Sit. Stay. Look Right Here!

If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed. (Proverbs 29:18)

We're in a situation in our family right now that requires for us to look right at God. And keep looking. The prayers are all about Him lifting our chins to redirect our attention right at Him.

This is difficult. There are a lot of distractions and we're all extremely ADD. Kind of like the dogs in the movie "Up" -- we're looking at God and suddenly our heads turn -- "Squirrel!"

But you can't see what God is doing if you're not keeping your attention on Him. It's only then that we are able to see what He's revealing and doing.

"Most blessed?" I'd say the payoff is invaluable. Way better than a squirrel.

xoxox

Grandma Goldie

This is my grandma, Goldie Archer.

This is the one of the bible verses she lived out:

11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget.

(Proverbs 19:11, The Message)

My Grandma always said that if you couldn't say anything nice, then you shouldn't say anything at all. And when she couldn't, she didn't.

She did this this despite the fact that she lost her mother at age 3, and even after her father remarried and had more children, she was expected to be the "the boy" on the farm where they lived.

She did this despite the fact that her husband was a drunk who couldn't keep a job. She did this after she divorced him in the early 1940's, when you didn't do that, and you especially didn't do that in a small town where people talked.

She did this despite the fact that when her landlord and companion of many years (basically, her common-law husband) died, she was evicted from her home by this man's sister and other family. She never spoke a cross word against them.

She did this despite the fact that the rope factory where she worked for 20+ years gave her less than $100/month as a pension when she finally retired. She never spoke much about the rope factory at all.

She did this despite the fact that when she moved in with us to help my mother after my dad died, I would always leave the blender in the sink after I made a milkshake. I would never clean it up, and that drove her crazy. I was about 12 and she was in her late 50's.

My Grandma was a soft person. She could have been very bitter and hard from the way her life went, and yet she wasn't that way at all. She read her bible daily, and joked with my husband about how she was a Baptist and he was Church of Christ and he was never going to convert her.

After she retired from the rope factory, she worked as a housekeeper and nanny to two different families, who both loved her dearly. She finally retired in her mid 70's to an assisted living complex where they took good care of her.

She would have been 99 this past July 1. She left us for heaven on March 23, 2001, at age 91.

My Grandma Goldie was amazing. Her middle name was Marie, and that name is a form of Mary, which basically means "bitter." Goldie's life was full of bitter circumstances.

But she never let them make her bitter. Quite the contrary -- she wasn't sweet -- but soft, having a soft answer, or a wry, funny comment. She didn't raise her voice, and she was very kind. She was someone I didn't just love. I admired her.

She was a wonderful example to me. She was an even more wonderful example to my mother. My mother claims she could get at least three peanut butter sandwiches from an empty peanut butter jar.

And of course my mother hung the moon and is right up there with God and Jesus, so that right there should tell you a lot about Goldie. Her grandeur was amazing.

Lord, please make me worthy of my heritage and thank you for giving me Grandma Goldie as such an example of You in my life.

xoxox

Living Proverbs 19

Practicing Proverbs 19 -- it's no easy task.

The Bug is very impatient with me lately -- she's being an emotional teenager (for the most part). Because she's now 18, she's speaking to me as a peer, rather than a daughter, which means that the respect factor has basically gone right out the window.

So today I read Proverbs 19, and found these verses --

11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget

Definitely easier said than done! But God is enabling me and I have been holding my tongue. Let me reiterate the most important words in that last sentence -- GOD IS ENABLING ME.

19 Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger; if you try to make it better, you'll only make it worse . . .

26 Kids who lash out against their parents are an embarrassment and disgrace. 27 If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own, you'll soon be out of your depth.

I think these two verses make me want to cry, because they are both the way that the Bug is acting right now, and it is exactly the way I have acted with my own parents in the past. You just can't look at your own child misbehaving and not remember doing it yourself.

So today I am both asking God for forgiveness, and blessing Him for the grace He has shown me. I can now turn and show my child the same grace. Choosing to be angry back at her just seems kind of stupid.

All part of the abundant life -- and tomorrow is another day --

xoxox

Senioritis

I had a very difficult week last week. It was a week full and beyond fed-up with 18-year olds who have seriously I'm-18-And-I-Know-It-All attitudes. It was also a week of being irresponsible with my body, and eating things that raised my blood pressure to critically high levels.

Honestly, I should know better. I just read this today, from Proverbs 30:

Four Mysteries

18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I'll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.

This was made glaringly apparent yesterday, as we were sitting at the table. I was explaining some American thing to Malene, the Danish student we're hosting until Friday. (We will be VERY sad to see her go! She is a doll!)

Rose commented that I was completely wrong, that it wasn't that way at all. So I reclarified for Malene, stating this: "Rose and Bug are always right."

Again Rose disagreed.

So I re-reclarified: apparently they are not always right, but I am definitely always wrong.

Rose hesitated. Then she disagreed. Bug wasn't so sure she disagreed with that.

I sat there thinking, 'have they left for college yet?'

Herein lies the paradox: I know I will miss them desperately when they are gone. But right now, I can't wait for them to leave. They seem to save all their good words and blessings for the people outside our immediate family. We alone are the ones for whom they reserve their disdain.

I think this is the biggest challenge I've ever faced: to remain Christlike to my children. When I am hurt by them, I want to return evil for evil. I want to hurt them right back, even though I would not hesitate for even a nanosecond to die for them. I'd be standing there in front of the firing squad, thinking -- you'd better appreciate this, you rotten kid!

I wonder also if it's because of the reflection this casts on me as a parent, as someone who has taught them to not hurt people. I've been the primary teacher in their lives, so apparently I've taught them the opposite. Aren't they acting just like me?

Ouch! Double ouch for thinking it's all about me!

Well, once again, it's back to that beautiful Word of God that slices and dices me with Its truth:

1-4 If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Lord God Most Holy, make me like You today. Thank You for my Saviour, Your Son Jesus, my example, Amen.

xoxox

Jesus Delight vs. Turkish Delight

3:5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

He's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

I am really growing to love the Proverbs. Why haven't I been reading these all my life? I guess it's because they seem so A-D-D -- all kinds of great stuff, but it's all so random.

But this section from Proverbs 3 today is just plain good common sense. I resolved a long time ago that if Jesus were a myth and the resurrection a lie, Christianity still would be the best way to live.

Fortunately, Jesus is not a myth and the resurrection is our salvation!

I suppose the thing that keeps me from "listening for God's voice in all I do" is simply the daily-ness of everyday life. I do it for awhile, then I forget, then it's a habit to forget, then I don't do it, and then I wonder why I stopped. But why, when the benefits are so great?

It's like eating healthy -- you know that you'll feel great if you do that and exercise. But the path of least resistance says sit and blog for hours at the computer. Or occupy your brain with mindless things like television and computer games -- none of which will change a life or be Christ to someone else.

Now I am not speaking here to you, the busy mom who can barely get a shower during the day. You need to sit and let your brain go to mush. Maybe the most spiritual thing you can do today is take a nap or even better, a bubble bath!

But for those of us who could be doing a million things that would make a difference and instead choose the path of chocolate, soda, and a crossword puzzle, it might be better to pay a little attention. Make a little effort.

I love two places in this passage -- first, where He says "He's the one who will keep you on track." Thank goodness I don't have to do it all myself.

The second place is this: "A father's delight is behind all this."

I, Chief of Sinners, Chocolate and Soda Consumer and Doer of Crossword Puzzles Instead of Something Productive, am so incredibly thankful for my Father's delight.

I had a friend once who said that maybe the sun keeps rising every morning because God just can't get enough of it. Maybe, like a child, He says "Do it again!" God is full of delight in His creation, and we are the stars of that creation.

I desperately want that same delight that comes from allowing Him to keep me on track. And how can I lose, when He makes it so easy?

Lord, please give me a big trust in You today, just like you give me my next breath and my next heartbeat. You are so -- so -- so -- DELIGHTFUL. Amen!

xoxoxox

Proverbs Pop-Ups

I think I read my favourite chapter of Proverbs today. So much great stuff, wow!

It's Chapter 25 -- from "The Message:"

2 God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things.

If only every scientist realised he was on a divine scavenger hunt.

3 Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth, the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep.

How many times have we asked ourselves how great it would be if we could just fix social security without taking money out of the mouths of the poor?

4-5 Remove impurities from the silver and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice; Remove the wicked from leadership and authority will be credible and God-honoring.

And if we could just stop being human long enough to serve -- instead of trying to get re-elected.

6-7 Don't work yourself into the spotlight; don't push your way into the place of prominence. It's better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.

I so often think I am smarter than I am.

8 Don't jump to conclusions—there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.

Ouch!

9-10 In the heat of an argument, don't betray confidences; Word is sure to get around, and no one will trust you.

Better to have no ammunition in a fight, I guess, than have the wrong ammunition --

11-12 The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, And a wise friend's timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.

Do you have a friend like this, who can correct you without crushing your spirit? She can make you look good by just whispering "Hey, you've got lipstick on your teeth." What a gift!

13 Reliable friends who do what they say are like cool drinks in sweltering heat—refreshing!

Ah, the rewards of delegation!

14 Like billowing clouds that bring no rain is the person who talks big but never produces.

God forgive me for all the times I've promised and not delivered.

15 Patient persistence pierces through indifference; gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.

I'm so much more willing to see the point if I don't feel I'm being attacked.


16-17 When you're given a box of candy, don't gulp it all down; eat too much chocolate and you'll make yourself sick; And when you find a friend, don't outwear your welcome; show up at all hours and he'll soon get fed up.

Too much of a good thing is never a good thing. And I thought that wasn't in the Bible.

18 Anyone who tells lies against the neighbors in court or on the street is a loose cannon.

No kidding. Talk about a person who makes trouble. Lies turn into more lies and gossip and everybody gets hurt. What a mess.

19 Trusting a double-crosser when you're in trouble is like biting down on an abscessed tooth.

Double ouch.

20 Singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds.

Much better to just cry with me than try and change my mind. Let God do the changing -- I won't ever, ever forget the tears you've shared with me.

21-22 If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch; if he's thirsty, bring him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness, and God will look after you.

Maybe we can do it anonymously. God would still know.

23 A north wind brings stormy weather, and a gossipy tongue stormy looks.

Not a good thing in a small town. You just never know who's related to whom.

24 Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

Honestly? Triple ouch!

25 Like a cool drink of water when you're worn out and weary is a letter from a long-lost friend.

Email counts, too.

26 A good person who gives in to a bad person is a muddied spring, a polluted well.

It's that whole good intentions get you nowhere thing here. Never a good thing to step even one foot down the wrong path -- and I generally know exactly when I'm looking down the wrong path.

27 It's not smart to stuff yourself with sweets, nor is glory piled on glory good for you.

Yep, fat and conceited. Not a good combination.

28 A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.

So I guess whatever influences want to come in and take advantage, will.
I, for one, don't want any drug-dealers or crackheads living in my house. So I guess I'd better spend the money for decent doors, windows -- and locks!

These are just my thoughts, but I hope God uses them to spark some thoughts of your own today --


xoxox