Learning Along The Way

Inventory

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Have you ever taken a personal inventory?  You know, asking yourself honest, hard questions like where am I in this area of my life?

I am taking part in an online book study of Kim Avery’s book Uniquely You and Day 3 is all about taking inventory.  In 8 areas of life we’re to honestly evaluate on a 1 – 10 scale: physical, career/ministry, financial, health, fun & recreation, personal growth, spiritual growth and relationship/marriage.  I’d say that just about covers it.

As you can see my page is blank.

I have to confess, I gloss over things that I don’t like.

But I am in the season of confession and the idea of coming clean is kind of appealing.

Day 3 of Lent and Day 3 of this book study are melding into one big baring of my soul on paper.

I need prayer.

I am generally an honest person. Generally.  If I don’t have something nice to say I try not to say anything at all.  The Thumper Rule. (Bambi anyone?)

But generally is not good enough before God.  One dishonest, glossed over point is still something that needs changing.  It’s still sin in the eyes of a Holy God.

Oh how obvious it is to me how much I need Jesus!

I am pretty sure that awareness is part of the focus of Lent.  Being honest in taking inventory and seeing how far I am from Christlikeness and how much I need my Savior.

Result? You might think guilt.

But interestingly for me it’s freedom.  Coming clean is becoming clean.  *sigh*

SO good!  Join me?

What would you do?

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Two days ago, the 3rd Sunday in January, was Sanctity of Life Sunday.  Our pastor challenged us to think beyond the focus of Roe v. Wade to see the how the sanctity of human life is being threatened in so many areas in our culture and the world.  We as Christ followers have the call to champion the needs of these who may not be able to defend themselves:

  • the unborn
  • orphans
  • the exploited and impoverished
  • those with special needs
  • the elderly

His Sunday message can be heard here.

Today, through Twitter I learned of someone who recently took a personal risk to defend the defenseless.  His story is quick and to the point and definitely worth linking to:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8959527

Heartwarming for sure.

But my question to you is personal: What would you do?

From this point on, we will have opportunities to champion the rights of those who are not able.

You may not be in a season where you have the time to be a volunteer or in a place financially to add another donation to your list of giving, but you are able to pray.

Ask the Lord to lay a need on your heart: what breaks your heart that breaks the heart of God?

Then begin to do what we as Christ followers are given to do: pray.

Pray for opportunity

Pray for physical protection

Pray for financial support

Pray for people who can serve

Pray. It’s not “the only thing” you can do.

It’s the primary thing to do.

Dr. King & Tuning Forks

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Midway through the school year, the year of fifth grade, I came running in the house from playing outside after school to find my mother seated at the table, television on and tears streaming down her face.

She couldn’t speak, just pointed to the TV when I asked what was wrong.  There I saw the news: Martin Luther King Jr was shot on the balcony of his hotel.  This was a horrible tragedy.  My mother, the English teacher in a multi-racial school, was very clear with us that all people are created equal.  She valued and espoused the ideals Dr. King spoke. His famous “I have a Dream speech”, spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, was a speech my mom referenced in her English classes alongside President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

MLK Jr.’s death was a tuning fork in our family.  Why a tuning fork? A tuning fork uses resonance to find the common tone in a piano, a guitar, as well as the human voice; thus allowing pitches to be matched to the common resonant frequency.  How was his death a tuning fork?

The resonant frequency was loss; my mother’s only brother was killed in Vietnam in Dec 1967;  only 4 months earlier.  The sudden loss of my uncle tore my family apart; grandparents, aunt, cousins, mom, all losing a very significant person in a tragic way.  Now the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr resonated in our family at a far deeper level than just a piece on the nightly news.

I remember standing there staring at the TV, and then in a childlike innocence, going to my mom and patting her on the back, again and again.

How do we offer comfort at a time of deep loss?  Jesus modeled this well: He wept.  He didn’t say ‘don’t worry everything’s going to be okay’; He didn’t say ‘why are you crying?’  ‘Don’t you have faith?’  No.  He wept with His friends who were suffering the loss of their loved brother Lazarus.

We can do well to follow that precious, simple model.  Be with those who are suffering.  Weep with them.  Sit silently with them.  Hug them.

Then in their rebuilding process, listen to them speak their memories.  Laugh when they laugh.  Help them honor the memories.  Do something alongside them to commemorate their loved one’s life in some way.

This national holiday was established to honor the memory of Dr Martin Luther King Jr but also to commemorate his life through service.  Serve your family, your neighbors, your community.  Just don’t focus on yourself.  His life was spent in the betterment of others.  We would do well to follow suit.

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

House of Bread and Busy-ness

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I love words.  I love seeing connections and sharing what I see.

Today I have been pondering how to push back against the busy-ness this Season often brings. Well more like how to push back and not feel bad about saying No or choosing Not to do something.

I’ve been pondering the simplicity of the night when Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem.  You may know the story well.  Two young newlyweds traveling to his home town to register for the Roman census. They lived in a time when distractions were few but the effort to simply live was huge.  Every aspect of life was more work than we are used to in this present day American culture.  Food, transportation, and lodging all took a lot of time and physical effort.  Simply living truly meant staying alive.

Bethlehem—House of Bread.  Bread of Life.  Basic, foundational needs.  Met simply that we might simply live.

To slow down and take time to reflect is almost an oxymoron in the midst of the busy-ness this Season of the year usually holds.  The end of the year brings its own demands: change in weather, planning for taxes, end of term in school, work parties, school plays, musical performances, shopping for presents, planning for guests coming; I could go on but I’m getting weary reviewing all this!

Today, we are far from simply living as in the journey to the House of Bread for Joseph & Mary and turning the phrase to living simply takes on a different meaning.  It means less stuff, less distractions, and more opportunity to have margin.  We have more freedom to choose today than those young newlyweds had.  But do we use it or do we allow externals to control our internals?

Living simply allows your choices to be choices rather than obligation driven.

How do you get to living simply?  Away from busy-ness and toward the simplicity of Bethlehem?

Examine your motives for saying Yes to things this Season.  If you are feeling driven by externals, by the busy-ness, you may be doing things for the wrong reasons.  It’s okay to say No once in awhile.  Give yourself permission to live simply.  You just might have space to ponder the peace and joy that entered the world at the end of Joseph & Mary’s journey.

If you’re not sure how to start, or want to talk it out, click over to the Contact Me page on my website and we’ll start a conversation to simplify your life!

Skin in the Game

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Interesting thought: to be really invested in something requires at least a piece of yourself. Skin in the game.

This morning as I read through the devotional entries and the Advent devotionals (yes plural) I saw something I had not put together before.  You may have already made this connection but I didn’t see it this way until today.

Way back, at the beginning of the Story, when our great-grandparents, Adam & Eve, made the choice to believe Satan’s lie, God came looking for them and asked “Where are you?”

It’s not like God didn’t know where Adam & Eve were.  He knew.  He questioned to allow them to confess.  When they did, God sacrificed a piece of Himself, His creation, and made coverings for them.

Fast forward to the Cross.  Jesus, the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God, sacrificed Himself for ALL humanity so that we can come home; home in the Presence of God. Wearing the covering He made through the sacrifice of Himself.

God has had skin in the game of Life since the beginning.  His plan is for us to be with Him.  Being in the game of Life with Him will cost you something: pride.

Are you in?

Family Flashback Friday

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Alliteration is fun.  Having words start with the same letter can be helpful for memory’s sake.  If you use Instagram with your smart phone or tablet, you may have seen friends posting older pictures.  It’s fun to see younger versions of my friends.  There’s Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday.  I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon sort of, by putting this particular photo both here and on Insta.

I am in this picture.  If you know me, you know which one is me.  If you don’t yet know me, look on my website to see a recent portrait of me and you’ll know which one is me right away.  This has always been a favorite picture for me; my grandparents holding my brother and two cousins at Christmas in 1962.  That’s right, 50 years ago.

That’s a flashback.

By no means would I take the time here to flash forward through all of life that has been lived; that would be a volume not a blog post!  Suffice it to say, there are lots of joys and sorrows that have been lived in each of the lives represented in this photo.

At the center of it all, the girl with the big smile has hung on…to Hope.

I am happy to say that gift of Hope is one thing that has helped me, like a beacon of light for a storm tossed boat; there is a grounding, a solid place that the storms cannot destroy.  My Hope.

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”  The Solid Rock.  He has been in this with me and for me even when I wasn’t in it for myself.

“I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”  People let you down.  People who say they love you can hurt you, intentionally.  Knowing full well they’re hurting you.

“When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.”  When terrible things happen, where do you turn?

“His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”  When the bottom falls out of life, where is your grounding?

I didn’t work at this Hope.  I didn’t muscle through tough things with a dogged determination to be hopeful.  It is a gift I have received from the Generous Giver of all good gifts.  Even as a child when I didn’t fully understand, He was hovering and protecting me and giving me Hope.

He longs for you to receive His Gift.  We have been practicing Thankfulness for a season and now it is the season of giving and receiving gifts.  This is a Gift for which you can be eternally thankful!  Won’t you receive the Gift of Hope today?

Focus. Practice. Sacrifice.

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A constant focus on adversity defeats many Christians. They walk through a day that is brimming with beauty and brightness, seeing only the grayness of their thoughts. Neglecting the practice of giving thanks has darkened their mindsIt’s Monday. Sometimes just saying ‘it’s Monday’ can bring a deep sigh; a ‘here we go again’ mindset about the daily grind. After a longer break from routine for most, this Monday may have more challenges than usual. This morning I read the day’s entry from the devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and was reminded of a few things.
* Giving thanks takes focus give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:18)

* Giving thanks takes practice … and be thankful; …with thankfulness in your hearts; …giving thanks to God (Col.3: 15,16,17)

* Giving thanks is a sacrifice Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Heb. 13:15)

Focus. Practice. Sacrifice.

These are words that are associated with training, with work; and work takes effort.

Many friends have made the effort and used social media this month to name what they are thankful for on a daily basis. I have been blessed and encouraged by their posts. You may be one of them. I am thankful to God for you as you live out …let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24)

So if today you’re focusing on the drudgery of your responsibilities, may I suggest a shift in focus? Look for things to be thankful for. Name them. Thank God for each one.

Practice thanking God for the little things. This work has a promise attached to it:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

And who among us couldn’t benefit from a peace that passes all understanding in the middle of our day?

Thankful for Meltdowns?

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Today’s blog post is being written in the back seat of a rental car hurtling through California eastward toward Utah. Gotta love technology!

Spent the morning working down my to do list. Getting things prepped for our trip and simultaneously battling the temptation to allow the ticking clock to ruin my focus on being thankful.

The battle really isn’t obvious (for the most part), but is internal; fought on the battlefield of the mind. That’s the place where I, where we, can make choices. Do we believe time controls us or do we believe the One who controls time? God invites us to be at peace in His abiding Presence at the same moment as the ticking clock tries to distract us.

I don’t always make the restful choice; for about 15 minutes today I had a meltdown. The issue was a missing wallet and a time obligation colliding. True confession: I have too many purses. Good thing for me I keep them all hanging on parallel racks on the back of the closet door so it’s easy to switch from one to another. Except when I don’t use a purse at all just to confuse things and keep me on my organizational toes. That was my recent mistake. So I didn’t know where I had put said wallet. Clock ticking. friend waiting. Peace slipping away.

I stood in my closet and cried. Out loud I apologized to the Lord; telling Him I was wrong to launch in to this hunt without asking Him first where that errant wallet was hiding. Sniffing, I went back downstairs, looking through my office where I had already hunted and come up empty. I knelt down to look through a basket, again, and saw the illusive wallet peaking out of the pocket of my briefcase.

Was it the position of bowing low and slowing down or the tearful acknowledgment of my control issues that helped me see? Either or both. Whatever it took for the Lord to get my attention was good. I smiled, thanked Him for directing my steps and moved ahead.

When you are thankful during this Thanksgiving week, who are you thankful to?

Love, Loved, & Lovable

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Quia amasti me, fecisti me amabilem Augustine

Augustine wrote these words about the One who loved him best. God.
The same God who spoke to Abraham, who talked with Moses, who inspired Rahab to hide the spies, who led Ruth to follow Naomi home, who called David A Man after His own Heart, who gave Solomon wisdom, the prophets something to talk about, and Who Came in the Flesh so that we could comprehend Him.

Jesus. He came first as a babe and will come again as a conqueror. The in between is where we live. It’s where Augustine lived. And Thomas a Kempis. And Brother Lawrence. And Galileo. And the millions who have gone before and who are walking here today. God was. God is. And God will forever be.

How do we relate to this very other being? We learn to love.

“Because you loved me, you made me able to be loved.” These are Augustine’s words translated to english.

Because God has loved me I am able to be loved. God has not gotten a great deal in me being part of His family. I am wayward, unfocused and generally a problem child. But He chose me. He calls me Friend. I am His beloved. If you claim His saving grace, these things are true of you too.

Because God has loved me I am able to be loved. He offers us gifts throughout the day. Love gifts. A stranger’s smile. The sight of a beautiful bird. The laughter of children at play. To simply say Thank You for each gift is a beginning. An acknowledgement of His Presence, His care, His love. He offers out of love. It’s His very nature.

The acknowledging of God’s gifts can be part of our day, part of our rhythm. Pausing the music or talk radio in the car and saying Thank You for your ability to hear, to understand, to appreciate the sounds coming out of the radio. Saying Thank You for the good scent of food cooking, or the warmth of a sweater on a cold day. All these are simple ways to be in the process of learning to love, learning to love the One who gives you life.

How will you adjust your rhythm to acknowledge God and His good gifts today?

Quia amasti me, fecisti me amabilem

Adjusting the Rhythm

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On Monday when I first posted about Rhythm I left you with two questions:

What are “these” that Paul was referring to?

What are the things on your list that don’t work for you any longer?

I’ve been spending lots of time with these two questions; since July just about.  I had the privilege of preparing to teach our women’s Bible study this fall from chapter 4 of Ephesians.  And as is always the case, I learn more than I am able to share in one lesson and  I am challenged in my spiritual formation.

So the “these” that Paul was referring to in his letter to his friends,  were the ways of living that they had been involved in before they came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Paul names some of “these”: futility of mind, darkened in understanding… Paul tells us “in reference to your former manner of life, lay aside the old self, …be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self…”  What are the ways of living that you were involved in before you came to faith?  I smile at this question because I know some of you came to faith at 4 so you might laugh at this question.  But this question is not just about the outward actions as a way of life because the context is ‘the mind’.  Paul is challenging us to recognize that the way we think needs to be changed not just the outside.  In fact, Jesus tells us that it’s what is in a man’s heart that defiles him not what goes into the man.

Identifying your patterns of thought that don’t line up with Truth can be tricky because we can be deceived!  Sometimes you need to get a trusted friend or a counselor to talk with and help you identify your harmful, destructive patterns of thought.  Things you tell yourself when you make a mistake are a great place to start. “I’m so stupid!” “I’m an idiot!” “I’m such a loser!” You may not even be aware of your self talk.

It might not be the way you talk to yourself; it may be in how you think about those who have wronged you.  It could be how you view your siblings, or parents or spouse.  Because you’re human and your inherited nature is going in the opposite direction from God, there is something you don’t think rightly about.

Bummer.

But that leads to the second question: what are the things on your list that don’t work for you anymore?

Once you have identified the thing (or things if you’re anything like me!) that belong to your “former manner of life” then you have something to work with!  Now the fun begins!  Your current rhythms can be adjusted to fall in line with a rhythm that is life giving to yourself, to others and is glorifying to God.

If you haven’t taken time to label your answers to those two questions, I’d recommend the time.  What comes next won’t be useful to you without real adjustments to make!

 

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