SelahV Today by hariette petersen

If Only Disappointment Didn't

leave you with so much baggage...maybe it would be easier to get over.  But each time I'm disappointed, I have this thing about remembering all the other stuff that's broken my heart and hurt me in life.  Emotions are fragile things.  Expectations are like rainbow colored bubbles.  Wouldn't it be nice if when something or someone bursts your bubble, that all the expectations incased within it would be swept away...so there is no residue of disappointment?

People will always fall short.  Life will always disappoint.  Should I not have expectations?  Should I not care?  Should whatever happens be just hunky dory?  Sometimes I think I must need to think that way so disappointment has no hold on me...no power to make me frustrated, sad or angry.  Hmmmn.  Just when I think I've learned to be content in whatsoever state I am in, God throws me a curve-ball.  I need to take myself out of the equation.  I need to think about this differently. 

Seriously.  When I consider those things which break my heart, upset my day, or burst my bubbles, it's all because I take my eyes off God.  It's all because I look at anything temporal as more important than those things which are above.

It does make me wonder if God ever gets as disappointed with us as I get with stuff in my life.  If so, He sure wouldn't feel very good right now.  If I were to take all my disappointment of my nearly 63 years and pile it in the middle of the floor, it couldn't begin to touch the disappointment God must have stacked up from all the self-centered lives He has created since the beginning of time as we know it.

As much as my disappointment feels at this moment, and it is pretty weighty, how in the world does God carry the weight of His?  Maybe, His was lifted up upon the cross as He hung in perfect sacrifice for the sin of all mankind.  For in heaven there is no sorrow, no pain, no disappointment.  That's all the more reason to remember when I set my sights on things above, I am assured there will be no more disappointment.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

Temporal things have a way of crowding out eternal things of God.  Perhaps He wants me to see the world a little less appealing, a little less satisfying.  Otherwise, I may want these things with greater desire than Him...His glory...His purpose.  Yes, I must guard my heart and mind...for if everything within my heart flows from it--my attitude, my witness, my example.  I must guard what I trust, who I trust--my emotions must be guarded.  If not, I'm going to be disappointed not just with life--but myself.  selahV

On A Scale Of 1 to 10, The PAIN Is...

...at least 15.  I can't imagine what number I'd assign my pain without the aid of hydrocodone and aspirin.  If it's this bad with the medication, it's a good chance I would not be writing to you.  As it is, I am keeping my eyes closed as I type and check for typos now and then.  How'd it happen? It's freaky.

At a few minutes before noon, I simply reached across the dining-room table for a piece of paper. Pain ripped through my lower back. I couldn't breathe.  Bright light flashed in front of my eyes then darkness seemed to blind my mind.  Nausea grabbed me by the throat; I almost passed out. I stood perfectly still.  Didn't move a muscle.  I held my breath and waited for the searing, wrenching pain to ease.  It didn't.

At present, I need hubby's assistance to walk; he's my crutch. 

I take tiny steps.  Actually it's more like a shuffle. It's excruciating just to get up and stand still.  Suffice it to say, we canceled plans to go junking in Duncan.  All afternoon, I laid back in my recliner trying not to move anything but my fingers.  The simple intake of breath causes pressure pain to hit my back.

This evening I'm praying I don't sneeze--still a bit queazy.  Don't want to wiggle my toes, scratch my leg, or flex a muscle. Most any movement causes greater pain. 

Still, I am compelled to praise the Lord as I consider how good I have it--how much better off I am than all those poor tornado victims in Alabama and Mississippi. I think about the folks in Japan and am grateful.  So grateful.  Though my pain is worse than any I've felt in a long time, it's still less than what others suffer each day.  It's far less than my brother-in-law is enduring with his mouth and throat cancer.  He's on morphine.  I think of the heartache and misery our military face because of lost arms, eyes, legs and more in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Blessed, I am.  Blessed I'll be.  Ever mindful ot the sufficient grace of God that meets the weakness of my temporary trial.  Yes, temporary.  Should the good and merciful LORD decide to leave me in this state for years, it is still but a single intake of breath in comparison to the eternal bliss and comfort I shall have in heaven one day.  So,

"This suffering is all part of the work God has given you. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:21)

Odd, when I consider "suffering is all part of the work God has given" me.  I never really thought about suffering as work.  Yet, here it is.  And all I need do to follow Jesus is endure it.  It's easy to recall the suffering of Jesus so close to Easter--so much emphasis has been on His crucifixtion and resurrection.  Not once did Jesus complain in His suffering.  No pity parties.  No grumbling.  Not even an irritable spirit.  Yes, now....now, I can discern how suffering is part of the work that God gives.

"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."Along with Paul, I stake my hope on resurrection, a time when Christ will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:21

Suffering is not about me.  It's about glorifying God--working through it, submitting to it as Christ Jesus did during His scourging, mockery, and tortuous death.

Need I even pray about my pain?  The suffering?  In light of "Your Father knows what you need before you ask."?  Matthew 6:8

Of course I pray.  I pray that I do not enter into the temptation to grumble, complain and whine.  I praise God for the opportunity to do the work He has given me to do.  Though I cannot stand and cook dinner, fold laundry, or even bend to brush my teeth, I can accept the "work God" gives me. I think the whole purpose for this suffering is so I'd search for scriptures to convey to you, my friends, that God is supplying.  So, this is fine...this is good. I am a woose for the most part, but I can do this.  Yes, I can.

"I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength!"  Philippians 4:13

I know I'm not alone.  I know my Redeemer did more than save my soul.  He left me with the Holy Spirit.  He gifted me with His strength and He assures me with:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 2:9)

What a mighty, prepared, think-ahead God we have!  What a peace is mine!  Amazing, don't you think?  selahV 

MONDAY MOURNING MOANS

It's official.  Today is Monday and it is one of the least loved days on the weekly calendar.  For most folks it is the first day of a work week.  For others, it's just another day and is sometimes their "saturday".   Antique shops are notorious for taking Mondays off.  I don't really have any complaints about Monday to speak of.  I have a deadline for my newspaper column on Mondays, so that makes it a rather significant day to remember.  Other than that, I try to take it easy on Mondays and spend a lot of time writing for the week.  For me, it's easy to sense the presence of God and hear Him speak when I read His word on Mondays.  I attribute that to the time I spend focusing on Him in Sunday School, Worship and such.  So Mondays are kinda sweet for me...a day of reflection...a day of planning the week ahead.

Never fails when I go to Facebook, the moans and groans are almost audible.

My blogposts get the most readers on Mondays, too.  So I suppose there is a lot of folks leaning back in their recliners, sipping coffee, sweet tea or energy drinks.  I have it on pretty good authority, if there is any leftover cornbread from Sunday dinner, that a dear friend of mine might even be spooning the soggy stuff out of a glass of buttermilk while he reads Monday-morning bloggers rant, rave, moan, groan, grumble and complain about everything from theology to rain on their parades.

It's odd when you think about it.  We have been given only so many days appointed on earth to breathe, to love, to enjoy, to pursue happiness, yet so often we are found begrudging the existence of the hour at hand.  Wouldn't you think after a Sabbath day of rest, we'd appreciate another day of living with the blessings of God? 

I remember one of the sweetest prayers my elderly daddy ever prayed on a Monday morning.  It was at breakfast as his feet dangled over the edge of his nursing-home bed.  His hair was rumpled, his tee-shirt stained from midnight snacking, and he bowed his head.  In between oxygen-fueled breaths, he says, "Thank you, O Lord for another day of living.  Thank you for Your protection last night.  I especially thank you for this food before me, and pray You use it to nourish my body.  Watch over Shirley and my family and give Hariette a safe trip home.  In Your precious son's name, I pray.  Amen."

Then with his feeble, shaking, Parkinson's-afflicted hand, daddy would lift up the rubbermaid lid to find his usual runny tasteless, scrambled eggs, dried out cold toast, and bowl of grits.  No salt allowed.  No sugar.  No fat.  I'd look at that tray and watch my father's labored breathing, and wonder how in the world he could be so thankful for another day of living.  Yet, he was.  Today, he is fully whole and feasting on the bounty of the Lord.  What a neat thought the LORD just put in my head.  It's enough to make me want to count my blessings for awhile.  How about you?  selahV

PERFECTION

I sure do wish it was attainable.

If it were, would we even know it?

Surely perfection is absent of all pride.  We'd have total humility, always be calm, kind, generous, honest, merciful, peaceful, loving.  Oh to be so yielded to the Lord, we could attain such perfection, such purity of mind and spirit, such completeness in Him.  selahV   

I Don't Feel Like It

Kinsey and Haylee trashed (what we commonly refer to as), the "girls' room".  It's a  combination guest room for when my son's girls come from Texas for the weekend.  Kinsey decided to carpet the bedroom with all the books on their bookshelves.  Then Haylee cleaned out the closet and made it into a store (so all the toys in there came out onto the floor, too). They made a tent out of the bunkbeds.  Then they took a big box and headed to the kitchen to shop for merchandise for their bedroom "store".  Suffice it to say, "the girls' room" looks like an Oklahoma tornado blew through.  When I told the girls that they needed to clean up their messes before their mom came, they both pointed to the other as the one to blame and said the same thing:  "I don't feel like it."

I understand.  I make lots of messes and don't feel like cleaning them up.  However, sometimes we gotta do what we don't wanna do.

I kinda think our world is like "the girls' room".  We all like to play in it, but when we make a mess of it, we don't wanna clean it up.  Our lives are like that, too.  We do our own thing and saturate ourselves with those things which please us, but when we start carrying box-loads of kitchen stuff into the bedroom, we discover it's not quite as much fun to carry it back.  We yank all the order from our lives and spread it out in places it doesn't belong and then we don't want to bow down and get things straight.  We, like Kinsey and Haylee, want to blame the others for the mess we make of things.  We just don't feel it.

It takes too much effort to sort through the cause and root of a problem.  It takes too much time to undo what we've done.  It looks like a disasterous mess and we would rather just move to another room and forget about it.  We don't want to accept responsibilty for our part in the mess we make.  It's easier to point fingers, walk away and move on to another room.  The only problem is, if you haven't changed the way you play, you wind up making a mess of the next room, too.  Therefore, sometimes you gotta do what you don't feel like doing.

My daughter came over and helped the girls lug the "groceries" back into the kitchen.  She helped them place the books back on the shelves.  She guided them in putting the toys back in the closet, and straightening up the living room.  She didn't do it all for them.  But she let them take her yoke upon them and carried the heaviest part of their load.  Just like Jesus does for us.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

RIDICULOUS RANTING about Preferential Treatment

I just discovered I'm a V.I.P. (Very Important Person).

Handicapped Parking spaces is one of the best ideas Americans ever came up with.  It's the least we could do for those who have a hard time getting around.  It really torques my engine to see people without handicap stickers steal the parking space so they don't have to walk a few more yards to get to a store opening.  Makes me want to call the police myself.  But I don't.  However, that's really not what I want to rant about today--it's the Preferred Parking spaces awarded to people like me.

It's one thing to give preferential treatment to folks in need, or even people who pay for the privilege.  I'm not even against special parking for doctors, clergy, and employee of the month.  But to give preferential treatment to drivers who own more fuel-efficient cars?  Seriously, tax credits are doled out to some corporations, malls, cities, and townships which put up signs next to Handicapped Parking signs to designate Preferred Parking status for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Where are we headed with this?  Are we coming to a time when we'll give fuel-efficient vehicles their own highways?  their own lanes on the highways?  I can't wrap my mind around the rationale for someone with no other passengers in their Toyota Prius being awarded front-door convenience while making a harried mother herd her five grandchildren across a quarter-mile parking lot to go grocery shopping.  And all because the young mother carrying a diaper bag, juggling a baby-carrier, and attempting to hold hands with her other four kids, dared drive a ten-year-old Chevy Astro? 

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."  Romans 12:3

Today, there are so many things in society that create division among people.  Elevating someone without merit breeds pride and judgmental attitudes.  God requires humility--not exaltation.  He's not looking on the outside of who we are, what we own, wear, or drive.  He looks to the heart and attitude we have.  There's just something wrong about giving special favor to a person for driving a "green mobile".  Where will it end?  Before long we'll have special seats in restaurants if we weigh ten pounds less than someone else.  Or go to the head of the check-out if we purchase broccoli instead of Oreo cookies.  It's no wonder folks today seem entitled to everything...without doing anything to earn it.  Preferred Parking for Low-Emitting Fuel-Efficient Vehicles!  Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous?  selahV

SINCERITY COMES NATURALLY

Sincerity.  The very sound of that word conjures up a gentle softness, and honest like-ability.  There's not one iota of persuasion attached to it.  No cajoling, no forcefulness, no proving a point.  Sincerity is a genuine light of purity and goodness.  It's kind of like a spontaneous hug--from heart to heart.

Romans 12: 9,10 commands, "Let your love be sincere [the real thing]; hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good.  Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another." (Amplified)

"Let your love be sincere".  Sincere.  The real thing.  Without wax.

At the time Paul wrote this, many statues were being made and sculpted of goddesses and gods.  Whenever the sculptor chinked the marble or stone with miscalculation, a chunk off the nose or a chip on an ear-lobe could result.  To cover the mistake, the sculptor would melt wax and fill in the spot.  No one would be the wiser unless the sculpture was placed in the heat of the noonday sun.  Should it be placed in that light, the wax would melt and reveal the flaw.  The word "sincere" in this passage is the same as "without wax".  Sincerity has no flaws, no hidden motives, no covered pimples, no deceitful flattery.  Sincerity is without guile.

Sincere love is pure and trustworthy.

"Love 'thinketh no evil,' imputes no motive, sees the bright side, puts the best construction on every action." Henry Drummond ~~The Greatest Thing In The World

Do we love like that?  Can we love like that?  I think we all do at one time or another.  But consistently, continually?  Only through the Spirit of God.

Paul tells us what to do.  Practice that love.  Work at it until it becomes second nature, then first nature.  We must so surrender our own importance, our own status, reputation and opinion that only pure love is shown to every brother and sister in Christ.  Why?  So others will know Jesus by our love for the brethren--every last one of the brethren.  We are not allowed to pick and choose which brethren to love.

"From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hands shall come back to him [as in harvest]." Pr.12:14

Can people see a pure holy God when we treat each other with disdain?  Can people see the love of Christ when we show contempt and disgust for our brethren?  Can a lost world desire to know Whom we serve as Lord when we bow to man, or to society?  Can we exemplify sincerity with our schemes, back-biting, finger-pointing, tale-bearing and strife?  Can we add one person to the Kingdom of Heaven with our deceit, our waxed-over sin?

According to Drummond, sincerity "is the self-restraint which refuses to make capital out of others faults; the charity which delights not in exposing the weakness of others but 'covereth all things'; the sincerity of purpose which endeavors to see things as they are and rejoices to find them better than suspicion feared or gossip denounced."

Oh that we could be so self-restrained!  Oh that we could be so sincere!  May all my flaws be visible to me, oh Lord, as You light the darkest corners of my heart.  Let me bring them into Your presence that You might cleanse me of all iniquity and prune the useless branches from Your Vine that Your fruit would be given Life to harvest in the time You have appointed unto me.  selahV

STRIKES, SPARES AND OTHER BOWLING BLESSINGS

Last weekend, Hubby tried to teach everyone how to bowl with his fine form and precision-like throws.  No one got the bend and release motion. Instead, balls crashed onto the alley with loud pops. I was sure that at any moment the bowling attendants would come throw us all out of the alley.

I felt like I'd bowled twenty games instead of simply watching four little girls and a husband bowl a mere two games.  I wondered if my muscle-pain was due to pain-by-proxy.  Empathy pains?  The contortions they all made to get their heavy balls to roll down the alley and clobber bowling pins reminded me of pretzels making their way down an assembly line.

 

I wanted to bowl, too, but I discovered on my third throw that my neck wouldn't allow me the privilege of bowling with my grandkids.  Fortunately for me, the girls loved taking turns when it was Grama's time to bowl.  Corporately, I had pretty good scores. Yet even with all four girls bowling collectively for me, my score still didn't top my youngest 4-year-old granddaughter, Kinsey's score of 82.  Yeah.  Tiny little Kinsey would grab a 7 or 10-pound ball, lug it over to the alley, drop it on the floor, then give it a shove down the alley.  Then she'd sit down and wait to see what happened.  That ball would take an entire minute to reach the pins and topple 5 to 10 pins with one whack.  It was hilarious.  Of course the bumper helped her when balls ricocheted off the padding.  But everyone used the same lane, so it was all even-stevens. 

Gutter balls and splits abounded.  Spares and strikes were sparce except for Grampa.  Still, every pin that came down was highly celebrated with cheers and high-fives.  Who needs trophies when we have one another to encourage and affirm our efforts?

It kinda reminds me of Hebrews 10:24 "...let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." 

Bowling affords great opportunities to teach addition, cooperation, sharing, patience, perseverance, encouragement and the plain old joy of being with one another...don't ya think?  selahV

DOES ANYONE HAVE A PRAISE?

I do!  I do!  In fact, I have a few of them:

The Blizzard of February 1st blessed me with the presence of my husband for three whole days.  We hunkered down and enjoyed one another's company.  We've sipped hot coffee, dined on egg-sandwiches, gorged on chicken stew, nibbled on cinnamon-raisin toast, and simply reveled in a time of rest and quiet.  For breakfast yesterday, Hubby made French Toast for me.  Such a sweetheart God has blessed me with!  He's got the "gift of service" and a heart of love.  Today he braves the 20-degrees and goes to the streets once again as a courier.  May God keep him safe.

My son-in-law came over yesterday and shoveled off our driveway and front porch.  Now we can easily open the front door and get the newspaper.  He even salted the sidewalk and porch.  It was 12 degrees yesterday.  Brrr-rrr.  That is a concerned and caring son-in-law, don't you think?  May God pour out multiple blessings upon him for his unwavering use of his "gift of service". 

Our diligent newspaper man delivered our newspaper every single frigid day.  I often hear the paper hit our front storm-door at 3 a.m. when he stops his four-wheeler at the street and tosses it onto the porch.  It's always within a foot of the open door.  He is a diligent, conscientious man.  We are blessed to have such service.  A big tip is going his way this month.  May God bless this man's life with goodness and comfort.

My sister-in-law from Florida emailed me and told me she is sending us several pounds of Acini de Pepe.  What's that?  It's a teensey round pasta we've used for nearly 46 years of marriage to make homemade chicken soup.  When I lived in East Hartford, Connecticut, we use to go down to the Italian Store on Main Street and scoop out as much as we wanted from the open barrels of pasta.  Mmmmn, mmmn, good!  That was pasta!  But I am so blessed to have a sister-in-law who cares enough to take the time to purchase the pasta we cannot find here in Lawton, Oklahoma City, and Wichita Falls, Texas, then wrap it up and mail it to us.  (Yeah, we've asked the grocers to order it...not helpful.  Hard to believe we can't get it here when Italian Wedding soup is so popular.) Nevertheless, I can hardly wait to make the soup and hear my granddaughters' glee when they get the soup with "little balls" in it.  May the Lord multiply blessings to Valerie for this act of kindness to us.

I also have a praise for all you readers.  I've had record site-views the last few months.  Am grateful that even though you may not comment, that you find my thoughts worth reading. Many of you have searched my archives when my writing was inconsistent due to my accident.  I realize that lately I've done a bit of whining and complaining about the insurance thing.  But I assure you that I'm only venting the idiocy of it all.  It just makes so little sense to me that God gives us brains and we "strain at gnats and swallow camels" when it comes to treating one another with fairness and caring.  I realize that the people I am dealing with at the insurance company are just following the rules and instructions of their company's bidding.  They are just people....working and trying to put beans on their own tables each week.  I tell them I know it is not their fault when I debate the "issue" and claims with them.  God loves them and asks us to "walk humbly and treat others kindly" even when things are difficult.  We are not exempt from doing right when "right" eludes us.  I can't imagine having their jobs.  May God bless them with goodness and wisdom to make the right decisions under pressure.

Little things--blessings and praises--have a way of multiplying and growing taller than the mountains of difficulty we may have in life.  It makes sense to "count it all joy when we encounter trials."  These trials and difficulties are God's sandpaper to strengthen our faith, develop our patience, and deepen our trust in His all-sufficient grace and watchcare.  The mountains of difficulty are made into molehills when we count our blessings and look at the little things of life for which we can offer praise to our Father, the Most High God.

So.....Anyone have a praise?  selahV    

 

IT MAY BE TODAY

It may be today that grace is manifested in all its glory--when truth is more than another's opinion of reality.  It may be today that we see pride swallowed, and grace truly abound.  It may be today we read truth instead of embellished fiction.  I do not know.  I can only hope.

Sometimes I so long for Christ to come, my soul burns.  My heart reels, my stomach churns.  I so yearn to hear the trumpet sound, the Eastern sky to part and see my Savior's face--to greet Him and see man perfected--flawless, pure and holy--without guile, deceit, and self-centered ambition.

I am not alone.  Paul wrote, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:22

I sometimes grow weary.  I really do.  I groan so deeply I cannot pray when I see some things Christians write about other Christians.  I am comforted to know that the Lord Himself bears witness with my spirit and cries out to the Holy, Holy, Holy for me.  For my heart breaks that some people show so little regard for fellow Christian brothers, they write falsehoods and call them truth.  I know I am not alone.  I have brothers and sisters who join in heart and mind, who seek a more fruit-filled spirit manifested in the lives of the Body--the Bride of Christ.  Peace.  Love.  Forgiveness.  Tolerance.  Patience.  Kindness.  Humility.  Joy.

Where is the fruit in our words, our actions, our deeds?

Where is the ministry of reconciliation?  Hidden behind words of retaliation?

I'm not so naive that I think Christians will all agree on every iota of every issue.  But our words mean things.  And some words are just plain mean.  They're hateful.  They are unholy, unkind, and unworthy of the blood shed to forgive us of our sin.  If this is the kind of witness we are to the lost in the world, it's no wonder our efforts are fruitless, our baptismals are dry. 

I've been praying quite a while for another spiritual awakening.  How, pray tell can this occur when God's people find nothing but fault to lay at one another's door?  Can we not look at our own hearts and see the evil within and praise God for the attoning grace we have in Christ?  Can we not smell the stench our unholy attitudes and careless words offers up to the nostrils of our Lord?  What kind of sacrifice is this?  Where is truth?

Oh, Lord, forgive us.  May we all bow down and confess and repent and seek Your face.  May we weep for the souls of men and the growth of each brother and sister.  We cannot know.  It may be today You come to take us home.  May we be found faithful in Your sight, true to our calling, and abiding in You.  selahV

CELEBRATING DILIGENCE, PERSEVERANCE and FAITH

Diligence and persistance are synonymous with my 19 year-old grandson.  Even as a little boy, he played ball while hurt because his dad had taught him to persist and persevere--even when you don't feel like it.  The team was counting on him.  Through his life, I've marveled at the perseverance he has shown in multiple ways, through many difficulties he's faced head-on.  Again and again he followed through on commitments when more tempting situations and social events were ignored.

A year ago eighteen-year-old Ryan sat on the sofa in my living room and told me he simply was not interested in becoming an engineer, even though he had a scholarship to college.  He knew he had the potential to be anything he wanted to be--he's just that bright.  He didn't want to disappoint his teachers who'd recommended him for scholarships.  But he felt God was leading him to be a fireman.  He had joined the volunteer fire department in a little rural town near his home in the county before he even finished highschool.  He immediately started getting certified and training.  He loved it.  When he got his equipment, he came to our house to show us all of it.  Everything was used and old, but he spread it out and explained it all like it was Christmas in July.  He was so proud.

When he happened to be the first responder to a horrific fatal accident a half-mile from his home, Ryan called in the accident; he didn't panic.  He simply assessed the situation and ordered all the right things--including jaws-of-life for the nineteen-year-old girl trapped inside her vehicle.  He told me he couldn't believe how calm he was in the midst of it all.  He believed God was using him as he sat on the bank--just talking to a little boy who'd been in the accident while other responders attended to the boy's grandfather.

When Ryan went to his first structure fire, they were able to save the trailer.  But Ryan wasn't satisfied with that.  He felt he needed to hook up the family with churches in the area to minister to their needs.  He even organized a few meals for them through his mom, and his youth minister at church.  Ryan felt God could use him in the fire-department.  "It could be a ministry," he told me.  I remember telling him that he could do anything he wanted to do and no matter what he did, God could use him to minister to people.  But if God was calling him to be a fireman, then He would make a way for him to do all he needed to do to become one.

Within a few months, he was in the top three applicants out of 60 who made it through the rigorous testing required for firefighting applicants in a nearby town.  When folks told him he was in--not to worry about it, he hoped, but knew his age might be against him.  When the position was given to another who had more certifications, he didn't give up; he dug in.  He got more certifications.  He went to every single training event he could.  Before long he was training others.

A couple of weeks ago, when he went for his interview with Lawton's Fire Chief, Ryan knew his youth was still against him.  However, he had taken every class and prepared in every way necessary to get hired.  He scored well on all his tests and excelled in every training exercise.  While he awaited the Chief's decision, Ryan attended another school--this one for smoke jumping.  He figured if he didn't get the Lawton position, he'd find one somewhere else.  Fortunately, he didn't have to, he got the call that he'd made it through.  All that was left was his physical.

Last week he took his physical and though he passed it, he had to have an x-ray of his back where he broke his neck a few years ago while riding motocross.  Remember me requesting prayers for him then?  We wondered, would that accident be his undoing?  We prayed as we waited to hear the results of the x-ray and the doctor's recommendations.  Tonite we celebrated.  We've held our breath and prayed for him.  He has been so diligent...so persistent, so faithful and trusting.  He is now cleared and officially part of our town's fire department.

I have no doubts Ryan will be one of the best firefighters our town has ever had.  It will not surprise me to learn he saves another's life or that he boldly faces challenges others shy away from.  He's just that kind of man.  In a day when jobs are harder and harder to come by...when budgets are tight and firefighting positions are scarce, God has blessed my grandson.  In our state 97% of all fires are fought by volunteer firemen.  This is an incredible blessing for Ryan, and for us.  I'm so grateful, I just had to share my joy with you all.  selahV

LIFE'S TOO SHORT FOR

1...pettiness.  People who are petty have little else to do with their lives and thoughts.  Best to walk on and away from those who treat you as though you are dirt beneath their feet.  Combat this in your own life by letting go of little things; ignore the small stuff.  Focus on the best of others and give others your best, instead of your least.

2...game-playing.  Some folks find sport in twisting words, adding spin to interpretation and condescension to another's motives and intent.  Best to ignore folks like this and let them play solitaire with their own thoughts.  Combat this in your life by asking God to show you why you are so filled with distrust.  Then ask God to remove the guile and deceit within your mind. Commit your thoughts to Him and ask Him to capture them and keep you from sin.

3...futility.  Do not entertain it.  Stay away from gloom and doom negativity.  If folks do not look to God, you cannot give them hope they will not seek.  They weave a web of negativity around all that's good or could be good.  Combat this in your life with praise.  When you catch yourself feeling as though all is lost, remember the victory you have in Jesus.  He has overcome the world.  You have favor in God's eyes, don't let Satan tell you differently.

4...disagreeable attitudes.  Most disagreeable folks are not happy unless they are disagreeing--no matter what the topic.  Find some amiable and positive folks and don't let them go.  Combat this in your life by letting go of chains that bind you.  Pray for God's deliverance from the bondage you have. If you find yourself in one of those no-where arguments, end it. Stop talking.  Let it go and move on.

5...critical attitudes.  Some people think they have license to criticize everything you say.  When you try to explain, they find something to criticize about that.  Stay clear of them.  Combat this in your life by looking for things you can praise, affirm and validate in others. Validate yourself, too.  Repeat after me, "I am a child of the Most High God. He loves me as I am."  Don't fret the warts in your life; the Lord will take care of those in His time.

6...touchiness.  Some folks are so touchy that no matter what you say it will be the wrong thing.  You can't please them, nor encourage them.  Combat this in your own life by letting go of the small stuff.  Pray God removes the log from your eye so you can see others with His eyes.

7...discontent.  Some folks wallow in discontent.  Nothing will make them happy because they enjoy being discontented and miserable.  Rise above their mire and walk in the sunshine of contentedness of God's grace.  Combat this in your own life by counting your blessings and giving God the blessing of a grateful heart.

All in all, you cannot feed these things.  If you spend much time in the midst of these attitudes and situations, with these kinds of people, you will be quickly drained of energy and spirit.  They will drag you down into the pit of despair, and you'll wonder how in the world you got there.  Don't let Satan get a foothold in your life with these attitudes or feelings.  Be vigilant, on guard.  Pray without ceasing, seeking to be more like Jesus every day in every way.

How about you?  Fill in the blank: Life is too short for _______________.  selahV   

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT CALVINISM

...WOULD FILL A THIMBLE.   If knowledge was an acre of pinto beans, I might have one bean to plant in the ground.  Therefore, I do not, nor will not, debate Calvinism.

Until 2006, I didn't even know what Calvinism was, and when someone shared something in the comment streams I frequented, I had to look up nearly every single term used.  I was so dumb.  Totally ignorant.  Tulips were flowers to me.  Points were the sharp steel tips on the end of my son's arrows.  Who was this Calvin guy?  Why did some Baptists say they didn't agree with Calvin on this or that, yet they considered themselves Calvinist?  Why did Baptists say they were reformed?  Was that a new word for born-again?  Why did people fling, "You are an Arminian," like it was some kind of insult?"  Who was Arminius?  I did not know.  Why were Christians fighting about them?

As I began to dip my toes into the blog-streams of discussions, I found myself wrapped in the seaweed of retaliatory questions.  I couldn't get answers to my questions.  I got links.  Read this.  Read that.  Read something else.  I did some reading, but whenever I read something which provoked a question in my mind--that didn't seem to go along with what I understood in relation to my own faith--I'd go back and bring up the question, only to be given more rhetorical questions and links.  Lots of links.  Finally, I gave up trying.

I decided to simply read what folks had to say about Calvinism and non-Calvinism.  I watched for those Calvies who were gentle and kind in their remarks to one another.  I watched for non-Calvies who responded to the gentleness and kindness with their own kindness and gentleness.  I overlooked a lot of sarcasm, tit-for-tat stuff because I began to see that many who did that actually knew one another.  I met some great fellas and a couple of ladies who were Calvies.  They were super nice and I count them as dear dear friends in Christ today.  I met some funny hot-shot logical thinkers who loved playing games with words and questions; they reveled in turning a phrase and asking confounding questions--rather than giving straight answers and clear statements.  I watched battle after battle--some I understood.  Others are still being waged.

Now, here I am making a confession of sorts.  I still don't know much more about Calvinism.  But I've discovered, most Calvinists do not know a lot about Calvinism. They know some facts, they know what others say about Calvin, but Calvin is dead.  He's been dead a very long time. He did not write any of the books in the Bible.  He wrote about his views and understanding of the books in the Bible. He did not create his own theology and name it Calvinism.  People did.  As I read more, I noticed that even the Calvies disagree with one another over Calvinistic terms and the definitions of those terms.  Some agreed with some points, but not all points, or some of one point, but not all of some point.  So even Calvies are at odds on how they relate to another's terms within the theology of the master Calvin.  Yet, each and every one of those I have corresponded with believe in Jesus.  All of them.  It goes without saying they trust in Him for their salvation.

I saw a comment by a Calvinist friend of mine the other day.  He was one who came to my rescue in my early blogging days (when I was severely attacked on Founders Blog for daring to ask questions while exposing my ignorance).  For a while Greg and I chatted back and forth via email. The comment Greg made on a comment stream said that he must be ready to give an answer for his faith and then he cited 1 Peter 3:15. 

I like that reference because I had just published another post on that verse regarding quarreling amongst us. 1 Peter 3:15 doesn't actually say to be ready to give an answer for the "faith" that is within us, but rather "the reason for the hope that is within" us.  My Hope that is within me is Jesus.  Jesus Christ.  My Savior.  My Redeemer.  My Lord.  He is the Hope--the only hope I have.  Granted Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  But I have not seen Jesus, and I have not seen the gates of heaven, or the mansion Jesus is preparing for me.  But I have the "hope". That hope lives inside of me.  It is as real to me as knowing I will see my two little granddaughters if I get in my car this morning and drive over to my daughter's house five miles away.

A lot of folks take this verse and use it as their license to argue about the nuances, the bits and pieces and slices and dices of doctrine, theology, and differences one holds about their faith in Christ.  I think that is why Peter added the caveat at the end of that verse--"yet do it with gentleness and respect." Christians who share the gospel with bold arrogance, belligerence and self-righteousness belie a divisive spirit within, and exemplify a behavior that is the antithesis of the very gospel that Peter told them to be ready to share. Read again: 

"And in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."  1 Peter 3:15 ESV

Bluntness, insensitivity, rudeness, unseemliness, intolerance, impatience, and self-righteousness are at odds with the above descriptors of respect and gentleness.  Those belligerent attitudes carry abusive bullying techniques with them.  That in my opinion is counter-productive to sharing "the reason for the hope that is within us."  If we can't get the ground rules right, then we may as well not start a discussion.

Of course, to me, the reason for the hope that is within me is Jesus Christ living in me because when He stood at the door and knocked, I was sitting inside, a virtual mess of sin-filled actions, thoughts, and moral depravation. But when I heard His voice, I opened the door. He came in and He poured out Himself to me like living water and I couldn't drink enough of Him. He fed me through His Word. That is an act of my faith but certainly not the reason for the hope.  The reason for the hope is the multiple scriptures that tell me I am a blood-bought, redeemed, sanctified, justified child of the Living God.  It's knowing the Holy Spirit has sealed me unto the day of salvation where I will be glorified in Him.  It's the promise of Philippians 1:6 that assures me Christ will continue working on me for the day of completion when I'll bow down before Him and praise His holy name for saving my wretched self-centered soul.  What a hope!  Amazing hope!  He says:

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev 3:19-21

What I know about doctrines, Calvinism, Arminianism, and all the other "isms" would fit in a thimble.  The only "ism" I know is Him.  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.

I heard.  I opened.  Jesus came in.  He is my hope.  And "if any man hears" His voice and opens the door, He will come in to him, too.  selahV

ONE MAN'S SOLID IS ANOTHER MAN'S HOLLOW

...ONE MAN'S EMPTY IS ANOTHER'S ABUNDANCE

Ever come to a place where you realize that no matter what you say, another person interprets it to mean something it does not?  Ever want to give up trying?  If you do, you give another person control of your thinking, your very life.  People will not all agree with you--even if you base your thoughts on scriptural principles.  There is a lot to be said for the probability that we are living in the last days.  So many scoffers would come and distort the Word of God.  So many try to silence the lambs.  Yet, we know that even if we remain silent, the very stones will cry out and speak for Jesus.

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8

Don't let people intimidate you.  Don't let another's divisive spirit infect your desire to show love to others--to guide others in the way of goodness, kindness, and gentleness.  Do not let another's unseemly actions capture your heart.  Do not let their bitterness poison your attitude.  Don't let their empty words discourage you.  Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.  Look to the saints of old and gain insight on how to deal with others.  Search God's Word.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Do not return evil for evil.  Pray for your enemies.  Let God be your shield, your comfort, your hope in the face of those who revile you.  Ignore another's vain and empty words that bring no glory to the Father in heaven.

Lift your eyes unto the hills, and remember your help comes from the Creator of those hills. Let the Spirit remind you that: "...those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings as eagles; they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not faint."  Wait, my friends...wait upon the Lord. selahV

ANALYZING MY PRAYER LIFE

I always wonder about my prayer life when I have a week like I had this past week.

Let me tell you a few of the oddities that occurred this week.  Then I'll tell you what I had prayed at the beginning of last week.

First day out of the gate my husband got a ticket.  Seems the motorcycle police officer wasn't happy with how long my husband sat at a stop sign.  We both chuckled over the rare fact that my husband got a ticket.  The second day my husband went to inspect a vacant house and make a property report and got stung several times by huge wasps. (So glad he isn't allergic to bee stings.)  His ear was two times the size of normal.

Well, one of hubby's part-time jobs, is custodian of a Christian elementary school, for those of you who do not know.  So after being stung, he went to work that day, and the principal tells him they'd had the plumber come and clear out the lines of a small bathroom in one of the rooms so they could use it as a new school room.  All was good, except when the plumber blew out the line and cleared the years-old plugged toilet, all the junk blew out into the kitchen sink of the room next to it.  The sewage was all over the cabinets, the kitchen sink, the countertops and floor.  And guess who got to clean up all that mess?  Yeah.  I'm glad I am married to a saint.  Otherwise he might have been in a really grumpy mood when I told him what had happened to me that day.

I went to the Water-park with my granddaughters and after making several rounds around the lazy river with my inner tube, I discovered I'd taken my cell-phone swimming with me.  The cell-phone did not enjoy the swim--even though I'd given it a break from the 107-degree temperatures.  It didn't work to take it apart and blow-dry the phone.  It's dead.  I drowned it.

So I go to AT&T to get a new one.  They don't sell mine anymore.  I hate the new ones.  (Then again, I don't much like change of any kind.)  So, I didn't get a new phone.  But my daughter had an old one that didn't have a back on it that I could use till I made up my mind what I wanted, (or, if I wanted anything at all).  I'm contented to just have a phone I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for.  So I took my sim-card out of my old phone so I could have my address book with my own numbers.  Well, who knew that a person must save the numbers to the sim-card as well as the phone or you don't have any numbers?  So, I've lost dozens of telephone numbers I had stored in my phone.  Who writes them down on paper, anymore?  Annoying?  Not nearly as annoying as going swimming the next day and drowning my daughter's phone, too.  Yep.  I'm serious.  I had tucked it into my bathing suit pocket and forgotten it--Again.  So I took it for a dip in the lazy-river, too.  Cannot believe I am that dumb and forgetful.  But....well, I am.

It reminds me of how forgetful I can be with my commitments to the Lord, too.  I seek His help to become less aggravated with circumstances, then I get aggravated.

I won't bother telling you the rest of the stuff that went on this week.  Totally mind-boggling.  But I will share what I prayed at the beginning of the week:  I asked the Lord to make me more sensitive to Him, to what He wanted for my life as His child.  I committed myself to a deeper walk with Him.  I didn't want to get all caught up in the mundane, little aggravations of life and miss out on the most valuable opportunities He had for me to be a witness of His love, patience and steadfastness.  I committed myself to a better attitude in the midst of trials.  I told Him I wanted to experience the contentment found only in Him.  I committed myself to complaining less and praising more.

Well, here I am. I recognize that my life is full of junk--just like that toilet that was plugged.  Sometimes God has to clean out all the junk in our lives to get us to recognize He is in control--and the habits we've formed must be changed to be the light He wants us to be.  To have patience, I must learn to be patience and less frustrated in the annoyances of life.  To be content, I need to relax and allow God to work out His will as I let go of my own.  To be calm in the midst of chaos happens only as I let go of my expectations, my pre-conceived ideas of what I deserve in life.  Life is not about me.  It's about a God so holy, so gracious, so magnificent than everything pales in comparison to walking with Him.  My faith in Christ calls for a kinder, gentler nature in the pathways of disruptive situations.  Living contentedly requires a total surrender of my comfort to His sovereign control.  Stuff in life is just stuff.  How I react to all that stuff is what God is concerned about.  Looking back, I see how little that much of the annoyances affected my attitude toward others.  I didn't get upset.  I didnt' allow it to carry over into conversations with others.  God was at work in me.  Then...

I got a quick lesson in this when my laptop that came back from servicing quit working.  Yeah.  It worked for two days, then stopped connecting to the internet.  So I am back to limited use of the computer.  At first I was so ticked off I couldn't even reply to emails from people I care about.  Then I calmed down and realized--this is the lesson--the real lesson God wanted me to learn this week.

The communication I need to think about is what God wants me to have with Him.  When I communicate with Him, He opens the lines of communicating with others.  Laptops, cell-phones, computers--they are a means, but my attitude is what God cares about--otherwise, any message I convey is worthless.  He wants my attention.  "He will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on Him."   Prayer is a dangerous thing sometimes.

OUR SPIN ON SIN

It's that white-washing we give to what we say.  It's the embellishments we add to our stories regarding the motives we had, or have, for doing what we do.  It's the justification we make for our actions.

It's the righteous indignation we espouse and the pleasure we taste when admonishing or reproving another brother in Christ for some flaw we think we see in his Christian walk.  It's the piety we spew when we point crooked fingers at another's "sin" as if the finger is not poking him in the eyeball at the same time.

It the eagerness we think we have kept veiled while waiting to see if another "gets their just desserts".  It's the warmth that hugs our hearts when we see another stumble or fall, due to pride and haughtiness.  It's the comfort we cradle when we consider we are not as bad as someone else.  It's the sparkle in our eyes when we utter "I told you so."

Spin.  Such guile.  Such pretense.  It spoils and foils sincerity; it rots from the inside out and spews its toxins on all within the sphere of its rotation as it turns round and round.  Move out of its way.  Stay clear.

Lord, open our eyes to our need of You.  Keep us from putting spin on the sin in our lives.  Keep us from honoring the sin of others with applause, accolades, or affirmation.  Let us grant to others the grace You give to us for which we will never ever deserve.  Illumine the hypocrisy of life and keep us from its influence.  Grant us grace wherein we fail to obey in the least of ways and walk where Your Word does not lead.  selahV 

ARE WE AMONG "THIS PEOPLE"

The scribes and Pharisees were nit-pickers.  They constantly followed Jesus and His disciples.  They watched and waited for the disciples to break some ceremonial rule.  The washing of hands.  The shucking of corn on the Sabbath.  An action, an inaction.  A word, an attitude.  If the Pharisees could discredit the disciples, then that would discredit Jesus--their leader.

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Matthew 15:8 KJV

They called Jesus "Master, Teacher", but challenged Him at every opportunity.  The Pharisees did not respect Jesus, nor did they honor Him.  Their hearts were far from Him and far from the Father in heaven. 

Sometimes I wonder.  Can we be like this?  We follow our brethren around.  We watch for them to stumble, to slip.  We look for a word, a phrase, a quote, an attitude to expose, spotlight, and tweet to anyone who'll read.  How close are our hearts to Christ's?  Are we among "this people"?  selahV

Reckless Words are like Poop

Lately my little 3-year-old granddaughter finds it rather funny to say the word "poop".  A few days ago we were eating beef and broccoli at the mall and she was giggling and saying it as if she were saying "pass-the-salt".  So I reproved her.  Yesterday she needed a reminder.  I explained to her that you don't talk about "poop" at the dining-room table.  She asked the inevitable why?  I said "because you only say "poop" when you are in the bathroom or need to tell mommy or me that you need to go to the bathroom.  And then you should whisper it."

"Why?"

"Because it is not polite."  She didn't quite understand that word either; I tried another.  "It's rude."  She looked puzzled.  "It isn't nice, and makes other people sick when they are eating."

"Oh."

"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18 ESV

Certain words conjure up vivid images in our minds.  Just as my granddaughter's word conjures up rather unappetizing thoughts at the dinner-table, other words conjure up images that bespeak volumes about situations, personalities, and character.  Some words should not be spoken--or even mulled over in our minds.  They are only used to create hurt, incite anger and produce feelings of harm.  Many words should be deleted from our posts before we hit the "publish" button.  In fact, should we be writing about others--their doctrine, their viewpoints, their ideas, their personhood, their writings--I have learned it is best if we spend more time editing than creating our colorful prose before posting it on the world-wide-web.  It is something all writers should do--especially Christians.  After all, "rash words are like sword thrusts". 

Unfortunately some people take pleasure in plunging swords and twisting the blade once it enters the gut.  Other folks find writers who draw such swords funny, witty, and worthy of claiming best friends.  But then, some do not even flinch when others bring "poop" to the dinner table, either. Writing sheathed with such intent bring these words to my mind:  Sickening.  Blood-spattered.  Gall-soaked.  Thorn-piercing.  Sad.

Therefore...

I believe what comes out of my granddaughter's mouth says alot about the character of her heart.  I want her to guard her heart from evil thinking that rests within it.  I try to follow Christ and the pattern my daughter teaches her children.  I want to undergird those values and virtues.  So I try to teach my granddaughter the appropriate usage of words--that if she can't say something nice, she shouldn't say anything at all.  I also find it imperative to check my own words, usage and motive.  While I find much of the political correctness we see in the world today is bogus over-sensitivity, I do believe words matter.  Especially, the intent of words.  My words are my testimony.  I believe what comes from me, says more about me, than what my words say about others.  At the end of some days, I have not liked what my words say about me and my heart.  I make no claim to wisdom, but I really do want my words to bring healing to others.  How about you?  Rash or wise?  Which scale is heavier today?  selahV

IF SUCH IS LOVE

I find it intriguing what some will say or write that is to be understood as truth cloaked in love.  Can a child sleep peacefully in arms of hate and anger?  Can life be found in a bottle filled with poison?  Is Christian mercy truly found in condemnation?  Is self-control arrested by words of strife and discord? 

If such words are love, love me not.

It is written that: "A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." Proverbs 15:4. ESV

It makes me wonder.  If gentleness brings forth a firmly rooted tree that bears fruit, what does harshness bring forth?  Illness and death?  Indeed, as I consider it, harsh words do bring forth such.  To pervert gentle words, one must color them with unseemly, unkind things.  One must take the time to conjure up the opposite of all that is good and kind and charitable.  One can see how the perverseness of gentleness could break the spirit of another--if, that is--if the spirit of another is the goal and subject of this passage of proverbial warning.

I think, however, this slip of Solomon's wisdom goes deeper than that.  I think it is a sword that cuts both ways.

When a person is the deliverer of harsh rhetoric or criticism, that person is whose spirit is broken--crushed, perverted--is it not?  Their words have so little life within them, they can deliver no blossoms of peace, love, joy, patience, tolerance, kindness, indeed--gentleness.  With every harsh word a person writes or delivers, they blight their own tongue with boils filled with hypocrisy.  When the boil is popped it creates a cancerous venom that touches all who hear it, read it, agree with it, or acknowledge it.  Perverse words then poison the minds and hearts of others.  These "others', in turn, spread the venom as quickly and easily as does the blood cells flowing through the veins of one's leg bitten by a rattlesnake.

However...

when one takes another's venomous spew and returns it with gentle words of kindness and grace and peace, one cuts off the flow of the harsh and hateful.  Gentleness, soft answers, and grace are the scalpels one needs to halt the perverted words of others.   

It is really pitiful when a person has to resort to saying things they feel must be said to hurt another.  It's even more pitiful when one pretends to speak their truth in love.  What truth is found in such? what love?  Just the darkness of one's own spirit is revealed for all the world to see when one resorts to negative words to produce a result one deems as positive and productive.  Does the world need such baseless, pointless, unhelpful words?  I guess in the minds of some.  But not for me, I find myself praying all the harder for such clay vessels of hardened animosity.

May kindness and the true love of Christ penetrate their spirit.  May grace surround their souls and goodness pierce their hearts.  May wisdom break its rod against the drumbeat of their minds and produce a rhythm of thought-filled worthy prose and psalms to calm the spirit of man.  And may their tongues lose their taste for perverseness and find words to soothe the minds of children who drink milk instead of chewing meat.  May the Life of Christ pour forth in humility, abundance and grace.

A more charitable prayer I cannot think to pray. Can you? selahV

I don't understand

I truly don't.  I don't understand why people take pleasure in putting others down.  I truly don't get it.  I understand when non-Christians do it.  But I do not understand how Christians can slam others, belittle them, and speak ill of other Christians. And when other Christians laugh, chuckle, agree, and laud others for such behavior, I have to wonder.  I cannot fathom the glory to God in it.  Can you?  selahV

IS GOD INTERESTED

It depends. God is not interested in dirt. He sent His only begotten Son to die and wipe out dirt.  God is interested in love.  He is interested in covering a multitude of sins.  "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."1 Peter 4:8.

We can have all knowledge and not have one iota of love and faith.  We can know every wrong there is to know and see clearly the unrighteousness of man, but if we have not love in our heart for people we try to expose as sinful, our claim to love and faith is weak at best and non-existent at worst. "...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6b.

In Christ we own hope and righteousness, justification and sanctification.  It's not my place to poke you in the eye and make you righteous; nor can I justify you for anything.  It's not my job to sanctify you; the Spirit of God within you is doing that.  God is not interested in me digging up dirt in my brother's backyard.  God is interested in seeing His children doing such good for one another that He is glorified. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

God is interested in ambassadors who are devoted to the "ministry of reconciliation" that draw all men to His Son. He is interested in forgiveness, not condemnation.  He is interested in us wiping away the dirt from our brother's cheeks--not slapping on more.  He is interested in seeing righteousness exceed that of Pharisees who constantly set themselves above the people as judge and jury. God is not interested in smut, dirt, pride and self-righteousness. He is not blind; he's interested in humility, meekness, kindness and gentleness.  All that counts is what is eternal.  "He has committed to us the message".  If our eyes are constantly looking down, gazing at the things of this earth--the weaknesses and flaws of man--we call attention to disgrace and do nothing, absolutely nothing, for the eternal.  Think a moment.

What is the "message" we bring to the world with hammering, nailing, and stripping a person down in the world of public opinion? Is that not a distortion of the "message of reconciliation" He "committed to "us"? God is not interested in bent fingers and broken keyboards; He's interested in bent knees and broken hearts. 

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." Galatians 5:13-15

Stop putting out the Light within you.  Stop throwing your salt to the wind.  Treat one another as you would want to be treated.  Restore one another as you would want to be restored.  Lift up another's burden to the throne of grace; don't stand upon the burden and stomp to bring them further down.  That is not love.  selahV

JOY BEYOND THE BUBBLE

It's far more lasting than this.  It doesn't burst when some external splinter pierces the sphere of our souls.  No.  It lasts beyond the sheer joy of creating the perfect bubble of life.  It's the anticipation, the expectation, the faith that rests within--no matter what the weather is outside.  Life just bubbles over with the assurance that Christ is always with us. Always--come rain or shine.  That is joy.  selahV

BLOWING BUBBLES (/link)

STOP CASTING STONES

They brought an adulteress before Jesus to have her stoned.  Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7b

Has someone brought someone before you to judge?

To condemn?  Are you holding a stone?

 
How dare they?  Outrageous.  How could they?  Can you hear those words whispered in your ears? 

Are you irritated?  ...offended by some sinner before you?  Does your skin crawl?  Have they hurt someone you love?  Does their sinfulness keep you awake at night--writing, typing, tweeting, texting, crafting ways to let their sin be known to others?  How low can people stoop?

Superiority.  Self-righteousness.  Judgment.  Hatred.

Are you without sin?

Please.  Throw down your stone.

Do you know someone who is being repeatedly stoned?

Do you know someone who is holding the stones?

Who are they to cast a stone?  Who are they to batter, blast, and cram stones down another's throat?  Are you holding a stone?  Put it down. Drop it. Toss it aside.

"Go, and sin no more." 

Save

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

Blogger's Blight

Have you had it?  I have.  When I first started blogging, my heart brimmed with great expectations.  I envisioned designing a colorful blog, and writing inspirational stuff to encourage the masses.  Somewhere along the course of things, my hopes and ambitions withered (that's what happens to something infected with blight).  I lost heart.  Not in the Lord, mind you--but definitely in the blogging community. 

I branched out with my main blog, which I started in 2006 to keep myself from going absolutely insane over the loss of my son, Chad.  I only knew one person on the internet, so my blog grew from that core.  I started a few blogs which I have eliminated from my blogroll.  I built Feminine Matters hoping to develop some dialog with other women.  Hardly a peep.  I created Daily Impact and found most folks don't really have much to say to a devotional thought.

My stats indicate that my readership has grown, 65% of my readership is new every day.  I was greatly encouraged at that discovery.  I sure wish some of you folks would leave a comment and say hello...tell me what brought you here, how can I keep you coming by.  What interests you?  Am I accomplishing my goal to encourage, inspire, edify?

I was "stumbled upon" by someone who recommended my site to folks.  The message said,

"A member of the StumbleUpon user community previously added your page to StumbleUpon's index of hi-quality, human-powered content.

Now, each time StumbleUpon refers a user to your page (based on StumbleUpon's analysis of what that user's friends and other like-minded users have recommended) --voila! --an entry in your referral log will be generated."

I was pretty impressed with that message, but wondered if it was just one of those generic messages the cyber-search engine sites use to get you to sign up with them.  I don't know.  I'm so SEO limited.  SEO is "Search Engine Optimization, the process of improving ranking in search engine results."  Who knows for sure?  Sincerity is a rare commodity these days.  I digress (someone shoot that rabbit!). 

The online dictionary says blight is "an extremely adverse environmental condition, such as air pollution."  I thought about that and realized the air in which my blog floated for the most part was polluted--with debate, confrontations, and religious politics.  I didn't fit in.  Not at all.  I don't like that kind of stuff.  Don't like the back and forth, the analyzing of every single word one writes--the contending, the arguments that aren't arguments.  Don't like motives being presumed, attacks being lodged.  It's just not very loving.  One can get infected with that kind of writing style and opinionated dialog, and before one knows it, they are eaten up with it.  Also, it is dominated by men.  Most of the women that venture into those sites weren't like me.  They enjoyed battling it out with the guys.  Not my idea of fun.  Ask my husband.

Thus, I've decided I have Blogger's Blight.  This blight upon my heart and mind leaves me wondering.  Why in the world do I do this? Sometimes I find myself surrounded in an "air" of suffocating bitterness, anger, finger-pointing, talebearing and slander.  I cannot breathe.  The scent is overwhelming. 

I've been thinking about a remedy for this blight.  It's not like I can go down to Lowe's and purchase some kind of spray, some kind of repellant.  I've thought about how one gets rid of blighted stems on a rose bush.  They cut it off.  The healthy stems are nurtured and fed, tilled and fertilized.  Could that be it?  Chop off the blighted part of my blogging experiences?  Feed on the Word of God and develop a better root system?  Then bloom, grow fruit, and wait upon the Lord for the harvest?  I think so.

We who blog for Jesus, are the fragrance of Christ.  At least that is how I see myself in the kingdom's garden.  Lilacs, roses, hyacinths and more.  May my scent bring pleasure to my Father, and all those He brings my way.  God bless you today.  selahV

One man's arrogance is another man's wit

Ever notice that?  When one person uses sarcasm and wit--they are criticized for being arrogant and mean-spirited--ah, yes, even un-Christ-like.  Yet, if one spends enough time in the critic's stomping grounds, one quickly sees the same--uh, "arrogance", only now it is labeled wit, sarcasm, and tongue-in-cheek humor.  Tomato, to-may-toe, to-mah-toe.  Such is life in all its sardonic mockery.  One man's drink is another man's poison, I suppose.  One man's joke is another's veiled animosity.

Likewise is the accusation of hypocrisy.  One man (let's call him Benny) condemns another (let's call him Abe).  Seems Benny is upset that Abe critiqued Benny's friend's work or preaching style.  Benny accuses Abe of misrepresentation, falsehoods, arrogance, hypocrisy and being flat out disingenuous.  Benny quickly points out Abe's penchant for attacking brothers in Christ.  Benny nails Abe to the cross for being dismissive and mean in comment streams.  Benny demands that Abe admit fault and repent.  Abe does not believe he is guilty of doing that which he's been accused of.  Benny is so torqued, he turns around and writes a post condemning Abe for being a hypocrite for daring to challenge his friend in the first place.  The finger pointing goes back and forth and others join the frey. Benny-bandwagon circles their wagons and everyone starts calling Abe the hypocrite. 

One man's hypocrite, is another man's epitome of righteousness.  One man's righteousness is another's unrighteousness.  It is absolutely mind-boggling.  I think that must be why the Lord said, "judge not, lest you too will be judged."  Don't you think?

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

When is judging another's words or actions permissible?  When is judging another's character and motives permissible?  I'd suppose anytime one doesn't mind being judged himself. selahV

Satan Thought It was finished on Friday, then...

...Sunday dawned.  He and his angels were dancing, drinking, and celebrating the death of Jesus.  They were probably so drunk they didn't even know what day it was.  Satan heard the walls of hell tremble as the stone was rolled away.  He cried all day Sunday, then on Monday, he got up and went to work.

Satan could not destroy the Son of God.  The Son of God had just died on the cross and paid the price for man's sin.  We who believe in, cling to, and rely upon Jesus as Redeemer, are made righteous because He took our judgment for unrighteousness and made us righteous.  Jesus rose again and defeated death.  But the devil?  He must destroy the Son's message.  He must keep you from letting anyone else know about the freedom in Christ.  Satan and his demons want to extinguish the Light in you--dim it, blacken it, block it.  He doesn't want you or me to live holy lives.

So, today is Monday.  The devil is walking about like a roaring lion, stalking us, and looking for the perfect opportunity to devour us.  Don't let him fool you.  He's out to get you.  He's out to destroy your witness...rob you of joy...and tell you the victories you have on Sunday don't count on Monday.  Don't believe the lies.  

"Why Jesus Changes Water Into Wine" by hariette petersen

6 REASONS I BELIEVE IN ABSTINENCE:

1--No sense giving Satan a foothold.

2--The Bible warns against it again and again.

3--Related to 75,000 deaths a year.

4--New Brain Cells Develop as a Result of Abstinence (/link).

You can literally reverse alcohol damage to the brain by abstaining.

5--PREVENTS Unborn Babies' Brains from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. (/link) Would save $405,000 per baby in direct special services from birth to 65 years, according to San Diego Dept. of Health Services.

6--CRIMES WOULD DECREASE. (/link)

Obama wants to redistribute my offerings

So, I found a new "friend" today on Facebook.  Actually, I think she found me since I confirmed her first.  It amazes me the sparks that touch my heart in places I did not know needed kindling.  But there it was.  "Re-distribution of wealth" taking away and giving to whomever the government wants without me having any say in the matter.  I'm poor by standards of most guidelines in America--yet, bathing in luxury by standards in Africa and India.  However, what little I do have, I think should be mine to give--not the government's.

One very wise lady rationalized, as I have often done.  "...Why should I work hard to gain something if it's going to be arbitrarily taken away and given to someone who has not worked hard to obtain it? ...the result of such a program would cause a decrease in benevolent giving."

I read her words and gnawed on them a bit.  Hey!  She thinks like me.  Then the question popped out at me again.  "Why should I work hard to gain something if...?"  Being one to answer rhetorical questions, I responded:

"Often I think the same way.  Then I think about it again and it seems, to me, we need to work hard because we are to glorify God in all we do.  I hate that our government now has more power to force us to give them more of what little we have to share with others in Christ's name.  But in the end...it will not be the government we have to answer to, it will be our Lord.  We cannot grow weary in well-doing, and what we do must all be to the Lord without concern for those power-hungry, self-empowering legislators.  The people in power now hope we will all get discouraged and join the ranks of defeated.  As Christians we have a Victor within us Who has already won the war.  We cannot help but continue the race before us.  And give as much as we are able to those along our course."

After my lofty flight to the clouds, I realized I'd just entered a brand new friend's domain and said more than I probably should have.  Although my heart felt every word of what I'd written, I realized I was speaking more to me than to the lady I did not know from "Eve".  She may not have appreciated the spiritual "wealth" the Lord had just given me to re-distribute to her.  I just hate it when I do things like that.  I walk away wondering...Why should I _________?  You fill in the blank, okay?  selahV, hariette petersen

WRONG THINKING, What Happened to 7 thru 11 of 11?

I know.  I know.  I was writing a series on Wrong Thinking and got snatched away with other matters.  Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  Spirit or flesh that took me away, I do not know.  Just know, my friends, that where my attention and emotions went, thoughts about "problematic thinking" followed along.  While I was there, my spirit groaned, my heart ached, and my mind was delivered into a freshness of Life.

Sometimes we are so consumed with how we think, that a fog comes in on cat's feet and settles down around our minds.  It won't move on.  Within that fog, we lose the Way.  A bone-chilling awareness reminds us of a Presence far greater than our minds--for in His Presence we know we think amiss.  We find our mind and actions swiftly following a path we had not planned to journey upon.  In the mist, we discover God's mind, God's thoughts, God's purpose for our life.  In His midst, we recognize a sweeter, kinder, more gracious conscientiousness we had left somewhere in a "list" another had written.

This happens to us all.  We get emotionally bound to another's words.  We get mentally twisted by another's attacks.  We get physically worn by another's demands.  We get spiritually drained by another's needs.  And we find ourselves in a thick fog of indecision, quandary, hurt, and emptiness.

Basically, my friends, the 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this series (which I planned to address in separate posts), dealt with allowing outside influences to rob us of truth, joy, and perspective.  These problematic issues were simply self-centeredness, selfishness and inferiority.  When we give all these issues to Christ, our Lord, He takes them and compacts them into a tiny grain.  He then stomps the death out of that kind of thinking, and crushes it beneath His feet.  He then lifts His feet and places them on the footstool of peace, contentment and victory and reminds us that He is the Life of our thoughts, He has overcome the world and its strongholds upon us.

Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know.  I just know that when Jesus reaches down and lifts the mist, then discernment flows in like the warmth of a noonday sun.

I hope you aren't too disappointed in me for not taking 7 through 11 and dissecting them into tiny slivers and pinning them down like a laboratory frog.  I left the biology and psychology classroom and closed the door.  In Jesus I dwell and abide.  In Him I am complete.  And as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.  What is in a man's heart comes out of his mouth.  May we all see the grace in knowing this truth.  selahV

When We Come To Jesus