Encouragement

Speak Words of Life!

 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Colossians 3:21
If you speak negative words over your children, you are cursing their future. Moreover, God will hold you responsible for destroying their destiny. With authority comes responsibility, and you have the responsibility as the spiritual authority over your child to make sure that he feels loved, accepted and approved. Joel Osteen, “Your Best Life Now”

Imagine a best case scenario for a book lover. You have a neighbor who is an Amazon seller who leaves you all the books she thinks you would be interested in. She comes like a book fairy and leaves them on my porch swing, or by the door. Each delivery is like a bit of Christmas. This is how I happened upon the Joel Osteen devotional book. I am going to stay far away from a discussion on “Prosperity Gospel Theology.” That is for God to sort out. I don’t believe that if we say and do the right things we will be rich and healthy. I just don’t think it is in the cards, or anywhere in Scripture. Having said that, I can see the value in some of what he says, for instance:

“Negative words will cause our children to lose the sense of value God has placed within them. As parents, we have a responsibility before God and society to train our children, to discipline them them when they disobey, to lovingly correct them when they make wrong choices.”

Our words carry tremendous weight, and negative and destructive ones can leave a child in ruins emotionally, dealing with the by-products and after-effects many years into their adult life. We don’t hear much positive these days. What they put on the news is mostly bad. TV shows that criticise and humiliate people get the ratings. Even the humor is often cruel and sarcastic.

People are hungry for a good word. A positive word. A happy message. I think that is a big part of why Joel Osteen’s pews are filled. Is there someone in your life today who is determined to stamp out your optimism? Your peace? Someone that seeks to drag you down into their muck and mire?  If you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit today, let me tell you that they don’t have that power. They may choose to live that way, but you as a child of God, do not!

This much is true…….A blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken. It is not enough to think it; you must vocalize it. Your children need to hear you say words such as, “I love you. I believe in you. I think you’re great. There’s nobody else like you. You are one of a kind.” Daily Readings from Your Best Life Now

Really, we could all use some words like that. As gifts to each other, and also to ourselves……

Tomorrow I will post about how the Bible says to stay positive when you have someone determined to tear you down with their negativity.

Gratitude is Counter Cultural

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:20

I went on a walk last night, just before the last bit of light was snatched out of the sky. My mood was on the somber side. As I walked, however, I was keenly aware of one thing. That it was still cool. Something in my soul jumped up and said……”Remember this, remember this……” For soon, it will be so stifling hot we won’t be able to walk outside without suffocating.

I found myself at the community pool just as the stars came out……both pools were empty, both the inside one and the outside one. I missed my niece terribly just then. She loves to go swimming more than anything in the world. I could see her in my mind and hear her voice and I felt the regret of knowing all that I have missed with her being one state away.

At any given time in this life there are things to feel sad about. But living this way…..this way of looking back is not what God wants us to do. We have a forward thinking God. When we are depressed, we are off balance. Our vision is skewed. We think of how things were, and compare them to how things are now. When we fear that things will get worse, we assume we know what the future holds, but only God knows that. When I think like that I am playing God.

This is dangerous thinking because then, I forget to be thankful for all those things we can praise Him for right now.
 
I was given a great gift growing up. I was taught it by my folks, who thought it was a value to be passed on, and the best way I can repay them is to pass it on to others. I see this photo of my Mom’s table and I smile. I see in my own table, my own home a reflection of the joy within it. With each and every item on her table, there is a story……
 
The kerosene lamp that she has always had on her table 
 
The robin that has a special meaning of hope in the midst of sorrow
 
The mug from a favorite place, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite
 
My own prayer journal
 
In a world that says to always seek bigger, better, and more than what you have. I am so grateful for what I do have. For the love that resides in my home, the peace, the smile that greets me……. 
 
I am rich and blessed beyond measure.

News from my little corner

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4
What’s going on in your little corner of the world? No doubt many things. Someone may ask you how you are, and you reply……”Fine.” But you know you aren’t. You know when someone is asking in passing….that they don’t really want to know. But then there are those that when they ask, they look into your eyes and you know…..you really know, they really do care.
Sometimes all it takes is just the right person to ask and the dam breaks.
We all have things going on in our lives. Sometimes it really helps to hear about other’s struggles and joys. It gets our mind off ourselves. So what is going on in your corner? Here is a little snippet of what is going on in mine:
An answered prayer from yesterday……My brother had a good talk with his boss, with whom he has had a very hard time lately. The talk was fruitful and ended well.
Old computer went where old computers go when they die. New computer came yesterday and now we have a HUGE monitor and very fast Internet. WOW, I must force myself to stay off of it!
Car went in to shop and what was supposed to be free warranty work turned into a broken belt which will cost over $500.00 count it all joy! I have a credit card I can use! All in all, it was a day that was a blessing. Elaine went with me and we made a day of it! As full time caregiver, she enjoyed the day of freedom and I am glad she spent it with me.
I am enjoying my new camera, though each day I learn more of what I don’t know about the technical aspects of photography. I am also struggling with the Canon computer software. Got it to work last night, but all the pictures ended up on my desktop. I guess I saved it there inadvertantly??? I don’t remember saving them there!
Elaine’s garden is doing well. It is yielding fresh spinach like mad, and the tomatoes are exploding. Okra is coming up and so is the squash. I cooked a mountain of spinach night before last, and though a whole kettle didn’t yield much, it was delicious! We also enjoyed some of our generous neighbor’s home grown zucchini last night. Thanks, Bob and Eileen for sharing!
This morning as I made my way across the parking lot at work, the cat who I feed regularly as part of our spay and neuter program at Intel was meowing at me from under a shrub. She was very scared and upset. Her feeding station is all the way on the other side of the building. And it is a big factory. The landscapers must have been here. I have no idea how to get her back to where she belongs. I must leave her to her own cat resourcefulness in getting there.
Most of all, I continue to rejoice in God our Savior, for ” in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” I can’t imagine walking through life without His help!
Enough about me……..How are things in your corner of the world? Please drop me a line or send me a prayer request and I will be happy to pray for you.

The Ultimate Happy Ending

There is something in us that wants happy endings. Just consider how many watched the recent marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I have to admit, I was one of them. We watch because we hope that the end of the story will be just as beautiful as the beginning.
Easter is the ultimate happy ending. Indeed, it is because of Easter and the Resurrection that we can go through anything this life has to dish up. And sometimes as we all know, things happen to very good people that are just not fair. I was reflecting on this as I finished the book of Job today.
If we do not find ourselves in the midst of something we consider extremely unfair, then we know someone who is. It is the lament we hear over and over again, the refrain of our times……”It’s just not fair.” I can count about 5 people right off the top who I can say this about. You know the kind I mean, good honest people who follow the rules and do the right thing. They work hard…..love God and their neighbor, sacrifice for others and life just seems to dump on them.
When I was back home my Mom told me of her friend, Yvonne. A hard working woman who works as a checker in the local market, Yvonne is struggling to raise the two kids still at home. She has to leave a 12 and 15 year old alone after school because she has to work. She worries because they are starting to give her grief by rebelling. Her husband left her and offers no financial help, though he is very well off. He sees them every now and them and plies them with expensive gifts and then they ask their Mom why they can’t have this or that at home. She recently wanted to buy her older daughter a TV set and was going to use her tax return to do it. Then she got a letter informing her that there was a mistake in her refund and she actually owed more than the amount she was getting back.
But Yvonne will be alright…..She would be the first to tell you because she knows the Lord is able. She knows the tomb was empty that day. She has the hope of the resurrection. Because of that, we are able! We know the ending of the story and it’s a good one.
Job knew it too……..
And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.

If you are going through hardship today, remember Easter. You can rejoice because He is not in the tomb anymore, He is here with you……There is an ending to our story that holds tremendous hope, and because of this, we can go on. We can it make it because we know what Job figured out.

God is in control, and the ultimate victory is ours in Him.

God’s Place of Rest

“These are the words of God, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’ Jeremiah 45:2 The Message

“Just how much more does God expect me to take?”

You feel out of control, like one of those plate spinners……one false move and they all come crashing down. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” you say…..but you know that just under the surface lurks an erupting volcano. You feel like any little remark can set you off. When you pass a Dunkin Donuts or In-N-Out Burger you feel the drive-through sweeping you in like the pull of the tides. (Or in my case, the local Walgreens for a bag of Whopper Malted Eggs)

Tears come easily, and so does unexpected anger. This is sometimes what caregiving feels like.

But God’s place of rest is there in the midst of it. He is ready and waiting to do a work in you and me, but only if we release it to Him. He longs to take our burden, but He knows that sometimes He has to “pile it on” so that we will have no choice but to dump it at His feet.

We don’t have to take it all on……..He will.

It is so hard to tell someone that.
Someone who is trying so hard, dealing with so much.
It feels like one more thing they have to do.

It feels like we are saying, “Just tie a knot and hang on, sister…..”

Except that they aren’t just any old words, they are God’s words, and His words are backed by His promises.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

Lord, I pray for everyone today who feels overwhelmed and beaten up by the world. I pray that they will trust You with their every burden and care, and they will find that place of rest for their souls that you have promised them in Your word. Hide them under your mighty wings today, as the mother eagle shelters her young and give them the faith they need to release everything to You, knowing that You will give them peace in exchange. Amen

Great music in church yesterday, moments of refreshment and peace, little joys of flowers in the desert, singing into the phone and making someone smile, a good night’s sleep, a refreshing rain on the roof, unexpected moments of exhilaration, a great lunch at Chilies, 39 dollars from coinstar I didn’t expect I had, a time of peace at Starbucks while blogging…..
#668-#678

holy experience

Because He lives, life is worth it!

“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! Job 19:23,24

I am continuing my reading through Job. It is slow going, but that is okay. It is tempting to skim through Job. It’s painful reading…..As I read through his life, I am starting to feel like I am watching a dear friend suffer, and it hurts. Job wasn’t just a very wealthy man with a large family, he was also well known for doing good in the community. He was actively involved in taking care of the poor, opening his home to others, sticking up for the underdog. He wasn’t satisfied to just  sit back and enjoy all of God’s blessings when he knew others were suffering and in need.

It is tempting to skip through the long winded speeches of his so called friends. I want to tell them to be quiet! But maybe I am being too hard on them. There is truth in much of what they say, I just don’t think much of it applies to poor Job. Anyway, I can learn from their words what not to do. There is a time to speak and a time to comfort in silence.

So I am going slow. I am going back when I catch myself scanning instead of reading….because every word is important.

Right after Verse 18 when Bildad winds up his speech, Job starts speaking again. And his words stun me because I always thought this verse came from Isaiah. In the midst of his excruciating suffering, the Holy Spirit speaks a beautiful prophecy spoken through the dry, split lips of suffering Job. Like manna from Heaven the words float down…….

I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
Right there in the middle of Job……. a well known aria from the Easter portion of Handel’s Messiah! I know, I know, there are people, Biblical scholars, who say that this has nothing to do with Jesus, but I disagree…..I think that Job knew exactly who his redeemer was, and that he also knew that when his time on earth was through, that he would see the One who redeemed him. He knew like one who has been through the refining fire of suffering knows……He lives! And maybe it took the suffering for Job to know that he truly did believe….
To echo the old song that I used to sing in church…….”Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” Because He lives, I can get up and go to a stressful job. Because He lives, every day is a gift. Because He lives, it’s all worth it! “……And life is worth the living, just because He lives!”
And lest you beat yourself up because you feel you should be leaping out of bed instead of praying face down on the carpet, remember this: “There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus“…..That was one of the first verses to spill out of the CD player this morning on the way to work. I take great comfort in the fact that He doesn’t love me because I am perfect, but because I am His child!
In the end, Job got his prayer answered. The book of Job is considered one of the most beautiful literary works of all time. His words stand the test of time and eternity……

Photo by Andrea Schafthuizen, public domain pictures

A walk through the weeds…….

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

We humans can turn on a dime. Yesterday I was counting blessings, participating in the One Thousand Gifts over at Ann’s, thinking positive, counting blooms and blessings. Today on my walk, it seemed all I could count were weeds! I saw the brown trees this years freeze destroyed. I saw weeds in several yards…..My mind was like a ticker tape of negativity……”Why doesn’t the park enforce their own rules?” and “Why do we even have a home owner’s association?” I went on like this halfway around the perimeter until something strange happened. I got ticked at myself.

Something happens when you really start to count gifts. It changes how you think, and you no longer want to think the other way, the old way. We talk about paradigm shifts a lot at work. That is what happens in your mind when you cross over to living a life in gratitude to God, when you keep count. It not only changes your thinking, it changes your life.

It is a new determination you have……not to give in. So I walked on determined not to see the weeds or the brown trees this morning. I told myself and God that I was not going home until I started seeing beauty and blessings. I am kind of stubborn that way. Do you suppose that was God’s plan for me today?

This is what I saw…….A dove nesting in a spiny cactus……..groups of quail walking across the road. A bunny eating the veggies someone had left out. I heard the cry of a cactus wren, I call them all “Renny” for the one who lived in the cactus next door. Here is the thought that came to me…….These little desert creatures scurry about very happy to be what they are. They don’t pay attention to the weeds unless they can find something useful about them. If they can’t eat them, or use them for shelter they ignore them.

That was my lesson today.

I just had to laugh last night, as I picked up Elaine’s Mom from the nursing home where she had just visited her husband of 60 years, “That man is the most negative person on the planet, he finds absolutely no good in anything.” What?? This from a woman who is equally negative about anything and everything. Once, the three of us were walking along on an impossibly beautiful sapphire blue sky day. Elaine made a comment about how beautiful the sky was, and her Mom said caustically, “Well, Elaine the sky is always blue.” We still joke about it.

Like she says…….”Where did I come from?” She learned to count blessings a long time ago, against all the odds. Despite her surroundings, despite the people who raised her.

Yes, Lord……despite our circumstances, surroundings……..we can be positive, it is possible, if we let the counting, and God renew our minds.

Photo credits: Public Domain Pictures
Weeds by Andrew Schmidt
Dandelions by Petr Kratochvil

5 Great Reasons to Believe

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

When I was wide awake this morning at 3am, I was thinking about how grateful I am that I can turn to the Lord at any time and He is always there. This started a mental list of reasons why I love being a Christian and wouldn’t trade my relationship with the Lord for anything in the world. As the cats blinked at me in puzzlement at the sudden light flooding the room, I wrote the first two down. The rest came a bit later.
 
We have a friend to turn to in our best and worst days……….He loves the part of me that no one sees. Yesterday I was feeling a bit irregular, like I wasn’t fitting anywhere. Every now and then those days come and I feel much like I did back in high school, like I want to hide in the bathroom stall. Like I want to avoid people, like I don’t like this version of me. But God loves even the part of me that no one sees. I can take all those strange feelings and He knows exactly what to do with them!
 
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Hebrews 2:18

We have an instant family…….Many people given the choice, would not have picked the family that God picked for them. But through that family we got here. However dysfunctional it may have been, (or still is) it made you what you are today. Through that family we have the opportunity to become part of God’s family! God has adopted us as sons and daughters, how cool is that? It always amazes me that when I talk with someone in God’s family, conversation never seems to run out.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5

We have a purpose, we no longer have to wonder why we are here or how it all got started………Suddenly we have new eyes to see with. We are seeing things through the Spirit that we never saw before. We have an assignment, a task, a mission, above and beyond what we do for money. God becomes our life-coach.
 
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:20
 
We have abundant life now, and eternal life later………We no longer have to fear death! The Bible is clear that the instant we die, we are with the Lord. We have a taste of it now, in the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as a deposit, a guarantee of what is to come.
 
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10

We can always find that place of rest………Whenever I feel burdened and stressed and I long for the ocean or that retreat in the mountains, I can take these feelings to the Lord and I get the true refreshment that only He can give. I can go into my closet and pray and He refreshes my soul. He knows what I need. It is a bit like taking a power nap in the middle of the day. I feel like I can go on again.
 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28

Invite Yourself

“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,” Colossians 1:13
 
“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you! ” Max Lucado
 
Have you ever uninvited yourself from an event, a party, a rest? Deemed yourself unworthy? Maybe you thought you wouldn’t fit in, so you mentally crossed yourself off the list. You came up with all kinds of reasons….
 
I don’t have kids or grandkids to talk about…..
I am not in that social group…..
I’m not smart enough…..
I can’t make witty conversation…..
I am not attractive enough……
I don’t have a great career….
I am single….divorced…..my marriage is rocky…..blah blah blah
 
God says you are royalty. Jesus thought you were worth dying for and even now, He is interceding for you before the Father. The Holy Spirit makes His home within you. God says you are all that!
 
So, give yourself a break today. Invite yourself to the party. Carve out an hour or so of rest. Get dressed up and wear the hat. Know that you are worthy of going to Buckingham Palace. Envision yourself waiting to meet the Queen at the Garden Party. I bet if you think hard enough, you can find someone in your life who thinks you are just wonderful the way you are, perfect in fact……God does.
 

 
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

all pictures from google images

Keeping a proper focus

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8

There will be a “Super moon” on March 19th. The moon will be closer to earth than it has been in 18 years. Some say this will cause earthquakes and strange weather. Scientists have disputed this in many reports I have read. And then we have 2012 coming up, according to Nostradamus that is when the world will end…..that is also when the Mayan calendar runs out.

There has always been speculation about when it will all end. Many believe it can’t go on this way forever and they are right. One day it will end. The disciples came to Jesus privately one day and asked Him: “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  Jesus told them many things, but He stressed these three main points:

Don’t be alarmed
Don’t be deceived
Be ready and watchful

We see so many terrible things happening in our world today, and we wonder…….how long? We turn our eyes heavenward because it seems as if everything is out of control, but those of us raised in church should not be surprised by any of this. I remember hearing sermons about eschatology and the end of the world ever since I was old enough to sit in a pew. I know one thing, we are nearer now than we were before. I like how Paul breaks it down for us in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians: (my paraphrase)

Be prayerful
Be watchful
Be encouraged
Keep loving each other
Get right with God
Live your life


“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13

Its all about focus, and balance, and keeping our eyes on Christ, who is our living hope.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

I pray today for those suffering terrible losses from the devastation in Japan. I can’t imagine how terrible it would be to have everything you have worked for washed out to sea, but even worse, the loss of friends and family members. I pray for recovery, healing, and rescue for those still lost. Amen