Upon Reflection...

Ugh. Why do they have to have mirrors in here?

There’s no way I can make it through this. Little Miss Skinny Winny is right in front of me in her ‘lil piece of material disguised as FIT to wear in public! Now I get to stare at BOTH of us in the mirror. YUCK! You’re too out of shape, Laura. It’s disgusting.

Yes, I actually have these thoughts sometimes…and last week in my aerobics class, they were running rampant through my head. My attitude read, I used to be “one of them,” you know. Well, with the exception of the skimpy clothing. But now? Now I am a red-faced, hyperventilating, under-confident, thrumpy, almost-forty something somebody.

Obviously my body wasn’t the only thing struggling with a much-needed workout. My spirit was too.

Praise the Lord He spoke straight through the booming music and into my heart by the time class ended. He reminded me that with Him, all things are possible. That NOTHING is too hard for Him. That He wanted me to persevere and love these people while I’m at it. That He’s more concerned with the state of my heart than the image in the mirror.

My attitude had been placed into submission with my Savior, and it was a good thing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been prepared for what would happen next. As I entered the ladies’ locker room, I walked straight into an older teenager with a perfect body in her teeny tiny bikini. She smiled at me big and said, “Hi.” I looked straight into her eyes, smiled and said “Hey there” back. I made my way to my locker and grabbed my things, because I certainly was not changing my clothes in there now.

As I was about to leave, teeny weeny bikini girl’s (let’s call her “TWBG” for short.) friend came out of a draped dressing area in absolute distress. “I can’t do this!” she said to TWBG.

“You look great, Jody!” TWBG said back, “You do, I promise.”

Then the unthinkable. TWBG involves ME.
“Ma’am (ugh), tell her great she looks.”

The mommy/discipler in me took over. I forced myself not to look down at her body, but straight into her eyes instead. I thought, Okay, if you tell her not to worry about it, she’ll think she looks bad. If I tell her she looks good in it, I’m feeding the wrong part of her.

“Sweetheart, you are so beautiful. Don’t you cry now, okay? God has made you such a beautiful young lady.”

What I wanted to say is, “What are you two young things doing running around in skimpy bikinis? You need to cover up now, you hear!?! Got a t-shirt in that locker?” Maybe in a future locker room counseling session.

My heart broke in two as I watched Jody go over to the sink, look in the mirror and rinse her tears. I wanted to continue our conversation, but the Holy Spirit restrained me. As the two of them left, saying their polite goodbyes, I sat down on the bench and prayed, crying silently in my soul for this girl, for today’s generation, and for the woman in our aerobics class fussing in the mirror over her body just an hour earlier.

Oh wait, that was me!

Are you ever “that me” or “that her” in the mirror?

It may not be your appearance, or your weight, or your age. For some of you, it’s your talent, your spiritual giftedness, your domestic abilities or the lack thereof. Maybe it’s your personality, your spirituality, or some other stark reality.

Why do we do this? Talk down to ourselves, compare ourselves, wish ourselves away?

Blame it on the media, the devil, “the flesh,” the evil end times, whatever—but what matters is what God has to say about us, and what HE tells us to say about us.

He says to think on “what is true,” (Philippians 4:8a) and to “take captive every thought,” making it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5b). He says He is more concerned with what He sees in our hearts than what we look or act like. (1 Samuel 16:7b)

Here’s a little bit of Truth:

You are beautiful to the King. (Psalm 45:11)

You are His perfect creation. (Psalm 139:13)

You are radiant when you look to Him. (Psalm 34:5)

You can live life to the full if you believe Him and not the enemy. (John 10:10)

You are dead to the old flesh, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)

You are better off not to compare yourself to others. (Galatians 6:4)

Ladies, I could go on and on. This is not about whether or not you should lose weight or improve on yourself, or about getting rid of strongholds or habits.

If you don’t understand God’s perspective of you and begin to think rightly on it--the Truth of the matter--then you will lack the power and strength that you need to tackle needed changes or sin struggles anyway.

Look to Him. Seek His face. Dig into His Truth.

Pray for change in your thinking about who He made you to be.

And I’ll meet you there.

"Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.”
2 Corinthians 3:16-18, The Message

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The Truth Of the Matter

If you speak to any insecure woman long enough then you are bound to get to the root of the cause and likely, it isn't a pleasant situation. You see, lurking in the fast paced, get-it-done, information superhighway known as the internet is a not so hidden evil: pornography.

Unfortunately, I have gone to generic websites only to see a flashing image in the sidebar that screams for attention. For some, the attention can turn into sin. It did for me.

Having never even clicked on the image to see what it was about I did several things that caused me to sin:

1. I judged the woman who's face I saw.
2. I became unsatisfied with my own self and the way God created me because I did not compare in physical appearance to the woman who's image I'd seen.
3. I became enraged at her and other girls like her and the men who continued to obsessively keep them in business.

It put me in bondage. God had to set me free.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:16

I had become envious of what I believed I did not have: my husband's sole desire; a body like I had when I was 20; and answers as to why these girls do what they do. Then God spoke to my heart...

In the midst of angry thoughts towards these women God put images into my head, new ones. I saw an older man and He spoke directly to me. He said, "She is my daughter. I was never there for her. I worked long hours and weekends believing that was what she needed to have a good life. I wasn't there to love her but others were. What have I done?"

Then I saw a woman about my age. She was crying and through her tears she mumbled, "She is my little sister. She was date raped when she was 16. She planned on saving herself for marriage. That all changed after that night. She was never the same again."

I tried to shrug off the things going through my mind at that point but God persisted. A little girl showed up next. She was making cereal for her little brother. After she poured the milk she explained that her daddy left and her mom couldn't pay the bills. They had already lived in their car and they didn't have enough money to get to her grandma's house. One day a nice guy offered her mommy a job taking pictures. Mommy promised she would only take a few and that once she had enough money to get to grandmas then she would stop but after a while that nice man wouldn't let her stop. He would come to get her mom if she tried to stay home. He hit her a lot too. She put the milk back in the refrigerator and my thoughts drifted to another scene.

I saw a casket. A woman and a man knelt beside it. Her screams penetrated every fiber of my being. She cried and wailed. I saw a picture of a beautiful young girl on a table near the head of the box that would forever be her resting place. The father picked up the photo and held it to his close to his heart. Through his tears he said, "My daughter was kidnapped when she was 13 years old. Within days she was sold into sex trafficking and even though we got close to finding her many times they always managed to keep her just out of reach. They eventually killed her for trying to escape but not before they had uploaded her photos to the internet for all the world to see. They left her in a ditch like she was nobody. The papers read, 'Local Prostitute Found Dead.' She isn't a prostitute! She is my little girl!" Tears overcame him as he rejoined his wife.

By this time I was crying too and I knew exactly what God was trying to tell me. I'd never seen these women as real people before. I just always saw them as my enemy. God wanted me to see them through His eyes. They all have a story just like I do. They have reasons for their actions just like I do. God loves them as much as He loves me and He wants them to spend all of eternity in heaven with Him too.

I have a new perspective on this. Though there are some who may not have ever experienced anything like this and still have chosen to live this life, we have to remember they are still God's children. We must pray for them. We must treat them with dignity and respect and we must not judge them.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

If we want to see this foul practice come to an end then we need to intercede on behalf of all of those involved. We must ask God to break the strongholds and we must seek to find security in God and not in what we perceive to be desirable beauty. If we each only focus in prayer for one person then we could most certainly change the world. Won't you join me?

Two great ministries to get information on this subject matter is: Cyrus International and A21.

I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

New every morning

My son Ingram is 18 months old. Each morning he wakes up and cries out for his momma. I enter his room see him standing in his crib, swaying back and forth. He's so cute. He's just so stinking cute. No matter how cranky or tired I may be, as soon as I see his face, I break into a huge smile.

Ingram has bad allergies, so usually in the mornings his little smiling face is just caked in snot. Under his nose, and then wiped all over his face. There's often even some dried snot in his ears and hair. And his diaper is always full so the first thing that greets me, before I see his crusty face, is one of two stenches - or both. On a good day I catch a whiff of it as I walk up the stairs. And he usually chews on his crib rail while he waits so I also get slimed by drool.

He's a mess.

And oh, do I love that boy. My heart dances at the sight of his nasty little self. Covered in uck, I sing good morning to him, kiss him, and take him downstairs to begin our day.

Do I love this baby more when he is fresh from a bath and covered in lavender lotion? No. I love him, dirty or clean, because he is mine. He is my child and I would give my life for him.

Do you realize that your Heavenly Father sees you this same way?

For years, I was crippled by what I termed a Janet Jackson view of God, based on her hit song of years ago. I thought that God looked down on me and thought, "What have you done for me lately?" (Ooo, ooo, ooo, yeah.) And I always felt he looked down and said "tsk, tsk", disappointed because on any given day I had led zero bible studies, and fed zero homeless people, and hadn't even cracked open my bible.

And I had some sin. Lots of sin that haunted me. I felt like I was covered in snot, and poop, and drool - just covered. I was a mess.

I knew God loved me, he officially had to, the Bible tells me so, yeah yeah. But how could God possibly really love me, unconditionally, me being so stinky and sticky and such a flop at being a "good Christian"??

God impressed upon my heart - through a mentor - that God actually loves me. Really, really loves me. He delights in me.

Because it's not about me.

When the creator of Heaven and Earth sees me, I am not covered in snot. I am drenched, soaking, dripping wet in the blood of the Lamb. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and because I have believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth that he is Lord, all God sees when he looks at me is a holy shade of the purest white.

Have you also believed that he is Lord? Then when he sees you, he sees the face of his perfect Son! God is not judging us with a naughty or nice list. His list always reads nice. More than nice: perfect and unblemished. The bible tells me so.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:14

That's what it means to be washed in the blood of the lamb.

What a relief, y'all! It isn't dependent upon you! It's dependent on Christ, who is totally reliable to complete the work he began in you!

If you forget to pray or do or don't do quiet time or yell at your kids or gripe at your husband or are otherwise not the perfect Christian, his love is not diminished. Even if you are carrying around some "big" sin, God does not turn his face from you. No matter what you do or have done, he still sees you the same way that I see Ingram each morning: precious, perfect, and melting my heart with his beauty. The Lord of the Universe sees you with that same pure love and joy every. single. morning.

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

Every morning, I walk into Ingram's room and he laughs, claps, then reaches out his hands to me. I never fail to lift him up, embrace him, kiss his fuzzy head and tell him I love him.

When the Lord sees you each morning, he says, "That's my baby. She is mine. I gave my life for her!"

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are Mine.
Isaiah 43:1b

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1a

Rejoice! Clap your snotty hands! Reach out and allow him to gather you into his loving arms!

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
Psalm 47:1-2

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8

Let him clean you up

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Mark 1:41

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:22

and feed you breakfast

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Psalm 63:5

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35

because he loves you.
About a million times more than I love sweet Ingram.

the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 147:11

How could believing this change the way you live your life?

Visit Missy at her blog,

What's Your Story?

But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3

We have an amazing opportunity, ladies. An opportunity to share the gospel of Christ as it is reflected off of our hearts.

Have you looked in the mirror lately? Have you realized that no matter what mirror you look into, where you are, or how you try to alter it, you always see an exact reflection of the what is in front of it? Now, you can stand in front of a mirror putting on your lipstick- or lip creme if you prefer - and say to your girlfriends (because we all know that we go in groups)  that you have blonde hair and blue eyes but if you are a brunette with green yes they are just going to laugh it off. They know you are not speaking the truth. Why? They can see the reflection... sometimes better than you can.

What is reflecting off our your heart? Is it insecurity or fear? Are you still denying that God can use you because of your past? (Honey, we all have a past) Do you still think you aren't capable of doing what He has called you to do? Do you hide from everyone in the hopes of escaping from yourself?

Stop!

YOU are chosen by Him. YOU are loved by Him. It is written in His word. We have to write His word on our hearts. We have to sing His praise from our mouths. We have to proclaim victory for His children. We, His chosen daughters, must be reflecting His story. Have no other God's before Him. Love you neighbor as yourself. Die to self each day and reflect more of Him. We are more than conquerors and we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. He loves YOU! If you don't reflect His love then how will anyone else see it and come to know Him?

Let that mirror be constant reminder that your heart reflects your King's story. What does it say about Him?


I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

Messing Up

The Cafe is welcoming Denise Grove! Enjoy a cup with her today!

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep doing.

Romans 7:18-19(NIV)

“Mom, I am a terrible person. I lost my temper again and said things I don’t mean. I keep trying, but it is just a cycle of messing up and asking for forgiveness and messing up again. I feel like I am no good.”

These were the words of my daughter one day after saying something to me and her brother that she regretted saying. I am sure we can all relate to her struggle. After talking to her about this I thought of these verses in Romans where Paul is talking about wanting to do good but the struggle to stay on that path even when it is our hearts desire.

You see so many times when we do wrong we truly desire to do what is right, but the flesh prevails. There are days it seems as if this happens more than it should and we feel defeated. That day my daughter was feeling just utterly defeated. She has a desire to do good but instead was finding herself doing wrong. Satan loves for us to feel this way. He loves to make us feel defeated and no good. No matter much we tell ourselves it is not about what we do but about what was done on the cross for us we still get caught up in our works.

It is times like these that we need to redirect our thinking. We need to go back to the truth of who we are in Christ. That day was a valuable teaching time for my daughter. Satan had her believing that she was a failure. I had the opportunity to speak truth into her life about who she is in Christ. I also was able to share with her that no one has the ability to be perfect this side of heaven but with the power of the Holy Spirit(the same power that rose Christ from the dead by the way) we do have opportunity for change in our lives.

No we will never be perfect but I am not the same person I was 10 years ago or even last month for that fact. We have hope. Someday we will be perfect, but in the meantime we need to keep pressing ahead rejoicing all along that we have a God who rejoices in forgiving us our sins and delights to show us mercy.

How about you? Do you desire to do what is right but find yourself in a constant struggle with the flesh? Take heart beloved our time here is short. Hang on to the truth. Don’t believe the lie and keep pressing on. We will join him in the heavens someday and there we will be perfect.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13(NIV)

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

Ephesians 1:18(NIV)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you that in you we have hope. Help us to remember that you love us and even when we mess up you delight to show us mercy. Fill us Lord with joy and peace that our hope will overflow and out of that overflow we become better people for you and your glory alone. Amen.

Questions for reflection:

Do you have find yourself feeling like my daughter did that day?

When those feelings arise what do you do about it?

What is your struggle today?

Take it to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine!

In Him,

Denise

Join Denise daily at her personal blogspot, Choosing Today.

Who's Measuring Stick Are You Using?

Who's measuring stick are you using?

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

If you are measuring yourself by the world’s standards, you are sure to have judged yourself unkindly. Sometimes we feel that we don’t measure up, that we lack that certain something that it seems that everyone else has. If we only had that look, wore her size, had her connections, or had her qualities we would somehow be all right. Well, I want to bring some reality to you today….God does not require anything more of us than what we are right now in order to be acceptable to Him. Not only acceptable to Him, but cherished by Him. He has called us to be His right now, right here, today. We are exactly the person that He started out to create, and He did it for a specific purpose, and He didn’t mess up! We are covered with Christ’s blood, and we are perfect and acceptable to our Lord and Father!!

When you step away from the world’s standards, you are able to see clearly God’s view of you. You don’t need to look far, it’s practically on every page of His Holy Word.
God sees tremendous value in each one of us. When we are in Christ, we are an unstoppable force for His kingdom…just by being who He made us to be!

Now, if you are anything like me, I can start the day with a clear understanding of who I am in Christ, and yet by the end of the day, I can feel totally worthless. What happened? Well, in short, when I look to myself and my own works to be “good enough”, I will fall short every time. The only good in me is of Christ, and without Him all of my best efforts are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Only when we fully grasp how totally worthless we are without Christ, will we be able to fully accept how acceptable we are to God with Christ! I know it sounds funny, it certainly goes against the self-talk of our day and age. And yet, it is so freeing. Knowing exactly who we are in Christ can be the most freeing thing you and I will ever experience.

When we begin to use the world’s measuring stick, we will never measure up. However, when we use God’s measuring stick, as He sees us through the blood of Christ, we can’t go wrong. We are the chosen, beloved, cherished daughters of the Almighty King! And, we measure up!

Questions to ponder:

1. What do you think? Have you seen a difference in your life between when you are judging yourself by the world’s standards as opposed to Christ’s?
2. Can you think of a circumstance or an area of your life where you have tried to measure up on your own? What has been the result?

In Him......Joy


Come visit me....


photo courtesy of flickr

Don't Say That!!

"Hey, girl! How are you?" she asked with a soft, concerned voice.

Choking back tears, I replied to her, "I'm great! Life is wonderful! How about you?"

Then she just looked at me as though she had seen a ghost. She said, "You don't have to pretend. I understand what you're going through. I want to be here for you."

Her words cut like a knife. She was the first one to call my bluff. I thought I had hidden it so well. Instantly I began to feel guilt; guilt for lying, guilt for not hiding it well enough, and guilt for not letting a friend in when I needed one most.

It was after all the worst year of my life. My marriage was ending, my brother was in Iraq, the ministry I worked for was closing its doors and I had no idea where to go or what to do. But no one would have ever known because I wouldn't say anything. You see, I was taught not to. She knew because she knew me and I thank God that she did.

For years I was taught from the pulpit to watch what I say in regards to the current condition of my life. For example, when my middle son was spending most of his first year of life in and out of hospitals, I was taught to tell people that he was healed and was doing fine... even if he really wasn't. I was taught that this was a mandate from Romans 4:17.

"(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;"

What is typically quoted is, "Call those things that be not, as though they were." As you can see, this is only a fraction of the scripture and only a small part of a complete thought. It has not been used in context concerning this teaching.

I was taught that when I was having a rough day that I should put a smile on my face and a bounce in my step and tell everyone that I was wonderful. Why? Because then it would come to pass. This is not what that scripture means nor is this method biblical.

For starters, we are lying if we do this. The bible clearly states this in Exodus 23:1, Deuteronomy 19:18, Psalm 27:12, Proverbs 6:19, Proverbs 12:17, and many more that we are not to bear false witness or give false testimonies. If you don't acknowledge facts then you can't be delivered. If you convince yourself that they never existed then you can't believe God intervened to make it better. If you don't tell the truth about your situation then God can never get the GLORY for its end result!

When you acknowledge facts about your current situation it does not mean that you have no faith.... it means that you do! How much faith does it take to believe God changed something that you believe never existed? That's denial.

Think about that for a second and let it sink in.

"But what about speaking positively, Amy? Shouldn't we be practicing the message of speaking 'life'?"

I'm so glad that you asked! God tells us about choosing life over death and blessings over curses in Deuteronomy 30:19.

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."

We should acknowledge fact but speak "life." That way God gets the glory. Consider what happened in John 11. Jesus specifically told Mary and Martha that the death of their brother Lazurus was to bring glory to Him. Think of how differently it would have been if they had just buried him, put a smile on their face, and pretended everything was grand.

Look at how my conversation from 4 years ago could have gone better:

"Hey, girl! How are you?" she asked with a soft, concerned voice.

I replied to her, "I'm not as good as I could be and I need your prayers. I know that I could be encouraged if we could talk and have coffee one day soon. I just have many things going on right now but I know God's hand is in the midst of it and He will use it all for good. He always comes through for us. How about you?"

In that scenario I would have acknowledged that God's hand was required to bring peace to my life. I didn't put on a show, pretending everything was hunky dorey, and then just dismiss my friend as though she didn't know any better. I gave her an opportunity to serve as Jesus would have and I gave God the opportunity to be glorified through my situation. Now if only it had actually happened that way. Thank God for mercy and forgiveness. I'm glad He is faithful to us even when we aren't faithful to Him.

I can't think of one instance in the bible where someone claimed to be fine, but really wasn't, all in the name of Jesus. Why should we?

Talk about being tested when God gives us revelation and we begin to write about it and share it with others. I wrote this post on Sunday in preparation for today. Well, I found out on Monday that my son's vision (20/800) cannot be restored to his left eye (his vision has slowly deteriorated since birth). He also has developed learning problems as a result of the condition. He will have to wear protective glasses for the rest of his life to protect his good eye from accidents. I am acknowledging the fact that my son cannot see in that eye and that he has learning difficulties but I am also thanking God for the miracle that he is going to give to our family. He restored vision to many others in the bible and he is no respecter of persons. My God is a BIG God. I know He will do this and more for Gevan but I seek your prayer and I ask you to agree with me that Gevan will be healed for the glory of God in the name of His precious son, Jesus.

Thank you.


I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

He Loves Me! He Loves Me!

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called you by name. You’re Mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end – Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you:…That’s how much you mean to Me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. Isaiah 43:2-4

Have you ever sat thinking about the one you love and, perhaps while you were dating, wondering if they really loved you? We’ve all seen it before. The young girl holding the beautiful flower, plucking one petal at a time, saying, “he loves me, he loves me not”.

As I read these verses in Isaiah chapter forty-three, I found myself reflecting on the reality of God’s love for me. Besides John 3:16, which clearly tells us how much Jesus loves us, these verses are screaming of His deep love for us. Word after word, it says to my heart, “He loves me, He loves me, He loves me”. Read over it again. It says, “He is our personal God, our Savior”. He paid a huge price for us. Why would He do that, we might ask. His word unmistakably replies, “that’s how much we mean to Him”. “That’s how much He loves us!”

Do you remember the song Jesus, Loves Me? Most of us probably learned this as a child and could still sing it today. For most of us, it’s probably been a long time since we found ourselves singing this sweet melody, but I am grateful for the reality that we can never outgrow the love of Jesus. If anything, this precious song that we learned as a child should be even more meaningful to our hearts as adults, as we grow in the understanding of the incredible depth of His love for us. Take a moment to sing this song, and allow God to whisper to your heart through each phrase, “I love you, I love you, I love you”!

Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
For the Bible tells me so!

Lord, thank you that you love us. Thank you that you not only tell us in your Word, but you have shown us with your life that you deeply love us. Help me to be mindful of your love and may I experience the breadth, test its length, plumb the depths, and rise to the heights of your love for me (Eph. 3:19). Thank you that nothing can separate me from your love.

In Him


You can read more from Tammy by visiting her at Steps In Our Journey

Four Eyes are Better than None

When I first laid eyes on Graham's new glasses, and felt the thickness of their lens, I wondered if his quarter-sized eyes would still glisten like an emerald forest, but more importantly, I feared that his eyes might catch on fire when he looked at the sun.

I was reminded of the first time I met Lacy. She lived down the street, and I knew her both as the girl whose fluffy poodle got swallowed by a German Shepherd, and the girl whose glasses were so thick, her eyes looked like tiny marbles swirling in a pool of water. Everyone knew that when she turned her glasses around she could gaze into the past, and that she was the only girl on the block who could wish upon a star, and see something waving back.

I was surprised to find that glasses have come a long way, and that even the strongest prescription can make a fashion statement. Graham walked into the eyeglass store looking like an average boy, and walked out looking like a child-star who just grabbed the world by the cheeks and said, “Look at me, I’m created in God’s image, and He is adorable!”

On the way home, Graham noticed that trees looked taller, houses looked wider, and of course he noticed that my face looked bigger too. It must be disturbing to see your mother’s face expand before your very eyes, while her airbrushed appearance changes from Grace Kelly on her best day to Danny Bonaduce midway through puberty.

He sat in silence for awhile, looking out of the window, breathing in the beauty of the new world blooming before him.

I felt his excitement, thankful for the opportunity Graham had to observe the world around him. Looking down at the little man in the shiny new glasses, I understood that we’re all given attributes that not only make us different, but that also continually shape who we are. God didn’t make a mistake when he created Graham’s quarter-sized green eyes, but rather each cell of this little being was carefully crafted so that one day, this four-eyed man would glorify God.

In the Psalms, David illustrated the formation of a child within its mother’s womb, telling how God wonderfully crafted each part of our being:

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb...bit-by-bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day." Psalm 139:13-16, The Message


The formation doesn’t stop at birth, in fact, throughout life, the Master’s hands curiously continue to shape us.

Life is a recipe. We are given several ingredients to put into our baking pans of time, and those are the things that we sift through, separate, measure, and yes--sometimes those things are whipped and beaten by the world around us. As bad as one thing may seem in this little life growing before me, I see a delicacy that the Master Chef is creating.

I always thought my occupation as a stove would be done after the fourth bun popped out. I hadn’t understood that I would always be an oven as long as my children are rising under my care.

The way I see it, is that I’ll keep the fire burning for as long as I possibly can, and if my pilot light ever goes out, I’ll just hold Graham’s glasses up to the window to ignite that fire again!



Read my monthly column here at CWO:
"Live Well! Reshaping your Body, Spirit, and Soul."

Don't You Just Love Your Refrigerator?

Jeremiah 1:4-8 (emphasis mine)

The Lord gave me a message. He said, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world." "O Sovereign Lord," I said, "I can't speak for you! I'm too young!" "Don't say that," the Lord replied, "for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

I was chosen by God. God is with me. God takes care of me. These are things that we know but do we truly understand them? For a while I didn't. For quite some time I thought these words must be meant for someone else, or for Jeremiah alone. I didn't dare claim them for my life. Why? I didn't feel worthy. Unreal isn't it? Scriptures that give us worth we don't believe we are worthy of. I finally received revelation about this and I pray that you do too. Consider this: If you were a salesperson and you were trying to sell a certain product to someone, could you do it? I guarantee that we homemakers could sell a refrigerator in a heartbeat.

"This is a top of the line model. It is essential to daily life. It preserves, it stores, keeps produce fresh, and it freezes meals for weeks to come. You can get one in any color to match your kitchen decor. They come with ice makers and water filters, adjustable settings for every compartment. You can even get them with TVs and radios built right in. I couldn't function in my kitchen without my refrigerator!"

I'm sure this is how I or many of you would sound giving that sales pitch. We need our refrigerators. We believe in the company that made them. We know all about what it can do and how simple it makes our lives. We take the bad with the good because overall the product is great. We are confident in its abilities because we know what it is capable of and how much pleasure it brings to us. I'm sure some of you even have a fancy fridge in stainless or with a TV. The point is we know and love this product so it is easy to convince someone else to love it too. Our emotion is contagious. And the price? Well, we pay hundreds of dollars for them because we know what they are worth!

Now try to sell a Molex Pin Extractor. Go ahead, give your pitch. Don't Google it... go for it!

Were you able to do it? No? You say you don't know what it is? Can't you still sell it? hmmm....

So, knowing all about something, knowing who made it, knowing what it has done for you, knowing how it benefits you, remembering all the positive things about it, and being passionate about it helps you to share it with someone else? Is it knowing these things that give it worth? Is it these things that bring you confidence about it?

God loves you. God created you. God sees all of the greatness in you. God has chosen you for specific tasks. You must get to know yourself to know that you are worthy. The way to do this is to get to know your creator. Spend time with Him each day. Read His word. Communicate with Him. Let Him show you just how amazing you are. Let Him reveal all that He created you to be. After all, He knew you even before He knit you together in your mother's womb and He still chose you. No one else will ever know you so well or be able to tell you so much about yourself. Isn't that just awesome? I smile just thinking about it!

We must realize that God wants you to know your worth. He is excited about you. I mean, imagine your fridge saying "nah, I'm not good at cooling. So and so is better. I sometimes wilt the lettuce and my light goes out at the worst times. My exterior is worn down. You can't use me"

This sounds crazy doesn't it? God knows what a great product you are. Stop telling Him you are not. Walk in what God has for you. He chose you!

I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

Don't ignore the elephant

It's not something that is easy to admit. Some may have to face it each and every day. Often times it creeps in slowly and other times it is thrown right into our face. We think to ourselves, "I am not sure what is wrong, oh, but I know it is not that." It sits right in the middle of the room like an elephant and yet we choose to completely ignore it.

But one day we will be forced to acknowledge it's presence, otherwise it will continue to grow deeper and stronger and before we know it, our thoughts have been completely overtaken. What in the world am I talking about it? The spirit of envy! We don't wake up one day and choose to be envious. No, often times it shows up on our door step or has slowly leaked into our thoughts and has gone unnoticed for years. The sheer definition of the word makes me squirm a bit, " painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage." Oh, how painfully aware I am of those things that others seem to have an advantage in that I don't. Through the years my own insecurities and lack has caused me to literally sit on the elephants back and yet deny in my own heart that it was actually there.

But the one thing we can't ignore is the company it keeps in scripture. Just read through Galatians 5 and notice the other "works of the flesh" which are listed right along with envy.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, 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. Galatians 5:19-21

And does anyone besides me notice where it sits in the list? Between heresy (denial of truth) and murder. All I can say is that I better pay attention. King Saul ignored the warning signs and instead chose to allow the spirit of envy take root. Initially Saul was highly pleased with David and set him over his men of war. But one day Saul heard the women of Israel singing, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7). Scripture goes on to say, "Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on" (1 Samuel 18:9). God has placed each one of us in the body of Christ according to His purpose (1 Corinthians 12:18), and has assigned to each of us a place in life (1 Corinthians 7:17).

Proverbs 14:30 says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

The cure for the sin of envy is to find our contentment in God. Asaph in Psalm 73 was envious of the wicked as he saw their apparent prosperity (verse 3). He felt his pursuit of a holy life was in vain (verse 13). Only when he was enabled to say to God, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth I desire besides you." (verse 25), was he delivered from the sin of envy.

Has envy taken up residence in your own heart? Meditate on His truths and His promises! God wants to deliver you.



In Him...Chris

Chris may also be found at her personal blog Come to the Table

Masterpiece

Picture this. You are walking through an art gallery full of priceless masterpieces. Every one is unique, and each one carries its own form of beauty. Each piece tells a different story. Some have been damaged by time while others seem untarnished.

As you walk through, you begin to critique each piece. You begin to marvel and wonder how something so beautifully and wonderfully made could carry such flaws. You stop by a particular piece and begin to examine it, voicing your opinion about how this work of art could or should have been created better. You hear as others voice their concerns about the art, and you begin to notice the imperfections they see as well. Their opinion becomes your opinion. You move onto the next piece, as the previous piece is no longer perfect or worthy of your time.

As you walk away, it is then that you realize that this piece of art you were so harshly criticizing was in fact your very own reflection in a mirror. The work of art was you; the Artist.... God.

Isaiah 64:8 "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the
potter; we are the work of your hand."

We are the workmanship of God. We truly are His masterpieces. It is each unique look or personality trait that makes us priceless. It makes us who we are - the person God created us to be. Who are we to judge God's work? Who are we to throw dirt on His craftsmanship? Yet, this is exactly what we do when we judge others and ourselves.

If we are going to walk through God's art gallery and notice the flaws in His sculptures, we need to put our suggestions in the suggestion box instead of criticizing each piece. In simpler terms.... we should pray to the Creator. He is the only one who can make the changes anyway. Only He knows how He intends for this piece to turn out. Besides, do you think He would have paid the highest price for all of us if we weren't worth it?

FYI: I am now Mrs. Ryan Bayliss. The big day was September 8th. I will tell you all about it. We are currently on our honeymoon in Mexico! I'll talk to you ladies when I get home... to my new place!

I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

Just As I Am

"So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as He did those from beyond our nation?"

Acts 15:10-11 (The Message)

If you have ever read my biography, you know the very first advice I was given after my husband was called to ministry was to "learn to play the piano! Churches will be more likely to ask Luke to be their pastor if you can play the piano!"

That well-meaning man had no idea he was ordering up a Ruth Graham to be incarnated from a Roseanne Barr. I didn't play an instrument! I couldn't sing! I was a rough-around-the-edges, one-year-old babe in Christ who barely knew how to pray and yet this man was telling me my husband didn't have a chance unless I could become what I then considered to be a 'typical' pastor's wife.

I never learned to play the piano, but I did do my very best to mold myself into the Perfect Preacher's Wife in every other way. I tried to keep my loud mouth closed and become more reserved - demure even. (That is SO laughable to me now!) I said goodbye to my large, funky earrings and default black clothing. I was the only twenty-two year old I knew who was shopping in the Misses Department for elastic-waisted pants and birdhouse embroidered sweaters. I made sure to take casseroles to every church meal and volunteered for any available position. You can thank me now for sparing you the rest of this never-ending list.

I did all this because I desperately wanted to be an asset to Luke and a jewel in God's crown. In those early days, my understanding of being worthy had everything to do with meeting other's expectations. Externally, I suppose I was shaping up nicely but on the inside, I was miserable. The challenge to live up to an unwritten code of Preacher Wife conduct was exhilirating as I checked off another issue on my "To Re-Do" list. However, what began as a thrill quickly became a yoke and it wasn't long until I realized I was making everyone happy except me.

I imagine the feelings were similar for the early Gentile Christians who were overjoyed over receiving the salvation offered by Israel's Jehovah - The One True God of all heaven and earth. It wasn't long until the Judaizers came along and laid the burden of the Law upon their new found freedom. Undoubtedly, some of the Gentiles attempted to live up to this standard because they believed in order to please God, they must please His Chosen People. The Jewish Christians, though they believed salvation had been extended to the Gentiles, still thought the Greeks must become proselytes or what I call, 'little Jews', in order to inherit the Kingdom. Paul's ministry was revolutionary in proving Gentiles did not have to become Jewish in order to receive God's gift of grace. Salvation had been given directly to the Gentiles, free from any obligation to the Jewish way of life.

The Gentiles had to be so relieved to know by the blood of Jesus Christ, God accepted them as they were - with their own culture, their own customs, their own personalities. They did not have to look like someone else or adhere to the Mosaic Law in order to be loved and greatly used by God in the Kingdom. The Jews in turn had a hard pill to swallow - God had turned his affections to a foreign people in order to cause His chosen ones to be jealous again for their special relationship to the Father.

I have a few questions for you to consider. Have you embraced your life as a worthy one which God can use? Do you believe the only requirement in being useful to God is believing on the spilled blood of Jesus? Are you trying to live up to another's expectations and find yourself falling short? Has this resulted in a sense of inferiority which causes you to shrink back from opportunities to serve Christ through His church body?

If any of these are true for you, please know one thing: All God expects from you is your 'yes'. Your unwavering obedience. Your desire to know Him and His Word. He doesn't need you to waste time craving another woman's ministry - He desires for you to embrace your own. This truth was one I needed to hear, loudly and often. When I began asking God to make me want His will, He was very faithful in lining up my desires with His. He helped me to understand my personality and interests were given to me by Him. Most importanly, He made it clear He had never asked me to lay aside my uniqueness to become more like someone else. He wanted me, just as I am.

If you have no idea where to begin in finding your place in the body, ask yourself, "What do I like?" Love scrapbooking? Work on church bulletin boards. Like writing? Start a women's ministry newsletter. Hungry for God's word? Teach a kid's discipleship class. Children are so forgiving and God will not be mad if, with a sincere heart, you accidentally tell them Noah's ark was oak instead of gopher wood!

I recently heard a wise pastor say, "It's much easier to steer a moving car." God's word to you today?? Get going! You can adjust your ministry, but you won't know in which direction until you put it in 'Drive'. And whatever service He asks of you, I can promise on experience it will be as unique as the woman He created to do it.

He wants you, girls! Just like you are.

Please visit my personal blog, The Preacher's Wife.

Spears of the Heart

Someone once said, “It’s a safe bet that if a pastor is ‘stuck’ on one topic in the pulpit that he himself is struggling with that issue.”

I’m not sure about that, but I eventually came to apply this theory to my life, recognizing that repetitions of certain themes are probably God’s attempt to gently shape, direct, or correct my inner man. If I still don’t pay attention, He is then usually less subtle. I prefer the subtle method!

And now, with a deep sigh, I reveal to you that lately, due to recurring pop-up instances, I apparently need to re-visit the problem of envy.

Honestly, my first self-preserving inclination is to point out to you that I am NOT super envious—not as bad as, say, that insecure, disobedient, spear-hurling King Saul, who was delirious in his jealousy of David--nay, not I! My envy is way less “sinful” than Saul’s! I’m being facetious, of course. Sin is sin, and to qualify sin is useless. Like cancer, sin manifests itself in stages, and whether it’s stage 1 or stage 4, it’s all bad. A little bit of leaven, you know.

Envy is admiration gone south, and it’s particularly destructive. It begins when we see gifts and strengths in others, or some blessing befalls them, and we are caught up in their charisma or accomplishments, and we admire them. So far, so good.

If we’re not careful, though, we start to wonder why we are lacking in those qualities or blessings. Slowly at first, an emotional downward spiral begins twisting, and we go from rejoicing with to wishing we had what they have, then to focusing on our deficiencies, then to becoming discontent, self-absorbed and bitter. In fact, at the spiral’s vortex is selfishness. We lose sight of who we truly are in Christ and inexplicably forget the goodness He has poured into our lives.

I’m reminded of Saul in 1 Samuel 23:21 when the men of Ziph betrayed David by telling Saul where David was hiding: “Well, Praise the Lord” Saul said. “At last someone has had pity on me!” [Living Bible]. When I read that, I laid my Bible down, cracked a sarcastic smile and thought, “Boo-hoo. You were an idiot. You had the most loyal servant in David, but you were blind. Sheesh! Glad I never have those pity parties!" I must confess, however, that I do throw myself the occasional "pity blow-out."

By chapter 23, Saul was not only peeved with David, but he had convinced himself that no one around him understood him or was loyal. And we all know what became of this envious King who once stood head and shoulders above the rest. He became the object of scorn and pity—ugly attributes became his legacy.

I suppose you want the lowdown on my envy. I’ll give you my latest example. Recently I opened our newspaper and read about a local author who said, “I never wanted to write at all. The book contract just sort of fell into my lap.” Well, I’ve always wanted to write, and publishing opportunities are not miraculously floating in my cereal bowl each morning or cropping up like dandelions in my lawn. Therefore, I felt a twinge of resentment when I read about her good fortune. I’m sure she deserved to be published. I’m sure she’s more talented than the average person. I’m happy for her, really I am. There’s room enough in this world for gazillions of authors. But my internal brat cried out, “How long, O Lord, how long? (Before a contract falls into my lap?)” In other words, I believe I grumbled. I also believe grumbling and resenting are tiny arrows hurled from an imperfect heart, or sin, if you must make me say it.

The antidote to the poison arrow is two-fold:

Part 1--Prayer for forgiveness, cleansing, creating within me a clean heart and right thinking, expressing gratitude for innumerable blessings, blessing the person for whom I had resentment, laying my feelings at the foot of the cross, etc.

Part 2—Surrendering my insecurities and my desires. This act is more difficult than asking forgiveness. In fact, Dr. Daniel Harrell, Pastor of Park Street Church in Boston has said, “A prayer of surrender, a prayer of genuine trust is the hardest prayer to pray. To be someone after God’s own heart is to be someone not after your own.”

At this point, I must ask myself: If, for any reason, God does not wish me to pursue being published, am I willing to lay that desire down and pursue His plans? Or, suppose he wants me stop my negative self-talk and pity parties and work more diligently at being published. Am I willing to sacrifice—to say “no” to some things in order to say “yes” to this plan? Am I totally surrendered, no matter what?

Our great Enemy launches enough spears at us without our mimicking him with each other. I do not want to cast arrows at my brothers and sisters. So once again, I’m laying down my arrows and surrendering my will to my Father's plan. Because more than anything, I want to be a woman after God’s own heart, no matter what path he directs me to. I only know that on that path, there is no room for envy.



Please visit my blog at 2nd cup of Coffee

Saying Grace

Grace.

Now, there’s an interesting word. Believers toss it out all the time in all sorts of situations. But, ask an unbeliever what grace is and she might say something like, “It’s what religious people say before they eat.” Makes you wonder what “non-religious” people do. Maybe they just say, “Dig in!” or “Bon appetite!” or just “Pass the salt.”

It also makes you wonder what definition of religious they’re talking about. Religious as in anybody that worships some sort of higher being? Like maybe Hindus? Or Buddhists? What about folks that worship celebrities? Or money? I think that should count. After all, they do see those things as being higher than themselves.

I’m just saying.

Other than Christianity, however, and really other than evangelical Christianity mostly, other “religious” people don’t really have much to do with grace. Grace in the biblical sense is the thing that separates us from all the other religions. We only get a shot at eternal life because of God’s grace. The gift of salvation for those who believe is the result of this grace. If you don’t accept the grace, all that’s left to you is your own works – your own ability to do…something. I don’t know what, but whatever it is you think you need, want, or can do to try to earn your place in heaven. You know, the works that don’t work because it’s only by grace that we have been saved, not by works. Because seriously, what can I possibly do that's great enough to merit eternal life? Even if I did come up with something, why should I get bragging rights? (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Being the oh, so not higher beings that we are, we have this propensity to mess everything up though, don’t we? Rather than accepting the grace and living in it as we should, we toss in our gold-plated monkey wrenches and mess it all up.

We start with doubt. Just a little doubt goes a long way. Kind of like Peter, who was told by Christ to step out of the boat and walk on the water. Things started out okay, but Peter had this little doubt and began believing in the power of the waves more than the power of the One who said, “Come.” And so we believe in the power of our situations more than the power of the One who put us there.

Then we fall into despair. We become the Merry Martyrs and put ourselves into an emotional state that God never intended for us. Because we trust our emotions more than we trust our Creator.

Then we become undisciplined in our habits and our routines. We let things go; our appearance, our responsibilities, our walk with the Lord. Because we put more faith in what we want to do than in what He wants us to do.

Then we get really good at making all sorts of excuses. We beg off, we shun, we reject, we avoid… We are masters of the art of excuse-making, aren’t we? I totally impress myself with how superbly creative I can be in the excuse-making department. I’m so good at it, I’m surprise someone doesn’t pay me to write a book, “The Best Excuses for Any Situation You Want to Get Out Of.” It would make the NY Times Bestseller list in a heartbeat.

Lastly and probably most impressive of all, we give ourselves permission to blame. Doesn’t matter who we blame. God is a good target. Family members work. Friends, neighbors, strangers, the dog…we’re pretty random and not all that selective sometimes. Whoever happens to be handy at the time will do just nicely. Because, after all, we can’t possibly be expected to be held responsible for the lack of grace with which we live our lives. Can we?

Instead, of entering into such a messed up cycle, we could actually live in the grace Christ extends to us through His death. Oh, we accept the salvation part of it okay, but do we really live out the grace part? Here’s what it looks like:

--We resist all thoughts that speak against the character and goodness of God. That includes hurtful thoughts about ourselves or others. We all are, after all, image bearers of God. If Jesus wouldn’t think it about us, should we think it about ourselves? (2 Corinthians 10:5)

--We destroy that place of self-pity and self-indulgence. While you’re at it, go ahead and destroy all the self stuff; self-service, self-esteem, self-righteousness…everything except self-control. That one’s okay. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

--We truly be crucified in Christ. This life you live may not be the life you planned, but it’s exactly where God has you at exactly the time He has you there. Can you live it for the One who suffered and died for you? (Galatians 2:20)

Them’s fighting words!

To live in Christ is to die to self. How different this world would be if everyone just stopped thinking about themselves all the time. Their feelings, their opinions, how smart or thin or fat or sick or hurt or beautiful or talented or depressed or angry or whatever they are. Can we actively and audibly refuse to let those things block the grace Christ extends to us? The whole “What about me?” thing has us so bound and enslaved that we lose sight of God’s grace altogether.

Can we allow ourselves to have the grace to forget about ourselves and let Christ live in us and through us in the little everyday things? What about in the big things? Can we accept that we are who we are, where we are, in our present situation and allow His grace to flow in and through us?

Before each meal and in every moment in between, and with the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal, I believe we can indeed live in His grace!

Springing Forward

Today, my state, Indiana, joins the rest of you in scoring some extra daylight. For reasons unclear to 99% of us Hoosiers, we have stubbornly bucked Daylight Saving Time until this year. As a result, we've never been sure exactly what time it is within Indiana because we've been enjoying three time zones! Regardless, if you want to honk off a Hoosier, especially a farmer, ask him how he feels about DST. And then take a few steps back.

Personally, I like the idea of springing forward. the Christian life emphasizes forward momentum, "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," as in Philippians 3:13, and finishing the race, as in 2 Timothy 4:7. We never want to stagnate, and daily we search hopefully for signs that we are becoming more and more like Christ.

Sometimes, though, instead of a healthy forward momentum, I feel I'm living in three time zones. That is, I fill my days with lists of tasks, responsibilities and service, and at the end of the day, I realize how little time I've engaged the Lord. Do I really believe that God is more concerned about who I am than what I do?

For instance, I'm part of a "Read the Bible in a Year" campaign. I'm actually ahead of schedule, but that's because I've been galloping through Numbers like Seabiscuit out of the gate. Instead of speed reading, I should be researching why God included so many details and figures. I should slow down to ask, "Lord, what do You want to say to me today through Numbers?" But then, I'd have to actually slow down to listen.

In an effort to nurture relationships, I have lists of names to call or email, but sometimes, I find myself clock-watching after just a few minutes. Maybe I should just ask the Holy Spirit, "Show me who needs attention and love today." Once again, I'd have to stop and listen.

And then there are the yes/no demands on my time: the caller asking if I can help with a special school project; the bulk mailing at work that didn't get completed--should I work an extra hour? My daughter is asking if I can help her bake a new dessert; the clean laundry wrinkling in the basket even as I write this is pestering me--and what about tonight's dinner, my newspaper column, my little dog?

Do you feel guilty if you're not "doing," not constantly springing forward toward the next task?

I'll bet you know the scriptures as well as I do about being still and knowing He is God, about His yoke being easy and His burden light, and about how Jesus withdrew from crowds to pray. But it's hard to break the hold of what some have called "the tyranny of the oughts and shoulds," both internal and external. We so want to get this life "right."

If you are a compulsive "do-er," consider handing over your plans today to the Father by focusing on the two great commandments of Luke 10:27, loving God with your entire being and loving your neighbor as yourself.

This doesn't mean God won't ask anything of you; He says if you love Him, you'll obey His commands, which I also interpret to include those commands he speaks to you personally about your day. However, you don't have to busy in a God-pleasing activity to please God. You please him by treating Him as the highest significant other in your life.

Instead of making sure we're hitting the details of 20 nonessential tasks per day and planning tomorrow's superfluous 20, maybe we should focus on what God gives us for that day, or that hour, and do them with passion and excellence. And that may mean devoting an entire evening to helping your 5th grader create a solar system model--a great opportunity for intimate sharing between you, your child, and the One who molded the spheres and released them spinning. You can't top that for meaningful multi-tasking!