Taking Me Out of the Picture

I rejoiced when adult coloring books became popular.  It satisfied both my obsession with office supplies (in this case, colored pencils) and my structured need to color inside the lines.

Precept upon Precept studies appeal to me for the same reason.  If you are not familiar with those, they use inductive Bible study by marking Scripture to examine it in context as well as to peel apart the layers to get deeper.  I enjoy sitting down with the observation sheets (the Scripture printed double-spaced so you can mark it up) and using my colored pencils to mark key words and phrases.

Our Sunday school class is starting the Precept study on Philippians and I find that I cannot wait to sit down and study every day.  Which is strange because sometimes I have to pretty well chain myself to the table to do Bible study.  And I was wondering, “What is the difference?”

Unfortunately, I figured it out and, as usual, I came out looking not so good.  I love doing the Precept study because so much of it depends on me.  It’s true I get basically nowhere without the help of the Holy Spirit, but there are “steps” I can take to move me forward.  When I sit down to simply read and study the Bible, I am hanging out there…totally dependent on God and His Spirit to guide me, give me understanding, and speak to me. 

And I find myself in the same old predicament.  Is there nothing I can do?  No way to “earn” this?  Because isn’t that the tough part for us all?  The whole setting pride aside to admit we have nothing to offer God but a relationship of love and trust.  And He always comes through for us, doesn’t He?  Why can’t I trust Him enough to believe He will speak to me through His Word?

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure…My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Ephesians 1:7-9; Colossians 2:2-3

Strength in Weakness

Our church presents a live Nativity drive-through coming up this weekend.  And I am pleased and excited about that.  For the most part.  But, honestly, do you know how many things could go wrong with it?  It could be so cloudy that the solar lights for the path don’t work.  Half the cast could get sick.  It could rain.  We might get mobbed with way too many cars.  No one might show up.  We might run out of cookies. 

I sound like a joyful soul, do I not?  Jesus has instructed me on this.  Matthew 6:25 is pretty clear…“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”  And if he has addressed the basics, I can assume he has the rest covered as well. 

And Paul assures me that all I have to do is ask.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  (Philippians 4:6) 

And worry does not plague me in a major way, never has.  But here’s how it works.  I’m loading the dishwasher, writing out Christmas cards, fixing supper.  And there’s this little butterfly of a thought flitting its way through my brain, just out of reach – kind of like when I wake up and try to grab hold of my dream. 

It dances just out of sight, thumbs in ears and tongue stuck out.  “You can never do this.  Think of what could go wrong.  Why on earth would you even try something like this?”  And, if I’m not careful, the butterfly grows to eagle size and my spirit just sinks under the weight.

But if I can reach out and catch that wisp of a thought the instant it first frolics across my vision, I can grab it and listen.  “You CANNOT do this.”  And at that point, I can control it.  All I have to do is smile and agree with it!  “You are so right!  We don’t stand a chance.  But here’s the deal.  This is God’s show and he’s in charge of the details.”

I don’t know if the weather will be good – looks like it at this point.  I see sun forecast for the solar lamps.  The power is working.  The cast seems healthy.  But mainly, I don’t have to worry.  I can be excited, anticipatory, and joyful because God is not relying on us – we're leaning on him.  I hope you’ll join us on Saturday or Sunday night, December 3^rd and 4^th, between 5:30 and 7:30 PM to usher in the Christmas season at our Emmanuel Baptist Church Live Nativity!

2 Corinthians 12:9

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  

Matthew and Me

First let’s address the elephant in the room.  Just because I did not see his eye, does not mean that Matthew and I don’t have a relationship.  Loss of power and electricity is an inconvenience; but when he messes with good people trying to farm and he rips up 100-year-old trees by the roots, it gets personal.

To his credit, though, he did teach me some lessons.

• There’s no one I’d rather be marooned with without water or power than Steve Horn.  After 46 years, we are completely in sync.  He indulges me and I spoil him.
• We don’t really need a generator.  They put out a lot of noise and candles are romantic (for one night).
• I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to put physical pen to paper.
• If you take down the birds’ feeders during a hurricane wind, they will flock to feed and sing when you hang them up again.  You can even sit right next to the window and they will look in at you with grateful eyes.
• Cosmetics and hair products are fun, but not entirely necessary.  However, let me paint you a picture.  Think the original Batman with Jack Nicholson and the newscasters four days in with no make-up or toiletries.
• Sitting beside an open window at dusk with the birds fluttering and chirping and a cool October breeze can be all you really need.
• Never take the dump for granted.
• I say technology is not that important to me.  I don’t watch much tv.  I check Facebook constantly; but I don’t spend that much extended time on there.  I use my phone mainly to text.  But when I have no technology, I go a little crazy.  It is my security blanket.
• I say I am a hermit and that is pretty much true.  But when I’ve been isolated, I need to be in the middle of people.  Strangers are fine. 

In closing, I’ve decided I do need a generator.  I miss my hair dryer.

Southern Turtles

I’ve come full circle in so many ways since moving back to the South.  Take turtles, for instance.  I grew up in Arkansas where turtles always ambled across the streets and highways.  I had forgotten them until I took a trip home to visit my relatives and my in-laws.  I was following Steve’s folks home from dinner when I lagged behind because I stopped to pick up a turtle and move him across the street.  

 

We didn't see many turtles in northern Virginia.  They’re either very smart or very dead.  One look at a road there will tell them it isn’t safe.  The dangers are obvious and many.  The swamps and woods offer the best protection.  

 

In South Carolina turtles generally approach the edge of the road and see a clear way, though I’m fairly sure they don’t check both directions.  They step out, slowly…always…and begin the long journey to the other side.  

 

Dangers approach without warning on rural Carolina roads.  Cars that are coming are coming fast.  And yet the turtle has rarely calculated his odds before stepping out.  Either I help him across, the next driver swerves or the turtle is airborne.  (I prefer not to address the other scenario.)

 

We often sidestep sin rather easily by avoiding the road with the vehicles flying by.  The signs flash a warning.  To go that way is obviously dangerous; it’s easy to bypass.  It’s when the highway seems most clear, when we are drifting along without any concern or thought of wrong – considering ourselves flawless and smug about the fact – that we are most likely to get hit.

 

It’s when I’m feeling pious and holy that I’m most likely to lash out in impatience or say something snippy.  When my guard is down, my pride is usually up.  Doors to gossip, judging, and hypocrisy slide open.  And wham!  My mouth gets me in trouble.  Did I say that out loud?  I look at someone in the store and form a wayward opinion.   I treat someone in a shabby way.  Bottom line…I find that I’m not at all that person I thought I was.  My mom was right when she told me to look both ways.

 

Romans 7:15, 17-20, 24; 8:1-2

I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

I Know He Was Praying

Super-creepy, yet kind of sweet.  We became well-acquainted on the short trip.  I hopped in the car and started moving slowly down the narrow streets of our community.  I was headed into town to work in Vacation Bible School and I was running a little late.  As I slowed to make the last turn, I looked left and then right and then at my driver’s side mirror.  There he sat.

 

I’m not crazy about bugs; but I’m not totally freaked out by them either.  I prepared myself to encounter them when I made the decision to move to a warm southern climate.  So when I saw the dignified little praying mantis sitting on the top of my mirror, I just smiled at him and he smiled back.  I sat at the stop sign for a moment to give him time to hop down.  He declined.

 

So I made my turn and increased my speed to twenty-five.  His little praying hands unclasped and started clutching for something to hold onto.  I slowed down to give him one more chance to bail.  He declined.

 

I left the plantation and revved my speed up to thirty-five.  His feelers were flapping in the wind and I’m pretty sure that’s when the praying started.  I had a hard time driving and watching him at the same time.  If I had cared about him as much as I led him to believe, I would have stopped the car and helped him down.  But I was late for VBS.

 

So I turned out onto the highway and upped the pace to fifty-five.  Head down and battling the wind, he discovered that he could go under the lip of the mirror and hunker down a little.  His legs managed to stay put but every part of his body was shuddering against the wind.  Please understand,  I felt terrible guilt.  But I was late for VBS.

 

I pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car.  I said a little prayer and apology for my new friend.  I knew he was dead and I was not looking forward to removing his frail little form.  

 

To my complete delight, one long leg tentatively swung up onto the top of the mirror.  Slowly he pulled himself back up on top.  Then he began to groom himself!  Now I don’t know what he was smoothing down – whether feathers, or scales, or gills.  But he had something there to flatten out.  Then he took each long leg in turn and stretched it as far as it would go to be sure everything was still working.

 

Then he once again settled in to pray and I left to go fix beanie weenies with a clear conscience and my own short prayer of thanks.

Feed Your Children Well

White Christmas was released in 1955 when I was seven years old.  My parents took me to see it and I loved it.  Parts of it.  I thought it was a war movie at first and, even though there was singing in those uniforms, it seemed pretty somber.  But then came the Sisters number with those pretty dresses and that wonderful few seconds of dancing out on the docks.  I was hooked.  

 

The end of the movie just enchanted me, so much so that I begged my parents to stay and watch it again.  In 1955 you could buy a movie ticket and watch the same show over and over all day long.  My sweet parents agreed.  My mother was not a fan of musicals, so this was a bit of a sacrifice for her. I promptly went to sleep and slept through the entire movie except for the final scene.  My parents woke me up just to see that again. 

 

Every year since, I have watched that movie, usually while I decorate the tree.  I’ve always suspected it was the basis of my love for snow.  My December wedding was complete with fur muffs for my bridesmaids.  The scene where they throw open those doors to that winter wonderland gets me every time.

 

As I watched it this year, through tears as usual, I waited for them to reveal the snow to the audience in the inn and to me as well.  And my mouth dropped open as they yelled and waved when a horse-drawn sleigh drove through the scene.  Because that sleigh ride has always been number one on my list of “must do” things before I die.  (A nod to my sweet husband who made that happen for me last January in Colorado.)

 

So just read and say, “very sweet” if you wish.  But I’m still convinced, sixty years later, that a trip to see a Christmas movie made a huge impact on a seven-year-old.   

Anticipation

 

It never goes away, regardless of our age.  That Christmas Eve feeling arrives every year without fail.  Some call it Christmas magic. But I see it as a feeling of expectation…something coming.

 

Small children experience it all through the holidays.  It may be the presents or family coming from far away to visit.  On Christmas Eve, it shows up as excitement over Santa Claus and stockings.  Or perhaps they’ve heard the story that all animals can speak at midnight.  Eyes and ears are on alert as they scan the skies and listen more closely to pets.

 

Reality sets in as teens realize that “magic” is not necessarily going to happen.  But the gifts under the tree are real and take on importance…bigger wishes and more expensive.  Maybe a new Christmas outfit calls from the closet in anticipation of Christmas Eve candlelight service or parties.

 

The anticipation changes for moms and dads, often taking on a dark edge as presents are frantically wrapped and baking and cooking gets into full swing.  The mom is often stressed with too much to do, often self-imposed; and the dad anticipates the very real possibility of an emotional meltdown.

 

Grandparents wait eagerly to see the excited faces of grandchildren.  Sometimes the anticipation comes in the form of dread of an empty house with family far away.  The emotions will hit but never when we expect.

 

When I still had kids at home, Christmas Eve was not a fun time to be at our house.  I was that frantic “Martha,” overworked because I expected too much of myself, set a level of perfection to achieve that was really only important to me.  But, amazing, every Christmas around sunset, whether the work was done or not, a peace – yes, with a touch of magic – settled in and the family moved a little closer together.  

 

In Virginia where it was very cold and sometimes snowing, I would pull on a heavy coat and go stand in the yard late, around midnight.  Just stand and pray, look at the stars, and think about the greatest anticipation of all.  Because that sense of anticipation is about an arrival, for sure.  The coming of Emmanuel, God with Us. 

 

I’m sure that eagerness was with Mary and Joseph as they waited and wondered what the Son of God would look like – would he have hair?  Would he look at all like Mary?  The shepherds must have felt excited and nervous as they make the trek to Bethlehem.  The wise men had days of expectation and wonder as they traveled.

 

This Christmas, I have been blessed with a quiet peace and contentment.  I am not with my children and that always tugs at my heart.  But I am convinced that this year God’s plan for me was time to enjoy Steve’s company and to be physically and spiritually renewed.  My prayer for you this Christmas is that, in addition to the cookies, the family and friends, the presents, you will enjoy the presence of Christ and anticipate His coming again.  Go out at midnight and look up at the sky and see if you don’t sense it!

 

“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 8:23)

 

 

Time

I have a bad habit of preaching to others with my own ears closed.  My advice may be solicited and sound because it’s based on God’s Word; but I don’t benefit.  Why?  Do I believe it doesn’t apply to me?  I don’t think that’s it.  I think I just don’t listen.  “Do what I say and not what I do.”

 

This week the lesson hit home once again.  How many times I have said, “Everything we have belongs to God.  Our money, our security, our relationships, our very breaths are gifts given by Him and He has the right to use them as He sees fit.”  And I stand by that.  Except…

 

I was driving to town.  (I’m pretty sure God settled us 8 miles from town so I could spend a lot of time in my car driving back and forth.  He does some of His best dealing with me in the car.)  I was recounting to God all the things I had done for Him lately, how much time I had spent and didn’t He understand I need my time right now because it’s Christmas!  

 

Bonk.  Once again, like a thunderbolt.  “Your time?  YOUR time?  How often have you said everything is mine and you bring nothing to the table?”  

 

This past May we began planning for a live drive-through Nativity.  If anything has ever demonstrated that principle of our own inadequacy, we were to about to live it.  We had an idea.  A vague “wouldn’t this be cool?” vision.  But as the weeks, then months pass, I saw God give resources, time, creativity, and cooperation to His people.  The Nativity could only have happened with His blessing.  

 

However, it did require a great deal of time.  In addition I had been sick for almost a week and then on the road to Virginia for Thanksgiving.  “My” time was stretched thin.  So as the Nativity ended and I found myself with a little less than 2 weeks until Christmas, I was doing a bit of complaining.

 

Over that next week I managed to get my house decorated and groceries bought for Christmas baking.  I had done a great of deal of Christmas shopping early and, well, can I just say I love Amazon Prime?  Because I finally figured out that I could finish up quickly without shipping a lot myself.

 

So on Saturday morning, I found myself standing in my living room crying as I tried to explain to my loving and very patient husband that God had answered my prayer, given me what I asked for, and forced me to listen to my own advice.  I found myself with my decorations finished, my house clean, and all presents bought, wrapped, and shipped.  I found myself FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE with an entire week to do nothing but bake my favorite cookies, watch my favorite Christmas movies, and enjoy my sweet husband’s company.  In spite of the fact that I had used so much of God's time preparing for the Nativity, He had given me back more Christmas time than I have ever had.  You know what?  When our God promises, He means it!

 

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight...Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed…But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Proverbs 3:6; 16:3; Matthew 6:33)

Drinking from a Firehose

The illustration works.  You sit in a class overwhelmed by the intensity and sheer volume of information being fired at you, unable to decide whether to just listen to try to get as much as you can or to take notes and digest it later.  The instructor says, “Hang on.  We’re drinking from a firehose today.”  And the data just keeps coming!

South Carolina got a very real picture of a firehose this past week.  I have seen weather phenomena spectacular enough to take pictures of, to write about, to post on Facebook…beautiful sunsets, strange cloud formations, trees bent over by strong wind.  But I have never seen anything like this.  If God is in control, and He is, then He has a reason for this piece of His plan.  I’m sure individuals who have had great loss this week have reason to wonder what it could possibly be.  I simply know that the state as a whole has responded with grace and courage.

This image of the blast of water caused me to think about the power of God.  Could there have been any clearer picture of complete and utter control?  It completely changes the impact of this verse for me:  “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. “ (Mark 13:26)  And, as believers, we have access to that!  I’ll let the Word speak for itself.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) Does that phrase “overflow with hope” seem a little fuller to you now?

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms….” (Ephesians 1:18-20)

And to make sure we remember we bring nothing to the table…”But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9)  We have been knocked off our feet this week.  But God’s glory is best shown when we are at our weakest.

Greatness

I just attended a conference.  To my way of thinking, there are two kinds.  One leaves you on an emotional mountaintop…recommitted to living in the light of God’s grace with the help of the Holy Spirit, not to earn anything but simply because you love Him so.  The other finds you driving down the highway scratching your head and pulling out the lectures mentally to decide if you want to nod or shake your head, eager to pull out your Bible to investigate.  Both are faith-affirming and challenging.  Both have dangers.  

The inspirational conference can leave you broken at the bottom of the mountain when you run up against a world that is unbelieving, that did not attend those sessions with you.  The doctrinal sessions may challenge the very choices you are making.  Forget those you have already made!

So you can travel with me north on 95 fighting a serious questioning of who I am, less than two hours out of Orlando, where we attended the Gospel Coalition Conference.  The theme was Coming Home: the New Heavens and the New Earth and the emotional content was, indeed, glorious.  How could it not have been?  But the Bible content was amazing as well.

The heaviness I was carrying came more from my desire to want to do something BIG for God, living large for His glory.  I listened to amazing speakers who were reaching 6,000 people in the room, many of whom were pastors, as well as over 23,000 over the internet.  The music was moving and I thought, “How wonderful to be able to guide someone to the place where I am now.”

Don’t get me wrong.  I wasn’t thinking about money here, or power or fame (there’s nothing I would desire less).  I just want to do something powerful in God’s name for His glory!

He set me right.  The young mom that gets up and changes the sheets for the child who has been sick at 2:00 AM and does it in grace and love?  That’s profound.  The man who sets the alarm for 6:00 every morning, gets up and goes to work in the heat of the outdoors, and comes home and loves on his wife and children?  No way can we know the effects of that kind of love and commitment.

We are about to start a Bible study on spiritual gifts at church.  How timely this is!  Each of us as believers has some one or more gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit.  We don’t have the same ones…how could He accomplish His purposes that way?

Most of us have the same routine, day in and day out.  It gets boring, tiresome because we are laboring under the curse of sin.  But if we do it simply because we love Jesus and have a desire to please the Father, if we do it because we are looking more at God than ourselves, that is greatness.

Christmas with the Family

With September 1^st comes excitement over cooler weather, hot spiced cider, and blowing brightly colored leaves.  Underlying all the reasons for fall exuberance, though, is the event that has colored my world since I was a child.  Cold weather means Christmas is on the way!

 

None of that has changed since I was a young girl.  What has changed however is the dark cloud that can accompany December 1^st.  Steve puts on his tender face and his armor and battens down the hatches.  Because he is about to be assaulted, beaten back, and challenged by the full range of emotions that are available to me as a female…sometimes many within only minutes!

 

Because, you see, my Christmas will never be the same as it was when my children were small.  There are two reasons for this.  Most important, they had the courage to grow up and go about their own lives, as it should be.  Second, even my Christmas as it was when they were small is not the Christmas I see in my mind’s eye.  I remember the quiet, peaceful couple of hours on Christmas Eve night but not the several frantic hours that day wrapping, cooking, stressing, and fuming.  I remember the sweet smiles but not the squabbling.  I remember the snow…once or twice.

 

Don't we all idealize the holidays?  A Thanksgiving table groaning with food and  a happy Norman Rockwell family beaming at one another.  Children dressed so perfectly and behaving so well that we know they left their rooms spotless.  Little ones running and playing, smiling and sharing.  Don’t get me wrong.  It happens…and, when it does, it is wonderful.  But as we get older, we never remember the work and the peacemaking required.

 

This year, as I eased my way into late fall, I began to pray earnestly that God would manage our holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I told Him I would do my best to completely turn it over to Him, letting Him take care of the plans and the details.  The only mood swings I’ve had, small glitches really, have been when I tried to take it back over and run it for Him.  

 

The “why” I’ll write about when I can find the right words.  But, I’ll tell you the result right now.  This Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons have been among the best I’ve ever had.  My level of joy and peace has been consistent, high, and humbling.  My Father has given me increased faith and grace to see things by a new perspective.  I can’t wait to tell you about it!

I'll Be Home for Christmas

No other Christmas song brings on bittersweet nostalgia and longing like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”  It is often sung as a romantic ballad; but in my opinion only Josh Groban's recording has captured the reality of the 1943 song, as written from the perspective of a soldier serving overseas during World War II. 

 

My Pandora station can’t decide whether to thumbs up or thumbs down this song.  It feels like pure Christmas but, depending on my mood, it can pull me down to the depths.  And I realized, listening to it today, how very many groups of people it affects in so many different ways.  Listen and consider…

• The small children who think it’s a nice-enough song but don’t quite understand why it seems to make everyone so sad.
• The high school student who is just happy to be among family and friends and thinks the song is a fine song.
• The college student or young person away from home for the first time and either eagerly waiting for that flight home or yearning to be there.  They will find on arriving the beginning of that phenomenon that will follow them for the rest of their lives, especially if they are believers.  Everything may be exactly the same, but the feeling is not what they are anticipating.  It feels somehow homey and alien all at the same time.  They will realize that “home” is something they can no longer grasp.
• The young parents who listen with a strange mixture of contentment that, at last he’s singing about my own home; longing for a parent they cannot be with; or guilt for not making the trek to be there.
• The middle-aged parents with kids who are older and parents who come to their home instead.  This is the best one and you parents who are at this stage, relax and enjoy!  These are the good old days and things do not have to be perfect. 
• The empty nest parents whose kids are experiencing that strange feeling upon coming home that things are not as they remembered.  The parents who, for the first time, cannot for one reason or another be with their children.  (This group should probably just avoid the song altogether.)
• Those members of our armed forces serving who cannot be with their families.  For them, the longing is very real.
• Those who are 66.  I can speak concerning this group.  Because we can begin to imagine being at the throne of King Jesus on His birthday.  Suddenly all the other groups and concerns fade into the background and we begin to grasp perspective.
• Those who have lost loved ones who are believers during the past year.  May I encourage you with how God blessed me the Christmas after I lost my mom in October?  Instead of my “wishing her back here” with me, He encouraged me to picture her there.  I realized that she would be there in time for rehearsals for the Messiah.  Then it dawned on me that Handel might be directing it and that King Jesus Himself might be in the congregation!

So take comfort, encouragement, and excitement in this…those of you with loved ones who have gone before you, they are truly Home for the holidays!  Rejoice!  

2 Corinthians 5:5-8
Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Why Walk?

As I studied at my dining table this morning, I saw a crow land and spend a little time in my front yard.  A few seconds later, he caught my attention as he walked through the yard, across the street, and on down toward the end of the block.  I chuckled for a minute; but then it occurred to me.  Why on earth would you walk if you have wings?

How many times do I puzzle over something for a couple of hours and finally think to pray?    Usually God gives me a solution or at least a peace about whatever the issue is.  How often do we worry and fret over problems we couldn’t possibly solve?  Or other things that work themselves out and we look back and shake our heads over all that wasted energy?  We know the Bible tells us, Jesus tells us, over and over again not to worry.

But let’s look at the flip side, the positive piece.  If you remove something, another thing must take its place.  Pour a glass of water out and the glass will be filled with air.  Ever try digging a hole in very light and dry sand?  It just keeps refilling itself.  

If we make a decision not to worry, to trust God, we had best have something to back that up or the concern will just creep right back in.  I choose to live in the power that God provides through His Spirit and His Word.  Why would I walk on legs that tire when I can soar on wings like eagles?

1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Nehemiah 8:10; Isaiah 40:29-31
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name…Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength…He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Relative Advice

This morning it’s about in-laws and parents...and advice.  Moses’ father-in-law to be more precise.  In Exodus 18.  Jethro, his father-in-law, had heard of everything that God had done for Moses and the Israelites.  He, along with Moses’ wife Zipporah and his two sons, came to visit Moses and Moses related everything that God had done for them, including all the hardship from which God had delivered them.

Jethro rejoiced and blessed God, offering sacrifices and eating with Moses, Aaron and all the elders of Israel.  On the next day Moses sat from morning until night judging the people and settling issues, making them aware of God’s laws.

Here’s where the story gets sticky.  Verse 17 is the one that brought me to a dead stop.  

“So Moses-father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good.’”  

Though this situation has a great ending, I’m not sure I would have gotten that far.  Because if anyone, particularly a close relative, were to come to me and say that, I’m afraid, while I might have a frozen smile on my face and the appearance of listening, my brain would be on the fast track.  I would be thinking of snide responses and then berating myself for not having the courage of delivery.  

Not only does God expect us to honor our parents, He did not put us on this earth to live in solitude, never accepting help or counsel.  Just before, in chapter 17, Joshua and his men defeated Amalek because Moses held the staff of God up.  When he let his arms drop, they began to lose.  Ever try to hold anything – hand weights, two cans of beans, two bags of ice, anything – in your raised hands for long?  But Aaron and Hur held Moses arms up for him.  We all need support from others and humility to react well to guidance.

Moses did listen to Jethro.  And he followed his very good advice and taught able men the laws and commands of God.  He made them rulers over small and large groups and he settled only the hard cases.  And his life was much easier for it.

If you have advice for me, bring it on!  I will try very hard to listen and give you a genuine smile of thanks.

Toadstools and Spanish Moss

August just lies down and stretches itself out over South Carolina.  Hot, always hot.  But sometimes very wet as well, as it was last week.  As a pluviofile (my new favorite word…means a lover of rain, someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days), I have been joyful indeed.

 

The hot, wet weather changes our landscape, making it greener and adding embellishments.  As I was leaving to go into town, I saw great fields and rings of toadstools filling the lawns of our community.  I call them toadstools; you can call them fairy seats if that makes them more appealing to you.  

 

And that’s the point.  When I have found them on my lawn in the past, I have gone after them with a vengeance and a shovel.  I would have called them nasty things.

 

 

But as I was driving out that morning, it struck me that they are quite beautiful.  Everything we see, smell, taste, touch, and hear is open to perception and interpretation.  And nowhere is that more obvious than in God’s creation.  Just ask one or two people how they feel about spiders or snakes.

 

When I was about seven, my daddy had to go to Ft. Polk, Louisiana for his work with the National Guard.  Hot, dusty Ft. Polk.  This was the fifties and I’m fairly sure our car had no air conditioning.  We found a park for our picnic on the way down.  It had lots of trees and looked cool and refreshing.  We unpacked our lunch.  

 

With a sandwich midway to my mouth, I looked around and up and noticed Spanish moss for the first time.  I finished my sandwich and drink in minutes.  I wanted out of there!  It looked spooky, eerie, and ghostly to me.  I had no affection for it whatsoever.  Here in South Carolina many years later, I will stop and pick it up off the road to take home and throw into my live oak.  Now I see it as silky, charming, and southern.  

 

How I perceive my world depends on how I feel about its Creator.  When I walk, I marvel at God’s good and perfect gifts.  And I thank my Creator God, Elohim.  Aside from Abba Father, I favor this name for God above the others.  The word in Hebrew has a masculine, plural ending and represents the Three in One.  All three persons of the Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit – were present (and worked!) at the creation of the heavens and the earth.

 

My God made a world for me that reflects the facets of His nature…beautiful, breath-taking, creative, majestic, powerful, and whimsical.  When I value Him, I love my surroundings because He never tires of giving me gifts from nature.

 

Psalm 148:2-13

Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.

He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the LORD  from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail,  snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Red Vines and Cropsies

Farm Heroes Saga stole my joy.  My morning had started the way my best mornings start.  When I take the time to spend some serious time with the Lord in the morning, in His Word and communicating with Him, my day is wrapped in peace and a layer of joy.  Small irritations and frustrations may diminish it a bit, but the underlying contentment stays pretty much intact.

 

The other day Steve was home and I had finished my quiet time.  I sat down to do dueling laptops with him.  I love that we can be in the same room and both pursue our own paths.  Mine on this particular day was Farm Heroes Saga.  I was literally killing time, vast quantities of it.  Those of you who know me well are familiar with my inclination toward online game addiction.  

 

I am playing one, Pearl’s Peril, a hidden objects game that tests my memory and only allows a few minutes of game play.  This works for me.  However, some games like Farm Heroes and Candy Crush let you play as long as you proceed to the next level.  I enjoy them so much I will go back and play old levels to try to improve my score.  All of this is fine!  Within reason. 

My friends also know my love for licorice…all kinds.  Give me Red Vines for strawberry, Switzer or Australian for black, and Twizzlers cherry peel-aparts.  I even like those garish neon fruit ones and the filled ones!  But once again, I tend to avoid them because I go overboard.  If you give me a bag of licorice, you will probably see me inhale half the bag before I put it down!  

 

It doesn’t matter whether I’ve wasted hours playing an online game or eaten half a bag of candy, the end result is pretty much the same.  I feel lousy!  My time (and my health!) should mean more than that.  

 

When I’ve padded my diet with more and more fast food and sugar, healthy food loses its charm.  And when my senses are dulled by hours of gaming that doesn’t even pretend to work my brain, my desire for reading, writing, or Bible study is gone.  And, pretty much, so is my joy.

Playing the What If Game

The details encourage me!  Occasionally, when I am digging in God’s Word, I discover a little nugget of gold, a clause or phrase that I have read so many times.  But then I will see it and remember that “the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)  It works for me, in this moment, at this place, every day!

 

Today the gold was hiding in the story of Joseph and his brothers when they were reunited in Egypt.  If you haven’t read it for a while, you can find it in Genesis 42-47.  After keeping the faith for years, coming to a position of great power, forgiving his brothers and acknowledging God’s place and control in everything that happened to him, Joseph reveals himself and his forgiveness to his brothers.  A happy reunion, many tears, and great feasting result. 

 

Joseph then sends his brothers back to Canaan to bring their father Jacob and their families and belongings again to Egypt to settle in the best of the land by Pharaoh’s orders, to be nourished and taken care of during the remaining five years of famine that will still come.

 

Joseph has very carefully explained to his brothers that God brought him to Egypt and that he has forgiven them completely.  He has prepared great material comfort for their trip home and the return and they are on their way.  But the payout comes in Genesis 45:24: “So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, ‘See that you do not become troubled along the way.’”  

 

I love this!  He was telling them not to get on the road and start overanalyzing and playing the what if game.  What if he has trapped us?  What if he plans to get us all to Egypt just to enslave us?  What if he didn’t really forgive us at all?

 

Do you ever do that?  How many times have I left Walmart and thought, “Why did that lady look at me that way?  Did I hurt her feelings?”  Or on the way home from church, “What did she mean by that?  Maybe she is mad at me.”  The list goes on and on… food to nourish dislike, jealousy, insecurity. 

 

Over analysis after the fact…the “what if game.”  Nobody wins and I am going to take it off my list of activities!

Sharks and My Martha Complex

It all began with a six-foot inflatable shark.  I can’t remember where I saw it – Facebook, Pinterest, some ad pop-up – but I was excited by the possibilities.  The thing flies!  Remote control!  And I imagined excited children shrieking and running through fellowship hall.  All right, there may have been some crying little ones but once their moms explained that it was harmless, they would join in the fun.

I started to consider the best time to launch this.  Unfortunately Vacation Bible School didn’t have an “Under the Sea” theme this year.  No baby showers coming up with an aquarium theme. And the price tag, about $27, was a bit steep for a one-time fun surprise; but it would be worth it.  Then there was the helium requirement…about $30 for a tank because I couldn’t see waltzing into Walmart and asking them to inflate my 72-inch shark, although it would’ve been great to see the reactions as I left the store.

 

 Somewhere between the discovery and my checkbook, my common sense kicked in.  And I realized that this was not really about the kids at all.  This was about my being seen as cool, as having been the one to make this great find and present it to everyone else.

 

My thoughts wandered.  How many times have I slaved over a fancy dessert, feverishly cleaned my house, or worked to get a presentation just right?  Why did I do it?  I’d like to believe I wanted to give enjoyment, make people feel at home in my house, whatever noble reason I came up with at the time.  Truth is I wanted to look good, to be perceived as smart or talented.  If I had been truly “loving my neighbor as myself”, I wouldn’t have had nearly the stress associated with the work!

 

Martha stood preparing (and most likely fuming) in the kitchen while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening, learning.  Finally she worked herself up enough steam to charge in and ask Jesus why he had not sent Mary in to help her.  True, she was concerned with feeding Jesus and the disciples; but Jesus could have pointed out to her that some of her hard work was no doubt rooted in pride.  He chose, however, to emphasize the positive instead (although an unfavorable comparison to her sister probably did not feel much like it to Martha).  

 

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’  ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’  (Luke 10:40-42)

 

When I do for others, caring more about their comfort and enjoyment than their perception of me, I realize that they are easier to please than some ideal that I try to achieve.  I relax and they are at ease.  So don’t expect to be amazed by a floating six-foot shark moving through the fellowship hall any time soon.  However, if you’d like to surprise me with one, I’ll gladly send you the information!