Posts Tagged ‘love’
This is an older picture but it’s still just right. It has all my valentines right here. I love you guys HUGE bunches.
IOW:
I LOVE MY 5
And here are a few extra, more recent shots of my 5:
I’ve been reading Sproul, Schaeffer, MacArthur, Paul, Peter, Luke and a bunch of other stuff. I listened to Chuck Colson on the radio, along with Chuck Swindoll, John MacArthur, R. C. Sproul, Dr. David Jeremiah and a host of others (Though I think the local Christian radio station essentially stinks here, being negligent in their commercialism and foul in their screening of advertisers, they do feature the above teachers on their daily casts). I’ve seen a bit of internet blogging and video as well. You could say I’m really looking for some answers.
One answer that I feel is most important, so much so that if one were to stop reading this post after the next two sentences, all would be complete. I have found there is a need for people to hear this and hear it good:
“You are going to argue; you, are going to argue, with WHO? The Creator of the universe took the time to specially design you, personally pen you a complete, unobscured revelation of Himself, suffer for you on the cross, die for your sins, you profess to believe all this (or not, either way is moot), and you. actually. intend. to disagree with His viewpoint? Beg pardon?”
Basically, I’m feeling an itch on my foot and it sure seems to be inclined toward shaking the dust off…
I have seriously begun to try wading through the apparent morass of dispensational vs. covenant theologies, and I don’t think I’ve got far with that. The basic reason for this theological dissection is that I’m from a pretty much dispensational baptist sort of background, intend to attend a reformed presbyterian church (PCA, not PCfrUitS-And-nuts) and I’m informed of the serious difference in ecclesioeschasoteribaptiologies. There is so much scholarly work on both sides and I can’t seem to make sense of either one. I am suspicious that this whole debate must be over a mystery that the Lord has not yet uncovered for our amazement or that we just can’t get along. One thing I will note is that in my reading so far, the dispensies seem to be leading the way in meanness, but that doesn’t mean much since I may well have just not come across their covenant peers-in-arms.
I have seriously continued to try wading through the personally discouraging morass of learning how to love others as the Lord commands. This has such miserably limited tangible results that I count myself a fairly washed-up washup. I don’t think I know how to do it. I pray. I try it all with as much peace and patience as I can muster, and leave the rest to the Lord.
I see less worth in the worthless things around me. I see more worth in that which brings less worth in this mortal span. I am broker than broke, but His richness surpasses my sorry state. I am tired and feel lost, but when I look to him, which is not often enough, I am alive and feel strong. I need prayer and not just from those praying for me, but my own prayer.
Why? Prayer isn’t a magic wand, getting us what we want. It isn’t a toolbox that, when the right words are pulled from the drawer, gets the Lord convinced to help us out. Prayer isn’t a self-motivation exercise that allows us to help our selves so that God will help us. Prayer doesn’t get us those things just cause we do it.
Prayer is a continuous dialogue with our Creator and Master who has deemed it worthwhile to join us in conversation that flows from us in words of praise and adoration, desire and dream, penitence and remorse, fear and devotion, reflecting back upon Him the glory, sovereignty, omnipotence, grace, love and perfection that He already is, only this through our recognition, which essentially magnifies and glorifies Him all the more. We get what we want not because we want or we need but because He is gracious, sufficient, loving and capable of providing.
We pray this each night before bed, and I strive to take this literally, with the fullest I can grasp of its scope and magnitude:
Our Father, (There is only one, this one, no alternative, not just God, but our Father that surpasses all fatherliness on this planet; the sole example of what father really is.)
Who is in heaven, (Holy and separate from us yet we know where you are.)
Hallowed be your name. (So holy and separate, revered even at just the mention of your name.)
Your kingdom come (Not that it should or that we want it eventually to get there, but that it already has, and will continue to come, acknowledged and awaited.)
Your will be done (Let it be done, make it so, we know that it is and has and shall be, and we acknowledge it with welcome arms.)
On earth as it is in heaven. (Let there be no difference, let us see it here and believe it here and with no question that there is any difference between your methods there or here.)
Give us to day, our daily bread, (For what more can we ask, those daily things that prove our breath and our pulse; and let us keep our mind on these simple things, knowing that all else can be counted as waste on our bellies.)
And forgive our sins (For we are sinners, no doubt that we are, and we have no recourse but to turn to you, you for forgiveness, for restoration, for fitting back onto the course when we have fallen.)
As we forgive those who sin against us. (May I never, never ask for your forgiveness, when I have not let go those offenses against me. I make your sacrifice, your salvation, a mockery when I in my self-righteousness come to you for that which I will not give my neighbor.)
Lead us not into temptation (Take us far from it as the East is from the West. Drive us from temptation with every step we take.)
Deliver us from the evil one (Let me never worry that I have fallen into his nefarious grasp, rather, prevent me from my inclinations toward his ways. Prevent me from denying you, from placing myself before you in authority, in reverence, in motive.)
For yours is the kingdom (Always and forever, there is no other.)
And the power (There is no power in existence that can twitch even a flicker of a shadow upon your supreme sovereignty.)
And the glory (And there is no glory but your glory, and may I take my need for pride solely in that fact, that you are my God and your glory is my chief aim in my existence.)
Forever and ever (None of what I have just prayed shall ever change in tone or in value for all eternity. While I am here on this earth and there in your presence, what more is there to pray?)
Amen. (And that’s final, period, I can say this prayer again, but it really does have the finality of it all built right in)
I have seriously been struck by my lack of discipline, lack of reverence and plain lack of obedience in my little life. I’ve seen the light in some major areas and am a Penitent Man therewith. There is a sense of authority that has been welling up in my life that is not my own, but that of the Lord. I, on the other hand, feel that my ability to control, to will, seems so feeble that it rather hurts. I haven’t reached a definite point here, nor can I get my head wrapped around it all yet.
Something I heard quoted by Chuck Colson today, which I’ll paraphrase and embellish lalala, resounds in my head like one of the Korean bells from when I was there in 1992, clear and vibrating like nothing else:
Consider the Lord, when surveying the whole of creation, from the great whirling galaxies and the gemstone planets, the trees, the waves, the men and the goats, the grains of sand and the DNA proteins, when he surveys all this, one thing can be heard, his own voice, crying out through all space and time…
“MINE.”
Waking up on weekends is sort of a challenge. It has always been so, which makes me wonder why it really is such a challenge. Friday and Saturday nights are usually concluded with prayer, tuck-ins and a reminder to try to let Mommy and Daddy sleep in. The true joy of a weekend is that, once in a while, it works out and sleeping in happens. This is rare, but just like Christmas and Easter and Birthdays, the rarity makes for so much more sweetness when it does happen.
This is not really the occasion for the post. It’s all mornings I’m blathering about. Nearly every morning, when I’m up with the kids, sleep-in or no, there’s a sort of let-down. It’s very Very VERY hard to face kids in the morning. It really hurts when the first fight, disobedience, mess or other discipline opportunity comes around. It always feels like I’m starting the day off on the wrong foot when I have to assert the rules and God’s commands first thing.
And there’s plenty of guilty feelings that come with it.
“You! Please don’t torture your sister! We need to start our day right, with love and kindness!”
“Hey! You need to get your stuff ready for school, not torture the cat!”
“Kid! PuhLEASE don’t yell at each other.”
Lalala, on and on, neverending story…
Can’t I just give them a break this weekend? Let them off the daddy-hook just this once and we can all just ignore this rough start, hoping that the rest of the day will be fine? Maybe we’ll all be at peace, settled differences and everything by lunch? Wouldn’t that alleviate my disappointment with myself, with them? Should I just let it slide on Saturday mornings?
No. I sure wish. But no. I can’t let up. I only have them for so long. There’s a deadline I have to meet, not in progress, but in effort. I owe my girls every ounce of help I can muster and maintain. Which is actually pretty depressingly limited overall. My oldest could be leaving home in FOUR years. She’s currently due to graduate when I’m 39. I have only so many weekends left, and every chance I get, shouldn’t I be communicating what is right and good for our Lord?
They’re not going to honor their Father and Mother unless that role worthy of honor is maintained. We preach the commandment to our kids all the time, but rarely have I heard anyone preach the reverse. What do we do as parents to maintain a position worthy of honoring? And I’m painfully aware that there’s nothing worth honoring in me, being a broken, selfish sinner myself. But as Christ has freed me and I am declared righteous, so should I do my utmost to live that way.
And therefore a mystery exists. Imperfect as I am, God has set up the relationship in our family so that honoring Father and Mother, obedience, respect, acceptance is the rule. All The Time. Should I break from that mandate on Saturday mornings, doesn’t that introduce an anomaly, a dual-mode that is false and misleading? It’s like pretentiously dressing up to the nines for church to make our outward appearance appear holy and pure when our lousy hearts turn on when the intro starts and shut off right about the time the invitation ends in service.
I can’t stop fixing, much as I’d like to. There are too many occasions when I just plain fail to daddy my girls right anyway. I sin against them almost daily in one way or another, through negligence, over-reacting, tolerance or whatever. I place my case before His throne morning and night, asking forgiveness and grace just to make it through another day. Which includes being a better daddy for my girls.
No, I will not give up mornings, much as I detest the first fire that must be put out. I pray they all will have something to honor today and when tomorrow comes, I dearly hope they’ll look back and see there was something worth honoring. When they graduate, when they marry, when we gather together, I hope to see love and respect in their expressions, recognition that I tried my best and it was noticed.
So today I think I’m going to talk about issues of the heart. All of them, maybe. One at a time. Easy enough? Here goes (I’ll start off complex and work my way progressively to more simple stuff):
A boss today essentially told me I needed to straighten up my act. There’s a guy who works for me that has serious problems with authority. He is a classic case of aggressive-passive (intentional wording). Given a task, he will comply to the very minimum requirements of the task and grumble, back-bite, whine, blame and whatever-else-can-issue-from-the-mouth to the very maximum tolerance of his surroundings without actually crossing the line into blatant defiance. And he cares not a whit for who hears him or observes it. But this whole thing isn’t about him. It’s about me. The boss said I shouldn’t take that from him. He said I really need to ratchet down on my little problem-child and basically tell him to put up or shut up.
The boss is right. And I agreed with him. As explanation (as opposed to excuse), I said I’d never really run into this type of character at work before and I wasn’t sure what buttons I could push to start getting through to him. I’ve been in a lot (I think, A Lot) of odd situations with odd circumstances and a broad variety of characters, but honestly I don’t think I’ve ever been saddled with this type of total butt-pain. So I’ve never really had to use the #9 boot calibration method, which is required in this situation.
The boss said “You wouldn’t let this kind of garbage go on at home with your kids, right?” To which I obviously had to say, “Of course not.” And that, of course, gave me pause and I really had to think. Would I?
It’s two different situations. I’ve spent my life with my kids and 13 years with my Wife. I think I know how to diffuse, control, stop, bypass and deal with this sort of mess at home. And I enjoy an authority and influence at home that I certainly do not possess at work. So he’s right. I wouldn’t let that go on in my own home.
At work, I’m in a different situation (keep with me here, it’ll make sense). I’m experientially subordinate to the people who work for me. They’ve been in the specific field we work in for a dedicated 3 years wherein I’ve been at it for less that 6 months. They’re well acquainted with each other and the majority of the other workers in the environment. I am not. They have become set in their routine, methods and practice. I am not part of that. All of this combines to make a battlefield in which I am at serious disadvantage. I don’t really know the lay of the land. The enemy is thoroughly entrenched and they know the ranges, weather, terrain and maneuvers to get what they want done.
Bullshit. If a guy consistently cusses you out behind your back and essentially tells you where you can stuff it, even if he ultimately complies with orders, he is an insubordinate failure. And you have allowed him to fail. Point one to God’s law. As leader, I am responsible.
If someone persistently offends, practicing unacceptable practices, hurts others, leads the progression of others’ growing skills in the same negative behavior, then that person is a failure. And you have allowed him to fail. Point one to God’s law. As leader, I am responsible.
It’s a matter of the heart. I’ve a better grasp and performance rating in this leadership process at home. While nowhere perfect at it, I strive as patiently and enduringly as I can to battle uprisings of bad attitudes, hurtful actions, fighting, backbiting and general monstrocity daily. And I am as relentless as I can be.
I have not taken that integrity, ethic, standard to work with me. Because I am afraid. Because I’m dealing with people with whom I’m not intimate and with whom I’m not familiar. So I err on the side of weakness, avoiding conflict with the problems because I want to be liked. Because I want work to be good. O do I want the work to be good. But instead I hate my job. I spend no little amount of time hating myself because of what I do (rather, don’t do) at work.
I have not kept my faith in my God in focus. I faith myself to death at home. Praying doggedly for my family in general and in specifics. I push my kids’ buttons with as much strength as I can to get them as sin-free as I can, knowing each time that success is of God and not of me.
But I don’t do that at work. I change faces at work. And the face I have is not particularly admirable.
Simple bit: It’s of the heart. I’m not sick. It is not the fault of the jerk at work. It is not the environment at work. It’s not the lack of fulfillment at work. It’s not stress at home making my work wrong. It’s me. Me resisting the pulls of the Spirit to pursue God’s ways at work. I have let the World work a weak spot of corrosion in my character.
It’s of the heart when you’re dealing with a liar. It’s of the heart when you have a deep depression. It’s of the heart when you’re battling someone who just. won’t. listen. It’s of the heart when you can’t seem to give up this or that.
Yes, physical conditions, the environment, other people, the weather, body-odor can all contribute to aggravate a problem. But the real root is just that, the heart.
We’ve been studying in Romans at church. We read in Chapter 1 how things suck so bad that if we really grasped the depth of the problem, we’d probably all just curl up into little balls and wait for the meteor to obliterate us.
Romans 1:28,
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
Simple. 31 flavors. One for everyone. Pick. I have most of them in my toolbox.
Simplest: Just in case anybody didn’t see their personal colors in 1:28, here’s the catch-all:
Romans 3:10 (and Psalm 14:1-3)
“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one;’”
We’re messed up. It’s in the heart. Can’t blame it on the rain.
Now how does it apply to the current theme here on my little blog? Healing? Look. I am aware of the physical problems. I know about medications now, and clinical diagnoses and everything. I may not know everything, but I know way more than I really want to know now. I’ve done research and see the light. There’s no denying a physiological and environmental part, huge part, in all this trial. But in the end, should all those things be cured…
It’s still in the heart.
And that’s what I’m praying for most of all. That He’ll put us all in the way of fixing her heart. He’ll do it, I’m sure. I just want the joy of being a part of that miracle. And I want it more than I want to fix the thing at work.
But, I think, as I’ve said and have been told a million times before: If you can’t be trusted in the little things, how can you make it in the big time?
Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30. Look it up. I did.
Today was fairly simple. Nothing horrible happened. Nothing wonderful happened. Well, nothing wonderful except the joy of having my wonderful family, a Beautiful set of weather, safety, health, a good dinner with all my girls. There should Always be a silver lining in the day. Shadows may linger, but in order to discern shadow, one needs some sort of light. So it wasn’t a bad day at all.
I even got to actually. fix. something. at work. And I got to, not just be a participant, but to fix something myself. I can’t explain how much it helps to turn something that doesn’t work into something that does, the way it’s designed.
And I cleaned. I love cleaning. It’s busy work, I know, and it’s tiring, but I feel accomplished when I do a good set of cleaning. So the floors and dusting got done. Looks a bunch better. And I hauled out a bunch of junk that was holding down shelves and tables in an unfashionable way. Goody.
Got one contact recommendation back for doctors. Tomorrow I should hear back from another one. Maybe next week we’ll be back in business with the therapy and everything. That should lift some of the worry off my wimpy little shoulders.
I just have to keep in mind the goodness and mercy that follows all our days here, or…
Exodus 16:3
“And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’”
I have to admit, my ignorance has been in error these past months. I’ve glossed over and failed to grasp the gravity of all this. I’ve been on cruise mode, content to let things lie. And they sure have lied. Let me think all was going okay, that we were pretty good. Er. Maybe not.
In my research today, I learned a few things. One most prominent is that we do not come out in the open about our problems, and this one is horribly true about what’s going on now. It’s not just a defeated attitude that says “I am beyond help” but a fear of causing more harm or hurting more people in our path. And that is just what can’t happen. Nobody knows means nobody cares, which proves quite simply the delusion, the lie that exists.
I found out about some ways to track changes and find out what sets things off. I found out that it’s not just the dark sided moments that are horrible, but that those incredibly “up” times where you’re bouncing and flying were just as bad, maybe worse. I saw, from hindsight, a whole slew of times that show that you’ve been dealing with this for so long. And it hurts to know it now.
I’m still not sure what I am able to do. I’m able to learn more, maybe observe more. Maybe that’s a start. I want to help more.
What is scary is that the more I read or hear about this, more doors are opened, revealing more things to be concerned with. Ignorance is bliss, even though it’s also usually dereliction of duty at the same time. So I guess I have to keep trying. I kind of have to; the authorities say this could last for the rest of our lives.
And I have to keep in mind that every time you strike or fly or cry or flip, it’s not automatically you. These things happen, they have to be dealt with, but I can’t take them personally. Everything I’ve seen fails to disprove that you love me, that you’ve been chosen for me.
I have to dodge the bullets and continue loving you. So I pray for that, the strength to keep moving, courage to keep learning and following through, the love to be visible through it all, whether you can see it or not, depending on the moment.
Because one day you’ll know it for sure. You’ll look back and see it and I sure don’t want you to raise your eyebrow at me and ask me “what the heck were you thinking?” I don’t want to mess it up.
I Corinthians 4:16-18
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Pastor Rob said he’s been there. Said it’s like you’re at the bottom of a very deep well. And it’s dark. But there’s a light all the way up at the top. And we’re up there. Looking down. Holding a rope. And God is up there too. And with you. And He’s holding the rope.
All we’re waiting for is for you to grab the rope. Let us, let Him, pull you up.
You have to choose to hold the rope.
Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
This is the day our church pastors prayed for my Beloved. I prayed too. So we can begin the count of moments until our Lord brings her back to us.
Grab the rope, Beloved.
With all that is going on, peace is what I need in me right now. Fear is the mind-killer. Wisdom is His, not mine. I have to give Him praise for even these unseen things. Maybe my little world is changing. Maybe it isn’t. I don’t think I’m even wise enough to know that much.
So I pray for Your guidance, o Lord. I ask for Your peace, Your grace. Let my love be. Let it be just like yours. Let me show it and it be without reproach. I’m a cracked vessel, but You told me You will use me anyway. That’s more honor than I deserve, more grace than I know how to ask for. More than I can grasp with this tiny mind.
Make me the husband and father I need to be.
Psalm 23
The LORD Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Detained
Let loose this graveyard in my mind
Or, forbid, let it become and I recede
Let these tears flow in rivers
Or vanish into the desert forever
Let the prints of my fingers weld to the rails
Or pry them and lift me into the wind
Whisper me the secret of your stifling shadows
Or mute my ears until I hear not even my own breath
Cleanse me from my depths
Or fling me into them with no tender
For this is emptiness
Or pregnant mystery
As I wait
For this child
This fade
This curtain closed
Or pulled back
Take my silent prayer
Or I roar in terror
I’m going to give church studies a try this time. Thessalonians is a pair of ecclesiastical letters written by Paul. I’ve done a little reading in Constable’s notes (www.soniclight.com) and in my MacArthur commentary too (conveniently built into my study Bible), just so I can get a little smarter. Mostly, this will be a personal series, however, since I’m not much in tune with church or pastors (having an unhappily small experience with either during the span of my New Life).
Why Thessalonians? Ben led me right with Deuteronomy, and I know he just went through Thessalonians recently, so I’m going to go where I can certainly get some feedback on what I pull out. And, since I’m keen on finally getting settled into a church, I should take a look at one of Paul’s church related writings.
So here it goes.
This letter is from three people, actually: Paul, Silvanus (a.k.a. Silas) and Timothy. It appears all three were a part of the beginning of the church in Thessalonica.
I love how Paul opens up his letters. Very direct. I think it’s Greek standard to open with “From, To, Via” in the beginning, just like a formal memorandum today. Mostly, I really enjoy his blessing. It sets a sort of tone in the letter that I wish was more common today. It’s poetic and just ties the Lord right into the communication first thing.
“To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
When is the last time you read that in a book or letter? Not common. I don’t think it’s all that common in church, IME. Beautiful, though, isn’t it? We’re joined in this communication through the Father and the Son. Paul is speaking with the Lord in mind from the very start, and he continues with a prayer of grace and peace, all in the same breath. Might be worth putting on a stamp or seal for church communications, or hand-written on the weekly newsletter, eh?
I’m taking a note here to remind me to plug this sort of greeting and prayer into my communications. To share that simple truth with the fellowship. Remember, when Paul wrote this, it was no simple quick greeting. This was heartfelt and honest, especially considering the experiences of the early churches and especially those of Paul and his partners among the Thessalonians in the beginning.
This letter isn’t a lecture. I like that it’s personal, that Paul is writing on the spiritual things as would a pastor, but also as if he was a brother (he calls the church “brothers” several times in the letter). He prays for them, praises them, and shows knowledgeable approval of their activities.
O that I could be faithful and loving and patient like these folks must have been long ago. They stuck to the faith that Paul preached to them with amazing vigor. The Thessalonians appear to have made a pretty big impact on the region around them with their faithfulness and spreading of the Gospel. One thing I read in the notes was that that part of the world didn’t cotton to plain rhetoric, but more to “walking the walk” as well as doing the talk. Nowadays, it does not seem as though it’s quite as important.
I was talking to my friend the other day about this sort of thing, and thought it was funny that reputations and ethics have gone out the door in recent years. Whole huge companies seem more interested in making a buck than preserving a good name (see multiple blogs on this subject in regards to the current financial fiasco). This extends to individuals too. Many of us are more interested in getting what we want than maintaining the respected quality of character and trustworthiness. It looks like Paul was praising these people for sticking to the truth and way of life that he had brought to them at the start.
“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love , and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father…”
And there’s more about this further down the chapter. But Paul is praising these people for the three main principles of the walk with God. Faith, love and hope. I should be working on the same thing. Practice and build my faith, practice and build my love, rest securely in my hope. See how it’s work, work and then rest? Pretty neat formula. I should be doing 2 parts work to my one part rest. God wants me to trust Him, Love Him (and my brother) and then enjoy the hope He provides through Christ’s atonement – my salvation. Simple. Simple.
It always seems hard for me to keep things simple. Sometimes I think I need to work at it harder, buy more books to help explain things better, wrangle with the text until my eyes are crossed. Sure, there are places in the Bible where wrangling is required, but there are more places that, though they are so simply simple, I still can’t seem to be able to minimize my research program and just look at the code. Simple rules. Faith, Love, Hope. It is the child-like thing again.
Faith in my Daddy. Faith that He’ll carry me through, that His way is the right way, that if I do it, He’ll make good on His instructions.
Love for my Daddy. Love for the things He made. Love for His family and knowing that loving Him means loving His things.
Hope. When Daddy promises something or says something is going to be just so, then simply trust Him and wait on that blessed day when His promise comes about.
And yet I fail on this one. I did it as a kid with my earthly Daddy. He said to do it, so I did. He loved his family, so I did. He promised something, and I simply believed it. Granted, this was imperfect, me and my Daddy both being sinners, Him being saved and me still counted among the unsaved (it took 29 years, but I’m here now, Dad).
Back to the walk-the-walk thing. In verse 4, Paul speaks of the gospel he’d brought was not just word, but power. He was observing how the gospel had not only convinced the people by reason, but by powerful, life-changing conviction. The Thessalonians didn’t just assent to the truth, they acted on it. The Holy Spirit was in their comings and goings, and apparently the church was very successful.
I want to grow into that quality. I want faith and love, work and results for God to be first. I want to find my true comfort not in the comfort of money and security here in this time frame, but in the eternal one to come. I want to fear no persecution, to quit viewing my little temporal trials (finances, career, transportation) as persecution and look to the greater threat out there as my real challenge.
The Thessalonian Christians were entrenched among Jews and Greeks who were politically and religiously attacking them. Things were violent, political, pressurized more than I face today in my little bubble. I want to be fearless and forward-leaning like the people from those days. I understand that God worked things in a pretty distilled fashion back in the days of the early church, for there was no complete Bible, no well-trod tradition or strong foothold of the catholic (whole) church. So God’s methods were rather thunderous and forceful.
But I don’t see that my approach to my Christ-like life should be much different. Circumstances may not look the same, but the underside, the temptation, the pressure and the need for faith and love are still just as strong. That’s my prayer for today. I want to meet up to Paul’s standards as he sent them to the Thessalonians in this letter. Worthy of his remembrance, his prayers, his title of “beloved brother” used so frequently in the passages. Most especially, I’d like to think he would refer to me with the certainty of words that he used with the Thessalonians.
With Paul not being available for consultation in person, I should seek that from God. That confidence. The recipe appears to be, once again (with feeling): Faith, Love, and Hope. Those things pursued, maybe someday, Paul’s words can apply to me too.
Final note: I believe that Hope isn’t a verb here. It’s a noun. A noun to be possessed. I. Have. Hope.
It has come round again. SISTER DAY is here.
NEW ITEMS!!! I’ve added a special movie. Tried to do a SISTER DAY post on PaperScreams, but couldn’t put up the movie part, so it’s here: Click : I LOVE MY FIVE (or right-click and save-as since it’s usually easier)
OH, and one more for MOLLY! She knows this one. This is OUR song from IguanaLand!: Wonderful!
There are a ton of holidays in the world, ones for Moms and Dads and Veterans and Secretaries and Births and Weddings and just about anything else you can imagine. SISTER DAY never made it to the official list of important days. At least not until Molly, Roen, Gwendollyn and Joscelin came around. Now we have SISTER DAY.
It’s truly one of the very best days in the world. This is one that is just about family. It’s not for presents or for hard work or for anything other than celebration of the incredible importance of being a sister. Having younger sisters means Molly gets TONS of practice for when she grows up and becomes a Mommy. Being biggest is pretty hard to manage sometimes, with all the hard stuff that you could really use an older sister to help you figure things out. 
Having an older sister means that Roen is able to ask for help with that impossible question in the homework. That’s the good stuff. When you can’t make it work on your own, there is always a sister around. Even little bitty Joscelin helps out sometimes. Being in the middle is tough, of course, as any Roen or Gwendollyn will tell you, since you have to be big and are stuck being little at the same time. You don’t always like the same games that big kids do, and coloring all day long isn’t quite as fun as playing the GameBoy. But usually there’s a little sister right there to watch you play the games, and that’s the special time you can share big kid stuff. 
I’m proud of you girls. You have really turned out SMART and big and beautiful, and though I love birthdays (silly hats and really big dinners), I love Sister Day the most. SISTER DAY celebrates ALL FOUR OF YOU, all together, the best collection of kids any Daddy could ever hope for. I love your short hair.
I love your long hair.
I love your crazy faces
I love how you monkey around (specially when I’m around).
I love your Choky Milk A Cup (can I have some please).
And none of these things would be half as wonderful and fun if you weren’t all together doing all these things. Everybody knows Popy Tail. Everybody knows FaFee! Everybody loves Choky Milk. Everybody loves the Double Stevie Wonder Elvis Bobble Head(r). All of you, talking and playing at once makes my heart warm and happy. So I’m glad you’re celebrating SISTER DAY, even if I can’t be there. I’ll make it for the one next year, but don’t you forget how important this holiday is. Each of you is most wonderful to me and Mama. 
All together, you are a hundred times wonderful (infinity plus one!). One is fun, Four is MORE! Friends can be forever, but you’re not guaranteed on that. Gameboys don’t stick around forever either. Favorite teachers are traded for new ones all the time. Clothes and toys and even pets wear out. But sisters are for LIFE! You don’t lose ‘em and you can always come back to them even if you move around the world. I love you all! Will see you soon! I’m celebrating right here for you. I’m praising the Lord for His wonderful gift to me and your Mama. Happy SISTER DAY.
