It is one thing...

As I was contemplating the other day what to post on a social site that would be inspirational and also get us to think about what we do, I came across this saying: 

“It is one thing to talk to God, but another thing to listen to Him.”

One of my friends thought it would be interesting to hear what was behind the posting of this. Now you will know.

Have you ever thought you were so busy that you just had to keep going in order to keep up with everything that was going on?  Every morning you would pour out your plea for God to follow you through the day and make sure things went smoothly. 

  

As you walk to the car, you ask Him for protection for your family and yourself as you buzz off to classes one more day (or whatever you are doing).

Did I talk to God?  Sure did.  

Did I tell Him about my day?  Yup.

Did I let Him know my desires? Uh-hu.

So I have God in my life. I honor Him with my lips.  I let Him know I need Him.  I tell Him I love Him.  Good things.

Does this look a bit one-sided to you?  Sure did to me.

Does it reek a bit of selfishness?  I thought so.

LISTENING.  

What if God wanted to tell me about one of the people that I would meet today, needed a bit of love shown to them so they could sense a Godly love?  

What if God wanted to tell me that He loved me more than what any person could ever imagine?

So how much time is reserved in your day to just listen?  

A relationship is built on mutual sharing.  That means that someone has to listen.  The word mutual means that each have to take a turn in listening.   

Have you ever had a “friend” that talked all the time, but never let you talk?  You were their dumping station. They just needed to talk it out, but then they went on their merry way.  You knew it was going to happen again and again; a vicious cycle.    

If they would only stop long enough to listen to what you might have to say, the cycle wouldn’t have to keep going.  They could find victory over their struggles.  But alas, it just went on. 

 

Is this how God feels about us?  Don’t you think He wishes we would just take some time to listen so we could be encouraged to get off the vicious cycle we are in and really become effective for His Kingdom? 

 

I did quite a bit of thinking and meditating on that.

I was tired of riding bike.

I stopped and listened for the past week.

I found peace and love.

You will find His forgiveness and love as well.  

Peaceful quietness abides within as we listen.

I know I haven't written in a long while...but be patient.  I'm starting into finals and my mind is all taken up with completing those and staying strong to the finish.

I don't even have enough time to clean the house right now, let alone sit and write what goes through my mind.  

I shall be back after May 10th.  I'm taking notes of things that inspire me - we will see what shall come out of them.

Love to all - 

Epidemic “DC”

In the past several weeks I've been doing some observations in this place.

"When are you going to clean your room?" I ask. The response seems to be the inevitable, "I don't know;" which translates into "I don't care."

"Would you be willing to make some supper for yourselves tonight?" Again the response comes back and with the look of not caring.

So after being tired of always getting the same answer, I finally pin them down to what really is the problem.

My daughter comes up with the story that she had read about a young fellow that was a virtual genius in his school days. But when he was out of school and into the 'real world', he didn't have any kind of motivation to pursue his interests. When asked why he didn't, his answer was, "I have a horrible disease called 'DC'. I really don't care about anything around me, I just care about the physics and science that I excelled in as a student in high school and wrote a book about."

In contemplating and thinking about this story and then those in this household, I begin to see a bit of an analogy. Each one of us have become so engrossed in the things we love to do that we don't seem to care about the comfort or cares of another. No one wants to put themselves out to clean a bathroom for the enjoyment of the rest of the family. They don't want to sweep the floors so that others walking on it don't have to step on a stray stone that could be painful for another. Why bother with taking all the time in cooking a great meal so that the rest of the family can enjoy the finished product.

Each one of us in this household has a bit of the 'DC' disease. I'm too involved in my homework to think about making it comfortable for the rest of the family. The children have their interests in their own homework or computers to even think about helping to make the housework less taxing on just one person. We have things to do and places to go that we forget about each other.

Makes me remember what I've been taught growing up. My father and mother were very much of a mind that if one didn't take care of family, then who would? We were taught to step in the gap and be there for each other. When did we become so involved with 'good' things that we forget to 'care' for those around us?

For me, I'm resolving once again to do what I can to make it better for my own family. When I will find the time or the energy, I have no idea. I have to start caring more and stressing about grades less.

The cure of 'DC' doesn't come with a pill to pop in the morning and evening. It comes with action of doing things that make another person happy.

What are you doing to keep the disease at bay?

Creative Thinking is Work!

As I have been thinking and brainstorming about what else could go in this blog, my mind went in about a thousand or more directions. I've always wanted to be able to write and have people enjoy reading what I did write. Now if I could only write like this person, or like that author, then I would be a success. That statement is about the farthest thing from the truth as you can find.

The only thing that I've been writing lately is computer coding languages and that isn't something that just anyone can decipher and get all excited about. This is what my papers have been looking like:

    $(document).ready function() {

    }); //end ready

The coding can keep on going and going until one wonders if there isn't an easier way to get things done. There have been days when the brain seems to explode and no more rational thinking is forth coming.

So this morning I spent some time in getting all of my code writing done and assignments all turned in. I then decided that my brain needed to think more creatively and I led to a page that stated; Aspects of creative thinking that are not usually taught. If you have a chance to read through this, it is very helpful and encouraging to those of us that need to do some writing now and again.

I've found out that thinking creatively is not something that just comes to one whenever we call it forth. We really do have to work at it and get those thinking caps on and write what comes to mind. I've become somewhat lazy and enjoy reading other's handiwork and entertain my mind when in actuality I could come up with many adventurous and interesting antidotes to share and make others smile and laugh.

Several things that I'm asking myself right now is:

• Do I have the passion to write?
  
• Am I determined to take the time to write?
  
• When will I have the time to even think of writing down my thoughts?
  

 

I shall look out of my window and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm weather and let my mind wander to any place where it is inspired.

Silence….

I felt nothing. All was quiet. No emotion.

No joy and laughter bubbled from within.

No deep sorrow or tears came forth.

It was all quiet.

Almost dead.

Just silence.

 

Was this what it felt like to not have chaos or stress?
Is this what I had been hoping for and wishing that things wouldn't be so extreme?

I don't like this either. I like feeling things.

Life was so crazy that one just wants a bit of peace and quiet. Oh, if only things were just a bit more on the even keel. Not so bumpy and rocky with emotional highs and lows.

But I felt nothing. I was empty.

I couldn't write. What was there to write?

I couldn't feel for another person. There was no emotion.

I wanted to laugh. But there wasn't anything funny.

I wanted to cry. But there wasn't anything sad.

I was dry, parched; nothing.

 

"Be still, and know that I am God!" (Ps. 46)

It looked like I had the 'be still' all figured out. It sure was rather quiet, even eerie at times. I needed to focus on the 'knowing' part. Was I so focused on the silence that I didn't see God?

It reminded me of being in the eye of a storm. Things were swirling all around me, but where I was, it was silent. I felt like I couldn't reach out without being sucked in the swirl. I was tired of swirl, exhausted even.

Yet where was God? I didn't feel Him…no emotional coziness and warm fuzzy feelings.

Is this what it feels like in silence? It may be quiet, but not necessarily peaceful.

Finding God in the midst of our stormy lives takes a lot of effort and dedication. God is in the storm as well as the eye of the storm. I believe that as a fact whether I feel that way of not. My faith is based on that fact which is God's promise to us. He is there nurturing and drawing us to really 'know' Him.

There is a hole in the clouds at the eye of the storm. All we need to do is look up, yes, just look up. Know who your God is – really recognize and understand Him. He just wanted me to look up and see Him for who He is.

With all the craziness of pursuing a degree, making things work in a schedule so that everyone is able to go to classes and work on homework, there just didn't seem to be any time or an empty part of my brain that was able to concentrate on God.

My brain was full of algebra, numbers swirling around trying to make sense in an orderly fashion.
Another part was trying to grasp a new language of commas, dots, curly braces, and code.
Add to that some (a lot) art facts in history up through the ages and one has quite the mixture of facts to sort through.

I'm lost in the swirl – God pulls me to the 'eye' where there is no swirl. I even complain there and don't like it in either place.

Then I looked up – I could hear God say, "I answered your prayer for a break and you didn't like it either. What do you really want?"

Good question!

Now I'm beginning to feel emotion – a feeling of sadness and remorse, repentance.

After that my heart is filling with a peace that passes all understanding.

Now I know what the Psalmist meant when he said that we are to be quiet before the Lord. Knowing and recognizing the God of all. Knowing Him is what brings sanity to life's craziness. Knowing Him is what brings peace in the midst of the storm.

We don't have to feel dead to know silence. There is peace in the silence.

Just look up!

New Year Commitments…

Over this 5-week vacation I've been doing a lot of thinking and meditating. There are so many 'things' to do and get done before classes start up again. It has been good to just relax and leisurely work on things around the house rather than trying to quickly get something done. But I've taken time to just stop before the Lord and listen to Him as well.

This past year has brought a lot of pain, stress, uncertainties; along with many blessings, joys, and love. Each one had their part in refining a person to be perfect before his God. I was also given a challenge this past year that I didn't put into effect until about November, and then I failed to do it in all areas.

I met a dear lady, Esther, one Sunday at a potluck luncheon at the church. After talking awhile with her and finding out that she's been diagnosed with cancer, but didn't take the chemo treatment because she desired quality of life rather than trying for a cure. They didn't give her any hope of a cure, but wanted to do the accepted procedures. This lady was a walking blessing that day. She looks me in the eyes and says, "Evelyn, healing comes in a thankful heart. Thankfulness for everything in your life, including health, is what gives one life." That day was the day that I did some major inventory in my own life. How many times had I been grumbling and complaining because I couldn't do what I wanted to do? How many days was I in such pain and I grumbled instead of being thankful that I wasn't permanently in bed? And the list goes on.

These past two months have been a testing point in being thankful for everything, and I mean everything, down to a broken fingernail! Instead of fretting about what isn't and can't happen, I started being thankful for what was and is happening. I was thankful for every time that I could get up out of bed in the morning and walked to the closet. Yes, just that simple thankfulness was where I started. After doing that for several mornings, I was made aware of many people that were bed-ridden and couldn't even get out of bed.

You see, starting to be thankful for the simple things makes one aware of what one really does have and not what one does not have.

"What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God! 
   To announce your love each daybreak, 
      sing your faithful presence all through the night," (Ps. 92)

In looking at this coming year, I am committed to being more thankful, working to being thankful in literally everything. Announcing my love for the Lord each morning and thanking Him for His faithfulness each evening. I do know that I will be tested in this commitment, but by the grace of God, I want to remain thankful.

Instead of being focused on thankfulness only in the month of November, I want to be thankful the whole year through. We have so much and so many blessings, that there is no excuse for any ungrateful hearts among us. The very first thank-you should be to God for providing a way to be saved from death and sin. Isn't that why we live in the first place?

So I challenge each of you to join me in being thankful each day for what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do in each of our lives. He brings peace and healing to our hearts as we humbly thank Him for who He is.

Christmas Blessing…

This morning is the morning after. The whole excitement of the wonderful holiday is now past. The daily grind comes back to us. For us it is just a continuation of vacation time. When one is a bus driver, it is vacation until school commences once again.

As we went to worship yesterday, I was blessed by our message that was given to us to think about. Our minds were not drawn to a baby in a manger, but to praise worthy of our God that came down to man. This phrase is what gave me such a joy and blessing for the day: "Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage." (Gal. 4:5)

So the season gave me a whole new perspective among all the hustle and bustle that was happening all around us. Our family didn't even do decorations this year. To be honest it is because we haven't been able to find them after moving. So we found other ways to make it festive. We didn't have the finances to make it possible for presents under the tree this year either, so why have a tree? Well, we found that being together as a family and rejoicing in our "rightful heritage" was celebration enough.

But as time came closer to the holiday, the Lord did some real miracles for us. We were blessed with some financial aid in the mail from a friend and a family member. It made it possible to meet our bills for the month and enough left to get one thing for each of the children. So our season of good cheer has been turned into rejoicing.

So this morning I am humbled with God coming down to us and showing us how to live in the new life so we can live victoriously in Him.

Now we go throughout this week knowing that we are secure in His love and we do things together as a family. We only have 3 more weeks left before college starts up again and then we all shall be in "fast-forward" mode once again. I shall take each new day as a blessing and be thankful!

Go with God today, my friends, and rejoice!