Well, blast the ram’s horn and announce the celebration. The year of joy begins. A few days into the New Year, my blogger and real time friend Annette H (Abba’s Girl) sent me an email. She said she believed she had a word for me for 2010 and that word was “Joy.” I received it with a little trepidation because honestly as has been my experience, when God has a plan for you to experience joy it might involve a way to know joy amid some strange circumstances that may or may not involve a little pain.
So, tomorrow I walk with great expectation into the celebration of my official jubilee year of life, the big 5-0! I can hardly believe the 40s passed so quickly. Much happened during the last decade, and I anticipate much of the next to be just as filled with the bumpy road of life. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! The great garden of joys wouldn’t be so complete had they not been watered by the tears of sorrow, fertilized by the proverbial dung of disappointment and failures, and encouraged by the sunshine of His Love. Just for fun, I’m doing a little spin off of Oprah’s column and sharing a little of “What I Know For Sure”, unapologetically in list form, for an easier read:
1. Life is a gift from God.
2. God is the Gift.
3. Jesus made it so.
4. Love and relationship are more about living life than any other thing.
5. Doing the hard thing is worth it.
6. Loving the unlovable is possible.
7. Smiles make everyone feel better.
8. Balance makes for a smoother ride.
9. Marriage is a school of learning for eternity.
10. The joy of being a mother still amazes me.
11. Life is hard.
12. Life is sweet.
13. This world is not my home.
14. God is a first thing.
15. Family is a close second.
16. Hard work is satisfying.
17. Friends make great life traveling companions.
18. Good health is not to be taken for granted.
19. Learning is transformational.
20. Each day is what you make of it.
If you have any one thing you know for sure to add to my list, what would that be? I re-iterate #17 and thank my blogging friends that share life with me. You all do make life more joyful along the way. Receive joy and celebrate! Give Him glory today for TODAY!
It was the perfect end to a dreary day. Barely 9:30, after a long soak in bath oil, I had curled up in bed with lots of covers all to myself. Mike was out of town for an overnight stay, and, in the famous words of Goldilocks, it was “just right”—particularly in light of my headache, which I had nursed since Sunday. Sunday, for Pete’s sake! So early to bed, I grabbed my Paula Deen biography and determined I would finish it and start on Resilience before sleep would gently overtake me. A dose of Nyquil assists. Enter cat. Dog was already cuddled on my feet. For a twelve-pound animal, Cat certainly has space issues. By 10 o’clock, I was ready to put the book down and call it a night. The following time line occurred on the evening of February 1st:
11:30 – Annette still struggles to reclaim covers from greedy Cat when Dog barks at a mystery animal outside on patio. Immediately, Cat determines he’s had enough of the cover fight and wants outside.
12:00—Annette finally gives in to Cat’s demands and places him outside, knowing it’s rather cold, but not having too much sympathy.
12:45—Annette looks at clock, unable to sleep. Cat meows to come back in. Annette ignores.
1:00, 1:10, 1:30—Cat meows louder, hoping to annoy enough to get back inside.
1:38—Mystery animal from 11:30 is determined. Cat has summoned Old Gumby Cat, a tattered red tabby. Fight ensues. Annette feels bad she didn’t let Cat in.
1:39—Annette opens front door and begs Cat to come inside, attempts to get Dog to bark at Gumby Cat, but Dog sleeps peacefully on sofa now, due to all the disruptions. Cat refuses to lose dignity and fight resumes in front yard.
1:40—Annette goes back to bed, but can’t sleep, feeling guilty she didn’t let Cat in earlier.
2:00-4:00—Annette recalls entire story when she was 10 years old, of winning a set of walkie talkies from a Christmas coloring contest after she stole her sister’s idea to color the fireplace in the picture like it was made of stone. More guilt follows. A short prayer of confession said. Outfit for next day is decided. List of “To Dos” for Tuesday is reviewed.
4:00-6:00—Peace at last.
6:30—House is cold, and Annette wants to sleep in. Cat meows at front door. Annette jumps up to check on wounds and discovers Cat won the round. Coffee’s on.
Have a great day, everyone. I may or may not take a nap.
As we read through Exodus and the exquisite and detailed work of the building of the tabernacle, I am reminded this day, my own heart needs consecrating to be His dwelling place. God’s blessing this Lord’s Day on each of you.
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me”. –Erma Bombeck
I love to laugh with cathartic tears streaming–the good laugh that wells up and overflows from the heart. You know the kind where you snicker at the thought hours later. I want the joy of life that if you don’t choose to laugh, you’ll probably cry, but you choose to experience the fullness of it. Either way, it has to be released. That is the place where I want to live—in the overflow—of love, of joy, of peace, of high hills and low valleys…but in the extremes of His extravagant love, that I may be used up completely, well spent at the end of the day. Enjoy today. It is a gift and an opportunity.
I was reluctant to post yesterday’s blog entry because I wondered if it was rebellious to admit that I don’t know. After all, isn’t that what faith looks like? Isn’t faith the assurance of things hoped for, (Hebrews 11:1 ESV) or as the King James Bible calls it, the “substance” of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The NIV goes so far as to say faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
As a young girl, when my parents told me I could not do something, I would whine back, “but WHY?” “Why can’t I ____ ?” The answer was the same each time. “Because I said so.” Looking back, it was my disobedient response to something I thought was unfair. Was it my business to even know what their reasoning was? Or, was it simply my job to trust that they loved me and had my best interest at heart? After a lot of years, there is still a place in me that demands to know. I’m not sure I really want to know the why, or if I truly just want it to go the way I think it should. But there is an honest place for us to bring before the Lord our questions, to draw near to Him and lay things down at His Feet.
So, I’m feeling a need to review the things I do know about faith and contrast it a bit with belief.
Faith comes by hearing The Word of God (Romans 10:17) Mostly, the Christian world does not encourage an honest search for truth. We remain comfortable in the knowing, settled place of what we already believe. Truth, whether in science or religion, demands a continual search for answers. The Christian must look for answers in our guide book for life written by the Author of our faith, the Bible. The very first thing to do is prayerfully study the Scriptures and come to God with our questions. And faith will come, according to Romans 10:17.
Faith is a gift from God. Heb 12:2 says “…Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith”. And Rom 12:3 says “God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” These two verses tell us that faith is not something that we do or a presence of mind that we can muster up, but that faith is a gift from God. So in His time, Christ will equip us with faith as we need it. Eph 2:8 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Faith comes from God.
Man is justified by faith. Rom 3:28 says, ” … a man is justified by faith.” If we must generate our own faith, then justification is by works and we know that is not correct. Looking at Ephesians 2: 8-9 again, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” We clearly see from these verses that faith is not of our doing for that would be a works based salvation and we know from Eph 2:8,9 that salvation is surely not from works.
Our faith can grow. We see in Heb 12:2 that ” …Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith.” Jesus is not only the author — the originator of faith –; He is also the one who perfects it in us. Our increase in faith will come at God’s timing and not by our works or at our insistence. In 2 Cor 10:15 we see that faith can grow, so as we study the Bible God can add to our faith.
Faith is what pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6) ”Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Then he gives the foundation. Here’s the bottom of it all: You can’t please God without faith, “For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Because of this, only by faith can we please God. God is pleased by us when two things about him are reflected in our relation to him. One: that he is real; and the other: that he is rewarding. John Piper summarizes it, “We could say it like this: what pleases God is that our hearts and minds display God’s being and God’s beauty. That we display God’s existence and his excellence. That we display how real he is and how rewarding he is. This is what pleases God, and this is faith.”
One glorious Day, our faith will be completed. As we are sanctified in Christ, we will grow. Eph 4:11-16 tells us that God gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers in order to build up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man. We will attain the unity of faith. This is talking about what we call sanctification. God provides justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and finally glorification. On that fine Day when we stand before Him in our glorification through Christ alone, then our faith will finally be complete.
So, come let us reason together as God invited us in Isaiah 1:18. Let’s ask the hard questions, expectantly awaiting the Lord to fortify our faith, to further reveal Himself, and to draw us unto Him. And in believing in how real God is and how rewarding He is, we will please God. This is faith.
Everything used to be so black and white. Right was right. Wrong was wrong. No shades of gray or overlap of good and bad. No uncertainty. . .no struggle. I’m not sure when it happened but somewhere along the way, amazing Technicolor™ entered the picture. Technicolor Truth didn’t look like my old version. It had multi-faceted layers that I had never seen before. And the fires of self-righteousness heated up within me. The black and white arrogance struggled. An all-out war ensued inside me that hasn’t completely settled yet. The kind of battles where something has to die. Little by little, I feel the old self slipping away, and a new type of vulnerability settles in its place, and with it comes a peace—a place where I don’t have to understand everything. Someone greater and purer than I knows and will sort it all out.
Yesterday, I had one of those day when nothing made sense. I found out another friend, a young woman with four small children, has breast cancer. I am astounded at her words of faith: “I am excited that I have the privilege of walking this road with so many. He will do great things.” Somehow, God has a good plan for her. For her life. For her family. And yet, I shed tears for the path ahead for her. It won’t be easy. But for the Grace of God, how could anybody stand when facing such uncertainty?
The only thing I know for certain this morning is that I don’t know. My mother used to say, “The more I know, the more I know I don’t know.” It’s a defenseless place to be, especially for a control freak like me. Can I say honestly that I don’t understand ‘good’ and ‘light’ and ‘no darkness at all? And yet my soul resonates in Truth that He is. Addison Road’s song question comes to mind: “What do I know of holy?” I’m not sure I walk away with any answers at all, but I receive a comforting hug from my Father, “I’m taking care of things. Just take My hand, and keep walking toward Me.” I rise from my knees, reminded, Lord, You know.
Now before you start thinking I’m having an attack of wavering faith, please know that it’s a sweet place. A place where a little more of me dies to self to live unto Him. I do not doubt that there is Absolute Goodness and Truth, but it’s not black and white anymore. It’s filled with all the colors of His Righteousness. It’s a techni-colored brilliance with dimensions that I cannot begin to comprehend, but can trust is completely good.
Please pray with me for Lisa through her season of illness that she will be nothing less than carried by Our Savior in healing and will continue to bring Him all the glory.
Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
