An Ounce of Prevention

According to my husband, I am a big sigher.  Apparently I sigh a lot and when I do, I sigh with meaning.  Happy contented sighs.  Or, the “loaded sigh”-they apparently show signs of frustration, discontent and general disapproval.  I am capable of communicating quite a bit of information in the simple act of sighing.  After 12 years of marriage my husband has become an expert sigh reader!

I thought about this as I read Jeremiah 25:3-4.  He starts off by saying “For twenty-three years…”  I wonder if he started off with a loaded sigh before the words ever left his mouth.?  Also, in my head I hear him saying these words in the old Vermonter accent (which is very different from Boston by the way).  It gives his words a sense of wry irony, glum humor and utter disgust that he’s having to tell them the same thing yet AGAIN!  He goes on:

“the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.  And though the Lord persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear…”

It’s a serious message that he’s giving them-turn from your ways so the Lord doesn’t have to punish you.  I can see in my minds eye the members of the royal court, rolling their eyes thinking “here we go again!  The crackpot is back!”  On the other side I can picture Jeremiah thinking “here we go again!  How many times do I have to tell you the same thing???”  I’m thinking that Jeremiah and the other Prophets did a lot of sighing over the years!

Same thing happens today, doesn’t it?  Your children are proposing to do something that you know is going to end in disaster and you try to reason with them and they look at you as if you have suddenly grown three heads!  “Don’t worry” they say “it’s all under control!”  Then, they are stunned when things don’t work out and you, as the parent, are stunned as to why they couldn’t see the obvious!  And you have to hold back the urge to say “I told you so!”  (In all honesty, sometimes we parents don’t hold back on the “I told you so” response but we do try to be diplomatic.)  Our hope is that they learned a valuable lesson from the experience, but there is frustration with the fact that they had to learn the lesson the hard way!

Life is like that.  Sometimes we listen to wise counsel and avert disaster.  Other times, we plunge head long into doing the same things expecting a different result and all we end up with is disaster and frustration on the other end.  The lesson from Jeremiah should be a reminder to all of us!  Whether it is family or friends or church, sometimes we need to stop and truly listen to what another person is saying.  It is too easy to dismiss the words of others, particularly if they do not line up with the scenario that we have hatched in our head!  Granted, there are individuals in the world who criticize anything and everything-they are usually pretty easy to spot.  They are the ones who, on a sunny day, will tell you that it’s only temporary cause clouds will soon be on the way.  Their message is neither helpful nor hopeful, so take what they have to say with a grain of salt.  The people you need to heed are the folks who have your best interest at heart.  They are not out to hurt you and you need to recognize that fact!  God doesn’t always send “whoa wait” messages in flashy symbols, generally he sends the message through people.  If the person is someone who truly cares about you and only wants the best for you then it is important to pause and listen to what they have to say.  Then take it to the Lord and ask for discernment.  Are their words spoken because they are afraid that you will get hurt?  Or, are the words spoken because they are trying to help you avert disaster?  There are points in life when a critic can be your very best friend if you listen carefully and wisely to their words.

The lesson for today is listen now so you don’t have to listen to someone say “I told you so” later on!  Or as the old sage saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

The Extraordinary Ordinary Deborah!

The Book of Judges is such an interesting book!  In the very beginning we read how Israel does what is right as long as the generation that came into the land with Joshua was still alive.  But as it says in chapter 2, once that generation died, they started straying from the path!  So the cycle begins.  Israel strays, suffering comes about because of that, they call out to the Lord and a Judge is raised to deliver them.  Things go well as long as that Judge is alive, but once that Judge dies, it starts all over again!

We see this happening today as well.  Take the veterans of World War II for example.  There has been a great effort to record their stories so they can be told long after those vets are gone.  Why?  Because if we are willing to learn from them, perhaps we can avoid the same painful lessons that they had to encounter first hand!  But it is oh so easy to forget, especially if you are a few generations removed from the event!  This point is vividly recorded again and again in the book of Judges.

The other thing that is so striking about Judges, is God’s choice of Judges.  The least likely, the weakest, the most unexpected individuals are raised up to be the leaders!  Which brings me to Deborah!  She is, by far, one of my most favorite leaders in the book of Judges!  She gets two chapters for crying out loud, yet she is so commonly overlooked!  She is the woman behind the scenes making sure that God gets what God wants!

We meet Deborah in chapter 4.  We are told first that she is a Prophetess.  Then, we are told that she is the wife of Lappidoth and that she sits “under the palm of Deborah” where the Israelites come to her for judgment.  This was a woman, who had nothing to prove, because she had already stood the test of time!  Her counsel was considered wise enough, that she was trusted to be able to make decisions that were fair.  She was a highly respected woman in a culture that was dominated by the male status quo.  That, in and of itself, is a stunning accomplishment!  But there’s more.

She summons Barak to give him a message.  Staring at verse 6, in chapter 4 (Wesley Study Bible, NRSV):

“She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun.  I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’  Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.’ And she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’  Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.”

Barak gets a divine message from God, delivered by the most trusted and respected Prophetess of Israel and his response is “I’ll go if you go”????  Wow!  Talk about lack of faith!  So what is Deborah’s response?  She tells him that she will go but he needs to realize that he’s not going to get credit for this deliverance, it will be a woman who gets credit!  Barak may not have enough confidence in the message from God, but Deborah did have confidence!

We read further on that the battle goes exactly as Deborah said, and Sisera flees on foot and ends up at the tent of Heber, the Kenite, where he meets Heber’s wife, Jael.  Here is a connection that often is overlooked.  Heber is descended from Hobab, the father in law of Moses.  Although they might have moved  a distance away, they were still connected to Israel.  Long story short, Jael has Sisera come in to the tent, she feeds him, gives him something to drink and a blanket to cover him so he can rest.  He falls asleep and she drives a tent peg through his temple and kills him.  Barbaric?  Yes.  But it wasn’t Barak that brought down enemy number one of Israel.  As Deborah said “the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”  That woman, just happened to be Jael, whose family had ties to Israel!

Chapter 5 is “The Song of Deborah” where the story of the battle is recounted.  The song is very clear-deliverance came because of the Lord!  The Lord is the mighty warrior, who turned the tide and made victory possible!  Deborah knew this and understood this right from the very beginning.  She trusted in the Lord’s message and did what she had to do to ensure that it was carried out.  And that is what is so extraordinary and special about Deborah.  She trusted God enough to step beyond the established roles of society to become the leader that Israel needed, when they needed it!

This is just my opinion, but, I think Deborah probably didn’t see herself as anything but ordinary.  She didn’t go looking for fame or glory, she simply did what she had to do.  We hear a similar refrain from our heroes today.  Our soldiers who are recognized for courageous acts respond that they were “just doing my job.”  Or, an individual who rushes in to save someone from a burning building, or pull someone from a wreck, how do they respond?  “I don’t see myself as a hero, I just did what had to be done.”

For me, that is the great lesson of Deborah.  Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things if they are willing to trust in the guiding hand of God!  These are individuals who are not looking for fame and glory.  They are individuals who just want to do the right thing!  It doesn’t matter who gets credit, what matters, is that, something good was accomplished from the effort.

John Wesley preached in the open fields in order to reach individuals that the church would not allow in the doors.  Florence Nightingale is responsible for the beginnings of the nursing profession as we now know it.  Clara Barton brought the ideas of the Red Cross to the United States.  Martin Luther King inspired us with his “I have a dream” speech, but it was Rosa Parks who simply wanted to be able to sit where she wanted to!  Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, the list can go on, but each of these individuals did not set out to gain fame and glory, they just wanted to do the right thing!

So you, darling, precious, ordinary, person, can accomplish great things!  You do it every day without realizing the fact!  You do this by simply choosing to listen to that still, small, voice and doing the things that need to be done.  Those small “right acts” that you do, unnoticed, everyday, can add up to extraordinary things in the long run.  We may not know God’s plan or even understand His plan, but as long as we trust Him, great things can happen!  If you ever need to be reminded of that fact, just go back to Judges and read about Deborah.  Deborah, an ordinary woman, who by the grace of God, was able to accomplish an extraordinary thing!  I sum up her philosophy by paraphrasing the end of verse 21, found in chapter 5.  March on sweet souls, be strong!  Trust the Lord and march on with might!  Sing your songs like Deborah, the extraordinary, ordinary, leader of Israel!  March on!

God Still Calls

Genesis, the one book in the Bible that everyone can find!  It is the Greek word for “beginnings,” which seems the appropriate place to start.  We are all familiar with the first part of the book, the creation story, where God created the heavens and the earth and all that is contained within it and then on the seventh day he rested.  I have read the story numerous times as I am sure many of you have done.  But there is great value in reading it again, because you would be surprised at what catches your eye.

So what caught my attention in Genesis 1 that I hadn’t noticed before?  God said.  God saw.  God called. God blessed.  We tend to just breeze over those phrases but let’s linger a little while because they are more significant than what you see at first glance.

God said.  Think about it.  God literally spoke creation in to being!  The notes in my Wesley Study Bible say this: “God creates effortlessly, simply speaking the universe into existence.”  Before time existed, God existed.  He created time and space and all the elements it contained within the universe.

God saw.  God looked at what he spoke into existence-at each and every stage of its creation.  This was not random and hap hazard, this was carefully thought out and constructed.  God saw that “it was good”.

God called.  He didn’t just stop at speaking, or looking, he went a step further and called the elements of creation by name.  He gave each thing a definition.  The properties of day and light, for example, are not the same as the properties of night and darkness.  It has it’s own separate roll to play within the whole creation.  Sky, earth, sea, day, night, all integral parts of creation, yet all distinct.

God blessed.  The living creatures that he created, he blessed.  The creatures of the water and the air.  Humankind, male and female.  He said, He saw, He called, He blessed.

Now, you get to verse 31 in Genesis chapter 1:

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”

It isn’t until the very end when God looks at all he had created and he calls it “very good.”  Prior to that he called it simply good.  But everything together as a whole is “very good!”

Why does this matter?  Well, if you want to understand Wesley’s understanding of Grace you need to understand the goodness of God’s creation in the first place, including us flawed and imperfect human beings!  Wesley believed that “humanity came from the hands of the Creator ‘pure from every sinful blot’…evil did not exist ‘at all in the original nature of things.”  Sin and evil came in to the world later, when Eve chose to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden and gave the fruit to Adam as well.  Free will existed, even from the very beginning.  And that was a risk that God was willing to take in creating the universe and all that exists within it!

God loves what he created!  He wants to have that close relationship again with those He created, because He is the same today as He was yesterday.  God was so close to Adam and Eve that he walked in the garden with them!  God knows your name and he calls you, just as he has called all his creation from the beginning of time!  And here is the beauty of free will-we all have a choice.  We can choose to answer the call or we can choose to hide ourselves from God’s presence.

Perhaps it would help us, if we would look at the universe from God’s perspective, rather than our own!  Your choice, your call!

Not Blessed???? It's all in the Looking

Well, the media has confirmed something that I already instinctively knew.  I am no longer in the middle of American middle class.  My standard of living is lower than what my parents experienced.  I, like many other Americans, find myself on the lower end of the scale.  Tell me something I didn’t already know, will ya?

Money isn’t my driving factor.  Sure, it would be nice to have a little more just to be able to go out shopping once in awhile.  But, I’m fortunate-I still have a roof over my head.  I know how to cook and bake which helps.  I don’t need the latest fanciest vehicle.  My husband has been able to keep our vehicles running because he is a grease monkey mechanic at heart!  He works on cars for fun!  My Jeep has 280,000 plus miles on it and it’s still running well.  It’s a much older model than most people would drive and I have it because of where we live.  There are certain times of the year when the only way to get in and out of “east middle of nowhere” is with 4 wheel drive.  So, it’s not a status thing, it’s a practical thing.  Shelter, food, water, they are the essentials and right now, we’re covered!  When you think about all of the individuals just in the United States who have no shelter and no food, let alone individuals around the world who are in a similar situation, it’s tough to complain when you are in better shape than they are!

There are many people in this country who would look at me and pity how I live.  I don’t have as much as they do.  I don’t get to eat out or go to the movies or shop.  I don’t live in as nice a house as they do.  I don’t drive as nice a car as they do.  Compared to them, they view my life as dismal.

I have a different view.  I pity them for being so enslaved to the almighty dollar.  A beautiful sunset can take my breath away.  Watching the birds in the yard can be highly entertaining.  Seeing deer or wild turkeys wander through is priceless.  Playing board games with my children and seeing them become better and better is a wonderful feeling!  My children are healthy.  I’m able to spend time with them.  I can come up with an amazing meal from practically nothing.  My husband can fix practically anything!  I appreciate what I have and I’m not caught up in wanting more things.  I don’t feel the overwhelming need to keep up with the Joneses.  I know eventually that our financial situation will improve.  This is only temporary.

In the Beatitudes many people quote it as saying blessed are the poor.  But it actually says “blessed are the poor in spirit” and my Wesleyan study bible refers to that as meaning humility.  Blessed are those who have a spirit of humility for they shall inherit the kingdom.

Humility is a much talked about virtue but it’s not always an embraced virtue.  Being happy with what you have.  Sharing your gifts with others, not looking for the limelight when you do something.  It can be a tough road to walk when you live in a society that preaches so strongly against such an idea!  Somehow, you should never be satisfied.  Somehow, you should always be wanting more.  Working, striving, questing, never having enough.  Working to better ourselves is not wrong, but when you define “bettering yourself” as only a dollars and cents equation, you’ll find that you are never satisfied.  You get that promotion or pay raise and it’s an empty victory because it is still not enough.  What was the price for that victory?  How many missed dinners?  Or missed ball games, or recitals?  How much living have you missed out on because you’re trying to “make a living?”

I may be poor, money wise, by U.S. standards but I can live with that!  I will admit that there are moments of melancholy when I wish I could go out and buy something because I really do need to replace a certain item but they pass.  I still have more things than a vast majority of the people in the world.  I have things that money can’t buy-time with my family and nature at my doorstep.  Things could be so much worse!

Let us remember what really matters in life.  It’s not how much money you make.  It is about how you live and how much you love.  That is the thing that truly matters!  Everything else is secondary, regardless of what the media tries to tell you!  Blessed are the poor in spirit because they will inherit the kingdom!  Amen!

The Love of a True Father!

I've always thought Joseph gets short shift when we talk about the story of Jesus and his birth.  He's the guy engaged to Mary.  He's the one who takes her to Bethlehem.  He's the one who finds shelter in the stable.  He's the one who takes them to Egypt for awhile and then back to Nazareth and that's pretty much what we hear about Joseph.  He's just sorta there, like the sheep or the cattle.  But stop and think-how differently would things have turned out if Joseph had just said no? 

He finds out the woman that he is engaged to is pregnant and he knows that he is not the father.  We know he's honorable because he had a plan in place to marry her and then quietly divorce her in order to avoid Mary facing scandal.  And when the angel comes to speak to him in a dream, he listens and does what is asked of him!  More importantly, he raises Jesus as his own flesh and blood.  That my friends is not a minor footnote contribution!  God is the father of Jesus, but Joseph was his earthly father!  True fatherhood, the love of a man for a child who is not his own can be far more precious than any of us realize!

I was reminded of this in my own life yesterday.  It's also the reason I didn't blog yesterday because something big came up and it had to be dealt with immediately.  My daughter called my husband early in the morning.  She is being transferred to a different base and she was scheduled to leave today.  She had been having problems with her Jeep, which she has to drive to the new base because she has to move herself and be reimbursed later.  She's had it in the shop three times in the last week-they thought they had gotten it fixed.  But when she drove her Jeep yesterday morning it started doing exactly the same thing.  So, she called my husband, her step-father because, well, this was a big huge problem!  She had a (and I use this term loosely) "friend" who offered to haul her Jeep, her stuff and her up to the new base but there were "strings" attached to this offer.  Not cool!  Let's just say daddy had his mind made up on a course of action before they even finished the conversation.  I saw the look in Kenny's eyes.  I knew what was coming!  Come hell or high water he was going to drive cross country in order to safely deliver our daughter to the new base and fix that Jeep while he was at it!  I started packing his bag.

This is not just a hop skip and a jump away.  We are in the middle of the country.  The drive to my parents house in Vermont is 1200 plus miles one way.  My husband is driving to the southeastern coast, loading the Jeep onto a tow-dolly, hauling it up the east coast to the northern part of the United States and then turning around and driving all of the way back here!  Did I mention that he is going to try to be back here by Sunday night?!  By the time he's done, he will have driven about 3,000 plus miles in a matter of days.  The man has a father's heart!  If he didn't love my daughter like one of his own, he wouldn't be making that kind of drive!

When I married Kenny I came as a package deal.  I was a full time mother.  I had my two young children full time.  There was not alternating weekends.  There was some holiday breaks but they usually didn't happen because something always seemed to crop up that made it "impossible" for the ex to take the kids.  My husband loved them and raised them just like they were his own.  He always said "there are no steps in this family!"  They have always been "his children". 

It's an amazing and extraordinary gift, this true father's love!  As we celebrate Advent let's not forget the important part that Joseph played.  He loved Jesus as his own.  He gave him the love of a true earthly father, without reservation!  Biological connection is not always the mark of parenthood.  The true standard is how much are you willing to love?  Kenny may not have the biological connection but he has the heart connection.  He has shown my children the love of a true father! 

Kenny's example gives me a much greater appreciation and understanding of just what Joseph did!  How precious a gift indeed!

By the way, he's already there.  Got the call about 30 minutes ago.  Keep them in your prayers-they've got a long way to go!

Crispy Fried Goodness and that Proverbs 31 Chick

Today's daily Bible reading-Proverbs 31-the one that describes the perfect, virtuous woman and all that she does.  I'm depressed, cause by those standards I would fall under the category of epic fail!

It's not for lack of trying!  I don't know if it is because the weather has been so awful the last couple of days, or the fact that I have been pushing really hard to get things done (which I know better but tend to ignore).  Either way, I am crispy fried yet again and have worked myself into yet another fibro flare.  sigh....

So here I am with plenty of things to do and no energy to do them.  It's all about balance and I've gotten out of whack again as my body has so physically reminded me!  I feel like I've been hit all over with a sledge hammer!  The cure is to rest but as a mother, that's not always an option as my mind runs through its mental checklist of items.  It's a very long list!

I want to do it all-to be super wife and super mom and super church member, doing good things for everyone.  But I have to remember that God did not ask us to do it all or to do more than we are equipped to do!  He doesn't want or expect crispy fried goodness!  All he expects is that we use our gifts and graces to run the race that he has set before us-at his pace!  My guess is that the Proverbs 31 woman of virtue understood the need for balance and pace.  She didn't try to do everything at once.  She tackled life one thing at a time and she rested when necessary.

Logically I understand this, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty.  There are people depending on me and when my health gets in the way, it is very very frustrating!  I prefer to be moving and doing not sitting and resting!

Today though, that is pretty much what I will have to do-sit and rest.  The sun has come out and it is shining on a gorgeous fall landscape.  There's a chill in the air but not oppressive.  It's a beautiful day that my Lord has made-now I have time to rejoice and be glad in it!

The Message Paraphrase has this to say in Proverbs 31:

"She always faces tomorrow with a smile."

As for me-I intend to face today with a smile.  I may be exhausted and in pain but I'm alive and surrounded by wonderful family and friends!  I have the goofiest 3 legged dog who makes me laugh.  I have beautiful scenery to look at all around me! I have friends to pray for and songs to sing.  I have the sun shining on me and birds chirping merrily along with the songs of the wind.  I have much to be thankful for today!  I'll take the time to rest and enjoy all of my blessings.  And tomorrow, I'm sure, will be a much better day!  Pace the race, Miss Trudy, pace the race!

You Continue to Ignore Me-Thoughts on Amos, Choices and Trust

In Amos, chapter 4 The Message paraphrase uses almost word for word the same sentence four times:

"you continue to ignore me".  

This chapter mentions famine, drought, disease, fire and earthquake-major catastrophes happening to the people.  In each instance, instead of turning to God, they chose to do their own thing.

Each of us make choices every day in one form or another.  Some choices are easy.  Others are a little more difficult.  The little nudges by the Spirit asking us to do things that we are not comfortable doing, they can be the hardest choices.   For me, they tend to be the choices I wrestle with the most.  It's not that I want to willingly ignore God.  It's tough to choose to get whacked!  I have a lack of understanding as to "why" and trust comes in to play.  Choosing to trust, can be a tough item for me personally!

At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus asks Simon  three times "do you love me?" The Disciple Bible study notes say that Jesus did not call him Peter because "...he was no longer a rock.  He had reverted to predisciple behavior, so Jesus used his predisciple name to reclaim him."  Simon had a choice to make.  He already believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  He loved Jesus, no question.  His struggle was not with Jesus, his struggle was with himself!  Not only did he have to choose to follow but he also had to trust that God would give him the ability to carry out what was being asked of him.  He had a choice to make and we know that he chose to follow.  History tells us that he died a martyr.  How different would history be if he had chosen to ignore God?

I'm not perfect and I know it!  Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I blow it!  The problem is not God, the problem is me!  I pray that God gives me the strength to make the right choices and not ignore what He is asking me to do.  It's not always easy but I have faith and hope in His power, not my own!  The holiness journey is about trusting God to lead the way.  And trust is something that I struggle with mightily at times!

Wesley understood this and in his sermon The End of Christ's Coming he put it this way:

"We know, weakness of understanding, and a thousand infirmities, will remain, while this corruptible body remains; but sin need not remain: This is that work of the devil, eminently so called, which the Son of God was manifested to destroy in this present life. He is able, he is willing, to destroy it now, in all that believe in him. Only be not straitened in your own bowels! Do not distrust his power, or his love! Put his promise to the proof! He hath spoken: And is he not ready likewise to perform Only "come boldly to the throne of grace," trusting in his mercy; and you shall find, "He saveth to the uttermost all those that come to God through him!"

Wise words of wisdom to apply to the choices we make every day!

Forgiveness-It's a Living Thing

King David-remember him?  He is described as a "man after God's own heart", the giant slayer, the great leader of Israel.  King David the ultimate perfect God follower.  If you read in the Old Testament though, you realize that he was just as flawed as the rest of us.  Maybe that's why he is included in so much of the Old Testament, as a reminder to the rest of us that God can use even flawed individuals to do great things!

So it was with great interest that I read Psalm 109 in The Message paraphrase which is noted as "A David Prayer".  It starts off in the positive:

"My God don't turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer..."

It goes down hill from there.  Basically he is praying for God to obliterate an enemy.  Here's just a part of the Psalm:

"Give him a short life and give his job to somebody else.  Make orphans of his children, dress his wife in widow's weeds; Turn his children into begging street urchins, evicted from their homes-homeless.  May the bank foreclose and wipe him out, and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.  May there be no one around to help him out, no one willing to give his orphans a break.  Chop down his family tree so that nobody even remembers his name." 

It goes on, but you get the gist.  This was not a lovey-dovey, warm and fuzzy prayer.  This was the prayer of a man at the end of his rope wishing that the person who persecuted him was wiped out!

Let's be honest, we have all had similar thoughts and prayers at some point in our lives.  Our prayers though, are not documented like David's prayers!  We have been wronged and yet, the other person just keeps on keeping on.  Why why why do they not get their come uppance?  Where is the delivery for us, the justice we seek?  Seriously, haven't we endured enough?  Good Christians are not supposed to think that way, yet we all have those moments.

There have been times in my own life when I have endured some things I would not wish upon anyone else!  There have been times when I wondered why a house didn't fall out of the sky (a la Wizard of Oz) or why someone didn't get struck by lightening because they oh so deserved that fate!  Forgiveness was not exactly high on my list.  I had done nothing wrong yet I was the one who was suffering.  They needed to ask ME for forgiveness, not the other way around!  THEY were the ones who needed to be stopped.  THEY were the ones who needed to pay.

Yet, Jesus told us to forgive.  Not just once but "seven times seventy", or in other words, forgive without end. "But God," we argue, "they surely don't deserve it and they definitely haven't earned it!"  But that's not the point.  Forgiveness is not about letting someone off the hook.  No, it's far more personal.  Forgiveness allows you to be free from carrying the burden.  Anger unchecked, festers and it turns into bitterness and bitterness will eat you from the inside out.  To become totally and utterly absorbed by bitterness is an ugly thing.  It clouds your perception and taints everything in your life.  How you live, your relationships with others, your work become driven by your need for revenge.  It not only effects you spiritually, but it can effect you physically.  The longer you carry the burden the heavier it gets and the more exhausted you become!  No wonder Jesus was so clear about the need to forgive!  Forgiveness isn't just a "thing", it's a living thing!  If you want to live, really live, then you have to make a choice to let things go.  YOU have to choose to forgive!

If I sound like I speak from the voice of experience, you're right.  I've lived out both scenarios.  One time, when I was younger and I couldn't let go of what had been done to me, I made myself so miserable that I got to the point that I didn't want to live.  I attempted suicide.  Not as a way to "get even", no, I just wanted the pain to end!  I wasn't sleeping, I certainly wasn't eating right and my only thought was revenge.  I was consumed with settling the score.  There was no room for forgiveness in my heart.  A wise friend talked with me about it and I described how I felt and I clearly said "I am the victim, I can't forgive, I don't have the strength to forgive!"  My wise friend said, "you don't have the strength but God does, give it to him!"  So I said a prayer, "not by my strength but by the Lord's strength I forgive."  And it wasn't easy!  I had to say that prayer over and over and over again!  After a time though, it got easier.  I had to say it less often.  It got to the point where my first thought in the morning was not about revenge on my assailant.  It got to the point when it wasn't the last thought at night.  Eventually I got to a point where I stopped thinking about it completely.  I went from victim to victor.  I learned to forgive and in the process I got my life back!

Fast forward to a few years ago when I was attacked and accused unfairly.  It was just as painful, I was just as angry.  The difference though was I refused to let the bitterness consume me!  It wasn't easy, but I had learned my lesson.  I didn't want to go back to the way I had been when I was younger!  So I said the prayer again and I kept going and kept living.  Lo and behold, there came an opportunity to get my revenge.  I could have filed charges and had this individual thrown into jail and had a lien put on all of his posessions.  He would have lost everything.  I had individuals telling me that I should go ahead because he had certainly earned it for the hell he had put me (and my family) through and he surely deserved it so why not settle the score?  I didn't do it.  In the whole scheme of things, my act of forgiveness was more important to me than the satisfaction I might gain from seeking revenge.  I had moved on and I wasn't going back!  I chose to forgive and then live and that mattered more to me!

In this life people will hurt you through no fault of your own.  Yes, you have been wronged.  You have a right to be angry about what you have lost.  But you also have a choice.  You can choose to nurse that anger or you can choose to forgive.  When you choose to stop carrying the burden you choose to live.  Instead of focusing your energy on what you have lost and the person responsible for that loss you are instead free to focus on moving ahead!  What you choose to focus on dictates how you live.  And living is a whole lot easier when you let go of that burden and choose to forgive!  Another word for forgiveness is grace.  Grace is the essence of living because it opens up new and wonderful opportunites.  It truly is a living thing!

So the lesson of David's Psalm is this-we may feel the exact same way as he did, and justifiably so!  We may even have times when we pray a prayer just like his prayer.  But we have a choice.  We can wrap that anger around us like a comfortable blanket until it encloses us in bitterness or we can let it go and choose to forgive. Our choice will effect how we live.  Choose to forgive if you truly want to live!

Spirit in you Vs. Spirit with you-That Sanctification Journey

Have you ever had one of those times when you are reading something that you have read, like a gazillion times, but you catch something that you missed before?  That happened to me this morning.  It was one of those "whoa, stop, back the train up" moments!

I'm on week 23 of Disciple Bible Study and this week focuses on the second half of the Gospel of John.  What caught my eye happens to be in the second half of verse 17 in chapter 14 talking about the Holy Spirit:

"...You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you."

The note in the Wesleyan Study Bible says this:

"The Spirit is already with the disciples but will not be in them until Jesus breathes on them." 

 The thought that popped into my head was "there is a big difference between the Spirit being with you and the Spirit being in you!"  Then I started thinking about how many people are in this very situation?  Which then led me to ask myself how many times have I had the Spirit with me or even in me and chose to opt out on what I was being asked to do?  Ah ha!  Maybe this is the process of Sanctification that Wesley was talking about!

There have been times in my life when I have felt completely alone and totally abandoned.  But as a Christian I know that is not true.  The Spirit is with me.  I may not have realized it, or felt it, but I was never truly alone!  And in hindsight, looking back on those moments I can see where the Spirit was working in me in ways that I did not realize or acknowledge.  I think there are a lot of people who can say the same thing (in hindsight of course).  God was not only with them but working in them, they were just so overwhelmed or distracted to realize it at the time!

There are times though, when I know that the Spirit is not only in me but also working in me and asking me to do something that I am not so sure about doing!  You think to yourself, "well if God wants it done, you will just joyfully agree to do what is being asked of you."  WRONG!  At least in my case, that's wrong.  Yeah, there is this little thing called "free will" which can sometimes be the "opt out" choice.  And there have been times when I have exercised that choice!  Of course, you would think I would learn that no is not the best answer yet, time and again, I make the same mistake!  Yup, my name is Trudy and I still mess up on occasion!

Macarius spoke about this in Homily 15  Even some of the saints and leaders of the early church stumbled.  He described it as "not having obtained to perfect charity".  Nowadays, we would call that "perfect love".  It's no wonder that Wesley talked about the process of Sanctification being a journey of going from "glory to glory".  Hopefully, with time, as you mature you get better at following the lead of the Spirit but we're imperfect and sometimes we will "miss the mark".  I miss the mark and I have to admit it and ask for forgiveness.  I am reminded daily that grace is a wonderful thing!

Oral Roberts used to tell the story of how he started Oral Roberts University.  He said that he asked God why he was the one being asked to do this when there were others who were far more qualified.  He said the answer he got back was "I did ask them but they won't do it!"  Makes me wonder how many times God has had to ask someone else to do the things he asked me to do in the first place?  I shudder to think!

So for those of you who have been in a similar situation, take heart!  You're not alone.  The Spirit is with you. The Spirit is in you.  The journey of Sanctification continues and God's grace abounds!  You're going to make mistakes, but God will still love you and he will provide opportunities to use you to share his love!  I may not have faith in my ability but God...I have faith in HIS ability!  And I am so grateful that he can find ways to use imperfect me!  Trust in the Lord because he can do all things, no matter how imperfect we may be!

Am I a Dissenter?

Paul has some pretty strong words in Titus regarding "leaders" and "rebels".  In chapter 1, here is what The Message paraphrase says:

"Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst.  They've got to be shut up.  They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck."

In chapter 3 Paul goes on to say:

"Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand.  No insults, no fights.  God's people should be bighearted and courteous." 

Well, I'm not out for a fast buck, if I was I would have enabled the ad feature on my blog.  I do support my leaders in church and in government.  But I have been critical of some of the choices that leadership has made in recent months.  Does that make me a dissenter?  A rabble rouser?   Am I part of the problem?

It's a tough question but I think that we all have to ask ourselves this question every once in awhile.  It can be hard to be objective when you have to examine yourself but I ask myself the question to make sure that my moral compass is on track.  Am I doing what is being asked of me to the very best of my ability?  The whole point of blogging for me is not merely to criticize, condemn and complain but hopefully, to make people think and to inspire and encourage!  Yes, there are things that concern me and I do bring them up on this blog.  But there is so much out there that encourages me and, in my mind, they are stories that need to be shared and told and celebrated!

I look at the words in Joel chapter 2:

"Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters.  Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions.  I'll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both."

 There is a heart element to this as well.  A spirit element.  I know in my heart and spirit that the time is right to help ordinary people connect with the words.  The Bible is not merely a book.  It is a treasure trove of faith and hope, love and wisdom.   But if people are not being taught how to make the connection to their everyday lives than it has no depth and meaning!  I'm not a minister, nor a theology major, nor a professor.  I'm not a leader in government and I don't lead a church.  In truth, I am overlooked and ignored by these individuals. I'm just an ordinary wife, mother, citizen and an individual who happened to take the Lay Speaking course so I could fill in for the minister if needed or help at church in some way.  There is nothing that marks me as extraordinary or special.  I'm plain ole me.  Nothing more, nothing less.  How could I possibly have anything important to say?

The thing that drives me though, the thing that gets me up every morning and makes me sit here and type, is that I see a need to help others understand that they can make a difference!  Ordinary people, just like me, do have a calling and a purpose-they can have an impact!  And I am driven by the need to help people connect the dots.  Here is this parable, or verse and see how it is very similar to what is going on in our world today?  You can relate to the Bible, you can apply what it says and you can make a difference!  Ordinary people can do extraordinary things!

There is a lot of uncertainty in this world right now.  A lot more questions than answers.  But hope lives!  We need to remind ourselves of that fact every once in awhile!  I think the words from the prophet Joel are true today-I think this is the time when young and old will see visions and dream dreams.  Ordinary folk who will have a vision, make the connection and do what is necessary to fulfill those dreams and visions.  I would love to believe that our leaders will "fix" things and make changes but everything in my being says no.  True vision and true change is going to come from the ranks of everyday people-those individuals who are willing to dream and to work to make change happen.

So, if that makes me a dissenter than so be it.  I pray for my leaders and I hope that wisdom will be their guide.  I know, dear readers, that you hope and pray for the same thing.  But I know that I am called to serve the ordinary.  If one story that I share connects with your spirit and inspires you to go out boldly and do what you can do, to the very best of your ability, then I have done what I have been asked to do.

Take those dreams and visions and run with them my darling friends!  Others may view you as ordinary, but I know that your potential is not ordinary.  Your potential is extraordinary!   I will be here, cheering you on as you go out and change your world for the better!  God bless you for having the courage to use your gifts and talents to make a difference in the world around you!

And to answer my own question, am I a dissenter?  I'm pretty confident, the answer is no.  But I'm glad I asked the question.

Risk Anyone?

I'm not talking about the board game!  Today my thoughts turn towards those who are in the path of Hurricane Irene and the risks they face by "riding out the storm".  I have a lot of friends in the path of this storm and it has been interesting to see how they are choosing to react.  Some are taking the threat seriously and preparing for the worst or getting out of the way.  Some find the whole thing a fascinating abstract discussion and think that nothing bad will happen to them anyway, so why bother?

That's the way of life isn't it?  Some heed the warnings and some go about their business and, if they are lucky, come out on the other side unscathed.  Some though, are not so lucky.  The story of Noah comes to mind as an example of this point!

Sometimes in life it's worth taking a risk.  Like choosing to go back to school or asking for a raise.  The worst thing that could happen is you'll fail a class or your boss says no to your request.  Individuals in the military know that they are being asked to risk their lives for their country.  Yet, they are willing to do that because they are a part of something bigger than themselves.  But even in this situation, every and all precaution is taken to minimize the risk by wearing body armor, driving in armored vehicles and being thoroughly trained in how to react to a threatening situation.  Storm chasers may go out and catch tornadoes on film but they make sure they plan their route so they do not end up directly in the path of an approaching tornado.  They do exercise a modicum of common sense!

I pray that people heed the warnings and do what they need to do to stay safe!  But I know that there will be some who risk life and limb simply to experience the full fury of a hurricane.  And I have to ask, is it really worth the risk?  Is the thrill really so important?    If you risk your life and get in to trouble than someone else has to risk their life to help you.  Do you really want to put someone else in harms way?  I live in tornado country.  Believe me when I say that folks who have experienced a tornado first hand wouldn't do so again!  Things can be replaced.  Lives can not.

When is a risk worth taking?  My answer would be when you have a very good reason for taking a risk.  Otherwise you're on a fools errand.  Common sense is a gift.  Feel free to use it!

What does it Mean? The Problem with Cushy Christianity

Once again my daily Bible reading and Disciple Bible study converge!  Let's start with a verse from Proverbs 19 (The Message paraphrase):

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails."

Now let's jump over to Mark chapter 11 where Jesus cleanses the temple.  You know the story-Jesus walks in and starts tipping over tables and driving out the sellers and money changers and says in verse 17 (NRSV):

"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.  But you have made it a den of robbers." 

The notes on this verse say that Jesus wasn't opposed to the temple, he was opposed to what it had become.  People looked to the temple to keep them in right standing with God-to cleanse them.  But people were not living out that righteousness in their daily lives.  Salvation had become cheap.  It had no meaning.  The temple had become a building for buying and selling rather than a place of meaning!

Well, that's how a lot of people view churches today.  They are not opposed to religion, rather they find that church has no meaning to them.  There is no depth, there is no "why does this matter"?  If you look at the studies that have been done, a good majority believe in God and they say that they are spiritual but they have no faith affiliation.  Church, in their minds, involves marrying and burying and baptising your children so gramma will get off your case!   We know that churches are getting better at greeting people at the front door but we lose them out the side door.  We wonder why and then we start making "plans" in order to "fix" the problem!

Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds around the world in places that you wouldn't expect.  Africa, Asia, South America-these are areas where faith is flourishing despite the obstacles that these individuals face on a daily basis.  There are some places around the world where being a Christian will get you killed if your faith is discovered!  These are not easy places to practice your faith, these are hard places and yet faith flourishes!  Many of these places do not have church buildings.  They do not have Bibles.  They don't have big budgets or "special programs".  What do they have?  They have faith with depth and meaning!  They understand sacrifice and taking risks and they choose to follow.  Cushy Christianity doesn't apply!

So if I had to put my finger on one thing in America that would explain our faith problem I would have to say it is Cushy Christianity.  Grace is cheap and it comes with no strings attached and no sacrifices to be made.  Instead of asking God what his plan is, we create our own do it yourself plans to fix our problems.  We lack depth and we teach but we teach without meaning.  We don't ask our members to crack open a Bible and read the words for themselves and think about what it is saying.  We don't ask our members to pray daily.  Mission is something you do to feel good.  It's all just very comfortable.  It doesn't involve risk and it certainly doesn't express something meaningful.  In short, we are biblically and spiritually illiterate.

In the land of the free you would think that churches would be bursting at the seams.  Think about it-we have the freedom to worship anywhere we want without fear of reprisal!  Not only that, we can worship openly and publicly!  We can read our Bible in our home without fear of going to jail.  We can pray privately or publicly without fear of being charged with a crime!  We are blessed, yet we take it for granted!  We are free to do things that others only dream about!  It's time we start taking our faith walk a little more seriously.

If our church leaders want our churches to be taken more seriously then we need to start preaching and teaching more seriously.  We need to start answering the question, "what does it mean?"  Spiritual faith and discipleship will bloom when we start adding some depth to an individual's faith walk.  We are asking people to go out and make disciples yet we don't equip them with the tools to explain why making disciples is important!  What does this church believe?  Why does it believe this?  What scriptures back up this belief?  How can you use this in your everyday life?  This is the depth I am talking about.  These are the tools that show us that faith means something real.

As individuals we can choose to deepen our faith walk.  We can open our Bibles and read and study.  We can read about prayer and practice specific forms of prayer.  We can openly share with others.  We can choose to take greater risks.  We can participate in mission work.  We can go to church or join a small group of fellow believers in order to encourage and share our faith with others.  We have the freedom to do all of these things so we can choose to walk a path that is more meaningful instead of taking it for granted!  We do not have to choose Cushy Christianity!  We can become the change that we wish to see in our churches our homes and our communities.  We are blessed with the freedom to exercise our religion!  Let's stop taking that precious right for granted!

The thing that really made me aware of how much I take my religious freedom for granted was when I read about St. Ignatius and St. PolycarpPolycarp we read about how the leaders of the city came up to him as he was being brought in and begged him to recant his faith in Jesus Christ.  They liked him, they really didn't want to crucify him and basically they said "just recant publicly and then you can go do your own thing and this will be all over with."  He refused.  St. Ignatius told his fellow church members to stop trying to get him out of his date with the Lions because he knew he was going to a better place and he thanked God for thinking that he was worthy enough to meet this sort of fate in the name of Christ!  Even when faced with death they didn't deny their faith!  Could I say the same thing?  Could you say the same thing?  Their faith had meaning and depth and it saw them through to the end!

It's up to you to make a choice.  Cushy Christianity or faith with depth and meaning?  You have the freedom to choose!  Let's stop taking our freedom of religion for granted!

School Days-Let's All Pray

Robert starts his first day of Senior year today.  It's hard to tell, but I do think he is excited about going back to school!  Not only will he get to see his friends but he also chose to take a pretty challenging course load this year which includes some Advanced Placement classes where he can earn some college credits.  He's a Senior, top of the heap, at the head of the pecking order in high school hierarchy.  I am so incredibly proud of him and his friends!

Senior year is really the only year of high school that I remember with some fondness.  That was the year when the social cliques formed in Freshmen and Sophomore years started to crumble and you started talking with other students in your class who were not part of your "inner circle".  That's when you started talking about what happens next and you started to field the question "what are you going to do after high school?"  Yup, Senior year was a lot of fun because suddenly everything that defined your world up to that point didn't matter quite so much.  It was the year of expanding horizons and lots of hope for the future mixed with a whole lot of questions!

There is one moment though, that I think really summed up Senior year for me, the moment when I decided that I didn't care what anyone else thought and chose to do the right thing.  I had actually forgotten about this until years later when my mother had a chance encounter with one of the young ladies directly impacted by a split second decision in a very crowded lunchroom during the beginning of the school year.

At my high school there was no such thing as grade level lunchtimes.  There were two separate lunch periods but it was a mixed bag of students from Freshmen to Seniors.  Every "group" had their "official" table spaces and there was an unwritten rule that you did not tread upon someone else's table turf.  Jocks at one table, computer geeks at another, musically inclined in their spot-the typical clique breakdown.  I happened to be involved with the drama club so that meant sitting with the music/art/drama group, which I had been a part of for my entire time in high school.  We had some new additions to drama club that year-some incoming freshmen so I knew some of the younger kids from the drama group but didn't know them well.  Two young freshmen ladies also had the same lunch period as we well established seniors and they hadn't quite found their group yet.  It was still early in the year but the tables had already filled up and they needed to find a place to sit for lunch!  They tried sitting at a couple of tables but were stopped by those already sitting there.  It got worse.  Some Freshman boys decided that they were mock worthy and started harassing them as they stood there with their trays in the middle of the lunchroom looking for a place to sit.  The boys blood sport started attracting attention.  I will never forget the look on Karen's face in particular, not just a dazed look but rather a look of fear and embarrassment-being on the verge of tears.  I knew what she was feeling, because I had felt that way too many times over my high school years! 

At the time I wasn't thinking about compassion and mercy or doing the right thing.  I was mad!  Mad at those punk little Freshman boys for treating these girls this way!  Just exactly who did they think they were?  They were not big boys on campus, they hadn't earned that right yet!  No, they were thoughtless juvenile little boys who needed to be knocked down a notch!  These were my girls and no punk Freshman was going to get away with treating them like that!  I wasn't the only one at my table who had this thought, my friends noticed as well!  The decision was unanimous, the girls would come sit with us at the Senior table.  I'm not sure which one of us called to them and invited them over but from that point on, they had a table to sit at for lunch every day!  And certain Freshman boys stopped using them for their sporting targets!  We made our point-they were under our protection and we would not tolerate anyone messing with them. 

Like I said, after high school I had forgotten all about that terrible moment.  It wasn't until years later that I realized just how important that decision was on that day.  My mother went to have her hair done by a new hair stylist who she hadn't been to before.  When she came home with her beautiful new look she started to tell me about the conversation she had with the young lady who had done her hair.  Turned out that the young lady was Karen and she told my mother the story of that day in the lunchroom.  She remembered me specifically!   And she remembered the horrible feeling of standing in the middle of the lunch room not knowing what to do and suddenly the relief of being invited to sit at the Senior table.  I may have forgotten but she never did!  Sometimes you'll never know the impact that you'll have on another person's life but understand this, little things do count and little things do matter even more than you can possibly imagine!

So today I pray for all students starting school and I pray for the teachers as well.  High school in particular can be such an awkward time and there is enough misery in the process of "becoming" without someone adding to it!  I hope that if my son sees a situation where someone is being made fun of or bullied that he will have the courage to intervene.  I hope that every child will choose to do the right thing! 

And Seniors, have a little fun along the way! 

Blessings upon blessings to you all today!

All my love,

Mom

Sometimes You Just Have to Shovel the Manure

My daily Bible reading this morning came out of Psalms.  Psalm 93 in The Message Paraphrase starts off with this:

"God is King, robed and ruling.  God is robed and surging with strength.  And yes, the world is firm, immovable, Your throne ever firm-you're Eternal!"

My first thought was "this is exactly what I've been talking about the last few days!"  Then that little voice piped in and said "yes, and sometimes you have to dig through all the crap to get to that firm foundation."  My response was "Lord, you don't want me to write about manure do you???  Seriously????"  Well, folks, guess what the answer was to that question!  Yeah, today we're going to talk about the unglamorous world of shoveling manure!  This should be a doozey!

For those of you who did not grow up on a farm, you need to understand two things.  First, farm animals produce waste which comes out of the back side nether regions of their anatomy.  Second, farm animals do not clean up after themselves.  So, if you want your farm animals to stay healthy you have to clean up after them!  The responsible owner grabs their trusty pitchfork and shovel and starts scooping up the mixture of manure, straw, sawdust and hay and usually puts it in a wheelbarrow to cart it out to a pile outside of the barn.  And this mixture is not solid, it's kind of spongy and squishy so you have to make sure that you get down to the solid floor before you put down new bedding, otherwise you're just leaving the old stuff there to fester which isn't good for the animals.  It's a smelly job.  It's a lot of hard work.  But you know that if you are going to raise animals this comes with the territory!

So what about the pile itself.  Isn't it useful for something?  Eventually, yes, but it takes some time.  A gardener knows that you can't put fresh manure on a garden with fledgling plants because the nitrogen content is too high and it will literally burn the plants and kill them.  Manure is only good to a garden after it has rotted down or composted for awhile.  Well rotted manure provides helpful nutrients to plants when it is worked in to the garden soil.  Composting doesn't happen over night, it takes time to get it to just the right consistency to make it useful!

So what does manure have to do with theology and life?  Information overload.  Processes and procedures.  Sometimes so much is thrown at us at one time that we're not sure where the foundation lies!  We're simply walking on the spongy manure that covers the firm foundation!  If you let it lay there long enough it festers and then it becomes unhealthy for you!  In order to find that nugget of truth, that firm foundation, sometimes you just have to pick up a shovel and start digging!  You have to dig through all the crap in order to discern the truth, the firm foundation laid bare underneath all of the hype and spin!  You have to remove the manure!

Media outlets like to sensationalize lots of things-making mountains out of molehills at times.  One pundit says one thing, another pundit says the opposite-who is telling the truth?  Or, perhaps there are elements of truth in both positions?  In order to get to that truth you have to think critically and dig for the facts.  You must act to seek the source, the foundation upon which these opposing views are built.  If you want the truth, you have to do the digging!  Churches are not immune to this phenomenon either.  Lots of "new" ideas are being proposed and some of them can be helpful and some of them probably should be discarded.  But you'll never know which is which unless you are willing to do some shoveling to get down to the basics!

The same thing applies to your faith walk as well.  If you want to know the heart of God you have to do some digging and seek the foundation.  Scripture reading, prayer, worship and discernment are all critical tools to use!  They are your pitchfork and shovel and if you use them carefully you can dig down to the truth.  There may be things in your personal life that you just need to get rid of!  There may be things that eventually will bear fruit but they need to compost for awhile.  Spiritual discernment is the act of digging for the truth.  It's a journey that others can help you with but the work is something that you have do do for yourself.  It forces you to ask the question-do these things point to the source?  If not, then you have to do some digging and discard some of these things on to the pile outside the barn door!  And some of them may be like fresh manure-they are just too hot to use right now and they need to be allowed the time to compost down so they can be really useful.  Others just need to be removed in order to get to the truth!

Some of you will probably notice that I didn't mention mission and outreach in this list.  There's a reason for that-mission and outreach are outward signs of change that occurs within you.  You can't transform the world around you until you transform the world within you.  When inner transformation happens your vision and your mission have true meaning to you and clear purpose.  You're not going through the motions simply to go through the motions.  You're doing the work because you know that the work matters!  And John Wesley's sermons will back me up on this point!  Change comes from within!  Change is spirit driven!

Understand this though-underneath all the hype and hoopla God is still there!  He has always been there as the firm and solid foundation just like the Psalm says.  He can be found if you choose to go looking.  The job may be messy but you have the tools.  Sometimes in order to get to the truth you just have to decide to start shoveling the manure in your life.  Finding the foundation is worth the work and it is part of the journey.  Anyone up for a little dig?  I sincerely hope so! 

Sometimes You Gotta Fix the Foundation

When we got to Vermont last Monday our first stop was mom and dad's house.  My brother, Randy (my son's namesake) was already there and had already started working on the old Blacksmith shop in the back yard.  We all knew back in November when dad got sick that the building needed some work to stabilize the structure.  The back wall was sinking and it needed to be jacked up and repaired.  Now you might say, "why bother, why not just tear it down?"  The building is part of the local history of the town, and it has stood for a long long time.  It has a story to tell about where we came from and how we got to the here and now.  So, in our minds, there was never a question about fixing it, simply put, it needed to be done!

On closer inspection, Randy discovered something that we were not expecting.  The front wall was actually in far worse shape then the back wall.  The bottom base boards were supporting nothing at all!  The wood was literally crumbling into sawdust!  The only thing holding the building up was the center support beam that dad had installed years ago.  That's why it had shifted, that's why the back wall was sinking.  So the jacks came out and the front wall weight was placed on them and then the cutting began to remove the dry rotted wood.  New lumber was cut up and new support beams were placed under the wall to give it a stable foundation.  The back wall foundation will be replaced later on once the building settles on to it's new foundation on the front wall.  It's a process that will take some time but in the end, the building will be just as sturdy as it used to be!

Here comes the parallel to life, my little "ah ha" moment!  Sometimes the foundation which was sound in the first place, ends up crushing under the weight of the building put upon it and there comes a point when you have to rebuild in order to stabilize the entire building. 

Dad had told us, we had full warning.  I was reminded of this when I was reading about Jonah this morning.  Now Jonah is an interesting story.  He was, to put it mildly, a reluctant prophet.  Being asked to go to pagan Nineveh to warn them of their impending doom was not high on his priority list!  Let em burn!  Let em fall!  What's the harm?  So he took a boat heading in the opposite direction and well, you know the story, storm comes up, sailors have to throw him overboard in order to save their ship, he's swallowed by a whale and then a few days later he is spit up on the shore just outside of Nineveh!  It's not optional, he's going to deliver the message! 

To Jonah's shock and dismay, people actually listen!  They repent!  God changes his mind and doesn't destroy them!  How is that fair???  They had it coming!  Seriously, God, seriously???  Jonah, the reluctant prophet was rather a sore winner.  God's vision and victory was far different from Jonah's victory and vision.  Nineveh was able to start rebuilding the foundation before it was too late!  God works in wonderful and mysterious ways!

I can relate to Jonah and his reluctance.  I was very hesitant about starting this blog because quite frankly I knew there were times when I would have to say something that wasn't going to be popular!  I was going to have to say things that were hard and uncomfortable but needed to be said whether I liked it or not!  I'm not a minister or a minister in training or someone in leadership, I'm just plain ole me!  But I knew that it was important for someone like me to not only sound a warning but to make sure that a message of hope was being conveyed.  My confirmation that I am doing what God asks of me is confirmed when I read other blog posts and news reports and see that they are hitting on the same topics that I am, unbeknownst to me!  I post my blog then I go and read other bloggers and I go "oh my gosh, they're talking about the same exact thing!"  God is trying to get a message out and he will use whomever and whatever means necessary to get the point across!  That is awesome!  For my part, it's a big responsibility to make sure I get it right!

So what is the point being made today?  Our country had a good foundation.  The United Methodist Church had a good foundation.  Sometimes though the weight of the system presses down so hard that the foundation starts to crumble.  The goodness still exists, we just have to stabilize and reclaim the soundness! It's time to start rebuilding the foundation.

In regards to our country, the foundation that needs to be rebuilt rests on jobs.  If people are working they can pay their bills.  Working people pay taxes.  Working people save money and invest.  Working people buy things.  The little legislation that is coming out of Washington is crushing the foundation.  Add to that the bickering and inertia and the weight just keeps getting heavier.  We need to be praying for our leaders, more so now than ever!  They are an important part of stabilizing the country's foundation!  Pray for your local community leaders as well because they are invested in your community just as much as you are!  They don't want to see it die off, they want to live in a community that thrives!  We need to pray that they have the wisdom to act in the best interests of everyone, the inspiration to help create new and exciting ideas and the perseverance to stick it out and see it through!  I truly believe that change will come from the bottom up and my darling friends it starts with you and me and a willingness to help and to hold our leaders accountable!

As to the United Methodist Church, there is a real need to get back to basics.  People come to church looking for grace, guidance, hope, inspiration-they have questions and they are looking for answers.  We need to encourage people to read their Bible and teach them how to read it and why it matters!  We need to teach them how it can apply to their everyday lives beyond Sunday morning service!  We need to pray for them and with them and we need to teach them how to pray on their own, no matter the circumstance.  We need to teach them how to listen for that still small voice-the Holy Spirit who will guide and support them no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing.  We need to teach them how to praise God and count their blessings and to be thankful for each day, hour, minute and second.  We need to teach them why being a part of a community of believers matters in their lives and how sharing the sacraments is more than going through the motions, it's a spiritual bond to God, their family, their church family and their community.  We need to pray for our Spiritual leaders as well to guide us and hold them accountable to preach the gospel and teach others in our church how to lead, not just follow.  From personal experience, I would say that the greatest leaders are the most willing servants.  They inspire others because their actions truly line up with their words!  We need more servant leaders!

It's not too late!  We've been given a warning.  The foundation can be fixed.  We just have to decide if we are willing to do the work to fix it!  I believe that many people are willing, they just need the encouragement to follow through!  My darling friends, let's get to work on fixing the foundation today!

Thoughts on Roads Taken and Not Taken

Growing up in Vermont, I was introduced to Robert Frost and his poetry at a very young age.  I loved his poetry so much that my parents gave me an unabridged collection of his poems as a graduation present.  I still have that book after all these years!

I was reminded of a Robert Frost poem today as I read Psalm 84 in The Message paraphrase:

"And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!  God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn-Zion!  God in full view!"

One of my favorite poems by Robert Frost is titled "The Road Not Taken."  I was reminded of the last few lines in the poem:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

How many times have we come to a fork in the road and had to make a decision about which one we were going to take?  Take this job or not?  Make this move or stay put?  Choices, choices, choices and you have to decide which one is best!  One path being well worn, the other less traveled.  That well worn path can seem pretty tempting but a spirit filled life tends to lead towards taking the road less traveled.  There's a huge difference between following the crowd and following where God leads.  The obvious choice may not be the God choice! 

Discernment-what is God asking you to do?  It involves a lot of prayer and waiting on that still small voice.  Especially if the least traveled path doesn't look like a path at all at first glance!  It may look like you have to blaze a trail and cut a path yourself!  Truth be told, God has already traveled that way, he has laid down the path, all we are asked to do is follow.   Once you step on to that path it suddenly becomes more obvious!  Suddenly, right there in front of you is a brook, a well watered spring!  Who knew that you would find such beauty on this path!  It was there all along, just waiting for you!  You just had to make the choice to follow!

Change can be incredibly scary!  You're taking a risk and you're not sure of the outcome.  Well meaning friends and family tell you that you've lost your mind to even consider doing something different!  Why would anyone in their right mind veer from the path that they are on-that well worn path that others follow?  It's not "logical" it makes no sense!  What is God asking you to do?  What is that still small voice saying to you?  Do you trust God to lead?  Do you have enough faith to follow?

Jesus tells the parable in Luke 19 about the three servants that were given a sum of money by their master to look after while he was away.  The first servant doubled the money, the second made a 50% profit but the third, out of fear, put the money in the cellar for safe keeping.  The money was taken from the third servant and given to the first servant.  When the disciples questioned Jesus about this, The Message paraphrase says that Jesus responded by saying:

"Risk you life and get more than you ever dreamed of.  Play it safe and end up holding the bag."

Two roads diverged in the woods.  Which path are you being asked to take?  Which one will you choose to follow?

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Today's Bible Study Reading coupled with the Disciple Bible Study reading for today made me go "eww!!!"  My thought was "seriously God, this is what you want me to talk about today???"  As you can tell, since I am writing about it, the answer was yes.  There is a good reason!

Right now I am reading through Second Kings and I've gotten to the section where the chapters get short because they tell the stories of one failed king after another.  It tells how the king came to power (usually by assassination) and it consistently uses phrases like:
 Or you read this:

"In God's eyes he lived an evil life...he didn't deviate from the sins of Jeroboam...he plodded along in the same tracks, step after step." 

"He lived the way God wanted and did the right thing.  But he didn't come up to the standards of his ancestor David..."

Then there is this week's reading in my Disciple Bible Study which focuses on the Book of Job.  Here's a man who we know, right from the start, is blameless in God's eyes yet he loses everything!  So then his friends show up to offer "comfort" all the while spouting off that it's obvious that he did something wrong and he should just fess up!  With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Yeah, not exactly light, heady, uplifting reading!  But there are a couple of modern day parallels in all of this.  Start with Kings.  Substitute "government official" for king and you get a picture of a person in leadership who hasn't deviated from the patterns of the past and continues to plod along.  I won't be the judge of whether or not that is a sin, because that's beside the point.  The point is, the average American thinks that our leadership is doing nothing to address the current problems our country faces. 

Then, there is Job.  He had it all by worldly standards and yet he lost it all through no fault of his own.  There are a lot of people in this country in similar situations.  They worked hard, they did the right things, they are good people, yet they lost their job, their homes and their savings.  My guess is they have a few friends who probably sit there beside them and say "well, there must have been something that you did wrong to cause this to happen?!"  Again, with friends like this who needs enemies?

Where's the uplifting part in all of this?  It has to do with how we respond.  In the question and answer part of Disciple Bible Study is this statement:

"The Christian Disciple knows that suffering causes a person to choose bitterness or creativity."   

Now add this from 2 Corinthians 5:

"Cheerfully, pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we can aim to do, regardless of our conditions."

Ah ha!  Is the glass half full or half empty?  How do I respond to what is going on around me?  Am I able to respond with hope, faith and love or do I respond with anger, frustration and bitterness? And as a Christian, regardless of my circumstances, can I still find a way to serve?  Can I cheerfully please God regardless of my condition?  

I'll be honest, my initial response when something goes wrong tends to fall on the half empty side.  (Told ya I wasn't perfect!)  After I calm down a bit, I can start seeing the half full side but it takes some time!  My husband on the other hand is the eternal optimist!  It takes an awful lot for him to flip to the half empty side!  That's why he is so good for me because he makes me look for the blessings in disguise and try to find the silver lining! 

I do think there is a lesson here for each of us personally.  Initially, anger and frustration can spur you on to make changes.  But anger long lived, leads to bitterness and bitterness shuts down creativity.  If you can't get beyond focusing on what you have lost, it's tough to look at what you have left and figure out a way to use it differently and creatively!  You plod along in the same ole way, do the same ole thing and as a result nothing changes!

Ya know, I know a lot of very smart people who got some very cool degrees in very specific fields who have never worked a day in their life in that chosen field!  Yet, they have been very successful doing other things!  Each and every one of us has untapped potential.  So maybe you didn't train in a certain field, so what?!  Are you passionate about it?  Do you have gifts and abilities that would allow you to do the job?  Then why sell yourself short?  Why not take those God given talents and find a new way to use them? 

This also applies to serving others as well!  Do you see a need in your church or community?  Sort of a big gaping hole that seems so obvious to you but yet, nothing is being done about it?  Why not take that passion and energy and creativity and come up with a plan!  Or maybe, there is a need, there is a program but you are not involved yet.  You may be exactly the person they need!  You may not feel that you have a lot to offer but take the leap anyway!  You might find that volunteering is the toughest job you'll ever love and in the process you may find a gift that you have always had but never noticed! 

Trouble comes.  Bad things happen to good people.  How you respond can make all of the difference.  It's normal to be angry and frustrated to begin with but the key is to choose the path of creativity over the path of bitterness.  Is the glass half full or half empty?  My darling friends, if you are on the half empty side I pray that today is the day that you choose to look at the half full side!  I pray that today you focus on what you have rather than what you have lost.  I pray that you choose to serve regardless of your circumstances.  I pray that you choose to tap in to your God given creativity!  Today is your day!  Rejoice and be glad!