Meeting A New Challenge

Living It Out....How can an Old Testament book of the Bible like Malachi speak to me in todays world?  What does that look like in this century?  It's my October challenge!  Stay tuned for real life practical tips from The Word.

Cinderella, Your Chariot Awaits

Have you ever noticed life doesn't always hand you a glass slipper?  I often forget that every new day brings a different set of challenges and midway through the day have to stop and remind myself that the obstacles I am facing at that moment are the very vehicle God is using in my life to conform me to His image.  For example, it could be an interruption in my schedule and God wants me to learn patience, a problem in my family and He wants better communication, or a hurtful thing someone has said and God wants me to let go of offense.  None of these are easy but there is a greater reward when I understand God has a purpose and His mode of transportation isn't always pretty.  After all, He came in on a donkey!

Whatever it is, instead of viewing the situation as a clunker, I need to remind myself it's a chariot that takes me to a deeper place of sanctification.  If you don't have a glass slipper, just remember it might be a chariot in disguise!

" 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares The Lord."
           Isaiah 55:8

Power thought: His Right Hand is Big Enough

Wouldn't it be great to have a friend that came alongside you to continually support you?  Whose primary thought was what you need for today?  That's the comfort I receive when I read God's Word like He's talking to me personally.

"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."  Is.  41:10

In case you missed that, here's the power promise we can stand on today:
1.  DON'T be fearful-it's a command
2.  He is with you (you are not alone)
3.  DON'T be dismayed (or discouraged-ANOTHER command)
4.  He is my God (meaning He is before all things)
5.  He WILL strengthen me
6.  He WILL help me
7.  He WILL uphold me (this one seals the deal)

After you read that and think on His commands and what He says He will do, think on this:

His righteous right hand must be mighty big and strong enough for you to lay down every fear and discouragement.   Selah.

Power thought for today: He Strengthens You For Battle

Do you feel weak today and need a little help?  Whatever obstacle is coming your way, when the Lord is on your side, you can overcome no matter how massive the situation.

"With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall."  Psalm 18:29

Climb the wall with confidence as you realize He is your strength.

Power thought for today

Are you fearful or afraid about anything this morning?  Your God is bigger!  Think on this power verse:

"He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the       waves, and it was completely calm."  Matthew 8:26

Just remember who controls the winds and the waves of your life today and may your peace be restored.

"Dominate Game Changer"

Being the only female in our family, many of our conversations revolve around sports.  What the Braves are doing, the new uniforms for all the teams, trades, coaches, who's on steroids, stats, Ichiro got 4000 hits, Sweet Sixteen, Final Four, Super Bowl, World Series, Little League World Series, Women's Softball, Olympics Ping Pong, do you get my drift?   It's not a little, it's a lot.  It's a lot of talk about the world of sports.  The point is, sports are discussed at my house like women talk about different hair products and make up colors.

Over the years, I have actually grown to love these table topics and add them to my memory bank because I know I will be asked a random question from time to time about some fact my family thinks I should know.  After all, to them, I'm just one of the guys.

On one occasion recently, my husband was sharing some thoughts about a particular football player when he used the term "Dominant Game Changer".   My thinker tank began.  Hhhmmm... "Honey, why do you say he is a "Dominant Game Changer?", I ask him.  I'm wondering, is that good or bad?  I mean, think about it, it could be either.

I'm a how kind of a girl.  If it's positive, I want to know more.  How did this guy become a "Dominant Game Changer"?  So I ask.

My other half told me the man on the field was a positive force on his team, he had influence and motivated those around him which led to the success of the team as a whole.  He encouraged the other players by his attitudes, his choices, his behaviors.  He was a game changer because his presence on and off the field brought the players to a level of play beyond what they would've experienced without him.  He was a "Dominate Game Changer" because he had an effect on the people around him that caused them to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do.  He made things happen for the better.

Suddenly my thoughts went to another "Dominant Game Changer" in a completely different time in history.  Jesus came on the scene more than 2000 years ago and was born to a virgin.  You have to agree, that's not the norm.  Dying on a cross, yea, that's pretty much a game changer circumstance, too.  The course or end of life for a Christ follower was changed because of this one event.  Let's see, One who has been the dominating presence throughout history who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who can be everywhere at all times, and who knows things past, present and in the future.  That changes everything.  Game on.  He changed the whole playing field.  Instead of life stopping at death and God saying "game over" see ya, we have all of eternity ahead of us:  that's a "Dominant Game Changer" (DGC).

While I will never be the DGC that Jesus was, I can still play a role in the game of life alongside Him.  When I am changed, I can then help others change the direction of their lives by seeking the one Dominant Game Changer for their eternal destiny and playing the game well while we are here on earth by building a relationship with Him.  It is through that relationship that we all receive positive influence and become like the man on the field.  We then have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others and do things that we could never do otherwise.  Things in our own lives like forgive when we are hurt, overcome insurmountable situations such as drugs or rape, the loss of a baby, real life junk.  This changes the game.

Where's your game?  Does your game end here on earth or did you make a choice to keep playing into eternity?  If so, you got game?  Are you running well?

"Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize."  1 Corinthians 9:24

Run to the "Dominating Game Changer" of all times, Jesus.  Let Him change the whole playing field of your life. Run to the prize!

Normal or Nuts

While watching a news show earlier today, the anchors had people call or write in to discuss if an activity someone was doing was quirky or if their behavior was considered normal.  The segment was called "Normal or Nuts" .  Once the question was posed, a doctor would respond with an answer.  One discussion was about someone who had an aversion to velvet.  The Dr. confirmed what most of you already have guessed. This behavior is nuts!   The person had a sensory related issue that was abnormal.

Another reference talked about a 9 year old girl who was still sleeping with stuffed animals at night while acting older than her age during the day.  The medical expert said, believe it or not, this one is fairly normal.

The topic, though, that piqued my attention was called "Lawn Lunacy".  The caller wanted to know if his neighbor was crazy or ok because the neighbor's lawn was always perfectly manicured.  If a petal fell to the ground, the woman would pick it up within a few hours so that nothing ever stayed on the grass. This man had even seen her shake a bush to get hanging petals to fall prematurely so she could pick them up.  Anything on the grass made the lawn look defective.  No leaves or petals on the grass meant all was well with her world.

As the reporter was talking, I was thinking, "None of us like it when something makes us look less than perfect.  However, in God's kingdom and economy, we understand, God isn't concerned with the outward appearance. None of us are perfect so why do we waste energy trying to appear anything other than what we are?  Doesn't everybody know anyway?

Dr. Ablow went on to explain, by making everything look perfect on the surface this woman was covering up a way deeper problem which would eventually erupt.  Keeping the lawn spotless wasn't fixing what was troubling her, she had a disorder that no leaf blower could blow away.  She was strangled by something bothering her within and was trying to keep the outward appearance of everything being well.

I wonder how many times I have appeared this way to others.  All looks fine on the outside but on the inside, there's a petal blowing, not on my lawn but in my head.

Do you have any areas that look like this woman?  It's all good on the surface but beneath the appearance there is a hurricane force wind coming and the leaves will soon be scattering?

This lawn keeper woman reminds me of the Pharisees in the Bible.  The Pharisees were a religious society of their time who were devoted to God but became so committed to following all the rules of the law (and the ones they instituted) that they seemed to have forgotten Jesus was in their midst working miracles and worried more about how they looked than what He was doing among them.  Instead of enjoying His presence, the joy was sucked out by their heavy burdens of appearance.  She, too, like them, was trying to follow the letter of the law, her own lawn lunacy standards!  What a burden to carry by running after every petal or rules that are impossible to follow!
As Christians, we want to follow Him because we have a heart that loves Him, not because its our duty or we want people to think we have it all together and we look good on the outside.  That's not normal, that's nuts!  We don't need a doctor to tell us that.

Had this woman simply enjoyed taking care of the lawn and basked in enjoying it's beauty, she wouldn't have been consumed with maintaining it to the point of obsessive compulsiveness.  What Jesus wants for us, is not a rule abiding relationship based on appearance but one designed for mutual pleasure.

Today, my friends, enjoy the love of a Father who desires you above all else just the way you are, leaves and all!  After all, He created you that way.  He isn't tainted by the world's standards of what's normal or nuts, or by rules and regulations that can't be met.   We meet every standard because of who we are in Him!