GO AGAINST THE FLOW

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 

Notice anything “different” about my Christmas stockings?  Let me tell you the story.  Jeremy was the first grandchild on my side of the family.  My Mother went all out.  She was so excited about being a Nana.  Actually, she wanted to be “Granny” but Jeremy decided on Nana.  Long before he was born, she used her cross-stitching skills and made this beautiful stocking for him.  As far as I know, he was the only grandchild to get a hand made one.  It wasn’t until later that we realized that the stocking had been crafted backwards.  Some might consider it a mistake, but as Jeremy grew up into the man that he is today, it fit him perfectly.  In fact, he is quite proud of his stocking that faces differently from all the others.  As a little boy, he seemed to march to the beat of a different drummer.  I can’t count the times I told my husband I wish I could find that little drummer and take his drum sticks away!  As a man today, he continues to go against the flow of how the rest of the world thinks and acts.  He is the first to forgive and the last to hold a grudge.  You will not hear him slander anyone no matter what they do to him.  He is a man of faith and actions that back up that faith. 

He encourages me to go against the flow, too.  This Christmas season, let’s all look for ways to reach out to others in a new and different way.  It's okay that we don't all look just alike!

CHECKING MY LIST

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart

Luke 2:19  

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young teen-ager. She had just made an arduous journey on the back of a donkey!  Right after giving birth in a barn, there were shepherds and visitors speaking about stars and a man she hardly knew at all in her limited personal space!  Scripture gives us a sweet picture of Mary as she made notes in her heart and mind about all God had done for her.  Many of you reading this might be young and darling and you can still probably remember things.  I on the other hand, can sometimes forget my name.  Most times that I go to the bank, I must call my husband for my PIN number on my debit card.  I've had the same PIN for several years and sometimes, it just leaves me.  When David tells me what it is, I argue with him because it doesn't even sound familiar.  I write everything down and sometimes even then, I lose my list.  The most used tool on my cell phone is my list maker.  If I can remember my phone, then I will have my to-do list!

I don't want to be guilty of forgetting a blessing God has given me.  I want to remember the gifts, both big and small that fall from His hand to me.  I encourage you to take some time in the next week and make a list of all the gifts and blessings in your life.  You can even ask God to help you focus on the everyday miracles your life contains.  Write them down.  Thank him daily. It will make a difference in Christmas this year for you and your family.  

WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING AROUND?

WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING AROUND?

He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

Psalm 7:14

Occasionally I will be in the midst of my Bible Study and I will see a verse that I have never seen before.  It happened this week when I hit on this verse in the Psalms.   I’ve thought on it all week.  Now, it’s been a really long time since I was pregnant.  In fact, our baby boy was 36 this year.  However, I still remember how consumed I was with the health and well being of our 2 babies as I carried them around for over 9 months each.  I worried over what I should eat, how much I was throwing up and I dreamed about what these little Haines would be.  We made room in our tiny homes for them.  Their rooms were planned and decorated perfectly even on a budget!  We obsessed over their every movement inside of me.  We were so blessed by the birth of our long-awaited little boys.  We’ve been challenged, but never disillusioned by these two Haines’ men.

As I studied this week, I thought about all the things I carry around today.  I have doubts that I dwell on daily.  I focus on other’s faults rather than their fortes. At times, I am even guilty of evaluating ways to even the score with those who have hurt me.  In my many decades of life, I have conceived lots of trouble, but I want to make a change.  Life is too short to live with disillusionment. 

Today, we begin the month of December.  As the month draws to a close, we will all celebrate the birth of our Savior who changed our past and our futures.  Beginning today, I want to focus on carrying the things within my heart and mind that please the Savior.  I want to give birth to things that bring light to those around me.  What about you? 

7 THINGS THAT REALLY SCARE ME

David and I have been blessed with 6 grandchildren.  The oldest is 10 and the baby is 6.  They are each as different as can be.  They make us laugh; cry and shake our heads sometimes at the things they say.  If a reporter were to line them up and put a microphone in front of them and ask them “How would you describe your Nonnie” (my grandmother name), they would all answer the exact same way.  Nonnie is a scardy cat.  They are right!  My favorite ride at the amusement park is the Carousel. They have explained to me any number of times that the Carousel is not a ride at all.  Don’t care, it’s my favorite! I don’t drive fast; don’t try new restaurants and close my eyes during the scary parts of the movie.  If I had my way, they wouldn’t do scary things either. 

For all the things that scare me, one tops the list-I never want to have God disappointed in me.  Don’t misunderstand, I have failed Him so many times, but it kills me every time when that still small voice within my heart makes me fall under conviction.  I want to love the things God loves and stay away from the things He detests.  There is a list in Proverbs 6 that line up the things God hates. 

^“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. “
    .

Let me break down these 6 no 7 things for you. 

1.       Proud attitude that looks down on others

2.       One who tells untruths

3.       Killing of the innocent

4.       A heart that thinks and commits evil toward another

5.       One who loves evil and helps it along its way

6.       A false witness

7.       One who causes division in the church or community.

One thing that always stands out to me about these Scriptures, is things we say and think are on the same list as those who murder. 

As I studied these Scriptures once again this week, I learned that God does not make a difference between the one who spreads the evil and one who does nothing to stop it!  I mean is that scary or what?  If we hear of a wrong, we must try to “right” it.  We cannot “help it along it’s way” by justifying that at least we didn’t start it.  If we “heard” it, we have a responsibility to intervene with the truth.

I have had the misfortune to know people who just love to create drama.  They are drawn to gossip and back-stabbing like a bee to honey.  I’ve had to learn to stay away from those because before I know it, my walk is affected, and I begin to a part of the problem rather that a part of the solution. 

What about you?  I think a crazy roller coaster would be a walk in the park next to disappointing the God who gave me life and secured my eternity.

DON'T MISS THE WONDER!

DON'T MISS THE WONDER!

David and I have had the blessing of traveling quite a bit this summer.  We began our journeys by traveling to New York and Canada to see Niagara Falls.  It had been on my “bucket list” for a long time.  Then a couple of weeks later, we headed off on an adventure at the top of David’s list: an Alaskan cruise.  The sights we beheld were really mostly beyond description.  The beauty and magnitude of God’s creation is so far beyond what we could design if we tried.  We truly saw things we had never seen before. It was all brand new to us.  If you know my husband, you will know that he is really a very sensitive kind of guy and many times during our journey, he was moved to tears over what he was witnessing.  Most of the pictures I took were of his back as he gazed out from the balcony of our cabin.  I was moved to tears watching him have a dream fulfilled.  We didn’t take a lot of pictures, choosing instead to just enjoy the sights. 

During the trips, I began to notice the strangest thing.   Most everyone was constantly using their cameras on their phones.  They would take a picture and then move on to find something else to fill their view finder.  They missed the magnitude of the wonder because they only saw what was featured in their camera lens.  Very few took the time to see the picture as a whole rather than just a snippet of the picture.  Every meal was recorded on their camera; every encounter qualified as a subject for a selfie. The most common interaction between parents and children were posing for pictures.

I am such a people watcher and these trips made for great entertainment for me.  I noticed that once the incident was recorded on their phones, they then spent the rest of their time on the phone.  I suppose they were uploading the pictures to social media and the like.  I do know that very few enjoyed the people, sounds and wonders around them because they were too busy staring at a small screen they held in their hand.  Most failed to engage with those that were just featured in their important selfie.

I think perhaps I’m guilty of the same thing in my spiritual life.  I’m so caught up with this small circumstance that seems so huge to me, that I miss the new thing and the big thing God is doing in my world.  I’m so distracted by the puddle in front of me that I fail to see the river he is parting for my next adventure.  I’m so fearful by nature that I must be drug kicking and screaming through the wilderness to get to the valley of blessing just around the corner!

Let’s all agree to stop focusing on our small stuff and not miss the wonder of what He is doing in our life.  

j

WHAT AM I SHOUTING

This morning the preschool children at my church sang for the church and waved small palm branches shouting "Hosanna".  This year, just like those past, I sat and wondered what I would have been doing, if I had been in Jerusalem on that Passover week so long ago.  There is no doubt, my Savior knew exactly what He would be facing at the end of the week.  I wonder if He even heard the voices in the crowd shouting "Hosanna?" I wonder if He looked past the praises the people were raising to see their hearts capable of unspeakable things? I wonder if in the midst of the cheers He already heard the jeers of "Crucify Him"?

The contrast of these cries highlight the fickle nature of public opinion.  If social media has done nothing else, it has shown us how quickly people can turn on one another. But yet, most of us spend endless hours trying to fit in and be a part of a particular perceived popular group.   There have been times in my life when I have worked so hard for the applause of men, never considering the applause of the man with the nail scarred hands that purchased my life.

People change their minds and try to change the definition of truth.  What was once considered shameful is now celebrated during prime time.  Words once bleeped out are now considered necessary to complete a sentence.  Where is my truth supposed to be found in days such as these?I supposed it is found in the same place it was on that Passover Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem.  It is found in the heart and teaching of Jesus, in the scrutiny of Scripture and in the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As I walk through this Holy Week, I'm going to slow down and listen for His applause.  I'm going to seek out His Truth in the Bible.  I want to do more than just make noise in my Savior's ears.  I want to truly praise Him from the depths of my heart and soul that He purchased on Calvary.

IT’S ANOTHER NEW THING!

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

I don’t know about you, but change is a bit difficult for me.  I like things the same.  Right now, there are very few things in my life that are the same as they have been.  We have a new address, I’m having to make new friends, the geography is different, and I seem to have a new wrinkle or gray hair every time I look in the mirror! 

This weekend I thought a great deal about “new” things.  I realized that if we are walking correctly in our Christian journey, God is always going to be doing something new. I believe if we are to do things right, we will constantly be challenged to expand our mission fields and be open to opportunities to serve. 

The word for new in the verse from Isaiah is chadash.  It means new or fresh.  While I might not love to change, I do like the idea of a fresh work from God.  I believe for the new or fresh work to begin, we must let go of the old.  There is just no time or place for a tug of war between the past and the present, if we are going to go places with God. 

In this “new” season, I ran across something I had written years ago in another “new” season.  It encouraged me again today and I hope it does you.

LIVING IN THE LAND OF PROMISE

I’m looking out my window, Lord, on a place I don’t recognize

It’s hard to see the Promise around the tears falling from my eyes.

You’ve got a mighty plan, Lord, even I know that it’s true,

But the task I’m facing now seems far too difficult for me to do.

I am way out of my comfort zone and feeling out of place

Are you positive about the Promised Land being located in this space?

Just like your other children, I am thinking I loved the place of bondage more,

But no doubt about it, Lord, you definitely shut that door!

The manna you fed me on my journey was a fine way to eat,

The clouds that gave me directions made me sure upon my feet.

Moving to the Land of Promise seemed easier somehow…

Than living in the Promised Land you have given me for now.

Help me unpack my heart Lord, and really settle in

Help me to accept where I am and not long so much for where I’ve been

You have told me over and over about the plans of Your heart,

Thanks for reminding me that my Promised Land is any place where You are.