Are there weeds in your LIBRARY?

Greetings Everybody,
It's summer here in the United States, and since my husband & I are both teachers, we are off-duty for a couple of months.


Which means NO ALARM CLOCKS :)


Yet, as is my custom, I rise early.


During the school year, I get up at 4:30 every morning.
And even though I CAN sleep late during the summers...I generally don't.


This morning my eyes opened early again...and I got up.    I was rested and ready for the day.


I spent some time in prayer.
And then as I was closing that prayer time...a scripture popped into my head.


"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."   Psalm 19:14


And it gave me pause.


I grew up hearing this scripture. 
I love this scripture.
It is stored somewhere deep in my spiritual bones.


But today I looked at it and thought..."Hey...this is backwards. David got the order wrong. We Think and THEN we Speak.  He got it out of sequence."


lol...And the very next thought was..."No he didn't.  He hit the nail right on the head."


And the reason that I say that David hit this nail right on the head is this:
When we speak before we think, THAT'S when we tend to say the wrong things.


This scripture "speaks" to every one of us today.
It is basically saying..." Father, Please let my words and my thoughts be good words and thoughts."


There are many other scriptures that "speak" about speaking. Here are just a few:


Proverbs 21:23
"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
 keeps himself out of trouble."


Proverbs 15:1
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
<sup>2 


James 1:19-20 "</sup>Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."


The bottom line is this:
-We are accountable for our thoughts and our words.
-It works better when we think before we speak.
-But if we don't do that, then we need to make sure that what we DO say is not offensive to God or to others.


And the way we make sure that nothing untoward comes out of our mouths has to do with what David mentions in the 14th verse of the 19th Psalm that was quoted earlier in this post.


It has to do with the Meditations of the Heart.  
Why?
Here's why...
-Since the human brain controls the human body...
-And since humans are pretty much incapable of doing anything unless some brain cell sends a spark to another brain cell... 
-Then our brains must function like a giant LIBRARY of possible choices, from which come every thought or word, that we have ever had, or ever will have. 


It is important to note that we can ALWAYS put new material IN, but we can NEVER seem to take material OUT.


-So, if our brains function as our giant LIBRARY of options...
-THAT means that the material that we stock our LIBRARY with is really important.


Everything we spend time focusing on, studying, thinking about, watching, reading, or experiencing...gets placed somewhere in that giant LIBRARY that sits on top of your neck.


And now it's time to focus this discussion down to where we live and breathe.


       -Just exactly what DO you meditate upon?
       -Just exactly what DO you spend your time thinking about?
       -WHAT concepts are you actively and passively stocking your LIBRARY with?

Image Credit goes to 

                                 http://www.clipartoday.com/clipart/people/people/children_266890.html


The answer to these questions will very likely reveal itself in the form of the comments that come out of your mouth in your unguarded moments. 


For example: 
-What do you say outloud when you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer? 
-Or have a fender-bender? 
-Or shatter a glass on the kitchen floor?


Have you ever thought about the fact that it is impossible to "cuss" unless you first heard and filed those cusswords in your LIBRARY.


If we surround ourselves with those who speak and act in ways that are not aligned with Christ...our LIBRARIES are overrun with unGodly responses...which will inevitably lead to  ruin.


And unGodly responses have a way of revealing themselves don't they! lol


Like when you hit your thumb with a hammer?
Or have a fender-bender?
Or shatter a glass on the kitchen floor?


As it turns out, UnGodly thoughts and words are alot like ugly weeds growing right in the middle of our LIBRARIES.


Christians must be vigilant about what we pay attention to, think on, and participate in, lest the weeds become the main crop that is growing there.


"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or 
praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8


This kind of thinking will keep the weeks out. But just keeping the weeds out is not enough. We are called to purposefully transform our minds.


"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2


And God did not leave us in the dark about how we are to about doing this.  
We renew our minds by practicing The Fruits of The Spirit.


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23


I leave you with the capstone of this post:


-We need to make sure we are vigilant about protecting the purity of our Minds. 
-So that our thoughts and our words will continue to grow more & more Christ-like.

-Because Christians are called to have the same mind as Jesus Christ 

 and to be obedient to God in all things...and that STARTS with how we think.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point ofdeath, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 5-11

Upon reflection, I believe that David had it right.
And since all of us know what it feels like to say something that God does not approve of, I really GET why David asked for help in the order that he did...words first, thoughts second.  


It is a wise thing to ask God for help in guarding our words and our thoughts.


And It's a lesson for us all.


In Him,
Grace

HE has plans for me.

Greetings Everybody,


Tonight's post is very succinct and it's very salient to me.


I don't know what God has planned for me
...but I know that HE knows
...and as long as HE knows
...that's ALL that matters!


"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   Jeremiah 29:11


In Him,
Grace

What should I do?

Greetings Everybody,
This morning I want to discuss something that is on my heart.  


It has to do with deciding what to do about a situation...judging what is right to do...yes...this is about DISCERNMENT.


Here's the heart of the matter for me right now:
Sometimes I can not tell if God is leading me somewhere or if it is the evil one pretending to be God.


And this makes me second-guess myself sometimes. 


Sometimes I vacillate back and forth...should I do THIS thing or should it be THAT thing.


I pray for guidance and I pray for protection and I earnestly try to willingly & lovingly submit myself to HIS will in my life.


And I must say that MOST of the time I know exactly where I am in respect to His Will.


I know that because the Holy Spirit tweaks my heart a bit when I step out of His Will...and it causes me to want to get back on track.


Also, I know that I am filled with Joy when I am tuned in to what God wants me to do.


But the devil is so very sneaky sometimes.
And there are days when I can not easily discern if something is from God or from the evil one.


Jesus understood exactly how sneaky the devil is...he told his apostles...
" I  am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16


And the Apostle Peter wrote these words that are so very precious me...
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:6-7


So here I am, trying to make decisions based on what I think GOD wants me to do.
But the evil one keeps putting up roadblocks.
He keeps tossing in bits of Pride and bits of Fear.


And what do we know about both of those things???


"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18


and 


"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." 
Isaiah 41:13


I know both of those scriptures and I claim them.
And I know that the New Testament tells us that we as Christians have the duty to discern wisely and to judge rightly.


"Do you not know that God's people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!  
1 Corinthians 6: 2-3


So here's what I know:
Pride issues are NOT from God.
Fear issues are NOT from God.
Those things are from the evil one.


Therefore, if I work through this thing spiritually and intellectually (yes you CAN do both of those things at once lol)...I find that my confusion is also NOT from God.


In the final analysis, all of my life decisions boil down to a few simple things found in Micah 6:8

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

There's my litmus test.

In all that I am contemplating doing:

Will I be able to

-act justly, 

-love mercy 

-and walk humbly with my God?

If the answer is NO...then I need to stop right there and go no further.

But If the answer is Yes to all 3 things, then I am free to move forward.

After that it is a matter of Faith

And a matter of God opening the doors he wants me to go through or closing them tight.

So there ya have it...

My internal monologue on "Discernment" as it applies to my ongoing life-decisions.

And all of that has lead me to this: Unless God intervenes in some way, it looks like tomorrow I will be applying for a an Administrative position at a Christian school.

And we will see what God has in store for me personally.

And we will see what God has in store for my hubby as well.

And we will see if God wants me to serve him in that capacity.

I am earnestly praying that He open the doors that He wants me to go through and that He close the ones that He does not want me to enter.

Father, Please:

Protect me/us,

Provide for me/us,

Prepare me/us, 

Purpose me/us,

and Position me/us.

In the meantime, and as we wait for His Will to be revealed in this matter...

"...But as for me and my household,we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

In Him

Grace

Are YOU in Gods Hands?

Greetings Everybody,
This morning I would like to focus on a particular passage from the Old Testament.
Many of you will know this one by heart.


"I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you--the LORD is your shade at your right hand;the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.The LORD will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life;the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalms 121:1-8


One of the things that really struck me as significant in this passage is the tense of the verbs.


...My help COMES from the Lord...
...He who WATCHES over you...
...The Lord IS your shade...


Folks  look at the words, COMES, WATCHES, and IS.
These are present tense verbs.


My God is a God of ACTION, and he is IN ACTION right now!
And this passage is talking about help that was currently happening.


But thats not all.


If you continue to look at this passage you will see that HE is also the God of Tomorrow.

He is the God of the FUTURE.


...The Lord WILL KEEP you...
...He WILL WATCH over your life...


And I LOVE the last part.... 
..."The LORD WILL WATCH over your coming and going both NOW and FOREVERMORE."


Like many of you, I grew up in the Household of Faith.


From the early days of my childhood I was learning about God, and I was memorizing Bible verses.
And because of that, I have known this passage pretty much my whole life.


And yes,  I am very aware that this passage has a specific historical context and that it was speaking about events in ancient history.


But what if those words are still true today?


What if THAT KIND OF FAITH in GOD is what is needed today.


God does not change.
And because he does not change, the God of David is the same God that I worship today.
And the God that David worshipped was THAT BIG!


He is the Great ""I AM"


In fact, thats how God refers to himself in Exodus 3:13
"Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you." "


So as you can see, If God is "I AM", meaning that He was, is, and always will BE...then this passage in Psalms 121 is still very much relevant today.


It really speaks to me today.


It reminds me that even though I do not SEE God, HE is there. 
-And HE is guiding me.
-And HE is protecting me.
-AND HE has always BEEN there and will always BE there.


DUDE I don't care HOW MUCH money you have...you can't BUY Insurance like this.


Lots of you will be familiar with the the All State Insurance folks who refer to themselves as "The Good Hands People".
And you know that really cool slogan that they have?
The one that asks the question: "Are YOU in Good Hands?" 


But what if there is a bigger meaning that could be applied to that question!


A Spiritual Meaning.


And what if that meaning is pointed to each and every one of us, and asks "Are YOU in GOOD Hands?"


Are you in The Hands that have always BEEN there and will always BE there?


Like I said, I don't care HOW much money you have, you can't buy the kind of insurance that comes from being in GOD'S HANDS.


Blessings to YOU and YOURS!


In Him,
Grace

Praying, Praising, and Contemplating God

Greetings Everybody,
Well, it's a beautiful day here at the lake...with a light rain falling and a grey haze over the mountain.


All good things must come to an end I suppose, and so our dear friends packed up and left to go back to their own home this morning.


As we said goodbye, a kind of sadness washed over me.


I guess you could say that I subscribe to the theory that there are figurative "windows" in this life.
Some folks might call them "windows of opportunity".


Those of us are like-minded on this issue tend to notice that sometimes a window opens and sometimes it closes.


And often, you can tell exactly when it happens.


For example, last Friday evening a window opened for us.
We arrived at the lake house and soaked up the rest and the stillness and the scenery that God created.


The window opened up even wider when our friends arrived a few days later.
They brought us laughter and lots of good discussions.


Today, as our friends were packing to leave,  I knew that I heard the sounds of that window beginning to close.


I'm not talking about gloom & doom feelings here, just an understanding that this time of "soul-refreshing" is coming to an end.


We have decided to go on back home today as well.
There are some things that we must attend to. 
And some of those things are going to be difficult.
Possibly even borderline dreadful.


Still, I am keenly aware of having been granted a very precious season of refreshing. 
Being still and resting my body & my mind is something that I do too little of. 


I'm pretty sure that MOST people do too little of it.


I am reminded that The Lord knew that people needed time to be still. 


If you look at The Old Testament Sabbath rules, you'll find that though they were about duty & ritual, they also had an inherent recuperative benefit for the Jews. 


On the Sabbath, the women did not cook and the men did not participate in manual labor.


They prayed to God, praised God, and spent time contemplating God.
And in the process their minds and bodies received the rest that they needed.


And YES, I know that what I am referring to is 
OLD TESTAMENT stuff, and YES I am a NEW TESTAMENT  gal, but ya know... there was a certain wisdom to some of that sabbath ritual wasn't there!


When do WE sit down and rest once a week, from sundown to sundown?


When do WE, all of us...our family, friends, and everybody, the whole town, the whole NATION...when do we EVER dedicate 24 hours to praying, praising and contemplating God?


We don't.


And look at our country.


Stressed out husbands, wives, & children.
Stressed out bosses & workers.


I wonder how much money is spent annually on counseling Americans, be they old or young, who are miserable with their lives.


And I wonder how much different things would be if we remembered to pray, praise and contemplate God.
And if in that process, we rested as we should.


It might be an amazing thing to see the positive changes in our families and in our nation if we did that...not because we were forced to, but  because we WANTED to.


That is the kicker isn't it.


WANTING to spend that much time with God, instead of being Mandated to do so.

Its a mindset thing.
And it's a craving for God.


My husband and I have some things coming our way very soon that will take great focus, great concentration, great energy and probably great patience & understanding.


And God has been preparing us for this time that is coming.


This week has been largely about praying, praising, and contemplating God, in preparation for what is coming.


It was a mindset thing.
And it was a craving for God.


I know that we be able to do all that must be done with God's Help.


Not sure how it is for you, but sometimes I can just sense HIS strength about me, and this has been one of those times.  


I have a sense of security in the midst of a pending life-storm. 


Just curious...when you were a child, did you ever go to sleep in the car as your family was headed somewhere?
Do you remember what it felt like to have one of your parents carry you from the car to your bed?


I do.


-Total Trust.
-Total Belief That I Was Loved and That I Was Safe.
-Total Understanding That All Was Well.


God, is like that.


Just when we are so tired that we can not go on, He lifts us and carries us and allows us to rest in HIS ARMS.


As it happens, my husband and I were both exhausted before we got here on Friday night.
And this week we both took lots of naps.
And we both did alot of praying, praising and contemplating God.


And now, by the Grace of God, we will be able to deal with the rest of this summer will bring.


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13


IN HIM,
Grace