Category Archives: Attitudes & Behavior

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September 16, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! [Psalm 145:10 (ESV)]

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. [Isaiah 60:1 (ESV)]

“I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” [Lesbia Scott]
I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green;
They were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too.
They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus’ sake the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too.
They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
In church, by the sea, in the house next door;
They are saints of God, whether rich or poor, and I mean to be one too.

cathedral of st francis - Santa Fe8546webAs a girl, one of my favorite hymns was, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.” I joyfully sang of the doctor (Luke), queen (Margaret of Scotland), shepherdess (Joan of Arc), soldier (Martin of Tours), priest (John Donne), and the one slain by a beast (Ignatius of Antioch). Although I wasn’t anxious to be devoured by lions, the thought of being in company of such a stellar cast of Christians gave me great joy. The fact that I, simply by knowing Jesus and by loving to do His will, could be one, too, was even more exciting.

Although it’s been years since last singing it, I thought of that hymn when touring the Cathedral Church of St. Francis in Santa Fe recently. Several saints had been beautifully depicted in the stain glass windows. It was a sunny day and the light shone magnificently through the colored glass. I was reminded that the saints of the New Testament weren’t dead; they were living individuals who had dedicated themselves to the worship and service of the one true God as revealed through Jesus Christ. In fact, all Christians are called to be saints of God—to live their lives in a way that reflects their faith in Christ. We all can be saints of God if we allow the Son’s light to shine through us as brilliantly as the sun did in those windows.

Saint: one separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ. [Easton’s Bible Dictionary]

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)]

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September 15, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE EYE IN THE SKY

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. [Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)]

For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. [Proverbs 5:21 (NIV)]

barred owl - CSS6769webDrones have certainly been in the news lately. North Dakota lawmakers just passed a law allowing police drones to carry “less than lethal” weapons such as tear gas or Tasers and Amazon is hoping to have “delivery-by-drone” available within the next few years. Several weeks ago, a Kentucky man blasted a drone out of the air with his shotgun while it hovered over his backyard. Indeed, drones are capable of highly advanced surveillance as a Rhode Island man recently learned. A Benedictine monk who works at the school operating a giant wind turbine, was relaxing in t-shirt and shorts, atop the 200-foot turbine when a drone spotted him catching his private quiet time in the sun. The video ended up on television and YouTube almost instantly.

When he was a toddler, my nephew thought that, by covering his eyes with his hands, he was invisible. Because he couldn’t see anyone, he figured no one could see him. The monk sun-bathing on the turbine knows that belief to be false! Whether we see them or not, it appears that we’re never able to get away from other people’s eyes. Sometimes we’re not a lot different than my nephew when it comes to our relationship with God. Just because we can’t see Him, we think He can’t see us; let’s not forget that not seeing Him doesn’t mean he’s not there. We can’t get away from God’s presence any easier than we can from drones.

Knowing we have absolutely no secrets from God is both reassuring and troubling. Granted, He knows what I look like without make-up or doing my hair, which means I can relax with Him like I would with a best girlfriend. I don’t have to maintain any pretense with Him. On the other hand, He also knows my every dirty little secret, which is far more disturbing than heartening. Since nothing is hidden from God, there are no excuses, justifications or lies about our bad behavior. We may be able to hide things from our family and friends but we can’t from God. He knows the dog didn’t eat the homework, we clearly knew the speed limit when caught speeding, we had time and money to help when we said we didn’t and that no one forced us to have the third drink or smoke the joint. He knows where we go on the Internet, with whom we chat, what we say, what we do, and with whom we do it. He knows more about us than even the most technically advanced drone and yet He still manages to love and forgive us.

Father, I welcome you into my life; search my thoughts and feelings, correct and direct me and lead me in your ways. Guide me so that my walk is always pleasing to your eyes.

Secret sins, services, and sorrow are under God’s eye. This speaks comfort to saints, and terror to sinners. [Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary]

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. … Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. [Psalm 139:1-2,23-24 (NIV)]

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. [1 John 2:6 (NIV)]

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September 14, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Today: Make it Count

BENIGN NEGLECT

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? [Proverbs 20:6 (NLT)]

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. [Proverbs 17:17 (NLT)]

What a person desires is unfailing love. [Proverbs 19:22a (NIV)]

Remember that children, marriages and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get. [From “Life’s Little instruction Book,” by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.]

DSC01958webIn July, I wrote about the weeds that had taken over our long-neglected garden. It wasn’t just the garden that suffered in our nine month’s absence; the beautiful antique silver in the china cabinet had tarnished. Although I pass that cabinet several times a day, I’ve ignored the gradually darkening silver for nearly three months. I had good intentions and meant to get out the polish but other activities kept presenting themselves. Now, with less than a week before leaving again, polishing silver hardly seems worth the effort and the task will be postponed until next summer.

While the silver can wait, relationships with friends and family don’t survive that sort of benign neglect as easily. Unfortunately, we all tend to grow complacent in our relationships, especially the long-standing ones, and we stop making the effort necessary for them to flourish and grow. Relationships, like gardens, need to be watered and fertilized and, like silver, need to be taken out, dusted off and polished on occasion.

My silver has neither feelings nor legs so, whether polished or not, it isn’t going anywhere. Stuck in my cabinet, it will still be there next summer, as will my weed-filled garden. People, however, can leave unsatisfactory relationships to find other, more satisfactory, ones. I certainly plead guilty to being inattentive and careless in my relationships. There were so many friends I meant to call, so many people I meant to see, so many things I meant to do for friends and family, but something else always seemed to interfere and my good intentions remained just good intentions.

Do you have any relationships that could be suffering from benign neglect? When was the last time you told your spouse or a dear friend you loved him or her? When was the last time you did an unexpected kindness or joyfully made a sacrifice for a friend or family member? When was the last time you offered a willing ear or lightened a loved one’s load? When last did your actions say, “You are important and I cherish our companionship?” When was the last time you worked on your relationships, watering and feeding them so they’d blossom? When was the last time you looked at your relationships, savored their beauty, and took the effort to make them shine? I’ve got a few calls to make; how about you?

Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another’s heart, or its flame burns low. [Henry Ward Beecher]

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. … Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. [1 John 3:11,18 (NLT)]

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September 8, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Obedience, Today: Make it Count

DINNER GUESTS

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place. … to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. [Job 2:11-13 (ESV)]

Tanzania sculptureLabor Day weekend at the cottage was to be our last opportunity to enjoy time at the lake until next summer. Family would be visiting most of the time and the little guys were sure to keep us on the run. Closing the house for the season also meant a lot of chores: the house cleaned, sporting equipment brought up from the lake, deck furniture scrubbed and stowed, windows washed, the pantry emptied, and so on. The last thing either of us wanted was more work.

Before the kids and grands arrived, we had one day to quietly (and leisurely) finish up some tasks. It was also the only day we’d be free to spend any time with our neighbors until our return next June. The husband is suffering from a debilitating form of dementia so time with them is precious. By next summer, the man we’ve come to know and love may no longer even remember us. The easiest thing for us would have been to take them to dinner at a local restaurant but the noise would make it difficult for our hard-of-hearing friend and the crowd would cause him discomfort. While dinner at our house was the obvious solution, neither my husband nor I felt we had the time to spend shopping, prepping, cooking and cleaning up.

The Bible is filled with stories of friendship and people who found time for one another: Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and David, Elisha and Elijah, Abraham and Lot, and Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Even Job’s three friends spent several days with him sitting at his side. A friend loves at all times, not just when it is convenient, so we knew we had to spend time encouraging and loving on our neighbors. Somewhat reluctantly, we invited them to dinner. Panic briefly set in as we scoured the kitchen to see what provisions we had. Cheese and homemade cookies for the appetizer and dessert were found in the freezer. We had enough tomatoes for a salad and the refrigerator held the ingredients for two easy make-ahead side dishes. A quick trip into town would provide the entrée in the way of an already prepared rotisserie chicken. Typically, our dinner party preparations are more complex, involving lots of prep work, but the Holy Spirit reminded us that friendship has nothing to do with an impeccably set table or a gourmet meal; friendship is breaking bread together in love. Perfection isn’t necessary in friendship; presence, however, is. Friendship is accepting and loving one another in our imperfection. While it’s good to remember friends in our thoughts and prayers, real friendship actually sits beside them whenever possible. Jesus gave his life for his friends and few of us will ever be asked to do as much as that. A little inconvenience now and then is a small price to pay for the blessings of friendship and the opportunity to share Christ’s love.

Father, thank you for the blessing of friends—brothers and sisters connected to one another, not by blood, but by their love for one another. Thank you for gifting us with people with whom we share good times and bad, sorrow and joy, laughter and tears, health and illness. May we never hesitate to be as generous with our time as our friends are with theirs. Guide us to love in the way we hope to be loved and to do for one another in the way we want to have done for us.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. [Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)]

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [1 Peter 4:8-9 (ESV)]

 

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September 7, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Prayer, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

LIST THE BLESSINGS

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! [1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (NLT)]

deer- does-webAfter returning home from nearly three weeks on the road, we hit the ground running and occupied ourselves with unpacking, laundry, sorting through piles of mail, paying bills, returning calls, watering plants, and restocking the pantry before leaving three days later to go out of town again. Busy with household tasks, editing photos, answering emails, writing devotions and updating the website, and knowing we’d soon be leaving again, I hadn’t even bothered to unpack my book bag. This morning, in a quiet moment, I reached in the bag to read some C.S. Lewis and found my gratitude journal. Sadly, no entries had been made for five days. Was there nothing for which I was grateful? On the contrary, there was plenty. Granted, the journal was buried under a pile of books but that was no excuse. I had simply been too busy and involved in doing things that I’d neglected the most important thing: pausing and being with God. Oh, I’d spent time in prayer every morning but, admittedly, those prayers had been rather rushed and the thanks had been pretty generic. Writing in the gratitude journal, however, makes me pause and truly consider the specific gifts with which God has blessed me each day.

As I reviewed the last several days, there was much for which I’d not offered thanks: over 3,000 miles driven without incident, accident or ticket; the littlest grand started preschool with a smile and another grand is adjusting well to her new school; the flowers survived our absence and neglect; neighbors had taken in the mail we’d forgotten to put on hold; my 98-year old mother-in-law continues to do well; five devotions got written; my shoulder is no longer sore and my foot has finally healed; a friend is recovering well from surgery; another friend is healing from the pain of losing his wife; my children sent pictures of the grands; I got caught up on my paper work; hurricane Erika petered out; my husband cooked one of my favorite meals; and I saw a buck and two does walk through our yard this morning. The list goes on and on. None of it is earth-shattering, none of it is deep, but all of it is worthy of thanks to God. Since He never seems too busy to grant His blessings, why is it so easy to become too busy to thank Him?

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we take your blessings for granted or neglect to acknowledge them. Daily, you bestow upon us gifts of every shape and size. May we always recognize the source of our blessings and never take them for granted or forget to express our gratitude to the Giver of all gifts.

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. [Psalm 100:4-5 (NLT)]

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September 4, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Patience & Perseverance, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

TREKKING POLES – LESSONS FROM THE TRAIL (3)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)]

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. [Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)]

chipmunk- SSCO9368awebI always had a false sense of pride about not using trekking poles when hiking. They were for novices or ersatz hikers—not a seasoned hiker like me. After reading about hiking the Appalachian Trail, however, it occurred to me that I could be mistaken. With my arthritic knees, perhaps I could use a little assistance.

After a few hikes in the Rockies, I am now a proponent of trekking poles. Where, I wondered, are the aching muscles, stiff joints, and sore feet I expected after several strenuous hikes? The poles, however, greatly reduced the impact on my legs, knees, ankles and feet. Why was I able to walk as quickly and steadily? The poles helped propel me forward and maintain a rhythm. Why hadn’t I struggled more on the steeps? The poles increased my traction and helped me maintain my balance. Why hadn’t I been more frightened on the most challenging sections? I felt more secure with the poles’ assistance. Why no scratches from the brambles? The poles helped me push away nuisances like thorny branches. I suppose I could have used them as defense weapons if attacked, but the squirrels and chipmunks posed no threat and the dogs I met were all friendly.

It took a bit of humility to admit that I might need some help when hiking and now I wonder why it took me so long to realize what seasoned hikers have known for so long. Sometimes our relationship with God is that way, as well. We struggle on, exhausting ourselves, defenseless, getting discouraged, struggling, frightened, and even hurt, before admitting, “Lord, I can’t do it alone!” When we finally admit our weakness, He will ease our fears, keep us steady, and provide us with the skill, strength, confidence and protection needed to complete our walk.

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” [Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)]

For God have us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. [2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)]

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? [Psalm 27:1 (ESV)]