The best laid plans...... are best left to God, us mice and men "miss it".
OK, so here is what we had planned for today: Go to church and pick up Carey from the midhigh youth overnight. Catch the BlueLine (metro train) and go the the Oregon Zoo in Portland.
AND here's what happened: Holly cried, "Daddy, please let me go to Sunday school. I want to learn there!" So, Doug changed his clothes and we went to church.
Doug and I sat together in worship and were filled with the Spirit. We both realized how much we needed to be there. Just last night Doug told me how much he missed taking communion (we hadn't celebrated the Lord's Supper since before we left). God brought us to the place we needed to be to receive that blessing. Praise be to God!
It was a good morning, and a day of rest.We did not get on the BlueLine and go to the zoo. As it turned out, Carey hadn't slept at all (I'm not suprised) and she really needed to just go home and sleep. So we went home, had the frito pie we had been craving, watched TV, took naps, and went to eat out. Just what we needed!
The best laid plans really are laid by the Master Planner!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
In the Creator's hands
" through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that had been made"
John 1:3
This past week (weeks) we have been busy making costumes. We wanted to make them with things we had here at home, so we used newspapers and flour paste to make paper mache masks, cardboard and eggcartons to make dragon and warrior outfits, and lots of paint and hot glue to put them all together. The kitchen has been a disaster, but the creative juices were flowing, so we left it a mess. They turned out FANTASTIC! We walked around the neighborhood last night and basked in the glow of jack-o-lanterns and praise for what a great job we had done on our costumes. And afterward we rested......and PIGGED out on the kid's unwanted Twizzlers.
ONE thing came to mind after this experience:
God is an awesome creator!
1. We made things out of a few recyclables and they are good for a night or two. He made all things and they are GOOD for always.
2. We made things that cover up our outsides, so we can pretend to be something we're not. He made us from the inside out and knows who we really ARE!
3. We rested, then overindulged. He rested and blessed.
I am writing this down not so much as to highlight that our ways are not His ways, but because I have seen a glimpse of what it means to be created in His image. We have the desire to create something that brings us joy. And we have Him to thank for that....and the chocolate candy bars. We can't forget to thank Him for those either.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What would Sarai have packed?
I am headed back to NM's big sky and loved ones later today, so I have been busy packing bags in preparation. I thought of Abram and Sarai (not yet Abraham and Sarah) and their journey. I wondered what Sarai would have packed in anticipation. Probably much more than I!! But then the camel caravan didn't have a one bag 50lb limit. Silliness. It's just fun to think about. What if they did?
Monday, October 15, 2007
What kind of life?
This morning as I was picking up and starting the laundry, I cranked up the music on the stereo. I had put on a few of my favorite CDs to keep me motivated: Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, and Stephen Curtis Chapman. I know the words, so its easy to sing along without really hearing the song. But at one point the words entered my thought, "these are the signs of life..."
Breathing? Heart beat? Brain waves? Eating and growing? No, I decided. There is definitely more to life than that.
When I sat down to spend time in the Word this morning, I felt I needed to search a deeper meaning of the word "life". I looked the word up in my concordance and found Luke 12:22,23.
" Do not worry about your life...Life is more that food, and the body is more than clothing" I noticed that the word "life" was in there twice and wondered if it might have two different meanings in the original Greek, so I looked that up, too.
Well one thing led to another and I found out that in the Greek language there is more than one word that is translated as "life". There is the word, "psuche" which can be translated as "soul"; it means that immaterial part of us that makes us living beings. And there is the word,"bios" which is our physical life, the breathing, beating, thinking part of us. And yet another, "zoe", which is life in the spirit; spirit is that within us that allows us to commuicate with God. Jesus speaks of this "life" in John 6:63, " ...the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
What kind of life do I want to be living? Bios? merely walking around, breathing? OR Zoe? being alive in my spirit! Walking with God, having the breath of life! This is what Jesus wants for me, too.
Breathing? Heart beat? Brain waves? Eating and growing? No, I decided. There is definitely more to life than that.
When I sat down to spend time in the Word this morning, I felt I needed to search a deeper meaning of the word "life". I looked the word up in my concordance and found Luke 12:22,23.
" Do not worry about your life...Life is more that food, and the body is more than clothing" I noticed that the word "life" was in there twice and wondered if it might have two different meanings in the original Greek, so I looked that up, too.
Well one thing led to another and I found out that in the Greek language there is more than one word that is translated as "life". There is the word, "psuche" which can be translated as "soul"; it means that immaterial part of us that makes us living beings. And there is the word,"bios" which is our physical life, the breathing, beating, thinking part of us. And yet another, "zoe", which is life in the spirit; spirit is that within us that allows us to commuicate with God. Jesus speaks of this "life" in John 6:63, " ...the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
What kind of life do I want to be living? Bios? merely walking around, breathing? OR Zoe? being alive in my spirit! Walking with God, having the breath of life! This is what Jesus wants for me, too.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
replacing the old with the new
Definition of "replace"
-to put back into place; to supply an equivalent for; to substitute for
While reading scripture last night I found that Jeremiah 31:31-34, and Hebrews 8:7-13 are identical. In Jeremiah, the Lord is giving His promise for a new covenant, and in Hebrews Paul is declaring the arrival of, and explaining the significance of the the new covenant God promised.
The side notes suggested that the new covenant would replace the old. When I looked in the dictionary for a definition of the word "replace", I felt it lacked the strength of meaning of these passages. The dictionary definition does not put enough emphasis on the complete removal of that which is being replaced, or the superiority of that which is replacing.
I began to look to my own life for examples of things I had replaced, and examine the reasons for replacement; there was a frying pan recently. We had used it for years; the teflon coating was peeling off, so we bought a new one. My favorite pair of blue jeans ripped out in the seat. I had to replace them; they weren't useful in covering up my backside. And there was also the replacement of our computer; an old desktop for a newer, faster, streamline laptop.
But none of these examples even comes close to parallelling the significance of replacing the old with the new. After all, when I replaced my frying pan I replaced it with another frying pan. The same goes for my jeans and for the computer. I was replacing them with something else that was similar in likeness and function. In the passages of scripture, however, the new covenenat that our Lord God established more than replaced the old. He created a NEW covenant, unlike the old in every way. It is superior, different. And the old is obsolete.
Another passage that speaks to this type of newness is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come." Just like the old covenant, I see that my old self (my old ways of doing, thinking, acting) have become obsolete by my new life in Christ and ought to be put away. No, chucked, demolished, destroyed, obliterated.
Easier said than done!
Its a very good thing I am under the blood of the new covenant.
-to put back into place; to supply an equivalent for; to substitute for
While reading scripture last night I found that Jeremiah 31:31-34, and Hebrews 8:7-13 are identical. In Jeremiah, the Lord is giving His promise for a new covenant, and in Hebrews Paul is declaring the arrival of, and explaining the significance of the the new covenant God promised.
The side notes suggested that the new covenant would replace the old. When I looked in the dictionary for a definition of the word "replace", I felt it lacked the strength of meaning of these passages. The dictionary definition does not put enough emphasis on the complete removal of that which is being replaced, or the superiority of that which is replacing.
I began to look to my own life for examples of things I had replaced, and examine the reasons for replacement; there was a frying pan recently. We had used it for years; the teflon coating was peeling off, so we bought a new one. My favorite pair of blue jeans ripped out in the seat. I had to replace them; they weren't useful in covering up my backside. And there was also the replacement of our computer; an old desktop for a newer, faster, streamline laptop.
But none of these examples even comes close to parallelling the significance of replacing the old with the new. After all, when I replaced my frying pan I replaced it with another frying pan. The same goes for my jeans and for the computer. I was replacing them with something else that was similar in likeness and function. In the passages of scripture, however, the new covenenat that our Lord God established more than replaced the old. He created a NEW covenant, unlike the old in every way. It is superior, different. And the old is obsolete.
Another passage that speaks to this type of newness is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come." Just like the old covenant, I see that my old self (my old ways of doing, thinking, acting) have become obsolete by my new life in Christ and ought to be put away. No, chucked, demolished, destroyed, obliterated.
Easier said than done!
Its a very good thing I am under the blood of the new covenant.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Definition of "transparent"
transparent-"that may be distinctly seen through; pervious to light; clear"
I have heard that cleaning lighthouse windows is a daily chore, otherwise the light within is not clearly reflected.
If I were a lighthouse window, it would take gallons of windex to get me clean! The move, setting up new routines, home sickness and finding my way around a new place has put a thick layer of "its-all-about-me-look-what-a-martyr-I-am" gunk on me. No wonder I've been rather dark lately; I'm blocking the Light.
However, I am not a lighthouse window, and windex is not the solution to clean the gunk. Rather, I am a child of God who has been neglectful of daily cleansing for too long, and I must rely on the Blood to do the job. Thank God it is readily available to me!
(NOTE TO SELF) To prevent the build up of "its-all-about-me-look-what-a-martyr-I-am" gunk, follow this simple recipe.
Pray and ask others to pray for you
spend time DAILY in the Word, if only for a few minutes
fellowship with other believers
participate in Christian service
I have heard that cleaning lighthouse windows is a daily chore, otherwise the light within is not clearly reflected.
If I were a lighthouse window, it would take gallons of windex to get me clean! The move, setting up new routines, home sickness and finding my way around a new place has put a thick layer of "its-all-about-me-look-what-a-martyr-I-am" gunk on me. No wonder I've been rather dark lately; I'm blocking the Light.
However, I am not a lighthouse window, and windex is not the solution to clean the gunk. Rather, I am a child of God who has been neglectful of daily cleansing for too long, and I must rely on the Blood to do the job. Thank God it is readily available to me!
(NOTE TO SELF) To prevent the build up of "its-all-about-me-look-what-a-martyr-I-am" gunk, follow this simple recipe.
Pray and ask others to pray for you
spend time DAILY in the Word, if only for a few minutes
fellowship with other believers
participate in Christian service
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