to hum away my sorrow ...

I find that when my spirits are low and I am doing something that drains me even more, humming hymns are the only thing my feeble brain can do to calm the deep dark waters.  It is one of the few things I can do while I am doing something else like my job.  I have always said that I can’t do two things at once so this is true when humming an old hymn, I just cannot think of those negative thoughts that come to sabotage my life.

 

I surely will need to hum a lot today as I am stuck in a place I don’t understand … my heart is breaking … but God is my Lifeline and I will hold on for dear life…. Humming….

deep waters vs bubbling brook ...

I am quiet my nature.  Because I think too much and my tendency of not being able to do two things at once, it looks like I am tongue tied because the words running around in my head fail to trip off my tongue in a nice easy way.  This is a good thing as my foot doesn’t tend to be in my mouth.  I am also a listener where I don’t try to think of what I want to say while my ears are listening (see, can’t think and listen either!)  So when Peter tells the woman how to win her husband’s heart and soul by being beautiful through a gentle tranquil quiet heart and no words, I get it and it doesn’t seem too hard for me. 

 

I Peter 3:4

Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart,

With the incorruptible beauty

Of the gentle and quiet spirit,

Which is very precious in the sight of God

 

However, I have been hearing this verse quite a bit lately.  I am feeling guilty.  This quiet girl hasn’t been quiet enough!  I am caught striving (Prov 20:3), fretting (Prov 19:3), asking too many of the wrong questions, and not truly accepting God at His Word.  My waters have become deep and dark instead of the bubbling brook as God would have me to be (Prov 18:4).

 

I desire to be more tranquil, more gentle, more sage, more simple, more smiles, more peaceful, more still, more joyful, more God-trusting, more calm, more of the bubbling brook, more precious in the sight of God.  I may not be a raving beauty on the outside, but I aspire to be wildly beautiful on the inside.

 

*

Proverbs 20:3

It is honorable for a man to stop striving,

since any fool can start a quarrel.

 

Proverbs 19:3

The foolishness of a man twists his way,

& his heart frets against the Lord.

 

Proverbs 18:4

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters,

the wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

 

*

 

better single or together ...

So it seems there are some girls who find they are a better person single than in a relationship. They can be successful and travel and be the life of the party without being tied down. Or maybe they can be the strong independent woman without their 'these boots are made for walking' leaving tread marks over the man's ego.

Then it seems there are some girls who find they are a better person in a relationship than alone. It is like they can come to full bloom because he is her stem. She feels more beautiful... more woman... God made her a nurturer and being a wife allows her to do so.

do not grieve!

A favorite verse of mine is found in Nehemiah 8:10 "The Joy of the Lord is my Strength." Like with any learning in a believers life, our 'learnings' are like a continual theme in our lives spiraling upwards like new waves of an old truth. Today I read the surrounds verses / story to this verse! (Good to have favorite verses but always read the surrounds!)

The Israelites were mourning their sins as the Book of the Law was read. Their eyes were being open to God's chasing love for them and seeing how He continues to love them. The Israelites decided to get their lives right with God. Nehemiah seeing their sadness told them "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is scared to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is my Strength." Neh 8

Isn't this something? Turning back to God is scared and time for celebration! Tears of sadness are replaced with tears of JOY!!! LOVE THIS! mmmmmm!

cursed blessings ...

I have been reading through the prophets in the OT. Oh, the warnings about bad shepherds have really grabbed at my heart. These times seemed to be full of false prophets and misleading teachers and those who use half truths or water down the message. I have this ache for the Whole God-Truth to be told. I want to snatch those I can from the fires.... Being a NT believer I am a priest. I must obey .... I must honor ... in a time where it is not favored...

"And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor My Name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor Me." Malachi 2:1-9

eternal torment vs earthly suffering ...

I just want to be very clear.... We are living in an age where the Message is misrepresented and misused. I am sitting in the pew squirming and having a rebuttal well up in my outraged heart. Ink is running as fast as I can move it across the paper.... I am an English Major and if what was preached today was on an Essay Test, I would have to give it an F for the lack of comprehension. I was floored that this 'shepherd' had got this out of the passage of Scripture!

Luke 16:19-31 is about the Rich Man and Lazarus. The sermon was about compassion we should have. Her question was how are we like the rich man lacking compassion for the beggar at our gate.

Lets just boil this Scripture to the very core! This is about eternal torment vs. earthly discomfort. If you want to preach about compassion using this Passage then you better be preaching about God's Saving Compassion for us! Like my Dad has said that it is like the church wants to make everyone comfortable in the pew so lets not talk about sin and hell but what about saving them from the burning fires of hell?

I could go on and on about what this scripture means in such detail to exhaust all possible meat one would be able to glean from this Holy Word but it would never touch on how we are like the rich man lacking compassion for the beggar at the gate. There are other great passages on giving human compassion. What comes to my visual mind is a so-called shepherd at the gate of the fold of sheep pacifying us with fake water. Where is her compassion? I have a co-worker that I am trying to plant God-seeds in her life. All the church is providing is junk food? I want Living Water!

This year I am most thankful that I can read and that I have the Living Word to read and that I have the Holy Spirit guiding my heart and soul..... We must be watching! We are called to be the Watchmen! We must tell the Truth every time we hear the half truths. I was bursting at the seams with this.....

valued & loved ...

Ravi Zacharias told a beautiful story today that I wanted to keep in my heart but most importantly to share it with a co-worker who gets weary being a devoted divorced mom to two high functioning Autistic boys. Plus, another way to share God to her...

Ravi was flying somewhere and read about a silk school in Japan. He was so intrigued by the story of one boy who wanted to weave waves of silk to cover all the oceans. Ravi decided to check out this school for himself. He discovered that all the students of this silk school were Down Syndrome kids.

Ravi got to meet the young man who weaves waves of silk and other artwork. He also got to meet the mother. This mother was so proud of her son and conveyed a very moving story. Foreigners are willing to pay top dollar for his art and this young man is excited to had over every bit of it to his mother saying 'thank you for being here. With you here, I am here to make this art and give this money to you.'

Ravi goes on to say that we are here as well because God values us. How heavy is that? Am I living, giving, sharing, delighting with a God-Joy that I am eager to rightfully give God the credit? Do I truly know my worth to Him? Or am I in the mud mucking about? God gave His Only Begotten Son to pay for my sins! Huge value placed upon my head.... Am I giving Him honor in all that I love to do? and even in the mundane stuff?

( I hope I remember the story right. Must remember to get the podcast to hear it again.)

Ravi Zacharias

Love Happens ...

I would rate this movie a 9. It is a movie about pain and moving through it. There is love thrown in the mix but what was nice about it was that there was no bedroom scene. The main character is an author who wrote about his personal loss of his wife and how to move through it but it is all a lie as he will not face his own fears head on. Then you have the girl who is a bit quirky with her really cool flower shop. She is like a breath of fresh air and not pushy or needy. Her van is cute. What got this English degree was her love for words (poppysmic) and special notes on her flower cards. (Love her graffiti words!)

It takes place in rainy Seattle, Washington so you will get to see the sites like the Space Nettle and the place where people leave their chewed up gum. I had seen something about this somewhere and so it was cool to see it as a backdrop in the movie. Oh, it isn't gray movie due the rain because there are sunny days too.

This is a must see movie. It is enjoyable. Aaron Eckhart is becoming a favorite actor. Beautiful story. I guess it is a chick flick or a love story but I think it a bit more.

disclaimer:
Language could always be cleaner. How we waste our language.