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Pride vs. Humility

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #behumble, #istrugglewithpride, #pridevshumility on October 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“Too much pride can put you to shame.
It’s wiser to be humble.”
Proverbs 11:2

We can know what it is to be humble, we can even desire it yet still our pride wins in the tug for our behaviors, our lives, for our very souls.

I learned, yet again, the truth of the numerous proverbs on humility recently (will I ever just learn it for good?).

I turned on a social media site this summer and there it was, staring back at me … pride.

Actually it was a rather serious picture of our son, sharing his plans of an education/missions trip. He shared about it, about how the first three months would be at a school and the second would be at an outreach destination to apply what he learns, in a cross-cultural experience.

Now, I am a mighty proud mama of this homebody son of mine, and his choice to go away (almost literally halfway around the world) for six months is pure sacrifice on his part (and mine …). He loves God, but this program will challenge him in ways that neither he, nor his parents, can yet imagine.

But (there’s always a but) …

I’ve gotta say I cringed when I saw his GoFundMe. I hated that he asked for money … because …

because, well …

I am proud,
(and arrogant too)

It is ridiculous for me to feel this way. I love supporting others in their choices to be brave, to go and do the challenging. I get excited to provide financial means of support to others in their willingness to go and do what I have not done, what I have not been called to. I love being able to be the encourager of that young person who is getting out of their comfort zone, to do the hard things.

So, why do I struggle when my own son asked for support?

Pride

There is no other answer by pure, human pride.

Just a few hours later, God provided a corrective for my pride. I looked at his GoFundMe and saw that people actually donated to him. People who I knew, but also people who I had only heard of or had never heard of before. He has since received supportive, encouraging and joyful contributions.

And how do I feel each time there is a new one?

Humbled … in such a good way.

My pride could have gotten in the way of my relationship with my son, my pride could have gotten in the way of those who gave, my pride could have gotten in the way of seeing how God works through his people, my pride could have gotten in the way of my learning to be humble.

In all of this, I am humbled, thankful and I know that, when we let our needs be known, God will work through the hands and feet of his people.

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Nothing Small about Small Groups

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #ironsharpensiron, #nothingsmallaboutsmallgroups, #smallgroups on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Each week hubby and I are among about a dozen people, who meet one evening to discuss questions pertaining to the previous Sunday sermon, pray and enjoy time together.

This small group in our church is the first in over twenty years that hubby and I have attended together, after years of children’s schedules, ‘his’ or ‘her’ small groups, hubby leading groups or ‘we’ just not making it work we get to attend (not lead), together. It has been amazing to attend and participate in this group, as group members, not as leaders.

Sometimes people attend church for many years (like over twenty) and they don’t make the effort to attend such a group. I guess ‘they’ (we) think that they get their fill of spiritual input on Sunday, or that they (we) don’t have time.

Though it’s only been a few weeks, I’d love to share what I am learning about small groups:

the discussions can broaden your understanding of the Bible
praying for each other, even if you just met them, is such an honor
being prayed by others, even if you just met them (maybe especially so), is so humbling
it is mentally, spiritually and socially challenging and nurturing
it is an opportunity to experience what is meant by “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17)
they may be ‘small’ but they are not without value

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another …” Hebrews 10:24-25

What a joy to have re-discovered the enjoyment of attending a small group. To be in a place, with a group of others who just want to mutually learn, challenge, encourage … to spur each other on … there is truly nothing small about that.

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The Action of Thanksgiving

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #nounorverb, #thanksgivingisdoing, #theactionofthanksgiving on October 13, 2019| 5 Comments »

Thanksgiving … noun or verb?

As I was reading up on thanksgiving I was disappointed that it was a noun … simply a thing, a subject, a day. Then I came across the word in french, action de grâce. which translates, action of grace … except that it would be more like the act of giving thanks. Sounds like a verb, an action, to me … yet it is still a noun.

I’m an out-of-the-box kind of thinker, so today I am pulling thanksgiving out of the grammar box and identifying it as a verb.

This weekend, as Canadians celebrate this day (noun) we cannot do so without the action (verb) of giving thanks.

We who live in a county of freedoms (be thankful for what we have, for our apathy might lead to our loss), who have homes to live in, food to eat, jobs to work, families to love, studies to learn, recreation in which to play, health with which to live, a God to worship.

Look at all those noun-verb combinations! It is like they were meant to be together!

Fr. Sean Mullen has said:

“I believe that I can continue to try to adopt thanksgiving in my life as a verb and not a noun. This seems like a simple project, but I know it will not be: to make thanksgiving something I have to offer, not take; something I have to do, not something I merely get to enjoy. But the more I become a pilgrim of thanksgiving – journeying on that pathway from noun to verb – the more I have the sense that I am surrounded by the astonishing beauty and generosity of God’s creation.”

Maybe that is what I am trying to communicate … that the adjustment from Thanksgiving as a day (noun) full of family, and turkey, and pumpkin pie to an action (verb) that directs our mindset throughout the year away from what I get to what I do for others.

We are thankful for our homes and food, therefore we help to house and feed those who do not.

We are thankful for friends and family, therefore we invite the lonely into our lives.

We are thankful for the sacrifice of Christ for our souls, therefore we …

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
― attributed to Teresa of Avila

Let us be the action of thanksgiving in our world.

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The Broody Day

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #lovelikethat, #thebroodyday, #whatmarvelouslove on September 26, 2019| 2 Comments »

It was mid evening and my mood was broody.

“when I am the wasteland
you are the water”

That day I returned home feeling like I had run the equivalent of a marathon with students, with little to show for it.

“when I am the winter
you are the fire that burns”

I had also chosen to do something I hadn’t really wanted to do, but felt I ‘should’.

“when I am a long night
you are the sunrise”

Then there was the surprisingly snappish response of one of our three to something I had said.

“when I am a desert
you are the river that turns
to find me”

The shoulders sag.

“Hallelujah (God be praised)
Hallelujah (God be praised)
Hallelujah (God be praised)
Hallelujah (God be praised)”

All days are not like this one … I so wish that all days would be like this broody, shoulder-sagging day. Throughout the day, a song from the drive to work, that morning, kept playing in my mind and heart. Despite the circumstances of the day, my soul kept singing,

“What have I done to deserve love like this?
I cannot earn what You so freely give
What have I done to deserve love like this?”

The words pierced the pursuit of darkness all around me, slashing the shadowy corners, levelling a fatal blow to all that could discourage me, that could steal the joy in my heart.

“Your voice like a whisper
Breaking the silence
You say there’s a treasure
You’ll look ’til You find it
You search
To find me”

Throughout this broody day God whispered into my ears that contentment does not come from outer circumstances, but from Him alone.

“What marvelous love
the Father has extended to us!
Just look at it—
we’re called children of God!
That’s who we really are.”
1 John 3:1

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If My People

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godsadvise, #ifmypeople, #walkinhisways on September 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Parenting is helpful for understanding God. Parenting adults even more so.

Perhaps it is just me, but I have frequently wondered why they don’t take my advise (which is always available).

“If my people …”

the words of God to, of and about his people, his children. He, the heavenly father, who knows all, can see all … surely we, his children would hear his suggestions through the knowledge of his love for us?

Perhaps it is just me, but I frequently ignore, scoff at, even forget to seek his advise, his words of wisdom. I will seek the advise of a friend (who acts like me), a blog post (that communicates like me), or a video or podcast (that would agree with me).

I am like my own children, like the Israelites …

I am blind, I am deaf, I am ignorant to the wisdom that is available to me if I would only listen.

Psalm 81:13-14 tells us:

“If my people would only listen to me …”

Ezra speaks for God, when he says (2 Chronicles 7:14):

“If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways …”

These are the if/then statements of God to his people … us. He is making it pretty clear that there is a correlation between our not listening, humbling, praying and turning our faces toward God … and our grand mess ups in life.

Now, don’t hear this from a micro perspective. It does not mean that if we listen to God everything will be free and easy … God is speaking of the macro …

listen to me (God),
humble yourself before me (God),
pray to me (God),
turn your face to me (God),
and you will walk in His ways

I love how Deuteronomy 28:9 speaks to the macro of this if/then :

“The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.”

I am no different from my children. Even though I know I prosper when I listen to my heavenly father, I seek wisdom among those who are not wise … and then wonder why I am peddling so hard and making so little progress.

Today, I am reminded to turn my face, my ear to my God … so that I might walk in His ways.

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Intimacy via Humility

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #confessionofsin, #forgiven, #intimacyviahumility, #intimacywithgod on September 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

When one wants to speak at an Alcohol Anonymous meeting they must state their name and that they are an alcoholic. It is the first step in the twelve step program to recovery.

When I think of 12 Step programs, I often think of the necessity of that first step (admitting that I have a problem) to experiencing the intimacy that is offered to us, through Christ. The humility of admitting wrong, admitting sin with our words helps us to accept responsibility, but it also helps us to accept the grace that is offered to us.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts,
for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
James 4:8

Matthew Henry’s Commentary, on the above passage tells us:

“All sin must be wept over; here, in godly sorrow, or, hereafter, in eternal misery. And the Lord will not refuse to comfort one who really mourns for sin, or to exalt one who humbles himself before him.”

I remember the day we were told, by the principal, that our son had hit another (younger) student and that he had apologized. When he got home, I assured him that I was so proud that he had apologized to the boy, but that I wanted him to call the mother of the boy, because I knew that she too was hurt by his actions. He agreed. I made the call and explained to the mom why we were calling, then I passed the phone to my son, who sincerely apologized for hurting her son, that he knew that his own mom would be so sad if it was he who had been hit (previous bullying toward our son, by an older boy helped his understanding of this) and that he was so sorry for his actions. She told him that she was, indeed, sad that it had happened, but that she was thankful that he had called and apologized to her, and that she forgave him.

Since that day, whenever they see each other, this lady and our son have a different relationship. It is as though there is a bond, an intimacy between them, refined through humble admittance of sin and forgiveness of one hurt.

So is our relationship with God, our savior.

We need to come humbly to our God and confess that we are sinners.

It is through this humble act of contrition that we gain, not just eternity with our saviour, but also an intimate relationship with him.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14).

“We Your children pray Lord
Humbly seek Your face
We turn from our sin Lord
You hear us as we pray”
(King of the Broken by Darlene Zschech)

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Precious to Him

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godgrieves, #nearertothee, #precioustohim on September 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

My heart was saddened to hear a colleague speak of a relative’s grim cancer diagnosis. When I expressed my sorrow, he responded by telling me that the family were encouraged by Psalm 116:15 (Living Bible):

“His loved ones are very precious to him,
and he does not lightly let them die.”

Those words sunk into my soul, as I grasped the message within.

I guess I had always presumed that, because God is eternal, he does not look at the end of our earthly lives as significant. Yet, if we look at this verse, from the Psalms, in light of Jesus’ weeping when arrived to the home of the dead Lazarus, we get a glimpse of the significance human death is for our God.

This verse … this week …

The news of the unbelievable damage of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, this week has been humanly heart-rending. Watching the news of those who are missing loved ones is painful. One cannot observe such fear and loss and grief without feeling it within oneself.

This verse from the Psalms reminds me that God feels similar empathy for these people and their heartache … that “he is close to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18).

Death was never in the plan of God for our lives. It is the result of sin entering our world … a constant reminder to him and us that this is not how it was supposed to be, that we were created for more.

For today, for now, God is mourning along with all of us who mourn … whether from the devastation of a hurricane or a cancer diagnosis.

“Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me.
At the moment of death
My strength is from heaven
God helps, nothing should be feared
For ever”

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Don’t Follow the Followers

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #dontfollowme, #dontfollowthefollowers, #followchrist, #followtheword on September 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Follow the leader is only fun (and safe) if the leader is good.

I can remember, as a child, leaders who took us through mud puddles, had us climb the monkey bars with our eyes closed, or who told us to tell a secret out loud. They may have been popular, confident and eager to lead, but their focus was on that very moment and their own experience, rather than an authentically good experience for all.

Sometimes it seems as though that has been the case within the Christian community.

Leaders rise who are popular, confident and eager to lead, but their focus is on that very moment and their own experience.

And we follow them.

We follow the leaders who are pleasing to our eyes, whose messages in song, in word, in written form are pleasing to our ears. We follow the leaders who have ‘friends’, ‘followers’, ‘likes’ and ❤ . We follow those who speak their truth, opening up their every skeleton’ed closet to do a show-and-tell for us.

We follow those who dress like us, speak like us, think like us … sin like us.

We follow those who have music contracts, book contracts, speaking contracts … those whose podcasts we listen to, books we buy, videos we watch, blogs we read (ouch … but true), churches we ‘visit’ like amusement parks.

Isaiah 53:6 reminds us who we are:
“We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.”

This verse is true of we who follow, but it is also true of those who we are following. If we have a heartbeat and a soul, we are all followers … and we tend to follow whoever smells good at the moment, whoever shines bright, whoever offers us sustenance for the moment (not necessarily long lasting nutrition).

But what, who are we following?

If we are following anyone and anything with more of our time and energy than what we put into following Christ … what the Word of God says of him … we are following the wrong one.

We need to acknowledge that “we have abandoned our first love” (Rev. 2:4) and return to that love for our God, which we learn and understand in his word, which has been here since the beginning of our world.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Let me say, if you are following me as a theological or faith expert … run … run fast and far. I am no expert. I do hope that if you read my words you are encouraged, you are reminded of how much God loves you,

I hope I push you toward God’s word … to read it, search it for THE TRUTH … MY truth is redundant.

We need to follow the leader who will lead us, safely, into the most authentic of life experiences.

God is the leader.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35

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The Dimming Light

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #lettherebelight, #thedimminglight on August 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

I saw it, knew it was happening for real, just last week as I was driving home in the early evening.

Summer is fading.

Of course it has been fading since it’s first day in June, but now it is not just the lessening of evening light, but also how the leaves on the trees are looking tired, spent of their life … the sky looks like it’s deep summer blue is fading in the sun … the summer flowers slowing in their budding.

My heart feels heavy as I see these annual changes, heralding the end of summer, the beginning of autumn. I do so love autumn, with it’s cool nights and warm days, it’s colored trees and harvest moon. I love the celebrations in our family of birthdays and anniversaries. I love the renewal of schedules, the opportunities of re-starts and the new experiences to come for those I love.

Yet … my heart feels heavy …

It’s the light, the reduction of light that makes me feel the seasons change … just like I feel them (in a more positive ‘light’) when winter is being traded for spring and the light is increasing, winning the hearts of all who it touches. This is the reality when one is solar powered … and aren’t we all solar powered?

“Let there be light”

The first words of God that are recorded, give us insight into the importance of light, as it was also the first thing God created.

This light is not just the light of the skies, but also the light of the Holy Spirit, living within us. When we say yes to Christ, God gives the command to “let there be light” in our sin-darkened souls, and we illuminate his light to the world.

That is not a light that dims … no matter the season.

“May it be a light to you in dark places,
when all other lights go out.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

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Crushed and Pressed

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #crushedandpressed, #freedomandpower, #newthings, #newwine on August 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Ever feel crushed? Like the breath of life is being snuffed right out of you?

Haven’t we all?

This summer I have been aware of new things ripening. Not really new things, so much as renovated, renewed and strength that comes afresh from ones once stripped, pressed and crushed.

The other day I was watching a clip from I Love Lucy. Lucy had gotten a job stomping on grapes. As is common in her sketches, it was hilarious. Later that day my son introduced me to a worship song that had been sung throughout the summer at camp, called New Wine (video clip, below).

Wine is stalking me with deeper meaning.

As I listened to the lyrics, I smiled.

The making of wine has many stages. One cannot awake one morning and simply say, I am going to produce wine and have a glass by evening.

It is said that there are five main parts of the wine making process including: harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, and aging and bottling … these don’t even include the processes involved in growing the grapes. The total amount of time from planting a new plant to uncorking the bottle can take five years (or more if aging is desired).

The grapes represented in a bottle of wine have been often been grown on hills, in the hot sun, cut off the branches with sharp blades, then crushed and pressed. It is what has developed inside of them, what has been pressed out of them, that is their finest fruit.

I look back at those times on the hot, parched slopes … when I thirsted for a fertile valley.

Those times that seemed to be death by a thousand deep cuts, draining my soul of it’s life source.

Those times when I was crushed, pressed … the times that dropped me to my knees.

Those times when I felt like a prisoner in a glass house … visible from the outside, but locked in tightly, with no one to pop the cork …

Then, the day came, the cork was released, and I was poured out … the new wine, made from crushing and pressing.

It is a new season. The strength, power and freedom of today is due to the crushing and pressing of many yesterdays. The new wine, made in … “your careful hand. When I trust You, I don’t need to understand”