learning

Saturday, November 27, 2010 (7:13 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

Thank You! I’m learning. And I love it. [As well as You!] I keep smiling big so far since being out here with You. It’s been almost a week that I’ve been trying to figure out how the lyrics to a Beach Boys song could possibly relate to You. Looking them up just now again affirms that You will cease at nothing to bring a parable to life.

I forget the exact words Pastor Ed uses to explain the meaning of the two words that make up the Greek word parabole. Strong’s Greek Dictionary says, “from paraballo; a similitude (‘parable’), i.e. (symbolic) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apothegm or adage – comparison, figure, parable, proverb.”

I have to admit Dearest Lord, this is the very first time I’ve ever linked Your provision of me to that of a motor bike. But You know what? Not all that many years ago I DID come across a story about You and me on a tandem bike. http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/texts/topics/God/tandum.shtml

Being with You on a ♫Little Honda♫ isn’t that big of a stretch after all. Just look at the words! I can fit You in from the very first one. ♫GO! [You tell Your people that all the time J] I’m gonna wake you up early [You do that often!] Cause I’m gonna take a ride with you [You never leave us alone] We’re going down to the Honda shop [clearly a parable here!] I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do [You always have a plan for good] Put on a ragged sweatshirt [we don’t always have to dress our best for You] I’ll take you anywhere you want me to [as long as it’s Your best for us] First gear… it’s alright Second gear… I lean right Third gear… hang on tight Faster it’s alright♫

Lord, I don’t know why I let the idea of being on a motorbike with You seem disrespectful. Is spending time with You supposed to be ♫more fun than a barrel of monkeys♫? ‘Cause I KNOW I can trust You to ♫ride on out of town to any place You know I like♫ I’m learning Lord. You ALWAYS have my best interest at heart!

♫It climbs the hills like a Matchless [or the deer mentioned in 2Samuel 22:34, Psalm 18:33, Habakkuk 3:19] Cause my Honda’s built really tight [You designed all of us to perfection] When I go into the turns Lean with me and hang on tight I better turn on the lights So we can ride my Honda tonight [Blessed Lord, You cover all the bases!] First gear… Faster it’s alright♫

Perfect Blessed God, thank You that I really truly AM learning to trust You with ALL parts of life! You are so good. So holy. And just so darned much fun! Thank You Lord. I love You. Let’s ♫GO!♫ J Amen.

(487 words ~ 8:24 a.m.)

lovely

Friday, November 26, 2010 (8:13 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

You blessed us again yesterday. We got to enjoy Your presence. And surprises. There was joy and laughter and WAY too much food. Mostly there was love and order and just enough momentary chaos to add some spice. Truly God, I do not remember a more lovely day. It was real. Effortless. Lovely.

That’s the word I used repeatedly Lord. It came naturally. Not forced. Just there. Like You! I sit here basking in the memory of it. People coming together because they wanted to. There was laughter. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

Holy, Loving Lord, would You just look at that verse in The Message? “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” How cool is that? Isn’t that exactly what I had prayed for yesterday?

Lord thank You! Thank You for the tremendous amount of loveliness You have provided to my life! Thank You for the opportunity to come out here this morning singing a song about things that are lovely. Associating it with Psalm 104 as well as Philippians 4:8 I am just amazed at Your goodness Lord. You are amazing. And I am again grateful.

♫Think, think, think on these things. Think on the things that are lovely. Think, think… Think on the things that are good♫ Most Holy God, thank You for reminding me of the things that really truly matter. You. Your Son. Your Holy Spirit working in our lives. Lovely things. Lovely times. Lovely days. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(339 words)

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 25, 2010 (6:38 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

How I thank You Lord! You provide truth, hope, love. For a few days my heart was hurting. A small misunderstanding turned into a lot of gunk. I refused to care. I wouldn’t let go of my own way of thinking. But You were here with me through all of it. Harsh words and tones were squashed in difference to Your loving ways. I couldn’t care. Even when I wanted to, I chose hurt over healing. But yet You stayed. It truly was You at work opening the lines of communication. Thank You Lord!

Today is a national day of thanksgiving. Blessed Loving Lord in many ways it has turned into a day of overindulgence instead. I confess to struggling with it Lord.

Oh but how my heart [and face J] are smiling right now. Just as I was thinking of how things used to be, I remembered a devotion entitled “Removed, Not Improved” in The Life Recovery Bible. Related to Step Six [of the original twelve] regarding being ‘entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character’ it is tied to Romans 6:5-11. In turning to the page Lord, my smiles broaden. The title of this section is “Sin’s Power Is Broken”. How I thank You Lord.

Here too You remind me of the ways You are changing the way I see and do things. I used to be tied to the Norman Rockwell ideal of what holidays were supposed to look and be like. I wasted far too much time and energy attempting to create what I wanted them to be instead of just enjoying them for what they were – opportunities to be together with loved ones.

Most Dear and Bless Lord God, how I thank You for another day to live in the glory of Your love. I admit that I don’t often do that as well as I’d like. It’s a day like today when the unexpected wind is blowing a gale that I ask You for Your power and strength to accept today exactly as it plays out. Yes Lord. On this particular Thanksgiving Day when things have never been so different for us, I am asking for ‘the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’.

Jeremiah 33:10-11 says, “The Lord declares that the happy voices of bridegrooms and of brides and the joyous song of those bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord will be heard again in this doomed land. The people will sing: ‘Praise the Lord! For He is good and His mercy endures forever!’ For I will make this land happier and more prosperous than it has ever been before.” NONE of this is possible without You!

It’s definitely not going to be a day like a Norman Rockwell painting. No Lord. It’s going to be REAL! And blessed. And whatever YOU make it. A day where we ‘go through Your open gates with great thanksgiving; enter Your courts with praise. Give thanks to You and bless Your name. For You the Lord are always good. You are always loving and kind, and Your faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation’ (Psalm 100).

And that’s exactly what this is Lord. A succeeding generation! Teach us to be so very much more like You and way less than our hopes of Mr. Rockwell’s depictions.

Beloved Lord God I love You so very much. On this particular day of giving thanks, how thankful I am that when all else is stripped away “There are three things that remain – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love” (1Corinthians 13:13). Thank You Father. I love You. Happy Thanksgiving! Amen.

(640 words ~ 8:42 a.m.)

gr... words

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (7:38 a.m.)

Awesome God,

Thank You. Thank You that You let me get just as mad as I want to. You permit me to be willful and stubborn, stiff-necked and just plain unpleasant. Thank You that I even get to enter Your gates with grumbles [instead of thanksgiving] in my heart. You are going to just stand [or sit J] by and allow me to continue making this mountain of resentment out of the original molehill of misunderstanding until I finally come to the end of myself and turn to You instead.

Okay. I’m here. Grumps and growls and grumbles and all. Lord God how I thank You for this opportunity to come before You with all the negative gr... words I can possibly think of. Thank You that when I finally planned to come here and really give You the lowdown on my low mood the very first gr... word I came to was grace.

Wow God! That changes everything. Rather than choosing to continue in the negative vein I had fallen into I turn to You Dearest Lord asking Your forgiveness of my selfishness. Truly Lord, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! I look to You and quickly turn away with another grumble or growl. Tears fill my eyes as I declare my unworthiness, yet I don’t change my ways.

You are so good Dearest Lord. So perfect and wonderful. Please forgive me for taking You so much for granted.

I’ve been running away from caring about most things these days. I don’t want to care. There’s risk. My feelings might get hurt. The cost is too great.

Oh wow, would You just look at that. You gave Your very life for me and I completely withdraw from the price of potentially hurt feelings. You absolutely have Your work cut out for You Lord!

I don’t have hope anywhere but in You Lord. I can look around at all the external things. I can make up lists of things to do. But the real work needs to take place inside me Lord. YOU can change my heart and soul and mind and strength with each little flicker of truth You provide. Your truth. Your hope. Your grace.

Thank You Lord that even here You provide the hope and truth I need. ♫There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead, To heal the sin-sick soul♫ (Jeremiah 8:22) And as though this isn’t enough there’s an early version of the chorus in “The Sinner’s Cure” by Washington Glass in The Revivalist, 1854. ♫How lost was my condition, Till Jesus made me whole; There is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul… At length this great Physician How matchless is His grace Accepted my petition And undertook my case… Come then to this Physician His help He’ll freely give He makes no hard condition ’Tis only look and live There is a balm…♫ I can’t make myself care Lord. You can! Help me let You.

And even here Lord, in looking up the verse in Jeremiah (8:22) I read the verses before and found another gr... word. Verses 18 and 21, “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief.”

Ah, but even in my dumbed silence Lord, there is grace and hope for ♫There IS a balm in Gilead♫! Thank You Lord. Your gr... words are SO much better than mine! I love You. Thank You. Help me care today. Amen.

(596 words ~ 9:12 a.m.)

♫Praise God♫

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (7:26 a.m.)

♫Praise God♫

What an incredible way to wake up Dearest Lord! Literally singing Your praises! Thank You. Thank You that as I still lay stretching my very first inclination was to start singing. And the song that immediately came to mind? ♫Praise God! Give thanks to the Father for all that you say and do. Well, amen, amen, Sing glory hallelujah! Christ the is risen [second verse is ‘coming’] for you♫ Amen, amen, indeed!

Lord how blessed am I that I get to come right out here and find the exact song I am looking for WITH Bible verses to boot! Looking in the Psalty Bible for the song, I find it in relation to Colossians 3:16-17 under the title ‘Rules for Holy Living’.

Mm God. How blessed indeed! What an honor it is to come before You right now experiencing scriptural overload. Every single page I turn has pertinent verses jumping off the pages at me. Oh most Blessed Lord, thank You.

As I turn the pages on my way to Colossians I see my own writing in the margins of 1 Thessalonians 3, dated over four years ago. “Joy = delight in life that runs deeper than pain or pleasure”. Underlined words have other words next to them helping me understand their meaning just a little better. Strengthen – establish, make stable… blameless and holy – cleansed of sins… holy ones – saints. Mm Lord. Thank You.

Next to verse three, where Paul is telling the people of Thessalonica that Timothy had been sent to strengthen and encourage them in their faith so that no one would be unsettled by their trials, I have written “John 16:33”. Turning there, it has been encircled by me. Jesus was telling His disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you would have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And all this before even getting to Colossians!

Lord, how I thank You for the bold exclamation point I made some time ago in the margin drawing my attention to the underscoring I’d done for truth of Colossians 2:6-7, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Mm Lord. Yes! Thankfulness!

How I thank You Lord for Your Word. Thank You for drawing me to these particular pages. Thank You for even more underlined verses and penciled in words used for even more understanding. Verse 10, “you have been given fullness in Christ”. Next to verse 16 I wrote ‘guilt’. In chapter three, “set your hearts” (v. 1) is underlined as is “Set your minds”. Above verse five I have written “inner civil war”.

Across the page almost all of verses twelve through fifteen are noted, as well as the words “Choose the highest good for the other guy” written in. I wrote, “Always choose God!” next to verse 18. “Remove bitterness with forgiveness” between 19 and 20. And “Ambassador” is written down the side of verses 23 and 24.

Lord God, how I thank You for such a powerfully hope-filled time with You as this. So much to see [and do and remember! J]

I’ll close now with the verse that honestly started all this to begin with. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

♫Praise God! Give thanks to the Father for all that you say and do. Well, amen, amen, Sing glory hallelujah! Christ the is risen [second time sing ‘coming’] for you…♫ Mm. Praise God indeed! Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen!

(639 words ~ 8:36 a.m.)

enspirit

Monday, November 22, 2010 (2:15 p.m.)

Most Dear and Holy God,

How I thank You Lord! Thank You that as early as 6:23 this morning I recognized that I was feeling out of sorts. It was pretty much the very fickle ‘I don’t care’, ‘I don’t want to’ attitude You know I so often experience. It took another hour for me to realize that the feelings weren’t changing of their own accord. How cool it has been for me this particular day just to allow them.

Okay. Well maybe I have judged them a little harshly. Really just wishing they were different. You know, happier. More joyful. Less sad.

But the joy really DID come! On it’s own. Not forced by me. Subtly. Almost imperceptibly. One minute I was feeling rather down and the next I was humming. I thought the song was an odd choice. I couldn’t even track back its origin. It made no sense as far as I could tell.

Not until I started putting You in as the singer and me as the recipient. That’s when the smiles started for me. The all out grin came the moment I turned the Dayspring “A Fruit of Life” daily calendar. “Come near to God and He will come near to you …” (James 4:8)

Lord God, how very much I thank You for not only having my back, but every single fiber of my being! From the moment I read the word for the day this morning I started praying that You would do that for me. Enspirit – encourage and enliven. And You did!

I noticed it was You the moment I paid closer attention to the words of the song I was humming. ♫Come and sit by My side if you love me Do not hasten to bid Me adieu But remember the Red River Valley And the Father who loves you so true♫ Ah, Lord. NOBODY loves me like You! “Come near to God and He will come near to you…”

Enspirit – to infuse spirit or life into; enliven. And You did. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen!

(355 words)

Surprise!

Sunday, November 21, 2010 (7: 15 a.m.)

Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino (#132a)

Primm, NV

Blessed Lord,

♫I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever I will sing. I will sing… And with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness… to all generations♫ (Psalm 89) Wow! God! What a surprise! Your plan is so much better than mine! Mine was to come here and mope about my own indecisions and difficulty with confrontation. Yours? So much better!

Looking out the window to such a GLORIOUS sunrise ~ complete with an intensely blue sky, bright white clouds, nearly white appearing sun with just a smattering of rain clouds. Put altogether I just naturally started singing of Your mercies instead. Your loving-kindness.

Again looking out the window, I watch a woman on her way to work stop and feed five cats. The system she has, complete with providing ample water in this desert place, makes me think this is not her first time doing this.

Going back to reading Psalm 89, verse six starts me singing ♫Whom have I in heaven but You…♫ ♫Angels bow before Him Heaven and earth adore Him…♫

Tender. Blessings. Love. Kindness. Forever. Truth. Enduring. Solemn agreement. Chosen servant. Oath. Praise. Miracles. Angels. Mighty One. Character. Rule oceans. Fearful storms. Speak. Lie still. Awesome power. Strong. Glorious strength. Justice. Righteousness. Mercy. Truth. Protection. Surrounded with Your love. Father God. Rock of Salvation.

Words of this Psalm give me pause to think of You. Thank You Lord! Just now two women leaving work bring food to these same now very full cats. You can almost see the givers wonder why the receivers don’t come rushing to partake in the offering. Is that how it is with You Lord? We fill ourselves up with other stuff and don’t have room left for You?

Back to Your Word. Love forever. Kind always. Covenant will never end. Endless. Sworn. A holy God can never lie.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (9:51 a.m.)

Lord God, as we left the premises to journey home that particular morning You graced us with even more surprises! How I ask You to always help me remember the joy we had when the rain turned to snow for those several miles, lightly dusting the desert in white. As the sky grew darker and darker still over the miles, what a thrill it was to see a practically three-dimensional portal open up straight in front of us. I honestly don’t remember ever seeing anything quite so captivating. What a surprise blessed Lord! Thank You that You are so very good to us. I love You so much. Thank You. Amen.

(444 words ~ 10:00 a.m.)