spiritual growth

Chipmunk Lessons

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Peanut shell is right in front of this chipmunk

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This chipmunk has stripped the peanut of everything and is chowing down!

These little guys are some of my favoirtes! Robert and I have been to Estes Park, CO several times – on our honeymoon, a few years later with the kids, and on our 25th wedding anniversary motorcycle trip.  One of the highlights is going to a mountain top by trolley car lift and feeding the chipmunks there.  Going up, watching scenery change all around me, never fails to overwhelm me with the power of our Creator God.

Once on top, the gift store has bags of peanuts to feed the chipmunks.  After getting the bags, it’s a short walk out the deck to get down where the chipmunks are.  We would settle in, put a peanut in our hands and wait.  Soon, one chipmunk would arrive, snatch the unshelled peanut and run off a little way to eat it.  As we stayed totally still and quiet, all that could be heard around us was the munch and crunch!  In a few minutes, that chipmunk would come back, and then other chipmunks would join him, and as they got braver, they would take the peanut, and eat in front of us.

Now, the chipmunks had no idea who we were, or what we wanted.  Hundreds of people every day take that ride and feed them.  We could have been cold blooded “killers”, out to have chipmunk stew for supper.  We could have put poison on those peanuts, and they would have died. All they knew is that we had peanuts in our hands, and we looked innocent enough!  We looked right, sounded right, and offered food that tasted awesome.  And that was all they cared about.

Thinking about church tomorrow (it’s Saturday night), and the Christian radio that I listen to, and the books that I read, it occurred to me – how many times am I like that chipmunk?  Do I obey the Scripture that says to test everything I see and hear as to whether it is true to God’s Word (I John 4:1)?  Or do I take it at face value and believe that because it looks good, sounds good, and feels good, then it must BE good?

God has called us to be responsible in what we believe and live by, and to determine if we are following the one true God and not just someone offering us “food” that may lead to our ruin.  May He help us to be that kind of believer!

 


Obedience + Forgiveness = Blessings

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obedience 2[1]What an awesome lesson learned!  A couple of days ago I shared my experience with asking for forgiveness and how God used that in my life to restore a relationship and bring peace.  Today, I am announcing:  I HAVE A JOB!!

And I do not for a minute believe that is a coincidence.  Now, does everyone who is unemployed have unconfessed sin/need for forgiveness in their life?  Absolutely NOT.  There are all kinds of reasons for unemployment and I would not dare to presume to have some special “key” to fixing that.  Not at all.

But my struggle was with God shutting door after door for fulltime work anywhere in our community.  Slammed shut.  But there was one job I had left – voluntarily – and not in God’s timing, and the way I left was not pleasing to Him.  And I have always known that I had left some bad feelings on both sides unresolved.

AND YET!  God provided the opportunity for me to now go back, work for His glory, not my own, and rebuild some bridges that I tore down and have been a hindrance to His work in my life and my ministry for Him.  What a mighty God we serve!

He has also given me, again, the opportunity to work part time.  Yay!  Less money, but less stress.  Fewer benefits, but more time.  Less “prestige”, but more ministry.  What a mighty God we serve!

So, as the title says, I believe my obedience in seeking the forgiveness I needed to receive has directly resulted in this new opportunity.  Scripture is quite clear that as we forgive others, God forgives us (Colossians 3:13) AND that we are to go ask for forgiveness  (Matthew 5:23-24). I am a living testimony today that God is faithful to His Word, and that you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!  Let’s go out there and pratice some obedience!

Just Give it Up!

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I am not generallly a person who bears a grudge, and I find forgiving others is usually not a problem.  HOWEVER..I am not as good at asking forgiveness.  Saying I’m sorry does NOT come easily.  It is scary, and nerve wracking, and generally not something we rush to.  But if I only offer forgiveness to others, but don’t asked for it myself, I am only practicing half of what God intended.

I was able yesterday, with the Lord orchestrating the whole event, to have an opportunity to ask for forgiveness from someone that I had terribly wronged 4 1/2 years ago.  I told you I am slow at this.  But I wronged someone that I see about 3 times a week in various places, and over the last 4 1/2 years, we have been cordial – but there has always been this unspoken “thing” between us.

We are studying forgiveness in Wednesday night Bible study, and God has been convicting the hound out of me each week.  So last night, I sucked it up and apologized, sincerely, and asked for forgiveness  What an experience!  They had already forgiven me, but the hug didn’t come until I owned up to what I had done and how wrong I had been!  And the relief I felt was SO worth all the struggle!

I don’t say this to pat myself on the back, because I don’t deserve it.  I am sharing this to say……apologizing is not NEARLY as hard as the anticipation of having to do it!  The enemy has lied to us to have great fear – of humilliation, of rejection, of being seen as weak – andi is robbing us of the joy of reconilication with our brothers and sisters!

AND YET!  God so loved me that He died for me, when I didn’t even know or care what He had done (Romans 5:8)  And he commands us to ask to apologize to each other so that there will be unity in our fellowship (Epheaians 4:31) and for our health (Hebrews 12:15).

So, I say this morning – GIVE IT UP!  Give up the fear, the dread, and the pride!  Give up your need to be right, and admit your wrong to whoever needs to hear you say it!  Give up the feeling of “that happened so long ago it doesn’t matter”!  It does, and God always wants us to deal with it!  To Him be the glory and honor as we learn to love each other more!

Rearranging is NOT Progress

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Yesterday in the Walmart parking lot I watched a very interesting thing happen.  I had just pulled in and something caught my eye in the row across from me.  A woman and a young boy were struggling to get something out of the car..and I mean struggling!  Not wanting to miss out on anything, I stayed put to watch.  They were finally able to get it out after about 10 minutes and it was a very large car seat.  Humongous. They took the carseat and threw it into the back side passenger seat on top of something else. Just then another woman approached with 2 -two-FULL buggies of stuff!  And they were going to that car!

I watched again as they began to put the bags in the trunk they had just emptied.  The first buggy full barely made it in there, and they began trying to stuff part of the 2nd buggy in there as well.  No go.  They finally opened the back passenger side door and began to cram bags in on top of the car seat…up to the ceiling of the car!  Then they stuffed the poor young boy on the other side, they got in, and took off.

So what’s the point of all this?  The point is that they had too much junk in their car to put in what they needed!  AND they thought that rearranging the junk was going to make a difference.

God spoke so clearly in that moment.  The junk in the car represents the junk in my life..all the things I need to throw out because they take up too much room.  The sin, the bad habits, etc.  The buggies represent all the good things, the blessings, the joy, and the peace that God wants to give me.  And I look at Him and say, “just a minute God and I will make room for those”..but all I do is rearrange my junk..not get rid of what is blocking the way! And I am not a bit more successful in creating room for the good things.

moral of this story is, I am going to start throwing out, not rearranging..so that God can work in me and add the good stuff!

A Million Dollar Mouth!

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Well, ok, maybe not a million dollars – but a lot!  I am going this afternoon to have my 9th – yes NINTH! – permanent crown put in.  I broke this latest tooth two days after losing my job, and it joins a long list of other dental expenses.  I started thinking yesterday about how much money has actually been invested in my mouth.  Nine crowns x $1,700 each (approx) equals an amazing $15,300.  Add to that 2 cleanings a year at approximately $70 per cleaning through the years, and that totals around $3,500 over the past 54 years. Not even adding in original fillings, those crumbling with time, and new fillings!  Plus those tacky braces when I was a teenager, which adds about $3,000 to the total.  That’s around $22,000 invested in keeping my mouth healthy, my smile pretty, and my eating abilities intact!  And how about the money spent on breath fresheners, toothpaste, mouthwash? Or if I ever flirted with whitening those teeth…well you get the picture.

During my quiet time last night,the Lord spoke to my heart and I wondered – how much “expense” (effort) have I put into keeping the WORDS from this mouth clean, pretty, and healthy?  Ouch!  The Bible has a lot to say about our words – a LOT- and I was greatly convicted by the contrast in sacrifice and expense between my physical mouth and my spiritual mouth.

One of the first verses I learned as a child was Psalm 19:14 – “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight…..”  Psalm 17:3 also addresses this issue “I have purposed that my mouth will not trangress…”  And I could list the other references and fill up the remainder of this page.

So, as I experience the thrill of dental work yet again today, I am asking God to continue reminding me of HIS desire for my mouth..and to continue His work in keeping those words from it “with grace, seasoned” (Colossians 4:6), so that my “and yet!” God can continue to use me in spite of my weaknesses.  Amen!