What's it really mean? "Go..."

You know that moment when you read or hear something... and your only response is an emotional/mental, "Ouch!" ??

I had one of those moments the other day when I read: 

"One of the main reasons [insert your country... county... city... name here]'s churches are not ministering to a larger number of people is because they typically wait for people to come to them.... Many congregations seem to have become ends in themselves. They exist for each other and become preoccupied with themselves and their'way of 'doing'  religion. Lay ministry means nothing more than getting involved in running the church." (Dr. Reginald Bibby, Transforming Our Nation: Empowering the Canadian Church for a Greater Harvest, p. 302, 300-301)

I read that and started to wonder, "Could that be true? That even when we go as missionaries to far flung corners of the globe we still somehow wait for people to come in to find us instead of going out and sharing with them?"

I can only really speak to my own experience living, working and trying to minister in West Africa - but if I'm speaking honestly, spending most of my time with other expat friend and colleagues was certainly more comfortable. And there were times that it was needed and an integral ministry. Even after living in the same neighborhood for several years, stepping out into the community to visit with the ladies, trying to use my third language, seeking to understand a culture and way of thinking that was so completely foreign to me, always knowing that I was obviously a foreigner just because of the color of my skin.

I can also only really speak to my own experience living, working and trying to minister in Midland, Michigan - where my kids attend the Christian school that is a ministry of our sending church... where life seems to be consumed by school and church activities or by traveling and visiting with our partnering churches activities... and our little ones come to the "invite a friend to church" nights and realize they don't know anyone who doesn't already know Jesus or go to church regularly....

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To read the rest, please join me over at More for Missionary Moms, 

where I was posting yesterday.

The Trebuchet... or, "When does disagreement become hate?"

I remember the first time I remember hearing the word trebuchet.

That happened when friends of ours introduced Tim and I to the computer game Age of Empires (many, many moons ago). I actually played for awhile and then realized it was too addicting for me... as, in fact, most computer games are... I get started playing and then forget that anything else in this world exists... and that doesn't work too well if you are a mama of eight.

When I did play, however, I liked using trebuchets. I could attack from a more or less safe distance and the personal carnage was far removed.

I saw, with my own eyes, a trebuchet (and the ammunition they slung) for the very first time while we were in Scotland. The makers had even done what they could to make the weapon look pretty.

Ever wonder why we try and make our weapons "pretty?"

Speaking of weapons?

It is easy to use words like a trebuchet ~ especially over the internet. First we dress them up and make them look pretty and fancy. Then we launch them from afar - uncensored, un-careful, even sometimes uncaring... the impact of those words, how they might rip through hearts, batter minds, hammer souls... discouraging and disheartening, and humiliating. The result is never seen, at least not up close and personal, by the launcher of said words. 

That's not how I want to use words.

It is also easy to overuse words so that their impact becomes less striking... such overuse of emphatic words a makes what was once powerful lose meaning and become superfluous... yada yada yada...

I think that has already happened to words like love... adore... awesome... ??? And, as is so easy to do, I'm as guilty as the next person. In recent years, I believe the word hate has been added to that list. You hear the expressions hate crimes and hate speech thrown around a lot. But what I really hear is crimes committed against someone who had a different value than I... speech directed towards someone who believes different than I do on a particular topic. When we reduce hate to meaning expressing our disagreement focused around a particular issue - than we reduce all people to haters.

It is a fact: we will disagree. I find it frustrating that legitimate disagreement and discussion with civility and gentility is the exception, rather than the norm. Another fact? Some disagreement is healthy and part of what makes our world a fascinating, interesting place. Instead, someone says something we don't like or does something contrary to our opinion of what is right and wrong. We holler back in protest, sometimes angrily, even. And then that someone attempts to silence us, to draw eyes away from the real issue at hand by labeling us and our perspective as hateful... or vice versa.  And who wants others to think them hateful? Who craves wearing that label? The tendency, then, is to become quiet and not engage an issue.

Sometimes that is the right choice... after all, love can covers a multitude of sins, and if we are flinging words from our tongue like a well-aimed trebuchet, intending to deflect, damage or destroy, we deeply need to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our motives.

Other times? Well, maybe we need to think about these words Jesus said, and graciously, gently, kindly, winsomely... but still firmly, continue so speak truth, sometimes painful truth, into a world that no longer wants to hear what it most needs to hear:

Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you, and cast insults at you and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. Luke 6:22, 23 

On what I've learned about banana trees...

... and it seems like a lot, especially since we've got several in our garden and I've never watched them grow before!

First of all, they aren't "trees," at least in the normal sense of of what I consider trees,  because they don't have a trunk. What you see are huge leaves that push up and out of a mat underground.

Secondly, they do not reproduce using seeds or a typical germination process. In the grand scheme of things, that is relatively rare. New shoots pop up out of that mat, all around the original. Those new plants are called suckers.

Another interesting tidbit? It is considered a part of the same family, botanically speaking,  as the tomato, papaya, avocado and guava. Even harder to wrap my mind around? The fruit, technically speaking once again, is called a berry.

 

Each banana plant/leaf bears fruit only once. As the berries grow and ripen, the stalk leans under the heavy weight. After the "berries" have ripened (or are almost there), you remove the bunch and then cut back the leaves, almost right to the ground. Those leaves make excellent compost/fertilizer for the rest of the garden. 

This fact makes me think of Jesus. Jesus bore the weight of my sin to produce the fruit of righteousness in my life, once and for all, and then He died. I just find it amazing that I can seen nature pointing to the Gospel message in so many ways, like this, all around me.

We've tried to plant banana trees before. Several years ago, in fact, we planted three. They weren't getting enough sun, and the leaves always looked pale and of course there was no fruit. Then, we moved them out into the middle of our yard where they received plenty of sun. For a long time, they looked relatively healthy, but they remained small and still produced no fruit. This time, we have the trees planted in our garden that receives full sun, almost the entire day. It is watered almost continually by the run off from two bathrooms sinks and showers as well as our washing machine. And here, they are thriving magnificently, in this naturally warm (I'd argue downright hot) environment, persistently  watered and inundated with light from the sun. In our experience, even when the plant looked okay, either no fruit developed at all or those ones that did were tiny and all skin with very little of the sweet flesh that make bananas such a treat. 

I see another lesson in that detail. As a child of the Almighty God, I will not be healthy - growing and producing fruit - unless I'm regularly being fed by the water of the word and the continual, abiding presence of the Son. Even if everything looks good to others, any fruit produced will be essentially useless. 

The larger the banana bunch that the banana tree produces, the sooner the tree begins to lean. If is not braced up, the tree will collapse and the fruit growing out of it will die instead of maturing.

This reminds me of the importance of fervent prayer to support those who are leaders in our churches. Those leaders are giving out much and sometimes need the extra bracing and fortification of incessant, intercessory prayer on their behalf.

According to scientists and nutritionists, men should value the banana as one of the earth's most important fruits. A quick on line google for information reveals the many healing properties of bananas. Some of those include improving anemic blood, helping with the control of high blood pressure, enhancing leaning ability, combating digestive issues, alleviating symptoms of clinical depression, preventing heartburn, reducing morning sickness, discouraging mosquito bites - and making them itch less if you rub just a bit directly one of those itchy bumps, regulating weight problems, and maintaining healthy body temperature, to name a few. We even have friends who've rubbed their skin with the inside of a banana peel to get rid of warts. 

For such a simple, unassuming... perhaps even undervalued... plant, I think it is an impressive reminder of God's creativity, love and provision - and I think it is so neat how little things about it point to Him as Savior and Redeemer.

What about you?

Walk with Him Wednesday ~ What are YOU Wearing Today?

For the next few weeks, Ann has challenged the Walk with Him Wednesday participaters to write on the the practice of habits... and when I first read that, this - one of the very first Bible studies I taught to the ladies at our Harobanda church - immediately popped into mind. And when I say pop, I don't mean it in a cliché-ish sort of  way. Instead, picture kernels of popcorn in an air popper that blow around and around until all of the sudden they explode and transform from a hard kernel into a fluffy, air-filled burst of "corn-y" goodness, especially when dressed up a bit with salt and butter...

That Bible study was on Colossians 3:12 - 14.

According to dictionary.com, a habit is:

1. an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.
2. customary practice or use.
3. a particular practice, custom, or usage.
4. a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality.
5. addiction, especially to narcotics
6. mental character or disposition.
7. characteristic bodily or physical condition.
8. the characteristic form, aspect, mode of growth, etc., of an organism.
9. the characteristic crystalline form of a mineral.
10. garb of a particular rank, profession, religious order, etc.
11. the attire worn by a rider of a saddle horse.

Now, read the verses referenced above:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

So... what about those words  "pops" so dramatically?

Three words - "clothe" and "put on."

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

In other words... "GET DRESSED!"

What could be more habit-ish than getting dressed? Everyone I know gets up in the morning and changes into something s/he considers acceptable to wear out in public. I don't know anyone who regularly spends every day in his/her jammies or undergarments only.

God gives us a dress code! And what are we supposed to wear?

compassion

kindness

gentleness

patience (or long-suffering-ness)

forgiveness

love

This attire proclaims: "This gal? She's a Jesus-follower."

As women, we generally care about what we wear; we devote significant time and attention to how we clothe ourselves when we go out (especially if we are out on a date with our guy, going to church, or attending some sort of important function, etc.) Just as we pay much attention to our physical clothing and our physical appearance when we are out in public, God directs us to make spiritual "clothing" a top priority.

Want to see an interesting truth about the command to "clothe yourself?"

In the original Greek, it implies this context: In the beginning, just like an infant, we need someone to first clothe us; as we grow, it is something we learn to do ourselves. First we need help physically/mechanically. Then we need help learning how to match individual items together in a pleasing combinations. Finally, we need help selecting what is appropriate for differing occasions. I wonder if Paul, when he wrote these words, also thought of that same progression?

I wonder how my relationship with the Lord might grow if each day I specifically asked - and then allowed - Him to clothe me with compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and above all, love? I wonder how my relationships with others might improve if I spent as much time and attention each morning on preparing to exhibit Christ through these qualities as I do arranging my actual physical appearance?

Initial judgments and first impressions form, often based on that first view. In that first view, what we immediately notice is how someone is dressed... sometimes even before we can distinctly see facial features or clearly hear words.

What if these were the first and most lasting "clothing" people noticed about me?

compassion

kindness

gentleness

patience (or long-suffering-ness)

forgiveness

love

(Edited from the archives,

original post 21 June 2007)

Our saga of what I learned about Intermittent Internet when God taught Elsie Mae (and her mama) a lesson involving Isaac's wells...

Why don't I just go ahead and start with the bit about Isaac's wells...

Not too many days ago, I was working with Elsie Mae on her Bible lesson, and we came to one of those passages of Scripture (Genesis 26:12-25) that I've wondered (seven times now, as I'm on my seventh time working my way through the curriculum): "Why does God includes this story in the Bible?" I guess it could be there simply as an account of key events in the life of Isaac, but really, it just seems a transition from the story of Isaac lying about Rebekah to Abimelech and his later covenant with Rebekah. But crazy as it sounds, this time through the story, my little 4 year old pointed out how that time of transition was perhaps, one of the higher points - as far as obedience, trust and following the Lord - in the life of Isaac.

If you are all confused now, I don't blame you... let me try and explain. Genesis 26:1-12 starts off with a famine in the land and Isaac looking for a reliable way to provide for his family. So he heads for a powerful nearby king and God speaks to him, warning him not to head to Egypt, but to stay in the land and God would provide.

Perhaps God gave him this warning because he knew that sons often repeat the sins of their fathers, and He wanted to protect Isaac from the sins that Abraham committed when he fled to Egypt. Yet we see that Isaac did not trust completely - he relied at least some on his own wisdom and understanding. He obeyed and stayed... and repeated the sin of his father, lying about Rebekah and calling her his sister instead of his wife. Thankfully, God eventually revealed Isaac's deception to the pagan Abimelech, who acted more honorably in this situation than Isaac, and protected Rebekah when her husband didn't. I've always thought that must have been an amazing moment in Rebekah's wife, realizing that God moved in the heart of a powerful pagan king to protect her and her reputation when her husband failed to do so.

Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

 "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

 because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."

And now here's the part that Elsie Mae found so interesting ~

God keeps His covenant and blesses Isaac. Isaac's wealth and power frightens Abimelech and he asks Isaac to pack up and leave. Obviously, if Isaac's "potential" frightened Abimelech, then he had some capacity to fight back or at least argue his right to be there. After all, he was where God had told him to be. He didn't.

He moves away and in some senses, is starting over in a new place. One of the first orders of business is digging a new well to provide water for his family and his herds. The well immediately becomes a source of contention.

So he leaves that well and digs a second one. It, too, results in conflict between Isaac's men and the local herdsmen.Once again, he moves away to dig a third well and this time, as Isaac says, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land." No one protested and Isaac is confident he has found the place where God wanted him to pitch his tents.

I loved (please sense some sarcasm here) Elsie Mae's question at this point: "Mama, why do you think Isaac didn't fight and stop those bad guys from wrecking his wells?"

Um.... it isn't nice for four year olds to spring such deep questions on their unsuspecting mamas, so I did what all teachers have learned to do when asked a question and they have no clue of the answer - turn it right back around at their student. I told Elsie Mae, "Hon,  I'd rather hear why you think Isaac didn't fight over the wells and instead kept finding and digging new ones."

Her response floored me. She said, "Isaac 'as like Jesus. Jesus didn't fight dose bad people back who nailed Him on da cross where He died. Isaac made Jesus smile I dink, 'cause he let "uh"der people get their way and keep peace 'stead a pickin' fights.... (long pause) Dat's hard to do, Mama. I fight wif my Mary Michelle an Jonathan more dan I givin' dem deir way. I need let God fight for me. God musta been happy wif he. God talked to him again right after dat."

She was spot on. After Isaac dug that well, the Lord reappeard to Isaac, renewing His covenant with Abraham and now Issac - and there it says that Isaac called upon the name of the Lord.

I love it when the Holy Spirit teaches my kids - He does such an amazing job that I can't even come close to approximating! I love it almost as much when my Heavenly Father clearly speaks to me through the voices of these kids He's placed in our family. Frankly, I think Elsie Mae needed to hear that message - but not nearly so desperately as I did.

One of my biggest, piddly frustrations this past year has been one of those things that is not life threatening or changing but something that simply that irritates, inconveniences and annoys, driving you crazy until at some apparently little thing it all crashes in and you blow your stack and pity the soul who happens to be in the vicinity at the time that happens. It is one of those occurrences that just shouldn't happen, but it does anyway and there is seemingly nothing you can do to stop, change or prevent iut. Anyone else relate? Do you ever run into situations like that?

What frustration you ask? Internet service. It is there one minue and gone the next. Usually, all we ever have to do is call the phone company, inform them that our internet isn't working, hear them tell us that we need to pay our bill, then we remind them that we have paid the bill... it is, in fact, paid through the first part of June... hear silence over the phone and then the voice comes back... "Oh, you are absolutely right. Check your internet service now. It should be working."

I could understand that happening once or twice... but we actually went through a stretch recently where we were calling our internet service every few days... one day several times that day alone. It just shouldn't be that way. I wanted to stomp into the office, show my paid bill, demand to see the person in charge and find out why this kept happening. But that wouldn't have been Isaac's way, at least not according to this story. Sadly, it is my first tendency - not just with internet service providers, but also with co-workers, students I teach, my husband, my kids, neighbors, people at church who ask for help, etc...

In those moments, Isaac held his wells loosely and chose peace and not fighting back, even when he clearly had reason - he could have made a convincing argument that God's will was to claim what was rightfully his - even when doing so inconvenienced him greatly... As we've been learning lately, in real life, digging wells is not an easy or convenient process, even in this day and age. God was pleased with Isaac's choices and He blessed.

Sadly, though, the well saga moves into the account of a covenant Isaac makes with Abimelech. It is one thing to lay aside our rights and expectations to accomodate those in this world around us as we pursue a path of peace. It is another thing to enter into a covenant relationship with one who does not recognize our God under the guise of peace but with the additional motivation of personal material gain. Isaac already had God's promises and blessing; he'd already demonstrated that he could live in peace with his pagan neighbors without covenanting with them. Of course the world seeks close relationship when benefits are clear. Affiliating with a man unmistakeably experiencing God's blessing was a wise move for Abimelech. The Bible, however, is clear about unequal yoking and there are always consequences. We see some of those in Isaac's life immediately. His favorite son chose two wives... he covenanted with two women... from the pagan world around them. And God's Word states that this "brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah."

Thankful, today, for lessons learned from my little girl and the reminder that I can choose to be at peace with those around, even when beliefs and priorities differ greatly. While I can't compromise convictions or clear commands, I can cede rights and desires for the sake of peace, allowing God to fight the battle in His way and in His timing... to thus please the only One Whose pleasure counts... and it counts for eternity.

True or False?

I was recently challenged to take this passage of Scripture and substitute my name in for the word "charity" or "love" (depending on which version of the Bible used - I left a blank for the purposes of this post). Quite convicting... because with Christ, all things are possible and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... However, I most often try and follow Christ in my own power and strength... If you substitute your name in for each blank, do you feel as convicted as I?

_________________ suffereth long, and is kind; _________________ envieth not; _________________ vaunteth not itself,_________________ is not puffed up,

_________________ doth not behave itself unseemly, _________________ seeketh not her own, _________________ is not easily provoked, _________________ thinketh no evil;

_________________ rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

_________________ beareth all things, _________________ believeth all things, _________________ hopeth all things, _________________ endureth all things....

...When _________________ was a child, she spake as a child, she understood as a child, she thought as a child: but when _________________ became a (wo)man, she put away childish things... (from 1 Corinthians 13).

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Original photo at "As for me and my house."

"If we had to have a moratorium where all believers had to just speak well of their brethren for a couple of days, there'd be tumbleweed...

...blowing through the Internet."

I was catching up on a few blogs this morning and came across the above quote. Intrigued, since I'm one who has a difficult time keeping my tongue under control, I decided to go and look it up. The man who said this, Jim Savastio of the Reformed Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, was teaching a lesson on "Destructive Speech," and the springboard for his lesson was the following text, Matt 12:33-37:

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (NASU)

Sobering words, and Mr. Savastio went on to say, "Our use of language will either support our profession of faith or it will negate our profession of faith, and that is all that will be needed on the last day to demonstrate whether or not we have a new heart." The Bible has a lot to say about our speech and our use of this gift of language... another intense and convicting passage is found in James 3. I'm one of those people who likes words... likes using them - unfortunately, I must also say that I am not as careful as I should be about how and when I use them. I tend to be notably more prudent about what I write than what I say; and even more considerably careful about what I say than what I allow myself to think. And I am convinced, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that my words - particularly my thoughts - are a pretty good barometer of where my relationship, my fellowship, with the Lord stands, at that present moment.

Mr. Savastio went on to outline 5 characteristics or elements of destructive speech: Is is deceptive? Sensual? Excessive? Abusive? Or divisive? While in the lesson to which I listened he only really explored deceptiveness, that list seemed contains 5 good checks to utilize regarding how I use words, be they in ministry, in my home, with my neighbors, socializing on Facebook, or just sitting sipping tea at the side of the pool. Is what I am thinking about saying deceptive, misleading or purposefully capable of being perceived as something else... or is my communication transparent? Are words I use sensual or inappropriate? Here's one that is often a struggle for me: Are my words too many, too extreme or disproportionate for the situation, unwarranted? Or are they exact, gentle and few. I should never be using words that are offensive, cruel or rude - even though the temptation is strong when someone else has hurt me. And finally, is what I feel I HAVE to say intended to cause disagreement, debate, hostility or conflict? Or are they words that bring peace, healing, resolution or restoration. That's a lot of "stuff" to think about, especially in an environment that seeks and often approves of sensationalistic words, both written or spoken, that clearly fall into one or more of those destructive categories.

They bend their tongue like their bow;

Lies and not truth prevail in the land;

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they do not know Me," declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:3 (NASU)

Note: If you'd like to hear Mr. Savastio's lesson yourself, please click here.

"Glory"

My most recent "favorite" song is "Glory" by Selah/Nichole Nordeman. I can't explain exactly why... probably the direction the Holy Spirit has been taking the meditations of my heart lately... If you like the song, too, and want to listen - you can play it from the sidebar.

"Glory"

Words & Music by Nichole Nordeman

One day eyes that are blind will see you clearly

And one day all who deny will finally believe

One day hearts made of stone will break in pieces

And one day chains once unbroken will fall down at your feet

So we wait for that one day come quickly

Chorus: We want to see your Glory

Every knee falls down before thee

Every tongue offers you praise

With every hand raised

Singing Glory

To you and unto you only

We'll sing Glory to Your name

One day voices that lie will all be silent

One day all that's divided will be whole again

One day death will retreat and wave it's white flag

One day love will defeat the strongest enemy

So we wait for that one day come quickly

Chorus: We want to see your Glory

Every knee falls down before thee

Every tongue offers you praise

With every hand raised

Singing Glory

To you and unto you only

We'll sing Glory to Your name

We know not the day or the hour

Or the moments in between

But we know the end of the story

When we'll see your Glory

Every knee falls down before thee

Every tongue offers you praise

With every hand raised

Singing Glory

To you and unto you only

We'll sing Glory to Your name

I was listening to "Glory" yesterday while working on Ladies' Bible study (for this Saturday - please be praying) on our laptop. Brendan was working on homework on the desktop (he was writing a poem... after studying a Victor Hugo poem about sowing and the harvest... and then searching for verses about the harvest in the Bible... all in French!). He must have been listening to the words of the song more intently than I imagined, (pretty incredible, when you remember that the song is in English and he was writing and reading French). All of the sudden, I heard a quiet "Mom?" from his corner of the room.

"Yep?" I replied, just a bit distracted by my own work.

"That's a really pretty song - but I think it also makes me a little sad," he continued.

Intrigued, I gave him my full attention, because I'd never heard someone describe a song about the return of Christ in His glory as ~~sad~~ . "Why do you say that?" I inquired.

"Well, because for us, it will be a really wonderful, awesome day. But what about all of our friends, all of the people here who don't know or understand about Jesus yet? There are so many of them...," This last thought was said in almost a whisper, his voice trailed off as he paused and exhaled softly before continuing. "It will be a sad and final day for them. I hope Jesus makes us all wait longer," he said gently and softly, hesitating as though he was concerned about my response.

But what sort of a response is there to what my son had just shared? What could I say? I didn't say much. I just walked over to where he was sitting, gave him a hug, kissed the top of his head, told him I loved him and sincerely thanked him for reminding me of that truth. And I also silently thanked the Lord. Such precious moment, for God gave me just a glimpse of how He's tendering the heart of this boy-child and growing him into a young man. It was like He snapped a polaroid, and handed it to me to enjoy... a tiny snapshot of how He is imprinting and developing His gentleness, His mercy, in the heart of this child He has entrusted to us - and as He continues to work, the details will come more and more evident and clearly into focus. Such a convicting moment, for God, who is worthy of all glory, never forgets those who still need to trust Him while I, in my busyness, my preoccupations, my hope for the future, so easily can.

These gentle words from my son were also words from the Savior, reminding me that while I wait in anticipation for His coming and longing for His future glory, I need to live and breathe His message and His mercy, the same mercy that He extends in the cross, that He extends in His tarrying...

-------------------------------- Last picture from Crafty Curate.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Gentleness

I came across a lovely blog page last weekend. I had stayed home from church because I have not been feeling well, so I was spending some time reading. The first "page" I read was entitled "Feeling for His Face," and it really spoke to me, partly because Elsie Mae is a "face feeler." When she needs comfort, she needs to be able to touch my face - not see me, not necessarily be held, but for me to stoop low enough or move in close enough that she can grab ahold of my nose, put her fingers in my mouth, finger the contours of my neck, stroke my cheek, often twirling my hair close enough that she can use it to stroke her own cheek...

So when I read what Ms. Voskamp wrote:

I know my own nightmares, day terrors, desert hallucinations that pursue across the sands. Waking to the everyday gifts, the common miracles, daily graces, this is my way of feeling for His face, my way of knowing He is pressed close.

I read Him in syrup melting down into stacks of pancakes, in the heavy breathing of slumbering children under old quilts, in the moss curling around old trunks down in the woods. A monarch lights on the clump of coneflowers by the picket fence, we linger after the noon picnic in the surprise of Indian summer, cold water runs from my tap. These are the graces, the magnanimous, munificent gifts, that I daily seek to run my fingers across, feeling for His face.

In my common deserts, I have found the daily discipline of fingering for Him in small things, in giving thanks for all that is, reveals the contours of Who He is. This waterfall of little grand gifts unveils the features of His countenance, the gentleness of His heart.

...the topic of gentleness jumped out at me all over again. Spirit gentleness is choosing to see God, or "feeling for His face" when we cannot see because of the tears, as we trust that what He is doing is good whether we understand or not - because He promises He will be there.

As I continued to explore this particular blog page, I came across another entry, entitled "More that Dies..." As I read, I thought to myself, "This, too, is what gentleness is all about. It is about me dying so that God can make me alive. Will I allow it or will I fight it?" It is put much more eloquently on the linked blog page, however:

But his words echo through the rest of my day, revisiting me here tonight in a full country church, us womenfolk talking of hanging out lines of laundry, working up sleepy gardens, and the countryside wafting with the smell of sweet manure.

“More that dies, more that lives.”

Out into the falling dusk, these church folks slowly spill, frogs of the church pond filling the night with their croaky chorus. And we all mingle under the shy stars twinkling, the air pungent with death, and I look at these people, a body of believers, a people called to live new life.

But the daily death comes first. The more that dies.....

The more He lives.

Scripture Drink:

"Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ,

a decisive end to that sin-miserable life...

What we believe is this:

If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death,

we also get included in his life-saving resurrection...."

Lord, my dying today may not smell pretty. But it is necessary for the new life You want to grow in me. Where can I die today? The more I die.... the more You live.

Two more beautiful word pictures of gentleness... which I pray will continue to encourage and challenge me.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Gentleness

Yes, I'm still hanging around, studying this topic of gentleness - the fruit of the Spirit which includes submission to God's will, humbleness and a teachable heart. And recently, when I think of biblical gentleness, after Christ, probably the most striking biblical example is John the Baptist. In some senses, I find this "amusing(?)" because that certainly doesn't fit with my childhood imaginings of John the Baptist - wandering around the desert, eating locusts and honey, dressed so atypically for his times and crying out to any who would listen, "Repent!" Words that I more typically would use to describe him might be uncompromising, steadfast, confrontational, prophetic, loud...

However, as I was looking at this biblical figure who Christ praised -

"I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matt 11.1)

- it dawned on me that biblical gentleness is a perfect adjective to describe this man, who was mightily filled with the Spirit from his very birth.

John the Baptist lived a life submitted to God's will. (Matt 3.13-15) Even when he had questions (Matt 11.2), you don't get the idea that he was fighting God's plan for his life or that he was no longer submitted. Rather, I see a man stuggling with his circumstances and searching for reassurance. Christ reminded him of what he, John the Baptist, had already seen, heard reported... what he already knew.

His life was also characterized by humility. Read the following comments he made:

• But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
• The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
• John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' "
• John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' "
• "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
• And they came unto John, and said unto him, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."

In Living Beyond Yourself, Beth Moore points out one other factor possilby leading to his humility: John the Baptist was humble because from his birth, he saw humility modeled in the life of his mother, Elizabeth. When Mary comes to Elizabeth, as recorded in Luke 1, she addresses Mary as the mother of her "Lord." While she recognized the miracle of her own pregnancy, Elizabeth knew that it was nothing compared to the Messiah who would be born to Mary. And both Elizabeth and Zachariah humbly submitted to God's will for the name of their son - even when others questioned.

Finally, I see that he was teachable - again look at the examples listed under his submissiveness to God's plans for his life. When corrected (the baptism of Christ) or when reminded of what he knew (while in prison), he accepted the teaching, learned and moved on. I would like to also imagine that as a young child maturing into a young man, that he received and accepted the instruction and correction of his parents. He most definitely learned, quite probably from his mother especially as a very young child, that Jesus was his Lord.

As I've meditated on the example of John the Baptist - and from there considered the example of Elizabeth, his mother, I realized that as I allow my Lord to craft gentleness into my life, He can be using my example and leading to craft this same humble and teachable submissiveness and recognition of Christ as Lord into the lives of my children.

The process of becoming gentle my be hard, hard work and painful at times, but these thoughts about Elizabeth give me another reason to earnestly desire that God does what He needs to do so that He and His fruit, His gentleness are what people (including my children) see in my life.

Note, all Scripture quotations for this post are from the NIV.

Picture of John the Baptist from Garden of Praise, free educational materials.

Picture of Mary and Elizabeth from the web site of Sacred Heart College.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Gentleness

When I first began the Living Beyond Yourself bible study series a few months back, I can honestly say that the week I was most looking forward to was week 8, the week on gentleness. God first really began speaking to me about gentleness last summer, when I taught my first ladies' Bible study at church on Colossians 3. In one of the French commentaries I read several months back, it was mentioned that a big part of God's business is "crafting (as a master artist works his craft) gentleness" into our lives, because a big part of biblical gentleness is a teachable spirit, one willing to learn of God. I started praying then that God would teach me about gentleness, that He would make the gentleness of His Spirit a characteristic of my life. I know I've got so much still to learn about gentleness, and the methods He's chosen to teach me are not what I myself would have picked, but I hope and pray He is molding my heart into a teachable one that desires nothing but Him.

I remember the first time I ever heard someone teach on gentleness - and being surprised that it wasn't exactly what I imagined. In Living Beyond Yourself, Beth Moore includes a detailed description and then a beautiful "word picture" of what gentleness is:

1) Gentleness (praotes is the original Greek word) is an "inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God's dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him."

2) One of her daughters had allowed a huge tangled knot to grow in her hair, because each time she tried to comb it out herself, it hurt. Finally the knot got so big and so tangled, the girl called for her mother to help her. Beth writes:

I sat down beside her...and began to brush - one hair at a time! I tried to hold her hair as tightly as I could so that she would not feel it pull, but finally the knot was too close for me to fit my hand between it and her head. The tears streamed down her cheeks. I asked, "Do you want me to stop?" "No, Mommy. If you do, I'll never get it out. Keep brushing." It took us many minutes to get through those tangles, and those minutes seemed like hours. Totally submitted to untangling the mess she was in, she rested her head in my lap and endured the pain. Her tears were not those of resistance. They were tears of submission: knowing that the end was worth the means.

Maybe this word picture speaks to me so much because in our house, we've got 4 heads of long, blonde thick hair - and we don't have the luxury of conditioner every time it is washed. I've spent more minutes than I want to count untangling "rats' nests" (that's what my mom used to call them), unwrapping expired rubber bands, unwinding braids - while the child in question submitted gently or not so gently to what had to be done. The process moves along much more quickly, with fewer tears and less frustration on my part when the child sits still and quiet, allowing me to do what needs to be done. On the other hand, if the child in question decides to do a drama queen routine, crying and wailing, little siblings will come running to see what all the ruckus iss - making it impossible for me to work. If she does not sit still, turning her head, grabbing my hands, the brush or comb, wrapping her arms around her head in a self-protective gesture... it just lengthens the process and sometimes achieves nothing more than making the tangles worse.

When I picture God untangling the messes, knots and yucky places in my life, this word picture helps me to see exactly what my position and attitude should be before Him - I should rest from my typical resistance, and allow Him to do whatever it is that He deems necessary... with no strings attached. Unfortunately, I quite naturally tend to avoid, move away or attach strings. Instead of thinking, "God, continue what you are doing here and right now and I'll submit," I add, "... just don't bring any difficulty or suffering or change in this area - only touch that part of my life in a way I'm comfortable with..." Rather, I need to seek a teachable heart, such as is described by Jeremiah -

As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

Jeremiah 26.14

Butterfly photo from JanLill Resources.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Faithfulness

This week, I was working through week 8 "Keep Believin'" of Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself study of the fruit of the Spirit. As I started to answer the second question asked in Day 1, the Lord took me on a bit of a sidetrip...

DOES GOD CLAIM TO BE BELIEVABLE? WHAT DOES GOD'S STATEMENT THAT HE IS "ABOUNDING IN LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS" MEAN TO YOU? (EXODUS 34.1-6)

The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain." So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..."

As I was thinking about the question, wondering how I was going to answer it, my eyes flitted over to the list of cross references in my study Bible, and so I decided to look up the cross references for the phrase "abounding in love and faithfulness." The very first one listed was Genesis 19.16:

When he (Lot) hesitated, the men (the visiting angels) grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

The very first reference listed was not a definition or even a description - it was a concrete example of God's abounding love and faithfulness! When Lot hesitated, the angels literally grabbed him and his family by the hands and pulled them out of the city of Sodom instead of leaving them to suffer a terrible fate.

(Gutenberg Image)

God, who abounds in love and faithfulness, will not leave His own to complete and final destruction: we couldn't save ourselves - He sent His Son; when we hesitate to flee imminent destruction - He may go so far as to send angels to grab us by the hand and pull us from danger (in a literal or figurative sense). And when we are facing hard consequences for things that we've done - He's the One there to pick up the pieces.

I find it encouraging that it is this same abounding faithfulness of God, manifested by the Holy Spirit, that can characterize a life submitted to the moment by moment authority and leadership of the Holy Spirit. So whether it is faithfulness in believing and trusting God, or faithfulness in relationships or circumstances, this faithfulness is only present when I'm abiding in Him.