Life – Page 43 – Growing 4 Life

Celebrating Work

2 Comments / September 3, 2012 September 3, 2012

Most of us do not enjoy working. We live for the weekends and the rest of the week is just what we need to get through to get to them. This is very unfortunate, because if you do your math, 71% of your week is made up of week days. Only 29% are considered weekend days. Of course, if you throw Friday nights in there it might be a little higher.

Do you enjoy what you do? Are you able to glorify and praise God as you work in the office, flip hamburgers, fix somebody’s leaky faucet, repair a car engine, buy stocks on Wall Street, argue in the court room, plow a field, cut hair, pick parts on an assembly line, or change a diaper?

I believe our true character is what shows when we are working. It’s not hard to be happy and light-hearted when we are doing something we enjoy. But when we are going through the daily grind of wherever the Lord has placed us, then it becomes a little harder. Even if we generally love what we do, we all have bad days…days when we wonder how we ended up in this job…days when we wonder if there couldn’t possibly be something better out there.

Labor Day was created to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Whether we are one of the highest paid doctors in the country or a stay at home mom raising the next generation, if you live in the United States, you are an American worker. Are you able to thank the Lord for the blessing of your job this Labor Day? There are many who do not have one and wish they did.

Let’s spend today enjoying picnics with family and friends, but let’s not forget to thank God for the privilege to work.

Safe or on the edge?

9 Comments / August 30, 2012 August 30, 2012

Have you ever seen one of those TV nature shows about lions and their prey? On the TV screen we see hundreds of innocent wildebeests standing there innocently while a lion quietly prowls on the edge of the herd looking for the weaker ones. The lion waits and watches. A few of the wildebeests look up and sniff the air, sensing that something isn’t right. A sense of unrest permeates the air. And then, at just the right moment, the lion starts running towards the pack at high speed. This sets them all in a frenzy and they start running – all of them – in the same direction. Unfortunately, there are always a few stragglers. They are sickly, or weak and old, or perhaps young and naive. We watch as the lions chooses his prey and then pounces on it. His powerful claws rip into its fur and take it down to its knees. And then he uses his powerful jaws to kill the poor, innocent creature. About that time, they break to commercial and we are left feeling sad and sorry for the ill-fated beast that met death so violently.

Did you ever think about why Peter talks about the devil being like a lion? I Peter 5:8 says: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I think Peter wrote that because he knows that we are just like those wildebeests. Some of us are leaders in the pack and we are the ones that shout “run” and lead the pack away from danger. Others of us aren’t leaders but we are careful to keep ourselves protected by keeping our eyes open and staying safely away from the edges. And then there are those of us who just seem to always want to be occupying the edge. We are crippled and weak spiritually and we can’t keep up with the group. Or we are naive and think we don’t need Jesus to help us live on a daily basis, trying to make it on our own strength.

And then there are those who are weak just because of where they find themselves in life. Some are young and naive and need our protection from pride and foolish choices as they grow in discernment and wisdom. Some are old and weak and need our help to protect them from falling prey to things like depression, loneliness, and self-pity.

I know it is not very flattering to compare people to a great big bunch of wildebeests, but I find it amazing how God directed Peter to write that verse about the devil. We can never forget that the devil is seeking to devour us! He is setting temptations before us and he is spotting the weak and sickly Christians among us. And while he can never take our salvation away, he is trying to destroy our faith and render us ineffective for the cause of Christ. He is trying to steal our joy and our peace. He is trying to extinguish our gospel light.

The sad thing is we often allow him to do so, don’t we? We become so disenchanted with life and so frustrated by outward circumstances that we are often rendered ineffective. Or we become so enamored with the world that we lose sight of what is most important in life.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be one of those poor creatures on the edges. I would prefer to remain safely among godly Christian friends and leaders. I want to help encourage and protect. But it is only by relying on Jesus and filling our minds with His Word and praying without ceasing that we can elude the clutches of the roaring lion.

Wednesday Wisdom: What are we striving for?

Leave a Comment / August 29, 2012 August 29, 2012

My grandfather, Charles S. Good, was a pastor for many years. He was a wonderful, wise man who loved God. He died some years back but before he died, he wrote a series of meditations and thoughts. I would like to share one of them with you this morning.

GODLY CONTENTMENT

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'”.

It would seem following this scriptural directive has never been easy. Certainly at this time in America it appears to be very difficult. I need to confess that, with my failing health, it has become increasingly difficult to be content with what I am able to do, as well as with what I have. However, I am finding God’s grace is sufficient.

If we study carefully the biblical context of contentment, we see a very interesting challenge develop. On the one hand, we are to be content with that which relates to the material and the physical. On the other hand, we are to strive for that which relates to the spiritual.

In regards to the physical we need to hear Paul in Philippians 4:11. “…I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” I Timothy 6:6-8 “…having food and raiment let us therewith be content.” There are many other verses which speak to the matter of being content with our material and physical condition.

In regards to the spiritual, we need to note verses as in Hebrews 12:1 “…let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” and Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” There are other biblical references which use such words as strive, covet earnestly, etc. that depict what our attitude should be toward our spiritual life.

In looking carefully at our text in Hebrews, it seems to me our trust in God can be measured by the degree of contentment we have towards material things. I am not suggesting it is okay to be lazy in regards to physical labor but to be careful in setting priorities in life. If in our lifetime we had kept a record of time and energy spent to minister to our physical desires, and had done the same in regards to our spiritual life, would we be pleased with what we find?

We need to be well aware of the fact that in our day the presence of peer pressure, media advertising, and easy credit make it very difficult to be contented. In fact, because these things appeal to the flesh, we are very prone to be discontented. In order to conquer this tendency we need to put forth special effort in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, if we would gain the victory in this regards, let’s keep in perspective James 4:14, “…life is but like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

As Christians may we strive for spiritual health and not for material wealth!

—Charles S. Good (July 1994)

Mind Clutter

Leave a Comment / August 27, 2012 August 27, 2012

On Saturday the girls and I spent a good part of our day cleaning our shop office for an upcoming Open House. It hadn’t been cleaned for years so it was extremely dirty. We scrubbed and swept and sprayed. As we cleaned we came across old catalogs and coffee makers and phone books. The cabinets and shelves were filled with things that no one ever uses anymore. We started piling the unused things in two piles – to give away and to burn. All of that stuff took up precious room in our office and was serving no purpose whatsoever. A couple of hours after we had begun, we were able to walk away from that office knowing we had not only cleaned it but cleared it of the unnecessary clutter, as well. It was a good feeling.

Of course, as usual, that got me thinking. Do we do that in our minds, too? Could it be that it is time to do a good cleaning of our minds and rid it of the clutter that has settled there? Things like:

–Opinions and feelings formulated about others before we really knew them. Maybe we never even gave them a chance because we made an assumption about them ten years ago.

–Past hurts and failures that keep popping up whenever we try to accomplish anything. Oh, I know there are some things we can never forget, but those things belong in the basement of our minds…not in family room where we see them every time we turn around.

–Awards, special prizes, and trophies. I know the world would tell you to keep these things at the very forefront of your mind to help you remember how special you are, but I would beg to differ. I find that these things tend to lead to pride and arrogance and it is better if they, too, are packed away in the basement.

–Grudges, resentments, and ill will towards others. These things need to be put on the burn pile. Burn them up and leave them in the ashes. They do no good to anyone. I am truly shocked at how many Christians hold grudges. Someone didn’t treat my child right on the soccer team…a teacher who didn’t understand my child…An unfair boss…malicious gossip behind my back…a misunderstood comment directed my way…we rationalize that any real or imagined offense directed towards us or someone we love gives us the right to hold a grudge. But may I remind you– grudges are truly worthless. They not only are worthless but they often cause great harm. They deserve no space in our minds whatsoever.

–Worry and Fear take up needless amounts of effort, energy, and mind space, don’t they? They crowd our minds sometimes until we can’t even focus on anything else. They, too, need to be put on the burn pile. We would be much better off to fill the shelves of our minds with Trust and Faith.

And so, many of us have our minds cluttered with this stuff instead of leaving that space for the good things. Philippians 4:8 is one of my favorite verses:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Let’s think on things that encourage and edify and help us to grow in our relationships with God and others. Life is just too short to spend it with a cluttered mind.

Invisible Pain

Leave a Comment / August 23, 2012 November 1, 2012

All of us will have times in our lives where we suffer pain that is very obvious to those around us – the illness or death of a loved one, a fire that destroys our possessions, a wayward child, or a divorce. But then there are the times that we suffer very invisibly.

Everything looks like it should be okay from the outside looking in. And no one could guess that we are falling apart on the inside. Invisible pain may be due to a chronic illness that we choose not to discuss. It may be due to a marriage that is falling apart inside the home, but maintains its perfect picture to those outside of it. It may be the betrayal of a friend or family member. Or it may be a high stress job where we are called to compromise our faith or perhaps we are even living under the threat of losing a job. Many times it is as simple as there isn’t enough money to pay the bills and it’s causing great turmoil in our home. It may even be struggling through the consequences of past sin that only we know about – an abortion, a child put up for adoption, an affair. Whatever it is, it is personal and private and only those closest to us realize we are suffering. And maybe we haven’t told another soul…maybe only God knows.

There is one certain thing about invisible pain: it is a lonely place to be. Whether we are watching a soccer game, working at our job , or shopping for groceries, the invisible pain follows us. It is constantly just a thought away in our minds. And yet we remain silent.

This has happened to me several times throughout my life. I was suffering deeply and to the rest of the world everything looked perfect. I have learned from those experiences that looks can be deceiving. I can’t automatically assume that all is perfect in someone else’s world just because it looks like it is to me. It makes me think of one of those bright, shiny, red apples. It looks perfectly delicious. You can’t imagine it being anything other than fresh and crunchy inside. And then you take that first bite. The apple is tasteless and sandy. Just because everything looks perfect on the outside, doesn’t mean it is perfect on the inside.

We may not be in the position to know what is going on in their life, but it is important to have a realistic view of people. All people struggle through tough times. There is no one alive – whether they live in a 45,000 square foot mansion in Hollywood or a hut in Haiti– who doesn’t face tough times at one time or another. We all do. And many of our struggles are not noticeable to the rest of the world. We can never assume that someone who looks put together on the outside feels the same way on the inside.

So let’s be kind and considerate in our relationships with each other, always edifying and encouraging. And if we find out that someone is struggling silently, let’s come along side and offer our love and support instead of gossip and malicious words behind their back. Let’s share the love of Jesus, so that we will never be filled with regret in how we treated someone. It is likely that you will run into someone who is struggling through incredible, invisible pain today. Brighten their day with a warm smile and an encouraging word. And let’s be careful not to make assumptions about others.

I Thessalonians 5: 14-15 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

P.S. I can’t help think, as I write this, about my run-in with the old man at the mall this week. I wish I would have responded differently. I actually wrote this blog post before that happened, and I am finding myself filled with regret at not handling that with a smile and kind words. Just because I can write good things, doesn’t mean I always live them. Please…never hold me up as any kind of perfect model. I wish I was, but alas, I am just a woman who loves the Lord and likes to write.

Wednesday Wisdom: Empty Me

3 Comments / August 22, 2012 August 22, 2012

Yesterday, I sent my daughters to get a head start in a clothing store, while I made a quick stop at the AT&T store. As I crossed the aisle to find my daughters, I saw a tall, thin, older man walking with purpose. He had a thick head of grayish white hair parted to the side and big, dark-rimmed glasses and looked quite dignified. I hesitated, thinking he may let me step in front of him, but not wanting to assume anything.

He barreled towards me and as he got close, he glared at me and said in a hard voice, “you’re wrong if you think I’m moving” and continued walking past me. I don’t think I have ever been so surprised in my life! To be so rudely treated was surprising but for it to be by someone so dignified-looking, well, I think you could have knocked me over with a feather. Well, at least after I yelled after him that he was quite a gentleman! (probably shouldn’t have done that…)

This world is so full of people who only care about their agenda, their purposes, and their lives. And the scary thing is– if I am not careful, I can quickly become one of them. It is so easy to get caught up in my own selfish world.

A few years ago, a young man named Chris Sligh sang the following song. I can never listen to this song without feeling convicted of my selfishness. I think how true it is that selfish ambitions are vain and that pride is like a poison and then I sing along with Chris, “empty me of me, so I can be filled with You”.

EMTPY ME

I’ve had just enough of the spotlight
When it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
And I’ve tasted my share
Of the sweet life
And the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough

I know how i can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you

I’ve seen just enough of the quick buys
Of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away

I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change
Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you

‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you
Compared to you
‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you
So I surrender all

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you.
Filled with you
Empty me

You can listen to this song here.

24 Years

6 Comments / August 20, 2012 August 20, 2012

24 Years ago, I sat on my parents’ porch in the early morning hours, wondering if I knew what in the world I was doing. A few hours later I was wearing a beautiful white dress and walking down the aisle to marry the love of my life. We were two kids in love, ready for adventure! 24 years ago, we were quite clueless as to what the word “marriage” really meant.

We are no longer clueless.

For 24 years I have looked at the same face when I have gone to sleep. For 24 years, I have seen the same face come home at night. We have had 24 years of rejoicing, fighting, laughing, and arguing with the same person. 24 years of changes and more changes. Changing houses, changing cars, changing employees, changing churches. For almost 22 of those years, we have had children in our home and have prayed, cried, and cheered as they grow into adulthood. For 24 years we have run a business together, sometimes disagreeing about how to spend money, who to hire, and how many hours to work. 24 years of making tough decisions and hard choices — but always discussing them together. For 24 years, he has tried to love me and I have tried to submit to his loving leadership. Both of us have failed often in our biblical roles, but we dust ourselves off and continue to try. 24 years of talking about our feelings, talking about our problems, sharing our hearts, being careful not to leave any grievances fester for too long. Some of those years have been tougher than others. We don’t always agree. Although, ironically enough, the older we get the less we argue. For some funny reason, we are becoming more alike as we age. For 24 years we have found marvelous friendship in each other. 24 years of love and passion with just one person. 24 years of completely trusting one another in the vows made so long ago. For 24 years, we knew that neither of us was going anywhere, no matter how bad it got. Sure, sometimes, one of us would angrily cry out “I guess I’ll just leave!” but we both knew it would never happen. Not in a million years. For 24 years we have watched each other grow older and fatter and, yet, it has not diminished our love for each other. In fact, if anything, we love each other more. We are so far from perfect and yet, somehow, we love, forgive, and grow closer.

How can this be? It is the marvelous mystery of marriage. What a wonderful gift from our Creator!

Tomorrow, I may, once again, feel really frustrated about something my husband does or says. But for today, I feel tremendously blessed.

Polluting the River

1 Comment / August 16, 2012 August 16, 2012

The river meanders, bright and crystal clear, through the valley. And then, one day, a man comes and dumps a bag of trash into it. Oh, well, one bag won’t hurt. It continues flowing, but it now has one bag of disgusting, grimy trash flowing in its depths. And then another man comes with a truck load of trash. And then another. Soon the clear river turns into the town’s dumping grounds and becomes a contaminated, foul flow of water that is no good for anyone. The river, one of the town’s best assets, becomes a liability.

Dare I suggest that this is exactly the same thing that occurs with our children? Why do we allow the minds of our children to be contaminated by the world every day and then expect them to grow up with hearts passionate for God?

-We let TV shows into our homes that go against everything the Bible teaches.

-We allow music on their iPods that goes against everything we believe.

-We let them hang out with worldly friends who teach them dirty jokes and where the best parties are.

-We let them go to movies, school dances, parties, and concerts where God’s name is blasphemed and sin is glorified.

And then we expect them to have a heart for God?

There isn’t any fancy psychology here. It’s just pure, simple logic: Garbage in, garbage out. Don’t let anyone tell you that what you take in doesn’t affect you. It does. And I could give dozens of examples to prove it.

I beg of you, if you love your children and you love God, remove these things from your home. Stand up for your children. I know what the modern day church’s philosophy is on this subject of worldliness and I couldn’t disagree with it more! Don’t let anyone bully you with fancy words and vain philosophies into allowing things in your home that you know God hates. Don’t let your kids talk you into letting them go somewhere that will hurt them spiritually. Your kids are too important.

What does God think? That is the only question that truly matters.

I’ll climb down off my soapbox now! ;)

Wednesday Wisdom #9: The Sin that No One Escapes

Leave a Comment / August 15, 2012 August 15, 2012

This past Sunday our pastor spoke on a subject that affects us all. In fact, he said something like “if you don’t think you struggle with this, it means you probably do.” He went on to share some very convicting and challenging points regarding this issue. So this week’s wisdom comes from Pastor Wayne Burggraff and the subject? Pride. The sin that no one escapes at one time or other.

His sermon was based on the life of Joseph and he first gave multiple reasons why Joseph could have been proud. Think about it. He was shown special favoritism by his parents (with a multi-colored coat to prove it), he was made head of his master’s household in short order, he was good-looking and desired by the master’s wife, he could interpret dreams and visions, and he ended up being second in command, second only to Pharaoh, in the great civilization of Egypt. And yet, Joseph gave the glory to God and concentrated on serving Him (Genesis 39:4, 40:8, 41:16).

So how did Joseph manage to do this? How did he not get all caught up in how wonderful or powerful he was? Pastor Wayne gave six ways to keep this sin far from our lives. I would like to share them with you here, followed by a few comments of my own in italics regarding each point.

1. Lean on the Lord (and not on yourself!) if we lean on the Lord, we never have to think how amazingly resourceful we are, because we know the truth: God can strike us dead at any moment. He can move men’s hearts. He is Sovereign and He is the one in control. We aren’t all that amazingly resourceful, after all.

2. Lift up the Lord (and not yourself!) Pastor put it this way: Deflect any credit to God. I had never quite thought about that before. But any good thing we can do, anything in our lives of which we are proud, is only because of His gifts and by His grace. He should be praised!

3. Lift up others (not just yourself) Pastor made the observation that selfish people feel threatened by other people’s successes. You know, that’s true. If we are prideful and selfish, we don’t want good things to happen to other people. But someone who is genuinely concerned about others will be happy for their successes and sad at their losses — not the other way around.

4. Labor hard at your job (instead of becoming slothful or lazy) There isn’t much time for pride and “self-esteem” conversations if you are laboring hard at your work and focusing on what you should be doing.

5. Let go of your past and its’ hurts (and its’ successes, too) The past is past. Yes, it has shaped us, it has molded us into who we are, but hanging on to it, whether looking back at the glory days or looking back at the hurtful days, is not beneficial to anyone, and least of all, to us.

6. Live a holy life. Never assume that you can live as you like just because of your successes or position in life. Many of us do this. We think because we are such and such in the company or church, or because we are the star of the team or we are popular, that we deserve special treatment. But, no matter where we find ourselves, we need to be willing to serve others willingly and whole-heartedly. No matter what position we have or how big our house, if we are focused on holiness, it helps us to remember that we are a sinner, saved by grace alone. Living a holy life keeps pride far from us.

I don’t know about you, but I found this message challenging. I wasn’t aware of just how much pride creeps -oh, so subtly- into my own life. As I listened, I spotted troubling areas that I need to confess and change. I wish I could play the whole message for you, but I guess the six points will have to do. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down all of the Bible verses that went with the points. Most came from the story of Joseph in Genesis. If you are looking for something new for your devotions, his life is certainly worth reading again. He is an amazing example of a godly man. At any rate, I hope that some of you are challenged, just as I was, even though Pastor Wayne’s presentation was so much more thorough and better than mine!

Constant Gardener

3 Comments / August 13, 2012 August 13, 2012

Big mistake. Big, big mistake. At least when it comes to the world of gardening. I remembered looking through the seed catalog several years ago. It is always one of my favorite winter activities –poring over the colorful garden catalogs. That particular year I made the fateful choice to buy a packet of seeds labeled “Grandpa Otto’s Morning Glory”. Oh, if only I would have known. If I had had even an inkling of what was to come, I would never have bought that seed packet.

This past Saturday night, I spent the evening, yet again, ripping out morning glory plants that had grown up all through my square foot garden boxes. What has made this summer so much more frustrating is that this spring we had built new boxes. We had laid down a weed barrier and then had dumped layers of fresh, virgin, seedless soil in them. There shouldn’t have been a morning glory seed anywhere around my boxes.

When I saw the first heart-shaped leaf early this summer my heart sank. No! You have to be kidding me. That stupid, invasive, beautiful plant was back. As I became busier in the month of July and didn’t have as much time to keep after the garden, the morning glories saw their chance and grew with a vengeance until they had climbed up through the sweet peas and raspberries. Their tendrils wrapping around and choking my peppers and my strawberries. What had started out as an innocent act of planting a tiny packet of seeds years earlier had turned into a gardening nightmare that would never go away.

Of course, many of you have probably already guessed where I am going with this. You see, sin is so much like that packet of seeds. It looks so beautiful, so small. It looks way too innocent to ever cause much grief. But the seed of a little sin, just like those annoying morning glories, grows and grows and then blossoms and eventually it sets fruit. And then the seeds start spilling out from the fruit and we find the sin multiplying on every side of us.

Some people just give up and let the sin continue to grow and multiply. They decide to just try to survive the jungle growing around them the best they can.

But, as Christians, we don’t have this option, do we? And, so we are called to be very careful about what seeds we plant. Are we planting good seeds or bad seeds? Galatians 6:7 tells us: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. We fool ourselves if we think we can plant just a bit of evil in our lives.

Of course, most of us make the mistake of planting the wrong packet of seeds a time or two. I can look back in my life and see many times where I planted the wrong thing and I am still paying for that today. It is frustrating and discouraging to see the wrong fruit growing in the garden of our life. Especially when it seems to be over-taking the good fruit.

And, so, as Christians, we become the Constant Gardener. We have the responsibility to constantly be searching and pulling the sin and the fruits of that sin from our lives and nurturing and growing the fruits of the Spirit. But, by doing so, we experience the immense joy of living a life that is hopeful and fruitful, instead of muddling through the jungle.

I guess we should all spend a little time gardening today!