Ink Blot Covering Our Past

Card VIII

HAPPY LABOR DAY 2013                    Isaiah 43: 25

"I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more."

blots: to make obscure, hide; obliterate; hide completely; erase; cancel; expunge; eradicate
transgressions: breach of law; sin or crime; evil doing; misconduct; abomination; immorality; iniquity

The first image that popped into my head when I read this verse was the "ink blot" test. (This will make my bestie-Aneita- so proud.) So I did a little research on it. The ink blot test was created by H. Rorschach in 1921 for psychological testing to understand a person's past or present behavior. (It was initially used on schizophrenics but we won't focus on that...ha). It's purpose is to provide a picture of the psychology of the person taking the test. On the second viewing of the 10 ink blots, the viewer is to elaborate on what they saw the first time, therefore attempting to help the psychologist see the same. This offers insights into the motivations of the viewer's behavior.

Relevance, you ask? Well this is my interpretation of the blot covering my transgressions.

God throws some ink on all my sins, crimes, misconduct, basically all my screw-ups because He wants me to be closer to Him, to develop a stronger relationship with him. He does this for His sake. He WANTS us. How often do you feel unwanted in this world? We don't have to feel that way. God wants us and will do what is necessary to have us. Isn't that an inspiring realization?

OK, so he is definitely not throwing ink on us but what He does is completely hide, erase, cancel ALL our mistakes. We need to look at the blot that covers our past through God's eyes and view our lives from His perspective. What do you think He sees when He looks at the blot covering your past? I'm sure it is not the same thing you see. We must leave our mess behind the blot and step out from behind and attempt  to see what God sees~ that is the person He created us to be and not necessarily who we are currently.

Praise When There is No Other Way

From 8/27/13

 (I'm still looking at Is. 43: vs 20 & 21 a little closer)

The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. 

These verses make me think of a Wheel of Fortune puzzle and the category is 'before & after'. First they make references to how the animals honor God simply because he provides for them~or makes provisions~in places where provisions do not usually exists. Then the provisions made for the animals are also made for his chosen people that they might proclaim his praise. What is so difficult about that? After all He is doing the hard part, all we have to do is give a little thanks. Really?

How often do we stop to consider the provisions God has made for us when circumstances did not warrant provision? When the lights were not shut off, even when we didn't tithe; when our marriage is a thread away from unraveling, and God provided; when our children turn from how they were raised, to one day seeing them restored?

Can I be bold enough to remind God about His promises? to stand firm over sickness and declare "it's not good enough just to feel better from (whatever sickness I may find myself in); Your word says by your stripes I AM HEALED!" (Is. 53:5) It's not good enough just to stay married~ Your Words says I can have joy unspeakable and that you came to give me life more abundantly (1 Peter 1:8, Jn. 10:10). It's not good enough that my child is no longer (fill in the blank...on drugs, in jail, etc), Your word says, "train a child up and when he is old eh WILL NOT turn form it!" (Prov. 22:6).

Do we Proclaim first and then Praise God for those things that are not as if they were? (Romans 4:17)

In vs. 22-24, the children of Israel sin against God. He makes provisions and they do not even thank him. The just stress Him out more. We are the same way. Our children are the same to us. God tells them and us to Stop Worrying & Offending Him! In other words, "DON'T WORRY ME CHILD...I GOT THIS". (Or at least I imagine that is how God talks to me).

Praise God for the provisions he has already made, but more importantly for the ones you have yet to receive.

PERCEIVE IT TO RECEIVE IT.

Is 43: 14-21 (8/17/13)

Isaiah proclaims a message from God, “I will bring the Babylonians down from Babylon in the ships they were so proud of.” The Lord is your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, The Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s creator, your king. He who makes a way through the waters, through the sea, who drew out chariots, horses, army reinforcements~ they will never rise again.

v. 18 forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. V. 19 God is doing a new thing! It (a new way) springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way through the desert and streams in the west land.

Perceive=to take cognizance of the existence by means of the senses-to see hear, or feel – to apprehend by the mind; to be convinced by direct intuition, to discern comprehend.

8/23/13                YOU MUST PERCEIVE IT TO RECEIVE IT! 

I know a lot of people don’t believe in the “positive feeling” preaching but let’s look closer at Is 43: 18-19. How much of our life do we spend regretting or wishing we could change something about our past instead of accepting the negative we regret as life lesson and simply moving. In vs. 19 God tell us he is making a new way for us to get past the past but we must “perceive” it. In other words, we must be convinced and see in our minds FIRST what is yet to be; the new way God is preparing for our life. So where do you see your: life, marriage, career, family, church in five years? It is not a rhetorical question. Take a minute and truly answer those questions; then PERCEIVE IT TO RECEIVE IT.

BE POSITIVE OR BE QUIET

8/14/13

Be Positive or Be Quiet (J. Olsteen)

Every has a  dream something you are believing in ; we tend to talk ourselves out of it. You cannot talk defeat and expect to have victory. When you speak something out loud, you give it life. Everyone has negative thoughts. You can’t stop them from coming you can stop them from becoming reality. Don’t speak it just because you think it. Be positive or be quiet. Proverbs 6:2; Jer. 1:7

Imagine what your dream as a reality. You may not see a way but God still has a way. Refuse to speak defeat with negativity. This is easy during positive times Most difficulty during hard times. If you don’t speak it, it will die and never take root. Ask yourself “Is what I am about to say what I want to come into my life?” say “I will lend and not borrow; God’s favor surrounds me like a shield; Whatever I touch prospers and succeeds; I invite increase, good breaks and success into my life. I am more than a conqueror; if God is for me who can be against me. Call the things that are not as if they were. I am anointed. I am equipped.  I am strong in the Lord. I am well abled. I’ve been raised up for such a time as this. People are being drawn to me. When I teach the light bulb goes off ant they understand. Don’t tell everyone your negative thoughts.

Isaiah 43: 1-8 (Aug 6-10)

Isaiah 43: 1-7 (8/6/13)

The Lord, who created and formed you says, “Fear not for I have redeemed (repurchased, regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price) you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass the waters and rivers I will be with you; the river will not sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, Your God, the Holy One of Israel your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom (Egypt was the price given for redemption). I gave Cush & Seba on your behalf. Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will summon the North, South, and East & West to gather you, your children, and everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for glory, whom I formed and made.

(8/7/13)(Reflecting on yesterday’s verse) God is proclaiming Israel’s redemption. To proclaim is to make known by public announcement, openly publicize or declare. Since the book of Isaiah is a book of prophesy – things yet to come- Isaiah is declaring openly that the Israelites will be redeemed (repurchased). They will be protected from the waters and the fire, basically any confrontation they may encounter. Although Isaiah doesn’t speak of Jesus at this time – we know His life is the final payment that repurchases them (& us as shown below).

Not only does God proclaim this to Israel – look at verse seven again…EVERYONE He created, formed and made for His glory. Did God form you? Do you believe you were created for glory? Then do not be afraid for God is with you and he will do what it takes to gather and keep you. The final payment was as much for the repurchase of non-Israelites as it was for the Israelites. Verse seven says so.

Isaiah 43: 8 (8/9/13) Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.

Lead: to guide by means of some physical contact or connection i.e. father/child; jockey/horse; guide dog/blind person.

Blind: lacking discernment, unable or unwilling to understand, inconsiderate ( I do not think this verse in in reference to the physically inability to see with the eyes-my opinion).

Deaf: unwilling to listen

I was surprised when I read the definition of “lead”. My initial visualization was of a tour guide through a nature trail. The physical contact/connection is what stood out. God wants to have a connection with us, but we must be the initiator. Look at the examples given for “lead”. If a child is crossing a street it is usually the parent that reaches out to hold their hand and guide them across. The horse doesn’t see out the jockey; neither does the guide dog seek the blind man.

All of these are content without being led but what a difference occurs when they come together. The child will make it safely across the street. The horse is pampered, trained and led by the jockeys voice and subtle moves. The guide dog allows the blind person to encounter new places with less fear. That’s what the Lord wants to do for us: help us make it safely through our day; listen to our inner voice that guides and instructs us; and experience new places or season’s in our life with less fear than we would have if were encounter them alone. But we must initiate the ‘connection or relationship.

(8/10/13) I don’t believe the reference to the word blind in this verse indicates without sight. The unwillingness to understand seems more like the intended meaning. Remember this chapter is Isaiah is proclaiming or declaring openly the future redemption or repurchase of the Israelites (& us).  Although the Israelites have the capability of physically seeing and hearing, their unwillingness to understand or listen prevails. Despite their rebellion God still choose to connect with them and guide him to his promised land.

It amazes me to see how much God can show me out of such a small passage...

Such Things (July 18th)

July 18^th

(Read Isaiah 38) Pondering on vs. 16, “Lord, by such things men live: and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live.” This is a statement written by Hezekiah after Isaiah prophesied he would not die but live 15 more years. There are no specific things I can find he is referencing to. I wonder if it is it prayer, hope, I don’t know. Maybe both.

(July 9th) The Grace Solution: Marriage Today with Jimmy & Karen Evans

Ok, so I realized I have been a slacker in posting some of my random thoughts. I haven’t been a slacker in reading just in typing them up. I will put them up according to the day they were written in my journal. I’ll do better…

July 9^th

Marriage Today: The Grace Solution: Jimmy & Karen Evans show

Luke 6: 38 Give and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.”

"It" is not just money; it can be your service, time, expertise. Your marriage will not be the same in five years. The decisions you make now will determine if your marriage is better or worse; but it won’t be the same. You must be in agreement about every aspect of your marriage whether it is money, children, sex, and hobbies, whatever. That is the point in a marriage vision retreat: to come to a common place on the important issues in your marriage. You have to start with the big questions. Do you know the purpose God put you together? You need to discover it. God has a purpose for your marriage just as He does everything else in your life. Proverbs 29:11 without a common understanding we can’t walk together. Genesis 1 God gives light before he gives anything else. A vision retreat should shed light on the purpose of your marriage by accomplishing 4 things:

1.       Clarity: Why did God, put you together? How do you know if you are being successful without anything to measure?

2.       Compassion: Write it and make it plain. God gives you desires and fulfills them. This should motivate your and keep you motivated about your marriage.

3.       Purity: without vision cast off restrain. It is impossible to turn a negative thought into a positive action. Without vision negative thoughts direct you. ‘Try not to mess up’ means you are focused on what not to do instead of what to do.

4.       Unity: When there is division, it means there are two visions. There should be one vision for your marriage. In Luke 11:17 Jesus states “every kingdom divided against itself is ruined. A house divided against itself falls. Provision means for vision. You won’t have a vision for your marriage if you have division in any area of it: finances, jobs, children, sex, hobbies....any of it.  

Freedom = Security & Rest

Freedom = Security & Rest

Isaiah 32: 18. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

What a fitting verse as the 4^th of July approaches. Those words secure and rest stand out to me most. Look at the definitions of these two words: secure (free from fear, care or anxiety; certain, sure); rest (cessation of activity, peace, refreshment, relaxation, relief from disquiet, freedom from disturbance). These sound likes reason’s we celebrate the 4^th.

As a veteran reservist of the first Gulf War, I may take a different perspective than non-service people and even from many non-reservist service people. You see as a reservist, you never really expect to be called to active duty. You sign up to do your monthly weekends and two weeks a year and life goes on. But when the papers are handed to you, calling you to active duty because there is a war going on, fear kind of consumes you. I was blessed in that I was not called overseas, but the fear remained that at any moment I may have to go overseas and the feeling of insecurity always loomed overhead. I feared the possibility of not ever seeing my family again, I feared being shot, I feared for all the crap I had seen in the movies. The ‘what if’s’ repeated in my head like a broken record.

I am thankful to have experienced-on a small scale- what some of our service people experience today. In no way will I downplay or belittle their experience to mine, since I was not deployed overseas nor did I have to leave a spouse or children behind. But it is for those reasons I am more thankful we have those willing to abandon a secure life to offer security to me.

As I begin my 4^th of July retreat, in undisturbed places of rest, I will enjoy my peace and relaxation and send up a little prayer for those providing me the security to do so. 

Thank you to all the current & veteran service men, women AND families. 

Understand Our Purposes

UNDERSTANDING OUR PURPOSES

(Proverbs 20:5) The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters but a man of understanding draws them (his purposes) out. (Emphasis throughout this article has been placed on the plural of purpose, so keep in mind, we have more than one purpose in this life.)

(The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters): What are purposes? Purposes are the goals or deepest desires a man intends to accomplish. What are deep waters, well, that may take a little more than one sentence to explain?

Deep waters according to www.windows2universe.org  are found in oceans where depths can reach up to 32k feet. The water continuously cycles through different zones between the surface water and deep water. This cycle is called the conveyor belt cycle and the zones consist of the sunlight zone and the trenches. The sunlight zone is where the most sunlight touches. The trenches have water less than zero degrees and yet life still exist there. The deep ocean waters make up 90% of the ocean’s volume. As the surface water becomes colder and the salt density increases the surface will then sink into the trenches. The temperature of the surface water has a greater effect than salinity on determining when the water sinks into the trenches.  

                How can this relate to our lives? While we are in our sunlight zone we see possibilities and our destinations. We have visions and things we want to accomplish. Sometimes we lose our focus; we get cold and stop sharing the gospel with others. This in turn allows the ‘salt’ that we are supposed to be to the world to build up within ourselves. Once our hearts become colder and the salt density increases in our lives, we begin to sink into the trenches.

While we are in the trenches we lose our focus, forget the real purposes we were created for, and no longer resolve to accomplish the deepest desires of our soul. This is a continuous cycle that we repeat. There are times we in the sun light zone and could never imagine being in the trenches and there are times we are in the trenches and feel we will never see the sunlight zone again. But just as life still exist in the trenches, so does our purposes.  

Our purposes are lodged deep within your spirit. These desires propel us to live a life that matters, to fight to get back in the sunlight zone. Living a life that matters occurs when we are passionate about our purposes. The passions we are given are there to meet a need in today’s world. What are your passions? When is the last time you thought about them or spent time developing them?

(but) I once heard a speaker at a conference state that once a person uses the word ‘but’ in a statement, everything before it is irrelevant. The definitions I found for the word ‘but’ are: contrary to expectation, except that or for; in spite of or despite of. So this says to me that in spite of the fact that our purposes are not always easy to reach, because they are so deep within us, we have the capacity to grab a hold of them.

(a man of understanding) To have an understanding is to have the ability to learn, judge and make decisions. We must discern our purposes by taking the time to gain self-knowledge and come to a realization that our purposes were given to meet today’s needs in some way. Comprehending and mastering the skills necessary to achieve the desires we are passionate about must be intentional. It will not simply stumble upon us.

 (draws them out) To draw out our purposes requires a deliberate effort. We must first formulate the purposes by gathering data or evidence about ourselves in order to gain insight into those ambitions.  We must pull out, take or extract thoughts and desires we have hidden deep in our souls for fear of letting others see them or fear of failing at achieving them and mentally create what they would look like if we actually did them. Once we accept the purposes we were created to achieve and begin to act on them accordingly then we will also begin to draw to us ideas that will help us accomplish those desires.

While researching this topic, I came across Think Simple Now by Tina Su and she provides an article titled 15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission. It is a step to help get you started if you want to discover your purpose. (I have not reviewed her entire website, but I think these questions are relevant to my discussion.) 

If you enjoyed this article please pass it on to others. Share it on Facebook or Twitter  Follow me on Twitter  or email updates for updates. 

HOW CAN A LOVING GOD DO THIS?

Isaiah 30:26 “The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”

I have no clue about the meaning of the first part of this verse but it is the second part that leaves me with more questions. How many times have you heard, “God doesn’t hurt you, harm you, or cause affliction, etc…he ALLOWS it to happen to you.” Well this verse blows a hole in that theory. It plainly states the wounds HE inflicted; not the wounds he ALLOWED TO BE inflicted.

So this is really messing me up. It sounds like what we call in today’s world as an “abusive relationship”. I instantly visualize children that are physically abuse or battered wives and how, after they are beaten or “wounded”, the abuser is apologetic and attempts to ‘cover up’ the ‘wounds inflicted’.  I know I shouldn't think of God as an ‘abuser' but that’s how my mind works. My heart tells me I should see him as a loving God who corrects His children with pain, love and affection- (just as we do our children)- but my mind won’t let me go there. If I had to ‘cover up the bruises’ and take steps to aid in the ‘healing process of wounds’ I inflicted on my child, in today’s world, that is considered abuse.

Look at the definitions of ‘wounds’ & ‘inflicted’:

Wounds: injuries, especially one in which the skin or another external surface is torn, pierced, cut or broken as the result of violence or surgical incision rather than disease

Inflicted:  impose (something unwelcome), to cause to suffer, give as a punishment, force onto another, deliver, deal out

Not only do those words not sound very pleasant to me, but they make it very difficult to respond to the question many non-believers ask: ‘How can a loving God do this?’. And that is a good and valid question. One, I have no answer to.

GO TO THE ANT, YOU SLUGGARD!

PART IV

  

 ⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”  Ants are amazing little creatures. They alert others to danger, they lead other’s to food. They work cooperatively without a commander or ruler. They ensure survival of their species. They prepare for the winter and the unexpected. 

I watched a video about ants in the Amazon that created a lifeboat during the flood season to protect their queen and larvae. The entire colony joins together (like the skydivers link arms in the sky)and floats across the water while keeping the queen and larvae on top of their raft and out of the water until they reach an area of dry land.

 Underneath, the 'raft' are more opportunities for destruction (fish) that slowly pick away at the ants. Without a plan this could potentially lead to disaster. But they have a plan: it is to keep moving the queen and the larvae to dry areas on the ‘raft’.  I don’t know about you but I want to be wise like the ant. I want to tell everyone about the money strategies I am learning and how credit is not necessary for survival. I want to lead others to the One who is the source of all my needs. I want to prepare for the emergent and non-emergent needs. It will be hard; it will be tough; it will require determination, but it can be done.  I want to safeguard my children from the ‘snares’ of this world and I want them to know it a lot sooner than I did. It’s never too late; but sooner is always better than later. 
Now ask yourself, “9How long will you lie there, you sluggard?” How long do you plan to be idle or inactive about your circumstances? Do you enjoy being the borrower and not the lender? Do you want to reverse this? “When will you get up from your sleep?” When will you stop living thoughtlessly? When will you consider the true cost of borrowed money? Can you imagine what you could do if you did not owe Visa, MasterCard, GMAC, your mortgage company? Take a few minutes and imagine all the possibilities you could experience in your life if you were debt free. How much could you give to fund the food pantry? How cool would it be to pay a single parents electric bill for a year without them knowing you did it? How much easier would it be to give to the building fund at church if you didn’t have to worry about paying your mortgage? The possibilities are endless. But you have to see yourself actually doing it in order to run with gazelle intensity to get there.

                “10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and ¹¹poverty will come on you like an armed man.” A little carelessness and negligence along with lack of desire to make a change in your circumstances will cause you to have an insufficient supply of your wants and needs. It will feel as if you were robbed at gunpoint. I have been careless in my use of credit cards, I will admit, and negligent in being disciplined not to use them. I have not always had the desire to get out of debt. I believed, as much of society has, that debt was necessary to improve your credit score. As Dave points out, those in marketing have done an excellent job in making us believe we even need a credit score. You don’t need a credit score if you are paying cash. (That is a totally new concept for me.)And if you have never been robbed, all I can say is ‘you don’t want to be’! It’s frightening, you’re not sure if you are going to survive, it’s something you will never forget and will forever change the way you see circumstances that led you to being robbed. It’s something you never want to experience again. I don’t know about you, but I would love to experience the freedom of being debt-free and the feeling of not being held at gunpoint as a result of debt.

 As the creditors are slowly paid off, I will keep you updated. I'm pretty excited about knocking them off one-by-one.

GAZELLE INTENSITY

PART III

"Like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,” A gazelle is swift and can run up to 40 mph. The cheetah is the gazelle’s biggest enemy and can run up to 60 mph. Although the cheetah can outrun the gazelle, Dave reiterates a report from Discovery Channel informing viewers that the cheetah catches the gazelle only 1 in 19 attempts. Why is this? The gazelle must outwit the cheetah with swift & cunning movements, just as we should with credit. The gazelle is determined to live; we should be determined to survive on what we have not on what we borrow. As Dave says, we must run from debt with “gazelle intensity”. And that is what I am doing!

 

"Like a bird from the snare of the fowler. “ First of all the snare had to be attractive to the bird or it would have kept flying and never gone toward it. Aren’t modern day marketers efficient in making the’ snare’ attractive to us: “90 days same as cash”; “an extra 10% off if you apply for this card”, etc.?

Once entrapped, the bird will fight with intensity to be free and it will take vigor & strength to escape. Shouldn’t we fight with intensity, vigor and strength to escape bondage to our ‘neighbors’? I found a sermon by Rev. C.H. Spurgeon delivered in 1857 that had thought-provoking assumptions concerning the ‘snare'.

"Trouble is often the means whereby God delivers us from snares. I doubt not, many of you have been saved from your ruins by your sorrows, your grief, your troubles, your woes, your losses, and your crosses. All of these have been the breaking of the net that set you free from the snare of the fowler…God delivers his people from the snares of the fowler, by giving them the spirit of prayer as well as the spirit of courage, so they will call upon the Lord in that day of trouble and he (will) deliver them…God will restore thee; return and God will have mercy on you. God will deliver you so you may start afresh in the ways of righteousness, serve God with diligence.”

Isn’t it interesting that words stated in 1857 are still applicable today?



LET'S DO THIS!

PART II 

Next “³ then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: ‘Then’: at that time; the time when you have found yourself controlled by another’s burdens, by obligations you have made; the time when you look at your bills and ask ‘what was I thinking’; the time when you have said ‘ENOUGH! NO MORE! SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!’ “do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands”: in other words, I am going to tell you exactly what you have to do to liberate yourself from the imprisonment you have placed yourself in; to free you from your burdens. (First I will give the steps; then I will discuss them.

1. Apologize to your ‘neighbor’.

2. With urgency, present you plans to resolve the burden.

3. Stay focused on correcting the situation.

4. Free yourself from the 0bligation.

     a. 'Gazelle intensity’ as Dave Ramsey’s states.

     b. The bird.

5. Learn from the ant.

6. Ask yourself two questions:

     a. How long do I plan to be idle or inactive about my circumstances?

     b. When will I stop living thoughtlessly?



“Go & humble yourself!” To be humble you must not be proud, arrogant, or assuming. You must be lowly, weak, modest, submissive or apologetic.  For me this meant writing a letter to my creditors apologizing for using their money. This may not be the case for you, but it was for me. “Press your plea with your neighbor’s”: To ‘press’ is to move with urgency. Once I made the decision I was getting out of debt, I quickly devised a plan and not only did I apologize to my creditors, I also presented them with a plan on how I planned to repay them. Developing a plan will require some forethought and should be realistic.

 
 
^4”Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids”. Do not be inattentive or unconcerned with your obligations. Do not be negligent in fulfilling your word. Stays focused and do whatever it takes to reinstate your faith in yourself. Get busy freeing yourself! Get a second job! Sale some stuff….you know you have too much junk anyway! Have a yard sale! Conquer that mountain! 

 ^“5 Free yourself” no longer be restrained. Then we are given two examples to learn and watch from: the gazelle and the bird. What can these two animals teach us about how NOT to be restrained or confined to others?

 

Warning...warning...you are not going to like this.

WARNING: THIS WILL BE A LITTLE MINI-SERIES POSTED OVER SEVERAL DAYS. IT HAS BEEN A THREE DAY STUDY FOR ME, SO IF IT TOOK ME THAT LONG, I SHOULDN'T THROW IT AT YOU ALL AT ONCE. HOPE IT HELPS SOMEONE.

Part I

Jamie & I started Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. I’m telling you this stuff SHOULD be taught in high schools. How drastically different our lives could have been had we understood at a younger age the principles he teaches. He makes reference to Proverbs 6: 1-11 and I wanted to dig a little deeper in it. So here is the passage:

¹My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, ²if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, ³ then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: go & humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor’s! ⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. ⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. ⁹How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? ¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and ¹¹poverty will come on you like an armed man.

My bible titles this passage “Warning against laziness”; I think it should be titled “Warning against debt!” and my interpretation will explain why. So let’s dig in.

 “If you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another”: Security is anything deposited or given as assurance of the fulfillment of an obligation that makes you bound to another’s financial burdens. This can be in the form of money, your signature, a handshake or even just your ‘word’.  This could be cosigning a home or car loan for your children or signing an agreement for a credit card. “Your neighbor” is any fellow human: friends, family, creditors, banks, etc. So rather you are agreeing to cover someone else should they default on a loan or you are agreeing to pay creditor’s money your borrowed to buy the car you couldn't afford to pay for with cash, you have placed yourself in a position to be bound to another’s financial burdens. Not only have you bound yourself to them, you have agreed to keep your “pledge” according to the terms you “shook on”.

Verse 2: “²if you have been trapped by what you said”: to be trapped is to be in an undesirable circumstance from which escape or relief is difficult. Have you ever been upside down on a car loan? Have you ever used a credit card with 21% interest and spent three years paying off $300? Have you cosigned for someone that defaulted and you were left paying the bill? Have you ever …(you fill in the blank)? I’m sure we all have our own personal situation that we can use as reference to this verse. “Ensnared by the words of your mouth”: to be ensnared is to give someone else power over you. That is exactly what we do when we buy things on credit. This makes me think of the ‘payday’ loans. I have personally never used them, but Jamie & I paused a commercial once to read the fine print they showed for about 30 seconds and the interest on the borrowed money was 300%. Yes! I meant to put two zero’s behind the three. Talk about giving someone else power over you. One more thing: have you ever noticed how payday loan companies are usually close to places such as Dollar General, or Dollar Tree? Think it is a coincidence???

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow. 

LIfe goes on, & on, & on ....

So classes are out for the summer, yet I have so much to do, it seems, justto be prepared for the fall. I’m going to work at the Malden Medical Clinic four days a week: gotta keep on top of my clinical skills. I’m excited about getting back into that aspect of my career. Courtney is getting ready to be gone for a month. I think she is trying to slowly get us used to how it is going to feel when she goes to SAGU in Texas. Her “diddy” is not taking kindly to it either.

So I did a little experiment with my family Memorial Day weekend. I took a verse and broke it into increments & looked up the majority of the words. I then had Jamie, Courtney and I choose the words we felt applied to our life, or our current day circumstances; after all we do not own cattle.  It turned out really interesting. You can find the way I broke up the verse (Isaiah 30: 23) and some of the definitions we considered at the end of our versions. I would love to hear your interpretation. It is neat to see how each revision spoke directly and uniquely to our own life.

The original NIV verse states: He will also (spoke of ‘compassion’ in previous section) send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.

(Jamie’s version) In addition (to the compassion He wants to show me), He will send "refreshness" for the efforts I put into the investments of my life. And the blessings that manifest will be in absolute abundance and ample supply. Ultimately, my possessions will flourish in unrestrained fulfillment.

(Courtney’s version): He will show me compassion and rejuvenate the work I cultivate in this world. And I can expect the result to be successful and blessed. When my work is over blessings will appear in vast abundance.

(My version): He will couple compassion with the opportunities he has for me. For the plans I make and the actions I take will result in an abundance of assets that will proliferate. My needs will be met or supplied in a wide and vast array from a place that has all the resources I need.

I absolutely loved doing this activity. Hope you will try it, too.

So here is the verse broken up in increments. If you take the time to create your own version, please share it with me. Try it with your family, like I did, and see how many different ways God’s word speaks to each individual. You may be as surprised as I was.

He will also [in the previous section, it was stated He wanted to show us compassion; “also” means ‘to add to’ or ‘couple with’]

Send you rain: [make provisions; provide nourishment]

For the seed: [plans, hopes, dreams]

You grow: [increase in size, become larger, stronger, thrive, flourish, cultivate, to produce]

In the ground: [basis on which anything rest; foundation]

And the food; [nourishment, substances that supports life, instructs intellect, excites feelings, molds habits of character]

That comes: [arrives, manifest, appear, and results from progress]

From the land: [point at which action is regarded as beginning]

Will be: [a choice is made]

Rich: [abundance of possessions, wealthy, affluent, copious]

And plentiful: [copious, ample, prolific,  

In that day: [reference to previously mentioned]

Your cattle: [animals, I don’t own cattle so I believe it is in reference to my needs]

Will graze: [feed, supply, be met, furnish]

In broad: [wide, extending far, extensive, vast, enlarged, free, unrestrained]

Meadows: [fields grown with hay, place where needs are met, near a water source, place of resources]

May 22, 2013    Everything is going to be alright.

Well I have been lingering in chapter 30 of Isaiah for a while; but I am learning a lot and that is all that really matters. Let’s look at verses 18 & 19 first. And in case I haven’t mentioned, I am using the NIV translation. Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help? As soon as He hears He will answer.

Now this is my interpretation of these verses applied to my life. First, let’s look at the word “yet”. It means “even to a greater extent”. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually put much thought to these seemingly useless sentence connectors. And of course, I don’t really know if these were the actual words originally written. But it is all I have to work with; so it is what I will use. Anyway, in verses 18 & 19 the Lord begins to show his compassion rather than the judgment previously discussed in verses 16 & 17. He begins by saying “yet” or to an even greater extent –than the judgments I just gave you- more than that….I “long” [want, desire] to be “gracious” [generous, compassionate]to you. That’s right…to me! (Now some may want to argue that these verses are not specifically written about me; I say if I don’t apply them to my life, they have no meaning.)

So, this makes me think of being a parent. How much more do we prefer to bless our children rather than discipline them? We strive so hard to give them the life we didn’t have and to witness their ungratefulness is difficult to take at times. But our goal is not to offer constant judgment; our goal is the desire to be compassionate. And that is our Father’s goal for us. Stop and really think about it. How often are we ungrateful for His efforts of giving us the life He did not have? (Ouch-that’s not very pretty is it?) 

“He rises”? Really? Like, ‘wakes up’…. I didn’t think he slept. Either way, whether He is sleeping or resting, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that He gets up from whatever it is He is doing “to show or confirm to me (yes me!!!) “compassion,” mercy or understanding. Does anyone in your house rise up just to show you compassion for that day? I mean, how often do you hear, “”Hey baby, let me stop everything I’m doing just to show you a little kindness”? Very often? I didn’t think so. But we do have someone who does stop everything just for us. Why? “For the Lord is a God of justice”! That’s right- he is fair; he deals with me appropriately-not as I deserve but with mercy renewed each morning. How awesome is that? Not only is He just, but if I wait-rest in expectation of His mercy- I will be blessed [favored, fortunate, adored]. When is the last time you rested in expectation of His mercy?

While researching the different meanings of the word weep, I really got tickled and decided to use the word ‘blubbering’. Blubbering, to me, offers the full picture of one of those uncontrollable cries where you can barely catch your breath. Feel free to replace the word ‘blubbering’ with more grown up words such as mourn, sob or cry in agony or maybe just a good-ole Southern bawl. Any way you look at it; the bottom line is -it will stop, when I “cry for help”. To ‘cry’ for help requires some pretty charged up emotions. It involves, shouting, yelling, proclaiming. To cry for help is not to offer  meek, soft-spoken words. It is heartfelt and gut-wrenching. Then that mercy, compassion that He arose and desires to give me is released; but NOT before I ask for it. It requires an action on my part. And when does He do this- as soon as- immediately. When do we respond to a newborn crying? Immediately. When do we respond to our child’s desperate screams for help? Immediately. And how do we respond? With words and a touch that offers reassurance and comfort. We grab them and hold them and tell them everything is going to be alright. That is what our Father wants to do to us. We just have to let him. We just have to stop all the blubbering and shout to the One that will scoop us up, hold us tight and tell us, everything is going to be alright.

  

May 17, 2013

I’m sooooooo enjoying some time off. I love having as much time as I want to dig into God’s Word. Currently I am reading Isaiah and I am on chapter 30. I've gotten some very interesting take "away,s" today. Verse 8 is the reason I keep a journal. It states, “Write it down so that it may be an everlasting witness for days to come”. I hope one day, Courtney is able to go through some of my journals and see all the blessings that have come her way as a result of the prayers I have written and said for her.

Verse 15, “In repentance & rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength." My interpretation of this verse applied to my life: my ability to crease activity (rest) and be remorseful for my actions (repentance) is what delivers me from destruction (salvation). My ability to withstand pressure (strength) comes when I am free from anxiety (quietness) and when I place my confidence in the Lord without fear (trust).

          Anyone that knows me, knows that that are very few times I am able to “cease activity”. Thankfully, God has placed Jamie in my life because he helps me out tremendously in this area. There are very few times I have had true moments of rest that did not include Jamie. With the exception of my morning devotion with God, he has always been a source of rest for me. (Today’s time with God brings not only the musical sounds of the birds singing good-morning but the soothing sound of rain as the backdrop. Love it, love it, love it!!)

When I think of my times of “resting”, I picture us floating down the river, floating on the lake in the pontoon, sitting around the campfire at the cabin or sitting around the fire pit in the backyard. I reflect on the times we walked on the beaches of Destin, Marco Island, and Hilton Head Island listening to the continuous sound of the waves as they wrap around our feet and the salty wind as whips my hair around my head and lands in my mouth. (Okay, I know that last part isn't so “restful” but it’s a part of the scenery nonetheless.) Jamie is definitely my “calm”, my “resting place” here on Earth and I don’t know where I would be without him. (wound up tightly, I'm sure)

The times of deep agony of repentance that I have had and expressed over the years are memories that are just as strong as my times of rest. I am thankful that once I have expressed true repentance, God no longer remembers them. It is up to me to let go and move on. It is up to me to make right what I can out of the mess I created. Luckily God turns my “messes” into a part of his plan. This is what gives me peace in my salvation.

I think the second part of this verse is why I love growing older. It has taken so much hard work and effort for me to learn that act of trusting. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I have yet to fully trust, but I desperately want to and continually try to enhance that characteristic.

Once again, Jamie comes to my mind when I think of trust. We have been together over 18 years (wow….that is unreal to me) and I can honestly say, -up until the past two years-I never really trusted him. I wanted to; I tried; but I never believed he truly loved me- so I couldn't  or maybe I wouldn't  But two years ago, he proved me wrong and showed me, proved to me that he really does love me and I can trust him. No one, besides God, could ever love me the way he does. I am so thankful God has shown me that about Jamie. 

So how does all this relate back to Isaiah 30:15? When I have done wrong and seek forgiveness not only from God but from those who I have hurt I will be received for whom I am not what I have done. I can handle what comes my way when I am not anxious and allow consequences to occur without fear that they will destroy me.