Being Delivered from the Negatives of Critical

The Five Minute Friday Word for this week is REMEMBER.

Artist: Steve Hanks

One of the things that is a strength for me is also a weakness.  I see things that need fixing.  I am a fixer.  Doesn’t that sound nicer than I am critical, but alas, that is part of who I am.  I tend to see what is out of place, what needs repair, what is still left to be done.  

Until a few years ago, I saw this as only a negative.  I remember hating this about myself and always wanting to change.  Then one day I had a conversation with a friend who suffered from the same ailment.  She pointed out how we need people who are able to see what needs to be fixed.  It is only bad if you don’t see it in yourself and temper it with appreciation.  It, like most traits, just needs to be managed in order to be a blessing rather than a curse.  Well that was much more pleasant.

Since then I have learned more about gifts of the spirit and how being able to contribute constructive criticism is often called for.  My children have mentioned on more than one occasion that they appreciate constructive criticism because it helps them improve and they truly dislike false praise given just to make them feel good.  Further confirmation that this trait is not totally to be despised.

However, I also have realized that my critical nature has been a stumbling block to me, and it is good to keep that in perspective as well.  The Lord has been teaching me about love of late.  It is my word for the year.  I am already seeing how very much I have to learn about love.  It is a humbling journey to see how much criticism has kept me from loving or how the lack of love has cultivated a critical cynicism.  I thank God for continually humbling me, because it is in that humbling that He is showing me where I need to repent and how I can become more like Christ.  

STOP.  5 minutes up.

It never ceases to amaze me how I think I know something, and God clarifies how little I really know.  I am also grateful for that.  It has given me perspective along my life journey.  I have many humble, tearful, joyful rides with the Lord these days.  It is life-changing.  It is life-enhancing.  It’s liberating.  The tears shed, are tears of joy as the Holy Spirit not only shows me the error and sin that have been my stumbling blocks, but concurrently delivers me from them.  What a gracious loving God.  As He sets free, everything else becomes richer.  It’s like the smoker who gets a new appreciation for food once she quits because the taste or rather her ability to experience the taste is intensified.  

Ah the renewing power of the Holy Spirit brings love to life and leaves the fixing to Him.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.  Deuteronomy 4:29

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

Oh and Ahem, if you would take pity and turn off comment verification, it would make leaving some love on your post that much easier for folks!

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::

Remember…

Also linking up with:

Blog Blitz Linkup - A Great Idea!

Cruising Altitude 2.0

D.L. Hammond at Cruising Altitude 2.0  has started a blog linkup he has called Blog Blitz.

Here is what D.L is suggesting, 

“What would it be like if the support, encouraging nature, and community spirit of the blogosphere were ever focused on a single blogger?”  

His idea is to get a list of bloggers together to ‘blitz’ a selected, deserving blog on a specific date so that the blogger will get a large number of commenters at one time and feel the love of the blogosphere community in a special way.  I couldn’t help think, “what a great idea!”  Wanna know more?  Hop on over to and check out the rest of the story on Blog Blitz.

So go on over to Cruising Altitude 2.0 and linkup.  It will be fun to be a part of a blessing team blitzing a deserving blogger.  Who knows, you just might get your chance at being blitzed yourself at some point.

   

Thanks D.L. for coming up with a super linkup.  

Confessions of an Insecure Writer/Blogger

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh, there is a place to go for insecure writer's like me.  Visiting those who link up there though, I find that even among the insecure I am out of my league.  However, the great thing about the blogging community is that there is no shortage of encouragers.  So I am grateful for the opportunity to expose my vulnerabilities to those who will only help me through them.  Thanks in advance.  Can you pick up on my insecurity already?

You see, I am always two steps behind the technological revolution of the day.  I don’t mind that and in fact I rather like it.  However, I am afraid I am two steps behind in other things as well.  I feel rather behind the power curve in blogging, two steps behind in my writing aptitude, two steps behind in keeping up with what I should know in both of these skills.  So sometimes, actually, I usually feel quite out of my league.  Confessions of an insecure writer/ blogger.  There it is.

Nominated For the Liebster Award

Sharon from Sharon Himsl's Shells, Tales and Sails has nominated me for the Liebster Award.

 As I commented to Sharon, I was grateful and touched that she nominated me and that she mentioned she follows my blog.  Thank you, Sharon.  If there is one thing that is readily recognizable about the blogging community, at least in the blog-land I have been, it is that bloggers are very encouraging.  As a new-be to blogging, I appreciate the support.  

Receiving this award sent me on a quest to find out more about it.  Apparently I am not the only one that has done that upon receiving this award.  One very informative blog, Sopphey Says, was visited by Sharon, my nominator, right before me.  Small blog world!

What I discovered is that there is quite a bit to be known about the Liebster, and there are quite a few holes in what there is to know.  Liebster is a German term of endearment and the award is meant to encourage a small blog which you have become fond of.  It has several variations across the web, but you must be a recipient to be able to nominate.  To actually receive the award, all you have to do is follow through.

Finding the origin of the award took more research than I was able to invest.  However, it does seem that the size of blogs which have been recommended for the Liebster have varied from under 200 followers to under 1000.  I found rules for follow on nominations ranging from 3 to 11 blogs of your choosing.  I also found that when people had received multiple nominations for the Liebster that they tended to modify their approach.  This may be how the Liebster has morphed over time, but that is pure speculation.

Being a new-be, I don’t want to overstep my liberties, but I thought it would be ok to do a mix of previous versions even while trying to honor Sharon in her nomination of my blog.  So, I will list the Liebster Award rules as they were passed down from Sharon.  Then after I comply with answering her questions, listing my random facts, and creating my questions for my nominees, I will indicate my slight turn to the past. 

Liebster Award Rules as they reached me:

1. Thank the blogger who presented you with the Liebster Award, and link back to his or her blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator; list 11 random facts about yourself, and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Award to 11 bloggers, who have blogs with 200 followers or less, whom you feel deserve to be noticed. Leave a comment on the blogs letting the owners know they have been chosen. (No tag backs.)

4.  Upload the Liebster Award image to your blog.

I have thanked Sharon earlier, but let me do so again.  Though there are no judges and no set rules that can’t be fidgeted with a little, it is a way of encouraging and complimenting bloggers you think are deserving of recognition.  You have blessed me, Sharon; thank you.  Here are my 11 answers to your questions (Somehow I ended up with 12) and 11 random facts about myself.  

 Eleven questions for me answered:

1.  What is your favorite form of recreation?  My favorite form of recreation is racquetball.  On the court I feel free and energized.  Unfortunately due to knee surgery, I can’t play for some months, so right now my favorite form of recreation is sudoku since it doesn’t require me to use my knee.

2.  What kinds of books do you read?  I like a good mystery novel, but I am most drawn to books about Scripture that deepen my conviction and grow my understanding and stretch me to be better.

3.  Why did you start blogging?  I like to write and I like to help people.  I thought that blogging would give me the impetus to write more and the avenue to encourage people who may be struggling to have or hold onto a joyful countenance.  My rationale to keep blogging may be somewhat different.

4.  Do you read books on an e-reader or prefer printed books?  I do read books on a e-reader, but prefer printed books.

5.  Name two actors or authors you admire.  I loved Charlton Heston.  He pops to mind most readily.  I like Megan Follows.  And being fond of mysteries, I am an Agatha Christie fan.  However, I do have a hard time picking favorites.

6.  What makes you laugh?  Those random things, that give you the giggles and get you rolling and you can’t stop.  I remember a few years ago when our family, my husband, our five children, not little anymore, and myself were on vacation in Disney World.  We were on the bus and decided for some odd reason to pick nicknames.  Before I knew what was happening I got the giggles and couldn’t stop laughing.  Playing games with family also is often a time with lots of laughter.  I like to laugh!

7.  Which do you prefer and why: dogs or cats?  Oh my, I couldn’t choose.  I love my dog and I love my cats.

8.  When or where do you feel most creative?  I am most creative when I can’t do anything about writing down what’s on my mind.  I wish I could hold onto those fleeting genius moments, but alas I am afraid my magnum opus has floated away on the wings of a dream.

9.  What is your favorite fast food or snack?  My favorite snack, another tough one.  I have a hard time with favorites because it can change with the moment.  Chocolate is wonderful, crackers and cheese have their place, but I think I will have to say.....

10.  Do you have a special place you go to relax?  I like to be alone often to relax; so I may just seek out the place where I can find some alone space, the living room if it is vacant, the bedroom if it is not, and when my legs work, a walk in the fresh air.

11.  Do you have a favorite comic strip?  Not really.  I used to like Family Circle.

12.  If you could travel back in time, where would you like to go?  I might just go back to visit my own life when I was younger to revisit my own memories and bring back the living color.  

My 11 random facts:

1.  I am more grateful by the day for grace especially as I learn more how to 

      apply it.

2.  One of my greatest delights is to always be learning.

3.  When I feel mistreated or hurt, I prefer to walk away than confront, but I  

      humbly admit I have to work hard to heal the wound.

4.  I prefer to stay two steps behind technological advancement.

5.  I really appreciate a tidy house, but I know I will never have one.

6.  I am mortified that I will have to swim as part of my regular exercise routine 

     because I am embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit.

7.  As much as I like a relaxing walk by myself, I prefer to walk with someone 

     else.

8.  Scrabble is my favorite game.

9.  I would love to have a place in Daytona Beach someday, where my husband grew up and we still have family and the smell and view of the beach and river is such a delight to me.  However, I have come to be content with the dream and am satisfied that if God should want that to be so be it, and if not, He has something more worthwhile for us.  

10.  I miss my mom so very much and still cry about it sometimes.  Even though it has been three years since she went home to be with the Lord, it still feels very raw.  From time to time, I still cry missing my dad even though he has been gone almost 25 years.

11.  Nothing tickles me quite so much as when I see my children do random acts of kindness, especially to each other.

My eleven questions for my nominees.

1. Why did you start blogging and why do you continue?
2.   What would you like to change about yourself?
3.   Who is someone who inspires you and why?
4.   What is one cherished memory you are willing to share?
5.   What energizes you?
6.   What relaxes you?
7.   What do you like to do for fun?
8.   What is a favorite...?  And why?
9.   What is a dream you are willing to share?
10.   What is something you like about yourself?
11.   What is something on your bucket list?

My twist:

I am nominating 3 blogs for the Liebster rather than 11.  I decided on these three for very specific reasons.  There are so many wonderful excellent blogs out there, I would have such a hard time choosing.  The three I am nominating are three that truly are dear to me for specific reasons beyond the fact that they are worthy in their own right.

Transitional Woman

Heidi's Books

We're Living a Full Life

The first two blogs belong to ladies near and dear to me who launched me into the blogging world.  They may already have been recipients, but it is a joy for me to nominate them since they will always have a special place in my heart and their blogs are such an inspiration to me.  The third blogger on my list I have come to feel is like a friend who I have never met, like many bloggers I visit with regularly.  However, she was one of the very first to come along side me from outside my inner circle to encourage me.  I have come to feel like visiting her blog is like having coffee with a friend.  To these three ladies I say thank you for inspiring me.  I hope you are blessed to receive this nomination as I was.

Now for my little, very little turn to the past.  So as not to cut short my responsibility to Sharon of mentioning 11 blogs though I am only nominating 3, I thought I would list some of the PAST Liebster recipients who I visited in my quest to know more.   Some of their sites aided me in my quest.  Others were just plain good to visit, and isn’t that what the Liebster is all about - complimenting, encouraging, and connecting?  So here are a few past Liebster winners you may want to check out.

-Sopphey Says

- WholeHearted Home

- LScott Poetry

- Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer

- Far From Flawless

- Angie Padilla

- Wayne Kollinger's Sketch Book

- Jenny Neil Writer Traveler Sommelier

8 + 3 = 11, and don’t forget to check out Sharon Himsl's Shells, Tales and Sails.  

One Word Choice - Love

Image Source

Visiting Gaye Idle at Captive Heart blog several days ago, I was intrigued by the one word challenge about which she wrote.  She referred to a book by Debbie Macomber, One Perfect Word,  as well as a facebook link where Debbie talks about the idea of the book.    Later, I googled “One Word” and found that this is apparently an idea claimed by several on the web.  I am not sure who came up with it first, but I thought I would try the challenge of choosing one word as a focal point for growth for the year.   

So I prayed about it over the course of the next few days.  Several words came to mind as possibilities.  ‘Delight’ was an obvious one, but it may have actually been a word given to me in years past without my realizing I even had a word.  I thought perhaps ‘fast’ was the word, until it became clear to me that the Lord was actually leading me to focus on ‘love’.  What makes me think so?  

Well I happened to be introduced to the idea of "One word" in early February, so love was in the air.  I might have been lulled into thinking it really is not the word for me; it just happens to be the word of the day.  However, in circumstances unrelated to Valentine mania, the word love continued to arise. and I became convinced this is the word the Lord wants me to focus on.  It is one of those words I think I know a whole lot about, but I’m sure I will find I know very little and have much more to learn.  I am so excited about opening my heart to what the Lord will teach me, will grow in me.

I have thus been paying careful attention each time I come across the word love, especially in my Bible reading.  Today, it presented itself in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue Love.”  What a great passage for mediation.  Here are my journal notes:

Pursue - Seek, go after, be persistent, continue at it until you have found it.

Love - God is love, to put others before myself, to put God first, action and emotion, compassion, kindness, generosity, to recognize all belongs to God, the essence of freedom.

I will be persistent in continuing to seek God and His character and nature, to understand Him and His will for my life, to seek to clothe myself in Christlikeness, compassion, kindness, generosity.  To dwell in God’s pleasure, were true freedom from all that is not love lies.  To hold all with an open hand rather than a clenched fist for none of it is really mine though all is mine as an inheritor of the kingdom a child of God.

Pursue Love.  

Oh precious Lord, let me pursue Love.  May I delight in Your love.  Amen.

My Beloved, You Teach Me What Love Is

The Promise by Robert Sexton

This week's

Five Minute Friday 

Prompt 

is 

Beloved.  

You are my beloved because you have my heart.  You have helped me be more than I would have been alone.  You are willing to put up with me in my worst.

I read at “Heart Choices” a beautiful thought.  To paraphrase:  You are my beloved because sometimes I feel so in love with you, and when I don’t feel quite so in love, I choose to love you because that is love.  It wraps up emotion with action and commitment.  It goes beyond what I feel, but is what I feel as well.  I choose to love you, my beloved, and with every step of that choice, the love grows and you are more my beloved each day.

For Now and Ever by Robert Sexton

I love you because He first loved me.  The precious love of my Jesus makes me more able to conquer my selfishness and appreciate just how beautiful you are.  You are the blessed, beloved partner given by God, and I rejoice that I have you, my beloved.

Stop.  

Five minutes are up, 

but I have more to say to my beloved.

My beloved, how blessed I really am to have you:

To care for me when I am unable to do for myself.  

To be an example of love and selflessness not only to me but to our children and others whose lives you touch. 

To listen to me whine and not pass judgment and then lift me up so I whine that much less.

To laugh with and to make me laugh.

To be part of my cheerleading squad and to cheer you on as well.

To be a co-laborer for Christ with me.

To share the journey of life until we are those two waddling older folks walking the lane together. 

The Vow by Robert Sexton

Through you and with you, I am learning what love is, my beloved.

In Our Time by Robert Sexton

To see more of the work of Robert Sexton, click here.

What is Your Definition of Open-mindedness?

Photo Source

There is a lot of talk about tolerance of all and about being open-minded to new views, those other than your own.  What does it mean, though, to be open-minded?  Do we confuse the two, tolerance and open-mindedness? 

According to the dictionary, to be open-minded is to be "willing to consider new ideas, unprejudiced, non-judgmental".  However, if you think about it to its conclusion, to what end do we want to be open?  Do we want to be open to new ideas just to be pulled in any direction?  Is it good to be open to anything without any thought given to it?  Should I not ponder to what I am opening up and come to some conclusion as to its value?  Should I not consider whether it contributes to my understanding of truth and how to communicate truth to those who may be "open" to falsehood?

I am not talking about preferences, jewelry or no jewelry, long hair or short hair, dressy or casual, which flavor I prefer or do I do it one way or another.  However, when it has bearing on life's greater questions, should we not give pause to consider connections to truth?  What we are open to does matter.  What we think and do does matter in the grand scheme of things.  I want to be willing to listen, to hear what you think, but though I don’t want to pass judgement on you to criticize or condemn, I must make a judgement as to whether your ideas are sensible or wise or true.  

Critical thinking is a skill to be desired and cultivated.  To think critically is to evaluate and analyze an issue in order to come to a conclusion as to its relationship to truth.  Yet we get the concept of critical thinking mixed up with that of criticizing, that is expressing disapproval and then not on the ideas being conveyed but on the one conveying.  In so doing we commit the fallacy of equivocation when in fact a little critical thinking and open-mindedness is in order.  It isn’t about ridicule or disrespect, but about having an inquiring mind of one’s own in which we appreciate and consider opposing viewpoints while coming to an understanding of what is best supported by the evidence and leads one to a fuller understanding of truth.

Photo Source

Tolerating your right to believe what you will does not mean I have to embrace or be open to it as equal to truth.  That is just ridiculous.  It is convoluted.  It's wrong.  Isn't it interesting that those who confuse tolerance and open-mindedness making them one and the same are often the very ones who malign those holding opposing viewpoints to their own with no critical thinking whatsoever.  They don't want tolerance of equal but opposing ideas.  They want submission to their ideas as superior.

So I have come up with my own definition to how I would like to be open-minded.  Here it is. 

 Open-mindedness:  Respectfully listening and considering the ideas of others because I would rather be right than validate my opinion.  

What do you think?  Help me refine my definition if you will or give me your thoughts on what you think being open-minded should look like.  Until then, I do have strong opinions on things, but I am open-minded enough to respectfully listen and consider what you have to say, because I would rather be right than validate my own opinion.

Signing on the A to Z April (2013) Challenge List

Laid up in bed after knee surgery, I have had a chance to navigate the electronic devices and internet sites often left to scant snippets of time I don’t have.  I was able to set up wireless to the new dvd player in our bedroom to watch   Netflix or Amazon prime when hubby or the kids have commandeered the living room tv.  I am especially proud of this feat as my children, whom I usually turn to for these acts of magic, were unable to figure it out.

Among the other practical pleasures I've been pursuing is visiting the blogs of friends which I enjoy doing almost as much as eating chocolate - almost.  It was fun to catch up on the musings and profundities of those much wiser than myself as well as just getting a glimpse at what might be going on in their lives.  In the last three months I have only blogged once, last Friday, quite off my original goal of twice weekly, and had not visited at all any other blogs for most of that time either, also quite off my goal.  So being incapacitated has its advantages.  It may just be the spur to get me back to blogging.  I hope so.

Visiting friends and seeing what they were writing or preparing to write brought to my attention the A to Z Challenge.  The history of A to Z  began in 2010 when Arlie Bird, or Lee as he signs his name, of Tossing it out  more or less on a whim decided to celebrate his 200th follower by posing a challenge.  And 4 years later what an explosion.  Arlie now has thousands of visitors and followers and has started something that has become a phenomenon all its own.  

I must admit I was a bit dubious about taking the challenge.  I wondered if there was something I was missing.  Is it possible that it is more than it seems?  What would I step into if I signed up for this challenge?  

So to relieve my concerns, I checked out Mr. Bird’s website and those of several other of the A to Z hosts.  I think I am safe.  I plan to visit them all in the coming days.  I also hope to keep to the contract of checking out at least 5 A to Z contributors each day during the challenge.  Yes, I signed my name to the list.  Check it out.  You too might find it a challenge worth taking like the many hundreds of others, including me, who have already signed on.   I think it will be a fun adventure.  Thanks Lee!  And thanks Elizabeth of Transitional-Woman for my first exposure to the possibilities of this challenge.

Just ot help me remember, I am number 641 on the list.

NOT Becoming the Proverbial Hated Mother-in-Law

I haven’t written in my blog for some time now.  It wasn’t a purposeful sabbatical on my part.  Life just happened and squeezed it out of my routine.  I don’t know if I will be able to achieve my goal of twice a week anytime in the near future, but I do hope I can take some time now and again to practice encouraging others through this blog.  I am delving in again with this week’s five-minute-Friday word:  afraid.

We all have things that we are afraid of.  If we sat and thought about them all the time, it could be terribly debilitating, and is for some.  But there are day to day things that do nag at one that can also be a distraction and are best to just tackle and address.  For me most of those things that I am afraid of are relational.  I am afraid I am not doing enough.  I am afraid I might offend or hurt someone somehow.  I am afraid I am not being who I should be to adequately be Christ’s representative to those around me.  I find a daily pow-wow with God keeps me humble and at peace with these fears.

There are other relational things I am afraid of as well on a more immediate basis, and that is what I will just write for five minutes about today.  

So here goes.

I am about to become a mother-in-law in a few months.  It is something I have thought about for long before my kids were even old enough to consider marriage.  I didn’t want to become the proverbial mother-in-law, with fangs and claws, hated by all.  Why is your mother someone you hold dear, well, some of us at certain ages anyway, but all of a sudden when you think of the mother-in-law, someone dear to you’s mother, you have this image of the one no one wants to have around.  It is that image I am afraid of having an association with.

Apparently I am not alone.  I decided to look into this and talk to folks about it.  This is not an unusual concern.  Of course mother-in-laws are not evil meddlers who are always in your business, but they are certainly characterized as such.  There are tensions that arise in all relationships because other relationships develop and change the relationship you had, whether that be adding children to a family, or adding a husband or wife to the familial equation.  Even new friends or business associations change how we may relate to others we already have a relationship with.  

Being determined not to become that image, I may be swinging the other way.  I do want to continue to have a relationship after all with my son and future daughter-in-law.  The change one undergoes as a parent is hard.  First we are given this responsibility for this new person that we know very little about how to handle.  We have to take on someone who is totally dependent on us for everything their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.  As we get a handle on what we are doing, we have to train them how to be independent of us.  Then we have to learn to let go and take on the role of advisor.  Before you know it, even giving advice is unwelcome and considered meddling.  

So I am determined to tread carefully, to try to only give advice when asked and even then cautiously, and to NOT, under any circumstances, become what I fear, a hated, meddling mother-in-law.  

Five minutes:  STOP.

The Lord has created us for relationship.  There is nothing more important than our relationship with God first, and then our relationship with others, foremost those closest to us in our family.  If we invest much of ourselves in those relationships, it can be bitter-sweet as we experience them changing in all of the forms that change takes.  Yet if we keep our eyes on the Lord, and let Him work in us, stretching and refining us through these changes, it is an incredibly rich growth experience.  

                        

Reading Through the Bible in 365 Days

I have been using an excellent reading plan to read through the Bible in 52 weeks, a year plan.  I love it for several reasons related to the way it is organized and recommend it for those who want to find a stimulating approach to reading through the Bible.

On the website, you can get the downloadable pdf at no cost.  The pdf has a chart with 52 weeks along the side and along the top the seven days of the week.  Each block in the chart has a little box you can check off when you have completed that reading, so if I miss a day, I am not necessarily tied to the days of the week listed along the top.  I can just check the block I complete and the next time keep going where I left off.  I may not finish in a year, but the chart allows me to follow along and keep track of myself in an orderly manner.  Instead of a year I can think of it as a 365 day plan.  I like that I can relax and not stress about making sure all my days are filled.  I spend a lot of time in the Word with Bible study and Sunday school preparations and our church home group (which we call care groups) study and my favorite devotional that I don’t want to give up, all while reading through the Bible in a year.  So the set up gives me more freedom rather than more stress.  I like that.

   Above each day, the readings are broken up by Bible sections, Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, and Gospels.  What fun it is to read through the Bible this way.  Each day I read a different section of the Bible so when I hit a spot that is tougher to read, I am not bogged down.  It makes it much easier to read with enthusiasm even the long lists of genealogy  or the difficult trials of Job.  The next day I will have something different to look forward to, but I am also eager to get back to finish where I left off in these heavier sections the next week.  They are far enough apart not to be so weighty all at once, but close enough to keep the flow of the text.  And I have a tendency to want to just review briefly what I read from that book the week before, so I get an extra blessing of holding onto the text a bit more than I might if I was reading straight through.

Since I am using my study Bible in which I am supposed to place chapter titles as I study, I am using this opportunity to think about the themes of the chapter and record them as I go.  There is always so much to be gleaned from each reading of the Word of God.  I appreciate the challenge of considering the theme in each chapter and not having it given to me.  The more I think on the Word of God, the more I allow the Lord to shape me and transform me into the likeness of Christ.  That is my prayer and I know I have a whole lot of transforming left to have done.  

I am always delighted about what God has for me when I come to Him with open heart and open mind.  Another thing I really like about this particular Bible Plan is that I am always excited to see what the reading for the day will be and what God will be teaching me today.  I know that attitude is a gift from God as well, but it is a gift He is readily willing to give to all who ask.  I pray today you will seek and receive your delight in and from the Lord.  

Quiet Time with my Lord

I am again participating in Five Minute Friday on Sunday.  Oh well.  

Today's prompt is 'QUIET'.  Here goes:

“Amazing grace, How Sweet the Sound...”  My alarm breaks the silence of the sleeping household.  I turn it off and again it is quiet.  Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I rise slowly and plod to the bathroom for my usual morning routine.  Dressed for the gym, I descend the stairs to feed the cat and dog who wait in eager anticipation, the mewing of the cat now breaking the quietude.  

Then, with coffee now in hand, I sit ready for the quality quiet time so necessary for me to be who I desire to be this day and every day, the follower of Christ bathed in the necessary time with my God.  Oh how I need this time.  No one else is up.  It is just me and my God.  Sometimes I feel His presence and sometimes I just know He is with me, though the feelings I must wait to follow the knowing.  Always He is meeting me and growing in me what I need.  Quiet time with my Lord, the most precious time, makes all other times all the more precious as well.

(Five minutes up.)

Finding quiet is not always easy but it is oh so necessary... for my sanity.  It is oh so necessary for my well-being  It is oh so necessary for me to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.  I need that time of quiet with my God, and I highly recommend it for all who desire the peace of God.  A world of delight opens before the one who will seek delight in the Lord.

I Will Praise Him in This Storm

I will praise Him in this storm, for He is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble.  God is sovereign.  Whom shall I fear?  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.  To whom else shall I turn?  There is great joy and comfort in the Lord.  In Him alone will I seek my treasure.  He is my Rock and my salvation.  In the midst of any storm, I am safe in the cleft of the Rock.

A Storm over Liberty

And what does the Lord require of me?

“He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah 6:8

We can rejoice in the God of our salvation and know that whatever He determines, He does to fulfill kingdom purposes.  If we align ourselves with His kingdom purposes, then whatever happens, we can look to Him for the answers and for the questions.  Lord, what do you want me to learn in this storm?  Lord, where do you want me, us to go from here?  What’s next Lord? 

As we seek Him, His wisdom, His knowledge, we can then get excited about the answers and direction He provides.  No matter what is happening in the world around us or in our own little microcosm of that world, He is with us.  He is leading.  He is in control.  Yes, we can praise Him in this storm as we walk humbly with our God and greet Him with gratitude.

Part of my devotional this morning was Isaiah 12:

Isaiah 12

  

Thanksgiving Expressed 

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”

Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.

And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.

Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

The Lord knew I would read this today. The Lord knew I would need this today.  The Lord knows His plans, and they are far above mine.  I will praise Him in this storm.

"

The Troublesome Unseen Roots of the Bradford Pear

I have not kept up with my blogging as I had hoped.  Here's an attempt to jump back in via Five Minute Friday.  Thanks Lisa Jo for inspiring so many including me.

http://lisajobaker.com/2012/11/five-minute-friday-roots/

Roots.  

Photo Source

I worked out in the yard yesterday, work that needed doing.  We had so many leaves that needed raking from fall and remnants of hurricane Sandy.  And there was the trimming of bushes for their dormancy through the winter.  The most problematic of my outdoor tasks, however was dealing with the ever troublesome, returning Bradford pear tree that does not seem to want to go away.  It’s roots are apparently very comfortable with the spot in which they were planted some 20 years ago.  So even though the tree fell years ago, during a previous storm, the roots continue to bear fruit, or plants as it were.  This tree continues to come up dividing fence posts, trying to kill another very nice tree which was planted to replace it, and generally making a nuisance of itself.   It was quite the task trying to pry each of its tentacles from their infestations and cut, cut, cut it away.  I have the sore muscles to attest to my fight with this monster.

How much this reminds me of what God is teaching me about sin.  You know you cut down the tree and even think you have dug out the stump.  But there are often hidden roots that will come back to haunt you in all kinds of ways you may not be expecting.  These roots may be invisible, they may be from plants long gone in your own life or in the life of someone else.  However, they can still bring forth burdens which have to be dealt with.

STOP.

I have since learned that this pesky problem with Bradford pears apparently is quite common.  The nuisance growth is called a sucker and those of us who have to deal with them are certainly suckers as well.  And those who plant the Bradford Pear are suckers for falling for its outward beauty without considering the long term implications of planting them.  We didn't plant them.  They came with the house.  But their allure is certainly understandable.  I am sure there are many life lessons, physical, spiritual, and horticultural, that can be gained by considering the Bradford Pear in more depth.