Wisdom

Here is something I wrote for a friend's 40th birthday. I thought that I would post it here for everyone to read.

As you begin the second half of your life, remember that the purpose of the first half was to earn the wisdom to truly enjoy the rest of your life.

During the first part of our life we thought that:
- it’s our life;
- we were important;
- treasures were what we could touch, see and feel;
- family was nice;
- life was to be spent anticipating the “special moments”;
- prayer was good;
- it was necessary to prove ourselves worthy to others;
- wisdom came from books; and
- things could be better.

For the second half we know that:
- it’s not really about us;
- none of us are more important than the rest;
- true treasures are stored in our hearts and in heaven;
- family is a thing of true value;
- each moment is itself to be valued;
- prayer can move mountains;
- we must seek God in all things, because we can’t handle anything;
- God’s opinion is the only one that counts;
- wisdom can only come from God and living the life He has given us;
- things can definitely be worse.

During the first part of our life we took our youth and vitality and gave them over to life experiences (also known as mistakes) - these will now give way wisdom. The wisdom to know that life is about something bigger than all of us, yet all of us contribute to the whole.

We have gained the wisdom to love better,
laugh harder,
enjoy each day as it comes, and
admit that we really don’t have a clue.

Enjoy the wisdom of the second part of your life.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day -- and not only me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

-2 Timothy 4:7-8

Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of you faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

-James 1:2-4

Are You Tired of Being Afraid?

I am. I’m tired of people trying to run my life (and yours too) by fear. The government and the media have taken on the role of Chicken Little – everyday they bombard us with messages that are basically the same “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” The economy, disease, global warming (or is it global cooling now?), unrest, etc., etc., etc. We have become a nation controlled by fear. Does anyone else wonder what they’re doing behind the curtain of fear? What it is that they’re trying to hide from us while we all run around trying to avert the next disaster? As Christians we have no reason to be afraid, in fact, if the sky truly is falling shout “AMEN” - ‘cause that means Jesus is coming! There is no reason to live without hope, without peace. We have no need to be scared and afraid. We have no need to hide, we have work to do! You see some day the sky really will fall, Jesus will come back and people will be lost. Lost because we were so afraid of disaster that we stopped sharing the gospel.

Yes, bad things happen here. This is not a perfect world, in fact it is a fallen one. After Adam and Eve had sinned, this is what God said to Adam:

"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil
you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and
thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the
sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; fro dust you are and to dust you will return."
Genesis 3: 17b-19.

You see, not only did God pronounce a curse on Satan, Adam, and Eve; he also pronounced a curse upon the world, this world. Perfection here does not, cannot and will not exist. The Garden of Eden is gone and we must deal with the consequences. Why are we still looking here for what cannot be found? Wishing isn't going to do it, dreaming isn't going to do it, praying isn't going to do it - heck, even Larry the Cable Guy can't git 'er done. Sickness, death, destruction, sadness, sorrow, all exist upon this earth and will continue to do so until Jesus returns and God makes a new heaven and a new earth. These are the working conditions that God has placed us in. He also gave us the tools to deal with them.

Be smart, take precautions, be good stewards, help your fellow brothers and sisters in need. But don’t be afraid. Fear is a tool of the enemy. Satan uses fear to keep us from fulfilling the will of God. And not fulfilling God’s will is probably the one thing that we should be afraid of! Take heart, trust in the promises of God, call on him and He shall answer you. Peace and hope are yours for the taking. Ask and you shall receive. Proclaim the gospel without fear so that when the sky truly does fall and Jesus returns people shall not be afraid and lost, they shall rejoice at going home.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. Psalm 27:1-3

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand my fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Psalm 91:5-7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on the the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace; sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thess 5:16-23

Judging our Reflection

We went to a friend's house for dinner on Sunday. When we got there I beheld the full "effect" of my 12yo dd's outfit. To say it clashed would be putting it mildly. :) Now I didn't get to see her before we left the house because all 8 of us were trying to get ready at the same time and she went out to the car while I was still blowdrying my hair. (I do believe that that move was on purpose) When I asked hubby about it he said that he didn't see that hat and the shoes (Fashion police he is not!) Anyway, I digress..... Later I was going to have a "talk" with her and the first question I was going to ask was 'Didn't you look in the mirror?', and then I realized - I never gave her a mirror to look into. No wall mirror, no full length mirror, nothing, nada. The only mirror she has to look into is the one in the bathroom and because of its height, I doubt she can see below her neck. Well, that ended that "conversation" right there. The failure with her not properly evaluating her image lay not at her feet but at mine. How can I ask her to inspect her image when I have not provided her with the proper tools to do the job?

That got me to thinking, what other tools have I failed to equip my daughter with? This is what God laid on my heart- As my daughter grows and matures into a beautiful young lady, have I given her the proper tools with which to judge her Christian image - her walk with the Lord? Now before I continue, please understand I'm not saying that we should go around judging others. I do, however, think that it is important for us to each inspect our own personal walk. And while our walks may be different, the mirror that we use isn't. The Bible states that we were all created in the image of God. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27) We are the reflection of God - when others look at us they are to see a reflection of God. Yet how can we say how well we are doing if we don't have a mirror. Our mirror is this - the knowledge of God. To examine our 'appearance' we must know ALL of God to see if we are a proper reflection of Him. A partial knowledge won't do - with that we can only judge a portion of our reflection (The hair might look good - but you can't see the run in the stockings. And, oh by the way, did I mention that the shoes don't match?) :) The knowledge must also be true. Our knowledge cannot be based on what others say or feel about God. What does God say about God? He, and He alone, is our standard bearer. False information produces a distorted image. Its like looking at your reflection in water - you look pretty good and then when you actually look in a real mirror you see the smudges of mascara under your eyes, the hairs that weren't really in place, the smudge of chocolate on your face from where the baby touched you. You judge your appearance on an inaccurate reflection - looks good until presented with the truth.

In this I have failed my daughter (and my other children, as well) . Have I fully equipped them to accurately judge their own spiritual appearance? Oh, I've given them Bible knowledge and tried my best to train them up in the Lord - but when was the last time I took the time to see how accurately assess how each was processing this knowledge? And what about the thoughts, ideas, feelings and reflections of others? Has this information permeated their knowledge and distorted their spiritual image? When have I sought God's advice or counsel on this? I've blindly gone about giving them spiritual knowledge; but never have I asked God if they are properly processing that knowledge. Oh LORD, how many time have I attributed their behavior to sin, when the fault was actually mine? For failing to provide them with the proper equipment with which to judge their spiritual reflection. For not noticing the things that may have distorted the truth. Please forgive me.

So now I have two things to do this week. #1 is easy - buy my dd a full-length mirror so she can accurately inspect her physical image before leaving her room. #2 is a bit harder; to prayerfully consult God and ask Him to reveal to me knowledge of him that my children may be lacking and to also reveal to me any distortions that they may have. Then I shall also ask that he guide me in correcting these distortions. Please pray for me, I think this may only be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Blessings,

Theresa

Oh me!

I found this quote today and it gave me an 'Oh me' moment.....

A real Christian is the person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.

- Billy Graham

Wow, if I had a pet parrot would I want the town gossip to get a hold of it? Uh.... NO! To have those weak moments revealed. The ones were I lose my Christianity (you know what I mean) and say how I really feel about someone, and there is no love involved. Or that moment when just one kid too many makes a request and I let them know exactly how I would like to respond to their request. Yes, I will admit, patience is definitely a virtue that I am still working on. I have impatience down pretty good though. (Um... is that something to brag about? Ooops :) ) Or better yet when my darling husband does something that I don't agree with and I choose not to hold my tongue and get a 'bit' snarky. Yeah, right about now I'm really glad I'm not a bird person. So please, I don't care how cute you think it is, no parrots for birthdays or Christmas. Nope, no way, no thanks, please let me have the return receipt. Honestly, I don't know who the town gossip is but I do know that for now, I'm not taking any chances with the parrot.

Well I'm off to my corner now. I have a verse I need to memorize and start putting into practice.

He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

- Proverbs 13:3