Who Told You That?

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bekindtoyourself

I found that image on Flikr from someone named Star – and it spoke volumes to me because I haven’t been very kind to myself lately.  Oh, I’ve spent hours and hours working on ‘love your neighbors as yourself’ but that becomes difficult if you don’t take care of “you” somewhere along the way.

I was sitting in a class the other night and we were all discussing spiritual gifts we had and those we prayed for or wanted.  I came out with some nonsense about how I couldn’t do something, as I am wont to do,  and my pastor/friend/son/mentor/Prodigal wrote up on the board this question:

Who Told You That?

It was a simple question but it hit me right between my beady little eyes.  It has to do with the lies we believe in our lives.  Toxic lies that may start all the way back in childhood.  They find their way into our lives and our mindsets until they are second nature.  That’s not healthy.  If you believe lies about yourself, such as you’re not good enough, you’re not smart, you’re unworthy of love; whatever lie you believe; remember, God never told you that.  That came from a human or from Satan, the enemy of our souls.  Stop believing the lies.  Dump the toxicity.  Lighten up.  Give yourself some credit.  God doesn’t make junk. Thank God that He made you the way He wants you and go enjoy what He’s given you.

That’s what I’m going to do right now.  See ya later!

Review of “The Bible” Miniseries

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Jesus

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s series The Bible has been on tv for awhile now so I thought I’d take a few moments to critique it. I believe I’m qualified to do this since I am a Christian, I’ve read the bible a few times, and I’ve watched untold episodes of Survivor.

Pros:

  1. The scenery is nice.
  2. The stories are fairly accurate.
  3. Great fight scenes and excellent special effects.
  4. There is a good chance someone may want to read the bible after watching this.

Cons:

  1. I’m pretty sure Noah didn’t have a Scottish accent.
  2. Ninja angels paving the way for Lot.  Ninja angels.  ok. why not. nevermind.
  3. While I’m on the subject of angels…biblical messenger angels were truly frightening to behold. The angel appearing to Joseph and Mary wouldn’t frighten EmmaLou, the Golden Destroyer.  He was entirely too handsome in his red cloak.
  4. John the Baptist in dreadlocks…’nuff said.

I’m somewhat surprised at how many people are watching this.  It’s hokey. But I shouldn’t quibble – at least the name Jesus is on peoples’ tongues and he may be a topic of discussion around the water cooler.  That can’t be all bad.

The Theology of Love

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LOVE

I have been praying on and thinking about love a great deal. John Lennon was on the right track; all you need is love. But, there is so much more to it.

Jesus has been teaching me about loving my neighbor, loving the unlovable, loving Him, and how much He loves me. So far into this teaching, it’s a difficult lesson and I am struggling.

In order to love God and love my neighbor, I need to give up some stuff. This is called relinquishment. But wait. I like my stuff.

Jesus tells me to pick up my cross and follow Him. Believe me, I want nothing more than to do just that. You know what’s at the heart of it all? Control. If I relinquish, I lose control and what if something happens? The opposite of love is fear. Ack. I want to love; I’m stuck in fear.

One of my favorite authors, Richard Foster says this, “Relinquishment brings to us a priceless treasure: the crucifixion of the will.” Paul talks about this in Galatians 2:20 when he states, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…”  It is a death to the self-life. Oh, and all the other “selfs” out there; self-pity, self-sufficiency, self-absorption, etc. Getting rid of all the selfs leads to freedom; freedom from me having to control all my stuff. I relinquish it all to the Lord. Then, I am free to love and give the way Jesus did.

Sounds pretty straightforward and easy, doesn’t it?  It isn’t.  I grapple with this on a daily basis. I relinquish and surrender. I take back control. I give control to God again and quickly snatch it back.

So far, we’re at an impasse. I’m so grateful that God is love and love is patient…

Winter Blues, Blacks, Whites, and Grays

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emmaonknee

Suddenly, I realize I haven’t blogged in a couple of months. Really, can it be that long?

I shall blame it on Winter and its gloom which puts me in hibernate mode. My couch, afghan, tea, and books consume me and I don’t want to leave the house. This is not necessarily a healthy condition. But honest. I know, Christians are supposed to be happy. I am happy. I count my blessings and I am grateful every day. I am simply practicing being quiet.  (Stop laughing)

During Lent I have stayed away from my FaceBook page.  No posting, no reading.  Okay, I administer two pages (one for a church group, one for my small group) where I do post, but I have successfully curtailed other main FaceBook activities.  It’s been quiet.  At first it was difficult – I truly had no idea how addicted I was. Now I think about friends, but I don’t obsess about reading updates. Healthier. I’ll be back on FaceBook Easter.

I have been crafting; knitting, crocheting, cleaning out and organizing my house to prepare for a move (hopefully). The knitting and crocheting are disastrous but I won’t give up. The cleaning out is going well. Amazing what one family amasses in about 10 years. Goodwill loves me. I’m giving stuff away to friends. Actually, praying over and considering simply auctioning or selling the contents of the house and buying what we need when we get to our destination. (Waiting on God)

So what am I reading? Well, recently I re-read Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It put me in a tailspin over not loving people enough. Truly, this book made me cringe and wonder if I was on the fast track to hell. I’m over it now.

Better choice:  Prayer by Richard J. Foster. Helping me learn where I am lacking in my prayer life and what to do about it. Happy. I love prayer time. Actually, I crave Linda and Jesus time. Period.

Looking forward to warmer weather…

Conversations With Jesus

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I’ve been having some conversations on a park bench with Jesus lately.  I know – strange.  He doesn’t resemble the man in the above picture.  In my encounters, Jesus is dressed in khakis and a jeans shirt, and we’re on this iron bench in a quiet park just talking like two old friends – actually a student and her teacher would be a more accurate representation. One of the discussions goes like this:

Jesus:  Shalom, child. What’s up?

Me:  Yeshua, I’m struggling with this love your neighbor issue.

Jesus:  Most struggle with that.  I’ve given you all you need to overcome. Remember, I overcame the world.

Me:  I know – stop with the platitudes; I feel bad enough already.

Jesus:  (laughs)  (oh yes he does) Linda, what stops you from loving your neighbor?

Me:  Hmmm, the usual petty stuff.  I’m better than he.  I don’t have time to stop what I’m doing.  I don’t like what he said or did.  He makes me angry. All this stuff gets in the way, ya know?

Jesus:  I do know.  I remember this Pharisee once…

Me:  Stop – I’ve heard that one before.

Jesus:  Linda, don’t let your emotions rule you.  Emotions are good, that’s why we gave them to you.  We also gave you choice – use it.  Choose love.

Me:  You  make it sound easy.

Jesus:  It is, it is.  Try loving someone as they are, just to love them.  Wait til you see what happens.  That person will take your love and love someone else and there will be an explosion of love!

Me:  Seriously?

Jesus:  Yep.  Now go…I have a meeting with one of your pastors – wait, he wants to talk about You!  (puts head back and laughs til tears come)

Me:  Stop it.  That’s not funny.  You know I love you more than anything and anyone, but sometimes you get on my nerves.

Jesus:  Right back at ya Linda – oy vey!

Me:  Thanks, Yeshua.  Shalom.

Jesus:  Shalom, beloved daughter.

Have a Little Faith

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I went on a solitude retreat right after Thanksgiving for a week.  While I was alone with my prayers and my Savior, the word ‘faith’ was put on my heart.  I love time with Jesus, but I do wish he could be a little more clear.  I’m getting wrinkles from scrunching up my face in the “huh?” position so often.

So I prayed.  I pondered.  I took a walk.  I came back in because it was too cold to take a walk.  I reclined.  I sat in a comfy chair.  I paced the house.  I made coffee.  I made tea.  I read my bible.  I journaled.  Still no insight into “faith.”   Did God want me to delve deeper into my faith relationship with him or was he telling me to simply have faith; faith that he would deliver, that he would always love me, always have my back, faith that he had something in mind for me?

I did a word search on “faith” and found 475 instances of the word in the bible.  That’s a lot of faith.  Seeking scriptural answers, I was sent to Lamentations.  Lamentations in Hebrew means ‘hope’ – okay the mystery starts to unwind a bit.

You see I’ve had something pressing on me for over a year now.  I’ve played Gideon with God for all that time whining at him to show me a sign that I’m on the right track with what he wants to do.  Like the loving Father he is, God has graciously shown me those signs over and over.  I’m the one who drags her feet, questions, and disobeys.

Lamentations is about how Jerusalem fell due to the people’s sin, their rejection of God’s word sent through his prophets, and also their being led astray by their leaders.  It is a book of renewed hope and God’s great mercy.  God never gives up on his people. This is a book of warning on judgements; those past and those to come.  So what has this book to do with me and “faith?”

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore, I will hope in him.”  Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)  Perhaps God is telling me to hang in there, nothing is beyond him if I only have faith that he will lead me; have faith that he is at work.  Remember Hebrews?  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

It’s a prayerful time here…oy

What is This Thing We Call Christmas?

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Today I’ve prayed and pondered over Christmas and what it means to me.

I like this season and this time of year.  But this particular year has been filled with difficult times; tragedy, deaths of loved ones, illnesses.  It becomes hard at times to be filled with joy when you are so overcome by human emotions.

But these human issues are just that, human.  They are fraught with emotion and they are of the world.  The good news is we can overcome our worldly emotions!  In John 16:33, Jesus tells us, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV)  To that I say, Hallelujah!

Let’s put a hold on those emotions and get in the spirit of the holiday.   I am rejoicing that God so loved the world, he sent us his Son.  Jesus was born!  That’s what Christmas is about for me – a Savior!

Wait, you say, Jesus wasn’t born on December 25; that’s just an old pagan tradition.  Well, not all of the traditions are pagan; some are quite symbolic (but I’ll save that for another time).  And, I don’t believe it matters so much WHEN we celebrate the birth of Jesus as much as that we DO celebrate His incarnation.  Let’s not get wrapped up (sorry bad pun) in the minutia, let’s shout from the rooftops how happy we are that baby was born, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and laid in a manger.

Devoted Spouse, EmmaLou and I  wish all of you a wonderful, blessed Christmas!