SelahV Today

Endings, Beginnings and Stuff In Between

As 2012 fades and makes way for 2013, I think how blessed I am to have lived another year and look forward to the opportunity to celebrate a new one.  Each day is a gift, each moment.  Even the moments I wish I could have left unwrapped, those are gifts, too.  They built faith; they taught tolerance.  They strengthened. 

I ended my love affair with space and collections and many expectations.  I made room in my mind for less of life's clutter and more of life's simplicity.  I replaced tangibles with  intangibles.  I witnessed the restoration of relationships... such a good thing.  I experienced the joy of meeting new people.  Was blessed again and again by old friends, family and God.

Today I find myself enjoying more of the simple things in life.  A giggle, a hug, a smile, a walk in the woods, the memory of a family celebration.  First tooth loss, first home purchase, engagement, new jobs, first band concert. 

As I look back on 2012, there are some conversations I regret.  Yet, many conversations I memorized and locked inside my heart.  It's okay to let go of some things in life.  It's okay to end things.  Every ending gives birth to a beginning-- beginnings that are not always comfortable, familiar, or typical of yesterday.  Every sunset falls asleep in the arms of God to awaken to the sunrise of a new day.  The darkness of every new moon grows into the light of a fresh full moon.  We fill all the hours and days in between with the stuff life is made of... the sorrow, the love, the grief, the joy.  Amid the disappointments and trials, we also find surprises, triumphs and victories, if...

...if we open the doors and look for them.

So, as you think about last year, do not dwell too long in moments which ended in regret or sadness.  Close the door on them.  Consider those moments you found beautiful, and those moments and hours filled with laughter, goodness and love.  Savor those.  They will carry you through all the stuff between each ending and lend you hope to begin again.  selahV

A Few Thoughts OR Many...

are always limited.  They are flawed. 

My thoughts, no matter how lofty, grand, or loving--they are never enough to meet the least of God's thoughts.

 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

 “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

Ultimately, even the most sacrificial thoughts I have still need God's purifying touch. The most descriptive word, the most profound phrase, the most knowledgeable statement I utter is nonsense in comparison to the wisdom of God.  Each of my acts, no matter how kind, generous, or merciful, are far less than the perfection of God's.  In this I know, it is God who seeks the best for others.  It is God who reaches beyond the stars, above the universe, and whispers this earth into being.  His word will never come back empty...void...without power.  His thoughts will reign higher than the great beyond man seeks to explore.  And for all this I am grateful to know that life is not up to me, struggles are not mine to fix, questions are not mine to answer, turmoil is not mine to still.  In Christ I have my peace...in Him I rest.  selahV

When Worry Rules Your Mind

"consider the lilies of the field." 

I feel like a scorched lily at the moment.  Though my heart knows that God is watching over me and mine, my mind is like a whirlwind in a field of lilies. My heart knows that:

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."

That "the Lord is my refuge and strength."

That "nothing can separate me from the love of God." 

That if I "trust the Lord with all my heart, and lean not unto my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge Him, that He will direct my path."  

That "if I keep my mind stayed on Jesus, He will keep me in perfect peace." 

That "the Lord is working out all things for those who love Him."

I know all this.

My heart trusts this.

May this moment, this hour be one in which my brother is reassured of these same things.  May he have the peace and calm and power in him to meet the challenges of his day.  Though I do not know where he is or how he is, God knows.  And while I cannot trust people, I can trust God.  Into His hands I lay my burden of worry and "am persuaded that He will keep that which I've committed to Him against this day."  selahV

" All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment." Psalm 6:10

When It Seems Futile

Sometimes we look at the world around us and we see brokenness, bitterness and apathy.  We see people walking city streets who seem oblivious to others around them.  Sometimes we are those people.  Sometimes our world is so consumed with our own thoughts, needs, struggles and trials that all we see is desolation and hopelessness.  We are blind to others.  We think we are the only ones in the world who have such difficulty.

That is not true.  It's a devil's lie that is whispered in our ears so much that all we can hear is his words of gloom and doom.  All we can see is the futility and hopelessness.

Are we dead?  Are we without breath?  Have our hearts stopped beating?  Have our muscles atrophied?  Are our bones dry and brittle?  If you are reading this then the answer is no.  Listen to the Spirit of God within you.  Heed the conviction of His voice.  Ignore the lies of the evil one.  God knows where you are and what you are going through.  He sees the other side of day.  His has the power to bring even dry bones to life.  Remember Ezekiel?

"Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:4-5

Just as God will cause breath to enter the dead and bring them to life, He is with you to bring life to your spirit, to kindle a fire in your heart, to jumpstart your mind, to remove the scales of doubt from your eyes, to show you the joy on the other side of sorrow.  He is never beyond the futility of man.  He is God.  Mountains are molehills to Him.  Grand Canyons are sidewalk cracks.  Ocean waves are but ripples in a pond. Be comforted, my friend.  Fear not.  The Lord is with you; He is your refuge. He is your strength. He is life amid destruction and death.  "Behold", He "will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live."  selahV

Fear Not

There are 365 "Fear Nots" in the Bible, one for every day of the year. I heard a preacher say that yesterday. I can't remember which preacher. I listened to several on television because I couldn't go to church.  I didn't look it up in my Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, so I cannot confirm this is true.  But I loved the idea of getting up every day and reading a "fear not" from God's Word.

I suppose there are many folks who could use those two words whispered to them each day.  The battered wife, the abused child, the homeless teen, the soldier in a foreign country, the orphaned child, the widowed woman, the man who just lost his job, the family who lost their home, the movie-goers in Aurora, Colorado.  "Fear not, for I am with you, even to the end of the age."

Frightening situations come to each of us.  We may not be in a war zone, or most likely never found ourselves on the front row of a movie theatre when a madman goes berserk with an automatic weapon.  We may never be in a tornado, hurricane or tsunami.  However we each have found ourselves in fearful moments of earthquake proportion.  We've had problems that rocked our worlds, destroyed relationships, and threatened our way of living.  We each found ourselves on the firing-line of life which left us quivering with doubt and palpitating hearts.  Our Lord told us we'd even be persecuted because of our faith in Him.  Yet, He told us, "Fear not."

Fear not the evil one who seeks to steal your peace.  Fear not the world which seeks to fill your days and nights with insecurity.  Fear not the circumstance before you which promises nothing but chaos and destruction.  Fear not.

God is bigger than all our problems.  Jesus has overcome the world.  Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.  Be strong and courageous.  Stand and face the day with the assurance that God is your refuge, Christ is your Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is your guide.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  Fear not, my friends.  Fear not.  selahV

DO YOU HAVE WHAT I HAVE?

It's a blessing worth more than anything I've owned throughout nearly five and a half decades.  It's more comforting than a mother's love.  It's more validating than a father's approval, or an employer's commendation.  It's worth more than all the silver and gold a person or country could accumulate.  It's one of the benefits of faith.

I have peace with God.

Anyone can have this peace.  We who are Believers know, firsthand, this "peace that passes all understanding".  The calm amid the storms.  The stillness in a turmoil.  I've done nothing to earn peace.  It's a gift from God to all who turn to Him in faith and rest in Christ.

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2

Peace does not eliminate struggle, difficulty, obstacles, and turmoil on this old earth. The prince of this world brings nothing but destruction and despair and confusion.  But peace gives us the ability to rest in God's ability to provide and keep us in the midst of those things.  We are enabled to rejoice because we have overcome the world through Jesus.

3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."  Romans 5:3-5

I am quite content with my lot in life.  And my "lot" is not a very big lot, nor a very valuable lot, nor a very prestigious lot, nor a very coveted lot, nor the best manicured lot.  But with my lot, I am at peace.  I am okay with the place in which I find myself today, and look forward to what God has in store for me each day.  If I am here on this old earth to share anything, it is to share Jesus and encourage others in the peace, joy, and hope we have in His grace.  selahV

Because Of A Bunch of Self-centered, Self-saturated, Rebellious, Pride-Dominated, Arrogant and Angry People

that God so loved...

a virgin named Mary

found favor in His sight

and conceived His only begotten Son, that whosoever

believed in Him, he would have everlasting life.

Believed in Him?  Yes...

whosoever believed His words and relied upon His words, and heeded His words, and confessed with their lips that He is Lord...then...

no matter how snarky, arrogant, mean, bitter, angry, abusive, self-centered, self-saturated, rebellious and pride-filled person he was, or is, he will be saved and Christ will begin a work in him that is beyond miraculous and never ever leave him alone.  He will be made totally and completely perfect.  Forever and forever and forever, he will dwell in Christ and receive a reward when He returns to earth to gather His people unto Himself.  selahV

Revisiting WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS...

I return to my roots and...

I SURRENDER...

My inabilities.

My expectations.

My weaknesses.

My capabilities.  My failures and my needs.

I surrender all of me.  All to Jesus.

I take all my talents which He has so richly given to me and lay them at His feet.  I yield all my gifts to His divine control.  I abandon my preconceived ideas of what He expected of me when I fail to see results.

I wave the white flag and give Him all that I am--the dregs of my endeavors.

He takes my dregs and casts them into His heavenly compost heap and adds some heat to the dung of my offerings.  In time, He takes a seed of His own choosing from that dung and helps me put to death my own desires to sprout and bloom with dreams of becoming a rose without a thorn.  With His own breath my death gives way to life and in the paths of others who demand I bloom as they desire, I burst forth as a thistle in the wind.  Attached upon my stem a banner waves of all He seeks of me and all I can become in the meadow of His choice and design.  A white flag--shaded blue--in honor of His royal purpose for me, I give to thee this day, my readers.   selahV

This post is slightly edited today and dedicated in honor of all who seek to know my Lord through the words I write, in my hope of bringing glory to His name.  It is my prayer that eyes which see this rendering will know the heart of my words and the hope I see in Jesus Christ my Lord.

[For further posts of which I find most joy in writing and purpose in publishing go HERE@DailyImpact, and HERE@DevotionalChristian...and HERE@Kids'Matters]  [first written and copyrighted, on February 1, 2008 by selahV Today]

I Am Not Alone...

When Arrows Come

and pierce my soul...and I am mocked...I am not alone... [continue reading HERE.]

A Stranger In My House

It sounds like some stranger is living inside me when I talk.  Who is that person?  She could sing bass for the Oak Ridge Boys.  

Will the real me ever return?  That is debatable.  Each morning my husband says good morning, and the woman who replies to him sounds more like Suzanne Pleshette than me.  Actually, I kinda like my lower voice-- if it wasn't quite so manly.  Would love to keep that raspy Suzanne Pleshette effect if it didn't come with so many other annoyances.  When I cough, it feels like someone is pulling my brains out through my left temple.  I guess that's one way to get my attention.

Perhaps it is a good thing to have a stranger in our houses at time.  It causes us to slow down and give more attention to details we rarely notice.  Sometimes we take for granted the everyday blessing of health.  We forget how blessed we are to think clearly, to speak without effort, to laugh without setting off a jack-hammer coughing fit.  Intrusions give us a deeper appreciation of normal.  Of routine.  Of balance.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I tend to forget how blessed I am when life rolls along with ease.  I get complacent.  I can become apathetic to what is really important...what really matters.  Perhaps it is good for God to allow Babylon to capture our well-being and self-reliance.  Perhaps we need a reminder to thank God in all things.  Paul reminds us to be thankful "in", not for, all our circumstances.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

While Paul was encouraging us to be grateful to God in the difficult times, through our trials, I think we'd do well to remember His watchcare during the calm moments of life, rather than feel so entitled to be blessed.  The will of God in Christ Jesus for us is to give thanks and remember to Whom we owe due appreciation.  It's not our economy.  Our bank accounts.  Our pension plans.  Our doctors, or health insurance policies.  It's not our government --or a declaration-- that guarantees our right to pursue happiness, life and liberty.

It is the Most High God to whom we owe our gratitude--the Supplier, the Protector, the Shield, the Giver of and Anchor to Eternal life.  The Great Physician who heals all wounds, wipes all tears, and soothes all sorrows. 

I guess sometimes it takes a stranger in the house to show us how blessed we are with familiarity and common things--to point us to the "perfect will" we all, at times, fail to notice.  selahV

[THOUGHT TO PONDER: Today, no matter how pressed you are by life's circumstances, someone, somewhere else, is crushed, and facing far greater trials.  Sometimes we think the world is picking on us alone.  But life does not discriminate upon whose space it brings forces to move the earth beneath our feet, or the air around us.  Pray for those in life who feel like you do today--be it good or not so good. Then give thanks that God is with you in the midst of yours.]

AND BY THE WAY...I DISAPPOINT OTHERS TOO

Last week I penned a post which unveiled a bit of discouragement I felt at the moment of its writing.  It was picked up by SBC Today  as one of several top posts for the week.  I was honored that my writing struck a chord of interest with the editors, but I have to say, "disappointment" is hardly an emerald in my proverbial crown of personal growth experiences.  Being prone to write encouraging words, I see where my words in that post did little to comfort, edify, or inspire some folks. 

Just because I have been disappointed at times, doesn't negate times I have disappointed others.  It's not easy being us.  Each of us have a call on our lives by God.  For the record, I cannot fulfill your call anymore than you can fulfill mine.  There are times in our lives we must make decisions that affect others.  We cannot possibly know exactly how they will affect others, or what will result upon the execution of our decision-making.  We have a certain amount of information and experience at our disposal to make our decisions and after prayer, meditation, and searching God's Word, we make the best decision we can personally make.  When we seek God's face, we must rest in His grace.  My decisions will not always be popular.  Yours will not always be popular.  What we say and do may please a great deal of people, and still offend others.  It is the way of decisions.

When Jesus made choices, it offended the Pharisees.  When He healed the blind, touched the leper, and lived an absolutely sinless life, He offended some.  When He praised Mary for breaking a vessel of perfume and anointing Him, He offended people.  When He invited himself to eat with Zaccheus, he offended folks.

Having mulled over a lot of thoughts and information the past few days, I must confess, I see no room for being offended personally for what Christian leaders decide corporately to tread deep and troubled waters.  Men must do what men must do according to their own conscience, spirit, and wisdom.  God puts His anointing power upon the shoulders of some to lead us into Canaan.  Should we not yield our whims, emotions and desires to the authority He has placed over us?  Should we not follow the process by which God has put in place to follow?  Must we seek another cloud, another pillar of fire?  Look to another Moses?

I do not want to be a "murmuring Miriam" (Numbers 12:1-10), or the "other spies" (Numbers 13:1-33).  I do not want to disappoint my Heavenly Father.  I want to follow Caleb and Joshua.  While I want to be as bold as Naaman's servant girl (2 Kings 5:14), and as brave as Queen Esther, I also want to be as humble as the virgin Mary.

I do not know or understand everything.  I only know what God reveals to me.  That is where I wish to walk.  As far as I can see.  Beyond that, I walk by faith in His sovereign grace and trust in those He's ordained to lead me forward.  selahV

WHEN CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, GO WITH THE FLOW OR.../link

Cest' la vie

Embrace the unpredictable;

    it is but a blink in eternity.

How quickly it passes...

    for you,

    for me,

    for those we touch.  

You were created to live as though

    you are what you are...

    precious in His sight--

Not yesterday or tomorrow, but Today.  selahV

I Cannot Control It

The world is a big fat mess.  We allow the media to tell us who is the best person to lead us.  We allow society to direct our culture and redirect our values and principles.  We allow government to control our thoughts, our words, our spiritual lives.  It's ridiculous.  Especially for Christians.  We live in liberty, under grace given to us by the sacrificial, submission of Christ to the cross of redemption for our very lives.  We have everything we need to live an abundant life:

filled with peace,

consumed with love,

permeated with goodness,

saturated with hope,

assured of mercy.  Everything.  

Yet, we cower.  We get all antsy and look to elections for hope instead of a Sovereign God.  We place our faith in our choices rather than the God who allows those choices.  We trust in pundits and reporters to stand as watchmen over our lives rather than being the watchman over the souls of men.  I cannot control the "voices" that rattle on, day after day, nor those minds bent on force-feeding the world negativity, evil, and deceit to achieve an end that justifies their means.  However...

I can control:

what I allow to pierce my heart with discouragement.

what I allow my ears to hear.

what I allow my eyes to devour.

Yes...I can control my time and where I spend it.  I choose to look to the Triune God to direct my life by the inerrant Word He gave us.  I choose to rely upon the Holy Spirit to keep in line with God's will and purpose for my life.  I choose to rest in the promises of my Redeemer, Savior, and Lord to give me hope.  I choose to resist the temptation to dwell on the mantra of gloom and doom and set my mind and heart on the blessings of God and the history of success through the Victor of the world.  No longer is my life directed by laws written on stone.  My life is directed by the Word dwelling within my heart and soul.

If only we Christians would each let God's Word dominate our lives rather than society's foolishness, we'd really be better off.  No, I cannot control the world, I can only control how I respond to the world.  And through the Holy Spirit I've been given fruit of self-control.  That encompasses what I hear, how I react, what I do.  I will not shudder, nor will I quake as the world gets messier and messier.  The Word of God told us this is the way the world would go.  The world would be a pathetic mess.  People would be stubborn and not heed His Word-- would fall-away from faith they'd been taught.  Children would rise up against parents.  Decadence and debauchery would rule the hearts of man.  Faithful doers would lose their First Love. Yes, the world is a mess.  But folks, we have more than the world.  We have everything we need to live a Christ-filled, Spirit-fueled life in God.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

God is in control.  No one else.  I can trust Him over everything, with everything, and in everything.  Can you?  Will you?  selahV

NEAT SLEEP

It amazes me how easily a child falls asleep.  They run, they play, they eat, they sleep.  It's that simple.

Yet, me?  Well, I couldn't sleep again last night--three nights in a row.  At about 3 a.m. I wondered if morning would arrive before I even felt sleepy.  I wasn't worried about anything.  I wasn't upset.  I wasn't anxious.  Just couldn't get sleepy.

So I started talking to God about how wonderful He is.  I thanked Him for His awesome, hallowed name.  I praised Him for His goodness and glory.  I thanked Him for His protection and provision.  I didn't ask Him for anything.  In fact, I didn't even ask for sleep.  I just talked to Him about how great and powerful He is.  The next thing I knew...

it was morning.  Isn't that neat?  selahV

It's Not Easily Understood

People have a hard time explaining it.  They can't make sense of it.  When the world sees it manifest itself amid the chaotic conflicts, they shake their heads and wonder. That's because it passes all understanding.

Peace.

It moves beyond the rational.  It calms the soul and steels the heart against all threat, all assaults, all diversity.  It is an inward assurance in an outward disturbance.

The peace of Jesus through the person of the Holy Spirit is in all Believers.  Though the world crumble about us, we know we are safe in Christ.  Though wars rage among the nations, we know the promise of peace.  God gives us peace to instill confidence... confidence in Him.  We cannot take our eyes off our LORD.

Each day I practice forgetting turmoil, relaxing in His peace.  Each day when confronted with aggravating situations, I focus my mind on Him--on His sovereign care.  The Holy Spirit reminds me that I have nothing to fear...God is in control.  He is not sleeping; He is not too busy for me.  He is ever with me.  I know for certain that the turmoil is temporary.  In time, the LORD lifts me up from each valley, carries me up every mountain, and walks with me on each road.  Peace only eludes me when I focus my mind on me and my inability, rather than God and His ability.

May we know His peace today.  May we look beyond the gathering clouds and see our Father's power to control them.  When incessant voices wail, and rumors of battles loom, let us be still; let us remember:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on thee:

because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3

AS MARKETS GO UP AND DOWN

One day they're up.  The next day, they're down.  Last week they dropped 1,600 points, then recovered to only lose a bit over 100 points overall.  Today, on Thursday, 8-18-2011, the DOW plunges 469 points at 9:31 a.m. Central time.  Speculation reigns in the minds of investors and folks who trust the markets for their future retirement.  Businesses shudder and wonder if stability will ever return.  Economists are like gerbels on treadmills, running in place trying to get nowhere faster.  Politicians are spinning the bottle of hope that whatever happens, the blame will land on someone else.  As the markets fall, so does President Obama's favorability polls.  Yet...

the sun is shining in Oklahoma.  And I have great hope.  Do you?

My hope is not in the markets.  And even though we depend on Social Security as our main source of income, I do not depend on it as my provision.  I don't even believe in the pittance we receive from our meager pension investment-- companies have been known to go bankrupt.  When threats of doom assail because of outer circumstances, I open my eyes and "look to the hills from whence cometh my help".  Just as investors rush to buy gold as an anchor during volatile times, I rush to my Father...the Anchor of my soul.

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
² Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
³ Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,"  Psalm 103:1-4 NKJV

Times are uncertain.  But my LORD is certain.  All that is within me cries out to Him to keep me...to give me strength, diligence, and perseverance so that I might bless His holy name and bring Him glory.

I remember "all His benefits" --beyond the material possession of this world...

beyond my comfort... beyond my pleasure.

As markets go up and down, and gloom and doom hover around us like dark shadows of despair, I take comfort in knowing my sin is forgiven... my diseases are healed, I have a life incorruptible... I have God's loving-kindness and tender mercies.  And I am at peace.  I pray you are, too.  selahV for Today 

When Shelter Is Needed ...

...may you find it beneath the wings of God.

May He protect you when you are frightened.  May He lift you up when you are weary and feel you cannot go on.  May you find His peace and assurance as you rest beneath His wings.

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:7

I found this one of the most endearing photos I've ever seen of the sheltering wings of refuge and care.  Do you feel a sense of peace and protection as you look at it, too?

For me it is a marvelous example of how our Heavenly Father wraps us in the safety of His love and grace.   We cannot comprehend the security enjoyed by these little birds.  A friend sent this to me in an email.  Simply gotta love the symbolism God gives to His children sometimes through the glory of His creation.  Amen? selahV

Heavy Heart

Ever have a heavy heart?  A burden for someone you cannot get off your mind?  Every verse you read whispers their name.  Words that come to my mind are mercy, grace, peace, consolation, strength, joy, comfort, encouragement, rest, hope.

Yet all these words are so empty to someone who is at their wit's end.  Their physical condition has taken its toll.  Depression has wrapped around them like a warm blanket on a cold dark night.  They cannot take it off for fear of freezing.  They know God.  They know He loves but they feel none because their heart is in the throes of earthly battles beyond their control. The thorns have not been removed.  The pain is persistent. The turmoil returns with the morning sun.  The weight of emptiness is crushing.  Faith is an ember.

I can only pray.  And continue to pray.  May God's mercy be upon my "someone".  In fact, I have a couple of "someones".  My heart may be heavy, but not nearly as heavy as my "someone" so far away.  May light be upon them.  Lift their spirit, oh, LORD.  Return hope from where hope has hidden.

BLOGGER'S REFRESHMENT

All Things Heart and Home

An open jar.

Empty.  Shine it up...clean away the sediments and dust.

A few hydrangeas.  Blue and taupe.

Drying.  Three.  Dying.  What pleasure in the air.

Fill me up, Lord.  Fill me with Your love and goodness.  Fill me with Your fruit of gentleness, kindness, peace and hope.

A zinc lid.  Placed upon the jar.

Lock Yourself inside me, Lord.  Close the jar and use me for Your purpose and Your plan.

Ah...I needed this just now.  The quiet.  The waiting is not hard at all.  I have been still, and now I know.

I know that You are God.  selahV 

Close Encounters (Continued)

Pity parties are odd things.  I often throw mine and realize I have not one soul I can invite.  Who'd want to join me in feeling sorry for myself after all?  I don't even want to talk to me.

Enter the blogosphere...Facebook, Twitter.  There's always someone somewhere to join in commiserating with me.  That can be a dangerous thing for some folk, but I've been blessed by some of those folks who encourage with scripture without beating my head in with Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of verses from their 7-pound Family Bible.  I'm humbled that a person takes the time to care for someone they've never been physically close enough to to even so much as nod at a four-way stopsign.

It seems odd, to say the least, that we find ourselves spilling our guts to people we've never had the privilege of seeing face to face. It's quite baffling when one finds more understanding, and encouragement via internet access than from a person they've shared years of details in an up-close-and-personal relationship.

How can this happen?  Is it true we can't see the forest for the trees?

I never know quite how long to hold a pity party. Occasionally, for me, holding one is what makes life most bearable to deal with an arthritic infested spine, a painful vertebrae, the dreaded day others find joy in remembering Mothers, and the petty disappointments of daily living.  Until the last guest leaves (uh, that be me), I tend to wallow in this time and write.  I write.  I gripe, complain, whine, and consider the bunk stored in an unguarded heart which always seems to surface in my mind when I am at my lowest point emotionally and physically.

Yet, when the tears dry upon my cheeks, and the pity party begins to lose its charm, I rediscover an age-old truth.  By some extraordinary twist of providence, only God can make a difference in disappointments.  Only He is wise enough to give us the exact person we need at that particular time in our lives to deliver His word of comfort.  Only He can fuse the broken spirit, and turn the life-wheels to form a pot worth having from the dust and water of a corrupted earth.

Only through writing, praying, and weighing my thoughts, do I find any purpose for the chaotic friction, fissures, and misunderstandings...if there be any purpose under the sun.  There is a time for everything--a time to live, to die, to dance, to not dance, to weep, to laugh.  Today is my time to mourn life in general.  It's my way of running like Forrest, biking, painting, doing yardwork and purging the closets of my soul.  Since today gave way to self-indulgence, perhaps tomorrow will bring the joy.  If not, there is always the next day--and the next.  For without Hope, without expectation of God's intervention, would there be any sense at all in this world?  I think not. 

There's therapeutic deliverance in thinking, in writing, in praying through discouragement.  God changes me and things seem to change around me.  It's not that I can change the circumstance or fix the situation.  No, there is no fixing what is.  Only living with it as is, and accepting "such is life".  C'est la vie.

It's hard to admit, since I haven't really ended my pity party, but I am quite grateful for the close encounters He brings my way when I least expect it.  I really am.  They often show me a side of myself I cannot see for the trees.  Their pain puts me in my place.  Their struggles help me see my own in perspective.  Their love makes me want to love the ones I'm with a bit more, a bit stronger--with greater tolerance and patience and understanding.

 

How about you?  Has God brought about good from what others intended, or unintentionally intended, as evil?  Have you had "close encounters" from a long distance? selahV

We Are Talking FOREVER, Gang, FOREVER

People are turning away from faith, from God, from all they've known and believed true.  They mock; they scorn; they ridicule.

But the LORD endures forever.

The government in Illinois passed a law that prohibits kids from bringing a homemade lunch to school.  Prayer is forbidden.  Children are taught other religions are sacred and to be respected, but Christianity is taboo.

But the LORD endures forever.

Japan's nuclear plant is melting down and will destroy life as Japan once knew.  But the LORD endures forever.

America's politicians are so puffed up with power and self-deception that our blessed country is on the brink of economic collapse.  But the LORD endures forever.

All sin is now categorized in some disease form or another, and people are excused from their sinful immoral actions and choices.  But the LORD endures forever.

Christian churches are being burned in places all around the world.  Christians are literally losing their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  But the LORD endures forever.

Wars upon wars are being waged in the Middle East.  The world is unfaithful.  The governments are unfaithful.  Little is trustworthy.  But the LORD endures forever. 

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
    His faithful love endures forever.

² Let Israel say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."

³ Let the house of Aaron say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."

⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."  Psalm 118:1-4

Forever, my friends.  His faithful love endures forever.  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the LORD and His faithful love endures forever.

Forever is a long, long time.  People carelessly say they stood in line "forever" at the check out.  They've been waiting "forever" for their tax refunds.  They sat "forever" without being served.  But friends...as long as we've lived, we've only lived a second in the eternity of forever.  I was allowed to have my precious son on earth for 33 years before his appointed time on earth came due.  But that 33 years was but a blink of an eye in comparison to the eternity I get to spend with him and Jesus because "His faithful love endures forever."

Give thanks to the Lord while you have breath.  Give glory to Him Who gives you faithful enduring love--forever.  Say it, my friends, say it.  "His faithful love endures forever."  selahV

How To Soothe A Troubled Heart

I received an email from a friend yesterday.  He sends me little snippets of this-and-that each day.  I laugh at some, shake my head at others and then some, I am pressed to ponder a bit.  Yesterday's was a quote by Warren Wiersbe:

"When there is peace in the heart, there will be praise on the lips."

Sounds sweet, huh?  I thought so, too--at the first read.  Then I looked at it again and recalled a time when the phrase was reversed for me.  When there is praise on the lips, there is peace in the heart.  There was a time so dark and full of sorrow and blackness I thought any second I was going to die.  In fact as much as I feared it, I wanted it.  I saw no light in the abyss.  No comfort to come from mourning.  No filling to come from hungering and thirsting.  No strength to come from weakness.  No hand amid the waves of pain.

Wiersbe says, when there is peace, there is praise.  I don't know if that is always true.

You see, my heart is at peace quite often without an utterance of praise or a thought of adoration toward my Maker.  But when I am troubled, when my heart is broken, when heartache seems to squeeze the life right out of my soul, it's then that peace eludes me.

I have found when I take time to exalt the Lord, to sing a chorus of praise:  "I exalt You.  I exalt You.  I exalt You, Oh, Lord;" it is then my heart is stilled.  It's then my heart relaxes and my weakness turns to strength.  It's then the darkest night becomes day.  Most certainly when a heart is at peace it can praise the Lord for His presence.  But do we?  always?

When a person has a troubled heart, praise on his lips will create the peace his heart cannot produce on its own.  It transforms the heart flooded with itself.  God is the keeper of the secret longings and needs of our hearts.  We can praise Him for the hope we have in Him and then our hearts will give Him room to sit enthroned each moment of our day.

"But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted Thee and Thou didst deliver them." Psalm 22:3-4 KJV

If you have a troubled weary heart today, try singing Jesus Loves Me till you feel He does and know He is your refuge and stay.  I am praying for you, too.  May His peace be the praise you offer to others who find themselves torn and broken today. selahV

RELATED POST:  Lessons of Loss

DEVASTATION: EARTH QUAKES, SEAS ROAR

I slept peacefully dreaming of brilliantly colored birds.  Tiny little birds the size of bumble bees flew into my house and perched upon my fingertips.  One bird resembled a cluster of purple, pink, and yellow bubbles.  I went outside and was mesmerized by black swirling clouds that rained down dinner-plate sized cherry blossoms that spiraled round and round with delicate beauty.  I reached out to touch them and they melted at the touch of my hand.  Joy and goodness and comfort and peace enveloped my heart.  Wonder filled my mind.  THEN=>>>...

DIMINISHED BUT NOT DISSATISFIED

As you, my readers are fully aware, my car accident last month has curtailed my postings here and other places.   Two weeks ago I posted a column in COMMON MATTERS, (/link) about the "diminished value" of my vehicle since the accident.  To date, I still do not have my Malibu back.  Allstate has still not paid for my medical bills which the hospital has kindly deferred payment till February 10th.

This week my newspaper column is about what I call diminished value of life due to the difficulty I've had with my neck and shoulders.  I'll spare you the details here, just in case you want to read my column that comes out on Thursday.  Suffice it to say here, that through all the chiropractic adjustments, pain meds and muscle relaxers, I have re-learned a few things.

It's really not the big things that break us in life.  It is the little day to day things we place confidence in--our health, our possessions, our finances, our abilities.  I've re-learned that though my car has diminished value due to over 7,000 dollars worth of damage, that life has more value.  I've re-learned that the little things we take for granted--going to a friend's house to teach English conversation, the ability to lean over a table and paint or work a puzzle, the ease of lifting an arm to blow-dry my hair, the freedom of driving without prohibition due to driving under the influence of pain medications--are things that add value to life.  These things, capability, ability, freedom--though diminished somewhat, cannot destroy the satisfaction and contentment one has in one's heart.  These annoyances and aggravations, these discomforts and difficulties, do not remove the grace of God, the peace of God, nor the love of God.

He still provides His mercies each morning.  He still fuels my spirit each moment.  He still releases His joy to my heart.  Life may be diminished a bit, but dissatisfied I am not.  I can still laugh at funny situations, revel in my grandchildren's energy, and bask in their delights.  I have comfort of encouraging friends, a caring family, and God's watchcare.  And my lot in life is a rainbow of glory compared to the storms in the lives of folks less fortunate.

"I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He will keep that which I've committed to Him against each day."  selahV

AM GLAD TO KNOW...

I'M WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS.

If I didn't know that, the hailstorms of life would consume me.

Sometimes the storms are close--so close, I hear the threatening stones against my window pane, expecting glass to shatter any moment.  Sometimes they thunder loudly in the distance--instead of my roof, they pound my loved one's or friend's.  Even when winds destroy the strangers in my life, I feel the force, the power of destruction in their lives.

And it hurts.

I feel so incompetent, so helpless.  But that is because my eyes cannot see beyond the space of circumstance.  I must rely on faith to carry me to the other side of the storm--beyond the horizon of looming mountains--into the peace afforded at the still waters of God's grace.  I must believe.  I must see what cannot be seen in the midst of blistering difficulty.  I have to let go...and let my Father do what I cannot.

That is why I am glad to know my life is worth more than many sparrows.  It's why I rest in Him when there is no rest elsewhere. selahV

FOR MORE RELATED THOUGHTS:

ANSWER ME

ONE GOOD WORD

MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS

I AM ASSURED

I HAVE A DWELLING PLACE

"You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." Psalm 16:11

The Lord has made known to me the path of life...it is through Jesus Christ the Lord.  There is no other way but through Him that I can go to meet the Father above.  He will fill me with greater joy than I have ever known upon this old earth, just by being in His presence.  I will have constant eternal pleasures as I stand before my Lord, My Redeemer, and King.

Oh, my friend, that you would stand next to me that day!

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.  What a day, glorious day, that will be! selahV

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET JESUS?  Click here.] 

ENEMIES UNDERFOOT

Do you have an enemy?  Is someone desperate to disparage you...to bring you down and rip you apart?  Is your every move--every word--being held suspect to the world around you?  Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the destructive forces you face?  Don't lose heart.  If you are a child of God, you will face these adversaries...but you are not alone.  Each trial you face must pass through the hands of God before they come to you.  God knows you are able to do all things through Him who strengthens you.  He knows He is able to keep you in your weariness and your weakness.  He knows that which you have committed unto Him.  He knows your situation; remember?  Not a sparrow falls to the earth without His knowledge.  He knows what you are going through.  He knows.

Sometimes I drone on and on about the sufficiency of God and how powerful He is in my life. Time and again I stand amazed at His provision and strength.  Yet, as a writer I tend to be a bit verbose in my praise and adoration.  May I offer to you a few words of one who is known for his truisms that cut deeply to the chase, with illustrative analogies straight out of scripture?   

"For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him." 1 Corinthians 15:27 
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:  "God has given us kingdom authority.  Jesus said, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy:  and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:). When problems get over your head, remember they are under His feet.  You need not be discouraged when troubles strike.  It is the pathway your Savior has walked before you.  It is the way of the cross and He has the victory!"  Adrian Rogers

God knows your enemies are defeated...He has overcome the world.  Do you feel yourself cowering in a corner?  Do you cringe when you hear another's voice, hear their name?  Do you want to run and avoid meeting them?  The moment we stop running and cowering in corners...turn and face the enemy with the whole armor of God, we see Him move mountains.  We see His protective shield of mercy and grace, and we are able to rest in His all-sustaining power to keep us, no matter what comes our way.

PRAYER:  Lord give peace to those who face trials they find overwhelming today.  Show Yourself to them this day.  Let them be confident in Your assurance.  Let them know You are with them...You know their heartache, their fear.  Help them see their enemies beneath Your throne.  Help me do likewise.  I need You, Lord.  In You I put my trust.  selahV 

Are We Too Comfortable?

I sit here in my air-conditioned home sipping on freshly brewed hot coffee.  I thawed out some shrimp to make a casserole for dinner.  I'm watching cable television and wondering.  Am I too comfortable?  People in Pakistan are clinging to patches of dry land--waiting hopefully for a cup of water, wondering when they'll get a bite to eat.  Earthquake victims in Haiti are still trying to figure out how to live beneath sheets of cardboard, sheetrock and metal.

I am by no means wealthy, but neither am I what some call impoverished.  I have a home.  My home is filled with furniture, books, dishes, artwork and conveniences.  I turn on the faucet and out comes water--not just cold water, but hot water.  I flick a switch and on comes lamps, computers, hairdryers, curling irons and microwaves. I open a door and grab cold drinks, and frozen Popsicles.  I am rich in comparison to so many in life.

How about you?  Are you comfortable?  Do you feel a bit too comfortable?  I am so grateful for the comfort I have tonite.  With a hacking cough and sore muscles, I have nothing but gratitude that my air-conditioning is working in this 105-degree heat.  I am grateful my husband is able to make the money to pay our bills so we have electricity, a home.

I am grateful I have a venue to share how grateful I am for the greatest comfort--the comfort of knowing Jesus is my Savior and He is keeping me in all situations.  I take comfort in knowing God is always present in my life.  He will never ever leave me.  He fills me with peace.  He gives me new mercies each day.  He pours out His grace.

Tonight I pray for those who do not have that comfort.  I pray the Lord draws them to himself--and shows them the glory of His grace and the comfort of His completeness.  I pray for you if you are heavy-hearted and need comfort.  For those who have lost loved ones this week, who have loved ones suffering from terminal illnesses.  I pray for those poor souls around the world who wonder and wait for help.  May God's grace abound.  selahV

Went for a walk with Jesus today...

...and I feel better, now.  Has it happened to you?  You get up in the morning without a negative thought in your mind.  You feel pretty good about life in general.  Oh, you may have a few aches and pains.  And you may have to juggle the bills a bit to make sure Peter gets paid the money you took from him last month to pay Paul.  You may even discover your milk has exceeded its expiration date.  But all in all, life is good.  You have fairly good health, you still have friends who love you, and family to set you straight when you don't quite measure up to perfection demanded by world opinion-ators.  Then...

...then someone says something, does something that simply stabs you in the core of your being.  Your heart races.  Your stomach lurches.  Tears sting your eyes.  You take a deep breath and count to ten, then twenty.  But the pain within you doesn't go away.  You are certain you aren't angry--it feels like heartache.  The kind you get when someone picks on your child or betrays a trust.  May I suggest you go for a walk?

Put down the telephone.  Get away from the television set.  Shut down the computer.  Grab a water bottle and head for the hills.  Or in my case--just walk around the block five or six times until you have talked it all out with Jesus.  He has a way of setting all things back into place--aligning the err of man and refreshing your spirit.  Let it go...mentally put it all in His nail-scarred hands.  Let Jesus take it to the Father.  He may do something about it; He may not.  He may just laugh.  But one thing is certain--it will not go unnoticed.  Cast "your burden upon the Lord, for He cares for you" and those you love.  He won't ignore you.  selahV

Wrong Thinking, Number 5 of 11

Think with me for a minute, okay?  When you think about yourself and your accomplishments, do think you are worth about the same as a "Dum-dum" lollipop wrapper?  Do you relate more to the butterscotch sweetness of the solid ball of sugar once blanketed by that paper wrapper?  Or do you feel more like a tiny square of useless litter that belongs in the trash?  I've often felt like the latter--the "litter".  Basically, that comes from a lifetime of being told I was that "wrapper".  This brings me to Number 5 of my little series on "Wrong Thinking that causes us problems". 

DISCOUNTING THE POSITIVE:  (DtP).

If you are afflicted with "DtP", you insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities "don't count".  You discount any positive someone points out about you.  You find it extremely difficult to accept compliments.  You find it tremendously guilty accepting validation for anything you do.

I love my stepmother (hold that thought).  She came to live at our house when I was five-and-a-half.  When my father unloaded the U-haul (or whatever kind of truck it was), with all her belongings, her three-year-old and seventeen-year-old sons, I felt like we'd been invaded.  The number one thing I remember being unloaded was a metal horse that moved up and down and rolled forward when you stood on the metal stirrups.  Excitement bubbled up inside my heart as I moved toward it.  With one fell swoop, my exuberance was slapped away when my new step-brother pushed me aside and was validated for doing so.  "That's not yours, honey.  That is Thomas's."  That was the beginning of being told or shown that love, praise, and goodies belonged to her youngest son--not me.

I tell you that little story, not for sympathy.  No, I tell you to shed a glimpse of understanding into what caused a rather timid child, who'd been abandoned by her birth mother at age 3, to grow up with low self-esteem.  Abandonment coupled with favoritism for another--neglect coupled with verbal abuse, can warp the mind of a child and cause them to grow up thinking they "don't count".  But still, I loved my stepmother.  I came to understand her mental illness that went untreated and undiagnosed for her lifetime.  I also came to realize that what she was, and how she treated me, did not determine my ability or my worth.

The joy in discovering that God loved me and sent His Son to die for me, long before I was ever born, exploded within my heart with an intensity that I cannot begin to express with words equal to its splendor.  Growing in Christ showed me more and more of the mystery of God's love, the sovereignty of His love, the abundance of His love, and the watchcare of His love, the provision of His love, the mercy of His love, the forgiveness in His love and the acceptance of His love.

There are many times since I learned these things that I have wrestled with the DtP thinking.  I have fallen prey to the evil one who has nothing good to say about me.  I have listened to his accusations (and sometimes truly believed them), that I do anything I do, not because I love my Savior and Lord, but because I want the praise of man.  The hardest battle to fight is this one--especially when, along with the negative whisperings of Satan, I audibly hear the voices of people who agree with the Accuser of accusers.

However...

God is faithful.  He forever reminds me I am His child.  I belong to Him.  I am an heir.  I own, through the riches of Christ's glory, my Creator's approval through the blood of Christ which took all my sin away, and blanketed me with His grace.

I often wonder what good my writing does.  I often wonder if what I do makes any difference at all in the kingdom to encourage, edify or bring glory to my Lord.  Every now and then God sends me a visible, tangible validation that what I am doing matters to Him and to others.  It's kind of like getting that "smiley face" on your English essay.  God does that for us, not to puff us up, but to validate us, and to encourage us to keep doing what we are doing, despite the odds against us, despite the whispers of the evil one.

Just yesterday, a precious gal from India--a Hindu transformed by the blood and life of Jesus, "facebooked" me and told me she'd been blessed by some of my devotionals.  She wanted to "friend" me.  What a blessing!  What an honor!  But the greater blessing is that the Lord allows me to now pray for her family to come to Christ, too.  Blessedly for her, her family did not cause her problems with her conversion.  Folks, that is amazing.  Many missionaries have been killed for sharing the gospel in India.  Pastors have had their churches torched, and watched their families and members of their churches slaughtered for daring to profess Christ as Lord.  My new friend reaffirmed something for me yesterday and today.

I am not a wrapper.  Neither are you.  God is working all things together for good to those who are called according to His purpose.  Give your life to Him.  Let Him show you the sweetness He can bring forth from your yielded life.  Don't let Satan, or anyone else, discount your value in this world.  selahV

ADDITIONALS POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Ten Things To Do When You're Ready to Explode 

When You Want to Know What to Do

When You Are Wrongly Accused