Count to Ten...

I'm not going to lie.  There are moments in my life when I wish I had an arsenal of angry birds, especially the ones that turn into bombs and blow up and destroy everything in the vicinity, to take out the little green pigs in my life.  For those of you who have no clue to what I am referring and consequently think that I have officially lost my ever-loving mind, please just google "angry birds" and get with the times, people!!!

I experienced one of the above-mentioned moments this morning when, at 5:27am, my three-year-old son decided that it was time to wake up for the day.  After being told to get back in his bed, the 30-minute-plus tantrum began, and, to put it mildly, let's just say that our day did not begin well.

I felt like steam was going to explode from my ears at any second, and my frustration level was approaching its max.  I wanted to hurl a little red bird at this "pig" of a situation and take it out.  Or at least have the option to have a do-over!

But life isn't like that, is it?  There's not always the chance to do something over.  There's not always a way to knock out a problem with one fatal blow.  The problem wasn't my son; the problem was his sinful response to me and the foothold that the enemy was offered as a result.

And, if I am being completely honest, the problem was me.

Sutton waking up at 5:30am was not on my agenda for the day, and I felt inconvenienced.  When he responded to me out of his three-year-old frustration, I responded to him out of my 30-year-old frustration.  Mature, right?

It's not the being angry that is the problem; God gave us emotions for a reason!  It's my response to that anger that can bring me to sin, when I choose to act out of anger instead of acting out of submission and reliance upon the Lord.

I responded harshly to my son, instead of with the patient, consistent, unwavering love of Christ.  He required discipline, for sure - that is not in question here.  His attitude toward me was sinful and broken.  However, I had the choice to discipline him out of my love for him and my love for my heavenly father, or out of my anger.  At the start, I chose to act out of anger.  I threatened.  I raised my voice.  I was harsh.  I was sinful.

God quickly reminded me as I sat down to have some time with him that He expects better of me.  I know better.  My son does not possess much self-control; however, as a Christ follower, I should look more like Christ and have more control over my anger.

No matter the situation, whether it be in parenting, in relationships, in a work environment, etc., we are called to submit our spirits to the Lord and to choose righteousness, no matter what we feel.  We might need to choose to wait before responding to what has triggered our anger.  We might need to remove ourselves from a situation while we gather our wits and our Spirit-given self control.  We need to talk to our Heavenly Father, asking Him to do what we cannot, giving us a supernatural dose of patience, love, and understanding.

Because if we love Him, we will look more and more like His Son, and people will see Jesus when we respond in holiness.  My son would have seen Jesus this morning if I had chosen to respond in His love and grace.  Instead, he saw his sinful mommy.  Which is okay - it's bound to happen, and God's grace covers a multitude of my sins.  And by the end of the situation, I made a conscious decision to choose discipline in love.  However, wouldn't I have made a greater impact on his little heart if I had chosen to start by counting to ten and begging God's patience before I responded to him?  Wouldn't I have made a relationship with the Lord more appealing to him, even at three, if I had looked a little more like Jesus?

I am choosing to meditate on the following verses this morning, and I encourage you to do the same.  It's not easy to reprogram our ways of thinking and responding, but God can and will change our response to anger-inducing situations if we will allow Him to!

"Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end."                       Proverbs 29:11

"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools."  Ecclesiastes 7:9 

"A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel."  Proverbs 15:18 

"In your anger do not sin..."                                                                                         Ephesians 4:26a

"An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins."     Proverbs 29:22 

Seasons

I love the seasons.  Each one brings with it a fresh excitement, the potential for pleasure and new activities.  As the end of one season nears, anticipation builds within me for what is to come.  Right now I am anticipating the turning of the leaves, the crisp, cool air that will soon be the norm and not the exception.  I can smell piles of leaves burning and feel the cool breeze that makes its way through my house when I can finally open my windows again.  I love the seasons!

I think that life is very much the same.  As one season nears its end, anticipation builds within my heart and soul over what is to come.  What's next?

I find myself in this place right now, and it's a beautiful, messy, restless place to be.  There is a stirring deep within, an expectancy of a new work that He is beginning within and through me, but the vision is unclear.  What's next?

Details are hazy to me, and yet I know that, to Him, nothing is out of focus, nothing is questionable.

The leaves around me are beginning to take on an orange hue and the coolness of the new season begins to touch my skin.  But He still has not revealed to me the fullness of His plan for this new season.

So I wait.  I trust.

I am ready for a new season.  Are you?  Are you in the same waiting place as I am?  Are the details still  unclear?

Wait on Him.  He is never unclear.  He is preparing you for great things, for new seasons.

Don't run ahead, but always walk in step with the One who made you, the One who wants His best for you at all times.

"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

We might have many plans in mind, but the only fulfilling plan is the Lord's plan.  Let's wait on His plan together, shall we?

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Lord, my desire above all is to live a life that reflects Your goodness, Your holiness, and Your glory.  I know that the only way to do this is to live a life that is in keeping with the plans You have for me, and I want to be patient to wait on Your Holy Spirit to reveal those plans to me.  As a new season in my life approaches, would You please reveal to me in Your time exactly what that season looks like, and what my role is in ushering it in?  Would you also give me the patience to wait on You, on Your best for me, and not to run ahead?  Give me discernment, give me clarity, and give me focus.  Grow me and refine me even now so that I am ready to full embrace the next season that You bring my way.  Thank you that You see fit to use me at all, a broken sinner, and that through Your redeeming love I can be useful for the Kingdom.  Amen.

Run, Run, Run!

This morning I'm watching the 2012 Olympic Women's Marathon.  These ladies are HAULING, and, for this 10-minute-mile runner, they are running their miles at a pace that I could only ever dream of.  Their about-one-percent body fat is a testament to their disciplined training, and I'm jealous until I realize I'd have to run A LOT to have that bod!  Then I sit back and enjoy my coffee...

On a side note, running through the streets of London sounds kind of dreamy, doesn't it?  It does to me...until I realize that they have to run for hours and that they only look at the road in front of them and don't have the time to take in the sights and sounds.  Maybe I do have it better here on my sofa!  

Anytime I watch people run in a race, I am reminded of the encouragement that God gives us when it comes to persevering through life in our relationships with Him.  Hebrews chapter 12 starts after the end of chapter 11 highlights many Bible characters of old who were giants in their faith.  

The Message's translation of Hebrews 12:1-3 is among my favorites:

"Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on?  It means we'd better get on with it.  Strip down, start running - and never quit!  No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.  Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in.  Study how He did it.  Because He never lost sight of where He was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.  And now He's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.  When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through.  That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" 

I love it!  "We'd better get on with it!"  Cut the ties that bind, throw off the burdens that weight us down, and RUN to Him!  In the same way the Olympic runners keep their eyes on the goal, ignoring the distractions, even the exciting ones, that beckon them, we must keep our eyes on Jesus in order to finish the race.  He's already run the race. He knows how to do it!  When we get weary, we need to play back the story of His sprint to the ultimate finish line in our heads over and over again until we are refocused and back on track.  

Olympic runners don't just start jogging on a Saturday morning and decide they want to run in the Olympic Games.  It's something they train for their entire lives.  The sport of running becomes a life of running.  They strategize, they study.  And we must do the same.  I love how Hebrews 12 tells us to study how Jesus ran His race.  It's because it's about more than just the running.  Anyone can run, at least for a while.  The key to running the distance is to study how to do it, and then the be disciplined enough to follow that example and not give up when it's tough.  

It's also extremely hard to run if you're overweight (trust me, I've been there).  Spiritually, the same is true.  Just as a runner must be disciplined in their intake and mindful of keeping their weight down in order to run at their maximum potential, the same goes for us as Christ-followers!  We must be always aware of our spiritual intake, discerning what is doctrine from the Lord and what is spiritual fat that needs to be trimmed.  Also, runners don't race in sweatsuits - they would just weigh them down.  They run in light-weight apparel so nothing will slow them down.  The same is true for the spiritual race - we must strip down and throw off anything that is not of Him in our lives and then start running.  

The one thing that always inspires me the most when watching people run marathons is that the race course isn't spotted with individual runners here and there, running for their lives.  The racers are strategic, and they run in a pack.  Always.  It helps them keep pace, it pushes them to run harder, and it makes for a better race for them every time.  It's not until the very end when the fastest runners break into a sprint in order to be the first one to cross the finish line.  

The picture is a beautiful picture of the body of Christ.  If you're running alone, without accountability or anyone to spur you on to the finish, aren't the chances so much greater that you'll give up and start walking instead of running?  If no one's helping set the pace, your pace will slow - it's proven.  

Do you have people with whom you run your race?  Do you have people in your life who are committed to helping set the pace, the push you to run harder and faster toward the arms of the Savior? If so, take a moment to thank God for the blessing of true friends, and ask Him to help you to be a pace-setter and a pack-leader for them.  

If not, take some time to ask the Lord to bring people into your life who will be committed, first to Him, and second to you, so that you will be able to finish the race well.  We can't do it alone, and God's desire is not that we would run by ourselves.  

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."  GAL. 6:2

He desires to see you in relationship and doing life with fellow believers, and He does not want you to shoulder the burden of life alone.  Ask Him to provide for you, and He will do so, abundantly.

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Lord, today I want to tell you again that my desire is to run the race set before me with endurance, and with joy.  I want to follow the example set by Your Son and to keep my eyes on Him, the ultimate prize and portion.  Thank you for the people you've surrounded me with that encourage me to run and help me keep the pace.  Please allow me to do for others the very same thing.  Please continue to bring people into my life who will sharpen and encourage me, and may we as the Body of Christ live a life of character and integrity that shines a light on your overwhelming majesty.  Amen.

A Sacrifice of Praise

The thought of living as the famous characters of the Old Testament did scares me.  A lot.  To say that they had it rough is putting it mildly; plagues, famine, flood, and, not to mention, their phonebook-thick book of rules give me the anxious hives just to think about!  Their lives were not simple, and their relationship with God was a complicated one.

One of the most fascinating, hard-to-understand practices of the Old Testament was the practice of bringing an offering before the Lord.  Not only were there different types of offerings based upon your particular transgression at the moment, but there were also extremely strict, detailed rules about how and when to prepare and present each offering in the Temple.  

Here's a CliffsNotes version of the five offerings seen in the OT:

• BURNT OFFERING (bull, ram or bird with no defect) a voluntary act of worship; atonement for unintentional sin in general; expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to God (Lev. 1, 6:8-13, 8:18-21, 16:24)
• GRAIN OFFERING (grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread, salt, no yeast or honey) a voluntary act of worship; recognition of God's goodness and provisions; devotion to God (Lev. 2, 6:14-23)
• PEACE OFFERING (any animal without defect from herd or flock; variety of breads) a voluntary act of worship; thanksgiving and fellowship (includes a communal meal); included vow offerings, thanksgiving offerings and freewill offerings (Lev. 3, 7:11-34)
• SIN OFFERING (young bull, male goat, female goat or lamb, dove or pigeon, and 1/10 ephah of fine flour) a mandatory atonement for specific unintentional sin; confession of sin; forgiveness of sin; cleansing from defilement (Lev. 4, 5:1-13, 6:24-30, 8:14-17, 16:3-22)
• TRESPASS OFFERING (ram) a mandatory atonement for unintentional sin requiring restitution; cleansing from defilement (Lev. 5:14-19, 6:1-7, 7:1-6)

For those of us who live in the 21st century and embrace a relationship with the Lord where grace is at the core, this seems a bit out there.  All we have to do is pray and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins, and...yeah, we're done.  However, the more I have considered this thought, the more I realize that we still must bring a sacrifice before the Lord, and it will often cost us just as much.  These sacrifices do not mean for us the difference between heaven and hell, but they very much are at the center of any healthy relationship with Him.  

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:7-16:

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.  

Do not be carried away by all kids of strange teachings.  It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.  We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.  And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood.  Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.  And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." 

I love how the Lord weaves a thread through the Old Testament and into the New.  He makes it clear that we no longer bring blood offerings, or must partake in ceremonial meals, in order to be made right with God; the ultimate blood sacrifice was made through the death of His Son.  However, He still urges us to consider the leaders of old, those who did live under the law, and to learn from their way of life and their faith-walk with the Lord.

I believe that we, as children of the Most High, must still bring sacrifices before the Lord.  What good is any relationship if you don't have to make sacrifices to elevate the other's worth above your own?

Our sacrifice is no longer one of flesh and blood, but a sacrifice of praise (v. 15).  Our lives are to be lived as a reflection of His glory, and our posture must be one of consistent and continual praise for who He is and what He has done on our behalf.

Just as there were five offerings outlined in Leviticus, I think we should constantly check ourselves against the following five ways of bringing offerings of praise to the Lord with our own lives so that we are living in remembrance of what God has done to bring us freedom from the law and into His glorious grace.

• TIME OFFERING (Psalm 46:10) "Be still and know..." is a direct command given to us in the Word of God, yet how often to we really do this?  In a world where the clock runs down more quickly each day and we pack our schedules full of "good" things, we must sacrifice our precious time by making time with the Lord our first priority.  "Even if it cuts into my time for housework, my time for my children, etc?"  YES!  By giving the offering of time to Him, we will be filled and refreshed to make better use of the rest of the time in our day, more able to love our children and husbands, more willing to run our households for His glory and fame, not our own.  We must give our time to Him and He will be faithful to give back to us even more.
• AGENDA OFFERING (Matthew 26:36-39)  Even God's own Son, Jesus, offered His will to God, seeing it as a worthy, necessary offering in order that God might receive praise.  In the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus went to pray before He was arrested and put to death, He spoke to God and shared His own desires, His own sorrow.  Scripture says He was "troubled," probably because He could see that the outcome of His current situation (death) might not be in line with what He naturally desired (life).  He said to His disciples that His soul was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."  He sweated blood.  He was FEARFUL!  Yet, even in the face of the painful death He knew was coming His way, He fell to His face before the Lord and said, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will."  He sacrificed His will, His desired outcomes, His control for the ultimate praise and honor of His Father.  We must follow His example and sacrifice our agendas, trusting that our Heavenly Father knows best and will be made famous through each moment of our lives, and as He sees fit.
• PRIDE OFFERING (Proverbs 22:4)  Scripture says that the wages of humility are "riches and honor and life."  In sacrificing our pride and being brought to a place of humility, we are receiving from Him back more than we could ever dream for ourselves.  We honor Him by sacrificing our pride, and in turn He honors us with spiritual riches and authentic, joyful life.  In order to be real before the Lord and to live a life that brings Him the sacrifice of our praise, we must humble ourselves before Him and others, reflecting the goodness of God and that He saw fit to save us as we were, wretches and full of sin.
• SELF OFFERING (1 Peter 4:10-11)  In order to praise God with our lives, we must empty ourselves of self, and instead allow Him to fill us to the brim with His Holy Spirit so that others might see His majesty.  All we are is "stewards of God's grace," and our behavior should be a reflection of that to those watching.  If we speak, we must sacrifice our own words as an offering of self, speaking instead "the very words of God."  In all we do and in all service, we must do it all "with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."  To rid ourselves of all selfishness, we must daily allow Him to cleanse our hearts and minds through confession of sin, and then open ourselves to His Holy Spirit.  This will bring Him glory even in the simplest things.
• LIFE OFFERING (Matthew 16:24-27)  "...whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul."  What a profound statement from the Son of God!  Sometimes what we hold most tightly to is the very thing that God is calling us to lay down in surrender to Him.  In our current day and culture, at least in the USA, losing our lives in a literal sense in order to defend our faith is not a common story.  And I don't believe that Jesus was only talking about life and death.  I believe He meant that, in order to truly live, to truly exemplify a praise-giving relationship with Him, we must be willing to give ALL of our time, ALL of our agenda, ALL of our pride, ALL of ourselves.  We must be willing to give ALL.  Period.  Whether it means literally laying down our very lives for the sake of the Gospel, or whether it means laying down everything we hold dear, everything that brings us security, everyone and every relationship in our lives for the sake of bringing a sacrifice of praise to Him, this is what we must do.  This is the greatest sacrifice of all because it is all-encompassing, but it will also bring the most glory and honor to Him, the One who is worthy.  Romans 11:36, 12:1-2 says, "For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever!  Amen.  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."  In view of His mercy, in light of all He has given, in light of all He has done, in light of the fact that we have only glimpsed a fragment of His goodness and still it is overwhelming and beyond our understanding, what else can we do but offer all of us for all of Him?

A sacrifice of praise is a privilege to bring before Him.  The very fact that He allows us to have an open line of communication with Him through the blood of His Son is humbling.  We no longer have to go through the lifelong process of rites and rituals in order to be made right with Him.  We no longer have to approach a high priest to intervene and approach God on our behalf.  We can approach THE High Priest, the highest of all, at any time and for any need.  Once we are made right with Him through accepting the blood of Jesus as atonement for our sins, we are right with Him for eternity.  There is no longer any fear, any condemnation, for we are in Christ Jesus and He is in us.  A sacrifice of praise, a life of reflecting His glory, is a natural response to His ultimate sacrifice when we truly understand it, and the only thing we can do is praise Him because He is so worthy.

A Heart Full of Gratitude

I spend far too little time reflecting upon my many blessings.  Most of the time I am absorbed in my unmet needs, my frustrations, my schedule.

How many times do I sacrifice life's most meaningful moments for the sake of my agenda?

Sticky little pancake fingers grab my cheeks as syrupy lips come in for a thank-you kiss.  Chocolate-chip pancakes were, for me, an added chore on a long list of to-dos.  Cooked with resentment.  For my children, on the other (sticky) hand, those pancakes spoke a mother's love deep into their souls, a simple message of "you are special and you are worth it."

My sweet husband leans in to kiss his bride and I respond by backing away with an "ewwww" face because his five-a-clock shadow is prickly on my face.

How many times do I miss it?

Opportunities to grow a grateful heart are everywhere.  The Lord gives abundantly, and I am extra-good at taking.

How it must grieve Him when our greatest blessings become sources for complaints, once a gift and now carried as a burden.

Also, God's greatest blessings often come in unmarked packages, not beautifully wrapped and tied up with a perfectly-shapen bow, because to Him the outward appearance doesn't matter.  What matters is whether or not we trust Him, and whether or not we truly believe that He has our best interest in mind and that He will fulfill His promise to bless those who belong to Him.

Can we trust Him enough to be grateful for the hurts of life?  Can we be grateful when He gives, but even more so when He takes away?  Can we be thankful for the "thorns" of life that become so deeply embedded in our flesh that we live in a state of pain for longs seasons at a time?

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!  People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.  For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light."  Psalm 36:7-9

We can live a grateful life solely by remembering His saving love.  When we consider the abundance of His precious gifts in our lives, that He sees fit to pour out His blessings on us, His undeserving children, a posture of thankfulness and humility should be the cornerstone of our very beings.

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Lord, it is with a repentant heart that I fall before you today, begging Your forgiveness for my extreme selfishness and ungratefulness.  You have blessed me beyond comprehension and I am humbled.  Help for me to see your gifts in every situation, and to remember that Your gifts don't always immediately appear to be beautiful.  However, You have promised good to those who love You, and You are faithful to keep Your promises.  Give me a heart that is full of gratitude for the great things You have done, and help me to live my life in such a way that reflects the goodness of who You are.  Amen.