Wanderings...

This doesn't happen often, but every once in a while I re-read a blog I don't even remember writing. Oh, who am I kidding? It happens more often than I'd like. Seems I rarely remember what I've done longer than 5 minutes. Anyway, this one encouraged me so I thought I'd share it once more. I might even go for a hike if the weather warms up! For now, I think I'll just re-read the book!

I just finished reading, The Surrender of Ethan Moses, by Terry Goetz, and I am recommending this book to almost everyone I see! It is about the life of a man who works daily to find God's will and surrender to that will. (I really don't do justice to the story...I'm sure you can read a tagline about it on Amazon.com or this link will take you to a review of the book by a friend of the author: (Review)

After reading this book, (which I finished in only two sittings - I didn't want to put it down), I look at my "wanderings" in a new way. Things that happen now don't seem so happenstance; they are another step on this wonderful journey our Father has prepared for us.

This morning as I thought about the story, it brought to mind being on a wonderful hike with God. This is a path in which our Father has already traveled and He delights in watching us discover what He has already known since the beginning of time. The thought of this truly is stirring inside me and I wish I could communicate it more clearly.

I know I've taken hikes with my children along familiar paths and it is such a joy to watch them discover rocks and plants and the sunset (we rarely make it out for sunrise) or just all that surrounds them. It may be a path I've traveled many times before, but when I take them with me it is filled with a new joy at watching them see what lies before them. Once I "hid" treasures for them to find and I still laugh at their surprise as they discovered what was prepared for them!

I have traveled these paths many times before...they are like second nature to me. I know the places that are easy, and I also know the places along the path that can be more difficult - rocks that slip underneath your feet or places you just have to watch your step. I doubt my children noticed that along those places I had my hand right behind their back, ready to catch them if they fell.

If I, being human and filled with flaws, can take my children along a familiar path safely...how much more can our Heavenly Father lead us along the path He has CREATED for us?

Wow...what an amazing thought, and all before I've had my second cup of coffee!

May your journey today be filled with wonder - and as soon as you can, I definitely recommend reading, The Surrender of Ethan Moses....it's one of those books you'll find yourself thinking about a LOT as you travel along. 

Matthew 7:11 New International Version (NIV)

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Ephesians 2:10

The Message (MSG)

 7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

The day after Christmas...

Yesterday was Christmas...so of course, that makes today the day AFTER Christmas. I know, I'm amazed at how quickly I catch on to things like this. (Repost from 2009, but the message still holds true.)

On Christmas Day, my son came into our room at 6:03 to let us know it was morning. Of course, I found that statement debatable, so my husband and I told him to go back to bed...it was too early. Fifteen minutes later, he was back again; we told him to go to back to bed until 6:45. With that, we got up and started a pot of coffee and proceeded to "hide" the last two gifts underneath the covers of our bed. We then got our coffee, sent Levi in to wake his sister and waited for the festivities to begin. 

Now that the kids are older, it's definitely more difficult to buy for them. Samantha was happy with the bag her gift came in on her first Christmas; Levi was only a month old at his first Christmas so he was happy with a warm bottle and dry diaper. Trust me, they are far more difficult to please now.

As the children opened each present, I watched their faces. They were happy with their gifts, but I could tell they were hoping for more. When everything under the tree had been opened, we asked if they were happy with their Christmas. Samantha, who has learned to be polite even to us, said yes. Levi said yes, but you could tell his heart wasn't in it. It was then that I asked Levi to go and get my glasses from my room.

As he left the living room, I whispered for Sam and my husband to follow so we could see if he discovered his "gift". I caught him with his hand on the covers - he had found his sister's gift...so his face now had an expression of guilt mixed with disappointment. I asked if he had found his present as well. What followed was one of those times when you WISH you'd had the camera ready. He hurried over to the bed, flung off the covers and his face went from forlorn to ecstatic in less than a second. Finally, he'd gotten what he wanted! The gift we had somehow managed to make him think he'd never get.

All day long he played with his gift and then would come to us to tell us about it. At times, it wouldn't do what he'd hoped until he'd worked to learn more about it. It was a day filled with excitement. 

Today, he's sleeping late. I'm sure he can't wait to play with his gift again, but even that won't rouse this sleepy head from bed on a cold, cold day. That's what got me to thinking those Random Thoughts.

We all know that Christmas is the time when Christians celebrate the birth of Christ. It is the time when we reflect on the greatest gift of all - Jesus. But what about the day AFTER Christmas? What then?

Do we lose some of our excitement? Do we forget what a gift we have received, the one we thought we'd never get? For some, it stays exciting for a while, but even that will fade in the day to day. For some, if it's not what we'd expected it to be, we get downright angry in our disappointment. What then?

The only gift I've ever received that hasn't broken, gone out of style, gotten old, or let me down is the gift of Jesus. I started to say it had never disappointed me, but to be honest, there have been times I have been disappointed because I thought it was going to "do" something that it didn't. Still, even in that, I have learned to realize that it wasn't really disappointment so much as forgetting what the gift truly means.

I have to ask myself this question on the day AFTER Christmas...will I remain in this state of joyful surprise at receiving the gift I truly wanted, or will I allow the newness to wear off and become routine? Will I wake up each day excited about the discovery of this gift, or will I soon begin to "sleep late" because it is no longer new? Can I find a way to make it "Christmas" every day in a new way, or will it simply become the day AFTER Christmas? What about you? What will you do?

John 3:16: " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Lamentations 3:22-24, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’.”

Imagine...

Today's random thought became a part of my lesson for children's church so I decided to share it with others. 

Imagine you could choose any gift you wanted - money is no object. What would you choose? This is the question I asked my students today. The answers varied from a trip to Disney to unlimited money. Then I added a caveat - you can have it, but you have to spend every night in prison for the rest of your life. You can have fun during the day, but each night you must lay your head down inside a prison cell. You would do this to the day you died.

The kids, of course, said things like they'd bail themselves out (those who had wished for unlimited funds) but they were quickly told that there was no bail. Others said they'd get their parents to get them out, only to hear that parents would not be able to do that. The only way for them to get out of this endless cycle of prison was if someone would come and take their place...but who would do that? 

Of course, that's exactly what Jesus did. He came to earth to free us from the prison the enemy had designed for us. The distractions of gifts and fun might make us forget for a while, but the truth was that we were still nothing but prisoners.

The enemy would love to distract us with the shiny, glittery things of the world, but eventually, we have to realize we are still held captive and the only way to find release is for someone to take our place. Our parents can't do it for us, neither can our friends. Only one who knew no sin could take our place and still survive. Jesus.

Jesus knew exactly what lay in store for Him when He came to earth. 

The greatest gift of all, born as a sacrifice in a stable, has come to set us free.
THAT is what Christmas is all about.

Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (MSG)

God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

  Photo by Donald Teel on Unsplash,

Valuable...

Today I was listening to an interesting story about someone who had been given a guitar. It was a very nice guitar, top of the line. It was, however, extra special because it had been signed by Eric Clapton. Because of this, this guitar was extremely valuable. The new owner took great care of this guitar, making sure he cleaned it after each use, storing it in a special place - not exposing it to elements that might cause it harm. You get the picture...and I'm pretty sure you see where today's post is heading. 

Photo by Redd Angelo on Unsplash

All this got me to thinking about all the other things that we see as valuable because some great person signed it or used it. In the past, people would claim importance to some place that looked like just a shack to most people...its one claim to fame was that "George Washington slept here." The name of the famous person was used to garner recognition, prominence,  even money. It is not the HOUSE that gave the place value, but who had stayed there.

Tying these two stories together, they both got me to thinking...what makes a person valuable? Is it our gifts? What we look like? The other "houses" around us? No, what really makes a person valuable is who lives within the house...whose "signature" is on it.

Because Christ lives in me, I have value. So do you. I'm not going to "trash" the house, or bring in things that might destroy it or ugly it up. I'm not going to cover my "valuable guitar" with cheap stickers from a gumball machine. I'm not going to allow political ads, product billboards, or just plain weeds to diminish the importance of the dwelling. It's too important. No trash of un-forgiveness can be allowed, no language that paints the house in cheap neon green paint, no habits that block the view like a tacky billboard with lights. The focus isn't even on the house at all. The focus should be on Who lives there.

No, George Washington didn't live here, but the One who DOES is far greater than any man who has ever lived. That makes this house valuable. That makes me valuable...and it's what makes you valuable, too.

Romans 8:9-11 (MSG)

^9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!

Get happy where you are...

The past couple of days a "random thought" has been on my mind. (Re-print from 2014)

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to go from place to place, job to job, city to city, relationship to relationship, even hobby to hobby looking for that elusive thing called happiness? You've heard it before in probably a million blogs and devotions, warning that if you put your hope into a thing or a position or even a person that eventually it will let you down. The problem is, we are all looking for happiness and it is usually best found right where you are. 

I've had more than a few chances to put this whole idea into practice. The funny thing is, when I finally choose to be happy where I am, God seems to move me on.

This came to mind last week when I talked to a friend about the gentle nudge she was feeling about moving to a job in a different area. She stood there explaining to me, "It's not like I don't love where I am...in fact, I've never been happier." I could only nod. Seems like every job I've ever moved to didn't make sense. In one job, I'd tried repeatedly to leave! I couldn't even score an interview! Then, just when I decided to be happy where God had me planted, He moved me....to the very place I had been unable to get an interview for five years! Then God moved me again, but not during a season of discontent, but in a time when I finally had discovered contentment. 

Seems that just when I let go of the idea that I have any right to decide what my life should look like, it starts to look like something so much more than I could have ever dreamed....and sometimes I even get that which I had hoped for.

I won't pretend this is always an easy process. I have an idea of what will really make me happy and I'm certain that if I just try hard enough, I can make it happen. The problem with that is that my life doesn't belong to me. I am His. I'm not really the one in charge here. Now as strange as that sounds, that concept is pretty liberating. It's not up to me. The only part of my "future" that is up to me, is turning it completely over to God. I simply have to start where I am and choose joy. I choose to trust that God knows what will bring me fulfillment far better than I do.

I think the first time I really saw this was while hoping for a child. We had hoped for years for a child, lost one through an adoption that went wrong, faced each passing year without the sound of a child's laughter in our home. Slowly, I released that dream and truly gave it to God. I came to the point where I could truly say, "God, I want a child more than anything, but if You choose for us to serve you without children, I will trust You." My attitude changed. I changed. The one true barrier to my joy was removed and peace returned....and two children followed.

I'm not saying that there is some magic formula or equation. "Do this and then all your dreams will come true..." In fact, in a way, it's about giving up your dreams - to God. It's about choosing to find the joy and fulfillment right where you are. It's about looking at what the enemy meant for your harm and recognizing that God can/has used it for your good and His glory.

It's about a choice...a choice to change your attitude and find the joy.

I am reminded of a story Lysa TerKeurst once shared. Her daughter had found some cocoons and was hoping to hatch butterflies and instead from those cocoons, she got moths. Mom expected disappointment, but..."As I watched Brooke’s sheer delight with the rich evidence of life before her, she couldn’t have cared less if it was a moth or butterfly. A creature that once only knew the dirt of the earth had just been given the gift of flight. Reaching- soaring-up- up- and away."

I guess it really is all about how you look at things. In the words of my pastor, you may not get to choose your circumstances, but you do get to choose your attitude in the midst of them.

It's time to get happy, right where you are...and then you can move forward.

Acts 20:24 (NIV)

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Genesis 50:20 (NIV) 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Philippians 4:11-13 (MSG)

I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Can you hear me now?

I have been accused of many things in my lifetime, but being too quiet to be heard has NEVER been one of them...and I have always hated that about myself. 

What? You thought I was loud on purpose? Heavens no! I'm not trying to be loud - it just...HAPPENS!

I can't count the times I've heard, "I didn't know you were here and then I heard your voice." Or, "I couldn't find you, so I stopped and listened to hear your voice." I've even had students that I haven't seen in YEARS come up to me saying, "I was standing over there and I heard that voice and thought - that's Mrs. Sumrall!" Yes, my voice carries.

In the past few years, however, I've learned to embrace my "loud." It is a gift! For example, this past summer, we were in a crowded Cane's restaurant and the young lady behind the counter was trying to call out orders, but her voice was so sweet and soft that no one could hear her. I was waiting for my food, so I stepped up to help, calling out each name after she told me who the order was for. Based on the reaction of the patrons, my voice was welcomed! They even sounded sad when my order came and I decided to sit down and give up my new found "job." Being loud came in handy that day. 

It's also been very handy anytime I've needed to get a crowd (like my students) to hear me. I can be heard in the back of the auditorium without the aide of a microphone. I've used that skill quite often. I joke that I was destined to either be a teacher or an opera singer and since I can't really carry a tune, my fate was decided.

Why tell you all this? Because I think all too often the very gift God has given us to reach the world is one that we feel is a flaw - an embarrassment. The Bible story that immediately comes to mind is Zacchaeus, the wee little man. Somehow I'm not sure we'd have heard about him of his amazing story if he'd been six feet tall.

What is your "gift"? The one that you think is a flaw - a mistake? The one that you so wish you could change? What might happen if instead of trying to cover up our flaw, we took it to the top of a sycamore tree where it really stood out? What if we let that trait the world looks at as a problem and used it to spread the love of Jesus? What if we actually agreed with God that He makes no mistakes and we are created just as He would have us to be? 

What if?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on your "damaged gifts" that God is using. Let us encourage one another the way that only broken, damaged people who are loved by God can do.

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Genesis 1:26a
Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...

Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

Special cause I'm ordinary...

When I was younger, I desperately wanted to be special in something, but I was just plain ordinary. Now, I've come to realize that it is my ordinariness that makes me special. 

I can relate to others because I'm so ordinary and they can relate to me for the same reason. It is actually my ordinariness that enables me to help others and that makes me special.

For all those, who like me, are just plain ordinary - celebrate! It is by being ordinary that you will find your purpose!

Genesis 1:31(Msg)
God looked over everything he had made;
        it was so good, so very good!
    It was evening, it was morning—
    Day Six.

1 Timothy 4:4 (Msg)
Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. 

Trying something a little different for a while.

For a while, I'm going to try something a little different with my blog. Life has been so busy, I haven't had a lot of time to simply sit and write, (you probably don't really have time to read long blogs either)...but that doesn't mean the random thoughts have stopped coming! So, for a while, I'm going to try posting much shorter random thoughts - I'll leave it to you to make the connections!

In service a couple of weeks ago, I had this random thought...do you know who my Daddy is?

When I was growing up, everyone knew my daddy. We weren't rich, but he had a good name and it opened a lot of doors. I'm so very thankful for the character of my father and for his good name.

On the flip side, we've all seen those characters in movies - the ones who are obnoxious and privileged acting simply because of who their father is. They are misusing their family name, but it does not negate the power of that name.

That got me to thinking - why am I not walking into situations with confidence? Not arrogance, mind you, but confidence. I mean, after all - do you know who MY Daddy is? He has given me His name and it will open doors and save me despite my failings.

How about it? Would you walk through your days with a bit more confidence and daring knowing that you can say, "Do you know who my Daddy is?"

Along the way...

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk/run...who am I kidding? I knew it would be a walk/walk. It's been a long time since I did any REAL running, but I tied on my running shoes and started out the door. It was a bit frustrating to be walking the route I used to run x 3 on a regular basis, but it is what it is, so I plodded along. I was MUCH slower than when I run, even though I was walking at a fast clip and I actually was a pretty slow runner. I did what I could to keep moving as fast as I could and decided to take the time to "smell" or at least notice the flowers along the way.

That's when I noticed the cup. It was lying there right beside the road. Humfff - how can people just toss their trash like that? Someone should clean up this area. I would, but I don't have anything to carry it in and besides, I've got two miles to walk/run! As I continued along, the flowers were truly beautiful, but I kept on seeing trash. As I neared the end of my route, I spotted a new plastic Walmart bag caught in a bush. I was in luck (or was it simply God getting my attention?) I grabbed the bag and continued on my way. I saw a little trash but decided to "save" my bag for Mt Killamsdonna close to my house where the trash seemed to be the worst. I filled up that bag and then some and had to turn to go home because I simply couldn't hold anymore. Besides, it was hot and I'd already been gone for over half an hour. I posted a picture of my trash on Facebook and got a few "way to go" responses. I said, "Somebody should pick up this mess and since I've always wanted to be a 'Somebody,' I figured it might as well be me."

Today I decided to go out for another early walk since church services  had been canceled (due to uncertainty about what Hurricane Nate would do.) This time I'd go prepared! I took a bag WITH me, stuffed into the pocket of my running shorts. The plan was to pick up at the end of the run again. As I started out, I noted where the trash was worst and made plans to pick up at the end...or maybe a little sooner this time.

As I came to the final couple of turns, I started seeing little scraps. Oh well, they were small and wouldn't really slow me down so I started picking things up. The closer I got to home, the more I started to see. Things that had gone unseen the day before now caught my eye, and I started the process...and the thinking. That's when the random thoughts started.

As I picked up vodka bottles and sonic cups and ziplock bags of something that looked like a piece of old pizza, I thought about the fact that if I'd been running, I'd have never really seen all this - or I'd have been so concerned about my "speed" that I'd never have taken the time to pick it up. Hmmm, seems that getting older and slowing down wasn't such a bad thing. I started thinking, no - I can't do big things, but maybe I can do little things along the way. Just open my eyes and see the opportunities right in front of me. Then, of course, I started thinking about how this applies to other areas of my life. I doubt seriously that anyone will know my name like Cher or Oprah or...okay - there are way too many names to choose from, but you get the idea. I may never be "teacher of the year" or even "teacher of the month" or even "teacher of the last five minutes" but I can make a difference every single day if I just take the time to slow down and notice what, or who is in my path. 

Oh, there are definitely some downsides to this. (I'll let you make any spiritual connections.) My hands get pretty dirty - I sometimes wish I had one of those "picker-upper" things. It can be kind of difficult sometimes - there were some pieces I had to hop the ditch to reach, and the diaper I found IN the ditch almost caused me to become a candidate for America's Funniest Video's (thank heavens no one had a camera!) Then, of course, there is the danger that our garbage men may think I've turned into a chain-smoking alcoholic based on the number of cigarette packs and empty vodka bottles in my trash. He already knows I eat junk food so a few extra sonic cups won't cause any alarm. So what. I know what I'm up to, and if they care to ask, I'll share! Or maybe, just maybe they'll notice things are starting to look a little better in our area. 

So there you have it. No, I'm not running right now (but I hope to get back to it!) I am, however, doing what I can along the way. 

Care to join me? Who knows what little thing that God will place in our path that makes a big difference in the long run. My prayer is "Lord, open my eyes that I may see."

WARNING! Don't watch this video if you don't want to be challenged. Open the eyes of my heart

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people. 

A.D.D. or A.W.D....

Today in worship, I became acutely aware of God's presence and I thought about how often I go through my days wishing I could sense His presence more. That's when I started thinking about how A.D.D. I tend to be and decided that in spiritual matters, perhaps I suffer a bit from A.W.D. - Attention to the World Disorder.

Since I am a teacher, I am well aware of how difficult it can be for a child who has A.D.D. to focus on what is important in the classroom. An overload of stimulus makes brains take a detour from what they should be concentrating on just about everything else. They often become frustrated and act out...or they withdraw from the very things that could help them. I heard the lead singer from Casting Crowns say he suffered from dyslexia and ADD which meant it was hard for him to read well and if he somehow managed to read well, his ADD still messed things up. I wonder at times if I am not undiagnosed ADD myself. I find I am easily distracted from what I need to get done, but over the years I have learned techniques to deal with my "random thoughts".....such as using them to write a blog. :)

Back to today's random thought. As I contemplated the fact that God is always with us, but somehow we don't sense it, our pastor began to talk about the very same thing! I was so excited I wanted to raise my hand and say, "I was just thinking about that!" To quote our pastor, "It's wonderful to know God is everywhere, but being in a place where you are AWARE of his presence is a whole other thing. When we focus, we become less aware of our surroundings and more aware of God." Yep, there it is. We are all a little A.W.D. 

A.W.D. is being ADD when it comes to God. Instead of being able to focus on Him, we are so easily distracted by the things of the world. We have allowed the things that are not eternal, things of this world, take our focus off of God....and we start to sink under the weight of it all.

The Bible is full of stories where man got his focus off God and onto the things of the world with disastrous results. One of the most evident was when Peter stepped out of the boat and tried to walk toward Jesus. He did just fine as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, but the moment he lost focus and started looking at the waves (the things of this world) he started to sink. 

It happened to others as well. Different things pulled their focus from God...sometimes they were problems, sometimes they were things we'd think of as blessings, but once they lost focus - their troubles really began!

To paraphrase today's sermon, when our focus is right, we sense His presence and with that we find Purpose, Power, Protection, and Provision. With these come the greatest benefit - Peace. The key is to FOCUS!!!

I tell my son all the time...Focus Levi, focus! He's a lot like me, easily distracted by the shiny and new, or overly occupied with the one little thing that seems wrong. Once our focus is off, it's really tough to get us back to where we need to be. We're a little like the dog in the movie "UP" who could barely finish a sentence if a squirrel ran past within a hundred yards of him. Before you know it, we're off chasing something that is irrelevant in regards to what we're supposed to be doing! Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to shift our focus from Sunday morning worship when we felt God's presence, to a place where all we can see are the things and problems of this world.

Yep, I admit it. I have A.W.D. but the good news is, G.O.D. is much bigger than any other letters of the alphabet combined! He is patient and willing to help me focus on Him. His GOODNESS OVERCOMES DISTRACTIONS....(G.O.D.)

When I wonder why I don't sense His presence, I can check to see, have I just lost focus. Am I seeking Him in the every day of my life? In His presence, there is fullness of joy!(Psalm 16:11) If I'm not sensing His presence, I'm not experiencing true joy! It doesn't mean that life will suddenly become a big picnic, but it does mean that nothing the world uses to distract me can separate me from Him or His joy if I will keep my focus right....if I'll keep my focus on God.

Psalm 51 gives us a prayer that we can use to help us "re-focus". "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And renew a right spirit within me.

I don't mind being a little A.D.D., but I surely don't want to have A.W.D. As the old song says: Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

Take time to focus today. He is with you...you might just suffer from A.W.D. 

Repost from 2009

Photo by RayBay on Unsplash 

What not to wear...

Photo by Seth Doyle on Unsplash

I will admit it. I would gladly go on national tv and be humiliated about my bad clothing choices in order to get rid of my old stuff and be shown what to wear...and given the money to buy it!

I used to love the show "What Not to Wear." I didn't always watch the entire program, but I did like to tune in to at least see the "tips" and the final transformation. I was amazed at the difference you could see in the people by the end of every program - a difference that seems to be not only in their appearance but in their whole being. Can what you wear really make that much difference?

Honestly, I know clothes make a difference. Once, many years ago, I prayed about why it seemed that people did not take me seriously and felt that nudge in my heart to look at how I was dressed. At the time I had on old jeans and a sweatshirt. I remember praying, "but God, the Bible says man looks on the outward appearance but YOU look on the heart!" Then I 'heard' the reply - "What is the first part of that verse?"

Well, man looks on the outward appearance....

"I see your heart but as long as you are on this earth, you will deal with 'man'. How you carry yourself makes a difference."

After that conversation with God, I did change the way I dressed and I did see a difference in the ways others reacted to me; but I'm not sure if it was because I dressed differently or because when I dressed differently, I acted differently as well! Sort of like what you see on that program. I carried myself differently, I walked in more confidence and assurance and people reacted to that difference.

Knowing that people (including me) react to others according to outward appearance, shouldn't it then be very important what we wear? Now, I am NOT the person to give fashion advice, but perhaps I can find a guideline that even I can use on a regular basis on what TO wear. The Bible has some really good advice in that area. "Clothe yourself in righteousness", and "Put on the whole armor of God" are good places to start. Then today I stumbled across this verse: 

Colossians 3:12-14

The Message (MSG)

 12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Finally - fashion tips that even I can understand. 

You know, one of the biggest things I noticed about that show is that they didn't really focus on what NOT to wear...oh they showed the contestants how bad their choices had been up to this point, but the rest of the show was spent showing the people what TO wear. As a Christian, that's how I want to spend my life - not spending all my time shining a light on what others do WRONG, but shining a light on how good things can be.

You know, one of the biggest words used by people at the beginning of that show is "but it'scomfortable" or "that won't be comfortable"...focusing only on physical comfort. By the end, they find something they desire far more than that physical comfort - they find something within that is willing to leave their comfort zone and move into a new comfort - comfort with who they were meant to be. They also usually discover that the new way of dressing isn't really uncomfortable at all!

Don't know about you, but I think I'll have some new things to think about this morning as I get "dressed" to face the day. I have been given a new "wardrobe" and the best part of it all - the price has already been paid. 

Oh, and on a side note, I often tell my daughter, "You are a precious jewel, a gift from God. Don't dress in such a way that it looks like that jewel is displayed on the reduced for quick-sale rack."  You get my point.

Have we bought the lie???

This was written quite a few years ago, but I vividly remember the encounter with this woman. I think it was the first time I really stood up for what I believed in such a vocal way. 

Tomorrow is the 4th of July...a time of celebration! There will be hotdogs, apple pie, and probably a few impromptu baseball games. Water slides, watermelon, and water....okay, I don't have another water word. There will be laughter, honoring of veterans, and hopefully, prayer for our nation, because no matter who you ask, you'll probably hear that despite our celebrating, our nation is in trouble.

Some will say the problem arises from recent court developments. Some will say the problem arises from our lack of reverence for human life. Many will point at the prevalence of government in our lives. Some will say it's the liberals. Some will say it's the conservatives. I'm thinking it may be something different. I'm thinking it goes all the way back to Genesis and a tiny little lie. A question actually.

Recently I had a conversation with someone who is MUCH more educated than me. She is, no doubt, a wonderful person. Very intellectual and has a heart to help others. I will not say a bad thing about her...but we definitely did not agree. To be honest, I'm not even sure how our conversation took the turn that it did, but within moments it became evident that she believed in evolution as opposed to creation. Her arguments were that while God created, He used evolution to do it. (I've heard this argument before.) She also believed much of the Bible to be metaphorical in nature. Needless to say, we disagreed.

Since that conversation, I seem to see articles on creation everywhere I turn! You see, I believe that TRUE science points TO creation...and while I am not a scientist, there are many scientist who agree with that point of view. If one buys into the idea of evolution for creation, there are a number of issues you must then wrestle with. For one, how then did sin enter in through one man? How did Jesus come as the second Adam and die as a sacrifice for that sin? (We disagreed on this as well, by the way.) How can you deal with Jesus speaking of Old Testament writings as fact? Either He was ignorant or a liar...neither of which I can agree with. But all these arguments are really not the purpose of today's random thoughts. It's identifying the root of our problems....

Is it possible that we bought the lie? You know, in the garden that's what started the ball rolling. In Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Did you get that? It started with questioning what God said. The enemy craftily inserted doubt into the legitimacy of God's Word. It was the meshing of an idea that was NOT of God with something that IS of God. Verses 4 & 5: "⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Seems he forgot to include the part about the knowledge of good and evil being because they would experience separation from God's presence and the beauty of the life they knew.

Is it possible that the "problems" our nation, even our world...and yes, we ourselves face are due to buying the lie that has woven itself into our books, our tv shows, and our minds. It's a subtle one...just a little bitty question. Did God really say? Or, the idea that God's Word is a collection of metaphors, not to be taken literally? Yes, I realize there are some pretty hard parts of the Bible. I'm thankful that God does not require me to gouge out my eye...it does not sin so getting rid of it really wouldn't fix the problem. Plus, and far more importantly, Jesus died for my sin. Yes, that literally happened. It's not a metaphor or just some feel good story. Nothing I can do would "fix" the problem anyway.

I'm sure there's more to all of this than my puny little mind can embrace, but this is really just a collection of MY random thoughts. Maybe we allowed the "lie" to weave its way into our lives and before we knew it, it was like the ferns that looked so lovely in my yard until they took root everywhere and started to choke out my rose. I really didn't think it was any big deal to begin with. It was so tiny and looked entirely harmless. Yeah....tell that to my rose that it killed. (Check out my previous blog, "The Pruning Process...")

I don't want to buy the lie. I believe God's Word is true...and I want it to shape everything I do. I know I have a long way to go...but recognizing that truth is truth is the first step. Maybe then, we can truly ask for God to bless America.