War Time

We were in the wilderness for 40 years being prepped for war. Why, then, are we surprised when battles come? We must fight for what is ours, for what has been promised to us. And we must win! The Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. The promised land--these precious lives we've been given--isn't a bed of roses. The promised land is not synonymous with the "lap of luxury". No! it is a place where we fight and struggle to gain new ground--and we do! We conquer, then we move on to the next conquest. We gain more ground. We constantly fight and win, fight and win, fight and win... We are victorious warriors, fighting for a King in a Kingdom. This Kingdom suffers violence, but we--the violent--take back its stolen territories by force. We've been prepared; now it's time for war!

Today is Your Last Day

While I was upstairs this morning getting ready to begin my day, I saw an undesirable little creature crawling around on the windowsill. I watched it for a couple of seconds before I declared aloud, "Today... is your last day!" I meant it. No more crawling around in the cracks and crevices of my house. No more sneaking into tiny hiding places and showing its ugly little head at an inopportune moment. No more! And then, just like that, I ended its little bug life. No regrets, no shame, no hard feelings. In fact, I smiled as I wiped it into eternity. And it got me to thinking.... What if I was as quick to rid myself of other "undesirable creatures" in my life? How much cleaner would my life be??

There is a game I like to play occasionally on my iPhone called Spazzle. The object of the game is to smack the heads of unwanted rodents as they appear in your garden. They come quickly and randomly, sometimes one at a time and sometimes several at once. But they only appear a couple of seconds before they disappear, so you must strike immediately. As the levels increase, so do the vermin. You must be quick and precise to keep your garden clear of all those pests! Hummm... funny how a little game seems a lot like real life.

So today I think I'll take a good hard look at the windowsill of my life and see what might have wandered in uninvited. Yes, I think I'll find out what undesirables are lurking around unnoticed, making plans to take up permanent residency in my 'home' and then take some time to 'clear out the temple', so to speak. Today is the perfect day to go through the "friend list" in the facebook of my soul and "de-friend" the unwanteds, saying to them loud and clear, "Today... is your last day!"

But, God, I Don't Even Like to Chisel!

This morning as as I was reading in the Book of Exodus, I read a passage that, for some reason, kept nagging at me....

Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.” ... So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. (Exodus 34:1 & 4)

I don't know why I couldn't seem to get past those verses. After all, there was nothing really significant about them. They were just ordinary little verses on the way to something really amazing... weren't they?

Since I couldn't seem to move on, I kept going back and re-reading that passage. I finally asked, "God, why did You have Moses chisel out the stone tablets? How long must that have taken? I mean, really, God, why didn't You just create something to write the terms of the covenant on? Surely Moses had enough on his plate managing six million people without having to stop and spend several hours chiseling out stone tablets?!"

In my mind, I envisioned Moses--the great man of God, honored and revered by millions--with a hammer and chisel, sweat dripping off his brow, chipping away at a boulder.... And I thought again, "Why didn't God just have one of the 'common people' do the mundane?"

Probably after the fourth or fifth time I read it, I understood: We are pleased with the results. God is pleased with the process. Then I wondered how many times God has asked me to do things that I felt were mundane or even beneath me. I read those verses one last time, this time very slowly. Wow, God... Moses. Really??

“If My People…”

 

It's Your Choice

You don't always get what you want. You know that, right? Sure, we all know it; but we generally don't like it. I mean, we want what we want when we want it. And when we don't get it, we stew over it. We brainstorm about how we can get it. We wonder how we might manipulate the circumstances in our favor. We contemplate, fret, fantasize.... And then we stumble upon the word "contentment". Therein lies the rub. Where in the world does "contentment" fit into the picture? And how? What about hope and faith and believing for change?! How do we know whether to let it go or keep pressing in? How do we know???

There are plenty of things I don't know and many things I will never understand about this world and this life; but one thing I know for sure is this: happiness is a choice, my choice. And I choose it today--right now--for me. I choose to be happy in spite of circumstances, in spite of let-downs and disappointments, in spite of people and of 'stuff'....I choose happiness! I choose not to let a few ruts in the road deter me. I refuse to let sadness creep in and steal my joy. I snub the invitation of self-pity. I will acknowledge them, certainly, but I won't invite them in for cocktails. I choose not to stop when hurt or disappointment comes in like a flood. I will mourn my losses, my disappointments; then I will dry my tears, look up and take comfort. I will breathe in and breathe out, and I will move forward.

Am I saying that we should never strive and strain and stretch for a goal? Of course not! There is a time for pressing in; but there is also a time for letting go. We just need wisdom to know the difference. And in both cases, we can still have joy. That is our choice.

Here are the facts:
Life will let you down.
People will disappoint you.
Tragedies will come your way.
Your dreams won't always be realized.

But the Truth is:
God is always good.
Life isn't always easy, but it can always be sweet and meaningful.
'Things' don't matter as much as relationships do.
Hurts heal.
Strength comes from adversity.
True character is proven in hard times, not easy ones.
Sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

I have found some passages that bring such comfort to my life. They resound within me and give me amazing comfort and peace. Take them in and mull over them for a while, then look up and take comfort. Breathe in and breathe out, and move forward!

"...We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!

The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.

But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad. That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure." 2 Corinthians 5:1-11 (The Message Bible)

Take a Hint

Why is it that men just don't know how to take hints? I mean, you would think... a subtle (or even not so subtle) hint dropped here and there would cause some lights to come on. Oh, how I wish they would. But, no! Hint all you want, girls; you're just wasting precious time. Men, it is apparent, just don't have what it takes to "read the signs." Period. But the question that every woman keeps asking herself is, "For the love of God, WHY???"

Well, I've been giving this a lot of thought recently, and I've decided that there surely must be some logical explanation for a man's inability to 'pick up' on things a woman is clearly trying to say. Hummmm.... I've come to a semi-rational conclusion that might be helpful to the female population. Here's my theory:

After much observation of the male species, I have reason to suspect that there is a chemical missing in a man's brain that blocks his ability to take hints. After all, what is so hard about this process? A woman of any age can take a hint--even the slightest one--without the tiniest bit of strain. I would even go so far as to say that women are (at times) guilty of "reading into things". But rarely--practically never--will a woman be accused of not taking a hint. I think we can all agree on this fact.

Also, it has come to my attention that men do not, cannot, and will not take hints, even blatantly obvious ones. Thus, it has become clear to me, ladies, that from this day forward we must take a different approach to making our feelings, thoughts or wishes known to our men. From this day forward, all hints are null and void, out, kaput, gone baby gone! I have overwhelming evidence that overt communication is the only thing that will work effectively.

Ladies, beginning today, we must actually be willing to say what is on our minds, since sadly, men cannot read them. (Shocking, I know.) We must spell it out, girls! Lay our cards on the table, make no bones about it, tell it like it is, leave no stone unturned... (You get my drift.) Then, and only then, will the men in our lives fully understand what is floating around in our heads. Weird, isn't it???

"Thirstday"

I have words. OK, I said it and now it's out there. It's true. I have words and lots of them. The problem, however, is that they don't always find their freedom. They usually stay locked up in a prison, longing to be released--in a smooth, unending flow.

Since desperate times call for desperate measures, I've come up with a plan--a way to liberate said words. I must, I've decided, emancipate these precious words before they die alone in their cages.

"The freedom plan," though quite simple, is one that will (if carefully and strategically executed) unshackle my pent-up words and allow them to leap forth with vigor and potency, engage in meaningful conversations, and finally find full expression. Oh, joy!

So, the plan is this: I will take my words, once bound, out on a weekly excursion to mingle with another freedom-seeking-word-carrier. I will strategically and purposefully choose a time and a place where we can sit and drink freely of each other's words. We will take turns pouring and drinking, pouring and drinking, pouring and drinking...until our thirsty souls have been satisfied and our words have begun to wane. I will call this day "Thirstday".

I am very eager to put my plan into action. My words are stirring inside me at the thought! They've already begun to ask, "Will two hours a week be enough?"

"Probably not, but it's a start," I reassure them.

Relationships take time and effort to build, and my lonely words and I are ready to take our first Thirstday trip. The exact date and time for the rendezvous has not yet been set, but I'm working on it; for in the background I can hear my desperate words dragging their cups along the bars of their cells as they cry out, "Free us! Free us!"

And I reply, "Hang on, my words, Thirstday is almost here!"