Five Ways to Keep Truth Vibrant in my Mouth

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Christ centered, carefulness

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“God is still on the throne.”

“He’s got it!”

“Don’t worry, He is Lord.”

“He sees it all.”

“He will come through.”

Generic words that cover it all easily uttered when someone I know faces a difficult situation; one-size-fit-all band-aids.

So true.  And yet so lame.

Sometimes, the obvious has been said so much that it loses its weight.  It doesn’t heal or encourage because it’s familiar, used up.  Like an “I love you” said for the thousandth time in a marriage.

So lame. And yet so true and necessary.

How can we keep truth vibrant within and communicate it with power and anointing?

1. Don’t be flippant about your words.  Even if you have said it 243 times, mean it with everything in you on the 244th time.  Because if you do, it will catch my attention and my heart.

2. Have a kind, but firm response to the “yeah, yeah, I know” answer that comes. Because you will face me with my unwillingness to really listen.

3. Don’t say it because it is expected of you, or just because it is the right answer in a situation.  Say it because you believe it to be true and helpful.  I am human too, and I can read right through you.

4. Back your words up with actions. If you tell me that you love me, do something to show it.  If you tell me that God will provide and you can be a part of the solution, do it.  Because I know that it’s for real when you put your hand to the plow.

5. Speak with your entire body–mouth, eyes, hands, body, posture.  Because it will wake me up from my slumber.

How do you make familiar words count? 

Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp

#95 kindness demonstrated

#94 all my ducks in a row before going to bed

#93 a settled spirit when the storm is raging

#921 healing words

#91 an evening at home all by myself

Linking up with Faith Filled Friday, Still Saturday and RJD

Wednesday’s W: Wonderful

23 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in beauty, everyday, Maine

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Wonderful = Full of Wonders.  This life is sure wonder-full.

Isn’t it amazing that when you fly in an airplane, you are actually sitting in a chair in the sky?

And isn’t it mind-boggling that in order to live, a seed has to die?

And isn’t it marvelous that every November 24th, the swallows leave North East Argentina and arrive to Baja, California, on February 18th every single year?

And isn’t it awesome that God still knows how many hair are on my head this very day?  And that skin on my body recreates itself all the time?  And that babies are born with all of their parts?

Wonderful–life is full of wonders indeed.

Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp

# 90  my eyes that see the green grass

#89 the awe that overwhelms me when I look at the ocean

# 88 My Backyard Oak Tree 

Waking Up like every Day is Saturday

22 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in everyday, meaning

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Do you drag yourself out of bed, dreading the day because it’s Monday?  Do you divide your life in work (no fun), evening (better but chores), vacation (great!) and retirement (finally!)?  Does today matter more because it is a no-working vacation day?

Are different days in nice little filing cabinets?

Maybe we should goop all the days together– not one more important than the other.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday–all good.  So you have to go to work on Monday to make the money to provide for those you love, but does that make it a rough day? Or is it a blessed day because you get to go to work to provide for those you love?

As soon as we figure out how to live our purpose in our everyday life, we can live on purpose no matter what day it is.  And that is excellent.

Did you know that people with a strong sense of purpose have boosted immune systems and lower stress hormones?  Yep.

None of us finds fulfillment in an automatic, robot-type life, but we all thrive when we add purpose and adventure to our days. Purpose beyond Saturday mornings.   Purpose for life on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And Saturday and Sunday.

It’s all about perspective, and learning to fit our purpose in all that we do.  When the kids are screaming and the milk is spilled and the boss is unhappy.  When the bacon burns and your mom is upset and the money is tight.  When all we want is a bubble bath and a dream life that doesn’t exist on this side of Heaven.

How the heck do you do that, you ask. Well, truthfully, I can’t answer that for you.  Because it’s your life, and your purpose.  You are the one who has to figure that one out.  Yep.

But there are some guidelines that work for each one of us, and the very first one is this: Do it on purpose.  Your Monday, do it on purpose.  Your ugly Tuesday, live it fully.  Your exhausting Wednesday, experience it fully.  Your boring Thursday, choose it.  Your almost-the-week-end Friday, don’t waste it.  Your long awaited Saturday, enjoy it.  Your family Sunday, make it happen.

Once we live on purpose, our purpose becomes so much more defined. And it can fill each moment of every day.

What do you do to fit your purpose in all that you do? Let’s hear it!

Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp

# 87 Monday mornings

#86 the end of a fruitful day

#85 my new phone

Linking up with Gratituesday , Just Write, Deep Roots, Women Living well, Pieces of Amy and Far Above Rubies

Gravity

20 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Christ centered, Strength

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There are some rules in life that are non-bendable. Like gravity.  As babies, we all learned to cope with it, to accept it, to make our choices in view of it.  And then, we never questioned it. It is what it is. Non-negotiable.

My being called by God is one of those givens in life.  He has given me that position, and He makes decisions in view of it.  He is God and that’s that. Non-negotiable.

Simple, isn’t it?

It only gets messy when I second-guess Him, reasoning with myself that He must have made a mistake because I certainly wouldn’t have picked me and I know better than God Himself.

Like when I feel far from Him because of my sin, obviously misunderstanding the grace of God. My sin or lack of sin have nothing to do with His choice of me. The blood of His Son does.

Or when I just don’t want to belong to someone other than myself, or I don’t want someone to tell me what to do with my hours, my energy, my resources–which in itself is pure stupidity that gets me in big trouble, just like ignoring gravity would.  Because no one is free from responsibility, period.  And no one is his or her own master.

There is nothing to discuss. I belong to Him whether I like it or not, whether I mess up or not, whether I am useful or not. And He loves me, whether I sense it or not, whether I drink of it or not, whether I acknowledge it or not.

His love for me and His calling of me are just like gravity–facts that must be accepted and reckoned with.

I can  sit in a corner, pout and get frustrated about the law of gravity–but right there in my corner, I am still under its law; haven’t ever floated away yet. Or I can take full advantage of gravity and plan my life and days in view of it, resting in the security it brings.  My choice.

I am benefiting exponentially from God’s call on my life, loving every minute of Him calling me His precious daughter. I revel in His call, in His love for me, in His plans for me, in the safety of my salvation. I know what it means to let go off fear because there is a bigger law in operation in me now: God’s got my back.

And I’m good with that!  How about you?

Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp

#84 a new candle

#83 God’s choice of me

#82 a walk in the rain

#81 success in baking scones for the first time

#80 Living with the knowledge that God’s got my back

Linking up with A Mama’s Story, Titus 2sday, God-bumps, Raising Mighty Arrows and Play Dates with God

Your World

18 Friday May 2012

Posted by in beauty, kindness, life

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I am not quite sure how old you are, not that it really matters.  So far from me, yet just a few feet away, you rock back and forth on your chair, seemingly not aware of the world all around you.  Rhythmic tapping of your fingers on the wood of your chair, eyes half shut, saliva dribbling down on the front of your wrinkled blouse, teeth missing.  And you smell old. Deteriorated. In another world.

I kind of want to want to enter into your world, but I can’t see past the rhythmic tapping of your knotted fingers on the wood of your chair, and the smell, and the saliva dribbling down.  I want to want to reach out to you,  but I don’t think you hear, let alone care.

Yet you have a name, and a life woven with threads of love, and pain, and sweat, and broken dreams and hope.

You are just like me.  I hope I never become just like you.

Are you still inside this shell clothed in wrinkles and filled with pain, Olivia? What does your tapping mean?  What do you need, what do you want?

I force myself to reach my fingers to your almost transparent cheek.  You lift your arm and grab my fingers with your shaky hand, as though wanting to hold on to the life in me.  I gently weave my fingers with yours.  Your eyes open a bit.  In the silence of interwoven skin, we connect.  You let me in.  And in that holy moment of touching fingers, our very hearts become intertwined.

The rhythmic rocking of the chair back and forth has slowed, and the saliva doesn’t matter any more.  You smell like life, breakable, real, delicate. You are so beautiful.

My eyes well up with tears.  I want to tell you all that I feel, but my emotions choke the words.  I let my eyes do the talking. And then you start to cry as well.

You are just like me.  Maybe one day I’ll get to be just like you.

Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp

#79 eyes that do the talking

#78 lessons on love 

#77 my teeth

#76 connecting with someone

Linking up with Beholding Glory, the Better Mom,  State of the Heart,  Seedlings in Stone, Hear it on Sunday, cup half full, Tell me a Story, Imperfect Prose, Life in Bloom  and Still Saturday

Discouraged

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in God

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…when I don’t see the answer I am yearning for

…when my efforts don’t bring about the expected result

…when I waste precious time

…when life stands still and growth is stunned.

So I pray,

Open my eyes, dear Lord, to see

…Your fingerprint in the silences I don’t like,

…Your ways built in me as I barely tread water,

…Your hand holding on to my weeks, and days, and hours,

…Your breath that makes all things grow.

Open my heart, dear Lord, to understand

…Your perfect love in retrospect,

…Your kindness saving me from me,

…Your mercy that leads me home,

…Your heart that beats to love me more.

Counting One Thousand Gifts with Ann

#72 Fresh Blueberries, right out of the bush

#71 Peace to wait for Him

#70 A settled heart

linking up with Hear it on Sunday, the better Mom, State of the Heart, Seedlings in Stone, Playdates, Far above Rubies, Finding Beauty, Tell me, Living Well, Deep Roots at Home  and the Alabaster Jar

Absolute Truth?

12 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in choice

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I quickly explained away his unacceptable behavior, defending him with all the enthusiasm I could muster.  And it made all the sense in the world to me, knowing his situation.  Yet as I walked away, the words I used churned my stomach, like one would feel after drinking sour milk.

Well, yes, he has “extenuating circumstances.”  You try walking in his shoes for a few miles!  And of course, this is the best arrangement at this point; what else could he possibly do?  It’s not like he has much of a choice, you know…

But my heart quietly asks the questions that I do not want to face:  does this  really make the unacceptable acceptable?  Am I crossing the line and declaring right what is not?

Well, there is so much to consider, you know… You’ve got to keep an open mind. Not everything is black and white in life.  There are a lot more grey areas than we want to admit.

Boy, do I know that to be true!

I went from being a thick-headed-always right-there-is-only-one-way teenager to a grown-up woman beaten up by life a few times.  And I have accepted that 1 + 1 doesn’t always make 2, and detours are sometimes the quickest way to where we need to go.  And I know now that it’s really OK.

But that is not what this is about.  Because in the midst of all the grey areas of the entire world, there is still such a thing as Absolute Truth with a capital A and a capital T.

Absolute Truth is not subject to time, fashion, evolution nor revolution. Absolute Truth stands on its own in the face of cultures, inventions, research, war and peace.  Absolute Truth is not altered by death, life, suffering or joy.

It was.  And it is.  And it forever will be.

The issue I face is actually quite simple: when I choose comfortable over Absolute Truth, conflict arises.  When I choose excuses over Absolute Truth, my stomach churns– like after drinking sour milk.

And that is very, very good news…. because if it stops churning when I choose comfortable and excuses for myself and those I love, I will have given up on Absolute Truth.  And that is the worst kind of death there is.

Counting One Thousand Gifts with Ann

#69 Birds singing in my backyard

#68 Eyes that see mercy

#67 Lazy Saturday Mornings

#66 The unwillingness to compromise

Linking up with Jumping tandem, Heavenly Homemakers, Just Write, Raising Mighty Arrows, Beneath the Surface and SGD

No God

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in change, Gift, God

≈ 16 Comments

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I am reading an amazing book and I am stuck at two simple words in the first chapter:

“No, God.”

The book is incredibly well written with words dancing all around, and I long to drink it in, but I cannot go on. I cannot leave this line:

“No, God.”

Now you and I know that I am way too religious to ever utter these words, right?  I mean, He is God and I am not. I love Him with all I am and have. He is my life.

But I know that I have said “no, God” many times.  Many more times than I can count.  Big time.

No, God, I think my way is better today.

No, God, this is not the way I wanted it to go.

No, God, You are definitely wrong on this one.  I know better.

No, God, I won’t do it.

No, God, that is just not the way I roll.

No, God.

No God.

“No, God” is “no God” every time.

No God in this situation.  God is not relevant right now, I am. No God.

I don’t want You here right now.  No God.

In Psalm 14, verse 1 I read, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”

No, God.

No God.

Reading a Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp. You may want to check it out…

#65 A well written post

#64 Dinner with Friends

# 63 Strong Coffee

#62 Open Windows

#61 My heart exposed  

Linking up with God-Bumps, Faith Filled Fridays, Still Saturday, Titus2sday and Raising Mighty Arrows

Wednesday’s W: WISDOM

09 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in beauty

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More needed than most things, tangible and not, for with it we can build and create and move and receive.

More valuable than most values, for with it we can handle each value more skillfully.

More precious than what satisfies the eyes, for with it our souls will overflow.

Counting One Thousand Gifts with Ann Voskamp

#62 The Word that gives Wisdom

#61 Dictionaries

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