Ahhhh . . . .
That's a sigh, not a scream. After a wonderful weekend of intentional self care and time with my hubby I am refreshed and ready to serve today.
The puppy slept in his crate for the first time last night. He only cried four times. He has the sweetest, most pitiful cry. It really sounds sad. But he stopped crying when the hubby told him to. I think he was just saying 'what the heck guys?' and 'seriously?'. But I slept wonderfully and woke up feeling so refreshed this morning.
Have you ever had a meal or a night's sleep that made you say, 'Thank you Lord for making me need sleep!' I think about that sometimes after a wonderful meal or a good night's sleep. God didn't have to make us to need sleep or food. He could have made us to just keep going and going like little Energizer bunnies until we die but he made us to need to stop and refuel and he made the refueling so wonderful!
When I think about that I'm reminded that he didn't have to make the world beautiful or make our eyes in a way that we could see the beauty. He didn't have to make us with taste buds or make food so varied and delicious. He didn't have to make sleep so luxuriant and make us long for it regularly. He didn't have to make our hearts with a God shaped hole that feels like it has found it's home when we find Him.
But He did. I'm so grateful.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Good and Pleasant
About a month ago my mother had surgery for ovarian cancer. She seemed to be recovering very nicely while she was in the hospital but we began to be concerned about her while she was recovering at home and at her two week follow up appointment, we learned that she had not healed properly and required another surgery. That was 10 days ago and we expect to be in the hospital for another week. One of my sisters has come from Alabama to help and what was expected to be a one month visit has turned into what will probably be two months. My other sister has come twice for long weekends to relieve us and to see Mom.
During this time out of respect for my mother's privacy as well as her need for rest we have asked that she not have visitors at the hospital and have not relied heavily on friends to stay with her. My father was recovering from hip surgery (which he had a week before she was diagnosed) so he needed help at home and driving to and from everywhere he went. For this reason my sister and I divided our time with Mom into 24 hour shifts, every other day. I have to admit I was really worried about how exhausted I would become but instead I have found it to be a really blessed time.
During the days that Mom was drifting in and out of wakefulness without really waking completely, it was such a joy to care for her and to share the burden with my sister. So many times I was reminded of the times my mother came to care for me when my children were born. She would stay with us for two weeks, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the baby while we slept. Her advice and tenderness during those days made our homecomings almost magical in spite of medical complications.
As my sisters and I have worked together to take care of mom we have also watched out for one another, listening, advising, crying together, sharing our fears and thoughts as well as our prayers and hopes. I have been so grateful for the time with them and for our love for one another and I'm so aware that not every family has this kind of harmony and ability to work together. It is truly a blessing from God.
Each day has new challenges and new victories and we do not know what the future holds but we know that we have a loving Father who does know the future and holds it in His hands. And we know that we will walk into that future together, grateful for the time that we have.
Psalm 133:1, 3 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. . . For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." (ESV)
During this time out of respect for my mother's privacy as well as her need for rest we have asked that she not have visitors at the hospital and have not relied heavily on friends to stay with her. My father was recovering from hip surgery (which he had a week before she was diagnosed) so he needed help at home and driving to and from everywhere he went. For this reason my sister and I divided our time with Mom into 24 hour shifts, every other day. I have to admit I was really worried about how exhausted I would become but instead I have found it to be a really blessed time.
During the days that Mom was drifting in and out of wakefulness without really waking completely, it was such a joy to care for her and to share the burden with my sister. So many times I was reminded of the times my mother came to care for me when my children were born. She would stay with us for two weeks, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the baby while we slept. Her advice and tenderness during those days made our homecomings almost magical in spite of medical complications.
As my sisters and I have worked together to take care of mom we have also watched out for one another, listening, advising, crying together, sharing our fears and thoughts as well as our prayers and hopes. I have been so grateful for the time with them and for our love for one another and I'm so aware that not every family has this kind of harmony and ability to work together. It is truly a blessing from God.
Each day has new challenges and new victories and we do not know what the future holds but we know that we have a loving Father who does know the future and holds it in His hands. And we know that we will walk into that future together, grateful for the time that we have.
Psalm 133:1, 3 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. . . For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." (ESV)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
surrounding me
I was born into great love,
that I did nothing to deserve
A fierce love that required my very best
I am surrounded by deep love
that comforts me and gives me life
And takes life from me,
making it beautiful.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Way of Love
In my journey through the Old Testament passages that Jesus teaches from I came to a passage in Matthew 5:19 that says "whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." This one stopped me in my tracks because in Acts 10, Peter was told to eat 'unclean' foods although one of the commandments is to not eat unclean foods. So I found myself asking Jesus what he meant by that.
Galatians 3 and 4 were a huge help in understanding the relationship between the old and new covenants and their requirements. It vehemently points out that we are saved by faith and not by the law but it says that the law was a "guardian" to lead us to Jesus. This guardian did at least two things. It showed us what God's standard is and then it taught us that we can't do it! That leaves us in a terrible position from which we cry out "who will save me from the righteous judgment of God?" From that position we look for someone to save us and Jesus comes to us and says, "I fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law in your place." Whew!
So, does that just let us off the hook? In one way, yes and in another way, no. Yes, we are off the hook and do not have to fulfill the requirements of the law to be saved. Jesus did that for us and through faith in Him we participate in his perfection. But it also doesn't let us "off the hook" of the standard of God. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 5 Jesus shows us that the standard is higher. The standard is love.
Love says 'not only will I not murder someone, but I won't call someone names. In fact, I will seek reconciliation with my enemy as a higher priority than my religious acts.' Love says 'of course I wouldn't commit adultery against my spouse but I won't even allow my mind to go there. In fact, I take my personal holiness so seriously that I would pluck out my eye or cut off my hand rather than allow those parts of my body to lead me astray.' Love makes me a person of integrity so that I don't have to swear for people to believe me but I can just say 'yes' or 'no' and let that be that.
It is only as we are led by the Spirit of God that this kind of life changing love can flow through us. Our flesh sets itself against this kind of love and fights against it our whole life. Only through abiding in Jesus can we bear this fruit for "apart from him we can do nothing".(John 15:5)
Galatians 3 and 4 were a huge help in understanding the relationship between the old and new covenants and their requirements. It vehemently points out that we are saved by faith and not by the law but it says that the law was a "guardian" to lead us to Jesus. This guardian did at least two things. It showed us what God's standard is and then it taught us that we can't do it! That leaves us in a terrible position from which we cry out "who will save me from the righteous judgment of God?" From that position we look for someone to save us and Jesus comes to us and says, "I fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law in your place." Whew!
So, does that just let us off the hook? In one way, yes and in another way, no. Yes, we are off the hook and do not have to fulfill the requirements of the law to be saved. Jesus did that for us and through faith in Him we participate in his perfection. But it also doesn't let us "off the hook" of the standard of God. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 5 Jesus shows us that the standard is higher. The standard is love.
Love says 'not only will I not murder someone, but I won't call someone names. In fact, I will seek reconciliation with my enemy as a higher priority than my religious acts.' Love says 'of course I wouldn't commit adultery against my spouse but I won't even allow my mind to go there. In fact, I take my personal holiness so seriously that I would pluck out my eye or cut off my hand rather than allow those parts of my body to lead me astray.' Love makes me a person of integrity so that I don't have to swear for people to believe me but I can just say 'yes' or 'no' and let that be that.
It is only as we are led by the Spirit of God that this kind of life changing love can flow through us. Our flesh sets itself against this kind of love and fights against it our whole life. Only through abiding in Jesus can we bear this fruit for "apart from him we can do nothing".(John 15:5)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Random Thought about the Twilight Series
Am I the only one who thinks the Twilight series could be a big Mormon evangelism tool? I mean, eternal marriage and all that (sorry if that was a plot spoiler for you). I really enjoyed the series but as soon as I finished it this thought occurred to me. I don't submit this question in an accusatory way. For one thing, if I were a Mormon, I would feel free to evangelize any way I could. For another thing, I don't think it would have to be conscious on the part of the author. It could just be her worldview that is coming through in her writing.
I do, however, think it has strong potential for drawing young people toward Mormonism. After all, it is directed at the youth culture, does a terrific job of selling eternal, blissful marriage and it's written by a Mormon. They are a very evangelistic religion so I don't think this is too far out in left field. In case you have been in a cave recently, teenage girls are going crazy for this book and many of them are passionate about wanting a guy "just like Edward". I wonder if it is designed to cause a young person to long for that, setting them up for the Mormon evangelist to come along and say "we believe in eternal marriage" as part of the pitch.
I talked to my 13 year old daughter about it and her first response was "I think that sounds great!" When I told her that Jesus says that in heaven there will be no marriage or giving in marriage she seemed . . . um . . . disappointed. I think that's a fairly normal reaction for a person her age. I mean, if you find your "soul mate", won't you want it to last forever? Of course, no one but Jesus is perfect for anyone and He will be a great husband! But that's a pretty abstract thought for a teenager and as the child in the sermon illustration says we often want "someone with skin on."
Anyway, I know I lean toward being overly analytical and I may be way off base, but it's just something I wonder about.
I do, however, think it has strong potential for drawing young people toward Mormonism. After all, it is directed at the youth culture, does a terrific job of selling eternal, blissful marriage and it's written by a Mormon. They are a very evangelistic religion so I don't think this is too far out in left field. In case you have been in a cave recently, teenage girls are going crazy for this book and many of them are passionate about wanting a guy "just like Edward". I wonder if it is designed to cause a young person to long for that, setting them up for the Mormon evangelist to come along and say "we believe in eternal marriage" as part of the pitch.
I talked to my 13 year old daughter about it and her first response was "I think that sounds great!" When I told her that Jesus says that in heaven there will be no marriage or giving in marriage she seemed . . . um . . . disappointed. I think that's a fairly normal reaction for a person her age. I mean, if you find your "soul mate", won't you want it to last forever? Of course, no one but Jesus is perfect for anyone and He will be a great husband! But that's a pretty abstract thought for a teenager and as the child in the sermon illustration says we often want "someone with skin on."
Anyway, I know I lean toward being overly analytical and I may be way off base, but it's just something I wonder about.
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