LIVING WITH A LEFT-HANDER

Yup.

"The Hub" is a proud left-hander.

A southpaw.

And I can always tell when he's been out-and-about in the house.

My just-cleaned blouses are hung up in the opposite direction.  Dusted decorative elements on our shelves are replaced backwards.  The TV remote is on the left-hand side of the recliner.

I find it kind of endearing.


Here's some fun facts about lefties:

1. Only about 10% of the population is left-handed.  And women, by a margin of 4%, are more likely to be right-handed.  (Interesting sidenote, though: Women, by a margin of 100%, are more likely to be right...ahem)

2. August 13th is "Left Handers' Day."

3. In Latin, the word for left is sinister, related to the noun sinistrum.

4. The word left in English comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lyft, which means weak or broken.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines left-handed as meaning crippled, defective, awkward, clumsy, inapt, characterized by underhanded dealings, ambiguous, doubtful, questionable, ill-omened, inauspicious, and illegitimate.  (Poor lefties – they have really gotten a bad rap throughout history!)

5. The German for "left-handed" is linkisch, which means awkward, clumsy, and maladroit.  In Italian, the word is mancino, which is derived from "crooked" or "maimed" (mancus) and is also used to mean deceitful or dishonest.  In Russian, to be called a left-hander (levja) is a term of insult.

6. Although approximately 90% of all humans are right-handed, cats, rats, and mice that show handedness seem to be equally split between right- and left-pawedness.  (I think Marty's a rightie...)

7. Studies have suggested that left-handers are more talented in spatial awareness, math, and architecture.  ("Honey, where are my keys?")  Right-handers tend to be more talented verbally.  ("Oh, here they are, on the etagere.")

8. Many people who are left-handed draw figures that face to the right.  (Which explains all the right-facing cartoon figures that "The Hub" draws for me!)

9. Researchers postulate that the proportion of left-handers has remained constant for over 30,000 years.

10. When placed on their tummies, right-handed babies tend to turn their heads to the right.  Left-handed babies usually turn their heads to the left or they don't show any preference.

11. Mothers who are over 40 at the time of a child's birth are 128% more likely to have a left-handed baby than a woman in her 20's.  (And, 128% more tired...)

12. Left-handedness runs in families. Lefties in the British royal family include the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William.


The list of famous "lefties" reads like a very eclectic "Who's Who" – including such "baddies" as Jack the Ripper, John Dillinger, and Osama bin Laden, but also the following "goodies":

Benjamin Franklin, Alexander the Great, Thomas Jefferson, Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Julius Caesar, Mozart, Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Madame Curie, Mark Twain, Helen Keller, and Gandhi.

Not to mention celebrities like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and Robert deNiro.  And money-makers like John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates.

Our current president is a lefty, too!

I have heard it said that handedness is largely controlled by the opposite side of the brain.  So, if you consider that, lefties are actually the only people in their right minds!!

(But don't tell "The Hub" that…)


If you recall, I earlier said that I find my husband's *leftiness* endearing.

But, I also have been known to point out to him that he does things "backwards."

Yes, that"s my "right" perceptions talking!

But honestly, I've been thinking about this whole issue of *differentness* – and our bias against those who do indeed think, act, speak, behave, look, dress differently than we do.

How easy it is to pass judgment on others.

Now, I'm not talking about matters of right and wrong here.

God is quite specific on certain matters.

I'm talking about differences that don't, and really shouldn't, matter.

In a world where tolerance is touted as an all-important value, it's interesting to me that at the same time there seems to be more and more hatred brewing.

An interesting juxtaposition, but so human.

Even in the Garden of Eden, there was trouble brewing.

Once Adam and Eve introduced sin to the world, I'm sure they started arguing over their differences.

Adam probably refused to ever ask for directions, and Eve most likely bought too many shoes…

And didn't Cain kill Abel out of jealousy?  And doesn't jealousy have its roots in comparing and judging another person by how they're different than you?

Look at the Pharisees and Sadducees arguing over religious disagreements – and yet, they completely missed Jesus.  

(Hmmm, a modern-day observation, too???)

And who could forget the family feud between the Jews and the Samaritans?


Hatred, judgment, prejudice, intolerance, bias.

How is it that we have become so "modernized" in our technology, so "refined" in our cultural sophistications, and yet, remain so banal in our innate human tendency to judge and dismiss those who are different?

And honestly, isn't this tendency most tragic when it occurs within the Body of Christ?

Have we lost Christ Himself in the short-sighted habit of picking apart our brethren?

Oh, we must stop!

Many of you will remember a song with lyrics that said: "They will know we are Christians by our love…"

Friends, this is not just a kindly suggestion.  This is a direct command!

Jesus Himself stated, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." 
(John 13:34-35, NLT)


So I'm taking a good long look at the relationships in my life – family, friends, fellow believers, acquaintances, strangers – and asking myself how I'm doing…

Am I accepting differences in others, especially when they rub up against me and my ways?

Am I learning how to judge less, and extend grace more?

Am I refusing to dismiss sin, while at the same time determining to embrace sinners?

Am I reaching out to the marginalized, the ostracized, the detested?

Am I loving like Jesus did?


Yeah, I've been thinking about "The Hub" and his left-handedness.  And the sometimes tongue-in-cheek, and other times what-is-wrong-with-you way that I deem his behavior "backwards" and "wrong."

When the truth of the matter is this – we're both evenhanded in our need for each other, and our deepest need of the Savior.

So this…

Might we all become more mindful of our tendency to judge and malign differences.

Might we all become more open to embracing the joys of every individual’s uniqueness.

Might we all strive to look like Christians by our love for one another, and our unity as we pursue the Author of our Faith.

Might we all endeavor to look more like Jesus.

Whose arms stretched wide open, as His hands (both left and right!) were nailed to the cross, in order to demonstrate what true love looks like.


Those precious scarred hands still reach out today…

…to every single person alive on this earth.


Let's do the same.

 Seeing
eye-to-eye
starts
with the
heart.

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.  For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." (1 John 4:20, NIV)

"For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus…There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female.  For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26, 28, NLT)

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6, ESV)

"But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace…by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…" (Ephesians 2:13-15, NASB)

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory." (James 2:1, ESV)

"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'" (Acts 10:34-35, ESV)

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (1 John 3:16-18, NASB)

"'Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.  For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.'" (Luke 6:37-38, ESV)

"You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?  Or why do you treat them with contempt?  For we will all stand before God's judgment seat…Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister." (Romans 14:10, 13, NIV)

"Believers, do not speak against or slander one another.  He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law.  If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?" (James 4:11-12, AMP)

"Therefore you have no excuse…every one of you who judges.  For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things." (Romans 2:1, ESV)

"'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye…'" 
(Matthew 7:3-5, NIV)

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you fed me.  I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing.  I was sick, and you cared for me.  I was in prison, and you visited me.'

Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?  Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality?  Or naked and give you clothing?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'

And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" 
(Matthew 25:34-40, NLT)




Do you struggle with differences?  Are you prone to judgment?



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BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

Did you ever play that game?

I loved it.

I played it as a kid, and I played it as a mom.

It passed the time on long car trips.  It provided a distraction to stop fighting. It was a wonderful mental exercise.  It fostered creative thinking and problem-solving.

OK, let's admit it, it was just plain fun.

In some ways, I still play.

You see, I have this propensity to *see* faces.  (Not in a creepy "Sixth Sense movie" kind of way, mind you).

A lot of people see stuff in clouds.

I do that, too, but I see faces in trees and rocks and floor tiles and wallpaper and buildings and cars.

Don't laugh.

Because more often than not, if I point out my "discovery" to someone else, they see it, too.

I clearly remember one time when I was staying with my youngest son at his apartment.  He has these sticky tiles on his bathroom floor.  After using the facilities one day, I came out and said this:

"Hey, have you ever noticed that you can see Marty in your bathroom floor?"

(Marty is his beagle)

At first he looked at me like maybe I had been breathing sewer gas or something.  But he indulges me, so he finally said:

"Show me."

I did, he saw it, and agreed.  Yup, there was a little "beagle" prancing across the bathroom floor.

I see faces in car grilles – (you know, the headlights are the eyes, the bumper is the mouth).  Buildings have faces – (windows and doors make perfect facial features).  I've occasionally been spooked out by some eerie faces in wallpaper.

But I also see faces in nature.

For instance, on our property we have this big log that used to be part of a tree that fell down years ago.  I think it looks just like a sperm whale.  I've nicknamed it, "Moby Stick."  (I also have a propensity to name inanimate objects, by the way!)  There's a boulder that looks just like another kind of whale.  Its name?  "Rocky Beluga."

I'm not totally crazy.  "The Hub" saw it, too, when I pointed it out.  (Or maybe he's just kind enough to indulge his loony wife!)

So, today as I was getting into my car I actually said good-bye to Moby Stick. But then, I got thinking.  Am I nuts?  (Don't answer that, you guys...)  Yes, probably, but there is something inside of me that loves to "I Spy" stuff.

As I drove off, I started thinking about what makes us do this?  It's probably something in science having to do with the facial recognition processes in our brains, or perhaps psychology could offer an explanation for our tendency to anthropomorphize things.


But, there's a spiritual lesson here, too.

And over the next several minutes, God began to unfold it.


Two points:

One, the reason I see faces in things is because I'm looking for them.  They don't magically appear.  I'm always looking because I'm always half-expecting to find them.

And, in the same way, if we're looking for God, we'll see Him.

Sometimes I've been asked, how did you find a spiritual lesson in that?

And my best answer is – because I was looking for it, and God showed it to me.

You see, the open heart and the seeking eye will always find God.  

It's what He promises:

"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV)

Please understand, I am not bragging here.  I'm not saying that I see this stuff because I'm all "lah-di-dah" pious.  And don't get me wrong, there are plenty of times when I feel like God is hidden and silent and distant.

But, I try to make a practice of looking, and searching, and seeking for the Lord in the small things, in everything.  And lo and behold, more times than I can count, He lets me *see* Him.


The other point is this:

If I can see faces in things, and I can find God in things, are people seeing HIM in me?

Do they look at me and see HIS face?

I see faces in things because faces are recognizable by their features.  By the way they resemble the real thing.

Am I that way?

Are my spiritual "features" recognizable as belonging to someone who follows the Lord?  Do I resemble the real thing – Him?

We are called to this, you know.

"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.  And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."  (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT)

"…be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Ephesians 4:23-24, NASB)


I want to be a reflection of Him.

An accurate and true reflection.

Wouldn't it be awesome if people looked at us and said, "Oh, I see the face of the Lord in him/her!"

So, I'm pondering this.  Praying for this.

And learning that the only way to look like Jesus is to walk with Him.  Read about Him.  Talk to Him.

Follow Him ever so closely.


"I spy with my little eye, someone who looks like Jesus."

Oh, how I want that to be said of me!

May I always reflect
the image
of my Lord and Savior.


(This is a wood carving we have in our home...
...do you see the face?!) 

"'Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." 
(Matthew 7:7, NLT)

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV)

"Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God..." 
(1 Chronicles 22:19, NASB)

"...acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.  If you seek him, he will be found by you..." (1 Chronicles 28:9, NIV)

"'I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.  They will be my people, and I will be their God...'" (Jeremiah 24:7, NIV)

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:20, ESV)

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 
(2 Corinthians 5:15, NIV)

"I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." 
(John 3:30, NLT)



Do people see the face of Jesus in you?



Linked with:

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BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

AARON AND HUR ARMS

You know, we're not meant to live life alone.

Of course, our lives as believers are inextricably intertwined with the Lord.  He is beside us, before us, and within us.  We are forever linked…

But, while we walk on this earth, we can sometimes feel awfully alone.

Alone with our thoughts and feelings.  Alone with our struggles and suffering. Alone with our fears and temptations.

We pray…oh how we pray.

But sometimes, we can still feel alone and helpless and distressed.

I find myself feeling this way lately.

My friends, I am in a season of wilderness – a dry and difficult season.  I know I have shared before, and I certainly hope I'm not belaboring the point, but it's true – I am struggling.

This is supposed to be the year of JOY – and yet, I cannot remember a more difficult year.  The details are not important.  I know you've felt the same. Times when it takes energy to explain the circumstances, and you're *just not feeling it.*  That's OK, because what's really important is to let someone know how you're doing...how you're really doing.


So here I am.

Letting you know.

I actually just wrote an email to a friend of mine, asking her to pray for me. In it I mentioned that I needed some *Aaron and Hur arms* to help uphold me.  That got me thinking.

So I checked out the story from the Bible:

"So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.  So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."  (From Exodus 17, NIV)


Yes, Joshua overcame.  And Moses helped…with the added aid of some very close friends.

I love that the Lord doesn't expect us to walk the journey of faith alone.  In fact, He calls us to be in community:

"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)


In the past, I have gone through years when I didn't go to church.  And it was hard.  I believe that the enemy of our souls likes it that way.  It seems to me that he enjoys "isolating us from the herd" – his attacks are more effective when we aren't in fellowship.

Why?

Because community brings the solace and encouragement and strength that we desperately need and seek.


Let's look at that story from Exodus again:

Moses was undoubtedly doing exactly what God had called him to do. God had instructed Moses time and again how to utilize the staff to accomplish His purposes.

So I'm pretty sure that God told Moses to hold up that staff.  And I'm betting that He told Moses what would happen if he did.

But, here's the part that I love.

Moses, his heart willing, his actions obedient, was doing what God told him to do.

But, he grew tired.

(Don't we all??)

So Moses needed help.


Read Matthew Henry's commentary:

"[Note] the care that was taken for the support of Moses.  When he could not stand any longer he sat down…when he could not hold up his hands, he would have them held up.  Moses, the man of God, is glad of the assistance of Aaron…and Hur…We should not be shy either of asking help from others or giving help to others, for we are members one of another.  Moses' hands, thus stayed, were steady till the going down of the sun…"


Moses relied on the assistance of others to sustain his efforts at doing what God wanted him to do.

For he was tired and weary.

His spirit was willing, but his flesh grew weak.

This is when the Body of Christ is most needed, most greatly appreciated, and most richly rewarded – when we stand alongside each other, supporting each other with prayer, and sometimes with a helping hand, listening ear, or shoulder to cry on.


More from Matthew Henry:

"The church's cause is, commonly, more or less successful according as the church's friends are more or less strong in faith and fervent in prayer."


The church united in intercessory prayer is a powerful weapon. Friends supporting others during difficult times become emissaries of the Lord Himself.  They bring His comfort and peace and encouragement.

They become the Spirit of the Living Lord to each other.

This is Biblical truth, I believe.  We know that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.  And so, in some mysterious way, the presence of God can literally be experienced in the company of others.

The Aarons and Hurs in our lives are the arms that uphold us when we are weak and weary.  They are the ones who strengthen us, and help us stand firm.


And so, I am turning to you guys.  

Would you pray for me?

Could you be the arms that help me hold up my hands in faith?

I'll tell you why I'm asking.

Because I need it…

…and because it works!

So, how can I also pray for you this week?

In Christ we,
though many,
form one body,
and each member
belongs to all the others.

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad." (Proverbs 12:25, ESV)

"Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.  Say to those with anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear not.  Behold, your God will come…He will save you.'" (Isaiah 35:3-4, NASB)

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful…Therefore strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed." (Hebrews 12:11-13, NASB)

"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NLT)

"Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." (Ephesians 4:29, NLT)

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble…A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12, NLT)

"'For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.'" (Matthew 18:20, ESV)

"…may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another…" 
(1 Thessalonians 3:12, NASB)


And here are the words that Jesus prayed over us:

"'…Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.'" (Luke 22:31-32, ESV)

"'I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.'" (John 17:13, ESV)



How can I pray for you?  

(Please leave a prayer request in your comment)



Linked with:

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BLOG = “Blessedly Leaning On God!”

HERE A COMMENT, THERE A COMMENT...

...everywhere a comment, comment.

Old McSharon had a blog...E, I, E, I, O.

Oh dear.


Yup, today I'm going to do something a little different.

But first, a little introduction.

Every now and then I take some time and ponder the whole cyberworld that is Blog Land.  And I continue to be amazed that I am part of it.

You see, my entry into blogging started rather inauspiciously.  In April of 2010, I attended a writer's conference with a friend of mine.  She encountered another woman from her church in the bathroom (which is a whole blog post in itself!), and this woman joined us for the day, and soon became a fast friend.

So, there were keynote speakers at this conference, but there were also "breakout sessions" on particular subjects.  In the afternoon, there was a session on blogging.  Both of my friends were very eager to attend this one.  I told them that I had absolutely NO interest in blogging, so I was going to take a break.

When I rejoined my friends, they were super-hyped about the idea of blogging.  I, being the social media rebel that I am, had no intention of ever joining the new blogging craze that was rapidly sweeping the nation.

Uh, yeah.

Never say never unless you really enjoy a hearty meal of crow!

I'm not exactly sure how I arrived at my conclusion that I was going to give blogging a try.  I think the Holy Spirit had a little something to do with it!! But, two months later, at the end of June, I became an official blogger.

I did hate the sound of the word *blog* - as it sounded so cliche to me - "Hi, I'm Sharon.  I just love all things computer.  Like, it's so cool to like, talk to people on a screen.  So, like yeah, I have a blog.  So, what's your sign?"

So, that's when I came up with my rather catchy (if I may say so myself) tagline:

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

It's at the bottom of every post, and it also serves to remind me of why I'm out here in Blog Land at all. It's all about God.  Has to be, or it's for naught.

My story, His glory.


Now, I also happen to think that being a member of the Blog Land community comes with a certain set of responsibilities.  

Sure, I'm like all of you - I LOVE COMMENTS!

They make me feel good.  There, I said it.  Comments make me feel like my writing is valid, that my thoughts are making a connection, that I just might have something to say, that the Lord is using my gifts, that I'm not alone.

But, the responsibility is this: I also feel that I am in Blog Land for the sake of others.  Therefore, I take very seriously the importance of reading and commenting on other peoples' blogs.  It's important to encourage others, and I feel strongly that this is a big part of what blogging is all about.


OK, so that was a big introduction.

But, I thought it was important to let you know how I feel about comments.

So, every now and then, something I say in a comment to someone else makes me think about my own words.  I love how the Holy Spirit does that with me - how sometimes words come out before I really think them, and then those very same words get me thinking!

That's why today I am doing something different.  I'm going to list some comments that I've made on other blogs in the last four years.  Hopefully something will strike a heartstring, and we can all ponder some more.



1.  "This is not the end of the story."

Not only is that incredibly comforting, it's also amazingly hopeful.  I heard this Truth in my heart, as if it was echoing down through the millennia from that dark and dismal Friday at Calvary.  Not the end, not by a longshot.  And because of that day, which was truly the beginning of our story, God is writing a new story that will never die.

One day we will be released into the final chapter that never ends – in which we all live happily ever after.  Truly.


2.  I think for me, as one who has always felt "not enough" and "unworthy", I had to finally understand this one thought.  In the whole scheme of redemption, I truly was not and never could be "worthy" of my salvation. Never.  However, God loved me.  And HE deemed me worthwhile - worth the cost of His Son on the cross.  I have found blessed release in letting go of the constant need to be worthy, and learned how to bask in the glow of being worth the Lord's eternal LOVE.


3.  "I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord...who summons you by name."

I love that verse - treasures to be found in darkness, the hidden riches only found in secret places.  I have taken that verse and applied it to my life when I am in a period of discouragement.  I am finding out that when I have nothing left to give, when I am burned out, when I am dry and despairing - that that is when God teaches me something about Himself so personal and intimate that I scarce can take it in.

I am learning who He is in ways I could not unless I was walking in the valley. 

4.  I loved what you had to say about the Real Power Source - the Holy Spirit. How often I forget that I am not called to live the Christian life on my own. On my own, I'm a very faulty, fading flashlight.  But, with the Spirit's power, I can shine as bright as the SON!


5.  Yes, we are called to unity in the Body of Christ.  I am reminded of that phrase, "They will know we are Christians by our love."  As I ponder that, it occurs to me that our unity across cultures, languages, races, and any other earthly thing that might cause division, is a huge testimony of faith.  What else could account for such unity other than the resounding and unifying power of a Savior?!

May I strive to be a wall-breaker - and not waste my time on adding bricks.


6.  I found myself pondering that very weighty question that Jesus asked: "Do you want to get well?"  At first glance, it seems like the answer would be easy. Well, of course!  But, sometimes people get very comfortable in their *sickness* - sin can be quite familiar, and we can easily become complacent. Do we really want to be cured?  For sometimes, the cure can only come through pain.  Sometimes healing requires brokenness.  Sometimes getting well means we have to face our *sickness* straight on.

When we ponder this question, we do well to count the cost of discipleship before we answer.  If we say yes to Him, we will never be the same.


7.  God's plans are often much bigger than my dreams.


8.  After all, the appeal of Jesus is not that He makes us perfect, but that He makes us whole.


9.  I truly believe that our enemy speaks lies to us – he tempts us to be complacent when action is required, but he also makes us resist (or not, and then to feel guilty about it) when we need to rest.  Jesus Himself took time away on a regular basis.  I believe He understood the very human need to rest, restore, and revive. 


10.  Tending to focus on the worries and troubles, I sometimes miss the miracles.


11.  I truly believe that the most insidious lie of the enemy, the one lie that began in the Garden, the one lie that ruined us was this:

"Is God really good?"

I am reminded of this exchange in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – when Lucy asks Mr. Beaver about Aslan, the great and mighty lion of Narnia:

"Is he—quite safe?"

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good."

I am thrilled by a Savior who isn't tame, but whose goodness knows no end.


12.  You know, most of the time when I hear that word [perseverance], I think of trudging along in spite of circumstances - mostly with an exhausted spirit, and a disgruntled attitude.  However, I think you're right.  Perseverance is a process.  And rather than a destructive windstorm that serves only to erode us, it's more like a chisel in the hand of a master sculptor.  God uses our perseverance to work on our character.  And so, the longer we persevere, the more we'll look like Him.  That IS a lifelong process, but worth it for the joy that awaits.


13.  After all, much of God's will is all about making me like His Son. And that can happen anytime and anywhere because it happens in the heart. Even in a heart that is whining...


14.  The enemy doesn't just drop bombs on us, he also likes the incessant attack of darts.


15.  I know that I am not alone in this struggle.  This desire to be known. Part of it stems from God-given desires, a true wish to be used by the Lord for His purposes.  But most of it just gets filtered through self-pride and enemy lies. I know that David must have had MANY battles against his own flesh, and against the enemy of the Lord.  And yet, he continued to pursue God with all of his being, and God called him a man after His own heart.

So, above all the riff-raff that is me, I want God.  First.  Foremost. Forever.


16.  "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope..."

Sometimes, when we're downcast, hope is a conscious choice, a willful re-focusing on the Truth of God's great love and tender mercies, a determination to remember His faithfulness.


17.  It isn't the *outside* things that proclaim what we believe. It is the inner transformation of the Spirit - and that is most reflected in how we love people - even our enemies.  For perhaps it is then, when it is most difficult to love, that we most resemble our Savior.


18.  Sometimes I wonder if the needy can see God more clearly.  I pray for His help in remembering the neediness inside of me.


19.  Hope is what makes our faith soar.


20.  Oh, how deep is that desire to be known completely, understood implicitly, and loved unconditionally.  And how the enemy perverts that God-given desire into a frantic striving to be known by other people - recognized and, perhaps, a bit famous?

I am asking God daily to help me be completely satisfied and content to be known by HIM, and to realize how much The Audience of One cheers for me.


That's all, folks.

I'm speechless...(finally!)

Leave good footprints...
...for we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. 

"Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." 
(Exodus 4:12, NIV)

"...do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:19-20, NIV)

"...for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said." 
(Luke 12:12, NLT)

"For I will give you words and wisdom..." (Luke 21:15, NIV)

"...and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 29:21, NIV)

"I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." 
(Philippians  1:3-6, NIV)

"So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith.  It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.  How we thank God for you!  Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence." (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9, NIV)



Which thought struck you today and why?



(SIDENOTE:  I sincerely hope that no one thinks I'm touting myself by listing some of my comments.  Truth be told, I'm dry of ideas this week!!)

(IRONIC SIDENOTE:  And I do realize that I'm asking for comments about comments.  But, I always appreciate your thoughtful and thought-provoking input.  E, I, E, I, O!)


Linked today with:

Kelli at UNFORCED RHYTHMS
Laura at PLAYDATES WITH GOD
Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY
Jen at SOLI DEO GLORIA
Hazel at TELL ME A TRUE STORY
Kathy at TITUS 2 TUESDAYS
Jen at UNITE
Rachel at WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAYS
Tracy at WINSOME WEDNESDAY
Judith at WHOLEHEARTED WEDNESDAY
Beth at THREE WORD WEDNESDAY
Holley at COFFEE FOR YOUR HEART
Rosilind at A LITTLE R & R WEDNESDAYS
Jenifer at WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY
Bonnie at FAITH BARISTA JAM
Lyli at THOUGHT-PROVOKING THURSDAY
Crystal at THRIVING THURSDAY
Mel at ESSENTIAL FRIDAYS
Elizabeth at WHATEVER IS LOVELY
Wanda at THE FRIDAY FIVE
Charlotte at SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS
Barbie at WEEKEND BREW
Sandy at STILL SATURDAY
Julie at FELLOWSHIP FRIDAYS
Lisha at GIVE ME GRACE
Janis at SUNDAY STILLNESS
Shelly at RECOMMENDATION SATURDAY


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

"FAN THE FLAME" FRIDAY - Family

Welcome to "Fan the Flame" Friday.

This is a weekly post that will be "short and sweet" (kinda like me...)

Just a word and a phrase, a sentence or a question...just a little something to "fan the flame" of your creativity!


Today's word: family

What are some of the blessings of being part of a family?

What things do you love most about your own family?

How does the Body of Christ reflect the idea of family?


Let me know what you think!!


"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

"FAN THE FLAME" FRIDAY - Connected

Welcome to "Fan the Flame" Friday.

This is a weekly post that will be "short and sweet" (kinda like me...)

Just a word and a phrase, a sentence or a question...just a little something to "fan the flame" of your creativity!

Today's word: connected

What makes you feel connected to others?

What makes you feel connected to God?

What are the dangers of being UN-connected?

Let me know what you think!!

And...as if I wasn't facing enough changes right now, Blogger has changed their *COMMENT* format - Instead of showing 0 comments before anyone comments, they show NO COMMENTS.  I find this very deceptive -
Rest assured, I have my comments OPEN, and cherish your input!

(NOTE: If you're interested, I'll share my thoughts over the weekend!  After all, I need to fan my own flame!)

"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

BAND OF BROTHERS (AND SISTERS)

I've just spent the last few days with some of my family members.

We had a series of family meetings – so we accomplished some "business" – but mostly we just had fun!!

Some family background…

My dad was the oldest of two boys, and my mom was an only child. So, my three cousins are the only first cousins I have.

Now I am the oldest of three children. And here's an *interesting* thing – each of us has a "counterpart" in our cousins.

Me – my oldest first cousin, a girl

My brother – my middle first cousin, a boy

My little sister – my youngest first cousin, a girl

Isn't that kind of cool?

My dad and my uncle were part of a very close family – and I can remember spending many birthdays and holidays as an extended family. My cousins were actually more like another brother and sisters.

Last night, at the end of two very intense days of hours-long meetings, we decided to go out to dinner, our last night together.

We ended up spending 3 ½ hours together – just reminiscing.

I can't believe how much we haven't changed.

(Some of that is a good thing – a lot of it is just hilarious!!)

My brother and my boy cousin have been lifelong friends. Both were born (stuck??) in between two sisters. So, they were really more like brothers growing up. I can't believe how much they still tease each other, and joke, and try to out *wit* each other with bantering repartee.

Last night I saw two little boys – (who are both in their 50's now) – joking like kids.

It was just heartwarming.

"The Hub" was with me, the only spouse along for the ride, and he had a great time hearing about some of those old family stories.

I think he actually learned some new "dirt" on me!

When we were coming home, I told him how special it was to know my cousins, to have them in my life, and to love them like I do.

I realized a tremendous thing – we are truly *connected* in a very unique way. Yes, we are friends – which is wonderful. But we are also something else – we are blood.

When I prayed last night, I got to thinking about this bond.

And I got to pondering how this bond isn't the only one I share with "family."

I am also vitally connected to another family – my eternal family.

Connected by the blood of Jesus.

Yes, we are a motley crew sometimes! Sorta like the disciples. Can you imagine what a ragtag bunch of buddies that was?? Sometimes I wonder what Jesus was thinking.

He pulled together the most random group of men – and yet, He chose them to build His church upon. I'm amazed that Jesus saw their potential! I know they didn't realize it – and I'm sure many who knew them doubted it too. But Jesus changed them, molded them, shaped them, transformed them into apostles that would light up the world with His Good News.

I've come to realize that that's how Jesus likes to do His business.

He takes the most unlikely candidates for ministry – and finds His way to use them.

But, what strikes me the most is this – over 2,000 years later, because of Jesus, we are all united together in the Body of Christ.

Brothers and sisters.

Related to Jesus, adopted as children of God – and because of that, we're all in the same extended eternal family.

I'm pretty excited about that.

I was sitting in church this morning, and I looked around at the large community of worshipers that surrounded me. I was quite overcome by the realization that these are "my people" – because these are God's people.

We had a guest singer from Africa.

SHE is my sister, too.

And all the people that worship at her church. And all the people in China, and Europe, and Australia – and all over the world. Believers that have already died, believers yet to be born. All part of God's family – all part of mine.

So, what does this mean?

Well, practically speaking, it says a whole lot about how we should treat each other. We should practice unity, seeking harmony in what we say and think and do. We should regard each other with respect. We should act in a way that makes our love for each other VERY apparent.

People should know we are Christians by our love!

But really, we should look at each other and see Jesus. See His blood covering our individual flaws, see His blood covering our selfish tendencies, see His blood covering our mistakes and sins – see His blood covering…

We should look at the band of brothers and sisters surrounding us and see family.

Good, bad, and ugly.

But family – deeply and eternally connected.

Just like me and Jesus…

Just like me and you!

(INSERT CYBER HUG HERE!)

So, when's the last time you told a Christian brother or sister that you really loved them?

Linked with Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"