Friday, April 30, 2010

Why Didn't I Think of That?

What is this Silly Bandz mania that has stricken?  Anyone between the ages of 3 and 83 is suddenly willing to fork over $4.95 of their own, or someone else's hard earned cash to wear some cheap animal or alphabet shaped rubber bands by the bagful, around their wrist.  Are you serious?  Or am I just "old?"  Is there something I'm missing here?  Or am I just annoyed because I still go to work each day while some clown is laughing his way to the bank for inventing a rubber band in the shape of a yellow kangaroo?  So what about paper clips in the shape of sea creatures or scented staples?  Hmmm...

From God's Word to Your Heart

I think the state of the economy the last few months has prompted many folks to take a closer look at their finances and maybe, set clearer goals with regard to their savings.  My husband and I are no different.  We have been making a concerted effort to be better stewards of the gifts we have been given.  We spend more time discussing and considering our purchases, choosing more frequently to prepare for "rainy days ahead."  In addition to stewardship, we have devoted more attention to charitable giving.  We know we are blessed in many ways, and feel compelled to "pay it forward;" we have been actively seeking out those we can help.

Anyone who has ever remained on a budget knows the sense of accomplishment it brings.  Likewise, giving to others leave us with a feeling of pride and satisfaction.  These are humanity's rewards -- the immediate remunerations that come from human nature, feelings that fade with time and may even leave us second guessing our actions when our situation seems to turn for the worse.  There are heavenly rewards, however, that are much greater than these.

In Malachi 3:10 God tells us to test Him with regard to His promises, specifically the promise that He will bless us in our giving.   Luke 6:38 tells us to give and it will be given to us, according to the measure with which we give -- a loving, gracious heart, a merciful, generous reward.  Proverbs 11:24 promises generous people will prosper, but those who hold back will find poverty. Is payback the only motivation?  Of course not.  James 1:17 and 1 Corinthians 4:7 tell us that nothing we have has been achieved through our own toil, tears, righteousness or merit; it all comes from God.  Whatever we have is God's gift to us.  It is all about loving the Giver, not the gift.  Matthew 19:16-30 is the story of a rich young man who figured he'd been "good enough" to get to Heaven.  When Jesus suggested he give his money to the poor and follow, you could have heard a pin drop -- a needle really.  According to verse 22, the young man didn't even reply, just hung his head sadly and moved on.  Jesus told his disciples it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who's heart has been given to money to enter Heaven.

On a personal level, my experience has been, what we give God not only replaces, but multiplies back to us.  When I notice the needle of my gas tank moves more slowly these days than it did before, I know God is stretching out the flour and oil as he did for the widow and her son (1 Kings 17:8-16).  When our refrigerator seems perpetually full, it is God multiplying our loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-43).  When opportunities arise to supplement our income, God is filling every vessel we can find with precious oil (2 Kings 4:1-7).

The Lord may be calling you to share your blessings, no matter how small they seem, with others.  Why don't you give Him the chance to fulfill His promises?  He will be faithful.    

Thursday, April 29, 2010

More Ramblings...

The Sleeper awoke today.  We decided we like her better when she is asleep.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Ramblings of an Office Minion

Do you find it fascinating that people who work in an office tend to be a little odd?  Like singing along with the "Elvis Three at Three," or "bowling" with rolling office chairs and "Wet Floor" signs?  Cult films and prime time programming aside, it is difficult to capture the magnitude of an office group's dysfunction.  For instance, office groups embrace all types:

     1)  The Intellect:  This erudite individual goes to the library simply to read the newspaper that arrives at his front door each morning.  He listens only to news radio and would never think of engaging in "water cooler" chit-chat.  He feels a calling to educate those around him despite their lifelong contentment with ignorance.

     2)  The Sleeper:  Not long ago in an office not so far away, an employee dropped dead at his desk and remained there, unnoticed, through the weekend.  Not so far fetched -- The Sleeper is often mistaken for a corpse by those new to the office.

     3)  The Cultured Pearl:  Clippings from the City Paper, mailers from Summer Stage and Fringe Festival...  The Cultured Pearl would like to organize a group trip to the opera, but can't bear the thought of spending an entire evening repeatedly telling the rest of the office mammals to use their indoor voices.  Instead, she carefully selects a handful of deserving individuals (read "victims") with which to establish dialogue regarding cultural events.  "The Pearl" is sometimes mistaken for The Intellect, as they are both boorish, but only The Pearl will titter when the museum docent tries to pronounce the names of French artists properly; The Intellect will throttle the docent with his newspaper and head for the nearest archives.

     4)  The Googler:  The office employee who cannot resist Googling the name of the storekeeper on Petticoat Junction, and makes obscure references to movies based on his latest Google > IMDB > YouTube voyage of discovery.

     5)  The Roz:  The Office Manager/ Admin without whom the management would be thrown into a complete tailspin.  She's gruff, she's crabby, she smells of cigarettes and coffee, but Man! does she know her stuff!  Chances are, she knows how to install that toner cartridge -- without wearing half of the powder.  She also knows your social security number, so easy on the "big hair" jokes.

     6)  The Party Boy/ Girl:  The one who still wears sports logos and fraternity brands on casual day.  He (or she) is loud, irreverent, and they love to mess with The Intellect and The Cultured Pearl.  Though everyone else is annoyed by this person as well, they give him/ her a pass just because they provide this service.  If you're not quite sure, turn around, this is the office employee that is sitting on the copier even as we speak.

     7)  The Multi-Tasker:  Shops, reads, blogs, eats, and balances her checkbook -- all the while at the employ of a paycheck issuing, benefit paying, real live job!  Hold all her calls, Overstock.com is having a sale!  If she doesn't finish this Tweet soon, she'll have to work overtime just to complete payroll for the week!

     8)  The Peddler:  He's got ten kids and three jobs.  If he's not selling cookies for his daughters' troop, he's soliciting side work for his carpet laying business.  He likes to pretend he's an entrepreneur, but the armpits of his dress shirt are stained, and he is one new set of orthodontia away from foreclosure.  He's the one who always has change for a five -- you'll just have to buy a candy bar to get it.

Well, better go -- it's almost 3, and I need four more Wet Floor sign to make this spare!

Monday, April 26, 2010

What Will You Allow God to Do?

Way back when, when dinosaurs roamed terra firma... or, as I prefer to say, "When I was a little girl...." I had a high school physiology teacher who, I believe, really enjoyed his job.  He inserted personal anecdotes and views into his teaching, not because we were mindless dupes blindly, thoughtlessly falling for the influence of a respected teacher, but because we were taught to reason and consider that there were other perspectives to any argument.  One of the things that stuck with me was the view he and his wife shared on family.  They believed it was the job of Christians even today to follow the command of Genesis 1:28: to be fruitful and multiply.  Coupled with Philippians 4:19 which tells us God will supply all our needs, to them that meant, when it comes to children -- "keep 'em comin'!"  These days, we have the Duggars.  They have been vaulted and vilified for their philosophies and their techniques.  They have placed their lives under the microscope, subjected themselves to cultural and individual interpretations of everything from their spending habits to the number of times each week they bathe.  I'm not launching into a call for peace, love and understanding here, but my point is this: we are all, each one of us, fatally flawed and finite.  When asked and truthfully answered, we can all recall a moment when "we really blew it."  Should we stop judging others?  Absolutely, but as I said, that's not what this is about.

On one episode of "? Kids and Counting," one of the Duggar children became lost in the airport.  Upon finding him, the father remarked (I'm paraphrasing) that even families with two children lose a child and we all have to expect to lose one now and again.  This wasn't, I believe, some calloused moment of self-justification, but a moment in which he came face to face with the failures of his own humanity, and challenged us all to keep in mind, we share the same condition.  Not to make light of losing a child, figuratively or literally, but we lose people, possessions, youth, health -- all kinds of things throughout our lives.  We mourn -- as I said, we are only human.  The question is, "What do we allow God to do with those things moments of loss?"

"He who dies with the most toys wins."  Hoarders -- now a hot topic on reality TV.  Aren't these all symptoms of a society bent on acquiring everything it possibly can?  Filling its emptinesses?  Substituting its grief of loss with things or addictions?  But what would happen if we allowed God to use our loss, our grief, our hurt, our betrayal for His good?

Put simply, bad things are part of an imperfect world.  You have to expect them.  Are we wrong for remembering the journey put upon us is our own to reckon?  Is it wrong to think that our losses may be used by God to set us right? to make us stronger? to bring us to surrender?  It's pretty obvious that the painful sickness of a loved one is not what God wills; but what if He uses that to change you?  I don't believe that God wants to see my son where he is, but I am wrong to think He can't use that to make anyone of us different.  As humans, we focus on the wordly, the tangible, the things we see as possible or impossible.  How much better off we would be if we come to realize that God does supply all our needs in His capacity!  God is not bound by our rules or the Laws of Nature.  Like a parent, keenly watching over children at a playground, God sees the whole picture -- the dangers, the pitfalls, and the redemption of His children.  Will you allow Him to take your failures and heartaches and use them today?

Sunday, April 25, 2010

A Bit of Boasting


1 Corinthians 1:30, 31 -- "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

A few weeks ago we celebrated Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ from the grave -- a glorious celebration, no doubt.  However, the significance of such an event is something that God does not allow us to easily forget.  Personally, I find it easy to focus on the salvation that occurred when Christ suffered and hung on that bloody wood for me; I find it easy to say, "What a wretch am I, and what a gracious gift He gave me."  I am a self- absorbed person.  BUT, the gift that our Heavenly Father gave is the gift that keeps on giving, not just for those new to the Gospel, but for me.  True, I am saved and will stay saved, but what of the Resurrection?

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not simply about His victory over death and, therefore, ours as well; it is about Christ's role as "wisdom from God. righteousness, sanctification and redemption."  Christ became, and still is -- everyday -- wisdom, righteousness, redemption and sanctification for us.  When someone twists events and tries to damage the ones I love, and all I feel is pity for them; I am drawn to my knees to pray in earnest for the one who has assumed servitude to the Father of Lies.  That my friend, is Jesus.  When I am drowing in guilt for the things that I should have done (much worse than things I have done) and it consumes me to the point of darkest depression; I lift my eyes to Heaven and thank God for His peace and providence.  That my friend, is Jesus.

Christ lives within me day after day, becoming God's wisdom, being the righteousness that pens these words, redeeming me from my own vituperation, restoring my self-respect.  Christ is the center of anything truly good I can do.  And here am I, boasting ONLY in the Lord!