itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for 2019

More than Words

Posted in Love, WONDER, tagged #iloveyou, #loveoneanother, #refinedbyloveandrefinedtolove, #sayiloveyou on August 8, 2019| 1 Comment »

There are numerous things that get harder as we age, but I am learning that there is one thing that can actually get easier.

I thought of this recently, when saying good-bye to a friend. As I spoke the words, I realized how they easily rolled off my tongue, how much more often I speak them and how saying them now comes with little requirement to hear them back.

Just three little words, yet, they come forth with ease, meaning and a burning need to speak them … now, while I can.

I love you

I am not certain of when it happened, or why, but those three words have been falling out of my mouth, in increasing frequency. Though they are words that have often been shared with my family, I have sensed a need to speak them to others … and not for the purpose of hearing them echoed back in my own ears … but simply because I need to hear myself affirming those around me that they are loved … that loved is how I define them.

As I think about it, I think that maybe God has been working on my heart.

All of our lives is a constant refining process. We begin deeply loved by our Creator. He loves us, just as we are, even though we are saturated by sin. But, he doesn’t leave us to decay from sin, he works within us to purify and refine us, purging us of what can destroy us, even though it might hurt for awhile.

As I look back I can see evidence of that refining process. Those times that left me crying out for help, for relief. Those times when all I could say was why? Those times when the life hurt, when loneliness was great, when I didn’t have any answers.

No one wants to be refined, but we all want the results of the refining process.

Through refining we become a combination of harder and softer. We become more aware of our reliance on God. We become more aware of who God places in our lives.

We become more aware that our need is greater to give love than to receive it … and that in giving it, we receive it.

Love is the tool as well as the product of the refining process of God in us. As he works through us, our weakness to truly love is exactly what he uses to refine us, strengthening us to love others … not in our strength, but in his.

“If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2b)

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other.” (Romans 13:8)

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12)

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Redemption

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #redeemedbytheblood, #redeemedpeople, Redemption on August 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

To redeem is to save, to buy back, to make new. It always requires something of someone else for redemption to be complete.

If I want to make lemonade out of lemons, I’ve gotta add sugar.

If I want to reduce the price of an item I am purchasing, I have to hand in the coupon (redeem it).

If I love an old piece of furniture, but it is in rough shape, I will need to either pay someone, or refinish it myself.

Redemption = Effort/Cost

Redemption is more than making lemonade out of lemons. It is also foundational and the solitary solution for the reality of sin.

If someone were to ask me what the Bible is about in one word, I would say redemption.

Humankind, through the acts of the hands and heart of Adam and Eve, have inherited the sin that covers everything in our world and life. It taints our lives with an ink-like blot that stains our lives … past, present and future.

Really, sin is like one inheriting a genetically-caused blood disorder. The one who inherits it has done nothing to deserve it. The disorder is simply handed down, from parent to child. There is nothing that the parent can do to remove it, there is nothing the child can do, to rid oneself of the disorder. The only solution is a blood transfusion. Another party, though, can donate their blood, and through a blood exchange transfusion, the infected blood is replaced with the blood of the third party … saving the child.

To be redeemed, or saved, from sin (and the shame that accompanies it), a cost must be paid, an effort must be made.

This time, it takes more than just a needle in a blood vessel, this takes the very life from the third party. This is that act of redemption … the redeemer gives his very life for the disorder of sin that the infected one (and all of us who are unwittingly infected, through our birth). His selfless act saves, forgives and atones for the disorder of sin we have inherited.

The redemption of our us, from our sins is the greatest act of forgiveness, for our sins are not just forgiven, but they are also erased, wiped clean and our debt is paid by his blood.

Truly “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13) … and that was done for us.

“Oh redeemed, I’m redeemed, how I love to proclaim it
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb
Redeemed by His infinite mercy
His child, and forever, I am”

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The Sweet Life

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #donttakelifeforgranted, #takealookatyourlife, #thesweetlife on August 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever tried really sour candies? You know, the kind that makes your tongue roll back in your mouth and your lips pucker and your eyes squint. After having such a rude sour experience, tasting something sweet seems even more sweet, more enjoyable.

In Italian the sweet life is translated, la dolce vita. In contrast the sour life is translated la vita acida. Those translations make sense as I say them, for acida sounds so … acidic.

Contrasts such as sour and sweet make me think of the book of Ecclesiastes.

Recently, while on vacation, I sought out the following verse from Ecclesiastes, as it’s meaning kept echoing throughout our time away:

“On a good day, enjoy yourself;
On a bad day, examine your conscience.
God arranges for both kinds of days
So that we won’t take anything for granted.”
Ecclesiastes 7:14 MSG

Our vacation was day, after day, after day of good days. We heard good speakers, ate delicious foods, saw beautiful sights, walked in the sun and on the sand, caught up on the lives of friends, rested, laughed frequently, planned, dreamed and simply loved each other. It was pure delight.

It is a place we visit annually … but every year is not equally good.

Some years there are things that hinder the good of the day(s). Maybe we were particularly tired, or preoccupied, or ill, or not one with each other in a multitude of ways. Those are the the bad days.

I much prefer the good to the bad days. They simply feel so … good.

One reason that they feel so good is that I also know what it is to have bad days. Those days when we just do not connect, when our joy is drowned out by the dark and twisties of real, human life. When the beauty and blessing around us is shadowed by the other, darker side of human existence.

I love the reminder that Solomon gives us that “on a good day, enjoy yourself.” There is nothing said about feeling guilty when good comes our way, no condemnation for a day of blessings … just the instruction to experience it, for what it is … good … sweet! When la dolce vita is your experience of the day (or season) take joy in it!

Just a chapter later, seems to be affirmation of enjoying the sweet life:

“a man hath no better thing under the sun,
than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry”
(Ecclesiastes 8:15)

The line that follows intrigues me in that it contrasts the sweet life, with a bit of acid, “on a bad day, examine your conscience.” In this translation, examine is often replaced with consider, but in the Hebrew the verb is raah (pronounced raw-aw) and it means to see. So another way to read this line might be “on a bad day, take a look at your life.”

When things are bad, it can be a season to reflect on where our priorities are and a chance to rely on the faithfulness of God, in bad times of the past. We often learn and grow during sour times.

I hear Job (2:10) asking “”shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”

There is a harmony that is given when we experience both the sweet and sour, the good and bad. The good gives us energy for the bad, the bad gives us joy in the good. Having the experience of both reminds us to not take the good days for granted, but to be thankful for the times when life is sweet.

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Laverne, The Theologian

Posted in life, Walking with God, tagged #cantstaycoopeduphere, #gointoalltheworld, #lavernethetheologian, #sanctuary, #thegreatcommission on August 1, 2019| 2 Comments »

One of my favorite theologian’s name is Laverne.

She is female, I think. I do not know her age. I presume her to be Catholic. She is wise, and funny, and sarcastic (oh, how I do love sarcasm). She is not human. She is not even alive. She, my favorite theologian, is Laverne, one of the three gargoyles from the Disney movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (and the only one whose voice comes from a female).

Some of the things that she taught me are :

“… take it from an old spectator. Life’s not a spectator sport. If watchin’ is all you’re gonna do, then you’re gonna watch your life go by without ya.”

“these (physical) chains aren’t what’s holding you back”

“We just thought maybe you were made of somethin’ stronger.”

“Fly, my pretties! Fly, fly!”

But my favorite teaching from Laverne the theologian was, “nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever.” She says this to the bell ringer, Quasimodo, who had spent his life being ‘safe’ in his cathedral tower. Inside the walls of the church he had all he needed. He had friends (the gargoyles), he had food, and clothes, and … sanctuary. He was protected from the evils outside of the walls of Notre Dame.

But, was he living? Was he fulfilling his purpose?

It was not until Quasimodo left the sanctuary of his bell tower that he could taste and see what life among the living was like. It was in learning to risk, and love and lose that he learned that he had something to bring to the world, beyond the safety of his church walls.

For me, this lesson is one that I want to hold on to. I too enjoy the sanctuary of my church. But, it is in my leaving this place of sanctuary, that I bring what I have, in Christ, to the world. If I stay ‘cooped up (at church) here forever’ I then am not allowing God to use me, as his vessel through which he might speak to those yet to choose life with him.

When we, who profess the Christian faith, surround ourselves with only those who share our belief system, we have forgotten the words of Jesus:

“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15

This is the great commission, this is our commissioning, from Jesus, to take his word, his light into the world … it is why we are here, our purpose.

So, I challenge those of you (and me) who find sanctuar

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Laverne, the Theologian

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged Go Into All The World, Laverne, Life, Risk, Safe, Sanctuary, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Theologian, You Can't Stay Cooped Up Here Forever on August 1, 2019| 2 Comments »

One of my favorite theologian’s name is Laverne.

Some of the things that she taught me are :

“… take it from an old spectator. Life’s not a spectator sport. If watchin’ is all you’re gonna do, then you’re gonna watch your life go by without ya.”

“these (physical) chains aren’t what’s holding you back”

“We just thought maybe you were made of somethin’ stronger.”

“Fly, my pretties! Fly, fly!”

But, was he living? Was he fulfilling his purpose?

When we, who profess the Christian faith, surround ourselves with only those who share our belief system, we have forgotten the words of Jesus:

“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15

This is the great commission, this is our commissioning, from Jesus, to take his word, his light into the world … it is why we are here, our purpose.

So, I challenge those of you (and me) who find sanctuary in the walls of your cathedral, we can’t stay cooped up there forever.

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It’s a Beautiful Morning

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #anewday, #restforthenewday on July 30, 2019| 7 Comments »

I haven’t met many mornings that I didn’t immediately love.

I love the excitement of the sun rising, of a fresh new day (with no mistakes in it, as Anne of Green Gables would say), the fresh energy that courses through my body and the reminder of walking with God in the very beginning.

In Proverbs (8:17), we are told:

“I love them that love me:
and they that in the morning early watch for me,
shall find me.”

As my day begins, I am eager to connect with God.

For hubby … not so much, or, more specifically, not so early.

I am pretty certain that hubby has never and will never see God early on any morning. Just a few days ago, as we were listening to a speaker, he reminded us of another Proverb (27:14):

“A loud and cheerful greeting
early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!”

Hubby heard it too and raised his eyebrows at me … I think I am going to be hearing this verse quite a bit.

As we have been vacationing at the coast, going to sleep and awaking each day to the sounds of the surf and the seagulls, my love of mornings has reached new heights. I simply cannot wait to peek through the blinds to see the waves crashing against the sandy shore. Each morning here I rise with the song it’s A Beautiful Morning playing in my brain.

The aesthetic beauty here is awe inspiring and it provides ample opportunity for creativity, renewal and rejuvenation.

But it is that morning glow … of my soul, that awakens a part of me beyond the typical dawn. This is a benefit that comes from experiencing summer sabbath rest, away, in the midst of beauty, and solid teaching, and good friends, and good food. It is like having the freshness of a new day, on steroids.

The other day someone reminded me of something from the creation account, that I had not thought of, before. Adam and Eve were the end of God’s creation week activities, truly they/we are his pièce de résistance … his greatest work. The day following that human creation was the day of rest, the sabbath.

Before Adam and Eve had to work, they rested. Imagine how spectacular their first morning, after their sabbath, felt for them! It made me realize we do not rest to get over our day, but we rest, in preparation for the new day.

“It’s a beautiful morning
I think I’ll just go outside for awhile
And smile”

“Every morning
he makes me eager
to hear what he is going to teach me.”
Isaiah 50:4

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Father Love that Rescues

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged #fatherlovethatrescues, #godslove, #godspursuitofus, #laurendaigle, rescue on July 28, 2019| 2 Comments »

I have a great dad. He has been the best reflection of God the father that I could imagine, that I could need. Perfect? no, but perfect for me (one might think that was in the plans all along).

Recently hubby and I have been plowing through a show on Netflix called The Blacklist. We (and by ‘we’ I can at least confidently say ‘I’) are fully addicted. It is a violent crime drama that can leave one with might terrors. To give you a synopsis, without spoiling it, it is the story of an undercover FBI agency who, seek out the world’s most wanted, with the help of one who was the most wanted on the FBI list, himself (Red). He only works with one, brand new, inexperienced FBI agent (Lizzy). The parallel story to the crime fighting and criminal hunting is this relationship between Red and Lizzy and the mystery of Red’s need to be in her life. There is a hint to a parental connection, but …

Recently, as I was writing, the lyrics of a song were penetrating my concentration until I just had to stop writing and see those lyrics. To see them is to acknowledge that they are as we think we hear them, to acknowledge the truth of them. As I listened to the song Rescue (below) I had initially thought it is a song that should be used in an episode or season of the The Blacklist, for it’s message of one who, like a bodyguard, looks after those who they take full responsibility for.

Then …

I thought of our Father God, who does not slumber, but is always overseeing us, protecting us, rescuing us. We don’t even need to yell for help … just a whisper of SOS will bring his army to rescue us … even in the darkest night, the hardest fight.

CS Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity has said,

“His (God’s) love for us … is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.”

It is daunting to think that God is willing to wait for our SOS. For some, we come quietly to him, for others there is much kicking and screaming before we exhale in forfeit, maybe not even truly believing that rescue will come.

The idea that our Creator and Savior loves us throughout our lives, no matter the choices we make, the thoughts we think, the behaviors that we inflict on those around us … on ourselves is far beyond our human understanding. Add to that the fact that he took it to the point of the greatest self sacrifice … the sacrifice of his own child. That is God’s definition of Father love.

His pursuit of us is lifelong … that is the heart of our heavenly father. But he is a gentleman … and he will not force his ability and desire to rescue us, on us. We have to choose it.

Rescue – Lauren Daigle

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#differingisnothate

Posted in The Hubby, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #differingisnothate, #differingpointsofview, #loveoneanother on July 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Hubby and I … well, it is probably best said that opposites attract.

We have differing points of view on everything from coffee shops, to music, to movies, to politics, to child rearing, to chocolate (he says milk and I say dark). These different perspectives can leave us frustrated, angry and even with hurt feelings. What they don’t do is ignite hate for each other.

What we share together is far greater than on what we differ. Oh, the differing can be immensely challenging and even hurtful, but we share a life-guiding principle …

we love one another

The concept of loving one another came from the mouth and heart of Jesus, himself. It was while sitting around a table with his eleven (Judas had already stepped away … in more ways than just physically stepping away), that Jesus commanded them to love one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

This loving each other was as foreign a concept then, as it is now. Like today, when people eliminate or unfriend people who think differently than us, society in the time of Jesus was also more about about assimilation than about community or love.

The Matthew Henry Commentary (MHC), on this love one another passage says,

“Laws of revenge and retaliation were so much in vogue, and self-love had so much the ascendant (superiority), that the law of brotherly love was forgotten as obsolete and out of date; so that as it came from Christ new, it was new to the people.”

So when Jesus delivered this command (not a suggestion, but a command) it was counter culture, odd and new. It could have been dismissed completely had he not given them a model to follow … himself.

Jesus told them to love each other “as I have loved you.”

Each one sitting there, listening to him speak would know, by their experience and intimate knowledge of life with him, how high the bar was that Jesus had set for them.

As the MHC says, of his example of what it is to love one another:

“He spoke kindly to them, concerned himself heartily for them, and for their welfare, instructed, counselled, and comforted them, prayed with them and for them, vindicated them when they were accused, took their part when they were run down, and publicly owned them to be dearer to him that his mother, or sister, or brother. He reproved them for what was amiss, and yet compassionately bore with their failings, excused them, made the best of them, and passed by many an oversight. Thus he had loved them, and just now washed their feet; and thus they must love one another, and love to the end. “

This is what we are called to, as well.

None of this would have been a surprise to the disciples, anymore than it should be a surprise to us, today.

Jesus did not give up on his disciples. He did not unfriend, nor did he cease to love each and every one (Judas included), right up to the end … his end on the cross. For he died for us all, even if we do not choose to accept his leadership in our lives.

To differ does not have to mean that we hate. If we declare that we follow the example of Jesus, there is not place for hate if we are committed to love one another.

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Downcast?

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #asadeerpants, #downcast, #mysoullongsforyou, #psalm42 on July 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Like an unexpected, fast moving storm cloud, threatening to rain down torrents of water and even hail, I was growing increasingly disturbed within my soul.

It was a sunny, warm summer’s day, with nary a cloud in the sky, a demand on my time, yet …

I kept asking of myself,

why am I downcast?

I could think of a conversation that didn’t quite go the way I had hoped. I could think of situations in my life that were not where I desire them to be. But …

why such
disturbance within me?

As I asked the questions over and over, I realized they were questions asked by the Psalmist.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?”
Psalm 42:11a

Psalm 42 is one of the laments of the Psalms. These laments give us permission (maybe even direction) to be downcast, disturbed within our souls. They remind us that the human condition is not all wine and roses.

This particular lament from the Psalms is an interesting one, indeed. A song sung by the Sons of Korah, the descendants of those who died when the earth opened up and swallowed them for their dissension against Moses and Aaron’s leadership (Numbers 26:8-11). These musicians … they personally understood lament … but they also personally knew of God’s offering of grace and mercy.

David knew of these as well. His life was a testimony to the grace and mercy of the God who looked on him as a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

This Psalm, starts out so very peaceful, delightful.

“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.”

Then the lamenting continues for much of the following eleven verses, interspersed with acknowledgements of examples of when Gods protection and presence were keenly felt and experienced. It is as though there is this zigzag of self talk, or, in my imagination the Psalmist is dealing with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other, each fighting for the attention of downcast one.

Why am I downcast,
oh my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

I found the answer to my question the day following that downcast day. The Wonderdog and I went for a walk around out neighborhood. I have been discovering new trails this summer that go throughout wooded areas, where we are shaded from the sun and where the walk is more quiet, more relaxing. It was more hot than I realized and we were both soon hot and dehydrated.

When we arrived home, I poured a glass of water for myself and replenished the water in the Wonderdog’s bowl. As it was filling I was pretty certain that his panting was making the entire room vibrate. He couldn’t wait to get to that bowl of refreshing water.

And that was when I realized that I had been reading the first verse wrongly.

“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.”

This isn’t a peaceful image at all. This is the image of a creature (the deer, ourselves) desperate for refreshment, panting, struggling for breath from being so parched. The creature does not stop until it finds the streams of water … the only thing that would bring true refreshment.

In the same way we are desperate for God, the only one who can truly, completely refresh us. We often know that we are parched, but we seek to refresh ourselves with anything but God. We go to entertainment, food, relaxation, activities, pampering, to friends or family or even to church thinking that if we are renewed physically, mentally, socially, or even theologically we will no longer thirst.

But there is only one who quenches this thirst in our souls, and it is the one who formed them. It is our souls cry for us to be satisfied in God alone.

We benefit from lamenting, but we also need to remember the grace and mercy of better days, when our panting was met with refreshment.

“A lot of times my tendency is to go into a depression looking into myself which only spirals me further down. The song is meant to preach to myself and call me to remember the times when I experienced the glory and goodness of God which can help bounce me out of that vicious cycle. It’s meant to get my eyes off of me and be satisfied in God alone.” Brian Eichelberger

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Sing with All Your Breath

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #singwithallyourbreath, #worship, #worshipinsong on July 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Do you sing in church?

It amazes me, when I look around on a Sunday morning, that so many people do not participate in the singing part of worship. Despite that fact that many people write or talk about the decreasing participation in the singing portion of worship (and often relate it to new, unfamiliar, difficult to sing, theology light worship songs) I don’t find that it has decreased since I was a child.

Some will say they do not sing because:

they do not know the songs
they do not like the songs
church people do not need to hear me sing

If we were to switch from the singing part of worship to the financial giving part of worship, would similar rationale be accepted?

I don’t give financially because:

I don’t know what my money is going to be used for
I don’t like what my money is going to be used for
the church does not need my money

Here’s the thing (and isn’t it always the thing?), whether it is our financial giving or singing in worship, it is never about us, me, my.

Our giving,
in worship
is not our offering,
but our returning to God
what he has given to us.

When we give financially, we are returning to God a portion of what he has given to us. When we give in song, we are returning to God a portion of our breath, our humility. In both cases, he has given us what we need, as an investment in our lives. We, in turn take his investment and multiply it, returning the dividends to him …

not because he needs it,
but because
we need to give it.

“The Savior has rescued us that we might sing the song of the redeemed. May we sing it well. May we sing it constantly. May we sing it passionately. May we sing it for his glory and the advancing of his gospel until the time comes when our songs will never end.” Bob Kauflin

“Let everything (everyone) that has breath
praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150:6

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