Well, the ice came but, as you can tell, there was no loss of power here (Praise God! I really mean that because I have an electric stove). But with the ice came about an inch of snow. Now, down south here, that is A LOT of snow. In fact, the lack of snow and ice is one of the reasons I live down south. With two artificial hips, it just isn't any fun anymore.
I have to tell you about Squirt when she went out this morning. Now we are talking about as 65-70 lb., 18-month-old "puppy" who has never seen snow. I couldn't go outside to experience this first hand, but I was watching from the picture window as my husband took her outside. She first had to smell the snow to try to identify what it was. When she raised her head, she had snow all over her muzzle. That's when she got excited. She began running back and forth at full tilt just like she was running ladders. Then she picked up her "stick" (6 ft. long, about 3 in. in circumference) and began running with it with the pure, unadulterated joy of one who has found something new and exciting,
I remember when I first came to know the Lord. I ran back and forth telling everyone about the wonderful new thing that had happened. I had the glow of a believer all over my face and no burden or obstacle was too much for me to handle. I lived in a state of perpetual joy and wonder at this new life God had given me.
Where has all the enthusiasm gone? I was 27 when I came to know the Lord and now I am soon to be 53 and I can tell you that the enthusiasm I had at 27 is not there. Oh, I still love the Lord and am constantly in His Word, but the joy seems to have worn off more than a little. I have allowed it to become a very comfortable (comfortable for me, not God) relationship. Where do I go to get it back?
In Revelation 2: 4-5a, it tells me that the church at Ephesus had the same problem and the Lord tells them, "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works".
I need to go back to where I left it and start over from there (kind of like my car keys). The wonderful thing is that God allows "do overs". He allows me to go back to where I lost my enthusiasm and pick up from there the joy of my salvation. He loves me enough to allow me to repent of my sins and come back to Him.
This reminds me of a story I once heard a preacher tell. There was this older couple riding to town in their pick up truck. The wife was complaining, "We just aren't romantic anymore. We don't hold hands, you don't open doors for me, and most of all, we don't sit next to each other when we go to town anymore. Yep, I guess the romance is gone." The husband had patiently listened to his wife's complaints and with a thoughtful look replied, "Honey, who moved over?"
If we are feeling far away from God, all we have to do is move back over close to Him. He's always been there waiting for us to come back to our first love and to do the repenting we need to do to go back to doing the first things, just like we did when we were first saved. I think I going to go now and begin scooting back over towards God.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Ice is Coming! The Ice is Coming!
Where I live in Tennessee, we are presently under an ice storm warning for tonight and part of tomorrow. I remember the last big ice storm in these parts. The trees, power lines, everything was coated with a half an inch of ice. Only a half an inch created so much weight that it destroyed so many things. It left us without power for one day, but my poor mother was out of power for almost 6 weeks!
The prediction is for the same amount of ice tonight with possibly an inch of snow or sleet on top of that. Now those of you who live up north may think that is next to nothing, but down here one TENTH of an inch of snow or ice can reek havoc on the roads because we true southerners don't know how to drive in that stuff. It is just insane in the stores and on the roads.
I remember another thing from that ice storm as I looked out my window (our only source of light) and watched the ice accumulate on the trees in our back yard. It was a freezing fog that caused that "ice storm", particles of ice so small you really couldn't see them accumulating and didn't notice the weight of them until it was too late and a branch came crashing down to the ground.
It reminded me of the Christian life. Generally speaking we as Christians are prepared for the huge crises of life- death, divorce, kids, lost relatives, etc. However, we really don't pay much attention to the smaller irritations and annoyances that accumulate on us every day and begin to weigh us down without us even noticing. Sometimes it causes us to be depressed, sometimes irritable, but always moving ever so slightly away from our brothers and sisters in Christ who are put in our path to encourage us.
We go to church and pass in the halls asking one another how we are doing with out even stopping long enough to find out. Even if we did stop, because what is bothering us is "such a small thing" we refuse to tell anyone about our need at that moment. I have always maintained that it is not the "big" things that weigh Christians down, but its the small, everyday disappointments and cares that, like the limbs in the ice storm, that weigh us down and sometimes even cause our spirits to break.
We have a God that is interested in the small things of our lives. However, when it is "just" a small thing I tell God, "That's okay, I can handle this. Why don't You take care of something more important." Well, slowly but surely I am learning that even my "little stuff" IS something important to Him.
Matthew 6: 25-34 states: "25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, `What will we eat?' or `What will we drink?' or `What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"
So if God will take care of the birds and the flowers, I know He will take care of me, my husband, my two dogs and my cat tonight when the ice comes. I have to go now and gather up the blankets and flashlights so that at least we can be prepared if the lights do go out.
The prediction is for the same amount of ice tonight with possibly an inch of snow or sleet on top of that. Now those of you who live up north may think that is next to nothing, but down here one TENTH of an inch of snow or ice can reek havoc on the roads because we true southerners don't know how to drive in that stuff. It is just insane in the stores and on the roads.
I remember another thing from that ice storm as I looked out my window (our only source of light) and watched the ice accumulate on the trees in our back yard. It was a freezing fog that caused that "ice storm", particles of ice so small you really couldn't see them accumulating and didn't notice the weight of them until it was too late and a branch came crashing down to the ground.
It reminded me of the Christian life. Generally speaking we as Christians are prepared for the huge crises of life- death, divorce, kids, lost relatives, etc. However, we really don't pay much attention to the smaller irritations and annoyances that accumulate on us every day and begin to weigh us down without us even noticing. Sometimes it causes us to be depressed, sometimes irritable, but always moving ever so slightly away from our brothers and sisters in Christ who are put in our path to encourage us.
We go to church and pass in the halls asking one another how we are doing with out even stopping long enough to find out. Even if we did stop, because what is bothering us is "such a small thing" we refuse to tell anyone about our need at that moment. I have always maintained that it is not the "big" things that weigh Christians down, but its the small, everyday disappointments and cares that, like the limbs in the ice storm, that weigh us down and sometimes even cause our spirits to break.
We have a God that is interested in the small things of our lives. However, when it is "just" a small thing I tell God, "That's okay, I can handle this. Why don't You take care of something more important." Well, slowly but surely I am learning that even my "little stuff" IS something important to Him.
Matthew 6: 25-34 states: "25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, `What will we eat?' or `What will we drink?' or `What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"
So if God will take care of the birds and the flowers, I know He will take care of me, my husband, my two dogs and my cat tonight when the ice comes. I have to go now and gather up the blankets and flashlights so that at least we can be prepared if the lights do go out.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A New Hope
Like most Americans I have been watching the inaugural activities today and I have been impressed by one overwhelming thing-a new (or renewed) hope in America. The millions on the Mall, the note-worthy in the stands, everyone seems to sense that President Obama can lead America out of the pit of apathy and depression we, as a nation, have fallen into. With two wars, no credit, a sinking stock market, people losing their jobs and their homes, America is ready for someone to give voice to the hope we had in the past.
No matter whether you voted for President Obama or not, God in Romans commands you to submit to those in authority over you and pray for them so that all may go well with you. Proverbs tells us that God holds the heart of the king (president) in His hands and turns it whichever way He will. So go ahead and allow yourself to hope.
Not because of the inaugural address or the apparent spirit of cooperation in Washington. But because God is in control and NOTHING is going to happen that He doesn't allow to happen. Even Satan himself has to ask permission to harass us (remember Job?). God controls it all, heaven AND earth. And as the Bible says His ways are higher than my ways.
My hope and my faith do not lie with any man- not a president, vice president, congress, governor, or even one pastor or another. My hope and my faith are in a God who will never leave me nor forsake me even in the hardest times. My hope and my faith are in a God who hides me under His wing to protect me and calls me the apple of His eye. Therein lies my hope.
I pray for President Obama, his wife and his two beautiful daughters. I pray that God will grant him the wisdom to govern such a powerful nation. And I pray that all Christians everywhere, whether you voted for him or not, will pray that God and God alone will guide his every thought and his every step. Only in that way, will we have hope.
No matter whether you voted for President Obama or not, God in Romans commands you to submit to those in authority over you and pray for them so that all may go well with you. Proverbs tells us that God holds the heart of the king (president) in His hands and turns it whichever way He will. So go ahead and allow yourself to hope.
Not because of the inaugural address or the apparent spirit of cooperation in Washington. But because God is in control and NOTHING is going to happen that He doesn't allow to happen. Even Satan himself has to ask permission to harass us (remember Job?). God controls it all, heaven AND earth. And as the Bible says His ways are higher than my ways.
My hope and my faith do not lie with any man- not a president, vice president, congress, governor, or even one pastor or another. My hope and my faith are in a God who will never leave me nor forsake me even in the hardest times. My hope and my faith are in a God who hides me under His wing to protect me and calls me the apple of His eye. Therein lies my hope.
I pray for President Obama, his wife and his two beautiful daughters. I pray that God will grant him the wisdom to govern such a powerful nation. And I pray that all Christians everywhere, whether you voted for him or not, will pray that God and God alone will guide his every thought and his every step. Only in that way, will we have hope.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Love is Not Jealous
How many times have I heard women and teenagers say, "Oh, he's just jealous because he loves me." I used to think that too. Then I discovered that jealousy is a form of possession and when he is jealous he is telling the world that you are his possession and they cannot have any of your time, concern, social time, etc. You are HIS (kind of like a dog, cat, cow).
God says love is not jealous. Love wants what is best for the object loved. Isolation is not what is best for anyone, more or less for someone we claim to love.
You might be thinking "Well, didn't God say He was a jealous God?" Yes He did...twice, once in Exodus and once in Deuteronomy. But our jealousy and His jealousy are two different things. I have heard Beth Moore say over and over again that God is jealous FOR us not OF us. What's the difference you ask. The difference is that God is jealous for us to keep us from the harm sin will do to us and in order to bless us with the "cattle on a thousand hills." For God, jealousy allows Him to give us the very best of what He has to give. His jealousy, like His love, wants what is best for the one loved.
But with man, to be jealous is to limit the one loved. Oh, yes, my jealous boyfriends told me that what they were doing was for my good but I soon found out it only benefited them. So THEY wouldn't have to worry about where I was and with whom. I had a boyfriend once that got jealous of a guy I was with even though the entire campus knew he didn't like girls. That was not in my best interest, that was an attempt to control my life in such a way that he could feel secure.
God loves you with a love that allows you to make your own decisions, right, wrong, or indifferent. He is alway there even if you make the wrong decision. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Can you say that about your jealous significant other?
One last note. I volunteered in an abused women's shelter for seven years. I have heard terrifying stories of what jealousy can lead a man or woman to do. So when that sweet young thing tells you that they are jealous just because they love you, run straight to God who is jealous for you, not of you. I did and I love my life and what God has helped me to become. What did he help me become? Me.
God says love is not jealous. Love wants what is best for the object loved. Isolation is not what is best for anyone, more or less for someone we claim to love.
You might be thinking "Well, didn't God say He was a jealous God?" Yes He did...twice, once in Exodus and once in Deuteronomy. But our jealousy and His jealousy are two different things. I have heard Beth Moore say over and over again that God is jealous FOR us not OF us. What's the difference you ask. The difference is that God is jealous for us to keep us from the harm sin will do to us and in order to bless us with the "cattle on a thousand hills." For God, jealousy allows Him to give us the very best of what He has to give. His jealousy, like His love, wants what is best for the one loved.
But with man, to be jealous is to limit the one loved. Oh, yes, my jealous boyfriends told me that what they were doing was for my good but I soon found out it only benefited them. So THEY wouldn't have to worry about where I was and with whom. I had a boyfriend once that got jealous of a guy I was with even though the entire campus knew he didn't like girls. That was not in my best interest, that was an attempt to control my life in such a way that he could feel secure.
God loves you with a love that allows you to make your own decisions, right, wrong, or indifferent. He is alway there even if you make the wrong decision. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Can you say that about your jealous significant other?
One last note. I volunteered in an abused women's shelter for seven years. I have heard terrifying stories of what jealousy can lead a man or woman to do. So when that sweet young thing tells you that they are jealous just because they love you, run straight to God who is jealous for you, not of you. I did and I love my life and what God has helped me to become. What did he help me become? Me.
Friday, January 16, 2009
It ain't easy
My Labrador retriever has a favorite game to play. We put food inside this cube that has a small hole in it and she bats it and chases it all around my den until she has gotten all the food out. Of course, the less food there is the harder she has to work to get it out. Sometimes she tires of the game before she gets all the food and just brings the cube to me to put away.
I am so much like Squirt it is not funny. As long as it is easy to feed myself from God's word, I am right there digging and getting fed. You know, it's easy to see that love is what Christianity is measured by and how love is suppose to act and what fruit we are suppose to exhibit when filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is like that story that I have heard so often. The Sunday School teacher is before her class teaching and she tells them to tell her what she is describing. She says, "It lives in a tree, is furry, has a bushy tail, and eats nuts." A hand immediately goes up in the back. She calls on little Johnny and he answers, " It sounds like a squirrel, but in Sunday School the answer is always Jesus."
That is the way I live my life sometimes. The answer is in fact Jesus but I don't delve any deeper to see what He would say to the darkest corners of my heart. Like Squirt, I don't want to work for the morsel that is down deepest in the Word. I just pick up my Bible and set it down because it has gotten too hard to deal with what I have read.
One thing I want to try to do from now on is be willing to allow God to speak to all of my heart and soul even though I don't like what I see and hear. I want the courage to take in the correction that I see and stop walking away saying that it is just too hard.
Now that I have the time to read my Bible and have my quiet time, I want to persevere and get out the last morsel of spiritual food. Won't you join me?
I am so much like Squirt it is not funny. As long as it is easy to feed myself from God's word, I am right there digging and getting fed. You know, it's easy to see that love is what Christianity is measured by and how love is suppose to act and what fruit we are suppose to exhibit when filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is like that story that I have heard so often. The Sunday School teacher is before her class teaching and she tells them to tell her what she is describing. She says, "It lives in a tree, is furry, has a bushy tail, and eats nuts." A hand immediately goes up in the back. She calls on little Johnny and he answers, " It sounds like a squirrel, but in Sunday School the answer is always Jesus."
That is the way I live my life sometimes. The answer is in fact Jesus but I don't delve any deeper to see what He would say to the darkest corners of my heart. Like Squirt, I don't want to work for the morsel that is down deepest in the Word. I just pick up my Bible and set it down because it has gotten too hard to deal with what I have read.
One thing I want to try to do from now on is be willing to allow God to speak to all of my heart and soul even though I don't like what I see and hear. I want the courage to take in the correction that I see and stop walking away saying that it is just too hard.
Now that I have the time to read my Bible and have my quiet time, I want to persevere and get out the last morsel of spiritual food. Won't you join me?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Mommy Moment
Yesterday was my mom's 76th birthday. I couldn't go see her because I didn't want even the possibility of giving her whatever it is that I have had these past two weeks. I did call her, wish her happy birthday, and promise to take her to lunch some day soon. During our conversation she told me how one of her traveling buddies that she had just talked to on last Wednesday had died last Friday. She was hurting. I could tell from her voice and I felt so helpless to comfort her on the phone.
After our conversation, I began to reflect on the life I have had with my mother. My earliest memories of her are her sitting at our dining room table with her commentaries spread out all over it, studying her bible. Did you know that my mom completed "Precept Upon Precept" and "Community Bible Study?" That means she has studied the Bible in tremendous depth twice in her lifetime. I haven't even done it once. Oh, I have been part of one Bible study or another most of my adult life. But these have been topical studies. Don't get me wrong...topical studies are great. But they just don't measure up to studying the entire Word of God.
Then there is her tremendous gift of mercy that I saw played out over and over as I grew up. If someone was hurting or distressed, they called Mom. Daddy used to joke that it was useless to call home because the line was always busy (this was back before call waiting). Then there were the endless dinner for families in bereavement, desserts for new neighbors, and light meals for new babies. If someone was in the hospital, call Mom. She would visit you and sit with you when your family couldn't be there. In fact, Mom is a "pink lady" at the hospital even at 76! Whatever you needed, be it a physical need, emotional need, or spiritual need, Mom would try her best to fill it.
And then there was her "prayer time". After supper and the evening news, you would find Mom in the living room with her Bible open and her head bowed in prayer. There is evidence to this day that Mom still practices her "quiet time". There is a TV tray next to her recliner that still holds a devotional book and her Bible. Mom is one of those people that when she prays for you, stand back, because God is going to do something wonderful. I have told you about the abuse in our marriage in the first 13 years. Well, once Mom found out, she took to praying for our (notice I said "our" not "my") marriage. And as a friend of mine once said "she prayed up a whale." My husband and I entered into a program expressly for couples experiencing domestic violence. Of some 10,000 couples that went through that program before it disbanded, we are one of two couples that are still married. I talked to my old counselor from that program a few months ago in search of some medical records for my husband, and she told me that she honestly did not expect us to "make it" (i.e., stay married). My mom, along with a few others (domestic violence is one of the best kept secrets in the world) prayed up a miracle straight from God.
My prayer is to someday be my mother. I desire her depth of relationship with her Heavenly Father. It has sustained both her and me for 76 years and I can only begin to imagine the reception waiting for her once she gets to heaven. I imagine God himself waiting there, with arms open to receive her, holding her, and telling her how proud He is of her and her not being the least surprised because she knows Him so very well.
After our conversation, I began to reflect on the life I have had with my mother. My earliest memories of her are her sitting at our dining room table with her commentaries spread out all over it, studying her bible. Did you know that my mom completed "Precept Upon Precept" and "Community Bible Study?" That means she has studied the Bible in tremendous depth twice in her lifetime. I haven't even done it once. Oh, I have been part of one Bible study or another most of my adult life. But these have been topical studies. Don't get me wrong...topical studies are great. But they just don't measure up to studying the entire Word of God.
Then there is her tremendous gift of mercy that I saw played out over and over as I grew up. If someone was hurting or distressed, they called Mom. Daddy used to joke that it was useless to call home because the line was always busy (this was back before call waiting). Then there were the endless dinner for families in bereavement, desserts for new neighbors, and light meals for new babies. If someone was in the hospital, call Mom. She would visit you and sit with you when your family couldn't be there. In fact, Mom is a "pink lady" at the hospital even at 76! Whatever you needed, be it a physical need, emotional need, or spiritual need, Mom would try her best to fill it.
And then there was her "prayer time". After supper and the evening news, you would find Mom in the living room with her Bible open and her head bowed in prayer. There is evidence to this day that Mom still practices her "quiet time". There is a TV tray next to her recliner that still holds a devotional book and her Bible. Mom is one of those people that when she prays for you, stand back, because God is going to do something wonderful. I have told you about the abuse in our marriage in the first 13 years. Well, once Mom found out, she took to praying for our (notice I said "our" not "my") marriage. And as a friend of mine once said "she prayed up a whale." My husband and I entered into a program expressly for couples experiencing domestic violence. Of some 10,000 couples that went through that program before it disbanded, we are one of two couples that are still married. I talked to my old counselor from that program a few months ago in search of some medical records for my husband, and she told me that she honestly did not expect us to "make it" (i.e., stay married). My mom, along with a few others (domestic violence is one of the best kept secrets in the world) prayed up a miracle straight from God.
My prayer is to someday be my mother. I desire her depth of relationship with her Heavenly Father. It has sustained both her and me for 76 years and I can only begin to imagine the reception waiting for her once she gets to heaven. I imagine God himself waiting there, with arms open to receive her, holding her, and telling her how proud He is of her and her not being the least surprised because she knows Him so very well.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What about the hard shell??
I was finally able to go outside for a while today after being sick for almost two weeks. I never knew going to the grocery store could be such an exciting adventure! It's amazing what you come to appreciate when you develop cabin fever after a long illness. It is also good to be back blogging.
I was just staring out our picture windows in our den this morning with my mind in neutral when I witnessed the most remarkable thing. My husband had told me about it but I had never seen it until this morning.
As I have told you, our big pecan tree has decided to be a pecan tree this year and we have had a bumper crop of pecans. As I stared out the window this morning, I saw these small birds, about the size of finches, pick up a pecan off the ground and transport it to the driveway. That was a mighty feat in itself seeing that the pecan was almost as big as they were. Once they managed to get the pecan to the driveway, they began to peck at the hard shell to get to the nut inside. I stood there mesmerized as I watched them peck and peck and peck and peck. One of the birds actually had to chase his pecan around a little as it rolled away from him every time he pecked it.
I was as excited as my little friends when they finally worked their way through the hard shell and were able to get to the nut hidden inside.
Then it was like God poking me in the ribs saying, "See, Susan, I keep pecking at the hard shells around the hearts of men ( and women) trying to get to the soft, sweet heart I want to create inside. That's what I did for you. I kept pecking at that shell of intellectualism, evolutionism, anger and apathy until, at the age of 27, I was finally able to peck through the shell and make you a new creature."
Wow! When I think of a God who would, like my little bird friends, love me and hunger for me so much that He was willing to stay after me, pecking at my hard shell even when I tried to roll away, I am left without words. And after working that hard to save my soul when I didn't want it saved, He is going to love me forever and never leave me nor forsake me.
Why can't I do the same with the people around me? Usually when I happen upon a "hard-shelled" person, I tend to walk away as fast as I can get away. After all, their habits are offensive, their language abusive, and their idea of a joke is just plain gross. I should seek the company of other Christians, right?
Well, yes and no. Yes we are to not forsake the gathering of ourselves together with other Christians. But we are also called to "peck" at these hard-shelled outcasts of society with the love of Christ. No, most of them are not going to change "poof" just like that. But with the persistence shown to us by God, we can continue to peck away at that hard shell until the soft heart within becomes open to the good news.
I pray that I can show the persistence and the patience to associate with the "hard-shelled" people I run into every day. After all, isn't that what Jesus called us to do when He said to go and make of ALL disciples?
I was just staring out our picture windows in our den this morning with my mind in neutral when I witnessed the most remarkable thing. My husband had told me about it but I had never seen it until this morning.
As I have told you, our big pecan tree has decided to be a pecan tree this year and we have had a bumper crop of pecans. As I stared out the window this morning, I saw these small birds, about the size of finches, pick up a pecan off the ground and transport it to the driveway. That was a mighty feat in itself seeing that the pecan was almost as big as they were. Once they managed to get the pecan to the driveway, they began to peck at the hard shell to get to the nut inside. I stood there mesmerized as I watched them peck and peck and peck and peck. One of the birds actually had to chase his pecan around a little as it rolled away from him every time he pecked it.
I was as excited as my little friends when they finally worked their way through the hard shell and were able to get to the nut hidden inside.
Then it was like God poking me in the ribs saying, "See, Susan, I keep pecking at the hard shells around the hearts of men ( and women) trying to get to the soft, sweet heart I want to create inside. That's what I did for you. I kept pecking at that shell of intellectualism, evolutionism, anger and apathy until, at the age of 27, I was finally able to peck through the shell and make you a new creature."
Wow! When I think of a God who would, like my little bird friends, love me and hunger for me so much that He was willing to stay after me, pecking at my hard shell even when I tried to roll away, I am left without words. And after working that hard to save my soul when I didn't want it saved, He is going to love me forever and never leave me nor forsake me.
Why can't I do the same with the people around me? Usually when I happen upon a "hard-shelled" person, I tend to walk away as fast as I can get away. After all, their habits are offensive, their language abusive, and their idea of a joke is just plain gross. I should seek the company of other Christians, right?
Well, yes and no. Yes we are to not forsake the gathering of ourselves together with other Christians. But we are also called to "peck" at these hard-shelled outcasts of society with the love of Christ. No, most of them are not going to change "poof" just like that. But with the persistence shown to us by God, we can continue to peck away at that hard shell until the soft heart within becomes open to the good news.
I pray that I can show the persistence and the patience to associate with the "hard-shelled" people I run into every day. After all, isn't that what Jesus called us to do when He said to go and make of ALL disciples?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
God builds the house
I have spent the last two days, looked at pictures doing three things. Fighting the "crud" (crouping, sneezing, running nose; no I am not going to chase it), looking through pictures and loading pictures on my new digital frame (I may be technologically challenged, but I finally got the silly thing to do what I wanted it to do.) In order to do this I had to go through all our extended family pictures. It took a LONG time, but the blessing was worth the time.
As I sat and looked through, pictures, picked out pictures, organized pictures (more times than I care to count. (Ask for patience and God will give you a reason to use it.), and then watched the finished product. I got to relive how our family grew from grandparents through our grandchildren. I also got to watch my sister's family grow for the past two years. Granted, all the memories are not good. We are unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) a "normal" family with all the ups and downs that come with it.
Yet through it all (isn't that a song title?) God has been there even when I felt deserted and alone. He stood beside us when we took our vows. He was holding my hand at the birth of my two sons. He stayed with me through their teenage years, through their marriages, the birth of two grandchildren and the addition of two more. He has comforted us through the death of three of our four parents, and the losing of my mother's sister through the painful process of dementia . Yet, He has blessed us with my 76-year-old mother for a while longer.
"They" say January is a time to take stock and reflect back on the years past. I guess that's what I have been doing, reflecting, but not just reflecting. I have, also, been looking to the future with a heart full of anticipation and assurance that God will be there no matter what happens, good or bad, working daily miracles on my families behalf. And isn't that the way life is? Sometimes I think if bad things didn't happen, how would we recognize the good?
Psalm 127:1a says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it..." As a family we have not been perfect, but I can honestly say that God has definitely built our house and we have been greatly blessed because of it.
As I sat and looked through, pictures, picked out pictures, organized pictures (more times than I care to count. (Ask for patience and God will give you a reason to use it.), and then watched the finished product. I got to relive how our family grew from grandparents through our grandchildren. I also got to watch my sister's family grow for the past two years. Granted, all the memories are not good. We are unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) a "normal" family with all the ups and downs that come with it.
Yet through it all (isn't that a song title?) God has been there even when I felt deserted and alone. He stood beside us when we took our vows. He was holding my hand at the birth of my two sons. He stayed with me through their teenage years, through their marriages, the birth of two grandchildren and the addition of two more. He has comforted us through the death of three of our four parents, and the losing of my mother's sister through the painful process of dementia . Yet, He has blessed us with my 76-year-old mother for a while longer.
"They" say January is a time to take stock and reflect back on the years past. I guess that's what I have been doing, reflecting, but not just reflecting. I have, also, been looking to the future with a heart full of anticipation and assurance that God will be there no matter what happens, good or bad, working daily miracles on my families behalf. And isn't that the way life is? Sometimes I think if bad things didn't happen, how would we recognize the good?
Psalm 127:1a says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it..." As a family we have not been perfect, but I can honestly say that God has definitely built our house and we have been greatly blessed because of it.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Can't We All Just Get Along
You see here two of the three pets that occupy my house. The one you don't see is the cat, in fact, no one sees him but my husband and me. I have to tell you about what happened late last week. Now you must understand that generally speaking I can have all three animals in the same room without any chaos as long as the cat stays on top of something (chair, couch, hearth,coffee table, etc).
But for some reason something exploded last week. I am in the back of the house in my office (a puppy free zone) and I hear Sassy (my 11 pound Boston Terrier) literally barking her head off. This is not at all uncommon since she has gotten older. If she wants it, she barks for it. Anyway, the barking became MOST annoying so I went to see what the matter was. That's when I witnessed more chaos than is normal for any household.
I walked into the den and there was Squirt (the yellow lab) running full tilt after Shadow the cat. I mean Marley has nothing on this dog. They would run around the sectional sofa and then take a smaller turn around the coffee table. I have never seen any two animals run that fast.
My first plan of attack was to try to grab the 85 pound lab. I couldn't even catch her as she ran by she was going that fast (did I hear a sonic boom just then?). Time for plan B, rescue the cat. Another bad idea. Squirt finally "treed" Shadow behind the huge potted tropical tree, so I thought that I would just walk up and pick the cat up and take him to safety. When I reached for him two things happened, Squirt lunged for him because she just knew I was taking her play toy away, and the cat tried to bite me instead of the dumb dog.
Well, in all of this confusion, the poor, traumatized cat made a run for the back of the recliner (you know, that flap of material they have in the back to make them easy to repair). Now I have a cat roaring (I didn't know cat's could make that sound) from inside the recliner and Squirt trying to figure out how to get him out.
In runs our rescuer, the 11 pound Boston, Sassy. She positions herself between Squirt and the cat as if to say, "Enough already!" Sassy is not only small, but she has VERY small bones and deformed legs due to the malnutrition she suffer as a puppy in the puppy mill, yet just like David facing Goliath, she was going to put an end to this one way or the other. When Squirt tried again to get to the cat in the back of the recliner, Sassy growled and snapped at her even though she has very few teeth left (did I say she was 12?). That's all the reason Squirt needed to back off and go lay in her bed.
I know what Sassy did was more out of instinct than knowledge because she thinks she is Squirt's mother. She was just correcting her puppy. But think about it.
How many times are we the smallest one in the room and God calls on us to stand in the gap. Sassy didn't know she was the smallest one (she never has, hence the name). She just knew that something was wrong and it wasn't going to get right unless she stood up.
I learned a lesson that day about standing in the gap when God call me to. See, when He sends me, I am the biggest dog in the room. Thanks Sassy.
Monday, January 5, 2009
When You Cut Me I Bleed
I was just watching "The Early Show" this morning and learned an interesting statistic. Couples are twice as likely to end a relationship in January and February than at any other time of the year. They discussed all their hypotheses (sounds like a scientist doesn't it) and then I remembered the topic of the moment, love is kind.
I began to wonder about why the connection between break-ups and January. The "experts" said that in January we traditionally take stock of our lives (Did you make any resolutions? I never do. Like I said in an earlier post, God is driving and I'm just along for the ride.) and sometimes we feel like we need a change and that leads to a change in relationship.
I find it interesting that all this happens only in January. For me it was December. There was a time in my marriage where both my husband and I were VERY verbally and physically (that's a story for another time) abusive. When I think back (20 years back) I really don't understand how we could even like each other now, more or less love one another. But all the abuse lead to our separation in December. It was then that I realized that either I was going to kill someone or he was going to kill someone, but either way, someone was going to die and I didn't want to go there. But during the separation and the counseling, I always wondered if I would ever get over it. You see, with physical abuse you can see the bruises, but verbal abuse leaves the bruise where they don't show-at least not to the outside world.
It's like when I am shaving (my legs guys). Sometimes I nick myself and it bleeds like I am going to bleed to death and other times it only bleeds a little. The point is I still bleed. Well, the unkind remarks that we made to each other were like nicks in our psyche. Once an unkind thing has been said, it can't be taken back or reeled back in. The person saying it has already "nicked" the other party and they have started to bleed. They may bleed a little or they may bleed a lot, but either way, they bleed. And sometimes that nick will leave a scar. My husband and I are still dealing with some of nicks that have turned into scars and it happened 20 years ago.
So this January, while you thinking of all the nicks you have gotten from your spouse, significant other, boyfriend, girlfriend (whatever they are calling that other person these days) remember that they probably weren't the only one throwing darts. Take responsibility for your part in the battle and be willing to not only forgive the other person, but also forgive yourself. Love is kind does not just apply to other people. I can also refer to being kind to yourself.
I began to wonder about why the connection between break-ups and January. The "experts" said that in January we traditionally take stock of our lives (Did you make any resolutions? I never do. Like I said in an earlier post, God is driving and I'm just along for the ride.) and sometimes we feel like we need a change and that leads to a change in relationship.
I find it interesting that all this happens only in January. For me it was December. There was a time in my marriage where both my husband and I were VERY verbally and physically (that's a story for another time) abusive. When I think back (20 years back) I really don't understand how we could even like each other now, more or less love one another. But all the abuse lead to our separation in December. It was then that I realized that either I was going to kill someone or he was going to kill someone, but either way, someone was going to die and I didn't want to go there. But during the separation and the counseling, I always wondered if I would ever get over it. You see, with physical abuse you can see the bruises, but verbal abuse leaves the bruise where they don't show-at least not to the outside world.
It's like when I am shaving (my legs guys). Sometimes I nick myself and it bleeds like I am going to bleed to death and other times it only bleeds a little. The point is I still bleed. Well, the unkind remarks that we made to each other were like nicks in our psyche. Once an unkind thing has been said, it can't be taken back or reeled back in. The person saying it has already "nicked" the other party and they have started to bleed. They may bleed a little or they may bleed a lot, but either way, they bleed. And sometimes that nick will leave a scar. My husband and I are still dealing with some of nicks that have turned into scars and it happened 20 years ago.
So this January, while you thinking of all the nicks you have gotten from your spouse, significant other, boyfriend, girlfriend (whatever they are calling that other person these days) remember that they probably weren't the only one throwing darts. Take responsibility for your part in the battle and be willing to not only forgive the other person, but also forgive yourself. Love is kind does not just apply to other people. I can also refer to being kind to yourself.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I Was Just Playing
When I was teaching the sixth grade, I heard this sentence over and over again for all manner of crimes, hurtful sentiments, cursing, hitting, hair pulling, you name it. Back then I would tell the offenders, " Playing isn't playing unless both people are having fun." I realized today at church that same truth still applies.
As my husband and I were entering the church, another member "playingly" told us we needed to go home. Well, in the spirit of the moment, we pretended to turn to leave (our mistake). It was then that we were told that I could go home because I was sickly and doing poorly all the time but my husband could stay. OUCH! My feelings were so hurt and I felt totally unwanted and worthless because of a fellow member of the body of Christ not thinking before "playing."
How often do we as Christians say things without thinking about how our words will affect the other person? How often are we"just playing" when we should be more interested in encouraging and lifting on another up.
Which brings up another pet peeve of mine, the insult that is suppose to be a "joke". I have seen my sons do it with their wives and children. Sometimes I cringe at the hateful things and name calling that is done in the name of humor. It is just awful.
Our preacher preached on how we are to be a living sacrifice, an example to the outside world today. How can we be an example to anyone when we don't even know how to treat each other?
And what does the world think when they see us acting as if we don't care about one another, when we are unkind (Have you ever noticed that the worst drivers always have either a fish on their car or a bumper sticker that says "God is my copilot?" I wish they would just move over an let God drive. He wouldn't try to run me off the road!).
I know that I need to be more careful about what comes out of my mouth when I am "playing". I need to be sure that everyone is having fun. After all, God told me that real love, the kind of love that God has for me and I am suppose to show to others, is always kind.
As my husband and I were entering the church, another member "playingly" told us we needed to go home. Well, in the spirit of the moment, we pretended to turn to leave (our mistake). It was then that we were told that I could go home because I was sickly and doing poorly all the time but my husband could stay. OUCH! My feelings were so hurt and I felt totally unwanted and worthless because of a fellow member of the body of Christ not thinking before "playing."
How often do we as Christians say things without thinking about how our words will affect the other person? How often are we"just playing" when we should be more interested in encouraging and lifting on another up.
Which brings up another pet peeve of mine, the insult that is suppose to be a "joke". I have seen my sons do it with their wives and children. Sometimes I cringe at the hateful things and name calling that is done in the name of humor. It is just awful.
Our preacher preached on how we are to be a living sacrifice, an example to the outside world today. How can we be an example to anyone when we don't even know how to treat each other?
And what does the world think when they see us acting as if we don't care about one another, when we are unkind (Have you ever noticed that the worst drivers always have either a fish on their car or a bumper sticker that says "God is my copilot?" I wish they would just move over an let God drive. He wouldn't try to run me off the road!).
I know that I need to be more careful about what comes out of my mouth when I am "playing". I need to be sure that everyone is having fun. After all, God told me that real love, the kind of love that God has for me and I am suppose to show to others, is always kind.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Love is Kind
Webster defines "kind" as: "Of a good or benenvolent nature or disposition; proceeding from a good-natured readiness to benefit or please others; beneficent, helpful, friendly, or cordial." Wow! Sometimes it is just hard for us to wrap our brains around kindness. But in this verse, the word for "love" in the original Greek is agape which means to love in a social or moral sense. However, this word means so much more. Agape is the type of love that God shows to us- that unconditional love that wants only the very best for the one loved without expecting anything in return. It is a selfless love.
Combine those two definitions and we have a pretty tall order. In fact, when I think of that kind of love the second thing that comes to my mind is my dogs. They love me, are happy to see me, pay rapt attention to me (well, Squirt is still a little ADHD), and really don't care what I have done that day that I am ashamed of. They just accept me for who they believe I am, kind. And you know what? In no way, shape, or form do I deserve that kind of love from a living creature, but that is the best part; I don't have to deserve it. It is given freely. I don't have to earn it.
In this age of rush, rush, rush, I am finding that kindness is in very short supply. I see couples supposedly taking time out to be with each other over dinner and both of them are on the cell phone. If they wanted to talk to other people, why did they even bother to sit down together? And then there is the way we (and by we, I mean me) behave in traffic. I have noticed of late that I have very little patience with other drivers and I'm not even driving! Living in the country, we don't have a lot of traffic unless someone is moving a tractor or combine down our two-lane road. But when we go to Memphis there is horn honking, cutting people off, refusing to allow them to either pull out of a parking lot or change lanes and the ever present one finger wave. Why do we wasted all that energy on being hateful when we feel awful when we get done? Why don't we spend our energy on something that makes us feel important and good about ourselves?
It's really not hard to be kind. It can be as easy as a smile or eye contact with a waitress or cashier. Or saying "thank you" when they have been of service. When was the last time you told the cashier in WalMart "thank you for your help?" I have, also, come to believe holding the door for someone is a lost art. And when someone does hold a door for you, do you smile at them and say "thank you?"
I truly believe that it is the day to day things that break us down and cause us to question our worth to this world. However, I also believe that it is the simple things that can make someone's day.
Let me give you an example. I have a gift that was passed down from my mother. I appear very open and caring. I have people in check out lanes, movie lines, waitresses, cashiers, and clerks that have told me what they were struggling with that day. In fact, one waitress sat down next to my husband, leaned back in the booth, and had her arm around him as she told me her struggles with her two-year-old and working. This kind of thing also happened on our 25th anniversary. We were at a VERY expensive restaurant (You know the kind...you pay three times the price for one fourth the food), when the waitress came up to take our drink order. I greeted her with a hello and asked how she was. Since she was asked, she told me all about what a bad day she was having. After a fairly long explanation, she left to get our drinks. My husband looked me in the eyes and very "lovingly" said, "When she comes back to take our order, you put your hands over your eyes. This is OUR anniversary, NOT a counseling session."
Since tomorrow is Sunday, let's talk about every hallway in every church all over the United States. You pass your friends and fellow Christians and always say, "Hi, how are you?" and don't even stop long enough to get an answer. Or a fellow churchmember comes up and asks you to pray for them about something that is really troubling to them and you say that you will and keep on walking to service. God convicted me about these things a few years ago and now I only ask "How are you?" if I have time to stop and when someone asks me to pray for something, I stop wherever we are and we have prayer, right there in the hallway!
This week, and especially tomorrow, let's be kind to one another. Let's ask ourselves two questions. Have I been kind to anyone today? The second is harder because it calls for us to be honest with ourselves, "What unkindness do I need to repent to God for and who do I need to make the effort to apologize to?" If every human being on earth would ask those two questions daily, the world would be a nicer place to live in.
If I run into you in some public place and I am with my husband, try to wait until he is in the bathroom or away from the table to tell me about your day (You'd think he would have gotten used to it after 32 years.). But if I run into you out and about and I am alone, feel free to tell me all your troubles. I promise I'll listen.
Combine those two definitions and we have a pretty tall order. In fact, when I think of that kind of love the second thing that comes to my mind is my dogs. They love me, are happy to see me, pay rapt attention to me (well, Squirt is still a little ADHD), and really don't care what I have done that day that I am ashamed of. They just accept me for who they believe I am, kind. And you know what? In no way, shape, or form do I deserve that kind of love from a living creature, but that is the best part; I don't have to deserve it. It is given freely. I don't have to earn it.
In this age of rush, rush, rush, I am finding that kindness is in very short supply. I see couples supposedly taking time out to be with each other over dinner and both of them are on the cell phone. If they wanted to talk to other people, why did they even bother to sit down together? And then there is the way we (and by we, I mean me) behave in traffic. I have noticed of late that I have very little patience with other drivers and I'm not even driving! Living in the country, we don't have a lot of traffic unless someone is moving a tractor or combine down our two-lane road. But when we go to Memphis there is horn honking, cutting people off, refusing to allow them to either pull out of a parking lot or change lanes and the ever present one finger wave. Why do we wasted all that energy on being hateful when we feel awful when we get done? Why don't we spend our energy on something that makes us feel important and good about ourselves?
It's really not hard to be kind. It can be as easy as a smile or eye contact with a waitress or cashier. Or saying "thank you" when they have been of service. When was the last time you told the cashier in WalMart "thank you for your help?" I have, also, come to believe holding the door for someone is a lost art. And when someone does hold a door for you, do you smile at them and say "thank you?"
I truly believe that it is the day to day things that break us down and cause us to question our worth to this world. However, I also believe that it is the simple things that can make someone's day.
Let me give you an example. I have a gift that was passed down from my mother. I appear very open and caring. I have people in check out lanes, movie lines, waitresses, cashiers, and clerks that have told me what they were struggling with that day. In fact, one waitress sat down next to my husband, leaned back in the booth, and had her arm around him as she told me her struggles with her two-year-old and working. This kind of thing also happened on our 25th anniversary. We were at a VERY expensive restaurant (You know the kind...you pay three times the price for one fourth the food), when the waitress came up to take our drink order. I greeted her with a hello and asked how she was. Since she was asked, she told me all about what a bad day she was having. After a fairly long explanation, she left to get our drinks. My husband looked me in the eyes and very "lovingly" said, "When she comes back to take our order, you put your hands over your eyes. This is OUR anniversary, NOT a counseling session."
Since tomorrow is Sunday, let's talk about every hallway in every church all over the United States. You pass your friends and fellow Christians and always say, "Hi, how are you?" and don't even stop long enough to get an answer. Or a fellow churchmember comes up and asks you to pray for them about something that is really troubling to them and you say that you will and keep on walking to service. God convicted me about these things a few years ago and now I only ask "How are you?" if I have time to stop and when someone asks me to pray for something, I stop wherever we are and we have prayer, right there in the hallway!
This week, and especially tomorrow, let's be kind to one another. Let's ask ourselves two questions. Have I been kind to anyone today? The second is harder because it calls for us to be honest with ourselves, "What unkindness do I need to repent to God for and who do I need to make the effort to apologize to?" If every human being on earth would ask those two questions daily, the world would be a nicer place to live in.
If I run into you in some public place and I am with my husband, try to wait until he is in the bathroom or away from the table to tell me about your day (You'd think he would have gotten used to it after 32 years.). But if I run into you out and about and I am alone, feel free to tell me all your troubles. I promise I'll listen.
Friday, January 2, 2009
True Love Waits
Pardon the late post. I am late for two reasons. First, this morning my husband came in and invited me to go shopping with him not to Lowe's, not to Home Depot, not to Bass Pro Shop, but to WalMart (yes ladies, miracles still happen!)! Since we live in a small town, how could I possibly turn down such a miraculous invitation? So, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to WalMart I go.
The other reason was that I was thinking about exactly how to approach today's post. I am still staggered by the statistics I found while researching teen pregnancy. I chose this topic because I have a fourteen year old granddaughter and a four year old granddaughter and I don't want them to make the same mistake I made. You see, I am a child of the 60's and 70's; the height of the "free love" movement. I can honestly say I never slept with anyone but my husband, but I can't say he was my husband the first time I slept with him. I remember the secret meetings, the hotel rooms booked as a single but used as a double, the "friends" that let us stay with them in the same bedroom. If we weren't ashamed of what we were doing, why all the sneaking around? I was lost while all this skulking around was going on, but Thank God I was on birth control. At 19 I was definitely not ready to have a baby.
Let's take a brief look at the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2007 48% of high school students (male and female) have engaged in sexual intercourse. Out of that 48%, 15% had four or more partners! In 2006, 435,427 infants were born to 15-19 year-olds which translates to 41.9 per 1000 (It doesn't sound that staggering when presented that way, does it?). Eighty percent of those pregnancies were unintended and cost nine billion dollars tax dollars. 2006 was the first year that teen pregnancies increased since they started to keep statistics in the U.S. That's pretty scary right there.
But this is what concerned me the most. Yale and Columbia Universities did a study on teens who took the abstinence pledge. They found that 85-88% of those who took the pledge engaged in sexual activity anyway before marriage. In fact, Johns Hopkins found that those taking the pledge were 10% more likely to have unprotected sex than their counterparts.
These statistics just left me staggering. I have vowed to redouble my prayers for my granddaughters that they will remain pure until marriage. I pray that they will look at dating like my oldest son did. He only dated two people in his entire life. It was not because he didn't have any offers. He had plenty of offers. It's just that he considered a date and interview for marriage. I wish I could take credit for that point of view, but reality is that he learned that from one of the best youth directors I have ever seen or known, "Burr" Lovett.
I am eternally grateful to that Godly man. My son dated one girl, discovered he could not spend the rest of his life listening to that (I'm sorry, but that's what he told me) and he married the second girl. They have been happily married nine years and they are in it for the long haul.
My son was patient and willing to wait on the girl that God had especially for him. Some people wait until they are 20, like my son, and some wait into their 40's and 50's. Because they were willing to wait on God, they have loving, spiritual, wonderful marriages. They have found "happily ever after."
Love is patient. It is willing to wait for the joys God created for the married until after the marriage. Won't you pray with me that God will open the eyes of our 13-19 year-olds to the truth that if he/she really loves you, they will wait.
The other reason was that I was thinking about exactly how to approach today's post. I am still staggered by the statistics I found while researching teen pregnancy. I chose this topic because I have a fourteen year old granddaughter and a four year old granddaughter and I don't want them to make the same mistake I made. You see, I am a child of the 60's and 70's; the height of the "free love" movement. I can honestly say I never slept with anyone but my husband, but I can't say he was my husband the first time I slept with him. I remember the secret meetings, the hotel rooms booked as a single but used as a double, the "friends" that let us stay with them in the same bedroom. If we weren't ashamed of what we were doing, why all the sneaking around? I was lost while all this skulking around was going on, but Thank God I was on birth control. At 19 I was definitely not ready to have a baby.
Let's take a brief look at the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2007 48% of high school students (male and female) have engaged in sexual intercourse. Out of that 48%, 15% had four or more partners! In 2006, 435,427 infants were born to 15-19 year-olds which translates to 41.9 per 1000 (It doesn't sound that staggering when presented that way, does it?). Eighty percent of those pregnancies were unintended and cost nine billion dollars tax dollars. 2006 was the first year that teen pregnancies increased since they started to keep statistics in the U.S. That's pretty scary right there.
But this is what concerned me the most. Yale and Columbia Universities did a study on teens who took the abstinence pledge. They found that 85-88% of those who took the pledge engaged in sexual activity anyway before marriage. In fact, Johns Hopkins found that those taking the pledge were 10% more likely to have unprotected sex than their counterparts.
These statistics just left me staggering. I have vowed to redouble my prayers for my granddaughters that they will remain pure until marriage. I pray that they will look at dating like my oldest son did. He only dated two people in his entire life. It was not because he didn't have any offers. He had plenty of offers. It's just that he considered a date and interview for marriage. I wish I could take credit for that point of view, but reality is that he learned that from one of the best youth directors I have ever seen or known, "Burr" Lovett.
I am eternally grateful to that Godly man. My son dated one girl, discovered he could not spend the rest of his life listening to that (I'm sorry, but that's what he told me) and he married the second girl. They have been happily married nine years and they are in it for the long haul.
My son was patient and willing to wait on the girl that God had especially for him. Some people wait until they are 20, like my son, and some wait into their 40's and 50's. Because they were willing to wait on God, they have loving, spiritual, wonderful marriages. They have found "happily ever after."
Love is patient. It is willing to wait for the joys God created for the married until after the marriage. Won't you pray with me that God will open the eyes of our 13-19 year-olds to the truth that if he/she really loves you, they will wait.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Patience, Me?????
After I posted yesterday, I went to do my usual morning duty of pottying the dogs (a Boston Terrier named Sassy, 12 yrs. old and a yellow lab, 18 mos. old named Squirt) and picking up more pecans. I never knew one pecan tree could produce so MANY pecans.
As I was picking up the 100 pecans that were on the ground yesterday (Oh my aching back) a funny thought occurred to me related to yesterday's post. You see, everyone around us were picking up pecans at Thanksgiving and all I could find were these pods from outer space all over the ground. My husband informed me that those were green pecans that you don't eat. I decided then and there that there would be no edible pecans again this year. So I started to ignore the stupid tree and go on with my life.
Then came the first of MANY windstorms and there were pecans all over the ground. I can remember one day that both my husband and I picked up 300 pecans each. And we have picked up pecans every day since that first windstorm.
Now for the funny part. The person who believed from the center of her being that nothing useful would ever come from this tree (we've lived here four years and nary a pecan have we seen) is now appointed chief squirrel. Oh my husband will pick up the ones on the driveway and sometimes right around the tree (three feet from the driveway) but he leaves the rest of the picking up to me, the one with no patience, the one that thought the tree was useless and lazy and not worth the ground it took up.
See, God does have a sense of humor. I told Him that the tree was a useless waste of my time and He showed me the abundance of His provision for me. I had no patience and He showed me what I would have missed if I had refused to wait for it.
The same thing applies to people. Just when we decide that they will never amount to anything, God goes to work and all of a sudden, they become what God meant for them to be. Notice I said God not me. God doesn't give two hoots and a holler (not bad for a city girl, huh?) what I want because I don't know everything He knows. My job is to wait while He works.
Do you have the patience to wait for God to make things right with the one you love? Just like me and the pecan tree, maybe we all just need to wait. By the way, anyone need any pecans?
As I was picking up the 100 pecans that were on the ground yesterday (Oh my aching back) a funny thought occurred to me related to yesterday's post. You see, everyone around us were picking up pecans at Thanksgiving and all I could find were these pods from outer space all over the ground. My husband informed me that those were green pecans that you don't eat. I decided then and there that there would be no edible pecans again this year. So I started to ignore the stupid tree and go on with my life.
Then came the first of MANY windstorms and there were pecans all over the ground. I can remember one day that both my husband and I picked up 300 pecans each. And we have picked up pecans every day since that first windstorm.
Now for the funny part. The person who believed from the center of her being that nothing useful would ever come from this tree (we've lived here four years and nary a pecan have we seen) is now appointed chief squirrel. Oh my husband will pick up the ones on the driveway and sometimes right around the tree (three feet from the driveway) but he leaves the rest of the picking up to me, the one with no patience, the one that thought the tree was useless and lazy and not worth the ground it took up.
See, God does have a sense of humor. I told Him that the tree was a useless waste of my time and He showed me the abundance of His provision for me. I had no patience and He showed me what I would have missed if I had refused to wait for it.
The same thing applies to people. Just when we decide that they will never amount to anything, God goes to work and all of a sudden, they become what God meant for them to be. Notice I said God not me. God doesn't give two hoots and a holler (not bad for a city girl, huh?) what I want because I don't know everything He knows. My job is to wait while He works.
Do you have the patience to wait for God to make things right with the one you love? Just like me and the pecan tree, maybe we all just need to wait. By the way, anyone need any pecans?
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