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Friday Update: It’s Raining

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water drops

water dropsEarlier this week, I noticed that things seemed to be clicking along well. I was working on a query letter. My income taxes were filed. I got a great report from a doctor’s visit. I thought to myself, “This can’t last.” I’m not especially pessimistic, but I know things run in cycles.

Sure enough- My mom is in the hospital with what may be another heart attack. The doctors are still evaluating what type pf damage was done and how much. We were supposed to head out to visit today, but Jon was up sick all night. He thinks he can still make the 8 hour trip. We’ll see.

No matter what happens in life, it comes along because God has determined He can use that situation for my good and His glory. He’s never surprised and He’s beside me, not waiting on the other side.

Hebrews is my favorite book in the Bible. I’ll close out this quick post with some verses from chapter 13. “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

He himself said… I will NEVER leave you… Never…

Have a great weekend- I’ll be back Tuesday.

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Trusting God is not for Wimps

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j0438625
(I was sick the last couple of days, so this is an edited, updated repost. Thanks for understanding!)
In Psalm 11, David begins with an affirmation– I trust God.  Then he goes on- So why do you expect me to run around in circles like the sky is falling?  God knows what’s going on here.  He knows all our true, deep motivations and I trust Him to judge us all.  I’m not worried.
As I’m putting what I hope are the [final] finishing touches on Contingency, I’m seeing how much my characters wrestle with trusting God, Bobbi especially.  She’s a capable, confident woman, and figures she can handle almost everything.  When her husband cheats on her, she reaches her limit.  She struggles with how God could let that happen.  Isn’t He supposed to protect His own?  It causes her to reevaluate the box she had kept God in.
Do I have God in a box that limits His freedom to work in my life, to use me?  Do I trust God to the point of being at complete peace with my situation?  Even if that situation is another rejection or another closed door?

(I was sick the last couple of days, so this is an edited, updated repost. Thanks for understanding!)

j0438625In Psalm 11, David begins with an affirmation– I trust God.  Then he goes on- So why do you expect me to run around in circles like the sky is falling?  God knows what’s going on here.  He knows all our true, deep motivations and I trust Him to judge us all.  I’m not worried.

As I’m putting what I hope are the [final] finishing touches on Contingency, I’m seeing how much my characters wrestle with trusting God, Bobbi especially.  She’s a capable, confident woman, and figures she can handle almost everything.  When her husband cheats on her, though, she reaches her limit.  How could God let that happen?  Isn’t He supposed to protect His own?  It causes her to reevaluate the box she had kept God in.

It also led me to some questions of my own. Do I have God in a box that limits His freedom to work in my life, to use me? Do I trust God’s heart- His love for me? Do I trust God to the point of being at complete peace with my situation?  Even if that situation is another rejection or another closed door?

Trusting God is relinquishing control. I like control (even though I’ve proven that I’m not very good at it).

Trusting God is trusting ALL of God. I trust His goodness and His sovereignty. I have a little more trouble with trusting that He delights in me, or that He’ll answer when I call. We’re working on those.

Trusting God takes practice. That means more situations that require trust. Great.

Trusting God is NOT for wimps. If it was easy, God wouldn’t have to encourage us  to do it so often.

What about you? Where has God challenged you to trust Him? In what areas have you grown? Where do you still need a little work?

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Study Tip: Nothing But the Truth

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507091_46504411

507091_46504411Here’s another reason to study Scripture–discernment, the ability to tell the difference between truth and lies.

We are surrounded by misconceptions about who God is and how He operates. Colossians 2:23 warns us that a lot of ideas men put forth seem reasonable, and Paul could understand how we could fall for them. They have “an appearance of wisdom,” he said. But in the first chapter of the letter, and most of chapter 2, his focus is solely on Christ.
That devotion to internalizing truth is critically important to our faith in this culture. God reserves special condemnation for those who would twist His truth.  (2 Thes 2:12).
If we are so intimately acquainted with The Truth (John 14:6), we’ll never fall for a half-truth. In John’s letters, nothing thrilled him like knowing his spiritual children were walking in truth.
Just as Jesus Christ is God in human form, the Scriptures are God in written form.  The Father’s heart’s desire is for us to know Him (Eph. 2:7).
Don’t take someone else’s word – Take God’s!

We are surrounded by misconceptions about who God is and how He operates. Colossians 2:23 warns us that a lot of ideas men put forth seem reasonable, and Paul could understand how we could fall for them. They have “an appearance of wisdom,” he said. But in the first chapter of the letter, and most of chapter 2, his focus is solely on Christ.

That devotion to internalizing truth is critically important to our faith in this culture. God reserves special condemnation for those who would twist His truth.  (2 Thessalonians 2:12).

If we are so intimately acquainted with The Truth (John 14:6), we’ll never fall for a half-truth. In John’s letters, nothing thrilled him like knowing his spiritual children were walking in truth.

Just as Jesus Christ is God in human form, the Scriptures are God in written form.  The Father’s heart’s desire is for us to know Him (Ephesians 2:7).

Don’t take someone else’s word – Take God’s!

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Letting it go

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Not long after crossing the Red Sea, Moses met up with his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro observed how Moses ran things and offered some advice.
“The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”[...] “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
“You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.”
He went on to suggest that Moses appoint trustworthy men to judge the lesser disputes, leaving only to major ones for Moses to deal with personally.
Letting go is one of the toughest things for us to do, especially if it’s a ministry, or something else noble and worthwhile. We get personally invested. It becomes part of us. It becomes the way others identify us. We never notice when it sucks the life out of us.
We are finite human beings with a limited amount of time, energy and attention. We also have an extreme desire to make the most out of that. However, I think we have a tendency to read “do all for the GLORY OF GOD” as “DO ALL for the glory of God.” God never told us we had to do it all. He did say to work for His kingdom and not our own.
How do you tell when or what to quit? I discussed that briefly here.
Reasons to let go-
Personal and spiritual health – Who was in better shape spiritually? Mary or Martha? Mary was accused of being lazy, but she knew what she was doing and Jesus confirmed that.
Others’ growth – As long as Moses took acre of everything himself, there was no opportunity for anyone else to grow as a leader.
Focus – Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you HAVE TO. Stick to the things only YOU can do. (And no, that’s not everything… See #2)

Not long after crossing the Red Sea, Moses met up with his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro observed how Moses ran things and offered some advice.

“The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”[...] “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.”

He went on to suggest that Moses appoint trustworthy men to judge the lesser disputes, leaving only to major ones for Moses to deal with personally.

Letting go is one of the toughest things for us to do, especially if it’s a ministry, or something else noble and worthwhile. We get personally invested. It becomes part of us. It becomes the way others identify us. We never notice when it sucks the life out of us.

We are finite human beings with a limited amount of time, energy and attention. We also have an extreme desire to make the most out of that. However, I think we have a tendency to read “do all for the GLORY OF GOD” as “DO ALL for the glory of God.” God never told us we had to do it all. He did say to work for His kingdom and not our own.

How do you tell when or what to quit? I discussed that briefly here.

Reasons to let go-

  1. Personal and spiritual health – Who was in better shape spiritually? Mary or Martha? Mary was accused of being lazy, but she knew what she was doing and Jesus confirmed that.
  2. Others’ growth – As long as Moses took acre of everything himself, there was no opportunity for anyone else to grow as a leader.
  3. Focus – Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you HAVE TO. Stick to the things only YOU can do. (And no, that’s not everything… See #2)
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Writing Update: Closer

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For those of you who have been with me on this writing journey, we took a very significant step forward. I got the critique back on Contingency and the comments were extremely encouraging. (Thanks to J.J. Hebert of Mindstir Media for his help. He gave me page-by-page comments and a summary report, plus he was extremely easy to work with.) The issues raised are straightforward and most of them will be relatively easy to fix. That said, I’m targeting a formal submission in about a month.

If you haven’t read the first chapter of Contingency, you can here.
In geeky news, I tweaked my Zemanta plug-in so it will cross-reference the blogs I read. That way, anytime my blogging friends have a post that connects with what I’ve written, a link will pop up at the end of the post. I encourage you to check them out.
I started reading Doubting by Alister McGrath. It’s gonna be a great book. He views doubt as an invitation to grow. Unbelief and skepticism, however, are willful decisions NOT to believe.
This verse caught my eye this week- “She has done what she could…” Mark 14:8. Jesus said these words about Mary after she anointed Him with her precious oil. Whatever my limitations, situations or opportunities, I want to do what I can to honor Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you haven’t read the first chapter of Contingency, you can here.

In geeky news, I tweaked my Zemanta plug-in so it will cross-reference the blogs I read. That way, anytime my blogging friends have a post that connects with what I’ve written, a link will pop up at the end of the post. I encourage you to check them out.

I started reading Doubting by Alister McGrath. It’s gonna be a great book. He views doubt as an invitation to grow. Unbelief and skepticism, however, are willful decisions NOT to believe.

This verse caught my eye this week- “She has done what she could…” Mark 14:8. Jesus said these words about Mary after she anointed Him with her precious oil. Whatever my limitations, situations or opportunities, I want to do what I can to honor Jesus Christ. Amen.


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