Author: admin

I read something this morning that reminded me of Tanker 852, a post from 2018, and the path we’re traveling.

Holy Spirit chill my affections to the world, and warm them toward Jesus.

Scared to death.  That was me, and I don’t scare easy.  So here it is.  On a Wednesday in June Tony and I flew to Florida to move his mom back to West Virginia.  It’d been years since she lived in West Virginia and many of you, especially in January, may wonder why she moved back North.  Duh! Us!

She had rented a 15 foot U-Haul, and a transport trailer for her car.  Just FYI, a 15 foot U-Haul is actually 22 and a half feet long.  This sucker was 40+ feet long.  Just 10 small feet shy of a tractor trailer!  Anyway, it was big.  All in all, these things were the perfect size.

Tony and I left Florida Thursday afternoon.  We stopped overnight in Georgia, and on Friday we continued the journey home.  Home.  Isn’t that a great sound?  Anyway, we’re somewhere in North Carolina when Tony asked if I would mind driving for a half hour or so.  Urch!  Screech!  Ahhh!  Was he really asking me to drive this mama?  Did he know how long it was?  This was not a horse trailer.  Did he know we were traveling 95 on a Friday?  Breathe. The man just wanted to close his eyes for a few minutes.  Where was my servant heart?  I looked at him and said sure, I’d try.  He then asked the dreaded question – “Will you go the speed limit?”  And I said “Only if the car in front of me is going the speed limit because I’m not changing lanes!”  How hard could it be?  All I have to do is stay between the lines.

A few minutes later I ease slowly onto 95 North, right behind Tanker 852.  I’m praying incessantly, Oh Lord!  Oh Lord!  You know how you pray when you’re panicked and you just can’t find the words?  Trust me, the Holy Spirit was intervening on my behalf.  As we headed on up the road, I noticed that I had been holding my breath.  No wonder I was panicked, blood couldn’t get to my brain.  About this time I was wishing I had taken a deep breathing course somewhere along the line.  As I gripped the wheel, I noticed my hands were white and numbness and tingling were taking over.  I had such a grip on that steering wheel that my fingernails were digging into my palms.  Slap!  Snap out of it girl!  I needed to get a grip, or actually lessen my grip.

I had decided that if I stayed behind Tanker 852 and if I could keep my “load” between the lines, the very narrow lines, that everything would be okay.  Then it started to rain.  Right out of nowhere.  Cats and dogs man.  The panic again.  The rain stopped.  Just stay in the lines.  Then we came upon an entrance ramp.  Tanker 852 moves left.  The panic again.  I gulp and move left.  Just stay in the lines.  Then we go over a bridge.  The joints were not quite even, thus the “Uneven Pavement” sign.  The U-Haul bounced into the air.  My butt flew out of the seat – thank goodness I had that grip on the wheel – I screamed!  Tony jumped.  Breathe.

The farther I traveled, the more I started to relax.  In fact, I started singing that song – Tanker 852 was Pig Pen, I was Rubber Duck…We got a little convoy rockin’ through the night.  Yeah, we got a little convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight!  Convoy…

Our faith journey is much the same, right?

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.

The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.

But the gateway to life is small,

and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

My journey is not unlike the journey of Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress.  I sought the way home.  Christian did too.  He sought “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, and it is laid up in heaven, and safe there, to be bestowed, at the time appointed, on them that diligently seek it.”  Evangelist directed Christian to the little wicket-gate – the narrow gate – the gateway to life!  Aren’t we all seeking that?

Trying to keep our lives on that narrow path to yonder wicket-gate is sometimes just as hard as trying to keep that U-Haul in between the lines.  Running off the road on the left or right can be treacherous.  A ditch.  Another vehicle.  A bad decision.  A harsh word.  A bad attitude.  A date with Mr. Worldly Wiseman near the City of Destruction.  We all know what pulls us off the narrow path and causes us to leave the lines, what causes us to crash.

But, God…don’t you love the but God’s?  But God, in designing the narrow path also gave us the means to travel the road to the wicket-gate.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:105

The road is narrow but the path is well lit.  Well lit by the bright and morning star — the light of the world!  There is only one path and we’re told it is very narrow.  If we do not have to sometimes walk sideways on the road that we’re traveling, we may need to rethink our road.  If the road is crowded, we may need to rethink our road.  If there are no warning signs or dangers outside of the lines, we may need to rethink our road.

Because of God’s tender mercy,

The light from Heaven is about to break upon us,

To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

And to guide us to the path of peace.

Luke 1:78

Although we may not always understand the route of the narrow road, we can always be assured that the route will lead us to peace, to grace, to life everlasting, to Him – that’s faith!

I am the light of the world.  If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. John 8:12

Tanker 852 reminded me that we’re all headed down a road.  We must heed the warning signs along the way and keep our eyes focused on the shining light in order to stay the course.

One thing I really like about holidays is that I get to do my thing a little longer since I don’t have to dash off to work.  After barn chores are done, I can return to my desk with the window cracked, listening to the world wake up and the sky to get bright.  The picture above is the view from my desk.  I look out onto the barn and keep tabs on my four-legged and two-legged friends.  And then it happened…da da da daaaa!!!!!!!

I hear a squawk. I didn’t pay too much attention, chickens do that.  But as I glanced up from my screen right in front of that red gate, a hawk had landed on Georgi Girl.  Chicken down!  Chicken down!  She was a squawking, gobs of feathers were a flying, and I’m screaming to Tony downstairs – Hawk!  Hawk!  Hawk!  I run down the stairs, Tony runs out the door, and the hawk flies off.  Georgi Girl is nowhere to be found.  I cried.  I didn’t want to see that.  Some things you just can’t unsee, like plumbers’ pants and a hawk on a chicken.  We searched and searched for the hawk and for Georgi Girl, not because I thought she’d be alive, but because I was determined that that hawk was not going to enjoy his spoils.   We found neither.

We trek out of the fields and back to the barn to count my chick-chicks.  I’ve got two black, two white, one red (may Susan rest in peace) and Ethel.  I counted four.  I went into the barn and back in the corner behind the wheelbarrow I could hear a peep-peep.  One more found.  Now I have all five.  And just at that moment, I see another movement behind the wheelbarrow.  It’s Georgi Girl!!!!!  I cried.  With a little food, I coaxed her out.  Miraculously, she was not injured.  She had only a huge bald spot on her back.   When he swooped in to get her, he got all feathers! 

The whole thing happened so fast.  Chickens are smart, they know how to protect themselves and she was only out in the open for a second.  But that’s all it took.  One second of letting her guard down and the predator had swooped in.  Georgi Girl and Black Girl hid out in the barn all day.  The other four hid out under a tree in the backyard all day.  They all sought shelter, a safe place to reside until the drama and likely trauma subsided.

The whole time we’re searching for Georgi Girl, all I could think about is that it happened so fast.  She let her guard down for just one minute!  But, doesn’t the Bible warn us of the same thing?  Don’t be caught unawares?  I don’t know about you, but with the speed of life, sometimes my confused priorities (more oft than not), and the more likely, my abject complacency, I could easily be caught unaware.  I can be just like Georgi Girl who had gotten a little comfortable out in the open and let her guard down.  She got a little careless.  But Jesus tells us to be ready.

“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36

Here, He’s warning us straight up.  Watch out!  Be on guard!  Don’t get mired in this life!  Don’t get caught in the trap!  Be alert – the world needs more lerts!  Make yourself strong!  Be prepared!  For what?  For His return!!

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke 21:25-27

Jesus told His disciples, be on guard, look out, don’t be dulled by drink, don’t be foolish, look for the signs, I’m coming back!  Do we do that?  I mean spiritually.  Are we eating meat or still drinking milk?  Are we growing and maturing in the Spirit?  Are we preparing for His return, for His restoration, or are we too dulled by this life on earth?  Are we faithfully working to tell others of His return, redemption and restoration?  Are we ourselves ready for His return, His redemption and His restoration?  His return is a scary thought for some folks.  We prefer not to think about it.  Maybe because we doubt His word and that scares us?  Maybe because we don’t doubt His word and that scares us? We must come face-to-face with the Father now, before his return, in order to be redeemed and restored when He returns.  We mustn’t be caught unaware.  But, look at the promise He gives!

“So when these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!” Luke 21:28

Don’t be afraid of His return, be prepared!  Stand straight and look up – be on the lookout for Him, don’t be complacent, don’t be caught unaware.  Jesus spoke these words 2,000 years ago and we have been awaiting His return ever since.  We know not when.  My lifetime, your lifetime, who knows?  God.  But, as we wait for His return, we must live like redeemed, restored and rescued people, because we are.

I want to be ready when Jesus comes
I want to be ready when Jesus comes
One day the Lord’s gonna crack the sky
And the dead in Christ shall rise;
I want to be ready when Jesus comes

No man knows the day or the hour
When the Lord will surely come
That’s why you need to get your house in order
Don’t let Him catch you with your work undone;
You’ve got to get ready, oh yes, when Jesus comes

Dottie Peoples

Motion sickness – ugh!  Anyone else ever experience motion sickness? 

In a car?   On a roller coaster?  Spinning in circles?  Scrolling a computer screen? 

You peak a hill and the car seems to float down over the other side. Airborne.  Your stomach ends up in your throat.  The roller coaster climbs foot by foot, reaches its peak, then swiftly descends the tracks.  Your stomach ends up in your throat.  Your eyes focus on a computer screen.   Spin, spin, spin to the bottom of the page, lines and words fly by.  Your stomach ends up in your throat.  Do you notice the down?

We are up, then down.  We climb to the top, then down.  We start at the top, then down.  The ill feelings or sickness always seem to start in the down?  While porching today I’ve been thinking about how I allow myself to be pulled away from His Presence.  How I allow myself to be pulled down – down to the valley.  Sometimes it’s a slow descent.  Sometimes I’m flying down the road of life and it’s a sudden, seemingly unstoppable descent.  When I am Living in His Presence, I envision God on His Holy Mountain.  When I am on the down, I fail to stay in His Presence and I walk the lonesome valley.    Sometimes I can brake on the down – sometimes my brakes fail me.  I feel sick.

Here’s the thing – if I didn’t experience the up I wouldn’t know there’s a down and if I didn’t experience the down, I wouldn’t yearn for the up.  We are allowed the down so we can see the up.  We are allowed to experience life distant from God to fully appreciate how desperately we need Him for this life.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber.        Psalm 121:1-3

The Word tells us exactly how to deal with the down.  The valleys.  The  discontent.  The time.  The money.  The relationships.  The job.  The illnesses.  The rush and hurry.  The worry.  The world.  It seems so simple.  Not so much.  The Psalmist tells us to lift our eyes unto the hills where our help comes from.  Where our up comes from. Eyes are made to see.  To reveal.  To experience the Presence.  Lifting our scaleless eyes to Him.  To Him, who is able to do more than we can think or imagine.  To Him, the One who is able to heal us of all our illnesses, our downs, if we simply touch His robe.   Turn your eyes upon the One who does not sleep but draws us back to the ascent – back to the mountain of the Lord – back to His Presence – Jehovah Jireh.

My Worst/Best is messed up.  Her schedule that is.  Instead of wanting to go outside at 5:45 am for our morning stroll, the last couple of days she’s wanted to go out at 5:00 am!  I love to walk in the first hint of morning light, however, at 5:00 am it is pitch black.  Without the light to help us see what we need to avoid in the dark, that’s a dangerous time to walk in our neck of the words especially since I’ve recently smelled a skunk on our path.  P-U!

What I noticed in the pitch black today was the lights.  In the darkness the lights shone.  Some lights super bold, some lights were mellow, some white, some yellow, some were distant, some were welcoming, some were barely perceptible.  Then I took a look at the sky.  Millions and millions of lights shining in the universe.    The light of hope against the backdrop of despair.

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”  John 8:12

What a promise.  Following Jesus takes us out of the darkness and into the light.  The light of eternity.

Just as Jesus is the Light of the World, we believers are called to be the same.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14-16

Sometimes our light will be bold and bright, sometimes our lights will be white and pure, sometimes glimmers in the distance, or shining brightly for all to see.  The fact of the matter is that any light in the darkness will shine.  The brighter the light shines though, the less darkness there will be.

Shining sometimes seems a daunting task in our world today.  We shine, we flicker, we fail to fan the flames, we’re snuffed, we’re coals.  Jesus understands that.  But we need to remember that no matter what happened to Jesus, no matter the adversity, the trials, the persecution, the hatred, the physical pain and suffering, the heart pain and suffering, no matter…Darkness can never overcome the Light, the Light always overcomes the darkness.

We must persevere in our shining.  Jesus did no less.

Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.   Daniel 12:3

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine!

All around the neighborhood, I’m gonna let it shine!

All around my place of work, I’m gonna let it shine!

Walking through the grocery store, I’m gonna let it shine!

Won’t let Satan snuff it out, I’m gonna let it shine!

Let it shine!  Let it shine!  Let it shine!

I was flipping through a notebook and was reminded…

Speaking to the Lord is sometimes hard, isn’t it?  Well, it’s not actually hard, we make it hard, maybe.  Oh sure, it’s easy to speak to the Lord when we’re in need, when we want something, kind of like the Wish Doll from the gumball machine, right?  But I don’t think we (specifically I) truly understand the enormity of prayer.  Oh sure I pray, but am I effectively communicating with God?   The enormity of the Lord is indescribable, uncontainable, we cannot take Him lightly.

At the beginning of 2021, yes 2021, I committed to unpackaging a little bit further my relationship with God.  You know, take those steps to remove the bow, open the box, delve inside a little deeper, pick up the gift and put it to use.  I got this notebook and I started writing down questions that came to me as I read.  I wanted to poke myself with questions that would make me think – not just surface work and a bless your heart, but questions that would cause me to grow in Him and that could only be answered by cozying up to Him.  You know, questions that would actually change me  (geez, what a slow process).  So, I started writing down these probing questions and then I started writing down prayers.  The questions and prayers may have been prompted by a verse I read or something I saw.

I’ve never written down prayers before I just always prayed off the cuff.  Sometimes rambling, over wordy (ahem), distracted, empty (admittedly) prayers, other times meaningful, growing, connecting, Spirit among us prayers.  Writing down prayers can be profound.  There’s something about seeing the words on paper that make you look at them differently, they somehow have a different impact.   

I worked on this project until about April 2021 and I could use a reset, so here we are.  From January to April my focus changed, it evolved, ever so slowly, not because of Him, but because of me.  After a time, the Lord brought other things to my mind and I was able to pour those out to Him.  Eventually those prayers evolved into prayers for the ones I love that don’t know Him.  We all know folks who don’t know Jesus.  Scripture and prayer can change the world, but not if we don’t use it.  I pray you are encouraged to dig deeper, write the Word out, write your Prayer out.

January 1, 2021

Do I have a teachable spirit?  Am I eager to be changed?  Do I cling to my old ways forsaking His newness in me?  Do I have an open mind?  Am I willing for my mind to be renewed?

-So many probing questions when just one would take a lifetime to answer.

Thank you Lord for bringing these questions to mind!  Thank you Lord for guiding my journey!  Thank you Lord for your transformative power!  Thank you Lord for having a steady infinite attention span!  Thank you for so completely understanding me – I don’t even understand myself, but I will trust in the plans you have for me.

Thank you Lord for the questions and the answers.  Teach me!  Change me!  Open my Mind! Amen.

 O Lord, you have examined my heart

And know everything about me.

Psalm 139:1

Daddy and I went to eat last week at a popular breakfast spot on north end.  As we’re waiting for our order, I noticed these gumball machines.  Now, what kid doesn’t like gumball machines?  These gumball machines are always filled with kid goodies and always strategically placed right at their eye level.  No matter where you see them, when a child walks by, they’re leaning into them.

One gumball machine specifically caught my eye.  Top right – Wish Dolls.  How enticing.  Who doesn’t want a Wish Doll?  Now I’m not exactly sure what a Wish Doll is, but I would expect it to be exactly what it says, a Wish Doll.  They appear to be some type of spun fabric or yarn figures each a different color, each dressed differently.  As the ad says – Collect Them All.  Now I’m thinking, if it is such a powerful doll, and it can grant my wish, why do I need more than one?  Maybe each doll only has one wish.  I don’t know. I mean who wouldn’t buy seven wishes for $5.25?

Breakfast came and we ate, but I couldn’t stop thinking about these Wish Dolls.  Obvious you say – who takes a snap of gumball machines. Later, as I looked at the picture of the bank of machines, their appeal dawned on me.  If you put in your coin, you get what you want.  Look at all the promises made for just a few coins.  I can get what I want if I give up just a little.

Silver N Gold – look at those treats – bling dollar signs, a bling motorcycle, a bling peace sign, a bling crown, a bling dog bone and something else that I just can’t tell what it is, but it’s bling so who wouldn’t want it?  I’m not sure who could pass this up for .75.  Put your money in and you are shiny, bright, and people will notice – even your dog.

Then we have the Pokemon machine.  Now this is a little better deal.  For .50 you can get trading cards and a Sugar Skull Tattoo with a rose or a cross on its forehead.  What do you say to that gem?

The bottom row has the very best deals of the day.  At .25 you can get Seedlings.  Fruit shaped bubble gum with candy seeds at only 35 calories a fruit!  Milk N’ Cookies Fun-Erasers!  You can erase your mistakes with 0 calories.  Acrylic Rings and just plain ole Bubble Gum.

Harmless, right?  Hmmm.  Deceptive, right?  Hmmm.  Give a little bit of what you have away and you will receive a small something that is well…junk.  The gumballs have lost their flavor before you’ve gotten to the car, the tattoo has only half stuck to your arm, the bling has turned your neck black, the eraser has gummed up and cannot get rid of your life mistakes, and none of your wishes have come true despite having all seven chances.

The world’s concept is you put in your money, you can get what you want.  This is just not true.  You put your money in and you get nothing lasting in return.  It’s deceptive.  The evil one is the master of deceit.  The Apostle Paul cautioned us more than once about being deceived.

I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. Colossians 2:4

As adults we look at those treats and we can see their lack of value (but that doesn’t stop us).  We look at those treats and say we’re not going to waste our money on that (but we do).  We try to encourage our children and teach them that the promises that are made on the front of those gumball machines are either impossible (Wish Dolls) or short-lived (Bubble Gum).  We try to teach our children to ignore the eye-candy.  But, sometimes we adults are easily lured into the promises of the world too, aren’t we?  Sometimes we adults are too easily deceived.   

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

This world we live in is incredibly powerful.  More powerful than we are to resist.  But not more powerful than the Lord to overcome. Hallelujah! If we are connected to the Lord, our choices become easier.  If we are connected to the Lord, we can resist the deception, with His help.  But, if we are not connected to Him, there is absolutely no way we will resist diving in to the world because we were all made to seek something.  For believers we know that that something is the Lord.  For those of the world, they’re still putting their coins in trying to be filled, trying to get the prize, too often being deceived.  The gumball machine says quarters only.  The Lord says why spend your time and money on things that will not save you? Come.

“Is anyone thirsty?

Come and drink—

even if you have no money!

Come, take your choice of wine or milk—

it’s all free!

Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?

Why pay for food that does you no good?

Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.

You will enjoy the finest food.

Isaiah 55:1-3

Don’t fall for the kid goodies, the candy at eye-level. Lift your head.

How did Noah get those animals in the boat?  That’s what I want to know.

They came into the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded.

Genesis 7:9

Two by two they came into the boat, male and female, just as God had commanded.

Then the Lord shut them in.  Genesis 7:15

When I read these verses the other day my first thought was — Why is this stated twice?  My second thought was — How?  My next thought – How long did it take?  I think of my animal loading experiences and can just imagine what Noah and his boys went through to load the boat.  Moses made it sound like the animals just sauntered up the ramp, smiling all the way:  “…they came into the boat…”  It’s not only quite possible, it’s probable that they did.  None of my loading experiences have ever been like that.  Yours?

In running around to horse shows when Livi was younger, we had our share of animal loading.  Some easy, most not.  In the horse world, one of the most dangerous things to do is to load and unload a horse from a trailer.  If an animal does not want to load, you cannot make it load.  You can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink kind of thing.  We had this horse named Logan.  There were times she walked right up the trailer ramp right into place.  There were other times when two grown men pushing on her butt could not make her walk up that ramp and into the trailer.  When she planted her feet you knew that that 900 pound animal wasn’t going to budge unless she wanted to.  Frustrating.

Then there was the time we were headed home from the Youth Fair and our horse Reese would not get on our trailer.  He would walk to the ramp, look at Livi like I told you I’m not getting on that thing, and then duck right off the edge – dangerous.  Three hours later, no lie, we finally got him to load, on another trailer.  Kind folks dropped our horse at our house and we dropped their horse at their house.  Frustrating.

Then there was the time that we had to load our rooster Edward into a carrier to return him to the breeder.  Remember, no boys allowed.  Trying to wrangle him into that crate without hurting him or hurting us was, well, like herding – a rooster.  Frustrating.

There was also the time years ago I remember trying to get my cat Noel in the car to go to the vet.  That one drew blood – on me, not her.  Frustrating.

Have you ever seen kids at the Youth Fair trying to load a pig?  I think that’s where the term pig-headed came from.  Frustrating.

Think of your animal loading experiences and then think about Noah and the boys.  There were only eight of them in total – four men, four women.  I picture the men handling the animals and the women setting up housekeeping in the ark.   It is estimated that there were 45,000 animals on that boat.  Ponder that.  I started thinking about the how.  How did they round up all those animals?  Did they gather as they went and put them in corrals until the boat was complete?  Did they make a list of animals and then check them off as they entered?  Maybe an Excel spreadsheet?  Yes!  How about a layout so that every animal got into the right stall?  Were the insects put in a jar – with holes of course?  What about the birds – cages perhaps?  Maybe each was tagged and scanned as they entered?  Did you see that rabbit hole coming?

Anywho.  It sounds so simple doesn’t it?  Round up 45,000 animals, get your kids and get on the boat.  This was an incredibly huge feat.  But God, don’t you love those words, was in control.  Noah was a righteous man.  He was an obedient man.  God told Noah to build an ark, and he did.  I feel fairly confident that Noah did not stress over the details like I did with the “How’s”, and it wasn’t even my project.

Do we get bogged down in the details and forget about the Big Picture?  What was the big picture here?

The big picture.  Many years after Adam, God found the world to be so wicked that He was going to destroy it.  There was only one righteous man – Noah.  So, God gave the Earth a do-over.  Wipe it out, start all over.

God told Noah to build a boat – a really big boat.  Picture this, one and a half football fields by one football field and four stories high.  A really big boat.  So, Noah built a really big boat.

Can you just imagine the enormity of this task?  Can you imagine the details that needed to be attended to?  Right down to who loads first. 

But God – love those words – was in the details.  How do we know that?  He gave Noah the boat dimensions, because He knew how big it needed to be.  Noah didn’t know how big it needed to be.  He didn’t know how much it needed to hold.  If Noah had been worried about the “how’s,” he wouldn’t have been able to focus on his God given task of building the boat.  If he’d been hand wringing about how will they load, what order will they go in, how will I feed them, etc., he wouldn’t have been able to boat build.  He would simply have been worrying about things he couldn’t do anything about, he couldn’t control.

God’s words are written to encourage and teach us.  Noah teaches us that if we focus on what God tells us to do – build a boat – He will handle the rest – He will take care of the details – He will control what we can’t.  We have to trust that.

So, what do we focus on?  Do we focus on details, the how’s?  Sometimes, He tells us to.  Do we focus on things we can’t control?  Sometimes, even though we’re not supposed to.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Noah was a righteous man.  God’s plan was to save the earth through Noah.  How?  Build a boat, get the family and animals on it, and get out of there.  God took care of the details.  Noah just had to obey.

So, what’s God’s plan for us?  Build a boat (a relationship with God), get the family and animals (get our houses in order) on it, and get out of there (lead others to Christ – go and tell everyone you meet!).  God will take care of the details.  We just need to do what He tells us.  Be obedient.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  Whoever believes and will be baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15

It’s so easy to get bogged down in the details.  The details of life, the details of church.  The only detail we truly need to be concerned with is God.  We don’t need to worry about how we’re to get others on the boat, we are to take them to the boat and let God do the loading.

For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.  Philippians 1:10-11

I was going to bow out of my blog today. I’ve been a little under the weather. I’m fine. It’s just that the thing we have all been trying to avoid for the past two and a half years finally caught up with me. Part of it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time — where ever and whenever that might have been, but upon reflection, I think part of it may have been lack of self care on my part.

Has that ever happened to you? Something happened as a result of what you did or did not do? I think this probably happens to us a million times a day but most times the consequences are inconsequential.

I’ve had plenty of time to reflect while on my back, or at least plenty of time for me, a whole three days. Those who know me know that if I’m down for three minutes I’m a spaz case, so you can just imagine my reflections…

One conclusion I’ve come to is that some things in life you just can’t control — like this illness. There’s no rhyme nor reason to it. But another conclusion I have drawn is that sometimes we do have control over some things in our life, we simply choose not to take control. For instance, how we take care of ourselves. You know, our bodies, our minds and most importantly, our Spirits.

I’m grateful for laying on my back, which hurts from laying on my back — you get that don’t you? You’re weird, you say. Laying on my back has given me time to assess life, mine specifically. It’s given me perspective on what is really important. I think we probably all do that self assessment when things aren’t going well and we’re looking for hope on the other side. You know — when I get off this couch, i’m gonna…work less, be less stressed, get my head straightened out, eat heathier, exercise more, take better care of myself, my family, clean my house more (well, maybe not that one). The list goes on and on though, right?

And truth be told, those are exactly the things I should be doing and will be doing, at least for the foreseeable future, before the world speed creeps in again and i’m back on the merry-go-round gripping the mane with legs flying behind until I land on the couch once more.

So, the point to all my brain fog ramblings is this — control what you can control. God has made us sensible, rational people – body, mind and Spirit. True, we can’t always control our bodies. I’m told only the aliens have control of our DNA (wink, wink). But we can control how we treat them. What’s going into the temple? Is the temple being strengthened?

What about our minds — the thing He gave us to think with, to reason with, to make sound judgments with? True, we can’t always control our minds either, but we can control a lot more than we think. What goes into our minds forms our reasoning and our judgments. Garbage in — garbage out.

What about our Spirits — here’s the one thing we have absolute control over. Not to sound like a New Ager or anything, but we do have complete control of our destinies. We have two choices — we get to pick. Maybe not necessarily how we arrive, but we absolutely have control of where we end up.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Philippians 3:20-21

Body, mind and Spirit. Control what you can control.

Can you see that tiny little speck in the middle of the sky, kinda right in the middle in the whiter part?  I know it’s super hard to see.  I wish I was a better photographer.  I’m constantly checking out the clouds and watching for Jesus while morning walking.  A couple of weeks ago the Worst/Best and I were doing our thing, and I look up and what do I see?  (You’re asking the same thing because you can’t tell from the picture).  It’s a balloon, floating up and up on the breeze. 

You’re probably saying big deal, balloons float in the sky all the time.  The big deal is that this balloon was floating upwards at 5:45 a.m.  It was moving pretty quickly and it came from the direction of the mountain.  From where I know not.  It just appeared.  Weird.  There was no crying child, no one saying quick catch it, it was just this one balloon silently floating upward being carried by the unfelt breeze.  To be honest, it was just a little bit creepy, like something you’d see in a creepy movie.  Not because there was a balloon floating around, but because it was doing this at 5:45 a.m.  Not your usual party time.

As I watched it swaying left and right, surging forward and fluttering aimlessly, it reminded me of what can happen to us when we’re untethered.

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

Hebrews 2:1

A very solemn warning.  You may be thinking, how could that ever happen ?  Peeshaw.  I will never drift away from the Lord.  But unless we are constantly on guard, that exact thing can and will happen to us.  It is more common for Christians to simply drift away from the Truth than to cut the string abruptly.  If we are not on our guard the tether, the string, our connection will slowly untie, become unknotted, and we will drift off.  Visualize that – we are the balloon, the Lord is holding the string, the string is the conduit, the connection, the relationship to Him.  That string is our communication, what keeps us tethered, that keeps us grounded.  If we are not constantly making sure that our connection is secure through prayer, the Word, our service to Him, the knot is going to loosen and eventually come untied.

Again, we say this will never happen to us, but I’d venture to guess those who have drifted away from the Lord also thought the same thing when tethered.  How easily we may fall into believing false teachers.  False teachers or false teaching is anything that is not Truth teaching.  We think that a false teacher is someone with horns on a grand stage espousing notions that are completely outrageously false, and that may be true but more often than not, false teachers deliver their false teachings in a much more subtle way.  Proclaiming a worldly moral truth as a Biblical truth is false teaching and if we aren’t super careful, and completely connected to the Spirit, we may even entertain that false position as Truth when in fact it is not.  One by one those false moral truths loose the knot.  Just think about the many high profile Christians who have been in the news who have deserted or departed from the Truth for a lie.  Lies that say that the Lord is vague, that the Lord doesn’t keep His promises, that the Bible is errant.  Believing the lies and abandoning or renunciating our faith in God, is called apostacy.  Yep, new word.

Our Truth comes only from The Word of the Lord.  We’re called to pay strict attention to the Truth we have heard. Not only are we to know the Truth, we are to obey the Truth, that’s what secures the knot, that’s what keeps us tightly tethered to the Lord.  We are to learn and apply, that’s the obedience part.  Indifference is deadly.

What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself?

Hebrews 2:3

I watched the balloon until I could not see it any longer.  It bounced around randomly, never again connected, eventually floating into the atmosphere never to be seen again.  We must not let this happen to us.  This world is working on our knots, subtly disconnecting our string from the balloon.  It is constantly tugging at our knot.  Do not underestimate or completely dismiss the pull.  The Lord will never let go of his end of the string.  We must do our part in the relationship.  Pay attention. Be on guard.  Do everything possible to tighten, double or triple the knot.  Do anything to stay tethered to Him.

And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

Romans 9:5

When morning gilds the skies, My heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer To Jesus I repair: May Jesus Christ be praised!   To Thee, my God above, I cry with glowing love, May Jesus Christ be praised! The fairest graces spring In hearts that ever sing, May Jesus Christ be praised!

Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find, May Jesus Christ be praised! Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this, May Jesus Christ be praised!

When evil thoughts molest, With this I shield my breast, May Jesus Christ be praised! The powers of darkness fear, When this sweet chant they hear, May Jesus Christ be praised!

When sleep her balm denies, My silent spirit sighs, May Jesus Christ be praised! The night becomes as day, When from the heart we say, May Jesus Christ be praised!

Be this, while life is mine, My canticle divine, May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this th’ eternal song Through all the ages long, May Jesus Christ be praised! 1828

May Jesus Christ be praised!  Isn’t that a beautiful thought to carry with us today and always?

May Jesus Christ be Praised! When we awaken in the morning – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  When we start our day’s work – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  When we need solace – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  When we are afraid – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  When joy strike our hearts – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  When sleepless nights we have – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  In absolutely every situation – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  Our eternal song – May Jesus Christ be Praised!  Five words that say it all – May Jesus Christ be Praised!