"Well, I'm just wait'in on the Lord..."

I’ve realized I am waiting in the wrong way.  That’s right, there is a correct way to wait.

Have you heard people say, “Don’t pray for patience God will teach you a lesson in being patient.” But  we confuse patience and passiveness; patience means waiting without complaint, your willingness to suppress your restlessness, or steady perseverance. It is not being passive or inactive.  

“Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.” James 5:7-8 MSG

I 'm sure you know someone that has been praying for years for something, they'll say "Well I'm just waitin' on the Lord..." 

You see it’s not all about waiting on God, we can’t just pray and then do nothing. The farmer is weeding and fertilizing while waiting.  If you are waiting for the right job, make sure you are filling out applications and in the mean time volunteer.  I have several things I have been praying about, yet I seem to focus on one and forget that I need to be cultivating the others. I imagine God looking down saying- 

“Yep, I hear you Sherry, I know you want that and I want it for you too. But what are you doing to make it happen? This is going to hurt a little but-No, you aren’t ready yet.” 

We are like God’s teenagers whining because He didn’t give us what we wanted.

“Oh snap! I didn’t realize I actually had to w-o-r-k for it!"

Or how about this one- "Well I've been pray'in for it, Bible says God'll give it to me if I just ask."

Matthew 7:7  does say, "Ask and you will receive". Sort of makes God sound like a vending machine doesn’t it? I’ll put my money in and press B-2, out comes the answer to my prayer.  But read the entire verse-

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

There are requirements to receive the answer to your prayer: search to find it; knock to get the door to open. Read verse 8

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8

So can we get positive results just waiting on God? Without a doubt God loves us just like we love our teenagers, but no, God wants us to do our part too.

That means I have a lot of doors to start knocking on and a lot of searching to do. Oh, geeze I’m so far behind!

My Unglued Girls

It’s so great to have a group of friends to hold you accountable, pray for you, encourage you through life’s tough moments & celebrate the joys in life with you too. That’s my connect group.

I love these girls, I’m old enough to be their Mother, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  I am so proud of them; how they, (we) are making so much progress in dealing with our emotions through the book Unglued.  I love how openly we can share our personal “unglued moments” without fear of judgment.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16

Why confess to others?

First I believe this verse is a commandment, maybe not the top 10 commandments, but a commandment nonetheless. 

And I think it means –do it, it’s good for you.

1.    It holds you accountable for your own progress.

Saying things out loud makes it real; it helps you to really think about the issue. Look at the situation from another angle and you could see the humor in your reaction to it.

2.    God loves it when we pray for one another; it is an action of love.

I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

3.    Praying and really believing in the prayer can help you overcome and be healed. The bible tells us where two or three are together in His name, we can count on God being there too.

Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

Matthew 18:18-20 MSG

Yes, I have a fun group of young ladies; they inspire me to be a better “me’. I hope they find their selves encouraged by me their best too and know we are all an imperfect work in progress. I love you “Unglued Girls”!!

Know Love to Show Love

I admit there are times I have opened my mouth and later thought “Oh God, what have I done, that wasn’t a very Christian thing to say.” or my reaction in a situation, wasn’t exactly what I would consider “Christian like”… oh the guilt! I sometimes would think “I just don’t feel like a Christian should or act like one."

So what is the problem?  Self control?  Emotional control? Loving people more? Probably all of these would help, but if you find yourself thinking “Maybe I don’t know God well enough.” as the reason for your behavior, you could be right. 

We love because he first loved us.1John 4:19

Do you know how much God loves you?

Have you ever been in that new love?  You were just happy, happy, happy!  No one could do anything to ruin your day!  You felt loved and so were willing to respond in a loving way.

Well God loves you if you are confused, mad, or hurt the same as when you are happy.

You see it is much easier to respond in a positive way and love people instead of reacting to them if you really feel the love of God; really know how much God cares about everything in your life. You can find new words to use if you choose to praise him in all situations.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:3

When you don’t want to go to church is when you need it the most.

Press into God even when it is not really what you feel like doing. Go to church, read your bible and trust God and he will keep you on track.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
 Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6

Empathy,Compassion and Humility

A lovely 20 something young woman once proudly told me that she has no problem telling people, “this is the way it is going to be.”- because she just doesn’t “feel” that deep about things so sometimes she insults people. 

Wow.  I suppose that will change with maturity. Age isn’t necessarily a sign of maturity, but you do have to learn empathy, humility and compassion to be a mature Christian. You really will never fully understand someone else’s pain, sadness or suffering until you can “feel deeply”. Without feeling deeply how can you know empathy or compassion? Without empathy and compassion how can you be humble?

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… Colossians 3:12

Empathy comes from the Greek word empatheia and the en, “in” pathos as in feeling.  The World Dictionary defines empathy as, “The power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings”. Having this skill will certainly make it easier for you to have compassion. 

Other words for Humble are unpretentious or unassuming; I think these words are a good description of someone that I find humble.

Someone that shows humility will remove themselves from their own desires, egos and mind long enough to feel empathy & compassion for others.

My take on this is;  you can have empathy without compassion, you can have compassion without empathy, but you cannot have either without humility.  Jesus should be our example; with humility he showed empathy by healing and raising the dead, with humility he showed compassion by forgiving.

Compassion

“A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

³³ Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” ³⁵ Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!” Mark 7:32-35

Empathy

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” John 8:4-5

 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:7-11

Humility, letting yourself get out of your own way so you can feel deep enough to care about others. I don’t know about you but I think that’s a really good way to live my life.

Fresh Start

It has been moving weekend, well it has turned into moving week.  You bet you can tell who you can really count on when that day comes around.  No one likes to do it but everyone likes the help!  This time my husband had to work on Saturday and I was so grateful for the guys that showed up to help me.  We could have never been able to to it on our own.  

Now that we are moved in - mostly, I look around at the boxes to be unpacked and all our "stuff" and I don't just see work.  I feel gratitude. Gratitude for the things God has been so faithful to provide. Gratitude to God for a fresh start that we so do not deserve. 

You know God is in the fresh start business.  When we accept Jesus we are given that fresh start, no matter want mess we made of our lives in the past.  No matter how many times you have blown it with your finances, people, family, illegal activity, it doesn't matter. If you truely love God, and accect Jesus as your savior, you have a fresh start waiting for you.

May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed.  On account of his vast mercy,  he has given us new birth.  You have been born anew into to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  You have a pure and enduring inheritance that cannot perish, an inheritance that is kept safe for you in heaven.  1 Peter 1: 3-4 CEB

Breaking Point 2

What will it take before you decide to create a buffer zone in your life?  Stress reveals itself in many ways, lack of patience, snapping at others, weight gain, heart attack…. What will it take?  Our bodies need downtime to heal and refresh. Listen to your body it will let you know when you are at the breaking point. 

As you’re in the overload mode your time seems to disappear, no time for family or friends, no time for God.  Seriously, how can you do what God wants you to do if you have no time? How can you even hear what God wants you to do if you don’t take the time to be with Him and listen?    Don’t be that person that says “Really God, now…?” 

“People plan their path, but the Lord secures their steps.”Proverbs 15:9

Do you know someone in this stressed out obsessed with too much stuff people?  You know they have probably lost their joy too, instead of just blowing them off as a mean person, try to help them figure it out…

“Anxiety leads to depression, but a good word encourages.” Proverbs 12:25

Breaking Point

 Do you feel stretched so thin you think you might snap?  Do you rush all day from one appointment to the next? Like getting the kids to school, then you to work; you inhale your food at lunch to rush back to work so you can meet the deadline before days end. Oh but heaven forbid if anyone is late!  This throws the entire day off and you are late for everything else, it’s the snowball effect.

Then you rush home to fix dinner, clean up the kitchen get the homework done, then kids in bed. You then fall into bed mind racing fighting to fall asleep, only wake up in the morning to start all over again.

Even if you are a stay at home Mom you can get into this rush routine.  I was a stay at home Mom for a while, I had a 6 year old in school, and 2 in diapers-15 months apart.  I remember one day my husband came home to the chaos and asked, “What did you do all day?”  “Oh no he didn’t just ask me that!” was my thought.  The next day I wrote a play by play of my day. Every diaper change, every burp and feeding was in that journal.  He never asked that question again.

I had no ease, quiet or rest and trembling came. Job 3:26

What kind of life is that? Can you say STRESS!  I believe that if we will schedule some buffers, or little breaks into our day we could be much happier and more productive in the long run.

We are overloaded- too much media, too much debt, too much work~ home & business~ too much activity in general.

When we are hurrying and worrying we don’t take time to think. When we don’t think we make poor decisions and all too often say hurtful things to those we love we normally would never say. 

So take some time to relax, have some fun. Psalms 46:10 says

Be still and know that I am God…. Let God take control.