Leslie A

The Changing Landscape

2 Comments / July 19, 2012

For 25 years now, we have made occasional trips to the area where my husband was born and lived for the first 10 years of his life.  Many of his extended family still resides there and so we go at least once a year for a reunion.  A few weeks ago, we headed there for the sad occasion of his uncle’s viewing.

It was a beautiful summer evening for a drive and I enjoyed looking at the lovely landscape.  And, like many times before, I thought of how different this drive was from when we first started our trips east.   WaWas, Wal-marts, and Wendy’s had popped up.  Several new shopping complexes were now on the route.   And so many homes!  Hundreds more than when we first started making this trip.  Most in well-manicured developments, each home similar to its neighbor.   My, how the landscape had changed over the years!

The same thing has happened in the area where I live, but I never give it much thought.  I am so used to seeing it, that I don’t realize just how drastic the change has been over the past 25 years.

It makes me wonder just how much the landscape of my life has slowly changed.  For some reason, we don’t seem to notice the gradual changes in whatever is closest to us. We all change over the course of our lives, many times without even realizing it.  And then comes the inevitable question – are the changes good or bad?

I started keeping a journal when I was about ten years old. Most of my young adult life is recorded in cloth-covered books. Every now and again, I will spend a few minutes glancing over them. It is especially interesting to read the ones I wrote in college. In my head, I am still the young, naive woman who got married at 22. However, when I read the journals, I know that I am not that girl anymore — and that’s a good thing!  It is through my journals that I see that I have matured and grown up in the Lord.  Oh, I have a long way to go, but I can see a lot of positive changes (and also some pesky flaws that keep hanging around, too!)

Most people do not have a journal to see the changes that clearly, but it may be a good idea to think for just a minute how the landscape of your life has changed.  Are you more patient now than when you first got married?  Are you more and more conscious of the sin around you?  Or have you become comfortable with a sin in your life?  Is there a wall that has grown higher and higher between you and someone else?

I know for me, really thinking about this has led to me to be convicted about a few areas that I have let slide, areas that have continually grown worse (instead of better), always thinking that “someday” I will try to work on this or change that.  But unless we purposefully commit to change, “someday” rarely comes.  Living intentionally will help the changes in our landscape to be pleasing to the eye, instead of looking like the run-down slums.  And so, it is good to ask this question:  What do the changes in my life signify about me?

Wednesday Wisdom #5: Only a Few Things Matter

Leave a Comment / July 18, 2012

The following is from the book “Born After Midnight”.  It is by A.W. Tozer, who many of you know is one of my favorite authors.  I hope you enjoy this very compelling and interesting excerpt.

It has been suggested here before that life, for all its apparent complexities, is at bottom very simple indeed if we could only realize it. Thank God, only a few things matter. The rest are incidental and unimportant.

Nothing that matters is new. “There is no new thing under the sun,” said Solomon, and he could hardly have meant that there had been no mechanical development or social or political changes under the sun, for he observed elsewhere that man has “sought out many inventions,” and he had himself instituted quite a number of changes in the royal routine. The city of Jerusalem he left behind him when he died was quite another city from the one he took over from his father David. External changes were numerous even in those days, but in nature and in man nothing was new; and it was of these that Solomon wrote.

Nothing is new that matters and nothing that matters can be modernized. One way to evaluate anything in the world around us is to check for possible modernization. If it can be modernized you may safely put it far down in the scale of human values. Only the unchanged and the unchanging should be accounted worthy of lasting consideration by beings made in the image of God.

Should some reader impatiently brush me off as hopelessly old-fashioned I shall not be offended. To escape the illusion of the temporal requires a free mind and a heart deeply engrossed in eternal thoughts and filled with immortal yearnings. And present-day Christianity simply does not produce that kind of mentality. Neither can we hope with Wordsworth “that mellower years will bring a riper mind and clearer insight,” for our direction is away from this and not toward it. Unless we have been enlightened deep in the Spirit of truth, the passing of time will not help us. Rather it may confirm us in our carnality. There is such a thing as spiritual senility. It is the natural result of failure over a prolonged period to live in the light of revealed truth; and any of us can slide into it unless we walk humbly and circumspectly.

Almost everything that men value today has been developed from some primitive archetype: the streamlined auto from the wheel, the skyscraper from the stone arch, the supersonic airplane from the kite, our highly complex monetary system from the cowrie shell or its equivalent, our extremely efficient methods of communication from hieroglyphics or the jungle drum. I think it would be possible to trace about 98 percent of the items that compose our modern civilized world back to their primitive originals. Yet I reassert with emphasis that nothing new matters and nothing that really matters can be modernized.

What really matters after all? My personal relation to God matters. That takes priority over everything else. A man may be born in a sanitary hospital, receive his education in progressive schools, ride in an air-conditioned car, sleep on a foam rubber mattress, wear synthetic clothing, eat vitamin-enriched food, read by fluorescent lights, speak across 12,000 miles of empty space to a friend on the other side of the world, lose his anxieties by taking tranquilizing pills, die without pain by the aid of some new drug and be laid to rest in a memorial park as lovely as a country garden; yet what will all this profit him if he must later rise to face in judgment a God who knows him not and whom he does not know? To come at last before the bar of eternal justice with no one to plead his cause and to be banished forever from the presence of the great Judge—is that man any better off than if he had died a naked savage in the hinterlands of Borneo?

No man can afford to live or die under the frowning displeasure of God. Yet, name one modem device that can save him from it. Where can a man find security? Can philosophy help him? or psychology? Or science? or “progress”? or atoms or wonder drugs or vitamins? No. Only Christ can help him, and His aid is as old as man’s sin and man’s need. The naked aborigine is as near to God (and as far from Him) as the Ph.D. Nothing new can save my soul; neither can saving grace be modernized. We must each come as Abel came, by atoning blood and faith demonstrated in repentance. No new way has been discovered. The old way is the true way and there is no new way. The Lamb of God was slain “before the foundation of the world.”

A few other things matter to be sure, but they begin there, go out from there and return there again. They are that we trust Christ completely, carry our cross daily, love God and our fellow men, walk in the light as God gives us to understand it; that we love mercy, and walk uprightly; that we fulfill our commission as ambassadors of Christ among men; that we grow in grace and in the knowledge of God and come at last to our end like a ripe shock of corn at harvest time.

These are the things that matter. These things are always critical, yet few recognize them as being so. It is all but impossible these days to get attention to the things that matter. Only as the servants of God veer away from these serious and eternal things to talk of politics or world events or sports or science will the nervous and distraught victims of time and space give them a hearing. Yet these eternal truths are all the Bible teaches and all we are authorized to proclaim.

—Born After Midnight

It May Not be How it Looks

Leave a Comment / July 16, 2012

There is a Farmer’s Market Stand in a town nearby that advertises local produce.  When I drive by I love seeing the big, green watermelons, the plump, juicy strawberries, and the colorful, bell peppers, supposedly all grown locally.  However, the other day, as we were driving by, my daughter told me that twice now a friend of hers had witnessed the workers taking big boxes of Dole strawberries and putting them into unmarked boxes, so as to make the strawberries look like they were locally grown, when they really weren’t.  Buying locally grown produce is very important to some people so this farce seemed to be a very deceitful tactic to get more business.

I don’t buy often at this stand, but I know that I trusted their sign and never would have guessed that they are not actually selling what they advertise. Buyer, beware!

But this practice is not only limited to fruit stands.  We see it in car sales and on e-bay and countless other places.  And the Bible tells us it will even be in our churches!  I think of the Bible’s instruction to beware false teachers, who, if possible, could deceive even the very elect.  That means that the messages they bring are filled with words that make us feel good.  They preach prosperity and health.  They preach that there is no hell.  They preach that anyone can go to heaven and that Jesus is just one way of many.  They appeal to our human sense of fairness and to our selfish desires.

But if their message doesn’t match God’s Word, then they are not genuine Christians teachers and pastors.  Just like the red, yummy strawberries aren’t genuine, locally grown produce, so the false teachers may be appealing and wonderful, and yet not truly be what they say they are.

It is our job to test each teacher we give our ear to.  This includes the messages we hear in sermons, in the music we listen to, and the books we read.  Let’s harken unto the Word of God and test each message we hear.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

2 Peter 2:1  But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The Rainbow Flower

2 Comments / July 12, 2012

Lucy drew in her breath with awe. In the midst of the forest, she saw before her the most gorgeous flower she had ever seen.  Its beauty made her temporarily forget that she had failed her history test because she had forgotten to study, that her mom and dad had said “no” to her slumber party, and that her brother had broken her bike. Her baby sister, as if to get in on Lucy’s bad day, had screamed for over an hour due to a painful ear infection. In fact, baby May was still screaming when Lucy had headed off for a walk in the woods.

It was autumn and Lucy wasn’t expecting to see any flowers. All around her were the colors of autumn. Dead leaves carpeted the forest floor in shades of brown. Looking up, Lucy saw tree branches stretching their long arms toward the sky. Even the sky was a steely gray, as if to warn that winter was on its way. Dismal described the day perfectly– that is until Lucy found the flower.

As Lucy walked on the wooded path, she wondered why her life was so terribly awful. She forgot that she was blessed beyond measure and had instead chosen to focus on her misfortunes. Her thoughts were deepening her sadness, when she just happened to look down. She saw a hint of bright blue peeking out from the dead leaves to her left. Lucy bent down to gently move the leaves aside and found a plant with vivid green leaves and a dazzling, multi-colored flower. Each petal was a different color of the rainbow and a heavenly fragrance filled the air. The flower looked very real, but Lucy grew suspicious and lifted her head to study the landscape around her.  Was someone playing a trick on her?  She didn’t hear or see anyone. Almost as if she expected the flower to disappear before her eyes, she quickly glanced back at it. It was still there in all of its glory, filling the air with a heavenly aroma.

Should she pick it? Or should she leave it there to languish in the icy air? As she tried to decide, the flower petals winked and shimmered, beckoning Lucy to take it with her.  Lucy impulsively reached down. The stalk yielded easily under the pressure of her hand and she soon held the thick, emerald stem of the precious rainbow flower in her hands. She excitedly ran back the path through the woods to show the flower to her mom. She never dreamed of what she would find upon her return home.

As she breathlessly reached her house, she realized that the beds and lawn were perfectly manicured. There wasn’t a stray branch nor weed to be found.  Lucy couldn’t figure out how her dad had done all of that in such a short amount of time. But she soon forgot about it as she went around the back of the house to find her mom.

What she found there made her stop short. There sat her lime green bike in perfect condition. But how could that be? Dad had said she would need a new bike and yet here was her bike before her, looking brand new.  “How strange,” Lucy thought and then glanced at the flower in her hand, “naaa, that couldn’t be,” she said to herself.

As Lucy entered the house, she listened for baby May’s screams but all she heard was delighted baby laughter. As baby May and her little brother sat on the floor playing, Lucy noticed that her little brother was scrubbed clean, with nary a hair out of place and baby May was clothed in a little blue dress with white pinafore. As if to complement the two perfect children, the house was spotless. Lucy had never seen it so clean before.

As Lucy continued her search for her mom, her eye caught a piece of paper lying on the desk in the corner. Dismayed, she realized it was her history test which she thought was still safely tucked away in her backpack. But her astonishment increased considerably as she saw a giant A+ written across the top, along with a note from her teacher expounding on Lucy’s wonderful academic prowess. Now Lucy’s puzzlement turned into consternation. What in the world was going on? Did it have something to do with this strange flower she held?

Just as she was starting to panic, her mom came down the stairs. But was this the mom she knew? She wore a yellow sundress and high heels, an unusually big smile, and held a full basket of clean, fresh-smelling laundry in her arms. Her tone was cheery and bright as she asked Lucy if she wanted some freshly-baked cookies and a glass of milk. She then proceeded to tell Lucy that when she was done with her snack they could plan her slumber party. Her mom, in honeyed tones, went on to explain that she would cook a homemade dinner and make homemade ice cream for all of Lucy’s guests. She and dad may even take them all roller-skating.

Lucy stared at her mother. She wasn’t sure she liked this new mom that looked and sounded like something out of a 1950’s sitcom. But what to do?  She decided it couldn’t hurt to eat a snack and she pondered this weird turn of events as she munched on perfectly sized cookies containing just the right amount of chocolate chips.

Why had her world turned to perfection upon picking the rainbow flower? And now that it was so perfect, why wasn’t she happy? She wasn’t sure, but she knew it just didn’t feel right. She liked her little brother better when he was a normal boy, all grimy and pesty, even if it did mean a bent bike. And she didn’t want an F on her history test, but an A+ that she didn’t deserve somehow seemed worse. And the slumber party – well, that was another question, wasn’t it?  She knew that the reason she couldn’t have the slumber party was because her parents’ couldn’t afford it. Why had her parents changed their minds? Her thoughts turned guiltily over in her mind as she remembered her angry reaction when her parents had originally told her that she couldn’t have her party. Why had she made them feel so badly over something about which they were already heartbroken? She sighed. She wanted her old mom back in her t-shirt and jeans, even if she did occasionally get grumpy. Somehow this perfect mom didn’t seem like she would be a good person in which Lucy could confide her problems. And suddenly, Lucy realized that she preferred her old life to this new life of perfection. She sighed as she stared down at the rainbow flower. Now what?

Unexpectedly, a loud wail filled the air. The bed shook as Lucy lifted her head in fright. What in the world was that? And where was she? And then Lucy remembered: she had cried herself to sleep and the sound she was hearing was the blessed sound of baby May’s discomfort. Did this mean she had dreamed the whole thing? Lucy jumped out of bed and bounded down the stairs. She took in the dirty dishes in the sink, her mom’s disheveled appearance as she tried to comfort baby May, and her brother’s muddy shoes sitting by the door.  The telling history test had been removed from her backpack, but it now showed the F she knew she deserved.

Lucy breathed a huge sigh of relief. In one short afternoon, she realized the costly price she would have to pay to give up normal for perfect. And she realized it would never be worth it. Lucy learned a good lesson that afternoon. And to this day there hangs a rainbow flower painting  in Lucy’s bedroom to remind her of the blessing of normal.

Wise Words #4: He Is With You

Leave a Comment / July 11, 2012

One of the songs that has meant so much to me during some very difficult times has been this song by Mandisa, entitled “He Is With You”.  I remember being in tears by the end of hearing it the first time.  God used this song to remind me that He is always with me.  Even when I feel lonely or frightened or hopeless, I am not alone.  God is with me always.  How blessed we are to have a supernatural source of comfort and strength if we are one of His children.  May we never forget it.  I have attached a link to listen to the song on YouTube after the lyrics.  It’s a great video, so I hope you take a moment to watch it.

There’s a time to live
And a time to die
There’s a time to laugh
And a time to cry
There’s a time for war
And a time for peace
There’s a hand to hold
In the worst of these
In the worst of these

Chorus:
He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can’t even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby’s gone
And your house is still and your heart’s a stone
Cryin’ God, what’d you do that for?
He is with you

There’s a time for yes
And a time for no
There’s a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There’s a time to run
And a time to face it
There is love to see you
Through all of this

Chorus:
He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don’t know you anymore
And he is with you in the ICU
When the doctors don’t know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you

We may weep for a time
But joy will come in the morning
The morning light

Chorus:
He is with you when your kids are grown
When there’s too much space and you feel alone
And you’re worried if you got it right or wrong
Yes he is with you when you’ve given up
On ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left
And you take your final breath
He is with you

Watch on YouTube:  He is With You by Mandisa

Connecting to the Default

2 Comments / July 9, 2012

Since the coming of wifi, life has changed considerably, hasn’t it?  Most of us think we can’t live without it.  And so when we set up our router a few years ago, we had to set it up so that there would be a strong signal in three different locations.   The main router is in my office and the network is called Home 2.4, then we have one set up in our kitchen area called Home Extended.  The third is in our Business office across the parking lot and there the the network is called default.

Interestingly enough, many are the times when I will be sitting in my office trying to look something up on the internet and it will be super slow.   The page will take forever to load and, inevitably, I will look down to the bottom right corner of my screen to see that there is only one little bar of strength.  Once again, I realize that my laptop has automatically connected itself to the signal of the default network across the parking lot, instead of the strong Home 2.4 that is right here in my office.  I am not sure  why we called the office network “default” but it certainly is operating as the default for my laptop!   Of course, I will scroll my mouse down to the corner and click on the little signal icon and then purposely connect to the strongest signal.

I have no idea why it connects to the weakest network but, I guess when it comes right down to it, we humans do that all of the time.  We quickly fall into our default mode, the weakness of our bad habits, and the same old, same old.  We operate at one bar of strength, wondering why life is so hard.  All the while the strong signal of God and His Word is unused and powerless in our lives, because we have chosen instead to stay connected to the default network.  And so most of us find ourselves connected permanently to a weak network, following our own selfish ambitions and desires, rather than submitting and surrendering to God.

Paul talks about it like this in Galatians 5:

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Of course, connecting to the proper network takes some work.   We have to spend time in God’s Word and in prayer.  We have to feed ourselves spiritual food that is full of pure and biblical doctrine.  It is a little harder than scrolling a mouse and then giving it a click.  But, in looking at the works of the flesh, I see the default works, the sins we all fall into without effort–strife and envy and idolatry and hatred, to name a few–and I know that I don’t want those characterizing my life.  I want the fruits of the Spirit to be evident, fruits like love and joy and self-control.

And so perhaps today would be a great day for all of us to stop walking in the flesh, with all of its weakness and failures, and to turn our lives over, without condition, to the Lord whose strength is beyond measure.

 

Finding a Better Place

Leave a Comment / July 5, 2012

Last night a big gang of us went to watch fireworks.  We decided the best place to watch was the parking lot of a nearby historical society.  Apparently everyone else thought that, too.  But we found a place to park and joined the crowd.   With blankets and chairs in tow, we scoped the area for the best place to sit.  Most of the grassy area was taken, but we found one we thought would be okay, despite the big building directly in front of us. Oh, well.  We settled down to wait for the show.

A few minutes later, one of the guys decided he was going to search for a better spot and off went a group of them.  A few minutes later my daughter ran back and breathlessly told us that we should all follow her, where across the parking lot and behind a building, was the perfect hill to watch the fireworks.

So off we all went with our stuff, down the hill, across the parking lot, and around the building — to the perfect hillside.   Most people hadn’t ventured that far and so there was only a couple of other parties of people in the area.  And guess what?  It was a great place to watch the fireworks.  Probably the best place we’ve sat at in years…maybe ever.

This is the perfect picture of why I write this blog!  I was thinking about it this morning.  So often we are tempted to just settle.  We are tired of the weight battle, we are tired of the kid battle, we are tired of the entertainment battle.  We are tired of battles!  So we just settle.  We don’t want to work now for shadowy rewards to come later.  We want our rewards now.  And so we stay right where we are, taking the easy path.  But the easy path doesn’t always lead to the best place to watch the show.  In fact, I would venture to say it never leads to the best place to watch the show.

And some of us really do want to take the hard path, but then peer pressure weighs us down.  As I think on last night, I realize that if a few of us would have dug our heals in and said we weren’t leaving our spot, the whole group probably would have stayed put.   Thankfully, everyone was willing to walk to the better spot last night.  But, unfortunately, when it comes to real life, we often need to travel on alone in order to take the best path.

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 9: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  But I discipline my body and bring itinto subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

We can’t afford to be tired or pressured by our friends because we are running the race to win!  And the rewards are great if we don’t give up — a healthy body, children who love the Lord, a pure heart and mind, but, most importantly, the imperishable crown we will receive in glory.

Do you remember Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare?  I know the point of that is that slow and steady wins the race, but I would like to point out here that the tortoise never took a break, either.  He just kept plugging away without getting distracted or giving in to his exhaustion.  May we be like the tortoise today, as we continue to run the race set before us, always looking for ways to run it better and never giving up!  May we never settle for status quo!

Wise Words #3: America, the Beautiful…and Lost

Leave a Comment / July 3, 2012

My heart aches as I write this.  The other morning I did something I rarely do.  I watched the news.  I was dismayed, not only by the natural tragedies occurring in this country on an all too frequent basis, but also by an agenda that makes hard-working families pay the bills for those who aren’t willing to work, an agenda that is not based on democracy but instead on a totally different philosophy.  I am saddened by the debt-ridden, despicable place this nation is in financially. But I am most distraught by the clear and ever-growing bias against anything that has to do with morals, God, or conservatives, while pushing, shoving, and dumping leftist, liberal ideas and thoughts into our heads.  Sure, some mornings are worse than others.  I happened to pick a pretty rotten morning to watch.

The temptation is to throw our hands up in the air and give up.  But what good does that do?  I submit to you that we need to stand for what is right and true in our own homes. Let’s raise our kids to love God, work hard, and spend only what they make.  Let’s make sure they are not entertained by the filth that is called entertainment.  Let’s do our best to set a good example of integrity, so they do not go out into the world wishy-washy and easily moved.  And let’s make sure that they know that God created the world.

There is a battle going on for our families.  We need to put on our armor (Ephesians 6) and fight for them!  And, in so doing, give a crumbling country the bright hope of young people who love their God and their country.

If we can raise  moral, hard-working, God-fearing kids the results of that will trickle out into the nation.  Sure, it may be just in a small area of this great land…but isn’t that better than nothing?

I can’t help but wonder what the next years will hold for this great land of the brave and the free that seems to be so very lost.  But I still love my country!  I am still thankful to be in a country that is like no other.  We are still so very blessed to live here…at least for now.  Here are a few very applicable quotes for this July 4th, 2012:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”  – George Washington, 1st U.S. President

“Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience…without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure…If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.”        – Ronald Reagan

“It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men’s lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.”  – Theodore Roosevelt

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”  – George Washington, 1789

Drifting…

2 Comments / July 23, 2014

We were enjoying a day at Assateague Island.  It is a beautiful, family-oriented beach complete with wild ponies, although we didn’t see any that particular day.  We trudged through the sand, looking for a good place to set up.  We found one fairly close to the lifeguard, which made us all feel a bit safer, as the surf was in fine form that day.  It didn’t take long for the kids to grab their boogie boards and start riding waves.  I took my sand chair down to the water’s edge and set up for one of my favorite activities at the beach: people-watching.

Now, if you are a mom you have the art of  “ocean scanning” down to a science.  Scanning and counting…scanning and counting…over and over again.  There’s one…two…there’s kid three…and (sigh of relief) the fourth.  I count over and over,  making sure they are all safe several times each hour.  This started when they were small and even though two are now classified as adults officially, the “mom instinct” doesn’t quit and I am still counting to four several times each hour when we are all together.

This particular day, I got distracted in my people-watching and hadn’t “counted”  for awhile.  When I finally looked up to start scanning once again, I didn’t see anyone familiar in front of me.  My eyes strayed further down the beach and there I spotted our group, several hundred yards away from where they had started.  They had drifted, unknowingly, down the beach, away from the lifeguard.

This is such a great picture to what happens to us in life if we aren’t careful.  It may be in our marriage, where small selfish decisions become larger and more frequent until we find that we have drifted into indifference.  Or perhaps it is our listening and watching habits, where a lack of discernment finds us drifting further and further into the cesspool of what is the American entertainment industry.  Or it may be the lure of materialism, where we find ourselves buying “one more thing” and trying to convince ourselves that we will be content, only to find ourselves drifting further and further away from contentment.  Drifting is how affairs get started, how relationships break down, and often why our kids walk away from the Lord.  We think this one time…this one thing…this won’t hurt.  But the next time, it’s so much easier to rationalize once again.  And it gets easier and easier. Drifting is a dangerous business.

The only way to keep from drifting is to never let our guards down.  Ever.  We are to be a watchman for our own lives and for our children. Yes, it is exhausting.  It is hard work.  And it is time-consuming.  But if we are true believers and desire to obey God’s Word, it is required.  Too easily, we humans drift into bad habits and dangerous places.  Before we know it, we drift away from the lifeguard and the safe place He has provided for those who live in obedience and we move into dangerous territory filled with sharp rocks, giant waves, and dangerous undercurrents.   We rarely come away unscathed when we drift away from safety.

Drifting is a natural occurrence.  It is only through knowing and obeying God’s word that we can we keep from drifting.  It is only through diligent and purposeful examination of each choice we make that we can stay in the vicinity of our Lifeguard.  Perhaps we should all examine how close we are to the Lifeguard this day and if we find ourselves far down the beach, may we ask the Lord humbly and sincerely to carry us back to safety.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

I Corinthians 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

The Reign of Incompetence

Leave a Comment / June 28, 2012

“Ummm…just a second…I will go check.”  The young man who was on the phone with my husband was less than unsure.  Eric impatiently waited as the young man went to look for the needed item.  When he came back he stammered out an explanation of the item in his hand.  That is when Eric realized that he didn’t even have a clue what he was looking for.

Now, you might think  that we are being awfully hard on this young man, but the fact of the matter is, what Eric needed was a very basic item found in a hardware store.   He should have been able to call and get a quick yes or no.  But, instead, he ended up on the phone with someone who was incompetent.

A few weeks later we went out to eat and fell into the hands of an incompetent waitress.  She was a pleasant girl, but seemed to be struggling with the very basics of her job.   It was a frustrating meal, as we all would try to catch her attention and she wouldn’t even look our way.

We all run into incompetent people now and again, but am I the only one who feels like it is becoming more and more often?  So what can we do?

First, we should realize that the clueless person is a person with feelings.  Chances are they were thrown into the job without proper training.  Or perhaps they are trying to do a job for which they are not suitable.  Hopefully, they figure that out sooner rather than later, but our rudeness isn’t going to help them either way.  And, as a Christian, we are responsible to treat them with courtesy and kindness, no matter how frustrated we may be (so much easier to write than to do!)

And then, second, I can’t help but think that we, as believers, should never be found to be incompetent.  Oh, I know that there are those beginning days of a new job when we are uncertain about things.  But we should learn as quickly as we can, always thinking about the next thing, and working hard to know the job.  Colossians 3:23-24 are two of my favorite verses.  They say: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.  

As believers, we are to do all we do with our best effort, for we are serving the Lord, not men.   This is hard to remember when you are in a job atmosphere where workers slack off when the boss isn’t around.  Or where there is great laziness and disinterest in the job.  But, as believers, we are called by God to be competent, diligent, and hard-working, despite the crowd around us.

And, just a word of caution, this is not the popular thing to do.  Oh, your boss will love it (if you don’t have an incompetent, lazy boss who is worried about you surpassing him!)  but your co-workers may grow resentful; they may even call you names.  Be prepared.  Doing what God calls us to in all aspects of life isn’t always easy.  In fact, I would venture to say it is usually the rockier route to travel.

And, finally, as parents, business owners, and teachers, let’s work hard to instill this passion for doing the best job we can into our children, employees, and students.  Let’s expect competence and diligence from them.  Let’s encourage their hearts, while demanding excellence.  It is up to us to train the next generation.  How are we going to do that if we lazily do our own thing?  We have a responsibility and we need to take it seriously.

Incompetence may reign in our culture – but it doesn’t need to reign in the lives of ourselves or our families.  Let’s show that we are different because we serve the Lord.  Are you ready to travel the rocky path and do what’s right, no matter the cost?

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