July | 2013 | itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for July, 2013

A Hidden Treasure?

Posted in WONDER, tagged 1 Peter 1:3-4., 2 Corinthians 5:17., a hidden treasure?, furniture renewal, made new, Psalm 139, redeemed, Redemption on July 18, 2013| 1 Comment »

When you look at the photos on this page, what do you see?

a. an old piece of junk?

b. a desk that has seen better days?

c. a piece of furniture with no good use?

d. a hidden treasure?

As my son and I were driving down the road the other day, I noticed this purple monster at the end of someone’s lane-way, placed there as the weekly garbage. I was already braking as I passed, in preparation for my abrupt u-turn just meters down the road.

I pulled into the lane, and smiled broadly at my son, who rolled his eyes, smiled back, and stated, “I figured” as he was opening his door, knowing that his growing biceps would be soon put to use.

A sign declaring ‘FREE’ was on the ground beside it, blown off by the gentle summer breeze.

The desk appeared upon first observation to be structurally sound, terribly dusty, and … purple. I quickly discarded those immediate observations for the ones my imagination was dreaming up … cleaned, freshly painted, and sitting in my loft … a place for me to sit and write, without the warming on my legs from my archaic laptop.

And so, my faithful son assisted me as I lifted it into the back of our van. Then assisted me to remove it from the van once home again.

As of bedtime it has been washed inside and out, sanded, and primed with a delightful ‘gripping’ primer (it grabs to any surface, even without sanding). Tomorrow begins the painting (not purple), and the fulfilling of my dream of the beauty I see under the dust, dirt and purple paint, in my minds eye. Tomorrow I plan to bring the beauty that I know exists, just under the surface, out with the eyes and hands of one who desires to redeem what first appeared as trash, into the treasure that it’s original builder had in mind.

This is how God as the original builder and creator, sees us. He knows fully the beauty, possibility and value that is beneath our selfishness, bruises, scars and sin. And it is He who redeems … cleans, makes new, purifies. It is the blood of His Son, not paint, that covers over the sins of our lives, and makes us as new … as we were always intended to be.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13-14

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,”
1 Peter 1:3-4

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Cleansing

Posted in WONDER, tagged cleansing, cry, release, revelation 21:4, Tears, what are little girls made of, Women on July 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

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Men and women are so different!
(and this is news?)

Men just do not get us!
(duh!)

Remember the little childhood poem :

“What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That’s what little boys are made of !”

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all things nice
That’s what little girls are made of!”

I’d like to modify the ‘little girls’ part …

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and teary cries
That’s what little girls are made of!

We females cry …

we cry when we are sad, we cry when we are happy,

we cry when we remember, we cry when we look to the future,

we cry when we are hungry, and when we are full,

we cry when we are with friends, and when we are all alone,

we cry when we laugh hysterically, we cry when we are spitting mad

we just cry.

What is misunderstood by the testosterone-filled gender, is the fact that we do not choose to cry (certainly there are those who turn the waterworks on and off like the garden hose, but those are the manipulating few). Most often, for most women, the tears flow naturally … as if estrogen is the main ingredient! When the tears fall, the result is not simply wet cheeks, the main result (as if this was the plan to begin with, by our Creator) is that we females feel better. Oh, the thing that brought on the tears may still exist, but the pressure that had built up prior to the dam bursting is relieved, and we can breathe again.

Revelation 21:4 tells us that, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” This verse does not tell us that He will stop the tears from flowing, but that will wipe them … with a tender, loving wipe of our Father’s hand. He will comfort, He will console, He will empathize.

God ‘gets’ tears, He understands the pressure that builds up in the tear ducts of a woman … that is how He made us. That is how He wanted us to respond as we walk this Earthly existence where leaking from our eyes is how we survive the realities of this world.

Tissue anyone?

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Purging

Posted in WONDER, tagged cleaning, craigslist, Heart, matthew 6:19-21, purging, riches, selling, stuff, treasure on July 16, 2013| 2 Comments »

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There is something ever so delightful in purging. To rid our lives of ‘stuff’ that we no longer use or want seems to clean and tidy, not just our homes, but our heads.

A number of weeks ago I wrote about how I love Craigslist, having sold and purchased many items, just in the past two months.

This weekend was another of purging.

A well-loved, well-used trampoline from the back yard … with a sixteen inch rip down the middle. Every time I would look at that trampoline, covered in the tree needles and sticks that has fallen over the past three or four years, I had this ‘unfinished’ feeling. I knew that either had to spend the time and money to purchase a new trampoline top, or get rid of it. We decided to get rid of it. So, on the weekend, it got picked up by a young man who was planning to get it for his sister’s young kids (there were about a dozen responses to this free, ripped trampoline … maybe I should have asked for money for it). Now I look at the empty space it used to occupy … and smile. Another successful purging of the unneeded.

A container of ‘clear coat’ from the garage … never opened. Years ago, hubby and I decided to coat our concrete front stairs with a faux granite topping. I spent many, many, many hours slapping the granite onto the steps. It looked really nice, but we got busy and never got the clear coat onto the top to seal the ‘granite’ in place (and the way my hard work has chipped off would indicate how very important that clear coat is). So, just two days after posting it for sale, it was purchased and picked up. One less can to occupy the paint shelves in the garage.

Then an email late at night from a lady who is interested in the duvet cover and matching bed shirt. These used to cover our daughter’s bed, for a number of years, when she was switching from ‘little girl’ bedroom decor, to teen. Oh, I hope this lady will purchase them, and give me more space in my linen closet!

All of this purging reminds me of how many unused items occupy my (our) home(s). It also reminds me of how much more free of an existence a life with less can be.

Each time something leaves our home, I feel as though I breathe more easily, and I find myself looking around my home asking the question, “what else can we get rid of?” (this makes hubby feel rather uneasy).

Maybe it is a good question. Maybe it is a question that needs to be re-phrased, and asked with more pondering before we purchase it in the first place.

It reminds me of the following verse :

““Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth,
where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal.
Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven,
where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal.
For your heart will always be where your riches are.”
Matthew 6:19-21

So, maybe the question we need to ask is actually, where are your riches leading your heart?

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Echos in the Wishing Well – Repost

Posted in life, women, WONDER, tagged Beauty, echos, females, snow white, value, wish, wishing well, Women, worth on July 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Since I did not get writing yesterday AND I slept in, today is a repost of a previously published post.

It was the first one to come to my mind, since I have noticed that it has been viewed a bit over the past couple of weeks.

Although this post was directed at one particular young lady, it is applicable to most females, as we all have days, and seasons when we are particularly hard on ourselves, and we miss out on the gift that we are created to be.

“Want to know a secret?
Promise not to tell?
We are standing by a wishing well.
Make a wish into the well,
that’s all you have to do
and if you hear it echoing.
Your wish will soon come true.”
Snow White

Since I started to read blogs, and write my own, I have gotten to know such a great and growing group of writers. Some are far away, and some are quite nearby.

One such blogger lives nearby. She is a delightful, honest, passionate writer. She shares her heart, not in a guarded way, but fully, truthfully. She is more than half my age, and she inspires me to be as transparent as she. I love to read of her experiences and her feelings about whatever is going on in her life.

I recently was reading a truthful post of hers, and it made me cry.

Her post was a post of her wishes, her deepest desires. Wishes that her physical body was different. Wishes that her spiritual walk was different. Wishes that her social life was different. Wishes that her future life’s direction was clear to her. Wishes, wishes, wishes.

This post made my eyes leak, because I understood each and every wish on her list (with just a few details changed). Some of her wishes were ones I shared with her, when I was her age. Many were wishes that I have had throughout my life, since puberty. Her wishes were ones that we females share with each other. They bind us together in our insecurities around life and living, around our rejection and acceptance of ourselves.

So, I want this to be a message to my blogger friend. I wish that for all females who read my words, may they echo in the wishing wells of your lives.

I wish for you …
that you could see how beautiful you are … inside and out. You have eyes that shine with a passion for life, and for your life-giver. You have friends who back you up, who wrap their arms around you, who walk through joys and struggles with you. I wish that you could see that your size is not as important as your presence. I wish that you could know that the numbers on the scale are not as important as you think … I wish you knew that YOU are more than a number! I wish that you could see that the habits you want to rid yourself of, also give you room for learning perseverance, struggle, strength and success … I wish you knew how how this hard work will give you ways to help others, in their own struggles, in the future. I wish you knew that God hears your heart when you sing, and it is a most beautiful sound to His ears. I wish there was a way to convince you that you do not need a boyfriend, a date for grad … but that wish you have is part of who you are, and, one day, he will arrive … he is just not ready for you yet. I wish you knew that in just a few weeks, those outstanding assignments will not matter.

You are loved, you are cherished, you are awesome … you couldn’t be better!

Oh, and did you know that your name has an ‘i’ in it? But it is a capital ‘I’.

My dear blogger friend, may my words echo, not just in a wishing well, but in your heart as well.

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Sunday Morning Story

Posted in WONDER, tagged conspiracy theories, healing, liz curtis higgs, story telling, sunday morning story, the sick woman on July 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I love a story, and it is even better when it is read to you.

There are times when I think that I should work in an elementary school, just so that story-telling would be part of my every day (NOT! There is NOTHING that could lure me to work in an elementary school).

The guest post for today comes from author and speaker Liz Curtis Higgs, whose home page says, “welcome to the forgiven life” … ahhhhhh, what a great introduction!

When I opened my email and read her story of the woman who touched the robe of Jesus, I felt like I was there, like I was a spectator to the event, like I was part of this story of faith.

Each of the gospels that tells the story gives little detail of what happened, and yet each gives the most important details, and Liz draws out the significance of each, making the story come alive in the heart and mind of the reader.

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Here is your Sunday Morning Story:

”

Let me tell you a story.

Come with me to the first century, to Capernaum, a fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee—a lake, actually, and a beautiful one, surrounded by low hills.

This is the town Jesus called home as an adult: “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake” (Matthew 4:13). A place of miracles and healings. A sacred place.

I visited there once. Took shelter from the rain beneath a grove of olive trees. Wept at the nearness of Jesus. Taught the stories of biblical women while standing amid the synagogue ruins. Two thousand years ago we would have found Jesus there, “teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum” (John 6:59).

If you love maps and chronologies, or simply long to know when and where such stories in the Gospels take place, check out this incredible timeline that walks you through the life of Christ, year by year, miracle by miracle.

In Capernaum we’ll meet someone who doesn’t just talk about her faith—she walks out her faith, and in doing so captures what it means to “Embrace Faith.”

A woman was there… Mark 5:25

A woman. No name. No age. Could be any of us.

Jesus has just arrived on the lake shore, where a large crowd gathers around him, pressing him from every side. When you’re a miracle worker, everyone wants a piece of you.

Our woman is “among them” (CJB), “in the crowd” (CEV), hoping no one recognizes her. She’s come a long way to see this man. Thirty miles, some scholars say—a great distance for a woman who is not only unclean but unwell.

…who had been subject to bleeding… Mark 5:25

I gasped the first time I read this story as a new believer. Are we talking about that kind of bleeding? In the Bible? Yes. Call it what you will—“a flow of blood” (AMP), “a hemorrhage” (CJB), “the bloody flux” (WYC)—this is every woman’s nightmare. An endless period. Not just one week a month, but every week of every month, she “suffered…with constant bleeding” (NLT).

…for twelve years. Mark 5:25

Twelve. Years.

Add a dozen years to your current age. Imagine bleeding nonstop from now until then. No, no, no.

This unnamed woman has earned our sympathy in a matter of words. The pain, the shame, the hygiene issues, the anemia, the exhaustion.

Desperate for relief, she did what we all would likely do. She sought earthly help first.

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors… Mark 5:26

Are we reading this right? The doctors increased her suffering? Sadly, that’s what every English translation tells us. She “endured many things under many physicians” (LEB), who “treated her, and treated her badly” (MSG).

Not only is her body bleeding; her bank account has been bled dry as well.

…and had spent all she had,… Mark 5:26

Bless her, she “spent everything” (CEB), “her life savings” (CJB), “all the money she had” (NIRV). So, she is not only living with pain, she is also living in poverty.

And if all that isn’t heartbreaking enough…

…yet instead of getting better she grew worse. Mark 5:26

I can’t bear it, can you? Her health is shattered, her money is gone, and she’s worse now than she was before. But she has not lost her grip on hope.

This is what makes her story so remarkable. She doesn’t give up on God. She doesn’t, at least in the biblical record, question God. She doesn’t abandon her faith, even though her world appears to be falling apart. She still believes.

Faith is all she has left. And faith is all she will need.

Many of us struggle daily—with health concerns, money woes, loneliness, family drama, mounting fears—wondering why God hasn’t delivered us from our misery. If he can end it, why doesn’t he do so right now?

Anyone who thinks they have an answer to this question is making stuff up. We cannot speak for God. We cannot explain why he acts or does not act. What we can do is trust him, put our hope in him, and seek his face.

Here’s what that looks like.

When she heard about Jesus,… Mark 5:27

You know he was the talk of the Galilee. All those healings? All those miracles? Our girl “heard the reports” (AMP). She kept her ear to the ground. She kept her heart open to the possibility. And when the news reached her corner of the world, she made tracks for Jesus Town.

…she came up behind him in the crowd… Mark 5:27

This is very descriptive. She didn’t just walk up to him. She came from behind, where she could see him, but he couldn’t see her. Why? Because she’s a bleeding woman. She really shouldn’t be out in public, where someone might brush against her.

The rules for women during their monthlies were very strict: “anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening” (Leviticus 15:19).

The one thing no one wants to do is touch her, or have her touch them.

That’s why she approaches him from behind “under cover of the crowd” (MSG). She’s hoping she can snag a miracle, then make a run for it, with no one the wiser—least of all him.

This woman who isn’t supposed to touch anyone is about to break the Law.

…and touched his cloak, Mark 5:27

Whether you call it his “garment” (ASV), his “clothes” (CEB), or his “robe” (NLT), it’s his outer clothing, the first thing her fingers could reach.

And she must be bending down, nearly crawling on all fours, because the way Matthew 9:20 tells it, she touches the “hem” (KJV), the “fringe” (NASB), the “bottom of his coat” (NLV). Perhaps she feels unworthy of touching his sleeve or his shoulder. Or perhaps she just doesn’t want to be discovered.

Here’s what matters most: she has the faith to reach out in the first place. She believes the Lord has the power to heal her.

because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Mark 5:28

She thought. She believed. She trusted. And because of that she reached. She put her faith in motion.

Truth is, she did so miles ago when she left the safety of her home and started out for Capernaum. It was a walk of faith on the outside, yet a leap of faith on the inside.

Too often we base our faith on how we feel. A better measure is how we act, what we do. This is what James 2:17 is trying to get across: “If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.”

She knew exactly the outcome she wanted and she believed with all her heart it was possible. This thought of hers must have rolled over and over in her mind: “I shall be made whole” (ASV), “I shall be restored to health” (AMP), “I’ll be made well!”” (HCSB)

It is right and good to pray for faith. Then it’s time to move. Stretch out our hands. That’s when miracles happen.

Immediately her bleeding stopped… Mark 5:29

She didn’t just feel better; “her flow of blood was dried up at the source” (AMP). Hallelujah!

…and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. Mark 5:29

Even more than a physical kind of “feeling,” this was a spiritual awareness. “She knew she was well” (CEV). Imagine it! All the burdens she brought with her are gone in an instant. No more pain, no more shame, and no more blood.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. Mark 5:30

Uh-oh. She’s not the only one who noticed this seismic change. Jesus sensed it too. This miracle took place in the spiritual realm—her faith, his power—yet both of them felt it in the physical realm. Blood stopped. Energy flowed. Zap.

He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” Mark 5:30

Right about now our girl’s stomach must be tied in a knot. He knows. Even though he’s asking a question, she can see he already has the answer. He turned around, didn’t he? He’s looking for her. He knows.

Alas, the duh-sciples do not know. They usually don’t. A miracle occurs right in front of them, and they miss it. We do the same, all day long, usually because we’re looking in the wrong direction. Or thinking too much about ourselves.

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” Mark 5:31

Bless them. They are clueless here. You can almost hear a faint note of scolding in their words, or at the very least, incredulity. “Look at how many people are pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” (NCV)

Jesus doesn’t let their lack of faith slow him down. He’s too busy eyeballing the crowd.

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Mark 5:32

She could have avoided his gaze, crawled away, kept her healing to herself. But those are cowardly acts, and faith always requires a measure of courage.

She walked many miles. She stretched out her hand. This is her third act of faith: she throws herself at his feet.

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet… Mark 5:33

This is so brave. After all, she’s just stolen a miracle. Jesus might take it back, if such a thing could be done. She might start bleeding again. The crowd might stone her for breaking the Law. Who knew how this might end?

No wonder she’s frightened. And yet, she speaks to him—another act of faith.

…and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. Mark 5:33

We can see her shaking all over as she confesses “the whole story” (ERV) to Jesus. What exactly does she tell him? Leave it to Dr. Luke to fill in the blanks for us: “In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed” (Luke 8:47).

Ah. Her faith is so strong, she holds back nothing. I believed. I touched. I was healed.

He said to her, “Daughter,…” Mark 5:34

Hit the pause button. This is too big not to mention. It’s the only time Jesus addresses a woman as “Daughter,” and it’s this woman. This ostracized, unclean, don’t-get-anywhere-near-her woman. He’s telling everyone in the crowd, “She’s family. She’s one of us. She’s mine.”

And then he tells her something amazing.

…“your faith has healed you.” Mark 5:34

We know the power went out from him. So, didn’t he heal her? Yes, but…she had to reach out, believing it would happen.

For years I struggled with the fact that she touched his garment, breaking the Law of Moses to do so. And then one day it hit me: if her faith was part of the miracle, then when she stretched out her hand, she was already healed.

The threads of that garment had nothing to do with her being made well. The power of Jesus passed right through that fabric and met her where she was, crouched down behind him in the crowd.

When he tells her, “you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole” (MSG), that’s not just for her sake. All the people pressing against him need to hear it too. It’s as if he is saying, This is how it works, people. This is what faith looks like.

His last word to her is a sweet benediction.

“Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Mark 5:34

Shalom. Peace. It’s a freedom like no other.

I was in the midst of working on this week’s study when an email appeared that could only have been prompted by the Holy Spirit. Ruth Ann, a seven-year breast cancer survivor, wrote, “I am thankful for each day I have. I was scared to death at first, but God gave me peace.”

Isn’t that what we all long for? Not the absence of troubles, but peace in the midst of them.

Ruth Ann shared the whole truth, just like our woman in Capernaum: “I realized that God was in control, not me. God was and is with me.”

There it is. The big aha. The two things you need to know in life:

God is in control. God is with you.

Peace.

Now, it’s your turn:

I’ve held your many comments close to my heart all week, wishing I had the right words of comfort or counsel. Then I realized that it isn’t words you need: it’s Jesus, the living Word.

And so I pray that he makes himself known to you this week, and that you will hear his voice and sense his presence and know you are loved, whatever you’ve done or not done, and wherever you find yourself at the moment.

I do hope you’re reading Embrace Grace, since the material here on my blog is, by intent, completely different (who wants to read the same thing twice?). Also, I long for you to get all the encouragement you need, and all the grace God has prepared for you.

I’ll share my own brief answers to this week’s questions. Then might you choose one and offer a response? Sometimes by putting our thoughts on screen, we discover what our next step should be. I’ll be praying for each of you by name as I read your comments.

What does “faith in God” mean to you?
Trusting him with my past, present, and future. Believing his Word is true. Knowing his love is boundless. Embracing the gift of his grace. Not demanding evidence of his existence, because I already see his handiwork everywhere I turn.
If you imagined Jesus looking at you, what might you see in his eyes?
Love, because I’m his. Sorrow, because he bore all my sins. Compassion, because, despite my huge flaws, he knows how much I long to please him. Mercy, because he understands how desperately I need his forgiveness and his strength.
Since we cannot physically look upon the Lord’s face, then where do we turn to “see” him?
His Word, first and foremost. Music that glorifies him. Messages filled with his truth. The beauty of his creation. The kindness of his people. The innocent faces of children. The love of family and close friends.

Praying for you this day, beloved.

Your sister, Liz

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Influence

Posted in WONDER, tagged 1 Corinthians 13, Childhood, Christ, Hebrews 11, Influence, sunday school on July 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Cubes - 379 - INFLUENCE

Influence can be good or bad … lets consider the good.

Who has influenced you?

Who has changed your life?

What you do …

What you say …

How you think …

How you live …

There are many in my life who have influenced me for good. My parents, other family members, friends along the way, teachers, my hubby, my children.

One of the events, the other day, was that the youth pastor of our church was taking our son out for lunch, and it reminded me of a person who influenced me as a teen of about the same age as my son.

I did not grow up as a ‘church kid’ who was marinated in the things of that institution from conception onward. I went to Sunday School, and to the summer DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible School) programs, but I did not know the ins and the outs of church life (some days I see that as a blessing … after all, we church people are so very human).

What I did know about church came from my own observations … old women had VERY hairy legs, my grandmother sang like Lucille Ball, do NOT run in the sanctuary, and that church is a place where you get cookies and juice (truly, feeding my sugar-cravings was the way to ensure I came back).

The most important learning I received at church came from my Sunday School teacher when I was in middle school.

Beth was a lovely, loving lady. Not a nasty word was ever spoken from her mouth, and she greeted each of us with a warm, welcoming and sincere embrace. She was a wife of a pig farmer, and mother to two little boys. They did not have much money, yet her eyes glittered with more joy than any other person I knew. She loved us all equally, whether we were a ‘church kid’ or just some kid from the community who was brought faithfully to Sunday School each and every week.

In Beth’s presence I felt cared for, accepted, and loved far beyond what I expected from someone who was not family. It was the way that Beth loved me, loved all the girls in that class, that made me see the possibilities of a life with Jesus as the model. And, for me, Beth was that model of Christ’s love for me.

She shared of her life as a believer in Christ, she shared of her life as a wife, as a mom. She held nothing back when she shared of her own experiences in those roles.

She lived the life of being patient and kind, she did not envy, or boast, and was not proud. She did not dishonor others, and was not self-seeking, easily angered, and kept no record of wrongs. She did not delight in evil but rejoiced with the truth. She always protected, always trusted, always hoped, always persevered.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

In her Sunday School class, Beth taught … from the Bible. My most long lasting memory is a continuing lesson on faith, that was rooted in:

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

The teaching of that lesson … teaching about hope, teaching about faith influenced my life even until today. And she communicated love in the most consistent of ways.

I am thankful for this sister-in Christ, who influenced me so significantly.

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Church is for the Weak

Posted in WONDER, tagged 2 Corinthians 12, Church, church is for the weak, forgiven, John 3:16 on July 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

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Church is for the weak …

It is a sentence, a belief, an experience …

a truth.

I have no problem with owning up to that statement as reality for me, personally. I have no problem telling others that I go to church, that I believe in the crucified, dead and buried Christ who also rose on the third day, and that He is coming again …

because I am weak.

I have the hereditary disease called sin. It affects every part of who I am, and how I live. It is a guaranteed death sentence.

It may not have been me (or you) who said yes to that fruit of the tree in the garden (if it was an apple, and if it was me who was tempted, I would have said yes even more quickly than Eve), but we still carry the genetic markers for sin, because we still make mistakes, we still mess things up, we still say and do ridiculous things … we still die.

John 3:16 states, “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” You see I … we, were all conceived into sin, all conceived with a destiny with an end. But Christ came, just as the perfect young lambs that were slaughtered in the Old Testament stories. It was through the sacrifice of this spotless lamb, in the form of Jesus, that our sins were erased … our life here on Earth had a purpose … that eternal life was made available.

That does not mean that we have it all together. Every breath we take provides yet another opportunity to sin all over again, but, in the eyes of our Creator, that sin was erased … before we even thought about it.

I recently read the following:

“Satan knows our names, and calls us by our sins,

Christ knows our sins, and calls us by His name.”

I am a sinner, but, through the grace of God, I am cleansed of that sin by the blood sacrifice of His Son.

I am weak, but God’s grace is greater!

And it is in church where I am reminded, regularly, that the prescription for my weakness has been paid for, administered, and it is a once and for all application.

“Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

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The Magical Power of Getting Messy

Posted in WONDER, tagged chances, dirty, Ecclesiastes 9:10, get messy, hard work, make mistakes, ms. frizzle, physical work, renovations on July 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“Time to take chances, make mistakes, get messy,” said Ms. Frizzle every day in our house, when the kids were younger.

I wonder who learned Ms. Frizzle’s motto better, the kids, or me?

For the past week and a half I have been living her motto, although not in the area of Science, but the area of home renovations. This is always a perfect way for me to start my summer break. I have the opportunity to get creative, and to get projects that have been taking up head space done and filed away.

This year I started with the room our ‘faux daughter’ (International student) occupied for the past two years. She is off to a different school, in a different city in the fall, so all of her belongings were moved out … then the work began. Furniture moved out and sold (thank-you craigslist), walls needed to be washed, sticky ‘stuff’ scrubbed away, nails removed, paint touched up, ceiling re-oiled, and edges of the carpet cleaned. Once it was all clean and fresh, hubby moved his office furniture in, so as to have a private place to work, as he often works from home.

Then the pièce de résistance, the remodel of the basement bedroom into a new, more private (for she and we …) space for our almost twenty-one year old (is that really possible?).

I started with the very outdated bathroom. The cabinet (as old as our thirty’ish year old home) got a fresh coat of paint, as did the walls and door. Still to come is a new sink and toilet, then a really good floor scrubbing!

Next was the bedroom. The carpet was rolled up (to be moved into the room our daughter will be vacating), as was the under-pad. The walls cleaned, cracks filled, floor swept. Then the primer and paint were applied to the walls, and now the floor is littered with baseboards and moldings that will be installed after the laminate.

Each day ends, and I am dirtier, more messy than the day before. I haul my tired butt up the stairs, scrub all of my 2000 body parts, then fall into bed, where I drift off to an exhausted, dreamless sleep-land. Then I awake the next morning, feeling the presence of more muscles than I ever thought I had before, and do it all over again.

And I love it!

I get to create.

I get to redeem the old, the broken, the ugly.

I get to bring life to the dull, the faded, the hidden.

I get to spend my hours listening to music and speakers whose messages speak into my tired heart, mind and soul.

I get to feel real, well-earned, physical fatigue.

I get to get messy … then see the difference that a good cleaning will do (after-all cleanliness IS next to godliness, right?).

As I awoke the other day, I realized how very rested, how very revived and refreshed I felt from this process. Perhaps more of us should try ‘getting messy’ when the stuff of life takes over our thoughts and sleep.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might”
Ecclesiastes 9:10

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False Appearance

Posted in WONDER, tagged dead bones, dragonfly, Ezekiel 37, false appearance, god's decree, inner on July 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

One day last summer I captured, in the picture above, a dragonfly on one of my hydrangea flowers. I have to say, it is a great picture, full of color and light and life. It is not everyday that amateurs like me have such an opportunity to take such a beautiful photo (the photographers reading this would undoubtedly not see it as technically beautiful).

There is only one problem with this photo … it is a fake!

You see, the day I took this photo the hydrangeas were looking spectacular, and so I walked over to them to get a closer look at their beauty. It was when I got to a particular plant that I noticed something laying on the landscape tie below the blooms. What was lying there was a dragonfly … a beautiful, marvelous dragonfly … which was dead. So, I gently lifted the dragonfly and placed it on the flower.

What appeared to be so real, so beautiful, so full of life, was actually dead.

As Christians we can be so much like that dragonfly.

We do all that we should.

We look so good on the outside.

Our appearance draws others to us.

But, we are lifeless, dead on the inside.

Just like the dragonfly that I placed on the hydrangea, placing us in this beautiful creation does not change the fact that we are withering on the inside.

Although there was no hope for the dragonfly, there is much hope for us.

Ezekiel 37 tells us:

‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’
“Therefore, prophesy.
Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says:
I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people!
Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel.
When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people,
you’ll realize that I am God.
I’ll breathe my life into you and you’ll live.
Then I’ll lead you straight back to your land and you’ll realize that I am God.
I’ve said it and I’ll do it.
God’s Decree.’”

“God’s Decree” … I think what was really meant was ‘pinky swear.’

He says it, and He will do it … now, the first step is to realize that He is God.

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Sequestered

Posted in WONDER, tagged camp, christian camp, Learning, romans 12:2, sequestered, study, transformed on July 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

sequestered – kept separated and secluded (freedictionary.com)

The idea of being sequestered was central to how I spent this past Saturday.

Our daughter is off at a Christian camp, but she is not a camper this time, she is a C. I. T. (counselor in training).

I knew it would be good when she will filling out all of the paperwork necessary for her application into the C. I. T. program. There was the standard application forms to fill in, along with medical forms, activity checklist, three written references, a statement of faith questionnaire, as well as a telephone interview.

She got the nod that she was accepted, followed by a weekend of service to the camp in early June, from which she returned with more paperwork to fill out, as well as assignments and devotionals to complete before she returned at the end of June, for two weeks of study and learning, followed by an exam, then a week of assisting in the cabins. If all goes well she will return in August for a week of having her very own cabin of kids to oversee (with assistance).

All last week I received notes requesting that I come to visit her at the camp. With each note I had felt as though I could see her grow, much like an adolescent growing taller during a growth spurt. But this growth was not in height, it was growth and development in her understanding and knowledge of the Bible.

Upon seeing her and hearing of her first week at camp, I realized that, although this sort of growth was possible in any time and place, it was especially significant when it was part of a time of seclusion, separation, sequestering. She had times of learning, times of prayer, times of worship, times of study, incorporated as priorities in her daily schedule. She did not have to ‘squeeze’ these important practices into her days, they were part of the framework, part of the foundation of her daily schedule so that it would be accomplished.

I am eager to see how this learning opens her eyes to all that God has for her, to all that He has planned for her life.

May we all have, and take, the opportunity to be sequestered, if just for a day, to be transformed.

“Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2

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