.  Why?

God's thoughts were not my thoughts and my thoughts were not His.  He had a plan for me and at that time in my life, writing was not priority.  However.

After multiple rejection slips, my first story, "Nothing Less Than a Miracle", was accepted by DECISION Magazine.  They changed the title to "Second Miracle" but I didn't care.  It was accepted and going to be published.  How great was that?  Two months before, it had been rejected by our Southern Baptist publication, Homelife.  I needed to submit to places that wanted the type of material I wrote.  Slant.  That's what they called it.  I rewrote it. 

God's ways were indeed higher than my ways.  And God's thoughts were far higher than my thoughts.  Instead of publishing in a magazine with thousands of readers, the Lord put my story in a magazine with over two million readers.  A year or so later Billy Graham's magazine contacted me asking permission to publish it in Spanish.  I was thrilled.  God was going to use my story to reach people in South America.  "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord."

Never in my wildest dreams did I fathom the technology possibilities that we have today.  No publisher needed.  No editor but myself.  A readership possibility of gazillions.  I have no idea what the possibilites are for my writing.  But God does.

Long ago, I gave up thinking I could make a living from it.  Long ago I relinquished any preconceived ambitions for a Pulitzer.  But with God as my constant guide, I don't think about what I want as much as I think about what He wants.  Some days I get discouraged.  But never does God let me forget that I am to write.  And when I lose heart, I have friends God sends in my life who lift me up as the Israelites held up the arms of Moses when he wearied.  Then God breaks forth and shows me His plan.  What are you struggling with today?  Have your thoughts gotten muddled?  Are your plans confounded?  When you let go and let God, He will direct.  His ways are not yours.  No, they are much higher.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]    

POINT OF IMPACT

IMPACT

The very word conjures up a myriad of pictures in my mind.  My grandson's head pummeling the earth and breaking his neck and back.  The school bus that almost killed my son when he was but five-years-old.  My brother's car hitting head-on with another on a dusk-darkened highway that claimed his life.  The gigantic stones my son later met when he was crushed beneath the weight of the young man driving a four-wheeler two years ago.  Impact.  A horrid thing?

NOT ALWAYS.  There is a positive impact as well as a negative.  A furrowed ground.  A seed sown.  A kind word, a generous action.  A repentant heart.

"God is working out all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose in Christ Jesus."

In fact I believe if we all took a few moments and considered the impact others make on our lives in any given day, we'd see far more positive things than bad.  Today I had friends email me encouraging letters because they knew it was the day my son would have been 36 years old had he survived that fateful Mother's Day in 2005.   Yesterday I went to my son's grave and there was a gold chain with one-half of a Mizpah hanging from the crossbar.  His dear friend, Chacon, had left it to honor their friendship and the promise of seeing one another again someday in eternity.  My son helped him study for his citizenship which he received two months after Chad died.   A little thing--a big impact.  I thought of all the times my son read scripture to him as they rode long distances to work together on a tile job.   

Seeing that chain and half of a prayer on the gold medallion, warmed my heart as I struggled with the loss of my son's absence today.  It showed me that Chad was still remembered to another--his life had been significant to Chacon.

I'm embarking on an exciting new venture with the Lord.  I've joined a group of Southern Baptist men who are seeking to challenge readers toward greater love and good deeds in ministry.  Geoff Baggett captured a vision to build a collaborative blog sbc IMPACT to accomplish this.  With it he and other contributors seek to write God-honoring posts that emphasize ways this can be done.

I shall be writing a daily devotional entitled DAILY IMPACT which you can access below the head banner of sbc IMPACT which leads to its own page.   I'd love it if you'd come by and leave a note of encouragement.

But more than that, I'd love for you to be a part of the vision I have for the daily devotional.  Please go read my Welcome to see how this can be done.  And as you go about your day, watch for those tiny little times in your life when someone makes an IMPACT that causes you to  pause a moment and reflect on the goodness of God and all He does through His people.  When you do, contact me and let me know.  I believe God wants me to share it with others so they can be encouraged, inspired and comforted, too.  Bless you.  selahV  

HIS HAND IN MINE

I want to share a story with you.  I've been thinking alot about my son the past few days.  I think about him every day.  It's not a morbid thing.  I have accepted that he is gone from this earthly space and is resting in peace with God.  I can laugh and enjoy the blessings of Christ more today than two years ago. I never dreamed that would be possible then.  But it is.  There is a gentle peace that envelopes my heart when I think of my son now.  Today would have been his 36th birthday.

Pictured here is a white plaster hand he made for me when he was in 6th grade.  It was his right hand.  In the center of the hand is a scar that runs completely across his palm and along the back.  It's a scar left over from the time he was run over by a school bus when he was five-years-old.  The surgeon said it was nothing less than a miracle that he didn't lose his hand.  Every nerve and tendon was exposed.  Every bone in his tiny hand was fractured.  As I think about that statement, I laugh, today.

It was nothing less than a miracle that Chad was living at all.   I was there!  I saw him drive his little-wheel trike beneath the back wheels of that bus as it came down our street.  I saw him thrown 20 feet in the air and tossed 30 or 40 down the street.  I remember picking up his limp body and carrying him to our driveway.  I remember grasping his wrist and squeezing with all my strength to stop the bleeding while neighbors called the police.  I remember the little plastic toy football helmet his dad had bought him for 10 cents at a yardsale three days before that protected his head when it went beneath that bus.

Throughout my son's life, God intervened and protected him.  God gifted me with such an abundance of joy through him.  He never met a stranger.  Everyone was his friend--or so he thought.

Whenever I hold this cold piece of plaster in my hand, I can't help but finger the scar that runs around it.  I cherish the fact that I have it to hold.  I am so grateful some school teacher made this a project for my son to create.  When Chad's hand rests in mine on any given day, I am reminded how the Lord holds me and Chad's girls in the palm of His hand.  How our names are written in His palm.  I am reminded of the scars that marr my Savior's hands from His obedient death on a cross to attone for my sins--my son's sins.  I am reminded that no matter what life holds on this side of eternity, my Lord will lead us through it.

And for this I have reason to lift my hands and celebrate my son's life--and my Lord, Who will one day reunite us.

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]    

WHEN LAST I CRIED

"They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing." Ps. 126:5

He is a fifth-grader. His mother and father have both abandoned he and his Kindergarten-aged brother.  They were left with the grandparents.  They have no idea where their parents are, nor when or if they will be back.  The grandparents are seeking guardianship--most difficult to secure without parental permission.

His teacher laments, "He is so pitiful.  It just makes me sick to my stomach.  The child can't read, he needs glasses,........ahhhhhh!!"

One might read this and be angered by the injustice of two children.  One might cry out to God and question "Why?".  One might throw up one's hands and condemn the parents of this child who has been passed through a school system without the benefit of assistance to meet his needs.  One might do a bevy of things.

But I know the teacher of this child.  And I know the compassion of her heart.  And I know the Lord Whom she serves, trusts in and relies upon.  And though my heart is broken for this child and his younger sibling, my heart rejoices that the Lord has placed him in her keeping.  I know the tears she will shed upon her pillow as she seeks to find solutions for his plight.  What we do not understand, God does.  When we cannot fathom a solution, God can.  What we feel inadequate to correct, God will.

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills."  I seek answers.  I seek guidance.  I seek direction.

"From whence shall my help come?"  Where do I turn?  To whom do I get assistance?

"My help comes from the Lord, Who made Heaven and earth."  Can my Lord not create a better situation?  Can the Creator not give me ideas and empower me to exact those ideas?

I ask of you, my readers, to pray for this little boy and his brother.  I covet your prayers for his parents who are lost and have no conscience of their condition.  I beg you lift this Christian teacher before our Father's throne of grace--and all teachers who strive to meet the educational needs of children orphaned by unconcerned, selfish parents.

We need to pray.  We need to cry.  We need to weep.  Our souls must bend and bow down.  Our spirits must rise up to greet our Sovereign on behalf of the ones who care as deeply as this teacher.  As we sow in tears through intercessory prayer, our hearts must be broken for the pain of a suffering generation.

When "Jesus wept", He wept not for the suffering He was about to endure, the rejection He'd soon face, the injustice of His perfect life being stripped naked and humiliated before man to jeer and ridicule.  No, He wept over the lostness of His people.

When last I cried it was for myself.  My pain, my heartache, my needs.  What a contrast to my Savior's tears.    selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]         

A THOUSAND WORDS, WORTH MORE THAN PICTURES

He preaches two services on Sunday morning--not unlike many pastors in a growing church.  So he goes to the restroom during the break and is caught.  The church member was surprised, yet not shocked.  He was doing the most menial of tasks.  A little boy had gotten sick and lost his breakfast all over the bathroom stall.  The pastor was down on his knees cleaning it up.  He could have summoned the custodian.  But he didn't.  He'd comforted the little boy and simply did what any servant of God would do.  He served the Lord in humility with no expectation of accolades for his service.  His name is Doug Passmore of FBE Lawton, Oklahoma.

He was a reknown professor of Boyce Bible School and Kentucky pastor of one church for forty years.  He'd just handed out diplomas to young ministers.  The graduation ceremony was over.  A student returned to the classroom after the reception to retrieve his jacket he'd shed when he'd donned his cap and gown.  There in the quiet empty room lay caps, gowns, bulletins and other graduation paraphenalia.  Chairs were askew, some empty beverage cups sat half full of punch.  Students had made hasty retreats.   In the center of it all was the reknown professor methodically clearing away trash, organizing gowns to be returned and righting chairs.   He could have summoned the custodian.  But he didn't.  He simply did what any humble servant of God would do.   He served the Lord in humilty with no expectations of accolades or affirmation of his service.  His name is Dr. Verlin Kruschwitz of Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

He often fell asleep after he'd led the last song before the pastor's sermon.  He usually awoke just as the organist played the first note of the invitation hymn.  He'd been up all night farming, but always made it to the service in time to lead congregational hymns.  He was a deacon in the church and was often ridiculed for his poor example.  Then one day, he was seen in town.  A member of his church saw him stop his truck in the middle of the street.  He got out, went over to a little girl about the age of 6 and walked her across the street.  He returned to his truck and drove away--unaware of the church member who saw his humble act of protective mercy.   His name is John Frymire of Irvington, Kentucky.  He's gone on to be with the Lord and it's my guess the Lord didn't much call attention to the naps he took during sermons.  He said, "I think you got the message anyway, John.  Well done, my good and faithful servant."

In this day and age, when the servants of God are clamoring for recognition, publicity and notoriety, I wonder if we should pause and think about what Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant." Matthew 20:26b

"...the Son of Man came, not to be waited upon, but to serve,

and to give His life as a ransom for many."  MT. 20:28  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]   

 

WHAT WILL I FIND IN MANY DAYS?

"Cast your bread upon the waters,

for you will find it

after many days."  Ecc. 11:1

What bread?  Is my bread my talents, hopes, gifts and dreams?  Is my bread my ambitions, goals and agendas?  In part.   My bread by definition could be my priorities.  Even those should rest in the hands of my Creator Who is the giver of all good gifts.  Surely I wouldn't want to find chaff, hay and stubble "after many days."  No, I'd want to find results of casting the sustenance of my every effort to be found worthy of my surrender.  Therefore, my bread must be something worth finding after many days.  I count my "bread" as my witness of THE Bread. 

"I am the bread of life." Jesus, John 6:48

As a believer in Jesus Christ--the Bread of Life--I am to receive Him then give my knowledge of Him away.  Cast my knowledge to the waters of God's sovereign hand.  Let go of my understanding of the Truth and the Way to God to use as He'd use it to reach others.  To edify, to strengthen, to encourage and comfort.  I must leave the destination to His discretion. The current that takes it to His whispered purpose is His to direct.  Whatever becomes of it will result in me seeing it "in many days".

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Jesus, Matthew. 6:11

Whatever is the daily portion given me by God should be cast forth in His name for His glory on a daily basis...not occasionally on Sunday morning.  God provides the bread daily, it is my responsibility to share the bread He provides as He provides it.  It is not my job to coat it with butter, dip it in honey or flavor it with spices.  It's my job to cast it upon the waters as it is because it, like the manna, is good in its original state--without trappings, additions, or inspections. 

"Why do you spend money for what is NOT bread?" the prophet asks in Isaiah 55:2.

So often we spend all our efforts, our time, our resources upon things other than the most needed of all Staples--the Lord Jesus Christ.  We provide programs, activities that fail to sustain.  We camoflouge the Message and the Bread with imitations.  We toy with His Words and dissect His meanings.  We dumb-down or white-wash the principles He gave us.   I wonder if we continue to do this, what kind of bread we will find "in many days"?  Eternity is a long time to be eating tasteless Manna.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

ROAD WORTH TRAVELING

Life is a two-lane highway

~~especially in blogging.  Which way one chooses to travel on the road is significant.  In fact, it is crucial to the believer.

A believer who is blogging has more influence than he or she realizes.  According to Rev. Michael Bresciani at the American Chronicle, "...it holds the single greatest potential for evangelism through the media since the advent of television."

And what are we Christians doing with such an opportunity?

Are our blogs pointing the way or blocking the way to Jesus?  Is our roadway clear of potholes, pitfalls, and detours?  Does it lead unbelievers to our Lord or away from our Lord?  Do our words bring honor to our King or dishonor?  Is our time well-spent or misspent?

When I began blogging, I wanted to use this venue to create a Christian conversational retreat.   My prayer was to impact the world with an encouraging message for the Lord.  Lately I have found myself retreating to blogs which are strictly inspirational and edifying.  (Yeah, they are out there.)  Some of my favorite writers have taken long sabatticals from blogging this summer and it's been tough reading at times.  But I've enjoyed reading several of those I have listed in my bloglists.

In mine, I try to imagine a seeker who might do a search on a word and come popping in unexpectedly into my site.  (can't tell you how many I've gotten through the Peanuts character post and the Sensodyne post) I want my blog to have a welcome mat that says, "Come on in, I'd like to meet you.  And there's Someone I'd like you to meet.  His name is Jesus."  I want folks who drop in to feel comfortable chatting with other commenters.  I know I'm probably living in a eutopian mindset, but I like to look on the bright side of possibilities.   Fortunately, I've had little digression from my hopes and goals.

This past week, I felt like stopping my little blogging roadtrip.  The traffic had slowed considerably and it seemed to me like the majority of interest was on landscapes of destruction rather than my panoramic view of meadows and pasturelands.  I even told a few folks that my traveling days were limited because I was running out of gas.  They weren't at all supportive of my thinking.  I told them I'd think harder.

Then I happened upon Rev. Bresciani's article at American Chronicle.  Odd how someone who doesn't even know you can influence your thoughts, huh?  Well, that's the point of this post.  Your words influence my thoughts.  They influence others' thoughts.  Sometimes what you post stimulates a post in my mind.  I pray about it and think about it and then write about it.  Sometimes it is a passing comment in a thread that catapults my muse into the sphere of cyberspace.  Sometimes it's a picture I take.  But for what it is worth, I try to honor Christ with my words.  I pray I meet the mark every time.   Do you?  selahV

NOTE OF INTEREST.  THESE ARE A FEW BLOGS I'VE READ RECENTLY THAT I RECOMMEND AS REST-STOPS ALONG YOUR HIGHWAY:

Rose's Reasonings

A Rambling Prophet

The Resurgence

Along the Shore.

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

      

 

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN

"Though you mount on high as the eagle,

and though you set your nest among the stars,

I will bring you down from there,

says the Lord." Obadiah 1:4

I've come to a conclusion.

My husband and I are to truly live day by day, trusting the Lord in all His Sovereignty.  Some folks don't have to do that.   I don't know why.  I really don't.  They not only have their needs met, they have an abundance to do whatever they want to do--spend it on big cars, boats, fancy houses, vacations, and designer clothes.  Not us.

We have the same old 1994 van we purchased back in 1999.  No fancy home.  No vacation in over 20 years.  And anything designer is what I happen to come across in my scavenger hunts at Goodwill.

When my husband suffered his heart attack that has forced us to take early Social Security, it really hurt us financially.  He had hoped to hold out till he was 66 so he could get full benefit.  As life would have it, we will now lose over 200-dollars a month because he couldn't wait.  Then we had this grand idea to also tap into the pittance of an annuity we managed to accumulate the last 9 years of his ministry.  And low and behold when we began the process three weeks ago our portfolio (is that what ya call it?) lost over 10,000 dollars.  Gotta love the DOW and the foolishness of indebtedness.

What once was a booming fast-growth "nest" egg, is now a bit cracked.  So, what does one do when faced with a drop in income of over 1,500 dollars a month with an increase in expenses of over 1,000?  I don't know.  I really don't.

But one thing is certain.  I don't have to know.  I don't need to know.  If I did, the Lord would tell me.  And since He hasn't provided any clear answers I get to rest in the fact that His grace is sufficient to meet my needs.

What "nest" I've set among the stars is in His keeping.  If He wants to bring me down from what I'd thought was my security, then so be it.  If the comfort I found in knowing my husband was a healthy man is replaced with the knowledge that he will never be what he used to be, then so be it.  If my health doesn't improve enough for me to get a job, then so be it.   For what the Lord brings down, He can also raise up.  And should He desire to keep me in the wilderness of wonder, then I can count on Him for the manna each day.   I suppose that is how my journey will proceed.

And after all, we aren't promised tomorrow anyway.  Only today.  What a way to live!  Don't you think this is rather exciting?  I do.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

MODERN DAY WIFE~~ NEED SHE BE VIRTUOUS?

"Who can find a virtuous wife?

For her worth is FAR above rubies."  Proverbs 31:10

FAR ABOVE rubies.  The value of a virtuous wife.  It's amazing how brilliant a virtuous wife is according to Proverbs 31.  She's competent, diligent, hardworking, intelligent.  She's a multi-tasked, multi-talented person.  She is courageous, wise and honorable.  She's a business woman, a cook, a seamstress.  She shows hospitality and compassion.  AND...

"Her children rise up to call her blessed; her husband also, he praises her." {28

In the instant-pudding, microwave, fast-food culture we live in today, we have all but forgotten the worth of a Biblical virtuous woman.  Is she an illusion?   

In today's society we are raising girls to look for careers outside the home.  We are teaching them to seek the most high-paying jobs.  We are teaching them the main priority is financial success, and career satisfaction.  We are instilling in them ideas that they can do anything they want and anything a man can do.  I wonder if we are neglecting to teach them the value of being a virtuous woman--a God-created woman who helps her husband and nurtures her children. 

Have we passed the threshold of no return as we leave childrearing to daycares and school systems?  Have generations of working women, and also divorce--necessitating women to work--abolished virtuous homemaking skills?

Have fast-food restuarants and supper-on-the-run replaced the need for family dinners around the table? Has this destroyed the conversation and communication lacking in homes today?  Most women are too tired to come home and cook a meal--after all, there's the laundry to do, bills to pay, and often presentations to create for work the next day.  Therefore, mothers do not have time to teach their daughters how to cook, sew, or budget a paycheck.  They leave for college with no idea how to sew on a button or wash their clothes.

Often, a young women fantasizes a marriage and homelife that mom and dad never delivered.  She vows her life will be different, her marriage will not be like mom's.  She longs for what she'd been created to have in all its fullness and is shaken when life doesn't measure up to the fantasy of family-centered life.  Have we failed her?

If a virtuous woman was worth far above rubies in Solomon's day, wouldn't she be of far greater value today?

JUST WONDERING....WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DEFINE A MODERN-DAY VIRTUOUS WIFE? selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007] 

STEP BY STEP

"The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord

when

he delights in His way.  Though he falls,

he shall not be utterly cast down,

for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him." Psalm 37:23 Amplified.

When he delights.

Though he falls.

Presumed and conditional actions on man's part.

Are the steps of a good man--a man after God's heart, a believer--directed and established only when that man delights in God's way?

I think of David.  Though he fell and was utterly cast down, God called him a man after His heart.  And although Jonah ran, God pursued him.  When Peter denied Him, Jesus came again to him specifically to feed him and encourage him.

And what of a man who is not good?  God gives them up to their own devises according to Romans.  Only God knows who those men are that will not "delight in His way".  Does not every proverb give the condition that must be met to attain favor from God?  Does God direct and establish the evil man's steps?  Consequences are ordained for the wicked.  Rewards for the righteous.  Each are conditional upon one's actions and inactions.

We could say that the momentum of one's own walk takes him where he goes.  And when a man's heart gives in to the temptation set before him and follows after ungodly ways, then his direction is established by his own surrender to his chosen desires.  He could also repent and come back to God.  Or he could resist the desires that compel him.  But it is the man after God's heart, who "delights in His ways" that the Lord establishes according to the passage in Psalm 37:23.

I remember clearly how I was before I delighted in the Lord.  I wallowed amongst the pigstys of society.  I followed my dreams, my ambitions and set out to meet my goals.  I wasn't the least bit interested in what God thought.  I attained much and lost much.  But it wasn't until I "came to myself" as the prodigal son, that the Lord grasped my hand and lifted me from the miry mess I'd made of my life.  My life turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours from the moment I prayed, "Lord, I've made a mess of my life.  Help me to know what You'd have me to do."

That is when my steps took on meaning.  That is when each circumstance, situation and person gave meaning to my walk.  It was very clear to me what God was doing.  I'd have turmoil yet knew I was being cared for in a miraculous way.  Times I'd stumble and fall down--not familiar with the pathway of righteousness--but the Lord was faithful to grasp my hand and lead me out of the alleys of darkness and confusion.  He put specific people in my life, gave me specific verses to teach me, and blocked my way with circumstances.  Over and over He blessed me and showed me He was faithful to His Word--the promises I claimed.

From this validation of God's Word in my life, I came to embrace the hand of God grasping mine.  I came to see the events in my life as the Lord's direction and purpose.  I rest in His grace and sufficiency.  And am forever grateful that He has taught me to wait upon Him in all things.  That as He directs, He also establishes.  And what He establishes, He upholds.  Nothing I, nor any other person, can do compares to delighting in Him and His divine interventions.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

     

MY PORTION IS ENOUGH

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally.  It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand."  Madeleine L'Engle

I don't know about Madeleine's statement; I found it on one of those little fold-out booklets that has a bunch of verses and sayings.  I don't even know who Madeleine is.  But it's the saying that caught my eye today as I was thumbing through it. It kinda reminds me of blowing dandelions in the wind.  The stem is left bare--seeds left to drift in the breeze and fall where they may. 

I realize that the wise man builds his house upon rocks and the foolish upon sand.  So what "props" determine the foundation upon which I stand?  Life rests upon such things as health, financial stability, skills, knowledge, talent and--most importantly, to me, faith.

As my regular readers know, the "props" in my life have been repeatedly bombarded the past few years.  Health is pretty much shot; financial stability is nil. My husband is still unable to return to work.  So far the Lord has met every need we have had.  Each and every one.  I see no reason for that to change.  The spiritual side of me dominates the fleshly side of me when it comes to finances most of the time.  I truly believe that I am not to worry or fret.  So I don't.

However my mind keeps bringing up silly notions of me going to work since my husband can't.  I saw an ad in the paper for someone to work in a tax accounting office entering data for tax returns.  Sounded simple enough.  I thought about going to apply yesterday and I got sick and spent most of the day in bed.  I laughed.  That's what I get for thinking about doing something the Lord hadn't expressly told me to do.

Then I get to thinking about opening another antique shop.  I've done it before.  It's not an overwhelming task.  I'm considering a great location, the building is reasonable to rent.  I have all I need in the way of equipment to start.  I even have a storage unit full of antiques and stuff for inventory.  It's not a very big shop, but large enough to rent out enough space for other vendors to sell stuff which would offset my expenses in a big way.

That's what I've been thinking.

My problem is, I've been thinking it.  I'm not all that certain God gives a flip whether I do this or not.  Now, if I'd thought about going on a mission trip or volunteering for some worthy cause, I would have less reservations.  But with a business that would swallow much of my time, I hesitate.  Especially since my health is questionable, too.  It all boils down to one thing.  Is it what God would have me do to help provide for us right now?  No one gets rich selling antiques and collectibles.  But I don't really want to get rich; just want to make a living...meet the bills. 

Ah, but then I read "consider the lilies," and I take pause again.  Not one item in an antique shop is a necessity.  Any person who purchased anything would be someone who is collecting desires and wants.  Is that really what I want to do?  Feed and fuel another's temporal pleasures?  I don't know, but I don't think so.

"My flesh and my heart faileth;

but God is the strength of my heart, AND

my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

I know that if I commit my way unto the Lord He will direct me.  So that is what I do as I sit here tip-tapping my thoughts to you.  I consider what He'd have me do, rather than what I think I should do.  I wait upon Him to show me His way.  To do more, or less, seems futile right now.   

"My times are in His hands." Psalm 31:15  selahV

   

THE EYES OF THE LORD

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3

In our going out and our coming in, He is watching.  The evil and the good, God sees.  Whether we act with pure hearts or with evil.  Whether we are treated with grace or with disdain.  Our Lord sees.  No matter what we face, we do not face it alone.

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him." II Chron. 16:9

"The eyes of the Lord keep guard over knowledge and him who has it, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous." Proverbs 22:12

Our actions are watched.  The treatment we render and the treatment we are rendered, it is seen.  There is no escaping the eyes of the Lord.

God be praised!  We who believe have nothing to fear or to dread.  The world's calamity does not go unnoticed.  The Lord sees and is working out all things to His glory and for His divine purpose.

He is rewarding the humble.  He is blessing the generous of heart.  He is giving peace to those in need of comfort.  He is showing Himself sufficient for those resting in His grace.  He is steadfast and tolerant to those whose hearts seek after His righteousness.  His mercy covers the penitent.  His truth lights the way of those who follow His commandments and love His precepts.  No one deceives God.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rocks.  And He covers me there with His love.  Such hope there is in this truth.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]   

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth..."

He's searching.

He's watching, observing.  Why?   

"...to show Himself strong..."

He's seeking an opportunity to intercede.  He longs to shelter, to provide.  He desires to make a way.  He's working things out.  He's fulfilling a purpose, a plan.  For whom?

"...in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him." II Chron. 16:9a Amplified

Oh that I'd be found blameless and loyal to my Lord when His eyes fall upon me.  When they look into my heart and search my faith, my obedience, I pray He finds something in me worthy of His mercy and grace.  May my motives be pure.

The Lord wants to show Himself strong in my life.  He doesn't want to show me strong in my life.  He wants my weakness, my dependence, my faith to rest in Him--not in the world.  To boast of myself, my wit, wisdom, ideas, creativity or ability steals from the glory that belongs only to Him.

God had helped King Asa defeat an army.  Yet when confronted with threatening from a much weaker foe, Asa crumbled and sought the aid--not of God--but another king.  And the army of the king of Syria escaped Asa.  God was not happy, so the latter part of II Chronicles 16:9 explains: "You have done foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you shall have wars."

Sad.  Asa didn't trust God to deliver him.  His fear swallowed his faith, his memory, his knowledge of God's power and strength.  I wonder.

What wars do I have as a result of my faltering faith?

The past few months the Lord has provided again and again and again for my husband and I.  I've had tremendous peace in the midst of our trials.  Every day presents us with another problem, obstacle or difficulty.  But I know Who holds those things in the palm of His hand.  Indeed!

"I know Whom I am believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."  II Tim. 1:12

When my strength is gone, I rest.  When my brain won't work, I rest.  When my efforts prove worthless, I rest.  When I hit the proverbial brick wall, I rest.  And I praise the Lord that it is not up to me to fix anything. 

There is no shadow of turning allowed in a believer's heart when it comes to trusting God's sovereign grace and mercy.  God is good.  Completely good.  He loves me so much that He doesn't want anything but good for me.  And every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

Did God curse Asa?  Or did God know what Asa would do from that day forward and therefore told him his future fate?  I believe it is the latter.  God knew Asa's heart.  He knew he'd be angry and bitter forever.  He knew Asa would never turn to him again--he would remain as foolish in years to come as he was with his actions against the king of Syria.  What do you think?  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]