During this Easter season, I had a deeper revelation about the disciples of Christ. It was no simple thing to leave it all behind and follow. Following meant leaving their livelihood, their security (or what they thought was their security), everything they had ever depended upon. They left their friends, their families, their wives, their children. They placed their complete trust in this man named Jesus. Think about that.
The disciples literally left it all, and for three years, sat and listened, walked next to Jesus, absorbed His Words. They watched Him perform miracles, watched Him live what He taught, watched Him respond lovingly to those who persecuted Him and others. They learned forgiveness, peace, love and mercy. They went to the University of Jesus for three years. They did not worry what they would eat, what they would wear, where they would sleep, how their 401Ks were doing, whether their kids would make honor roll, how they were going to pay for college, whether their insurance would cover that illness, how they were going to pay for retirement, or what anyone was saying about them.
They just followed.
Jesus told them, "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all else will be added to you."
Not some things. All things.
To the employee or employer, Jesus says, "Walk away from the gossip at the lunchroom table. Follow Me." or "Walk away from this job where you are being asked to do things that are not in My plan for your life. Follow Me."
To the politician, Jesus says, "Speak the truth, whether or not it makes you popular with some. Follow Me."
To all of us, Jesus says, " Leave behind your agenda for today, and follow Mine."
Following Him takes trust, and we've been let down by people, so trust can be hard. Sacrifices, yes, but none as great as His.
Oh, Lord, let me be one of your disciples. Let me be willing every day to lay aside my plans and follow Your amazing plan for my life.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29:11
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Be still
Psalm 37:7-9
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
Monday, October 20, 2008
God's Invisible Breath
God’s Invisible Breath
The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And the man shouted, “God show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair.
“Touch me, God, and let me know you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And the man shouted, “God show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair.
“Touch me, God, and let me know you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tomato Town
I have three really tall tomato plants and they are now producing abundant amounts of tomatoes. The fruit is really small, but they are THERE, that's the amazing thing to me.
Here's the story. I write a few words to God in my journal each morning, like "talk to me about buying a house" and then record whatever message I receive. So, one morning I wrote "talk to me about the car" (because we only have one car) and here's what I got back:
"The world thinks they need a car to function. Walking is good for you. If you grow your food, raise chickens, you can eat. Learn to do this. Learn to build things. Mechanical things break down, cost money. Go back to the earth. A new car means new debt. Get creative and make money from your home. Stay well, grow and use herbs, oils, stop worry and fear. Trust me."
Uh, raise chickens? What? So, I then wrote "Does this mean we need a farm?" And the response came back: "One day at a time. Today get a tomato plant." By now you think I'm nuts probably, but that's how it went. I wrote it down. That afternoon, I go to visit my mom, and just as I am leaving, she's says (I kid you not) "Oh, I planted too many tomato plants in one pot so would you like some of them?" I didn't know she even had tomato plants. Notice He'd said to me "Today GET a tomato plant" not "go buy a tomato plant" So, I came home with three tiny plants AND some pots AND some potting soil she gave me...and started the process of growing them. Now, I know NOTHING about growing vegetables so I tried different areas of the yard to see where the best sun was and searched the internet for clues on how to grow them successfully. When they outgrew the original pots, my husband and I purchased these large bright blue toy tubs, drilled holes in the bottom, and thus created Tomato Town (by this time, I also had Pepper Plaza, and Thyme Square). I had received the tomato plants in May and it is now October, so for six months as these plants got taller and taller, I wondered would they really produce? Well, sure enough the green fruit started popping out and my husband does a daily count. "Two more!" "Four more!" every single day. As of today, there are 36. Tomorrow I'll make a big fat salad for us. Next year, I'll have a whole Veggie Village.
Not quite ready for chickens.
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Here's the story. I write a few words to God in my journal each morning, like "talk to me about buying a house" and then record whatever message I receive. So, one morning I wrote "talk to me about the car" (because we only have one car) and here's what I got back:
"The world thinks they need a car to function. Walking is good for you. If you grow your food, raise chickens, you can eat. Learn to do this. Learn to build things. Mechanical things break down, cost money. Go back to the earth. A new car means new debt. Get creative and make money from your home. Stay well, grow and use herbs, oils, stop worry and fear. Trust me."
Uh, raise chickens? What? So, I then wrote "Does this mean we need a farm?" And the response came back: "One day at a time. Today get a tomato plant." By now you think I'm nuts probably, but that's how it went. I wrote it down. That afternoon, I go to visit my mom, and just as I am leaving, she's says (I kid you not) "Oh, I planted too many tomato plants in one pot so would you like some of them?" I didn't know she even had tomato plants. Notice He'd said to me "Today GET a tomato plant" not "go buy a tomato plant" So, I came home with three tiny plants AND some pots AND some potting soil she gave me...and started the process of growing them. Now, I know NOTHING about growing vegetables so I tried different areas of the yard to see where the best sun was and searched the internet for clues on how to grow them successfully. When they outgrew the original pots, my husband and I purchased these large bright blue toy tubs, drilled holes in the bottom, and thus created Tomato Town (by this time, I also had Pepper Plaza, and Thyme Square). I had received the tomato plants in May and it is now October, so for six months as these plants got taller and taller, I wondered would they really produce? Well, sure enough the green fruit started popping out and my husband does a daily count. "Two more!" "Four more!" every single day. As of today, there are 36. Tomorrow I'll make a big fat salad for us. Next year, I'll have a whole Veggie Village.
Not quite ready for chickens.
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Open your hands
When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Coconut pie
October 7, 2008
I went to a fantastic retreat this weekend and am still floating on air, immersed in the Christlike love exhibited towards me by the ladies and men who put on the retreat. It was more than words can express and I am starting the week determined to be a better person. But, I have a confession to make about a moment during the weekend when I adopted a non-Christlike attitude (I hate it when that happens, you know? Try so hard to be all spiritual and loving and everything, and then somebody rubs me the wrong way, and bam, out come the claws. Jeez).
Anyway, there was a woman at the retreat whose job it was to keep us moving from activity to activity. She was very drill-sargeant and often rude about it. We mentioned her to the retreat leaders and they said she has a heart of gold, she used to be in the military, and that’s just the way she is. The moderator for the event was her best friend, and kept calling her “Boss-a-me” (as in, “you aren’t the boss of me”). Before long, all fifty ladies at the retreat were calling her that instead of her real name, and I think she got a kick out of it.
Anyway, when lunch arrived, it fell to me to help a lady in a wheelchair get her food, which took some time to get her drink, dessert, and so on. When she was finally settled, I got my own food and sat down to eat. By that time, Boss-a-me was ringing the bell and saying it was about time to go to the next room. Everyone else was on dessert and I’d barely finished my salad, still had my fruit to eat, and most of all, I had my eye on some homemade coconut pie they’d just put out. Everyone was raving about how good it was. I haven’t had pie, my favorite dessert, in a loooong time, and was very determined to get some of it. By now, the bell was ringing furiously, and Boss-a-me is getting very military with everyone, so I jumped up, threw my plates away, and headed to the dessert table to grab a piece of coconut pie and take it into the other room with me. Boss-a-me met me at the table, saying “no food on the tables, there isn’t room”, so I left it. I’d had this very spiritual, Christ-filled weekend, but here I was heading to the other room, muttering to myself about this woman and how rude she was, and how could there not be a space for a piece of pie? When I got to the table in the other room, a few of the other ladies were grumbling as well, she’d made them throw away whole plates of food because there wasn’t room on the table for it (and there was). And, yes, I was feeling guilty about my whiny attitude, and decided that was God’s way of telling me I didn’t need to eat any more sugar.
Well, fortunately, the next activity was quiet meditation (so we could meditate away our grumpiness…we’d gone to bed at 11:30 and had to get up at 5:30, so we were tired, too). The room was darkened, the facilitator asked us to close our eyes, and imagine ourselves in this wonderful scene with Jesus, music was playing, it was so calming I almost fell asleep. In my meditation, I asked Jesus to forgive me for my lousy attitude towards this lady just trying to do what she was asked to do. Soon, we were asked to open our eyes, and were so excited to find they had placed a bag of letters in front of each of us, from family and friends. They gave us plenty of time to read these words of love and encouragement from our loved ones. Needless to say, I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. What an amazing blessing this was.
One of my letters was from my younger sister Katy. She is a petite little ball of joy, with huge dimples and sparkling eyes. She is full of the Holy Spirit. God is always leading her to do things that are so timely for me, and the rest of our family. Well, her letter was just that. She was describing how I’d been there for her while she was growing up. To make her point in her own precious way (complete with a hand-drawn picture)J, she described me as a palm tree, tall and slender, bending down to help others, making it easy for her to climb up and get coconuts for nurturance, with a crown of beautiful palms to keep harm away from her.
Wow. Coconut pie, coconut tree. Ok, God, I get it. Boss-a-me had known we were getting this surprise and if we’d had food all over the tables, there wouldn’t have been room to place these large bags of love letters for the eight ladies at each table. She had our ultimate good in mind.
I get an attitude with God sometimes (the real “boss-of-me”) because I want something and He says no. I may not know His reasons, and may pout a bit. He knows that the thing I think I need so badly will only fill me up for the moment, but the gift He has planned for me will fill me up for a lifetime.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
I went to a fantastic retreat this weekend and am still floating on air, immersed in the Christlike love exhibited towards me by the ladies and men who put on the retreat. It was more than words can express and I am starting the week determined to be a better person. But, I have a confession to make about a moment during the weekend when I adopted a non-Christlike attitude (I hate it when that happens, you know? Try so hard to be all spiritual and loving and everything, and then somebody rubs me the wrong way, and bam, out come the claws. Jeez).
Anyway, there was a woman at the retreat whose job it was to keep us moving from activity to activity. She was very drill-sargeant and often rude about it. We mentioned her to the retreat leaders and they said she has a heart of gold, she used to be in the military, and that’s just the way she is. The moderator for the event was her best friend, and kept calling her “Boss-a-me” (as in, “you aren’t the boss of me”). Before long, all fifty ladies at the retreat were calling her that instead of her real name, and I think she got a kick out of it.
Anyway, when lunch arrived, it fell to me to help a lady in a wheelchair get her food, which took some time to get her drink, dessert, and so on. When she was finally settled, I got my own food and sat down to eat. By that time, Boss-a-me was ringing the bell and saying it was about time to go to the next room. Everyone else was on dessert and I’d barely finished my salad, still had my fruit to eat, and most of all, I had my eye on some homemade coconut pie they’d just put out. Everyone was raving about how good it was. I haven’t had pie, my favorite dessert, in a loooong time, and was very determined to get some of it. By now, the bell was ringing furiously, and Boss-a-me is getting very military with everyone, so I jumped up, threw my plates away, and headed to the dessert table to grab a piece of coconut pie and take it into the other room with me. Boss-a-me met me at the table, saying “no food on the tables, there isn’t room”, so I left it. I’d had this very spiritual, Christ-filled weekend, but here I was heading to the other room, muttering to myself about this woman and how rude she was, and how could there not be a space for a piece of pie? When I got to the table in the other room, a few of the other ladies were grumbling as well, she’d made them throw away whole plates of food because there wasn’t room on the table for it (and there was). And, yes, I was feeling guilty about my whiny attitude, and decided that was God’s way of telling me I didn’t need to eat any more sugar.
Well, fortunately, the next activity was quiet meditation (so we could meditate away our grumpiness…we’d gone to bed at 11:30 and had to get up at 5:30, so we were tired, too). The room was darkened, the facilitator asked us to close our eyes, and imagine ourselves in this wonderful scene with Jesus, music was playing, it was so calming I almost fell asleep. In my meditation, I asked Jesus to forgive me for my lousy attitude towards this lady just trying to do what she was asked to do. Soon, we were asked to open our eyes, and were so excited to find they had placed a bag of letters in front of each of us, from family and friends. They gave us plenty of time to read these words of love and encouragement from our loved ones. Needless to say, I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. What an amazing blessing this was.
One of my letters was from my younger sister Katy. She is a petite little ball of joy, with huge dimples and sparkling eyes. She is full of the Holy Spirit. God is always leading her to do things that are so timely for me, and the rest of our family. Well, her letter was just that. She was describing how I’d been there for her while she was growing up. To make her point in her own precious way (complete with a hand-drawn picture)J, she described me as a palm tree, tall and slender, bending down to help others, making it easy for her to climb up and get coconuts for nurturance, with a crown of beautiful palms to keep harm away from her.
Wow. Coconut pie, coconut tree. Ok, God, I get it. Boss-a-me had known we were getting this surprise and if we’d had food all over the tables, there wouldn’t have been room to place these large bags of love letters for the eight ladies at each table. She had our ultimate good in mind.
I get an attitude with God sometimes (the real “boss-of-me”) because I want something and He says no. I may not know His reasons, and may pout a bit. He knows that the thing I think I need so badly will only fill me up for the moment, but the gift He has planned for me will fill me up for a lifetime.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Look up
Dear friend,
I noticed something today. When I am out for a walk, if I am looking down at the ground, it's hard for me to keep my mind off my problems. But if I am looking up and around at nature and at the beautiful sky, my problems seems to melt away. Try it and tell me what happens.
Have a joyous day,
Maybelline
1 Corinthians 10:28 "For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof"
I noticed something today. When I am out for a walk, if I am looking down at the ground, it's hard for me to keep my mind off my problems. But if I am looking up and around at nature and at the beautiful sky, my problems seems to melt away. Try it and tell me what happens.
Have a joyous day,
Maybelline
1 Corinthians 10:28 "For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof"
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