Monday

It’s Monday morning.  That means the start of a new work week for my husband and me and a new school week for my kids.  For some, today is their birthday, their anniversary or their last day of chemo.  For others, today is the final day on the job after getting a “pink slip”.  Today might bring a check in the mail or a notice of foreclosure.

In other parts of the world, today is the day their house gets bombed, their father gets executed or their child succumbs to disease.  Today might also bring joy as a village welcomes the message of salvation as the good news of the Gospel is heard.

So what does this all mean for my ordinary American life?  How can I care without becoming consumed?  There are nations at war, civil unrest at home, and evil abounding globally--but I still need to run to Costco to fill up my car with gas.  How do I live?  How do I pray?  How do I make a difference?

I think it has to start, very simply, with the scripture “Be still, and know that I am God.”  As I looked up the reference, I was surprise to read the entire psalm and hear many of the same themes of today, sung by the words of the Psalmist thousands of years ago:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth.  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46

In light of this passage, my outlook for this week has a distinctive, new focus.

1.       I can pray for peace but don’t need to be in fear of war.  God is my shelter. War may be raging around us, but He can make them cease. 

2.       I can exalt (praise) God and teach my children to do the same. 

3.       I can look for opportunities to show the promise of peace to others who don’t have it.

Some may view this approach as too “simple”.  However, I know that there is no way for me to be still before God if I continue to strive for _______ (fill in the blank) with my own strength and power.  I absolutely want to be moved by the Holy Spirit to walk in obedience in whatever area He calls me to. That might be a time of intense prayer.  It might be ministry to a hurting friend.  It might be courtesy and respect to the rude clerk at the counter.   Sure, I have things I want to accomplish this week—they may even be good things.  But, they might not be God things.  After all, I can’t hear His voice if I’m busy talking about my own personal agenda. 

Lord, help me to be keenly aware of every area you want me to engage in this week.  Help me pray according to your will.  Let my heartbeat mimic your own.  Let me not be burdened with anyone’s projection of what they think I should be doing.  Instead, let me simply rest in you, being obedient to your voice and call.  Amen

                                         

Photo by Lhgergo

Hair Dye and Chocolate Cake

The last 3 days have been rather hectic.  Saturday and Sunday we worked (and had other people work) on a plumbing problem the required the water to be shut off for most of the weekend.  I was relatively calm about it.  There were occasions when the fear of having to tear out bathroom walls crept through my head, but on a whole, I was at peace.  In the end, we did have to go through a wall, but from the back end.  The plumbing was repaired and instead of having to re-tile a wall, it will just be a dry wall repair. 

Then last night, I got a surprise phone call, offering me a job for which I'd never heard of, and never applied for.  It was exciting to think that someone though I was such a perfect fit, that I was offered a position out of the blue.  Wanting to learn more about it, I headed for a meeting this afternoon only to be told that the position was filled 30 minutes prior to my arrival.  I can't say that I was terribly upset, as the whole think had come out of left field anyway.  Yet, I felt a little confused.

After the meeting, I picked up my eldest daughter from my in-law's house.  She doesn't start school until tomorrow. She had made a very decadent chocolate cake and built (from a kit) a 3 foot high Eifel Tower.  After loading her goods into the car, she asked me about dying her hair.
We've allowed hair dye before.  Not the whole head, but streaks of a color.  She had bought a kit of "luscious raspberry".

On to pick up daughter #2 who did start school today.  First day at a new school and by all accounts it went pretty well!

Back at the ranch, I come home to last night's Star Wars Monopoly Game still spread all over the kitchen table.  The family wanted to finish it up tonight after dinner.  My bed is unmade, there is laundry on the couch and the ugly hole in the wall stares me down.  I'm starting to feel a bit intimidated. 

I start the dye job on #1.  While the bleach sets, I begin dinner.  #2 is busy reading and I'm thankful for that.  Hubby comes home and then leaves again for the gym.  I rinse, wash and apply color.  I cook the pasta and add the fixings.  I rinse the dye and shampoo.  #2 has snuck some chocolate cake.  Hubby comes home, we eat, they play Monopoly.

I just needed a little "down" time tonight.  I suppose I'm being selfish, sitting with my computer, writing to anyone who cares, rather than engaging with the family.  That being said, it's time to unplug and find #2--looks like she ran out of money and left the game. 

Motherhood isn't for the faint of heart.

Who I Am

It is painful to confess this, but the honest truth is that I struggle with my pride on a regular basis.  My flesh wants to be acknowledged and patted on the back.  It wants to be honored for working hard.  It wants to be noticed.

If you do a quick Bible verse search on “pride”, it’s very obvious that it isn’t a characteristic that God wants in me.  So, my spirit is always in pride battle mode. 

Today on the radio program, we had Senatorial candidate Allen Weh come in.  He asked me if I “do the weather”.  I can’t relay the emotional response that a question of that nature generates in me.  I wanted to shout “I’ve been here for almost 8 years!  I’m the co-host!”  In retrospect, I think what I really wanted to shout was “I’m important too!  Value me!”

Knowing who I am in Christ and being firmly and confidently rooted in that identity is such a juxtaposition to worldly pride.  It’s a struggle for me.  The world expects us to celebrate our titles and accomplishments.  It presumes that our identity comes from our jobs, our affiliations, or even our sexuality. 

Today, I write to remind myself, and anyone else in need of a spiritual “pep-talk” who we really are.

We are God’s workmanship: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 
Think of yourself as a fine work of art that has been meticulously crafted by the Master Designer.

We are a new creation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 
You may view yourself through the lens of your mistakes.  You may have shame from the past, but that record has been expunged!

We are loved, forgiven, sanctified, accepted, favored, and reconciled to God.  The list goes on and on.  Instead of thinking of yourself as a "just"--"just a mom", "just a student" or "just a delivery driver", begin to imagine your spiritual business cards with these new titles instead.

The beauty of God’s Truth is that who I am in Him, is so much more than I could ever be through human accomplishment.  Now, the real challenge lies in valuing our God given titles above those found in the world.  I won't pretend that a blog and a speech will instantly remedy this thinking.  However, acknowledging the struggle and turning it over to the Lord in prayer will begin to put us on the right side of the battle.

Lord, help me see my true value, and abandon self-promotion through worldly endeavors. Set me free from the bondage of pride and allow me to rest in the assurance that I have eternal value in Your eyes.  Let this truth sink deeply into my mind and spirit and let me rest in You.  Help me throw off everything that so easily entangles, so I can run with perseverance the race marked out for me. Let my eyes be fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith. Amen

 

A House Full of Strangers

Tonight is "National Night Out", an "effort to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police-community partnerships, [and] neighborhood camaraderie."  For us, we used it as an "excuse" to open up our home to our neighbors in an effort to get to know them better (or at all).

The idea came to me at a recent Albuquerque Ministry Alliance meeting, where the speaker talked about the purposeful effort he and his wife  made in praying for the Lord to open doors of opportunity to love on their neighbors.  One thing led to another and they now have a thriving neighborhood network. 

I felt a sense of sadness that after 2 1/2 years in our home, we had hardly met anyone on our block.  Of those we had met, I barely knew their names.  So, after prayer and consulting Bob, our neighborhood open house was planned.

The experience of going door to door, passing out invitation flyers didn't go as I had imagined.  We had neighbors who rolled their eyes, closed their doors, or looked out the window and opt not to ever open the door.  I had somehow envisioned a 1950's TV sitcom response. It clearly didn't go that way.

Yet, over the next few days, the phone calls started to come in.  First one, then a few more, and finally 15 responded, saying they would attend.  Even as I write now, another neighbor called (expressing regret that a prior commitment would keep her from attending).

So tonight, my house will be full of neighborhood strangers.  My hope and prayer is that this event will serve as a catalyst, promoting friendship and trust.  I will try not to have unrealistic expectations about what will transpire.  As a wise man once told me "We are simply called to act.  We are not responsible for the outcome."  We acted in faith and have opened our doors.  The rest is up to the Lord.