Something Valuable in the Mess

 

Today I watched a video of a man who bought the contents of a house from the heirs of an estate.  They wanted to improve and sell the house, but the former owner had been, at best, a collector and,at worst, a hoarder.  After seeing the video, I'm leaning toward the second description.

In the initial tour of the house in the video, he found massive piles of things in every room, leaving no room to walk.  Everything was dust-covered, outdated, and of little value.  There was everything from clothing to sheet music to nail polish to bad artwork.  He wondered if he would find enough items of value to recoup his investment, and he had only eight weeks to totally empty this large, massively cluttered home.  

I thought how daunting a task that must be; seeing nothing but junk piled three feet or more up the walls of every room and figuring out how to go through it all and decide what was trash and what still had a use, much less what had any great value. He could have spent eight weeks moving mountains of trash and only find a few hundred dollars worth of salvageable items.  On the other hand, there could have been hidden stacks of cash, expensive jewelry, or dusty priceless antiques under all the clutter.  It would just take an enormous amount of time and effort to uncover what was valuable in the mess.

Our lives are like that hoarder's house.  We have collections of sin, guilt, rebellion, and pride.  Even though we knew it was smothering us and taking over our lives, cluttering up all our relationships, creating an unhealthy environment for us - we still kept piling bad over bad until we had destroyed any hope of living comfortably in that house.  We took the promise of a clean, empty space and turned it into chaos.  Then, along came Jesus.  He paid for the contents of that house because he knew there was something of value in us.  When we surrender the contents of our soul to Him, He cleans out all that is useless, dirty, negative, and toxic and replaces it with His righteousness.  He unearths the beautiful and priceless things He has put within us and helps us to function as we were designed to operate.  As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made all things beautiful in His time...."

It's not just a one-time event either.  It's amazing what Jesus has done for us and continues to do in our lives.  We are initially cleansed as we are born again, and then the Holy Spirit works in our lives to sanctify us, setting us apart to be useful in the kingdom of God; reaching a level of fulfillment which we never would have dreamed possible. However, none of that happens without our consent and our cooperation.  Allow Jesus to take your messy life and find all that is valuable within you to use for the glory of God.

Just Read the Manual!

Does anyone remember using an actual camera to take pictures?  With a cell phone in every pocket, sporting a built-in camera, I don't see one-purpose cameras very often. 

I walked into our bedroom the other day and my husband, Paul, was reading from pages in a three-ring binder.  When I got closer to determine what he was studying, I saw it was the manual for his fancy camera.  We've had that camera since before we moved to Virginia eight years ago.  We read enough of the instructions initially to be able to point the camera and take a picture, review the shots on the screen, and put the memory card in the computer to upload the images we had taken.  After that, the manual was dutifully packed and moved from house to house and took up shelf-space without being examined again, at least until a few days ago.

The minute I saw what he was doing, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  He said, "Some people treat the word of God that way. They read enough of it initially to find out how to be saved, familiarize themselves with a few inspirational Bible stories, and read enough promises to know what they can ask God to do for them.  After that, they feel like they know all they need to know to get by and they neglect the word from that point on, not even realizing how much they are missing."

Ouch!  Sometimes I neglect the Word myself, so that puts me in the category of "some people". 

I'm sure there are countless special features on this camera that could have used to improve all the pictures we've taken for the last decade.  Paul might have learned by now how to handle this camera as well as a professional photographer, but he's just now really digging into the manual.

Where could we be as Christians if we really knew the word of God?  Here's what the Word says about itself.

2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Knowing the actual word of God, not just the lyrics to popular Christian songs, is the basis for doctrine, for knowledge, for a relationship with God, and for the power of the Holy Spirit to truly flow in our lives.  If we really desire all these things in our lives, we just need to read the manual!  Only then will we know how our lives are supposed to be operated, just like that those camera instructions tell us how to use it to its full potential.

Same Room - A Different Perspective

 

In my elementary school, I share a classroom with my friend and colleague, Laura.  We've worked together for 8 years now and have shared three different rooms in our building during that time.  Our working and teaching styles complement each other, and we've cooperated very well over the years in designing our schedules and setting up our various classrooms in an order that works for both of us.

Teaching in the time of COVID- 19 looks very different than what we've ever done before.  With the changes in our teaching situations, we decided that we needed an adjustment in our room arrangement. Laura teaches some groups that needed to have more room between their chairs for proper social distancing, so we've adapted how we had divided our space to give her that additional room.  A free-standing partition wall that we've used for several years was turned diagonally in the room and it changed the look of the entire space. Very little of the furniture on my side of the room was moved, but the whole space looks different.  Even though there is probably a little less square footage there than before, it looks bigger and more open.  Same room - a different perspective.

This experience made me think about all the situations in our lives that can look a certain way to us, but we have the freedom in Christ to look at them from a different perspective.  We can endeavor to see circumstances the way God sees them.

The apostle Paul is a stellar example of this way of viewing life.  He saw shipwreck, beatings, danger, and imprisonment as a means to an end - the spreading of the gospel throughout the world. He looked beyond his current circumstances and saw God working behind the scenes to bring glory to Himself.  In Philippians 4:11, Paul writes, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content". He was able to look beyond the "room " of his situation and see a different perspective than others who might have experienced similar hardships.

In the Old Testament, Joseph went from being a favored son to a slave to a trusted servant to a prisoner before being raised up to become second in command to only Pharoah himself. The Bible doesn't tell us whether he held on to his boyhood dreams and expected release from prison, but it does tell us that he experienced favor in the midst of the worst situation of his life.  He continued to operate in the gifts God had given him, even in a jail cell.  He saw a perspective that didn't negate his previous walk with God, even though he didn't know exactly how it would all work out.

I can't count the number of times I've heard the words "unprecedented situation" in the year 2020, but I know that all of us have been touched in some way by either bewilderment, distrust, inconvenience, financial distress, illness, grief, or frustration.  This room that we are in has changed.  Life is not the same as it once was, and what we first thought might be a temporary rearrangement of our lives is feeling more permanent, even though we still hope and pray for a lifting of this burden in all of our lives.  

But what if in the midst of all this, we look at it from a different perspective? Same situation; different view?  What if we looked upon this time as a season for the church to shine like never before?  What if we took the time spent at home when other places are closed to us, and we used it to seek God with a renewed enthusiasm and intensity?  What if we use the gifts that God has imparted to us, even in a less than ideal situation?

Give those questions some thought and prayer this week and ask God to help you see the potential He sees in the problems in your life.  Ask Him to alter your perspective so that instead of seeing what you've lost, you can see where He is taking you next.  His view is far superior and He knows exactly where He wants you to go.

These Boots Weren't Made for Walking.....

      Last week, I wore a pair of boots with heels to work.  I'm an elementary school teacher who works in classes all over my building, so there's a great deal of walking involved.  By 10:00 a.m. I was on the phone with my husband, begging him to bring me a change of shoes.  My poor feet, which had been either barefoot or in tennis shoes for seven months, were miserable.  There were aches and pains in places where I didn't even remember I had places. For many days after this unfortunate choice of footwear, my feet continued to hurt.

     I remember thinking, why in the world did I do that to myself?  I started thinking about all the reasons a woman might wear shoes that hurt her feet and it led me to some spiritual parallels as well.  See if you agree.....

1.  To be accepted in a group

     When my daughter was about to enter middle school, she pleaded with me to buy her some Guess jeans.  She insisted that NOBODY would talk to her if she didn't have the right label on her behind.  How often do we do something because it's the "in" thing to do? This is most prevalent with teenagers and peer pressure, but many adults fall victim to needing the world's stamp of approval more than the acceptance of God. 

     The Bible tells us, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2.

      In other words - don't worry about being "in fashion", concern yourself with letting God fashion you into His image.

2.  To increase height

     I am vertically challenged, barely hitting five feet tall.  I always say I went into elementary school teaching so I wouldn't have to teach students taller than I, but they start catching up with me toward the end of fourth grade, so I guess that wasn't good planning on my part after all. Adding those extra inches with a pair of shoes can be tempting. 

     Being taller gives us a feeling of being more in authority.  Did you know the average height of our American presidents is 5' 11"?   The average height of an American man is 5' 8". Leaders are thought of as being taller and more imposing than those they lead.  

     Artificially trying to make ourselves taller can cause all kinds of issues with our feet.  Trying to force ourselves into positions of authority to which we are not entitled can cause issues also.  In the kingdom of God, He holds all authority but gives it to us in the name of Jesus.  We can't operate in authority in our own strength.  

     Acts 19:15 tells the story of seven sons of a priest named Sceva who were attempting to cast out evil spirits in the name of Jesus "who Paul preaches".  The evil spirit answered back to them saying, 

"Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"

    If we walk in humility instead of trying to exalt ourselves in the eyes of those around us, something extraordinary happens.  James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

3.  To look good

     We all want to look out best, and that goal is fine as long as we don't prioritize our looks over all else in our lives. However, when vanity overwhelms us, it leaves us putting all of our efforts into things that profit nothing in the eternal scheme of things. 

  1 Peter 3:3-4 says, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."

     When we seek acceptance, power, or physical beauty in the wrong places, we can hurt ourselves, just like those boots which are now in my "give to charity box" did a number on my feet.  If we are accepted by God, empowered by God, and made beautiful in His sight, we don't need anything else.

 

The Part is Not the Whole

 

Have you ever started a craft project that was designed to be beautiful?  Did you ever plan a home repair to make something function the way it should?  When you set out to do those things, did they look perfect from the first step you took in the process?  Of course not.

Sometimes life is like that.  You go through a difficult or ugly season in your life.  Nothing feels or looks the way you think it should.  You are disappointed in yourself or in someone you love and trust.  When you are in the middle of that circumstance, it's easy to think to yourself - that's just the way it's always going to be, but that kind of thinking is faithless and hopeless.

Though God is a much better artist than any of us could ever be and much better at fixing things, even He takes His time.  His projects in our lives are a process, and sometimes that process looks messy.  It may be confusing, uncomfortable, and take more time than we think it should, but He knows the end from the beginning and can see the final picture when all we see are the shattered puzzle pieces all around us.

The last seven months have been a trying time in our family.  There has been stress and upheaval.  Many hours of exhausting work have been done by all of us and we are tired, physically, and mentally.  There were times we wondered why we even started on the current "project" in our lives.  Wasn't it fine before all this?  Why did we rock a perfectly comfortable boat?  

No situation in our lives is ever separated from our spiritual selves.  We may be going to college, planning a wedding, remodeling a house, starting a new career, or one of a thousand other things that the rest of the world does, but when Christians do those perfectly ordinary things, there are spiritual lessons and spiritual purposes in all of that.  

So this week, as we get the keys to our new "multi-generational" home, I can see those final puzzle pieces fitting into their places.  I see the favor of God all over the situation, here at the end of the process, when months ago I wondered if our problems would ever resolve.

Philippians 1:6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ".

All those things in our lives whether we perceive them as good or bad, are part of that picture.  The part you are in right now is not the final picture of your life.  It's just the first few strokes of the paintbrush, the first cuts in the lumber of your life, which God is using to create a "whole" that He sees.  

What Do These Stones Mean?

 

My life is going through two very different stages simultaneously.  On the one hand, my family is experiencing one of the most stressful times we have ever faced.  We are in a great period of uncertainty where we feel that we have no control over the events that are happening to us.  We are struggling to maintain our relationships in the face of all the changes and disagreements and disappointments that make up our days in this season. On the other hand, it's an exciting time for me because my first book is about to be published, and I'm able to see the layout of the book and the proposed cover design on my computer as they are being finalized by the publisher.

Tonight as I reviewed the layout to make any last changes, all the writing that was passing before my eyes reminded me of all the times I had walked through other storms in my life and how God used those times to make changes in me.  I saw how He had taken terrible circumstances and answered prayers that changed those situations, even if it wasn't in my timing or in the way I thought He should have done it.  I also saw that ultimately, His way was the best way.

When I went to my blog page, I saw that my last post was made over two months ago.  That represents months of upheaval in my life where I was so busy and so distracted by the situation, that I couldn't even listen to God for an inspiration to write. I thought about all those words written by my own hand that told me to trust God, to stay strong, to keep going, to rest and not to worry, to walk and not faint.

Then I remembered that is exactly what the Lord told Joshua in the first chapter of the book of Joshua.  Moses had died and Joshua was the leader of the Israelites.  God told him over and over again to be strong and courageous. His first assignment was to move the people across the Jordan River.  Miraculously, when the priests carrying the ark of the Covenant stepped into the river and stopped in the middle, the river became dry ground, even though it was at flood stage at that time of the year.  The whole nation of people walked across to the other side.

Joshua then directed that one man from each tribe of Israel bring a stone from the middle of the river, from the place where the priests were standing and to put them down in the place where they would be staying that night.  He then told them, "In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever (Joshua 4: 6-7).

In essence, they took stones to remember the challenge that God brought them through and put those stones in the place of rest they found on the other side of that trouble.  My stories are the stones in my life.  They show me what great turmoil God has brought me through.  I can look at them and remember the times that He has been faithful. I've read over these stories of mine many times when I was in a place of rest as I've been writing and editing this book for many months, but in the last few months, I've lost sight of the meaning of the words as I found myself trying to cross my own river that seems to be at flood stage.  

It's in those times of challenge that we most need to revisit what God has done in the past and what He will do again.  My stones are my blog posts and the writing in my journals.  What stones do you have to remind you of what He has done in your life?  Look on them again as a memorial of the miracles in your life and be strong and courageous, just as God told Joshua.

What's Stopping the Flow?

This week my granddaughter, Bella, and I went out to check the small flowerbed in our backyard.  In the scorching July heat, the plants were beginning to shrivel and were badly in need of water.

I picked up the hose and just barely turned the water on so I could run it for a minute or two to release the water that the sun had been heating all day.  Then I pulled it across the lawn to the flowerbed.  I told Bella to turn the valve so I could have more water flow to give the flowers a good soaking.  Even though it appeared she was turning it in the right direction, I was only getting a dribble of water through the hose.  She tried turning it the opposite way.  Still, not enough water.

Finally, I walked back toward the side of the house to see if I could help her.  There I found an extreme kink in the hose.  It was folded back on itself, cutting off the water flow.  Once I corrected its position, the water flowed and lovely cool showers of water were able to soak my plants.

The Holy Spirit spoke a little word in my heart in that experience.  I'm going through a very stressful time right now, with a lot of uncertainty.  Sometimes my focus turns away from God and I begin to look back at myself, creating a spiritual "kink" that blocks the flow of the Spirit in my life.  While that blockage is there, it creates two problems.  One is that I can't be a conduit of refreshing to others in my life.  All of the things I'm called to do in this life get trapped in the place where I get stuck in my own situation.  The other issue is that I can't let the Holy Spirit work in me in the way that He wants.  I'm not open to the changes He has planned for me if I'm looking at my own problems instead of His solutions.

In the natural, I had to take the initiative to examine the situation, find the problem, and make the correction.  The spiritual requires the same.  I had to examine my life, realize what was stopping the flow in my life, and make the correction of turning my mind and heart toward what God was trying to do in the middle of the circumstances instead of just worrying and complaining about how difficult everything felt.

Where is the kink in your life? What is stopping the flow?  Find the problem and make a position correction in your spirit so the flow can begin again.  It's the key to all God wants to accomplish in and through your life.

Loving the Unloveable

A few weeks ago, I posted the picture above on Facebook with the following caption:

"Look, Mamaw! We have a new friend. His name is Caterpillar."

Bella has a "thing" for insects right now.  It's probably because, with no playmates her age in the neighborhood, and with only four boring adults around, the bugs are little, cute, and she has power over them. My little one seems to have no squeamishness or fear of any of them, alive or dead, though she seems to display the appropriate amount of caution around bees and other stinging things that fly. However, there was a startled reaction when a click beetle did his little "flip and snap" in her hand.

I don't have the same affinity for these creatures, though I can appreciate the beauty and grace of a butterfly or the look of a cute ladybug.  As far as I am concerned, I keep my distance from anything with more than four legs.  I am quite picky about my bug associations.

Bella doesn't care if the bugs are ugly or scary-looking. They don't have to measure up to any particular standard for her to enjoy their company. They don't even have to be living! They are all her friends, and they fascinate her.

She is the same way with people. She'll walk up to random people and ask, "What your name is? My name is Bella, and this is my mamaw and my papaw and my mommy and my daddy." Though we are trying to teach her to be careful around people she doesn't know, at this point in her life, she doesn't know a stranger. People are delighted with her attention and usually share a name with her. Bella wants to love everything and everybody - regardless.

God is the same way with people. He loves all of us - regardless. We don't have to look right, act right, or think right to deserve His love, though He'll make the right changes in us when we turn our lives over to Him. Not only that, but He expects us to love each other without conditions. We can't limit ourselves to the beautiful and graceful. He really did mean for us to love even those who curse His name, who are hateful to others, who celebrate sin, who oppose all that is good.

I've had a little difficulty with that expectation lately. So much is happening in our world, and I see hate and violence and division everywhere I look - at least in the media. There are leaders whose rhetoric seems to come from the very pit of hell, and I have to remind myself that God loves them too. In my own little world, though I love my family members very much, there are moments when it's not all beauty and grace around here either. Sometimes we bite or sting or startle each other in word or deed. Loving someone is not a feeling, it's a choice. I must pray for those who are spouting evil and violence. I must remember that I can be ugly too, and that I must give grace to those who are not gracious to me.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:44.

" But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

It's a tall order, but it's a directive from Jesus Himself and not just a friendly suggestion. When you and I pray, we can't restrict our petitions for blessings to just ourselves and those who please us at the moment.  We must be praying for and loving all - even the unloveable.

Setting the Atmosphere

Every Sunday morning at my church, a group of leaders and altar workers gathers with our pastor for a short time of prayer before the church service begins. Usually, he starts with a few remarks to us, and then we all pray together. Last Sunday, my husband and I were sitting in the foyer, outside the room where we usually meet, as we chatted with people trickling in to head for the sanctuary. Our pastor slipped into the room, and I heard him beginning to pray before any of the rest of us had entered the room. Just a minute later, as we joined him, he was continuing in an attitude of praise as he paced in the room. More people joined in, and soon we were all praising and praying, asking God's presence and favor on our time together that day. It's not often that I feel the Holy Spirit's tangible presence, but that morning, I was very aware that something had shifted in the atmosphere. The sweet company of the Lord was most definitely in that place.  

An event like this one a much bigger scale happened in the Old Testament.

"Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praise the Lord, saying:

"For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever,"

that the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God."  

(1 Chronicles 5:13-14)

Fellow believers - think of the implications of this! Praise and thanksgiving can change the atmosphere of a place. That means that we can change the dynamic in our homes, schools, and workplaces by releasing our praise to God.  

There are problems in all these places because there are people in all these places. Sometimes we complain about what is going on to anyone who will listen. Other times we are wiser, and we pray about those problems. We ask God to change people and to solve conflicts. The first response is useless, the second is an improvement, but maybe the third is a door to allowing the Holy Spirit greater access into the situation. It's also a way to center us and remind us who is actually in control, instead of feeling that we are fighting battles of stress, conflict, and negativity alone.

God is worthy to be praised, regardless of our circumstances, so no matter the outcome, let's begin to do this regularly. Praise God in those physical spaces you encounter. Prepare the atmosphere and see what happens!

Full Price

Saturday at 5:00 a.m., my alarm jolted me into consciousness.  It was our yard sale day.  We had sorted through our belongings for months as had our son and his wife, and now it was time to let it all go.  For us, it was less about making money and more about simplifying our lives and making more room in this house that we are now sharing.

So, while it was still dark and the grass was covered in dew, my son and I made multiple trips from the basement to the front yard, carrying tables, boxes, furniture, and bags.  We woke up the other adult members of the family after the sun came up to help organize our wares and make sure we hadn't forgotten to price anything.

Since my husband and I have moved numerous times in our lives, we've had a few sales like this, and they all play out the same way.  We price things, and then all the shoppers proceed to offer much less than the number on the tag, even if we felt it was a low price in the first place.  Item after item disappears into strangers' cars for a fraction of what we originally spent.  

You could buy a brand new item from a local store and put it immediately into your yard sale with the receipt attached, but nobody would pay the price for it that you spent just an hour before. The mere fact that someone owned it first devalues it in the eyes of the buyer. It's like they always say that when you buy a new car, it depreciates the moment you drive off the dealer's parking lot.

As I counted the money that evening to be divided between the two couples, I thought about the devaluing of those pre-owned items, and then my mind skipped to the price that was paid for us.  Father God sent His precious only son, Jesus, to pay a cost for the world that cannot be fully comprehended by any of us. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Acts 20:28 says, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

Before we belonged to Jesus, we were slaves to sin, so sin was our owner.  I wanted to sell the items in my sale, but I'm sure the enemy didn't want to give up his claim on any of us. However, rather than offering a cut-rate price to redeem us from Satan's clutches, Jesus paid full price.  He found us so valuable that He gave up His own life to purchase ours. In His eyes, the fact that we were "pre-owned" didn't diminish our value at all.  So when you are having difficult days, when you find it hard to like yourself, when you are struggling because you think that you don't measure up - remember that God doesn't see you as second-hand yard sale junk, but as His invaluable purchase, His child, His precious one.  

Amen and Yee-haw!

If you happen to be Facebook friends with my daughter-in-law, you may have seen a recent post where she quoted our three-year-old granddaughter's prayer before our dinner last week.

"Thank you, Jesus, for our food.  Yee-haw!"

None of us know why she made a substitution for the more traditional "Amen" that night, but we all found it hilarious.

I checked out the actual meaning of the phrase, "Yee-haw!" I found that it's considered an expression of enthusiasm and exuberance that's associated with cowboys or inhabitants of the rural South.  It may not be a customary ending to a blessing on the food, but it some ways, it makes perfect sense. If you've been waiting for a while to be called to the dinner table, you are probably quite excited about finally coming to the point of having the food at hand.

What if we acted with such enthusiasm for the rest of our prayer life?  What if we were sure of the outcome of our prayers?  What if we were so thrilled at what God was about to do that we eagerly ended the prayer with a jubilant "Yee-haw!?"  It has the flavor of a battle cry from the army that knows it's about to be victorious, doesn't it?  Since we are the army of God with a general who can never be defeated, we should be as fired up about the ways and plans of God as a cowboy is about his rodeo triumph.  

I don't actually advocate the use of that phrase to end our prayers. Still, I whole-heartedly encourage you to pray big prayers for incredible advances in the Kingdom of God and to be exhilarated to walk out your destiny alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ with strong confidence and passion.

Romans 12:11 (NIV) "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

Different Isn't Always Wrong

My daughter-in-law and I are sharing a home right now and by extension - we are sharing a kitchen.  We've worked out a system where the four adults in the house take turns cooking in pairs with other family members so that she and I are not the only ones responsible for meal planning, preparation, and clean-up.  For the most part, it is working out very well for us.

As we have worked together, we've discovered a few differences in the way we do things.  She refrigerates tomatoes - I don't.  I bake my frozen meatballs before I use them in spaghetti sauce - she tosses them in the sauce to thaw and cook.  She buys certain brands of things at the grocery store, while I buy others. In some cases, we have totally different recipes for the same dish.  Her kitchen utensils and mine are all intermingled now, with boxes and boxes of duplicates ready for a yard sale when social distancing is over and people can do that sort of thing again.  When I eat my cereal at breakfast and get a spoon out of the drawer, it might be one that feels different in my hand because it's not the design I'm used to, but I still get fed.

None of the differences we have found have caused any of us to lose a single pound, though I wish they had.  We are all well-nourished, enjoy our food, and are not at each other's throats about the state of the kitchen and the planning of the menus.

During this time when people are not able to gather at their home churches, we are staying connected by watching pre-recorded worship music done by praise bands or choirs.  We hear either live or taped sermons from our pastors.  We have the opportunity to hear examples of all types of music and messages on social media every week.  Though I'll always be sure to make my home church's online service a priority, I have watched parts of several others as well.  Just like the differences in my kitchen, there are differences in churches.  I've heard old hymns that I haven't listened to for a long time.  I've seen other praise teams that do contemporary music.  I've seen men of God who were very comfortable in front of the camera because they were accustomed to being filmed and others for whom this experience is totally new.  The messages are on all kinds of topics, depending on who is speaking, but even though the music and the talking points may be different than what I am used to hearing, they aren't necessarily wrong.

I think right now we are seeing that the church as a whole, throughout the world, needs to come together like never before.  Those petty differences in the tiny matters of practice fade away, and we forget that they use a different spice than we do and we just all get fed.  Of course, we need to measure what we hear against the Word of God so that no poison sneaks into our meals, but there is much from which we could benefit if we quit thinking about our brothers and sisters in Christ in a different expression as THEM versus US. 

There is a scripture that I know you have frequently seen quoted in recent days.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

That's where the real meat of this relationship with God comes in.  It's all about being humble, praying, seeking His face, and turning from sin to be a bridge between God and our land so that healing can come.  I think that's an idea that all churches can embrace and through our differences become the salt and light to our world that it so badly needs right now.

The Race

Bella, at age 3, is in constant motion, but she's not always going in the direction we want her to go. Sometimes, I'll say, "Let's race to the kitchen" or wherever I need her to be. So, we stand side by side in the room we are in and she'll point to the floor and say, "Mamaw, this is the finish line".

I keep telling her "No, that's the starting line.  The finish line is in the other room," but she doesn't seem to understand that just yet.

Wouldn't it be nice if the race, with all its blood, sweat, and tears, was already run?  Right now, when the world seems to be upside down and we're all snuggled into our homes practicing "social distancing" - wouldn't it be great if the danger was over and life was back to normal?  It takes a lot of effort, discipline, and intestinal fortitude to deal with all the problems life gives to us.  Life is difficult and nobody likes things to be hard.  We like the celebration at the end when we've met a goal, but not so much the work that it takes to reach that goal.

The New Testament references the term "race" often.  Paul was bound, in chains, and on his way to  tribulation in Jerusalem when he said, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24)

He later encourages believers by saying, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it. ( 1 Corinthians 9:24).

Nearing the end of his life, he states, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

Reminding us that we are all in this together, he says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

You see, the race isn't part of the Christian life - it IS the Christian life.  Sometimes the road we're running on is flat and pleasant; other times it is rocky and the rain obscures our vision as we run, but we're always racing.  Right now, you may be racing by becoming a schoolteacher/parent, or by working from home, or by losing income and trusting God for provision, or by working many hours caring for those who are sick with any of the hundreds of things that can attack a human body, including COVID-19.

In the natural, if you ever see me running, it will only be because someone is chasing me! Running is not my preferred mode of exercise.  I've never experienced a "runner's high" which is a feeling of  stress lifting, a feeling of elation, and decreased sensitivity to pain.  This comes due to a release of endorphins (a natural chemical in your body) that occurs when you exercise.

However, one thing I have learned in my race of life is that the sweetest times - those times of joy, a reduction of stress, and less pain in my life, happen when I'm actively pursuing God - often in some of the worst circumstances of my life when joy seems to be the last thing I'd be feeling, when stress and pain are high.  The exercise of the pursuit is what releases the Holy Spirit's ministry in my life and produces that which is needed.  As my pastor preached to an empty room this morning via the internet, he said that when you don't know what to do, you should wait upon the Lord, worship in the midst of the situation, and you will win the race.

Red Light, Green Light

Our house is operating on a "no vacancy" basis these days.  Our son, his wife, and our granddaughter are moving into our home because they are in the process of selling their house.  Needless to say, adjustments are having to be made.  We're making room for their essentials, packing up some of our non-essentials to free up space, navigating how to share the rooms, deciding who is responsible for what household tasks, and trying our best to be patient and gracious with each other.

My son and I both work full-time, so we're away from the house more than we are home, but that leaves my daughter-in-law, my granddaughter (Bella), and my husband to spend our workdays there without us. 

Now you have to understand that of the four adults in the household, my husband is Bella's favorite.  She absolutely loves her Papaw.  I know she loves her mother too, but if we'd let her, she'd spend most of her waking moments back in our bedroom, watching "Bella shows" with her Papaw.

Paul also loves her very much, but he is accustomed to having his entire day to himself.  He spends 90% of it in our room where he has a television, a tablet, his books, a bathroom, and a comfortable recliner.  He only has to come out into the rest of the house when he needs food.  So, his days of quiet reading, watching war movies, napping at will, and doing what he pleases have effectively ended. 

In an effort to make sure he doesn't start a mutiny in the house, I have devised a plan.  Since Bella has started sitting front-facing in her car seat, we've been teaching her what the red and green lights on the stop signals mean.  She will watch for them and will give the current driver of the van directions on what to do when she sees them. So my brilliant idea was to tape a piece of either green or red paper on the bedroom door to signal to Bella whether she was free to knock on the door to get her Papaw's attention or whether she should stay in the living room with her mother.  So far, it's working.  She caught onto the concept pretty quickly.  The first morning the system went into effect, she stood in the hallway and yelled, "Papaw, is it red?" 

I absolutely do not blame Paul for needing that "alone" time.  There are times that I need a "Bella break" myself.  However, it made me think today how thankful I am that our heavenly Father never puts up a "do not disturb" sign that keeps us away from Him.  He is always and instantly available to us, even if we are not on our best behavior or are there asking Him the same "why" question for the fifteenth time.  He is endlessly patient in a way that we as human beings have a difficult time emulating.

Psalm 46:1 says,  "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." That sounds like a father who is there for us without hesitation.  There is no waiting area outside His throne room.

Psalm 125:18-19 tells us that " The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them."  Our Abba is not far away and available by appointment only.  In the uncertain times that the world is experiencing right now, He is not silent, He is not absent. He is as close to you as the air you breathe. He knows, He cares, and He's never too preoccupied to listen to what is on your heart.  Don't forget to take advantage of that constant green light.

Being an Instrument

We often say that we desire to be an instrument in the hands of God - to do His will and to minister to others by yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to do His work through us.  Something about being an instrument was said in passing in church this morning and it started me thinking about musical instruments and how they might teach me something about being used by God for His purposes.

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13)

An instrument doesn't function on its own.  It only fulfills its true purpose when it is the hands of a master.  When the right person is in control, the music that flows from the horn or the violin or the flute is beautiful and controlled and has an effect on the hearts and minds of those who hear it.  We may try to function on our own.  We can rely on what we know about God and what we have learned about ministering to go through the motions, but unless we are truly yielded to the Holy Spirit, our actions can be just meaningless religious activity.

An instrument must be in good condition to work as it should.  If it has been neglected, the notes won't be true or in tune. We must take care of our physical bodies as well as our spiritual health to be in a position to be ready to obey whatever directions we are given by God. We need to know His Word to be prepared to function as we should.

An instrument has a unique sound.  A composer uses the different tones in a variety of instruments to make one harmonious piece of music.  If all the sounds were the same, the richness of the composition would be lost. Instruments function in different ways.  Some bring their sound when they are struck, like a drum or a piano.  Others have air blown through them like a clarinet or a trombone.  Others yield their sound from the vibration of strings like a violin or a guitar.  In the same way, all of us have different gifts and talents and we are varied expressions of the love of God to others.  We need to appreciate the differences among us and to expect unity, but embrace the different ways we contribute.

Instruments can vary their sound depending on what the composer and the conductor require for a piece of music.  Notes may be played quietly or loudly.  The tempo of various pieces of music is quite different.  The pitch of the notes may be low bass notes or very high notes.  We need to look at the music that God has written for us in His Word and adjust our responses to what He has designed.  The Holy Spirit is our conductor, guiding us to exactly how He wants a situation to be handled at any given moment.

Sometimes an instrument plays a solo, while other times it combines its sound with many others to contribute to an orchestra of instruments working together toward the same goal.  In our lives, there may be times when God calls us to do something on our own, without the presence of other Christians, so we need to have mastery of the Word and be connected with God for ourselves to be obedient to that call.  Other times we are part of a team effort and must learn how to cooperate with our brothers and sisters to fulfill God's purpose.

An instrument left in its case and never removed to be played is a tragic waste of the material from which it is made.  So much potential is bottled up inside that enclosure when there is so much beauty to be created with its use.  If you aren't functioning in the kingdom you are creating a lost opportunity where there could be such joy generated.  Won't you consider unlocking the walls around yourself, tuning up your instrument and placing yourself in the hands of a true Virtuoso who can take your life and play the most beautiful, unique music for the rest of the world to hear?

Three Instructions

Life can be incredibly frustrating for all of us sometimes.  It can be especially so when you are a three-year-old, like my granddaughter, Bella. So much is out of her control.  Her family has spent the last couple of weekends at our house, as they often do, and on several occasions on those days, I would hear her cry or whimper about something that was going wrong in her little world.  It could be as simple as not being able to reach something she wanted or a toy not functioning as it should.

Instead of letting her fuss about the situation or quickly solving her problem for her, I tried to teach her the same thing I taught her father and her aunt when they were young. 

These were my simple words. "Don't cry, ask for help, solve the problem."  If I said them once, I said them 20 times over a period of just a few days.  I'd dry her tears, remind her to ask for assistance, and then together, we'd figure out what to do to take care of the issue.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you may have noticed that it's been about six weeks since I posted anything.  There was no big crisis going on in my life.  I haven't been any busier than usual.  I'm not angry or depressed or sick or frustrated, yet I've just felt strangely disconnected - unable to hear from God.  With no insight from Him, there was no blog post to write on those Sundays. I didn't want to write out of my own mind - I try to only write from what God gives me.

Since I didn't understand why I was experiencing what I was going through, I just tried to ignore it and I distracted myself with my daily responsibilities and entertainments.  I was inwardly frustrated and whining, just like Bella.

After I'd repeated those words to her a handful of times, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "Listen to your own advice!" What He was trying to tell me was that when I find myself in a situation I don't understand, a season that confuses me, that I should stop fussing about it, ask Him for help, and solve the problem.

I finally did that last Sunday morning.  Standing in a worship service, I breathed a prayer asking God to help me name what was happening in my life so I could stand against it, instead of trying to ignore it.  Just moments later, someone spoke a word over me assuring me that this time of dryness, of not being able to hear from God, was over - that very day. The emotional and mental issues that I hadn't even recognized in myself were touched and healed and a time of refreshing had come.

Psalm 34:18-19 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all."

When those troubling times of confusion come, that's when the Lord is close to us.  We may be in the middle of a frustrating problem, but this scripture reminds us that the help we need is in God.  We need to shake off those tears and groans of whatever burden we are bearing, ask for help, and let the Holy Spirit lead us to the solution.

Sing for Joy?: A New Perspective

The other morning on the way to work, I heard a song on a Christian radio station that used the phrase, "sing for joy".  That's a common phrase in modern Christian music as well as old hymns, but as I heard it that day, I thought of it differently.

Most of the time when we hear "sing for joy" we are thinking of someone singing because they are joyful.  It's an expression in song of the happiness and contentment in that person's heart.  We hear of people expressing delight by singing or jumping or dancing for joy.  But what if that little word "for" could mean something else?

The word "for" has about eleven different functions in the English language and the three that most agree with the thought I'm about to share are the ones that use "for' as expressing something that is done for a purpose, something that is done to reach an intended goal or something that is offered as equivalent in exchange. 

Instead of singing because we already have joy, could we possibly be singing to obtain joy? Think about it.  We say that we are working for money, paying a certain amount for our car, striving for excellence, or planning for the future.  In these cases, the first action is done to reach the second objective.

Could it be that the singing could be the key that leads us to joy? We could be singing in the pursuit of joy and our praises could be the currency that exchanges our sorrows for joy.

 Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice". We are commanded to rejoice.  Sometimes our emotions don't feel very joyful, but if we'll consider all that God has provided for us and began to sing praises to Him for who He is and what He has done, our emotions will line up in response to our obedience. We can find joy in His presence and in His Word.  Joy can be restored through trusting and hoping in Him.

In our daily interactions with people, we usually wait until something has been done for us before we thank them. Things in the kingdom of God often work backward from how the world works.  We thank Him first before we see all the things for which we hope, knowing He is working on our behalf and for our good when we cannot perceive it.

The next time you are feeling disheartened or worried, try singing or praising for joy - to obtain it, to set your heart right, and to position yourself to receive what God has for you.  Rejoice in the Lord always!