being approved

2 Corinthians 10:18
For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.


I like this idea of "being approved" as if God were sitting at his huge desk- thumbing through the options laid out for my life- and placing his huge stamp of approval on each one.  Some options may be filed away for a later time, or some may be discarded.  


So much is happening in my life right now.  I feel that everything up to this point has been training and a lot of waiting.  But now is the time for things to be approved.  I praise the Lord for all He has done.  


And I am also reminded, with humility, that all of the gifts/talents/opportunities in my life were given by Him and so I return to Him all of the glory.  


it's a good day

Eavesdropping

I am taking a class through the Center for Journal Therapy.  One of my recent assignments was to eavesdrop on another conversation and write about it.  I wrote a poem about the converation that I heard but now I notice interesting conversations everywhere I go.  This happened to me just recently as I was waiting to get my oil changed.  A lady walked in and immediately started talking- without even saying hello- she seemed to have an agenda.  It went something like this:

Dude:  Can I help you?
Lady:  Yeah, my sister called in for me yesterday to get me an appointment.. She called one store and they gave her the number for this store then she called this store and someone said you had an appointment for this morning around this time and I think it was 9 or 10 but she called yesterday before you closed so it may have been around 2 or 3 when she called but I'm not sure...
Dude:  Okay, what's your phone number?
Lady:  It's xxx-xxxx but that might not be in the system because like I said my sister called for me and besides my phone just got turned off because I couldn't pay the phone bill and my no-good man said he would get me another one but that was last week and he didn't get his check yet...
Dude:  Alright, let me look it up by your name...
Lady:  It's Sylvia Jackson but it might say Sylvia Thompson because I just got married.
Dude:  Yeah, it's in here... it says Sylvia Jackson.  Your appointment was for 8:30 this morning.
Lady:  Well you can just leave it in there as Sylvia Jackson because I just got married but I'm plannin to be about divorced soon so just leave it in there like that.  Oh, you said 8:30, huh?  Well, I told that guy on the phone that I couldn't come in at 8:30 because I couldn't catch the bus and I'd have to have someone come pick me up and someone else to drive the car here and then I would have to get to work so he said 10:30 and I said that's good but maybe he didn't put it in like that so how about it... can you get me in now?
Dude:  Well, we're pretty busy now.  The soonest I can get you in is after 4:30 this afternoon.
Lady:  Oh 4:30 huh?  Well, yeah, go ahead and put me down for then but I'll try to get another ride up here but I'm not so sure I can make it in time so if I don't make it can you just put me down for another time tomorrow, too? 
Dude:  If you can't make it at 4:30 we can reschedule then.
Lady:  (blank stare as if waiting for some other reaction... or hand-out)
Dude:  Is that all I can help you with, then?
Lady:  Alright then. 


Okay, so I was listening to this conversation just trying so hard not to laught.  I had my notebook out and was trying to write down everything that was being said.  So what's the point?  Nothing.  It was just funny and I thought I would share.  Look around and listen to the lives of others today. 

If you're looking to take a great writing class, check out the Center for Journal Therapy... it's fun.

http://www.journaltherapy.com/

The Labyrinth: truth and liars

those who know me well know that my favorite movie is The Labyrinth.  Yep, David Bowie in spandex. If you haven't seen it, you must.  (disclaimer: if your ears are sensitive to "bad" words, plug them during the opening scene and you should be good to go).  The movie has some amazing spiritual dynamics- which I love to write about (... and Eric is rolling his eyes)- and some great scenes to ponder.  A favorite of mine is with the Truth and Lie doors.  In this scene, Sarah finds a dead end that leads to two doors guarded by two creatures.  One always tells the truth and the other one always lies.  One door leads to the castle (where she is heading to) and the other leads to "ba ba ba bum... certain death... ooooooo...."  

Okay so the parallel is not difficult here:  we have two pathways- one to life and one to death.  And again, they are guarded by one who always tells the truth and one who always lies.  I had a great conversation with a friend about this very thing.  Sometimes it may be difficult to understand which voice is speaking to us based upon words alone.  The enemy will always lie- even though it may sound like the truth.  The Lord will always tell the truth- even if it's not what we want to hear.  As a follower of Jesus, it takes time and training to learn how to distinguish between the voices but Jesus said, 

"My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him." John 10:25-30

So be encouraged!  The Lord trains his "sheep" to recognize his voice- and leads them in the right way.  Watch the link below.  Notice at the end, Sarah falls through the floor.  This is another great parallel- the path may seem dark, forbodeing, and discouraging but that may be part of the training.  In the end, Sarah made it to the castle and she was never alone!  She overcame the enemy, made some great friends ("Ludo... friend..."), and rescued her little brother from the goblins.  What a wonderful story!  

i know... it may be a stretch... but it makes for some fun spiritual growth... and amazing entertainment.

till next time,

b.

smile

nothing is more "pure in heart" than the children standing at the front of the church on Sunday morning.  They are just the cutest thing ever.  Bed-head, band-aids, little shiny scuffed shoes.  They love to stand on the stage and sing yet seem completely unaware of the audience.  They wave at people they know, elbow each other, pick at scabs or noses, and make their hand motions as large as they can regardless of who is in front or next to them.  it's great.

this morning we were told that being "pure in heart" means, simply, being honest.  no motives.  no hidden agendas.  If you want to know what this means, look at the kiddos.  Some of them smile big smiles without being told.  Some of them barely sing or smile and I wonder if they are simply there because their parents demand it- or because of the free donuts!

if you are a child and your life is your stage... think about what being "pure in heart" means to you.

Move on

You have stayed at this mountain long enough.  It is time to break camp and move on.
Deuteronomy 1:6-7


Could it be that you are at a place of comfort and contentment?  Did you know that quite often the Lord will say "you've been there long enough... move on" into a time of challenge and battle?

Did you know that He also says, "Don't be afraid!  Don't be discouraged!" (vs. 21)

Are you willing to break camp?

Fall of Icarus- poetry on art

Into the Sea

Why is he using a donkey to plow that field

if you can call it a field

an alley of land that slopes left

Do not step right farmer

or you will land on a sheep

another sheep will land on a sheep

and like dominoes they will fall

into the sea

The shepherd is watching for storms

a bird is coming you see it

Do not step back shepherd

or you will land in the brambles

and those brambles will lift you back

over the rigid cliff

into the sea

Woe to you dark city

built on the sand of the coast

Do not step right city

or you will sink like Icarus

and your mortar and brick will fall

into the sea

Midwinter

"Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea... but forty years after..." Deuteronomy 1:2-3 

 You most likely know the story: Moses sees a burning bush, he travels to Egypt and issues the plagues upon the house of Pharaoh, Pharaoh lets the Israelites leave Egypt only to pursue them to the Red Sea, God splits the Red Sea, Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai where he receives the Ten Commandments from God, while Moses was on the mountain the Israelites were in the valley sinning, the people spent the next forty years wandering around in the wilderness.

 Long story short.

  Normally it takes eleven days... Less than two weeks. Day and night and day and night and day and night... heat and cold and heat and cold and heat and cold... babies were born, grew up, and had their own babies. Some people died, were buried, and left behind. They were discouraged and then hopeful and discouraged and then hopeful... round and round and round and round and... in verse 3 it says, "on a day in midwinter..." God spoke.

 You know what midwinter is like... the real midwinter, as in, February and snow and bitter cold and frozen ground. But have you ever experienced a "midwinter" of the soul? Desolation, hopelessness, loneliness, depression. When you forget what the summer feels like and you have no hope for the coming Spring? The Israelites finally forgot Egypt. They forgot the homes they left behind. They forgot the prepared meals, the warm beds, and the comfort of routine. They also had no hope left for a future "promised land." They had no hope for a land "flowing with milk and honey..." they didn't remember what milk or honey tasted like. Midwinter.

When everything is as dead as dead can be....
the land, Lazarus, a sick little girl, Jesus...
that's when spring comes.