Not Afraid

I was looking forward to Friday morning as I wanted to participate in The Gypsy Mama's 5-minute writing prompt; I thought that it would be a great way to start writing again on the LOV blog.  I was expecting feel good word-prompts like "Tasty," "Fluffy," or "Light."  But today's prompt is AFRAID.  I am stumped.  Nothing comes to mind. Hmm...

OK- I will just stream-write, like we are supposed to do anyway....

AFRAID- Cancer is the first thing that comes to mind....I don't have it, but I could someday. But someday is not today. I will not worry about that.  I can be brave then should that ever occur.

But "afraid" is directly connected to worry isn't it?  We worry because we are afraid of something.

Honestly, I think my biggest worry is not living a lived-life.  I do not want to sound too existential this Friday, cold-Oh, it's February 1st today, yeah!!!-morning.  Really, though, I told myself many years ago, and I am not sure when or what led to this thought, that I never wanted to live a life of regrets-no regrets. I am afraid of doing that. So each day-consciously or not it functions in the weave of my soul now-I try to live.  To me that is sucking in the marrow of the moment, passing on a smile, telling my children that I love them out-of-the-blue. Not that  I get it right-I still yell in my car at really s-l-o-w drivers. 

But, I believe I am living the Master's path. And I am not afraid.

 

 

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January's Theme- RENEWal

Each month I would like to write a post about my focus for that month.  A theme to go with the Manager of the Home" planners if you will.  I know that it is already into mid-January- how did that happen?  But I am still adjusting to the groove of a new year so you may be too!

When I sit with my monthly planner sheets before me, all blank waiting to be filled, I overview the entire month first.  More often than not, there is a holiday which beckons celebration.  The season of the year also offers its own frivolities and appeals.  Also, the time of year may require certain attention in that month.  Some examples would be Christmas in December is a holiday that directs the activities of most of the month.  The summer is fun for picnics and January's snow brings sled-riding parties (oh, but we do not have any snow- yet.)  When I look over the month awaiting to happen and consider all of these things, I get a feel for the month.  All of this gives me a theme.  No, I do not set this in stone and live by it perpetually.  But I have found that taking this time to ponder about the upcoming month, gives me a perspective that enables me to live with purpose, pursuing my priorities with passion.  (You will see this last idea a recurring one as it blends with a series I will be writing about who and what Ladies Of Virtue is.)

So with that introduction, I would like to share that January for me is about RENEWal.  I used to follow the masses and view this month after Christmas with disdain.  Yes, the days are shorter, colder -bleak even- routine.  However, I now actually look forward to these days of January.  Why?  Because the cold gives me reason to get cozy with a hot mug of hot chocolate.  The shortness of the days prompts me to crawl into my cozy bed with a good book.  The routine and lack of celebration gives me time to rest and enjoy the simple things some of which I just mentioned. 

We need calmness to balance out the chaos.  We need quiet to counter the noise.  January's schedule (compared with the rest of the year) offers that calmness and quiet, the is the perfect time for putting all of those "p" words into practice.  A whole year awaits us of things that have never been, ventures never explored.  In the calmness of January I can think.  It is a month of renewal. I can gain my bearings again.  Being the beginning of the new year, I can pause, ponder, pray, gain perspective, prioritize, and plan for the year ahead.  All of which allows my life to be lived with purpose and passion.  It is a month of new beginnings.

Do you need renewal this month?

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Catch the Little Foxes

What clutter is is your life? stealing away precious time?  Causing havoc because of disorganiziation?

What little foxes come in and steal your peace and joy?  worry? fear? discontent?

Yesterday's homemaking tip was to sort through your food storage containers.  It does not take much brain but it does take encouragement as a catalyst sometimes because chores like that never seem to get done until they MUST be dealt with.

But isn't life itself like that?  Are not our hearts like that?  We have little stressors in our lives that we allow to eat away at our peace bite by bite and we do nothing about it.  We have small issues in our hearts that put just a little fog on an otherwise sunny demeanor.

I am not speaking of the things that are out of our control, like the rain preventing a planned picnic or the missing hot dogs that you bought yesterday for today's lunch and now they are gone.  With inspection you discover that your teen age son had a hot dog binge at midnight.  Well, maybe THAT one could have been in your control with better  "tell-me-when-you-plan-on-eating-the-hot-dogs" parental discipline.  Most everything is really out of our control.  However, most of what we allow into our schedules and hearts is within our realm of supervision and submission.

It is the little things that grow into big things that we are exhorted to guard and get rid of.

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." -Song of Solomon 2:15

And it is the little things that trip us up is it not? 

You are too tired to host the bible study at your house, but you are the one who invited everyone.

Your friend just bought the pair of pumps that you have been wanting and could not afford.

Your niece just got a scolarship to Yale while you are struggling to get your teen to remember multiplication.

Your kids are driving you to Google "trips to Mars" but you are the one who wanted so many- kids that is.  (Or so my husband has reminded me.)

These are some temporary causes of irritation- if we let it.  The longer I live the more I am realizing that PERSPECTIVE is everything.  EVERYTHING.  Perspective can take my mind and heart to a place of anger or depression before I know how it got there.   But perspective can also be the weapon that kills those little foxes eating all of my good grapes.  Perspective can be the salt that preserves my fruit.

I only have space to address few issues that spoil your fruit.  I have brought up scheduling and the HEART which is a huge area all unto itself.  But simply, as for scheduling- manage it.  Do what you have to do, plan for what you want to do (some of the time), and allow space to fill in your schedule when life's "didn't expect that" times arrive.

As for your heart.  Well, we have been given the entire bible to instruct us on what to do about it.  Guard your heart and keep your perspective His.  That is enough water and sunshine to keep the fruit growing.  And have no mercy on the little foxes.  They grow up and when they do they eat more.  And they meet other foxes and have baby foxes and then you are dealing with a whole lot of them.

What little foxes will you be hunting down today?

Linking today with other hunters from



by John Rae 1918 

The Choking Thorns

If you read yesterday's post, you were encouraged to sort through those mounds of paper in your home, specifically mail catalogues, bills, advertising flyers, notes, "to do" lists, your children's drawings, magazines...all of that paper stuff.  All of us have been overwhelmed at times from these mounds as they leave their piles of disarray across our counters, desks, or floors.  Left untamed they turn into what I call the "Paper Beast" continuing to grow in size causing distractions both visually and mentally.

Today I want to  talk with you about those cares of life that choke out the good within.  Jesus tells us in the parable about the sower of the seed (or His word) that, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." -Luke 8:14 

Is God's word and work is your life producing fruit or is it being choked out by life's worries?


In our homes, thorns like Paper Beasts, can hide the order and beauty of our space.  In our hearts, life's concerns can hide the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit.  Not only hide, Jesus says, but choke it out.  We must be vigilant in our homes and vigilant in our hearts.

How does scripture exhort us to not worry? Simply- DO NOT DO IT.  (See Psalm 37:1)  Whatever your concern today- unpaid bills, the sickness of a child, a conflict with your spouse, the never-ending "to do" list- give it all to Him for He cares for you. (1Peter 5:7)

Jesus reveals to us as well qthat not only worries but riches and pleasures can choke out the word in us.  As I write this I am getting ready to embark on a trip of pleasure; we are heading out the door on our way to the beach.  I cannot wait; I love the beach!  But as I type, I am reminded not to get so distracted with the pleasures that He gives me, that I forget the Giver.  I think that is the remedy to choke out the thorns themselves. 

In  Deuteronomy 8 the Lord speaks to His people, "Do not forget the Lord thy God by not keeping His precepts...Lest when you have eaten (I cannot wait to eat Maryland crab cakes, yum!) and are full (I will be very full.), and have built goodly houses to live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied, then your minds and hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the house of bondage...and beware lest you say in your heart and mind , 'my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth  But you shall earnestly remember the Lord you God..." (See Deut. 8:11-18)

Wealth and pleasures are not sin; but forgetting who bestowed them upon us is.

Be vigilant today, so that through perseverance the fruit in your heart will grow to glorify Him.  And as you read this I will be taking in the splendor of the ocean and thanking my Father who made it.

Today I am linking with

YOU are Beautiful! ~make the most of yourself

Today is Wednesday when I walk with Him.  What a privilege! 

Yesterday I was very practical and began a series of posts on Homemaking, and yes, practical homemaking is a very spiritual experience.  The subject currently in this series is "Organizing" and I began by encouraging the ladies to sort through their make up.  Get rid of the old and replace it with something fresh and lovely.  Scroll below if you would like to read that post before this one.

So as I walk with Him today I am thinking that writing a parallel post applying these practical subjects to spiritual principles would be fun.  Well, fun because I already know the subject for today!  I can foresee some weeks' posts being more convicting.  But for TODAY- 
I want you to see yourself as beautiful.  I want you to see yourself how God sees you.

Do you consider yourself beautiful?  The Lover of your soul states,

"You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you."

~Song of Solomon 4:7

Oh! that just gives me waves of delight!  Dear Sister, He thinks that you are perfect.  My heart goes out to you who will not believe it.  I cannot convince you with my own words but I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak sweet nothings in your ear.  God has made you a beautiful woman inside and out.  He has replaced the ugliness of your sin with beauty.

"OK" you may be thinking but what about this physical body of mine?  Yes, as you consider your muffin top, or pimples, or dark circles under yor eyes (my bother point), or plain-Jane face, He considers you lovely.

But with this truth there is something to be said about trying to look your best- for the rest of us.  LOL. I hope that you saw the humor with which I am coming from in that statement!  Now let me speak plainly- the rest of us can tell whether you take any time at all on your appearance.  While having a preooccupation with our looks is out of balance, so is having no concern whatsoever.  I think that deep down every woman wants to be beautiful.

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life:

for let the form of an object be what it may,

-light, shade, perspective will always make it beautiful."

-John Constable

By dressing with care, doing our hair, and applying make up thoughtfully, we can snip preoccupation in the bud.  Let me explain an example- there have been a few times when I did not apply concealer under my eyes and when I was conversing with someone all I could think of was, "Oh! she is just staring at  my big black circles under my eyes!  I look like a racoon!" not even being able to concentrate on what she was saying!  Pathetic I know.  Maybe it is just me. 

But I have found that when I dress appropriately for the circumstance that I am then being thoughtful towards the others I am with and hononring them.  If your pastor should invite you into his home for dinner will you show up in the paint clothes you wore that day?  or shower, dress, and make an attempt to be fresh?  We all should do this at all times.  (Another example, I do not know a man who wants to be greeted continuously by a woman wearing sweats and undone hair; it connotes a feeling of disorder and stress.  Dress thoughtfully, apply some perfume and lipstick, and most importantly a warm smile, and he will know that you care about him.) 

I have had many women say to me that they do not have the money to dress well, the skill to apply makeup nicely, or the means to get their hair done.  Dear sister there is always a way to make the most out of what you have.  Be creative and ask for help where you need it.

Celebrate your beautiful femininity as a tribute to His glory.  This will be encased differently in each one of us.  Align your attitude about yourself with His and make the most of what you have physically.  Say aloud, "God has made me beautiful inside and out" and believe it.  And if donning a new color of nail polish makes you feel prettier then go for it!  It is your attitude that will showcase your beauty most of all.

Linking today with WalkwithHimWednesdays, womenlivingwell.

Shouts of GRACE

For two months now I have been writing journal posts that I have been referring to as "beads on a necklace".  Each bead has been my heart being molded by the Holy Spirit.  If you like read the first bead read here.  I think it is fitting to write about the clasp that holds all these beads together to form a beautiful necklace.  It is GRACE.

Grace- the wonderful, amazing, awe-inspiring phenomenon that will take me an eternity to understand the depths of.

The Greek definition is the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life- CHARIS.  Isn't that beautiful?   Doesn't charis sum up the gospel succintly?  The Father has drawn us, Spirit to spirit working on our hearts and we are able to know God-intimately.  Our whole is made new and we take this grace into us, our days and His goodness is reflected in our lives.

In thinking about the past three months that is what I am left to think of when heart aches are healed, sorrows are relieved, anger is vanquished- GRACE.  He influences, He IS the influence upon my heart and my perspective changes to His.  And in Him I have nothing to fear- nothing to fear.  Oh, how good is that?

His grace are threads weaving in, through, around, between our lives making them into a beautiful relfection of His loving kindness towards us.

Read these scriptures s-lo-w-l-y.  Bask in them.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you fresh revelation.

"...therefore the Lord earnestly waits- expecting, looking and longing- to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you." -Isaiah 30:18 Amplified. 

The Lord LONGS to be gracious to you!

Two months ago I was so down, I was not sure of when I would get up again.  But even with trials and tests, battles, effects of sin, circumstance, and chance He remains gracious.

 And I am sure of this for me and for you..."that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ right up to the time of His return, developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you (and me)." -Philippians 1:6 Amplified

At that time He will put the very last stone of our lives into place- the cap stone- with shouts of "Grace! Grace!' to it.  Zechariah 4:7  For all will see by the reflection in our lives that His divine influence has been upon our hearts.

So as I conclude this chapter of my life having strung beads and a centerpiece together I fasten the clasp and shout, "Grace! Grace to it!"
  


I am walking with Him toady and living well because of His grace.  Visit others who are doing the same.http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Blessed to Be a BLESSING

I love to receive gifts don't you?  When Brooke McGothlin offered a copy of her new ebook as a thank-you for a reviewing it, I jumped, "sure!".  I was blessed.

And I am happy today to give away a copy to.....well, you will have to keep reading till the end of this post!
This give-away idea is really fun.  I should like to offer it more often.  I love to receive but I also love to give.

This attitude of course reminds me of our heavenly Father who lavishes on His children.  No good thing will He withhold from us! (Psalm 84:11)

I do not think it wrong to ask to be blessed so that I might be a blessing. 

Now I do not want to get into a theological discourse about how we should have pure motives when asking and that stated above is not one of them.  And how we should give out of what we already have not waiting to receive more.  And how we already are blessed with every spiritual blessing.  Though there is merit in those thoughts, they diverge from the simple truth that I want to convey to you today which makes it difficult sometimes to blog.   Trying to share something theological and from the heart can have too many nuances of meaning to disclose in a short blog post.

I am saying that I pray that I may be blessed so that I can bless in return.

"Oh Lord bless me indeed!"

 

Jabez felt the same way.  See 1Chronicles 4:9-10.  This man caused his mother so much grief as she bore him into this world that she signified her sorrow with his very name- Jabez.  From the outset of his life he was one who caused pain instead of blessing carrying in his name a notification that he was a pain.

 

Scripture says that Jabez was more homorable than his brethren.  I think that the Lord gave him a new brand because of the contriteness of his heart.  He cried out to the Lord, "Oh that You would bless me indeed...that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!"

 

Jabez knew that his own sinful ways cause him pain.  Are not we the same?  I cannot count how many times my own mouth has caused me grief.  My actions that reaped sorrow.

 

Jabez also knew that when the Lord's hand was upon him he would be blessed and he would be a BLESSING. 
 

I started this post talking of giving away a material possession.  Yes, that is good.  But there are other blessings that are too numerous to count.  How are YOU blessed today? 

 

Do you have peace in your heart?  Assuage someone who is troubled.

 

Do you have joy?  Go rub that off onto someone and make their day lighter.

 

Do you have love overflowing?  Love the unlovable.

 

BE a blessing.

 

Pray to be blessed.  Your prayer will probably be answered in part by giving you a revelation of the wealth already yours because of His goodness.  When we know that we are blessed our focus is not towards ourselves in self pity but on others.  We search out how we might BE a Blessing.

Now my turn....and the winner is of "Aspiring Writers" is-------
 

  Angela Dively from 

Congratualtions Angela!

 

Linking to time-warp-wife at

 

Loss of GUILT

I am linking with The Gypsy Mama today for the 5-Minute Friday post.  We take only five minutes and let our fingers fly tapping the keyboard sprawling thoughts onto the screen.  Five minutes with no editing is not long at all, especially for the prompt today of LOSS.

The meditations of my heart are running a different course than the typical subject matter of LOSS.
Today I am mauling over what it means to have a LOSS of GUILT  in my life because I am a believer.

"Therefore there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." -Romans 8:1 NAS

because...

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.  Therefore as by the offence of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification."     -Romans 5:17-18 KJV

Are you in Christ Jesus?
I am not asking if you are living the "Christian life"- monitoring your eyes from the evils of tv, monitoring your mouth from evil slurs that you want to yell at the driver who pulled out in front of you, monitoring your heart from discontentment..... I mean are you in Christ?  Are you sticking to Him like glue?   Are you letting yourself be grafted into His vine?  Are you aboding with Him and He in you?  Are you aligning your mind to His?

The Father proclaims to us that there is no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus.  Do you live that way?  That means, though we are SOOOO deserving of the guilty sentence,  we have been vindicated in Christ.  Absolved FOREVER.  Just as in the American justice system once a person is tried and been found innocent by the panel of jurors never can they be tried again for that same crime, we once having been found as the righteousness of God in Christ CAN NEVER BE TRIED AGAIN.  woo-hoo!!!

I was standing in front of that Judge- the awesome One- guilty of every heinous crime that could have been commited, right before my sentencing Jesus said, "Wait!!!!! I have taken her punishment upon Myself.  She is as innocent as a pure lamb."

Do you remember a time when you FELT that burden of sin fall off of your back- oh, sweet release!  Have you been living with the easy yoke or have YOU put that burden back on by not living what God says of you.  YOU are the righteousness of God in Christ.  If you have never known this and Spirit is revealing this truth to your heart now- believe it.

Christ died that we might live as blissful children.  He does not want us weighted down by the guilt from sin.

Maybe right now your mind is affirming that "no" you do not live with guilt.  Then I would dig deeper and ask you to look into your soul to see if what I call "permaguilt" exists there?  It is a guilt that is embedded just below our consciousness that is always there.  I often have to extricate that blight.  It spreads like a quiet cancer through my soul and surfaces with thoughts of "Why didn't I?  Why do I?" or in another language, "For the good I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want."  This thought if not confronted with the truth of vindication stated above grows like a vine of cancer choking any joy and peace that I am meant to have in the abundant Life He gives to me.

So I cast down those thoughts and replace them with Truth.  I am FREE.  My God loves me and He will never stop!  My Father is happy with me because I am the righteousness of God in Christ.  If you are IN Him, dear reader, this truth applies to you as well.  Let this truth soak into your cells and live free today.

Live with the LOSS of guilt forever.

I want to add a note that though we do sin in this body the emotion that should accompany is sorrow.
"For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces repentance without regret , leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. "  -2Corinthians 7:10 NAS

For further study read Romans chapter 7 and 8.

I DID go waayyy over five minutes but I do not think that The Gypsy Mama would want me to feel guilty about that.


another great link- heartandsoulexchage.blogspot.com

Perplexed but not in Despair, Cast Down but Not Destroyed

A month or so ago I began writing some posts that were straight from my heart, sharing the emotional terrain that I would have otherwise kept for the places of my personal journal.  I felt the Lord led me to share my heart experiences.  I think because it is very common, normal, to be expected- to deal with heart ache in this lifetime.  Whether death, sin, circumstances we WILL have trouble in this world.  And, though I would prefer to only notice the pretty and pleasant sometimes the ugly must be acknowledged.

If you have not read some of these other posts of mine and would like to start there- click here.

I have been very conscious of my spiritual walk this past month- who cannot be conscious when traversing a dessert?  I have wanted to share with you my heart, my thoughts along the way.  At least journal them for myself to record God's hand in my story. Do you journal?  I have since I was a little girl, however in these last busy years raising young ins (well eighteen years, really) I have only seemed to have found time enough to record the hallmarks of my journey- not the everyday stuff that makes up the many stitches of this patchwork.

I consider journaling a sort of way of memorializing God's work.  Like God told Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua" when the Amalek was crushed by Joshua and His people. (Exodus 17:14)  Moses even went further to build a memorial. (verse 15).  Joshua learned this as an act of worship and put it into practice by building a memorial of stones himself representing the twelve tribes of Israel in order to remember that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  (Joshua 3:6-8) 

I have never built a memorial of stone with my own hands but I have placed pebbles of words together to be cemented as a memorial, in order for me to pause before it at that moment and many more later to consider the Lord's hand.   Do you build memorials of words?            

I am digressing from my original purpose of this post.  But as I naturally diverge in a "teaching" mode, well, THAT is a good sign to me indeed.

This post is another bead strung next to June 2nd's post.  If you like you can read that here.  There have been many beads that I could have strung between these two which would have produced an intelligible connection; however, I was not up for writing or could not carve out the time to do so.  So I name this next bead to be the centerpiece of this necklace.  It is worthy of focus as this past month has been a turning point in my heart and soul.  I feel myself ascending into the mountains again and I do not want to forget how and Who is bringing me there.  Thus, I create this ceramic bead as a memorial.

I begin by stating that I have been these passed months as Paul ,

"(I) am troubled on every side, yet not crushed;

I am perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not forsaken;

cast down, but not destroyed."

-2 Corinthians 4:7-9, paraphrase mine.

I read my June 2nd post before commencing to write this and I can testify that probably for the first time in my life I really did feel like this.  Circumstances, relationships, and the actions of others pushing, pressing, extracting- till I have been troubled on every side, cast down. 

I just searched the word "perplexed" and found its meaning in the concordance to be having no way out- when traversing to see no clear direction (anyone just think of being in the wilderness spiritually?), to be at a loss mentally. EXACTLY...but for God.

... He orders my steps, delights in my way, and though I fall, I shall not be utterly cast; for the Lord upholds me with His hand. (Psalm37:23-24) 

Are you dear one feeling crushed today? cast down? perplexed?  Do you feel the gentle hand of our Father holding yours?

Our journey is not about getting to the mountain top but how we spend our time with the One holding our hand along the way.  I am learning that He WILL allow me to go through uncomfortable things; but He is right by my side.  Though I may be perplexed, I need not be in despair because He is guiding me even if it does not look like it.  And though I may be cast down; I will not stay down because He is upholding me. 

Good things indeed to memorialize.

Come back next Wednesday as I add more beads to this string.

Welcome- with a Smile

Participating with the Gypsy Mama and many others in

5-Minute Friday

Where we...
1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in my right side bar}
3. Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

It’s a great way to exhale at the end of a beautiful week.

Today's prompt is WELCOME.

GO.

The very first thing that comes to mind when I hear "Welcome" is a warm, well- welcome, the words being said by a person having a huge genuine smile who makes eye contact, gives you their attention and everything in their being exudes warmness.

Now this could conjure a picture of Grandma when the family arrives at the door Christmas morning.  But it could also be seen by a stranger in a public situation- take a hostess at a restaurant.

When I am in a social setting I ALWAYS search out the "welcoming" people.  They are the ones with the "Yes!" faces that you know you could have a relationship with (or at the very least a nice conversation) and I naturally gravitate toward them.  There is an elderly couple at church who are so attractive with their warm, welcoming, sincere smiles.  Greeting them (them greeting me) is one of the highlights of my Sunday experience.

Do you carry an expression of "Welcome"?  All it takes is some conscious effort to be aware of others and a BIG smile.  Welcome someone today and see where it takes you and them.  You may just be the highlight to their day.

STOP.
Share this link and read others- click on the 5-minute Friday button above.

Also linking friendships with

It is better...

"It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

 for death is the destiny of every man;

the living should take this to heart."

~Ecclesisates 7:2 (NIV)

I was in the house of mourning yesterday.  Among family and strangers I sat at the funeral service of a distant relative.  My grief was not so strong and near because of the loss of this precious person to me, rather I shared the grief of her closest family, the heaviness of their loss of one so dear.  I have felt that kind of grief.  The kind that makes the phrases, "broken hearts".  The kind that feels like your insides are being ripped  or you feel so hollow inside- a space that will not be filled again.  I sympathized with them.

The orator of the service read most appropriate scriptures of having faith in Jesus to resurrect our bodies unto everlasting life.  I ruminated the spiritual state of the souls in his audience.  I silently prayed that His words would be heard by them enough to make a saving difference. 

It is better to go to the house of mourning.  Do you think that strange?  Probability states that you have already visited one or will soon.  I sat in the house of mourning yesterday and I got it.  To leave her rooms without understanding would be almost impossible.  Especially when there lay spread before you a body.  A dead body.  No life what so ever in it.  A carcass really.  But because of the dignity of the human life in which it encased we do not use that word.  To those whose lives intertwined with hers that body represented life- a cherished life filled with stories, memories.  But the breath of life was taken from the body into the next chapter.  That was evident.

We grieve. Yet not without HOPE.  We have hope because we have FAITH that He who says we will be resurrected will indeed DO it for us.  Yet, the shortness of this life is also so blatantly evident.  A flower quickly fading.  I get it.  I am remembering today to ask the Lord to "teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom".  (Psalm 90:12)  

The "house" in the above scripture is synonymous with "family".  It means a dwelling of great containment literally or figuratively- to obtain children.  Yesterday, the day was spent reminiscing and sharing events and hearts with one another, meeting new generations.  All that matters is PEOPLE.  In the end when this chapter of our lives is complete all that will have mattered is relationships.  Our relationship with our Father.  Our relationships with those closest to our hearts.  Our relationships with fellow human beings.  

Death is the end of every man but it is also just the beginning.  I want to live now in such a way that my loved ones will want to be persons in the same chapters with me.



Walk with Him... I am linking up today.

One Small Drop in the Sea

The latest statistics report that an American woman now has the expected life span of 79.4 years.  That being the case then I am slightly OVER middle age!!!  This year of the new decade is hitting me hard.  I believe that a lot of you readers are younger than I; stick with me through this post, maybe this old lady can teach you something!

I have been meditating quite a lot lately about my life.  Deep thoughts that I would consider to be what one thinks about when having a mid-life crisis.  That description that seems closest to any familiarity of this strange phenomenon that I am experiencing.  At first glance the phrase conjures up trivial and worldly connotations. Let me see- let me google "mid-life crisis" and see what I find.

OK- here is the defintion set by wikipedia which is the most authoritative source on the subject, right?  I placed in bold that which I feel I am experiencing.

"Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as extramarital affairs, andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, big-ticket expenditures, or physical appearance."

Well, maybe I am not having a mid-life crisis...I DO want to take better care of myself physically but I do not have a craving to make a big-ticket purchase like a convertible (my husband already bought one a few years ago).  I do not have self-doubt and am confident in my vocation of womanhood.  However, I DO have a very real sense of the passing of my youth and the imminence of old age.  I want my life to count.  I want to make a difference.

This scripture says it well, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."   -Psalm 90:12 KJV

So maybe I am experiencing a real profound understanding of this scripture through the Holy Spirit.  Because my life right now (my life on this earth) seems really short!

Last Wednesday I mentioned about the desire for self preservation.  There is no such thing for the redeemed Christian.  And yet, that is the paradox.

I-am.  I am here sitting in this chair.  And you are there reading these letters.  You are.

Yet I only will remain I-am eternally when I die (today) and find my life hidden in Christ.  There is that theme again. -my life hidden in Christ.

He proclaims Himself to Moses and His people, "I AM."

Jesus poignantly responds, "I AM".

 I, Nicol, am not.  Yet my humanness wants to remain I am.

The Great and only True I AM created me separate yet to be connected with something greater than my self. Think of a grain of sand.  Think of the entire sea shore of the beach.

One drop of water.  The mighty waves of water of the ocean.

Think about one molecule- consider ALL of the innumerable molecules that make up the universe.

The grain of sand has no meaning without the context of the beach.

The drop of water quenches not without the other drops with it.

The molecule forms not with out the bonding of other molecules.

I am.  I am small.  I was made to be grafted into His vine, a part of His body, a building block of His Kingdom that will not end.  To be I am is to be hidden in His things greater than myself.

So those thoughts are mine today...I of myself am nothing.  But with Him- He has made me be a part of all His things.

I am thinking some other deep- or you may be thinking weird thoughts- I will share those next Wednesday as we walk with Him.

 

For today my thoughts cause me to give thanks from my inner most soul that His grace would allow me to be a part of His expanse.  His beauty. 

Yes, I may only have a blick of an eye left of this world but He has made His legacy to resound in me.  Thank you.

Sundays (and every day) are for WORSHIP

 This is my new favorite song-  "Our God Is Greater".  You probably know it. 

The other day after purchasing the CD I played it in my car during a "down" moment I was having.  Immediately my heart was lifted.  I pressed "play" a second time after increasing the bass to the Bose sound system to the highest level. I love the sub-woofer effect when it is with my music.  I was singing with wild abandon.  If a fellow driver had been witnessing me (and they might have) they probably thought I was jamming to the "Hot Red Chili Peppers" instead of a worship song.

The whole experience of listening to it fills my soul. 

Today I play it again in my kitchen.  My heart swells and my mind zones to God's greatness.  My eight-year-old catches my fervor and excitedly starts twirling till she is dizzy. I am reminded that God inhabits the praise of His people. (Read Psalm 22:3.)

The word "Praise" in this passage means laudation or more concretely a hymn.  The kind of hymn that shines clear, boasts.  This praise is to be clamorously foolish (as quoted from Strong's concordance), to rave, to stultify, to celebrate.

And while we are praising God what is He doing?

Inhabiting- He sits down in quiet, dwells, and remains amongst us.  He is so intimately close He "marries" us; He remains, He settles down with us.

How awesome is that?  My joy in Him causes Him to stop and dwell intimately with me. 

This outrageous praise reminds me of the adulation that David gave when the ark of the covenant was finally returning to its proper place.  David was so full; he danced unabashedly and wearing only his underwear (sounds clamorously foolish!) before God in the sight of all the people. 

What did his wife think?   She "despised" him in her heart.  God struck Michal with bareness.  I think perhaps this story is recorded for us to show us that her heart response is diametrically opposed to His when we praise Him.  He loves it; He enjoys it- He is enjoying US enjoying HIM. 

I love that about Him.

So I listen to my new favorite song.  I listen to these words- my mind quickens, my heart swells, my body moves.

Everything in me- body, soul, and spirit rise to give praise to the ONE- the ONLY One- worthy who bears these attributes.

I feel like this-                                                                                                                                                             

and this-

and this-

worries melt, fear dies, stress fades away-

I am filled to overflowing with peace and joy.

My soul sails. My heart flies.  May be I will even be translated to Heaven like Enoch in this moment.

Visit this sound and lift you heart in worship yourself.  Maybe even turn up your sub-woofer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlA5IDnpGhc

In the NOW

Hello dear Ladies Of Virtue! The autumn air is cold and crisp. Leaves twirl their last dance to the ground as I am reminded of the fast flipping pages of the calendar. Thanksgiving day is in three short weeks and Christmas- yes, CHRISTMAS- in about seven! (Not soon enough for my girls). With the days whirling by us let us take today and pause in the moment of NOW. Let us therefore live TODAY with purpose of mind and passion of heart. That is the by-line of
Ladies Of Virtue- pursuing biblical femininity with purpose and passion. In the soon future I plan to write more of LOV's heart. For today (I remind myself) focus on the moments, the minutes, the hours, that make today- TODAY- with conscious attention, being present in the now and having the understanding that our most blessed Savior is ever with us. Enjoy your DAY.