Christmas Reflection

Almost every year I write a Christmas poem. I'll share a few in the days to come.

Merry Christmas!
Reflect this year at Christmas on what the Lord has done for us.
He gave up Heaven's glory to walk on this earth's dust
As a tiny baby, placed Himself in mortals' hands.
He could have trod the streets of gold, but chose to walk in sand.
He spent His life in service to those who should have served:
Then he hung upon the cross and took what we deserved.
So, as we think of what he gave to us by coming here,
Let us purpose in our hearts to live differently next year.
May our resolution be commitment to our Lord,
Renewed determination to live according to His word.

What Lies Within - July 22, 2002

People spend a great deal of their lives fretting over events they cannot change. We cannot undo mistakes already made, nor can we completely insure a positive future. Yet we dwell on what has been and what will be instead of living in the present. I understand this phenomenon because I have wasted considerable time regretting my past and worrying about my future.

Perhaps I should have worked harder in high school and tried to be valedictorian, or maybe I should have had more fun instead of working as hard as I did. I carried around a load of bitterness from my divorce for years after the fact. I felt I had missed out on the possibility of studying at Cambridge or having some other overseas adventure by staying here to marry when my parents moved to England. As years of singleness rolled by, I wondered if I’d missed my chance to have children (I hadn’t, but that’s another story of God’s grace). I can’t count the number of times I’ve questioned getting my bachelor’s degree in music education.

I’m equally good at stressing over things that haven’t happened and may never happen. I suffer from the “what if” syndrome. What if I never remarry? What if I don’t have enough money in my retirement fund? What if my car conks out before I have money saved up for a down payment? What if I have cancer and don’t know it? What if I tell everyone I believe God has led me to write and nothing ever gets published?

God clearly tells us that dwelling on the past or being overly concerned about the future are counterproductive to living a life of peace, power, and joy. Paul writes, “…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14) He is leaving his past behind and moving toward a secure future. In what has become known as “The Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus admonishes us not to worry about our food or clothes or tomorrow. He tells us to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness and ends by saying, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

I’ve always struggled with how to do these things, but recently I came across a quote that God used to open my eyes. It was not a scripture verse or something said by a famous theologian. It wasn’t even in a book by a popular Christian author. As I was reading my notes in a traveler’s journal used to record the events of a mission tour in Europe, this printed page topper jumped out of the book:

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

God immediately began to reveal what lies within me. God in the person of the Holy Spirit is within me, and He is more powerful than any problem in the world (I John 4:4b). Jesus teaches us that we are to be in Him like the branches are in a vine. When we are staying close to Him in this way, then He pours into us His life and the ability to do what He has given us to do each day (John 15:5). Jesus prayed for us, His future followers, that we would have unity as He is in us and God is in Him (John 17:20-23). In reality, I no longer live my own life, but Christ is living in me (Galatians 2:20). “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me – I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me, [that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]” (Philippians 4:13, Amplified Version).

Even though I was certain that Christ indwells me, I still found myself asking how to tap into the power He has promised. The answer again was “what lies within us.” I have been instructed to treasure God’s word in my heart in order to avoid sinning against Him (Psalm 119:11). If I have hidden in my heart the fact that I am to “be anxious for nothing,” but instead make my needs known to God, He will use that knowledge to remind me to replace worry with prayer. If I have memorized Romans 8:1, I know that since I have trusted Jesus, God does not condemn me; nor should I condemn myself. The psalmist says, “I rejoice at Thy word, as one who finds great spoil” and “Those who love Thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:162 & 165).

How can I plug into the Lord’s supply of grace for my past and my future? When I am tempted to fret, I will take my needs to God. My worry log will become my prayer list. When I catch myself dwelling on the past, I will focus my attention on memorizing scripture about forgiveness, assurance of salvation, and God’s control. I will spend more time abiding in Him and letting “the word of Christ richly dwell” within me (Colossians 3:16). God will enable me to trust Him with what lies behind me and what lies ahead of me as I become more sure of Who lies within me right now and forever.

Psalm 103 - Praise the Lord, O My Soul

From deep within, I praise you, Lord: I praise your holy name.
Because of all your benefits, I’ll never be the same.
My sins you have forgiven: you redeemed me from many pits.
These are just the beginning of your precious benefits.
Often times you’ve healed me or given me grace in my pain,
But most importantly you have blotted out my sin’s guilty stain.
You crown me with love and compassion, I’m completely filled with good things.
You renew my strength and empower me to mount up with eagle’s wings.
My soul will magnify you, Lord, and forever I’ll sing your praise.
Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise him all of my days.

RE-CREATED
based on Ephesians 3:20-21 - May 12, 1985

I tried in vain to remodel my life,
to cover up all of its pain and its strife.
I’d put on a smile and a good attitude.
I’d try to be positive; try to be good.
But try as I might, my life didn’t change.
The same old me was just rearranged.

But God didn’t want to remodel my life;
to simply paint over the pain and the strife.
Instead, he created a whole new me;
made me what I never thought I could be.
Exceedingly, abundantly beyond all I thought
God’s Spirit for me a new life has wrought.

A Woman's Call to Prayer

Christian women, God is calling you to pray,
Not just in a crisis but every single day.
We have a mighty power when we call on Jesus’ name,
And as we stand upon His word, we will not be dismayed.

Single woman, pray for yourself
And for your friends in the Lord
That you’ll stay true to His word
To live in purity and faith a life that’s clean.

Young wife, pray for your man
as he walks out the door,
that he’ll follow the Lord
not just at church, but at home and work and in between.

Mothers, pray for each child,
As he takes his first walk,
As she first learns to talk,
That Christ will draw them ever closer to His side.

Grandmas, keep praying for your kids,
And the grandchildren they raise
That the Lord they’ll learn to praise
And that your family ever near Him will abide.

Childless woman, pray for the ones
To which you give your mother love
For God has blessed you from above
With unconditional love He has given you to share.

All women, pray for the souls
Who seem to have no one to pray
Who so easily stray
That the Lord will help them see how much he cares.

Christian women, you can change your world
Not by following flags unfurled
But by standing on the word of God and falling to your knees
To call upon the power of God who loves, and cares, and sees.

Thoughts Over a Pumpkin Spice Latte

It's my favorite time of year again - Autumn. Multi-hued leaves blowing in the breeze, cool evenings, and Starbucks has my favorite drink again! Here are my thoughts from last year while drinking my favorite drink at the in store Starbucks at Target:

Sipping expensive coffee in the “Baptist bar,”
Listening to Jazz as I drink my decaf down;
Watching the people passing by in the store,
I see so few smiles, so many frowns.

I wonder what would happen if I walked about smiling
At each passerby if I know her or not.
Would it brighten her day, would it make a difference?
Or would she be thinking, “Is she off her rocker or what?”

I think I’ll go try just greeting these strangers,
Smiling and trying to spread some good cheer.
I’ve had my tall latte; I’ve bolstered my courage.
Here I go overcoming timidity and fear.

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth...So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, wihtout accomplishing what I desire." (Isaiah 55:10-11 NASB)

Tomorrow I will mail $75 to Voice of the Martyrs to be used to purchase a DVD player and set of 24 DVDs for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a believer in Indonesia. Included in the DVDs are the Gospel of Matthew and the book of Acts, each a 4 DVD set. I know God's word will not return void, so I am praying for the many people, including muslims who will be reached for Christ via this gift.

I am so thankful for the children God gave to me because my daughter, son, and daughter-in-love gave up receiving Christmas gifts from me this year to enable me to share in spreading the message of Jesus' love in Indonesia. God is so good!

If you are not familiar with Voice of the Martyrs, visit their website www.persecution.com to learn about this much needed ministry to the persecuted church. We in America are so blessed to have the freedom to worship and witness that we now enjoy. I urge you to never take that for granted!

Easier Said than Done

"Every morning tell him, 'Thank you for your kindness,' and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness" Psalm 92:2 TLB

Reading this scripture is far easier than following it. Take this morning for example. Last night I did not sleep - not a wink, but I really needed to get up and go to Sunday School this morning because we are having a fellowship at my house Friday night and we needed to discuss details. Just as I was putting Mom back to bed because she hadn't slept either, the phone rang. My sister was calling to say that she was not feeling well and hadn't slept all night and, therefore, would not be coming to stay with Mom so I could go to church.

Okay, plan B. I called my friend to see if she could come by to get the invitations and directions to my house to pass out in Sunday school. I woke her up, but she said she'd call me back for directions in a few minutes. She called back and said, "Let me stay with your Mom so you can go to Sunday school. I hate for you to miss since Sunday morning is the only time you get to go to church." I agreed to that plan. After I hung up I thought, "Oh my! The house is a train wreck!"

The phone rang again. It was my sister saying she was coming over after all because her 4-yr-old great grandson was throwing a fit saying, "Granny! I had to miss Sunday school last week. I CAN'T miss two weeks in a row!"

I should have thanked God for his kindness even when it looked like I was going to miss church. But when I realized the little guy was that excited about going to church, I finally remembered to thank God for his kindness and his faithfulness. God is SO GOOD!!!!

Gardening

I just spent 45 minutes working in one of my iris beds. Yes, it's fall; but gardening doesn't only happen in the spring. If I want to have beautiful irises next spring, I have to cut them back, thin them out, and pull any weeds or trees out of the bed right now. Not only will this make the bed look cleaner for the months ahead, but it will simplify my work in the spring. By cleaning out all the little acorns and pecans, I'll have fewer little trees to uproot next year. My neighbor also has this extremely invasive vine that infiltrates my flower bed. I have to pull it up by the roots and spray Roundup along the fence at least three times a year or it will choke out my plants.

Yes, gardening is hard work. I've been working on cleaning out all the beds for about a month now at the rate of 30 minutes to 2 hours per day at least 4 days per week. But it's worth it when the flowers bloom in the spring, summer, and part of the fall.

Friendships take year round effort and a lot of patience as well. I was contemplating this one day and wrote the article below:

Cultivating Gardens and Friendships

My students and I took the weed infested edge of a field and turned it into a garden. We learned about growing things from seeds and planning the layout of a garden, the two objectives of the science lesson. However, I learned much about the hard work of cultivating the soil as well.
The first year I thought I effectively cleared the weeds from a square yard of ground, and my class planted twelve marigold plants we had started from seed in the classroom window. They grew and bloomed with the help of water laced with Miracle Grow, but I continued to fight weeds all spring.
The next year I prepared a larger rectangle and worked harder to dig up the roots of those weeds. They extended about two feet into the ground and were as thick as the handle of my shovel in places. I toiled many afternoons digging and hacking at roots. When I thought I had done the best job humanly possible, I worked in a large bag of peat moss and three bags of top soil. We did an experiment with live worms and then released them in the garden to aerate the soil. My young gardeners helped me plant seedlings of marigolds, nasturtiums, and zinnias. Then came the rabbits. Nasturtiums are supposed to be good in salads, but I never found out because the rabbits ate them almost before the children had the opportunity to see them.
The next year I read that rabbits don’t like wild onions. The sixty second graders at the private school helped me enlarge our plot. We dragged rocks from the playground and used them to outline our garden. Along the back edge there were wild onions transplanted from a friend’s yard. Marigolds formed diamond shapes around two beds. One contained alternating carrot and radish plants. The other contained three types of herbs. That was the year of the late freeze in March. I thought I’d never collect enough cans and cartons to cover the seedlings we had already planted, but somehow the second-graders and I protected our plants. That year the school won a beautification award from the city, and our garden was listed as one of the reasons.
Establishing a garden from ground long uncultivated took work, sweat, and some money. It took a lot of time, and we never completely eradicated those weeds. But the reward of watching the students smell the flowers and herbs and eat the carrots and radishes they had grown was well worth it.
Building a friendship is much like cultivating that unused land. It takes work to get below the surface of the mask we show the world. It takes much time spent with someone to uncover the barriers that keep a friendship from taking root. When the seedling of a relationship is established, the work is not over. We must water it with appreciation and attention. Neglected friendships seldom bloom.
After a friendship blooms, new weeds may surface and try to choke out the beauty that is just beginning to emerge. Hurt feelings, mistrust left over from a failed relationship, strong differences of opinion can whither a friendship if not dealt with swiftly and in love. We cannot abandon the friendship at the first sign of a difference. We must seek to love each other as our Lord commands for our love for each other is what identifies us with Christ (John 13:35).
Sometimes the rabbits of the world (worries, unwholesome activities, and bad influences) will eat away at a friendship. We must find ways to guard against them. We must continue to reach out to the friend who is chasing those rabbits. Sometimes we must speak truthfully with a friend who is going astray. Even though it is difficult to do, saving that friend from self-destructive behavior is more important than the momentary discomfort a loving confrontation may bring (James 5:19-20).
There will also be winters that may strain friendships. It is hard to know what to say to friend who is frozen with disappointment or loss. Even though you may not have the best words, a simple hug may be the warmth needed to keep a heart from dying in the cold. Don’t smother the hurting friend, but be available to knock off the cold winds of doubt that often follow the death of a loved one or the end of a dream.
Cultivating a friendship will take much effort and, perhaps, some tears; but the rewards far outweigh the costs. The fruit of a good friendship is sweeter than any apple. The kind words of a friend can make all the difference on a dreary day because “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). May the Lord help me to be the type of friend that digs deep to eradicate barriers, waters with kindness, and protects when the cold winds blow. And I thank the Lord for those who have made the effort to cultivate a friendship with me.

New at This

I'm new at blogging, so please bear with me. What I plan to post are just the thoughts I have, especially those that occur during my Bible study time. I may post poetry I've written as well. I invite feedback, and hope my blog will be an encouragement to those who choose to read it.