A Frayed Knot

Are you feeling like a frayed knot these days?  Does your life feel like you are on the wrong end of a lemon?  Did the stuff that hit the fan all land in your life?  Did your dreams shatter? Did they all come true only to find you had your ladder up on the wrong building? Did life pull the rug out from under you or was that someone you knew?  Are you over worked, under paid, not appreciated or worse taken for granted? Com’on did you think I’d have the answer?  What if I told you – this is it.  It’s not going to change. It won’t get better if you get a nicer car or a higher paying job or a bigger house or a mate or a better mate or a healing.  Talk about sucking on a lemon lady – not very encouraging.  What if every time you complained you left a mountain of dirt behind you?  After a few years wouldn’t it be somewhat difficult to get around in your corner of the world?  That’s what happened to me.  I kept bumping into ‘Complaint Mountains’ that had accumulated in my life.  Dog gone, they nearly squeezed me out.  I was forced to my knees before the Lord.  “I give up, I can’t do this any more – I don’t even want to do this anymore”, I cried.   Then God said to my heart, “be a frayed knot my child”.  That’s biblical!  Oh Lord, “how am I supposed to be your woman under this load?”  And God said, “The question is good”.  Long silence………  “That’s it?  I was kind of expecting a more definitive answer.  Could I maybe get a little help here – a little illumination?”  I begged. The quiet was deafening and unending.   

From the play “Man and Superman” by the Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw comes a quote that I pondered for years, “There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.”  As a young woman I could not get my mind around Mr. Shaw’s quote.  Life experiences brought a reality to the two tragedies but God brought me a quest and this weeks pearl.  

Pearl to String: No matter what circumstances I find surrounding me, no matter how unfair, difficult or painful they might be - the constant in my life is not to complain about it but to ask myself: How can I be God’s woman (man) is this situation. Right here, right now.  That question always leads me to prayer, thanksgiving and God’s Word.   

In The Message translation of 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 we see Paul learning to be God’s man in his situation. “Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness.  Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” 

Like a kid at Christmas opening toys, (Yea!) clothes, (Huh?) socks and underwear. (Ugg!) not all gifts from God are fun but all have purpose.

No longer a frayed knot - Now dancing in the palm of His hand,

                                                                                                 Lyndi

OTHERLY

"To be or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.  What's on my heart this morning is a different question: What is it to be or not to be otherly....Am I "otherly"?  

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ". Galatians 6.2, "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor". 1 Corinthians 10.24, "Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others". Philippians 2.3-4,  Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20.25-28 

Me-centeredness is so powerful and prevalent in our society that if we don't deliberately fight it we will undoubtedly live it and become cloaked in false humility. I have to ask myself am I only enthusiastic and giving to efforts that involve me? Deliver me Lord 

Everyone has the God-given right (and ability) to control their own thoughts and actions. Self-leadership is about developing the ability to choose how we respond to others regardless of their behavior. 

A pearl to string:  Many of us are inclined to see the world based on what we like and dislike. It's just not true that everyone has the same hopes, fears, likes and dislikes. Too often we expect others to behave just like ourselves. But, when they don’t and they expect us to act the way they do, we run into conflicts. The block to knowing God is the same as the one that blocks us from loving others. It is our self-will.  

We grow spiritually when we learn how to eliminate our self-will and put the other person’s welfare before our own desires. Whoomp! There it is .... OTHERLY 

Know you are loved,

                             Lyndi

.Gotta Have Heart

An old tune popped into my head this morning from the movie about the Yankees years ago:

You've gotta have....Heart! All you really need is heart!

When the odds are sayin' you'll never win, that's when the grin should start!

You've gotta have hope! Musn't sit around and mope.

Nuthin' half as bad as it may appear, wait'll next year and hope

When your luck is battin' zero, get your chin up off the floor.

Mister, you can be a hero. You can open any door.

There's nothin' to it, but to do it. You've gotta have heart!

Miles and miles and miles of heart! Oh, it's fine to be a genius of corse!

But keep that ol' horse before the cart! First you've got to have heart! 

I've been humming the tune for days and it brought several Scriptures verses to my mind this week and thoughts about the heart of us:

“Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.”

(Prov. 4:23)

“A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.”

(Prov. 14:30)

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” (Prov. 15:13)

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones". (Prov. 17:22)

We learn in Scripture that God commands us to take care of matters of the heart. How do we take care of our heart? We guard against things that are not of God. We resist the lies that the evil one speaks into our mind. We spend time reading God’s Word so that His truth can sink deep into our spirit and soul – our heart. 

Having any bitterness or unforgiveness in our heart certainly is not of God. If somebody has hurt you in the past, if you are upset with God or you haven’t forgiven yourself concerning an issue of your life, your heart is probably not right with either God, yourself or another person. God would want us to take this issue to Him prayerfully so that we don’t carry this burden in our heart. Doing this frees us up on the inside so that more of God’s Spirit can direct us. 

A pearl to string:  Our heart is the wellspring of all life. It is at the deepest level of our heart that God lives in us with His Holy Spirit. He will not share space with anything that’s not good, pure and holy. 

"Since He hath looked upon me my heart is not my own.  He hath run away to heaven with it".  Samuel Rutherford

Know that you are loved,

                                    Lyndi

                                                                 

Knock Knock

A young man who was an All-American football player in college went back to his alma mater as an assistant coach. Before he made his first recruiting trip, he went in to talk with the head coach, the same coach for whom he had played when he was there in college some years before. The head coach was widely known and highly respected all across the country. The new young coach said to him, "Coach, I'm about to head out on my first recruiting trip, but before I go I want to be sure that we are on the same page. Tell me, Coach, what kind of player do you want me to recruit?"

The crusty old head coach leaned back in his chair. He looked the young coach straight in the eyes and said: "Son, I've been at this job a long time and over the years I have noticed that there are several different kinds of players. For example," he said, "you will find some players who get knocked down and they stay down. That's not the kind we want!"

And he said, "You will find some players who get knocked down and they will get right back up and get knocked down again and then they stay down. That's not the kind we want!"

And then the old coach said, "But you will also find some other players who get knocked down and knocked down and knocked down, and every time they get knocked down, they get right back up!"

At this point, the young coach got excited and he said, "Now, that's the kind of player we want, isn't it, Coach?"

"No!" said the old head coach. "We want the one doing all that knocking down!!"

Grandma note: CU signed such a player Feb 1st: Our very own "knock em down" Derek McCartney!

Woohoo, congrats grandson... we are all so excited and very proud of you.

A pearl to string: In God's Word we are called to be strong and to stand firm and to get back up when we're been knocked down - and we all admire people of great faith. We must also remember that we in the church are called to knock down walls of hate and hostility and unforgiveness - and to build bridges of love and reconciliation.

"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." (Ephesians 2:14) 

GO BUFFS

There is joy in knowing...

you are loved,

                  Lyndi

Thank You Please

Joseph Joubert said, "Politeness is the blossom of our humanity".  Wow, we must be living in the thorny stage of life's journey. It's difficult not to notice how rude and disrespectful people are to one another in restaurants, in stores, on the highways and in church parking lots. The era of service and simple courtesy seems to have vanished. It's missing without a trace!  How long has it been since you heard in any manner of regularity children and the younger generation say “yes, ma’am and no ma’am” or “yes sir or no sir” to those of older generations? I, for one, am convinced that the lack of courtesy in our generation is paralleled to our rejection of and departure from God and Bible principles of kindness and respect for one another.  

Let's consider several scriptures that teach courtesy and good manners. 

"Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;. 4  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:2-4)  

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets..” (Matt. 7:12) 

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you".  (Eph. 4:32)

Ephesians 6:1-4 is written to the church. It deals with good manners and respect of family members in the home including a command that goes all the way back to the ten commandments, “honor your father & your mother .” 

It is interesting to note the likeness of the character of God and Christ in these verses:  the characteristic of being humble and putting others ahead of oneself. 

A pearl to string: Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are. We should wear velvet on our inside, show ourselves most amiable to those of our own house for goodness is the health of the soul. 

We cannot erase all of the bad manners in the world, but we can help by setting the example of courtesy. Say, “thank you and please” take the time to show some courtesy to a stranger that could use a kindly deed, surprise your parents by saying “yes ma’am” and “yes sir” and “please” and “thank you” (after you help them up off the floor) you might be surprised at the rewards you would get, beginning with a personal feeling of fulfillment. Courtesy is taught by the scriptures. Hide His Word in your heart today. 

Know you are loved,

                                Lyndi