The Terrible Threes

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

It seems like things, good or bad, come in threes. So since October I've had two sets of threes: I fell down a flight of steps, on Thanksgiving as I was taking the turkey out of the oven the pan buckled and I spilled hot turkey grease all over me, and then I was in a car accident. The second set: I had to rush my mom to the hospital the Friday before Christmas (thankfully, she was home the same day), after picking up my car at the auto body shop the engine decided to get sick (to the tune of $1,500 inc. rental car fees), and two days before Christmas I unexpected had to put down my cat of ten years. Ho-ho-ho. On the up side, I had a lovely Christmas, I got a B in algebra (a Christmas miracle for sure), and my daughter surprised me with a long weekend visit. I keep trying to count my blessings and look for God's hand in all these things, but don't kid yourself, some days it can really be a challenge and put me in a funk.

So here's a fresh new year and I'm planning for the best, working some resolutions, and walking the new road. Last night after work I walked to my car in the parking lot, put the key in my ignition, and the car sounded/acted just like it did before I had the work done on it. Ugh! But... I was able to drive it over to the dealership, get to Enterprise for yet another rental (since December 5th I've driven about five cars), and go about my merry way. I chose not to go ballistic (always my first reaction), but to say a prayer of thanks for being able to drive the car to the dealership, to be able to afford a rental car, and to get home safely. I'm no Pollyanna, but I am choosing to look at the blessings and trying not to dwell on the junk. Not that I'm above a serious pity party, believe me, but I am just trying to stay calm and focused, realizing the true priorities in life and looking for(and learning) the lessons.

Here's to this not turning into another series of three! I'll keep you posted!

Christmas Advent Calendar Devotions

When I was growing up December 1st was always an exciting day for me, because my family gave me the annual advent calendar. I remember my grandmother making me a homemade calendar one year - I've always loved them!

So, as a gift to you, I have created an advent calendar at http://www.westudygodsword.com/CHRISTMAS.html

Just click on the number of the tree ornament that corresponds with the date, and you will have a new little "gift".

Enjoy, and many blessings as we celebrate the season (and Christ, the reason for it).

Once Upon a Time...

Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.


Once upon a time I was in the yard of my Father’s house. It was a beautiful day, and I was just happy playing and enjoying myself. Outside the gate I spotted the cutest little stray puppy. He sat at the gate, and I could see him between the wooden slats. He had big eyes and just whimpered a bit. He was cute as a button, and when I didn’t come over, he barked to get my attention.

I walked over and reached my hand through the fence, and he nuzzled against it and licked me with little puppy kisses. Oh, he was adorable. Now I knew I wasn’t supposed to leave the yard, but when I tried to get the puppy to come close enough to draw him in through the slats, he would scamper off just out of my reach. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just open the gate and gather him into my arms, so I went out to get him. Instead of coming to me, he got playful and began to run off, here and there. I took a few steps forward, but he wouldn’t come to me.

By now my heart was set on making this puppy my own, so I ran off after him into the woods. It wasn’t long before I found myself in the thickness, but we came across a grassy open patch, and he sat down. Finally, I caught up to him and we began to play. It was so much fun… until I realized it was getting dark and I should be getting back to my Father’s house.

I got up to leave, but the puppy wouldn’t budge. When I went to gather him up in my arms, he nipped me. I tried again, but he nipped me harder. He looked so cute, though, and so I played a little more, although I knew better. Again, my conscious prodded me, so I got up to leave. As I turned around to try once more to take my sweet little playmate home with me, I realized he seemed to have grown a bit. In a flash, he bared his teeth at me, jumped in front of my path home, and wouldn’t let me go. I was afraid, but had no one to blame but myself. Why didn’t I listen and stay inside the gate, where I was safe?

It’s been awhile now, and I’m still in the woods. Oh the puppy will play with me and periodically will cuddle against me, but whenever I try to leave, he grows into a big ugly animal and bites me. Sometimes I bleed. I have a lot of scars from the wounds. I can’t explain why, but I’ve grown to love him even though he hurts me.

I long to go home. Some days I can almost see through the woods to my Father’ house. I’ve tried to get back, but I feel trapped. And I feel so ashamed that I got myself into this situation in the first place. I want to call out to my Father to come and rescue me, but the words choke in my throat. I miss my Father. I want to get home, but I’m not sure how. All the plans we made, I feel like they’re ruined now, and each day my life slips away.

I wish I had known the name of the puppy was Sin.

From A Sinner's Perspective

Because it feels good
Because it makes me alive
Because it kills the pain
Because it makes me feel loved
Because it helps me forget
Because it’s a quick fix
Because it’s what I’ve always known
Because it's a comfortable lie
Because I’m afraid to take that step of faith
Because I’m not as strong as you

I want to believe
I want to be different
I want to stand for Christ
I want to choose the right way… this time

But…

Because Jesus loves me
Because I am forgiven
Because I’ve screwed up for the 1,000st time
Because of 1 John 1:9

Maybe… just maybe

This time will be different
This time I can see the victory
This time I can see me as Christ sees me
This time will be different


Oh Jesus, in this desperate hour of
Imperfection
Forgive me
Cleanse me
Help me

In You alone, my Savior
In You alone
My hope, my redemption
My only reason for living
My truest love
My heart
My eternity

Take the Risk...

Isaiah 43:18-19 (Message)

Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.


Our past can hold us back from all God offers us in the present, and promises us in the future. Pain, betrayal, mistrust, suspicion, failed relationships, abandonment, abuse… and so much more. When we turn back and keeping focusing on, giving time/attention/energy to all these past wounds, we don’t see the next step in the journey.

It’s like being lost in the desert. You walk and walk until you are parched and exhausted, and ready to drop. You steel yourself and in anger refuse to take another step. You turn around and see nothing except your own bloody footprints from where you’ve been, all the wrongs you’ve suffered, the path filled with nothing but hurt and disappointments. You convince yourself this is all there is, and allow it to define your world.

If only you will believe and go a little further, over the ridge is a cool refuge, trees to shade your weary brow, a crystal bubbling stream of the sweetest water you’ve ever tasted ready to quench your thirst. Just a little more, and you will find a place more beautiful than you could imagine.

Please have faith. Look up to what beckons you forward. Take the next step. Turn around to your future, leave the past in the past. God is calling you to something wonderful, but He will not force you to go – you must choose. Be present – see what you have in your hands this very minute, and all the promise of the future. Don’t grip the sands of your past history in your fists – you will only wind up with aching clenched hands of emptiness. Open those hands, let it go, and God will fill those hands with His blessings that are too numerous to count, too big to hold.

Take the risk…

SPLAT!!!

Psalm 30:5b: “…weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

I had come home from church on this beautiful, sunny Sunday morning. There was a break in the bitter coldness that had engulfed our area, and the mildness was rich in the air. The sermon had been meaningful, and I was feeling good. It was one of those “all’s right with the world” moments, when you’re smiling and happy and calm. I half expected some little cartoon animals to gather around the car and begin singing… okay, maybe that’s a little over the top, but it was a great Sunday morning.

I stopped for gas, and across the street the car wash was gearing up for what looked to be a promising day of sales. What better way to wash away the grime of a cold week than to treat my car to a car wash and drive home in style, the black hood glittering in the sunlight, all fresh and clean? I drove over, got in line, turned up the radio, and enjoyed the moment. Now this is the type of car wash where you get out of your car and stroll along as your car goes through each wash station. I have to admit, I still get a kick out of watching the foam spraying all over the place, the rhythm of the water streaming, and the huge whirling brushes and air dryers do their thing. The only thing better is actually being able to sit in the car! I always imagined that, just perhaps, when you went through the car wash in your car, you might come out in another land, just like the scene where Dorothy opens the door onto a colorful Land of Oz!

I paid at the counter, and went out to my beautiful baby car, all gleaming and enticing as the day I took her off the lot. Yes, it was a good day! I got in, took a moment to enjoy the fresh scent of scrubbed rugs and vanilla freshener, turned the radio back up, and began to drive away. And in literally two seconds, no sooner than it took to turn onto the road home, SPLAT!!!! A bird christened my windshield, and by the looks of it, I think it must have been a turkey vulture or perhaps an unusually large goose! (Pigs aren’t flying yet, are they?) No…. no… are you kidding me? Are you kidding me???? It was one of those surreal moments when suddenly everything goes into slow motion, and you are faced with “the choice.” Okay, I can really let this get to me. I can get ticked off and grump and mumble about my bad luck and just really let it get to me. Or, I can try to find the humor in it. I starting laughing… not just giggling, but laughing until my sides hurt and the tears welled up in my eyes. I just downright howled with the ironic silliness of it all! Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor? I managed to get home, and grabbed a HUGE roll of paper towels and an economy bottle of window cleaner, and managed to get rid of the mess, through fits of giggles.

I couldn’t help but think how much life is like this little analogy God gave to me this sunny Sunday morning. We go along, feeling good, living strong, and suddenly SPLAT!!!! Something comes along to fowl up our plans, to dump all over us to the point where we can’t see clearly any longer. And we’re faced with a choice – do I focus on the SPLAT on my windshield, or do I try to find the lesson, and the humor, and just ride it out? Sometimes it’s a great big SPLAT, some life-altering news; sometimes it’s a smaller SPLAT that still rocks us to the bone. Either way, we have a choice in our reaction, and in our focus. We can look to God to give us strength and courage and to help us deal with what has been dumped on us. And hopefully, at some point, we can smile again.

I encourage you to grab some paper towels, and laugh.

A Fresh Start

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

I began a new job today, and it feels like January 1st “fresh start” time again. I realized that I was walking into this company with a clean slate. No one knows me – no reputation to be upheld (or lived down), no mistakes to overcome, no regrets. I have a clean canvas upon which to paint the next scenes of my journey. It’s almost heady – I can be anything, anyone, they have no idea who the real me is yet. I could practically come in with a fake accent and they would be none the wiser.

So what will I do with this newfound freedom, this opportunity that doesn’t come along too often in life? One of the Seven Habits (by Stephen Covey) says “Begin with the end in mind.” I would like to look back on the end of my career at this new company with the knowledge that people would say about me, “You know, I never heard her say a bad word about anyone.” I hold this goal very dear, as I know how easy it is for me to be sarcastic, passive aggressive, and to allow the bitter words of gossip to drip from my lips like venom. Too often I have wished with all my heart that I could have taken back a harsh word or cruel, thoughtless comment – the joke at another’s expense, the wry cynicism that was in direct opposition to words that would be kind and gentle and useful.

This time, I want my words to be filled with love… uplifting and healing. I want Jesus to be reflected in every utterance that comes from these lips. At the end of the day I’d like to be able to listen to a replay of my conversations and not only not wince at something, but to breath deep and smile and know that my speech was pleasing to God. I’d like to use my words to build up instead of tear down. And with the Lord's help, each day I will begin walking towards this goal with the prayer from Psalm 141:3 -- Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD, keep watch over the door of my lips.

Making This Year Count for Christ

Matthew 6:33 “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

As with so many around the world, we begin a new year with new goals and resolutions. Weight/health goals, financial/material goals, relational goals, career/education goals. I want to weight X amount, earn X amount, get a new car, develop a deeper relationship with my spouse/significant other/children/family member, get a promotion, get my degree… All these things are good, and important, and we should start off the fresh pages of 2008 with clear goals and specific, targeted steps for the journey ahead to achieve those goals.

How about spiritual goals? Have we thought about that? Oh, yeah, I’ll read the Bible this year, and try to get to church more often, maybe teach a Sunday school class or volunteer for vacation Bible school this summer. Again, all good things to accomplish this year.

But… have we invited the Lord into our goal-setting process this year? Have we laid out our dreams and desires before Him in prayer and asked Him what He wants for our life in 2008? All those goals mentioned above – have we placed them before Him and asked if that’s what He wants us to accomplish?

Before we consider any goals, consider what Andrew Murray wrote in the January 1st devotional of the book, “The Andrew Murray 365 Day Devotional”:

Many Christians… have never really grasped the secret that the Lord Jesus in Heaven will continue His work in them every day, but only on one condition: every soul must give Him time each day to impart His love and His grace. Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power. Bow before Him, tell Him that you long for Him and His love, and He will let His love rest on you… learn the lesson of spending time each day, without exception, in fellowship with your Lord.

When we think about our lives and what is ahead for us this year, above all else, we must give our hearts and lives afresh to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When we ask Christ into our lives, to forgive our sins and cleanse us, we become Christians – Christ-followers. We are forgiven, and begin a new life with Him. We, too, are called to grow up into strong, mature believers (a lifelong process). This requires daily time with the Lord – as important as the air we breathe and the food we eat.

First and foremost as we sit down to write out our new goals, we must place time each day to meet with Jesus through prayer and Bible study. Not because it’s one more ritual that will make God love us more (He loves us that much now, no matter what), but because we want to develop our love relationship with Him, to get to know Him better, and become more like Him. As with any relationship with someone we love, our desire is to spend time with that person, just be in their presence, learn all about them, please them, share our hopes and dreams, love them more and more. It’s just the same with our relationship with God. That should be our top goal, our top priority this year… because we love Him.

Then take all the rest, lay them out before Him, ask Him what He thinks, ask Him for guidance and wisdom so we can know that everything we are shooting for this year in His will and on His path. May this year be for all of us the best year ever in making our lives count for Christ - for being a mirror of His love and righteousness and purity - for a life more abundant in joy and growth than any year before, because we have put Him first.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Second Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart… inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

1 Chronicles 22:19a Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God…

Joshua 1:7 (Message) Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out… every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going.

Philippians 3:13-14 I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past… I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to Heaven. (Living Bible)

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns. (Living Bible)

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 …run your race to win. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. (Living Bible)

Hebrews 12:1-2 Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience/perseverence the particular race that God has set before us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Living Bible/NIV)

The countdown begins...

Tomorrow officially begins the "countdown to Christmas" in my mind, even though I know many have already fought the crazy Black Friday crowds, getting to stores by 4:00 a.m. to save big money and get all their shopping done before the Thanksgiving weekend is done, with time to spare to decorate the house from inside out! I have to tell you, there is nothing on God's good earth that I covet badly enough to go out and stand in line for at 4:00 a.m.! Hmmm... okay, MAYBE if Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin BOTH came back from the dead and were doing a concert, I MIGHT stand in line at 4:00 a.m. for that! But then, I'm an old earth mother hippie who still loves the scent of patchouli.

I really had a case of the Scroogies this year, which is unusual for this normal Christmas-a-holic. I didn't even think I was going to put up a tree. The thud you just heard was the people who know me fainting! But yesterday, my friend Allison brought me this teensy little purple tinsle Christmas tree. Now you may think a purple tinsle tree is tacky, but being a purple glitzy glitter freak, it was the most wonderful, thoughtful gift! It's so "Charlie Brown"-ish and was just the spark that warmed the coldness in my holiday spirit and tugged that stake of holly out of my heart. I even found myself humming a Christmas carol.

And with that one simple act, my whole outlook has been refreshed. Thanks, Allison, you really blessed me in a very special way.

Her act also reminded me that my heart and outlook should be focused on others, and doing all I can do to bless them, especially at this time of year. So starting tomorrow, I am going to try to find some way to bless at least one person each day - that's my living advent calendar life act for this Christmas. I encourage you to join me. Maybe it's something as simple as opening a door for someone laden down with packages. Perhaps it's paying for the coffee of someone behind you at Starbucks. Maybe it will mean inviting a single person and/or single parent to join you and your family at the holidays. Think and pray about it, and I'm sure you will think of many ways to bless someone. Do it as a family, and keep a "blessings journal" together, as a record of what you did together -- it might start a whole new holiday tradition! What better way to honor Him who gave up so much to give us the gift of eternal life?

I'm off to put on some Christmas music and bake some cookies from the recipes I found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/entertaining/ Have a blessed day!!

Feelin' Flaky!

Grab the hot chocolate and mittens – it’s snowing outside! While I’m not a winter enthusiast, the little kid in me always gets excited at the first snowfall. Now I will tell you, my idea of winter sports is being the designated hot chocolate maker and cookie-baker while watching from a warm kitchen and giving my best “Donna Reed’ wave to the crazies scampering about, tossing snowballs and making snowpeople. Toss in a fireplace, and I’m ready to nestle down until spring. (And, dear readers, if you don’t know who Donna Reed is, well then go Google her, because I probably have socks older than you.)

There’s just something fresh and clean and wonderful about lifting up your face to the Heavens and feeling the snowflakes drifting down onto your cheeks and eyelashes. In my head I hear the song “Snow” from one of my favorite movies, “White Christmas”. Once the rush is over, though, I’m happy if it snows (lightly) on Christmas Eve (see aforementioned movie reference), and then I’m satisfied for the rest of the season. Truth be told, the last time I seriously played in the snow was with our women’s ministry leaders at a retreat during an unexpected snowfall, and we wound up making a snowwoman in the retreat leader’s front yard that seriously resembled Dolly Parton. Yep, yep, yep… we didn’t add those pictures to the next PowerPoint presentation at church, as I recall!

As I’ve blogged earlier, I’ve been going through a valley recently. But I feel a change in this “season”, and I lift my face to Heaven as God gently showers me with His love. It’s time to heal, and laugh, to dance, (see Ecclesiasts 3:1-8). So I’m breathing deep with a renewed smile on my face, a new lightness in my heart, and blessings on my lips to the God who loves me. And who knows? I might just go take a walk in the snow!

BLESSINGS!

Post-menopausal late mid-life "pregnancy"

The last six months have been a whirlwind of activites, life changes, relational changes, educational "reginnings" (starting agains), and basically having my liferug pulled out from under me on practically a daily basis. I've been trying to keep my eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2) and have been asking Him for wisdom and discernment, because I want with everything in me to learn the lessons I know He has for me in this classroom of chaos and confusion.

I have cried more in the last six months than I have probably in the last six years combined, and then some. I have a tile that I purchased a few months ago with a crucible on it, and sometimes I just sit in my room and hold it in my hands while I pray, or just quietly weep, trying to make sense of it all.

In an odd way, I feel as though I'm life pregnant. It seems like God has something in the works for me, something big, really big, but I have NO idea what it is just now. So I wait, and wait, as He grows and develops me and His plans for me. Days like today I ache inside, with the negatives of hurt and despair, but also with a sense of curiousity and anticipation. Call me crazy (trust me, you wouldn't be the first, and I'm sure not the last), but I feel like I'm on the horizon of some new birth in my life. So stay turned...

BEYOND

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…”

In Ephesians 3:20, we are told that the Lord is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. The words FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY in Greek are “huperekeina” (5238), and mean beyond – in one of the notes I read it means “the regions lying beyond the country of one’s residence.”

Come with me for a moment to someplace you know where you can see – someplace scenic, where the view goes on for miles and miles. Maybe for you it’s a mountaintop, or the top floor of a skyscraper, or standing at the ocean’s edge, staring out into the blue-grey horizon where the water meets the sky. That doesn’t even begin to encompass FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY. In the best view to our natural eye, we certainly can’t see the regions lying beyond the country of our residence. Even if you go on the internet and are able to find the site where you can see the earth from some satellite, you still can’t see beyond the regions lying beyond the country of our residence – because this is not our home, our residence is in Heaven. (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11, John 18:36). There’s a song entitled “This World is Not My Home” and the beginning says, “This world is not my home, I'm just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”

We can be very short-sighted sometimes, especially when we’re hurting or waiting on God. We want what we want when we want it! We get an idea in our head/heart that this person, this possession, this job - whatever it is that we’re clinging to so hard – is exactly what we need in our lives. It becomes our focus, that which we dwell upon and on which spend our time, energy and resources as we pursue it wholeheartedly. Just like in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it becomes our “Precious”. We are taking our “Precious” and looking at it so closely, obsessing over it until it blocks out everything else from our spiritual sight… including all that God wants to give us.

It’s time to stop. It’s time to close our eyes and open our hands and let go of our “Precious”. As you kneel before the Lord, ask Him to forgive your short-sightedness (and short-heartedness), and to give you Jesus eyes to see His vision for you. As you hear the clatter and thud of your will/wants, your “Precious” tumbling out of your possession, open your eyes – to His FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY. We are unable to imagine/visualize or wrap our minds around all He wants to give to us, all He has in store for us, if we will but surrender our wills to Him. His dreams are bigger, and better, His plans more glorious and grand that we can even dare imagine for ourselves.

Let go. Place your heart and your life in His hands, and give Him authority over all you ask or think, over your plans and dreams.

Look and live BEYOND.


This World is Not My Home - Words and Music by Albert E. Brumley, © 1965 - Albert E. Brumley & Sons, All Rights Reserved

Greek definitions from www.studylight.org

New Beginnings

POSTED Thursday, September 6, 2007: My first "blog" entry -- I'm finally in the 21st century! My word today is the Hebrew word tranliterated as "Chayah" (khaw-yaw'), a verb defined as "to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live forever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health. What a wonderful word, and how applicable as I begin this blog's "life", as it were. As I share thoughts, ideas, and any insights here, my goal is to have fun, quicken brainstorming, thoughts/ideas with readers, and most importantly to honor and glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all that is "blogged"! So does that make this "blogging for Jesus"? :)Chayah!

It's That Time of Year

POSTED Thursday, September 13, 2007: I had one of those pressing days today. Squeezed by the alarm clock that didn't go off this morning. Crunched in bumper-to-bumper traffic delays in my morning commute. Pressured by deadlines at work. I felt like Uncle Fester, one of the characters on the old 60’s TV Show, The Adams’ Family, when he used to rummage around the house with that giant vice grip on his head. But blessedly, 5 o’clock rolled around, I walked out of the office into a beautiful September evening, and I took a deep breath in… then went for my mammogram. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Fortunately, I go to a very caring Women’s Center, which is a wonderful place for such torture. It’s clean, a welcoming unclinical waiting room, and a friendly (and speedy) technician, bless her heart. So there I am, in all my glory, standing in my lovely ensemble of a blue cotton gown, accessorized by steel ball-bearings, as I am transformed into a human walking advertisement for I-Hop. I can’t help but think of the Bible verse of Romans 12:1-2, especially the version that says “…don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold…”!

When all was said and done, as I walked out of the hospital into the still beautiful September evening, I saw a breathtaking sunset, painted in shades of pinks and purples and navy blues. I took another deep breath in, and counted my blessings. It wasn’t such a bad day after all.

Clutter Control

POSTED Sunday, September 9, 2007: Is it Sunday night already? That's pretty much my mantra most Sunday evenings about 9pm. Then I usually get the "guilts" because I didn't finish everything on my to-do list this weekend. You know, the one you put together on Friday, when you think the weekend (like childhood summers) will go on forever? The one in which you need bionic speed in order to successful put that little (ahhhh) check mark in the box next to every and every stinkin' little thing? Yep, that's the one.

But, I must admit, I did tackle one magilla project over the weekend, one that's been looming (and growing) for awhile now... cleaning, uncluttering, and organizing the home office. I actually have a desk and a tabletop, who knew? I dusted, I pulled files, I shredded, I schlepped out bag after bag of garbage. I tell you, it was affirming and heady, and by the time I crawled upstairs last night (after about 10 hours of work), I felt utterly exhausted, completely sore, and supremely satisfied. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's still more to to - a box labeled "stuff to read", and another labeled "filing", but tomorrow's another day (she blogs in her best Scarlett O'Hara imitation).

I find that the clutter in my office (and purse, and house) -- the exterior of my life -- seems to be in direct correlation to my interior clutter. The more hassled and tight and crazy (and out of control) I feel on the inside, the more it shows on the outside. It puts a whole new spin on the "garbage in, garbage out" theory, doesn't it? More importantly to note, my inside cluttermania always expands (as clutter will) into the quiet time of my life -- it pushes out those precious moments with Christ, in my head and in my day. It crams its way into every nook and cranny of life's hours, and before I know it, the hours are gone, and I haven't taken time to walk beside the quiet waters (see Psalm 23) with my Lord, resting in His love and companionship.

It's so easy to let life and tasks get between us and our time with the Lord. Make the choice today to prioritize your walk/talk/time with Him as the A#1 first things first "written in red" top of the to-do list in your planner or on your blackberry or your strawberry or wherever you write down your "stuff"! It's amazing how that will move away our spiritual clutter, and give us a whole new perspective on the day.

I found a great article in one of my favorite magazines, Discipleship Journal, on spiritual clutter. It can be found at http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/1/1.107.9.html. I encourage you to read it.

Itching for Intimacy?

POSTED Friday, September 7, 2007: In a quiet time this week I came across this verse from 1 Chronicles 16:11 "Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually". The Hebrew word for the first application of the word seek used is "daresh" (dah-raash) (Strongs 1875). It means to resort to, frequent, seek with application.

I have to admit, I have a very bizarre way of remembering things. All I could visualize was a little old Italian guy (think Sopranos) sitting on a park bench with his buddies, with a bad case of poison ivy, and he's scratching and complaining in his best New York accent, "Da rash, da rash!" Have you ever had a rash, or a bug bite, that continually screams for your attention? You know how day and night you're fighting the urge to scratch it, and when you do... ahhh, the relief! One definition of itch is "to have a persistent, restless craving."

So maybe God, in His sense of humor, is using this wonderful Hebrew word to relay that same kind of 24/7 attention -- only directed towards building an intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to seek His face continually -- with the same kind of non-stop, can't get it out of my mind intensity and fervor. But not only to seek Him, but to seek Him with application. Not to just let His words tickle our ears and make us feel good, but to apply it in our lives in that same 24/7 way.

Today may you have a persistent, restless craving to seek God's face and strength.

Daresh!