Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25 ESV
I am one of those special people who can trip over my own two feet, or over nothing at all; I can fall up the stairs; I can break a nail just opening a door or getting dressed. I constantly have a bruise somewhere on my body that I don't actually recall getting, but since I bump into things all the time, I am never really surprised. (I love the idea of going to Pier 1 to shop, but that store inspires
great fear and trepidation in my heart because there's just too much
breakable stuff in there! You can imagine the anxiety I experienced a
few months back when I was working for an inventory company and I was
assigned to a Pier 1 event!) Not only that, but I can even manage to choke on air on a fairly regular basis. And I literally just dropped the laptop that I'm working on!
Ironically, my name means "full of grace". I know, huh? I've always been pretty amused by that too! I'm about as "grace-challenged" as they come!
But not only am I physically clumsy, I am a social/emotional/mental/spiritual klutz as well. I don't really enjoy social settings as I have a knack saying stupid things. In my mind, I am terribly funny, but somehow others don't always find my anecdotes all that amusing. Put me in a place where I need to make small talk, and I will leave beating myself up over the dumb and awkward things that came out of my mouth. I will have a long mental list of clever and/or witty things I could/should have said, but which will never be vocalized.
I think that's why Jude's simple closing spoke to me so profoundly this morning: Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling...
Wow! I know what a big job it is to keep ME from stumbling! To think that I serve a God who is able to keep me from stumbling... Well, it just means that there is hope! Because He is able to present me blameless... My God is big enough to handle not just my physical clumsiness, but all of it! He doesn't hold against me the times I've misstepped OR the times I've misspoken! He is bigger than all that.
And the Scripture says that it gives Him great joy... He is able to keep me from stumbling. He is able to present me blameless. And He does so with joy! That is a truly encouraging thought for this klutz today!
Now, I'm sure you are not nearly as clumsy as I am, but I hope you will still find encouragement in Jude's words today: our God is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy...!
.. Just a thought...
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
The Right Thing
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Romans 7:15-19
This passage is me, in a nutshell. It's not always about sin, per se, but I guess that is really what it boils down to.
I was up early this morning. VERY early (for me)! I had volunteered to take my husband to the airport for an early morning flight. For once, I was going to do the "smart" thing, and take advantage of those early morning hours. It all started off so well... I stopped at Walmart on the way home (and concluded that early morning is really the best time to go to Walmart if you're like me and don't like crowds!). Returning home, it was still earlier than I normally wake up, so there was the temptation to go back to bed for a while, but I resisted. I cleaned off the kitchen table, got out my Bible study, and dug in. Motivated, I followed that up with a pretty decent cleaning of the kitchen, clearing out leftovers from the fridge, washing up the dishes, gathering all the trash from around the house and taking it out along with the recyclables, then dragging it all down to the street as it is trash day. I started the laundry, checked my email, and had some breakfast. And this is where it all started to fall apart. The early morning started to catch up with me, and I began to feel sleepy. My plan was to exercise, but then I realized that I had time for a quick nap before it would be time to take my daughter to work... Since I'd had such a productive morning already, and I HAD been up extra early, I figured, "why not?"
I knew the answer to the "why not" - that quick morning nap would be harder to wake up from than just staying up in the first place. I KNOW that napping generally leaves me feeling more tired than I am before the nap. I KNOW that exercise energizes me and leaves me feeling better. I have experienced these things over and over, and yet, almost always, if faced with the option of a nap or a workout, I will choose the nap. Ridiculous!
I vocalized all this on our drive to my daughter's place of employment this morning - after I fought my way out of my nap coma. My daughter is very kind to let me just rant on a regular basis. I don't know how much she actually listens to what I'm saying... I really hope she tunes most of it out, or she must question my sanity at times!
But as I was bemoaning my tendency to choose what make me feel bad over what makes me feel good, I was reminded that the apostle Paul had expressed a similar insanity:
For I do not understand my own actions... For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Now I don't know that a nap is inherently evil, but there is a principle here that I think manifests itself in other ways in my life as well. And what it really boils down to is a lack of discipline on my part. It's learning to choose the BEST things over the GOOD things. And most certainly, always choosing what is RIGHT over what is WRONG. Or simply choosing to do what is RIGHT instead of doing NOTHING.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17
I'm not often tempted to do something blatantly wrong. I am the "good girl". I feel guilty if I look at the speedometer while driving and catch myself speeding. Lately, I've been struggling with the number of yellow lights I run! Lying, cheating, stealing... These are not now, nor have they every been real temptations for me. My struggle is with doing nothing. I am great on ideas, but not-so-great on implementation.
So here's what I'm realizing: doing the right thing for me is not really a matter of doing the RIGHT thing, so much as it is a matter of DOING the right thing...
Which is what I need to get busy doing right now!
... Just a thought...
This passage is me, in a nutshell. It's not always about sin, per se, but I guess that is really what it boils down to.
I was up early this morning. VERY early (for me)! I had volunteered to take my husband to the airport for an early morning flight. For once, I was going to do the "smart" thing, and take advantage of those early morning hours. It all started off so well... I stopped at Walmart on the way home (and concluded that early morning is really the best time to go to Walmart if you're like me and don't like crowds!). Returning home, it was still earlier than I normally wake up, so there was the temptation to go back to bed for a while, but I resisted. I cleaned off the kitchen table, got out my Bible study, and dug in. Motivated, I followed that up with a pretty decent cleaning of the kitchen, clearing out leftovers from the fridge, washing up the dishes, gathering all the trash from around the house and taking it out along with the recyclables, then dragging it all down to the street as it is trash day. I started the laundry, checked my email, and had some breakfast. And this is where it all started to fall apart. The early morning started to catch up with me, and I began to feel sleepy. My plan was to exercise, but then I realized that I had time for a quick nap before it would be time to take my daughter to work... Since I'd had such a productive morning already, and I HAD been up extra early, I figured, "why not?"
I knew the answer to the "why not" - that quick morning nap would be harder to wake up from than just staying up in the first place. I KNOW that napping generally leaves me feeling more tired than I am before the nap. I KNOW that exercise energizes me and leaves me feeling better. I have experienced these things over and over, and yet, almost always, if faced with the option of a nap or a workout, I will choose the nap. Ridiculous!
I vocalized all this on our drive to my daughter's place of employment this morning - after I fought my way out of my nap coma. My daughter is very kind to let me just rant on a regular basis. I don't know how much she actually listens to what I'm saying... I really hope she tunes most of it out, or she must question my sanity at times!
But as I was bemoaning my tendency to choose what make me feel bad over what makes me feel good, I was reminded that the apostle Paul had expressed a similar insanity:
For I do not understand my own actions... For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Now I don't know that a nap is inherently evil, but there is a principle here that I think manifests itself in other ways in my life as well. And what it really boils down to is a lack of discipline on my part. It's learning to choose the BEST things over the GOOD things. And most certainly, always choosing what is RIGHT over what is WRONG. Or simply choosing to do what is RIGHT instead of doing NOTHING.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17
I'm not often tempted to do something blatantly wrong. I am the "good girl". I feel guilty if I look at the speedometer while driving and catch myself speeding. Lately, I've been struggling with the number of yellow lights I run! Lying, cheating, stealing... These are not now, nor have they every been real temptations for me. My struggle is with doing nothing. I am great on ideas, but not-so-great on implementation.
So here's what I'm realizing: doing the right thing for me is not really a matter of doing the RIGHT thing, so much as it is a matter of DOING the right thing...
Which is what I need to get busy doing right now!
... Just a thought...
Friday, December 4, 2015
The Kind of Wife I Want To Be
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12
I just kissed my son goodnight, and I find myself wondering when, if ever, I will have this opportunity again...
He leaves tomorrow to return to the mission field... far away. That is where God has called him, and while I never want to stand in the way of my son following the Lord, I am sad that he is going away. His visit has been wonderful, and entirely too short. But really, it could never be long enough to satisfy this mama's heart. And so I am thankful...
Thankful for
And it hits me like a ton of bricks!
Am I being the wife to my husband that I pray my future daughter-in-law will someday be to my son?
The answer shames me.
I often see the memes on Facebook challenging men to show their daughters how a lady deserves to be treated, and I "amen" those challenges very loudly in my head. But where is the call for women to demonstrate for their sons how a woman should treat a man? Maybe we think we don't need reminding because it's so easy to love our sons? But what about our husbands? Not always so easy...
I confess I have not done a very good job on this front. I have failed on so many levels to show my son how a man deserves to be treated. I have failed to show my daughter how a wife should treat her husband. Sure, I've modeled commitment... most of the time. Love, sacrifice, patience... all at times. I could justify all those other times - when I was impatient, unloving, selfish, critical - except that there is no justification.
Because what I am coming to understand this night is that everything I pray my son will someday find in his wife - those are the qualities my husband deserves in his wife. Which means I have work to do!
It's a matter of perspective - a perspective I had never considered...
And it is...
Just a thought...
I just kissed my son goodnight, and I find myself wondering when, if ever, I will have this opportunity again...
He leaves tomorrow to return to the mission field... far away. That is where God has called him, and while I never want to stand in the way of my son following the Lord, I am sad that he is going away. His visit has been wonderful, and entirely too short. But really, it could never be long enough to satisfy this mama's heart. And so I am thankful...
Thankful for
- the days we've had
- places we've gone
- the movies we've watched
- the games we've played
- the meals we've shared
- the laughter
- the late nights
- the hugs
- and one last night to kiss his head and rub his back after he already dozed off halfway through the movie and right in the middle of a game of Mexican Train.
And it hits me like a ton of bricks!
Am I being the wife to my husband that I pray my future daughter-in-law will someday be to my son?
The answer shames me.
I often see the memes on Facebook challenging men to show their daughters how a lady deserves to be treated, and I "amen" those challenges very loudly in my head. But where is the call for women to demonstrate for their sons how a woman should treat a man? Maybe we think we don't need reminding because it's so easy to love our sons? But what about our husbands? Not always so easy...
I confess I have not done a very good job on this front. I have failed on so many levels to show my son how a man deserves to be treated. I have failed to show my daughter how a wife should treat her husband. Sure, I've modeled commitment... most of the time. Love, sacrifice, patience... all at times. I could justify all those other times - when I was impatient, unloving, selfish, critical - except that there is no justification.
Because what I am coming to understand this night is that everything I pray my son will someday find in his wife - those are the qualities my husband deserves in his wife. Which means I have work to do!
It's a matter of perspective - a perspective I had never considered...
And it is...
Just a thought...
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