Shovel, dig, swipe...this was the rhythmic beat I moved to for over an hour this morning. The shoveling and digging, that was me attacking the grass and weeds that I let overtake our garden. The swiping, that was for the sweat and dirt running down my face because it was hard work! Emily and I planted a garden earlier in the spring. We got a few squash and a couple of monster zucchinis out of it. In the beginning we tended the garden faithfully. Me more so then her, she would rather be playing in the dirt or the water, or both making mud. I would water and fertilize, and weed out those pesky intruders. Anything that wasn't producing a vegetable was tossed out. That garden was lovingly tended for the purpose of growing yummy veggies that we would and did enjoy later. Anything extra was a freeloader, stealing nutrients and preventing the plants from growing into maturity. The freeloaders, would hinder the growth and development of my plants, and beat them out altogether if I let them. A few months later, the intruders have almost taken over my garden. My fault entirely, I let my tending duties fall by the wayside. As I was digging up and ripping out the plants, I looked around regretting I hadn't been more faithful, thinking how much the state of my garden is like that my heart and the hearts of others in my church. It all started one little weed at a time, and when it wasn't promptly removed it fed off of the soil and nutrients intended for my plants, and it grew, and grew, and grew. And soon they were producing more intruders than my plants were fruit. And you know I didn't have to try and grow those weeds, they did it all by themselves. They grew without me doing anything, and without me doing anything they outgrew the good things in my garden. We are so much like that. See we are the gardens God has designed to produce good fruit so that we may win others to Him and so that we may be a blessing to each other. Tending to ourselves takes a lot of work, it's hard. When we don't tend faithfully, pulling out those weeds of discontent, jealousy, strife between one another, bad attitudes, or unfaithfulness in our service to Him, to name a few, we become overgrown and unproductive. And sometimes our weeds will spread to others, or sometimes we allow their weeds to overtake us. The easiest way to let the weeds in...when we take our eyes off of Him and begin to look around at others. God tells us to "Judge not, that ye be not judged," in Matthew not necessarily to spare the other person from our expectations, but to spare us. He knows that damage that can be done when we began to take on the job of inspector. Not only do we become critical of others allowing for weeds to take root, but we become victims of our own expectations. He reminds us that how we judge others and with what measure we "mete it shall be measured to you again." (Matthew 7:1-2) How we deal out things such as harsh words, criticism, and expectations or caring, forgiveness and understanding will be returned to us. Be mindful you can be the spreader of weeds, or you can prevent the spreading of weeds.
The point is plain and simple keep tending and when you think to look around at others, tend to yourself.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Just a Little Bit More
"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." Philippians 4:12
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20
"Just a little bit more," is what John D. Rockefeller answered when asked how much money was enough. How enlightening those five little words are. I remember the first time I heard that story was several years ago while I was at college. Those words have stayed with me ever since and I am reminded of them occasionally when I begin to feel unappreciative of what I do have, because of the "better" things I don't have. I was once again reminded of this today at the pool with Emily and Joseph. She recently visited her Grammy and Poppy and came back as rotten as the kiwi fruit stinking up my kitchen. We could really tell on the way home from church on Sunday evening when she said she was hungry, to which I replied we would be home soon and would eat then. To which she replied, in a somewhat whiny voice, "No let's GO somewhere and GET something to eat." My husband and I looked at each other with knowing grins that said, "we know where that came from." So back to the pool. She has a few McDonald’s toys from her weekend with Grammy and Poppy that are her new favorites. Well, I took them away this morning as punishment because instead of eating her breakfast like I asked her to, about twenty times, she "dropped" about half of it on the floor beneath her chair. So I told her she was having a time out from her toys and that she would get them back later today. A couple of hours later we headed to the pool, usually we take toys to the pool, several times she started to ask me about the toys to which I replied that we weren't talking about that. She did pretty good at not asking a million more times (which has been her habit lately) so as a surprise I slipped them in the bag and off we went. I told her in the car that I had a surprise for her. When we got to the pool after patiently waiting as I put my sunscreen on, I told her to look in my bag and so she did and found her confiscated toys. So she looks at me and says not, "Thank You," but "Is there another surprise?!" And I'm just looking at her.... Seriously that's when you know she's got too many toys. And I know she's only four, thankfully it's not too late to turn that ship around. But I began to think of a time just a few weeks ago in my own life, where I think God may have been looking at me thinking "Seriously?" We still have some of the "originals" as we call them, the towels we got for our wedding shower 8 years ago, they are still holding out, but they're down for the count. We have added a few here and there over the years, but not many. Just a few weeks ago my grandmother gave us a whole new set of towels. My husband and I were talking about this one evening and he mentioned how we didn't need any more towels, to which I may have nodded my head (note the "may have"), but inside I was thinking at a later date I'd like to purchase just a couple more. I surely didn't tell him that however. But God heard it. He's the one who, through my grandmother, provided us with the towels. (note here, as exemplified by my grandmother, one way to show God you appreciate what He has given you is to give to others in need) I wonder if He was thinking the same thing about me as I was about Emily. Something along the lines of "Look what I have given you, don't you appreciate that?" I have noticed this in my life. I'll buy a new outfit, and walk out really liking my new outfit, but still thinking about that shirt I'd like to go back and get. It seems there will always be something else out there to obtain, something we want but can't have so what do we do? We try and get what we want, but can't have. If you're not careful you can become consumed by it. On a smaller scale maybe we spend money we don't have or time that would better be spent for God than for ourselves. Hubby gets paid at the beginning of the month, and boy do I, feel rich. By the end of the month we're poor again. It's kind of a joke in the house that when we abound we really abound, and when we are abased, well.... We joke that if I didn't feel so rich at the beginning of the month we wouldn't feel so poor at the end of the month. We have learned some lessons along the way, and God who has always provided for us, continues to do so, though sometimes in very creative ways. Leave it to the Creator!
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20
"Just a little bit more," is what John D. Rockefeller answered when asked how much money was enough. How enlightening those five little words are. I remember the first time I heard that story was several years ago while I was at college. Those words have stayed with me ever since and I am reminded of them occasionally when I begin to feel unappreciative of what I do have, because of the "better" things I don't have. I was once again reminded of this today at the pool with Emily and Joseph. She recently visited her Grammy and Poppy and came back as rotten as the kiwi fruit stinking up my kitchen. We could really tell on the way home from church on Sunday evening when she said she was hungry, to which I replied we would be home soon and would eat then. To which she replied, in a somewhat whiny voice, "No let's GO somewhere and GET something to eat." My husband and I looked at each other with knowing grins that said, "we know where that came from." So back to the pool. She has a few McDonald’s toys from her weekend with Grammy and Poppy that are her new favorites. Well, I took them away this morning as punishment because instead of eating her breakfast like I asked her to, about twenty times, she "dropped" about half of it on the floor beneath her chair. So I told her she was having a time out from her toys and that she would get them back later today. A couple of hours later we headed to the pool, usually we take toys to the pool, several times she started to ask me about the toys to which I replied that we weren't talking about that. She did pretty good at not asking a million more times (which has been her habit lately) so as a surprise I slipped them in the bag and off we went. I told her in the car that I had a surprise for her. When we got to the pool after patiently waiting as I put my sunscreen on, I told her to look in my bag and so she did and found her confiscated toys. So she looks at me and says not, "Thank You," but "Is there another surprise?!" And I'm just looking at her.... Seriously that's when you know she's got too many toys. And I know she's only four, thankfully it's not too late to turn that ship around. But I began to think of a time just a few weeks ago in my own life, where I think God may have been looking at me thinking "Seriously?" We still have some of the "originals" as we call them, the towels we got for our wedding shower 8 years ago, they are still holding out, but they're down for the count. We have added a few here and there over the years, but not many. Just a few weeks ago my grandmother gave us a whole new set of towels. My husband and I were talking about this one evening and he mentioned how we didn't need any more towels, to which I may have nodded my head (note the "may have"), but inside I was thinking at a later date I'd like to purchase just a couple more. I surely didn't tell him that however. But God heard it. He's the one who, through my grandmother, provided us with the towels. (note here, as exemplified by my grandmother, one way to show God you appreciate what He has given you is to give to others in need) I wonder if He was thinking the same thing about me as I was about Emily. Something along the lines of "Look what I have given you, don't you appreciate that?" I have noticed this in my life. I'll buy a new outfit, and walk out really liking my new outfit, but still thinking about that shirt I'd like to go back and get. It seems there will always be something else out there to obtain, something we want but can't have so what do we do? We try and get what we want, but can't have. If you're not careful you can become consumed by it. On a smaller scale maybe we spend money we don't have or time that would better be spent for God than for ourselves. Hubby gets paid at the beginning of the month, and boy do I, feel rich. By the end of the month we're poor again. It's kind of a joke in the house that when we abound we really abound, and when we are abased, well.... We joke that if I didn't feel so rich at the beginning of the month we wouldn't feel so poor at the end of the month. We have learned some lessons along the way, and God who has always provided for us, continues to do so, though sometimes in very creative ways. Leave it to the Creator!
Monday, June 20, 2011
A Father's Fingerprints
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
When Daddy comes home it's an event. Our daughter, Emily will run to the door to greet him, or occasionally hide hoping her daddy will come and find her. Whenever they greet, it usually involves him picking her up, and tickles and kisses. Now daddy's work shirts have a pocket on the left side and while he is holding her, Emily often loves to dig her hands in his shirt pocket to see what is in there. Usually it's nails, or screws, or little things he has used during the day at work. One day while playing around the house with Emily, she noticed a handful of nuts and bolts that he had taken out of his shirt pocket and left on the piano. She pointed to them and said simply, and with excitement, "Daddy!" See she knew when she saw that handful of nuts and bolts that they belonged to her daddy. And it was like a ray of sunshine in her day, as evidence by the excitement in her voice when she pointed them out to me. It was if she was thinking "I know where those came from, they belong to my daddy!" And just thinking about him made her happy. As I began to think about this seemingly small event I began to think about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. There are times in my day when something will catch my attention and I know that it's evidence of Him in my life. Have there been times in your life when you can see God's fingerprints? Something He has left behind? An evidence of His involvement in you? Now first you must be able to claim a relationship with Him, you must be able to claim Him as your Heavenly Father, the adoption as His child through the salvation of Jesus Christ. I hope that if you can't you will chose to. And for those that do belong to Him, can you see evidence of Him in your life?
James 1:17
When Daddy comes home it's an event. Our daughter, Emily will run to the door to greet him, or occasionally hide hoping her daddy will come and find her. Whenever they greet, it usually involves him picking her up, and tickles and kisses. Now daddy's work shirts have a pocket on the left side and while he is holding her, Emily often loves to dig her hands in his shirt pocket to see what is in there. Usually it's nails, or screws, or little things he has used during the day at work. One day while playing around the house with Emily, she noticed a handful of nuts and bolts that he had taken out of his shirt pocket and left on the piano. She pointed to them and said simply, and with excitement, "Daddy!" See she knew when she saw that handful of nuts and bolts that they belonged to her daddy. And it was like a ray of sunshine in her day, as evidence by the excitement in her voice when she pointed them out to me. It was if she was thinking "I know where those came from, they belong to my daddy!" And just thinking about him made her happy. As I began to think about this seemingly small event I began to think about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. There are times in my day when something will catch my attention and I know that it's evidence of Him in my life. Have there been times in your life when you can see God's fingerprints? Something He has left behind? An evidence of His involvement in you? Now first you must be able to claim a relationship with Him, you must be able to claim Him as your Heavenly Father, the adoption as His child through the salvation of Jesus Christ. I hope that if you can't you will chose to. And for those that do belong to Him, can you see evidence of Him in your life?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Resting in Him
Mat 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
This verse took on a very real and practical meaning for me my last year in college. I was taking 19 hours the fall semester (I had to get special permission from the school because this was beyond the courseload limit) and 18 in the spring (which included my internship). I was married, pregnant, and working part time to pay for health insurance. Besides the long days at school I had homework, projects, and studying to do when I got home. Oh, and did I mention the housework? It was during this time I experienced God's rest in a very real physical way, not just in the spiritual sense. See I was so busy I was barely getting it all done. But I remained faithful in my church attendance. I thoroughly enjoyed those services, not just for their spiritual content, but for that time period I was in God's house, where I was supposed to be and all I had to do was sit and listen and rest. I didn't have the homework calling me or the housework begging to be done. It was truly a time of refreshment. And did you know that's what the word rest means in this verse? In the Greek language that word meant to repose, or to take ease, be refreshed. (from E-sword's Strong's references) And I was, I knew that there was nowhere more important to be and nothing more important to be doing, than to be resting in my Savior and Lord. Life is so busy today it's unreal, I've heard it said many times and it's so true, "if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." I don't know who said it but it is so true. Have your found rest in God today? This week? This month? Are you willing to take the time?
Heavenly Father...
There are so many people out there with something to say. I am literally one in a million, or millions. You know this is something close to my heart, something I believe you put there. I pray I am doing the right thing. I pray this will be a blessing for me and for others. Have your will and your way. I love you Lord, in Jesus name...
Amen
Amen
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