“Sole Food”
A Throwback Thought
It’s raining today so I wore my books to work. I wore them for two reasons, to keep my feet dry and to keep from slipping (rubber soles you know). These boots remind me of a spiritual truth, too, that Jesus is my sure foundation, that in Him I can never lose my balance. The foundation of my world may rock and reel from time to time but in Christ I can maintain my spiritual footing all the time. These boots also remind me that I am called to build on the foundation that is Christ. Just as I choose not to intentionally walk in mud on a rainy day because I don’t want to mess up my boots, so it is with my life in Christ. I must intentionally stay away from the muddy places of life, not mess up my life with that which has no eternal value, at all. ~1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
**************************
DISAPPOINTMENT Life often serves up disappointments that bring with them the potential to leave a bitter taste in our mouths. I have experienced many bitter tastes in my lifetime. I could have stewed in those disappointments until they possessed me to the extent that I would have missed God's life lesson for me. But, if I want to take on more responsibility in His name, then I must be aware of the little foxes that can spoil the vines (covert and overt), and I must stop taking everything as a personal affront.
People will make choices that have a negative impact on us but this does not mean that we have to respond negatively. I truly want to be a dispenser of grace, a conduit for God's love so I must be prepared for those little surprises that come my way and I must be prepared to exemplify God's grace in my responses and reactions.
Certainly, when Jesus was bruised for our iniquities, we were not worth the price He paid, but God deemed us worthy of that most wondrous sacrifice. We should live as though we were worth the price of Calvary, which means we will sometimes have to suffer the indignities of, as Shakespeare put it, "outrageous fortune" with grace.
*************************
AND STILL THERE IS TIME!
Every time I receive an email from a high school classmate that has a name in the subject line, I automatically know what the message is going to be: “Another friend/classmate has passed away.” Lately, the familiar names are younger than I am, a fact that immediately turns me to God’s grace and his mercy. I am not still here by my own power of sheer will or intestinal fortitude. In fact, a review of past decisions would render a verdict of guilty and condemnation. I really should have been “dead and gone” a long, long time ago. Still, of this one thing I am so sure; if I am still here, then God’s plan for me, His purpose for my life, is still open-ended. I can still pursue that dream He has planted in me without concern to age, status or position. Psalm 75:6,7 reminds us that promotion comes from the Lord. Peter and James remind us that if we humble ourselves, in due time, God will exalt us. God calls us to passion for Him and His call. He calls us to the pursuit of passion and as long as there is breath and life, we dare not do anything less.
HOW DID I GET HERE?
I've been doing some looking back this season, reviving memories of old times and old friends. It hardly seems possible that in my other life I was a wife, a pastor's wife. I remember the warm times, the church fellowships, the holiday celebrations, the sharing and encouraging, the marriages and the deaths, the births and the graduations. I remember the cold times, the down times, the time when my pastor/husband cried at home and in a rare moment shared his brokenness with one statement: "I don't understand."
Members left the church without a word; family left the church without a word; so called friends laughed at him behind his back. His wife and his children were subject to the unrelenting life in the ministry fish bowl scrutiny of friends and strangers.
So, considering all of the "stuff" that happened, why am I feeling nostalgic for those days? Simply because I lived and loved every minute of ministry life. God placed me in that place for my growth and for this season of being on my own. I learned how to walk through the valley of death without fear. I am learning, day by day, how to wait on the Lord and be of good courage. I have learned how not to faint in the day of adversity. I have learned to destroy those seeds of discouragement before they take root as bitterness. I have learned to smile through tears and I now understand how to dispense grace and minister to an enemy.
Aside from the presence and the love of a husband, I lost almost everything, possessions, special relationships, a church family, a ministry. But, in spite of the loss, and in spite of the fact that God has yet to answer my "whys" I am still here by His grace and His design.
When I run into people who haven't seen me for a while, they almost always exclaim, "You look wonderful!" Well, as my pastor says, "You may see my glory, but you don't know my story.!" I have a story to tell about some things that I've been through (to quote Donald Lawrence), but not only am I healed, I am ready to let the world know you can survive craziness, but only through the power of prayer and faith and trust in Jehovah, the self-existent/ineffable God who will never leave or forsake you.
The question is no longer "How did I get here?" The praise report is "I'm still here!"
Speak Lord, your servant heareth!"
I KNOW THE PLANS
Jeremiah 30:22 " 'So you will be my people, and I will be your God.' "
This is the word of the LORD to the Jewish captives in Babylon. The word is delivered through Jeremiah and it is not a popular word. Jeremiah has already delivered to them, in chapter 29, the decree of God, that they will be in captivity for at least seventy years so they might as well make peace with their new “homeland,” build homes and get married, have children and then give those daughters and sons in marriage.
Many believers often quote, and claim, Jeremiah 29:11 for a sense of comfort and security as well as a sense that God has a plan for our us, that we are not just wayfaring strangers in this world. How does this ideal change for us when we realize Jeremiah’s statements prior to this declaration: First verse 10, This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place, then verse 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Would we still find comfort in verse 11 if we knew that God had put a predetermined length of time before that verse would be activated in our lives? Would we stop wrestling with when and just trust God to bring us to that place of destiny?
********************************************
THE BEST MEDICINE
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
Miz I. M. Wonderin invited me to the baptism of her granddaughter. I felt privileged that she would include me in such a family moment. She also invited me to dinner afterwards at her house, and of course I went because Miz I. M. can really cook. Later that same evening she began to reminisce about Chriscal, Texas and some of the things she and Maisie used to get into:
I remember it like it was yesterday. There we were all of us kids, just looking at each other. It was Sunday morning and Rev. Williams was giving out the invitation, opening the doors of the church, as they used to say. All of us, Herbert Jr. and Ray Ann and Dorothy Jean and Willis and Robert Lee and Sallie Mae and Maisie and myself had been lectured by our parents for almost a month. You see, we were all twelve years old and in those days you were supposed to be baptized at twelve. But no one wanted to be the first to take the step because we thought the others might not follow, so we just sat there looking at each other until Herbert Jr.’s mother slid into the pew behind us kids and pinched him right on the butt. “You get up and you go down that aisle, you hear me?” Miz Foster had that look on her face that said she meant business, so Herbert Jr. got up and went forward. Then none of us wanted to be left behind, so we all went forward, except for Maisie. But I guess she felt weird sitting there all by herself, especially with all the eyes of the church fastened on her so she got up and joined the rest of us. Lord, there was shouting in that church that morning. The people though we had been touched by the Spirit. We, on the other hand, had been moved by the pre-teen need not to be different from the others.
The very next Sunday they dressed us kids in the baptizing robes and took us down to the riverside. We did not have fancy baptismal pools like the churches today. We lined up on the river bank with the good sisters encouraging us to praise God and not to be afraid. We were not afraid; we were thinking what great fun it would be to go into the river and splash in the water for as minute since it was so hot that day, all of us, that is, except Maisie. We didn’t notice it in all the anticipation, but Maisie was real quiet. You see, in all the exhilaration of the moment, we forgot that Maisie was afraid of going into deep water. She would wade in the water a little, but that would be it. That’s why she had been the last one in the group to go forward for baptism, and she was the last one in the line down to the river that day.
One by one, we all went into the water; we were dunked and each one of us came out to the great exultation and clapping of the church folks. Then came Maisie’s turn. She didn’t resist Deacon Joe and Deacon Willie at first, but when she got to that place where the water was around her chest, she just lost it. When Deacon Joe pronounced, “I baptize you my young sister. . .” and started to lean her backwards into the water, Maisie went nuts. She started kicking and screaming, trying to get out of that water. Then she accidentally kicked Deacon Willie you know where and then he started yelling and Deacon Joe slipped trying to catch her so she wouldn’t drown and the congregation thought that Maisie had gotten a good dose of the Spirit so they all started shouting and we kids were so tickled that we fell down on the ground laughing so hard we cried. I tell you, our riverside experience was a real spectacle that day.
None of us young people understood the importance of the riverside experience then, but today I see it as being about accepting and welcoming change in your life. It’s about trusting God and moving forward with an attitude of victory. I am so excited that my granddaughter not only understands salvation, but also the affirmation she made when she was baptized in front of the church. You know, baptism is like a coming out party where a man or a woman, a boy or a girl announces to everyone, “I now belong to God; I am His child, and I am ready to live a new life for Him.” No, none of us kids really understood the riverside experience that day, but thank God, I finally got it right
.
Miz. I. M.’s words started me to thinking my riverside experience, the day I stepped into the water for my coming out announcement. Oh, I understand Romans 6:4 and its declaration of a “new way of life,” but I still wrestle with change. I love the status quo too much. I wonder, do I really have forward momentum or am I being dragged along by life?
A Throwback Thought
It’s raining today so I wore my books to work. I wore them for two reasons, to keep my feet dry and to keep from slipping (rubber soles you know). These boots remind me of a spiritual truth, too, that Jesus is my sure foundation, that in Him I can never lose my balance. The foundation of my world may rock and reel from time to time but in Christ I can maintain my spiritual footing all the time. These boots also remind me that I am called to build on the foundation that is Christ. Just as I choose not to intentionally walk in mud on a rainy day because I don’t want to mess up my boots, so it is with my life in Christ. I must intentionally stay away from the muddy places of life, not mess up my life with that which has no eternal value, at all. ~1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
**************************
DISAPPOINTMENT Life often serves up disappointments that bring with them the potential to leave a bitter taste in our mouths. I have experienced many bitter tastes in my lifetime. I could have stewed in those disappointments until they possessed me to the extent that I would have missed God's life lesson for me. But, if I want to take on more responsibility in His name, then I must be aware of the little foxes that can spoil the vines (covert and overt), and I must stop taking everything as a personal affront.
People will make choices that have a negative impact on us but this does not mean that we have to respond negatively. I truly want to be a dispenser of grace, a conduit for God's love so I must be prepared for those little surprises that come my way and I must be prepared to exemplify God's grace in my responses and reactions.
Certainly, when Jesus was bruised for our iniquities, we were not worth the price He paid, but God deemed us worthy of that most wondrous sacrifice. We should live as though we were worth the price of Calvary, which means we will sometimes have to suffer the indignities of, as Shakespeare put it, "outrageous fortune" with grace.
*************************
AND STILL THERE IS TIME!
Every time I receive an email from a high school classmate that has a name in the subject line, I automatically know what the message is going to be: “Another friend/classmate has passed away.” Lately, the familiar names are younger than I am, a fact that immediately turns me to God’s grace and his mercy. I am not still here by my own power of sheer will or intestinal fortitude. In fact, a review of past decisions would render a verdict of guilty and condemnation. I really should have been “dead and gone” a long, long time ago. Still, of this one thing I am so sure; if I am still here, then God’s plan for me, His purpose for my life, is still open-ended. I can still pursue that dream He has planted in me without concern to age, status or position. Psalm 75:6,7 reminds us that promotion comes from the Lord. Peter and James remind us that if we humble ourselves, in due time, God will exalt us. God calls us to passion for Him and His call. He calls us to the pursuit of passion and as long as there is breath and life, we dare not do anything less.
HOW DID I GET HERE?
I've been doing some looking back this season, reviving memories of old times and old friends. It hardly seems possible that in my other life I was a wife, a pastor's wife. I remember the warm times, the church fellowships, the holiday celebrations, the sharing and encouraging, the marriages and the deaths, the births and the graduations. I remember the cold times, the down times, the time when my pastor/husband cried at home and in a rare moment shared his brokenness with one statement: "I don't understand."
Members left the church without a word; family left the church without a word; so called friends laughed at him behind his back. His wife and his children were subject to the unrelenting life in the ministry fish bowl scrutiny of friends and strangers.
So, considering all of the "stuff" that happened, why am I feeling nostalgic for those days? Simply because I lived and loved every minute of ministry life. God placed me in that place for my growth and for this season of being on my own. I learned how to walk through the valley of death without fear. I am learning, day by day, how to wait on the Lord and be of good courage. I have learned how not to faint in the day of adversity. I have learned to destroy those seeds of discouragement before they take root as bitterness. I have learned to smile through tears and I now understand how to dispense grace and minister to an enemy.
Aside from the presence and the love of a husband, I lost almost everything, possessions, special relationships, a church family, a ministry. But, in spite of the loss, and in spite of the fact that God has yet to answer my "whys" I am still here by His grace and His design.
When I run into people who haven't seen me for a while, they almost always exclaim, "You look wonderful!" Well, as my pastor says, "You may see my glory, but you don't know my story.!" I have a story to tell about some things that I've been through (to quote Donald Lawrence), but not only am I healed, I am ready to let the world know you can survive craziness, but only through the power of prayer and faith and trust in Jehovah, the self-existent/ineffable God who will never leave or forsake you.
The question is no longer "How did I get here?" The praise report is "I'm still here!"
Speak Lord, your servant heareth!"
I KNOW THE PLANS
Jeremiah 30:22 " 'So you will be my people, and I will be your God.' "
This is the word of the LORD to the Jewish captives in Babylon. The word is delivered through Jeremiah and it is not a popular word. Jeremiah has already delivered to them, in chapter 29, the decree of God, that they will be in captivity for at least seventy years so they might as well make peace with their new “homeland,” build homes and get married, have children and then give those daughters and sons in marriage.
Many believers often quote, and claim, Jeremiah 29:11 for a sense of comfort and security as well as a sense that God has a plan for our us, that we are not just wayfaring strangers in this world. How does this ideal change for us when we realize Jeremiah’s statements prior to this declaration: First verse 10, This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place, then verse 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Would we still find comfort in verse 11 if we knew that God had put a predetermined length of time before that verse would be activated in our lives? Would we stop wrestling with when and just trust God to bring us to that place of destiny?
********************************************
THE BEST MEDICINE
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
Miz I. M. Wonderin invited me to the baptism of her granddaughter. I felt privileged that she would include me in such a family moment. She also invited me to dinner afterwards at her house, and of course I went because Miz I. M. can really cook. Later that same evening she began to reminisce about Chriscal, Texas and some of the things she and Maisie used to get into:
I remember it like it was yesterday. There we were all of us kids, just looking at each other. It was Sunday morning and Rev. Williams was giving out the invitation, opening the doors of the church, as they used to say. All of us, Herbert Jr. and Ray Ann and Dorothy Jean and Willis and Robert Lee and Sallie Mae and Maisie and myself had been lectured by our parents for almost a month. You see, we were all twelve years old and in those days you were supposed to be baptized at twelve. But no one wanted to be the first to take the step because we thought the others might not follow, so we just sat there looking at each other until Herbert Jr.’s mother slid into the pew behind us kids and pinched him right on the butt. “You get up and you go down that aisle, you hear me?” Miz Foster had that look on her face that said she meant business, so Herbert Jr. got up and went forward. Then none of us wanted to be left behind, so we all went forward, except for Maisie. But I guess she felt weird sitting there all by herself, especially with all the eyes of the church fastened on her so she got up and joined the rest of us. Lord, there was shouting in that church that morning. The people though we had been touched by the Spirit. We, on the other hand, had been moved by the pre-teen need not to be different from the others.
The very next Sunday they dressed us kids in the baptizing robes and took us down to the riverside. We did not have fancy baptismal pools like the churches today. We lined up on the river bank with the good sisters encouraging us to praise God and not to be afraid. We were not afraid; we were thinking what great fun it would be to go into the river and splash in the water for as minute since it was so hot that day, all of us, that is, except Maisie. We didn’t notice it in all the anticipation, but Maisie was real quiet. You see, in all the exhilaration of the moment, we forgot that Maisie was afraid of going into deep water. She would wade in the water a little, but that would be it. That’s why she had been the last one in the group to go forward for baptism, and she was the last one in the line down to the river that day.
One by one, we all went into the water; we were dunked and each one of us came out to the great exultation and clapping of the church folks. Then came Maisie’s turn. She didn’t resist Deacon Joe and Deacon Willie at first, but when she got to that place where the water was around her chest, she just lost it. When Deacon Joe pronounced, “I baptize you my young sister. . .” and started to lean her backwards into the water, Maisie went nuts. She started kicking and screaming, trying to get out of that water. Then she accidentally kicked Deacon Willie you know where and then he started yelling and Deacon Joe slipped trying to catch her so she wouldn’t drown and the congregation thought that Maisie had gotten a good dose of the Spirit so they all started shouting and we kids were so tickled that we fell down on the ground laughing so hard we cried. I tell you, our riverside experience was a real spectacle that day.
None of us young people understood the importance of the riverside experience then, but today I see it as being about accepting and welcoming change in your life. It’s about trusting God and moving forward with an attitude of victory. I am so excited that my granddaughter not only understands salvation, but also the affirmation she made when she was baptized in front of the church. You know, baptism is like a coming out party where a man or a woman, a boy or a girl announces to everyone, “I now belong to God; I am His child, and I am ready to live a new life for Him.” No, none of us kids really understood the riverside experience that day, but thank God, I finally got it right
.
Miz. I. M.’s words started me to thinking my riverside experience, the day I stepped into the water for my coming out announcement. Oh, I understand Romans 6:4 and its declaration of a “new way of life,” but I still wrestle with change. I love the status quo too much. I wonder, do I really have forward momentum or am I being dragged along by life?
