For a lot of reasons, I'm not going to go into this much today. Maybe by next week I'll have enough distance for my perspective to be less clouded.
When God works on you, He works on you good.
But -- the verse that I'm pondering and hope to discuss a little bit with, hopefully, some pertinent application is Romans 12:2.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, you will be able to test and approve what God's will is...his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If that isn't a challenge with a promise, I don't know what is.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Slight Schedule Change...
Well, I tried it and it isn't working so well. So I'm going to move it.
The 'Tuesday Bible-study related' post is going to move to Fridays. Between church on Sundays, volunteer work on Mondays and Friends Club to teach on Wednesdays, it was getting harder and harder to squeeze in enough time to properly write the Bible Study post. So I decided to switch it to Fridays; hopefully, that will work better.
Now to decide what the 'next study' will be...
The 'Tuesday Bible-study related' post is going to move to Fridays. Between church on Sundays, volunteer work on Mondays and Friends Club to teach on Wednesdays, it was getting harder and harder to squeeze in enough time to properly write the Bible Study post. So I decided to switch it to Fridays; hopefully, that will work better.
Now to decide what the 'next study' will be...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Jubilee Monday #27: Until I Learn the Lesson...
That's how many times I will keep making public apologies for letting my mouth get ahead of my brain...and out of sync with the Holy Spirit.
I confess, there are times when I just want to crawl into my shell and stay there. Not because other people are unreasonable, but because I seem to have a bull-in-the-china shop ability to smash things I'm not looking at without realizing it until later...or until someone points out the damage.
Over and over and over again. I soooo identify with Paul's lament, 'Who will rescue me from this body of death???'
And I echo his relief... 'Thanks be to God!'
So I'm visiting Jubilee and the forgiveness therein once again...not only needing the forgiveness of the people I seemed to disrespect, but also the forgiveness of myself...for being such a bone head. Again.
Until I learn the lessons 1) that what I perceive that causes frustration may not be the whole story; and 2) not EVER to let frustration provoke a response, and certainly not in front of innocent bystanders.
Sigh. If I can finally learn those lessons in the Jubilee year, I will have Learned Something.
I confess, there are times when I just want to crawl into my shell and stay there. Not because other people are unreasonable, but because I seem to have a bull-in-the-china shop ability to smash things I'm not looking at without realizing it until later...or until someone points out the damage.
Over and over and over again. I soooo identify with Paul's lament, 'Who will rescue me from this body of death???'
And I echo his relief... 'Thanks be to God!'
So I'm visiting Jubilee and the forgiveness therein once again...not only needing the forgiveness of the people I seemed to disrespect, but also the forgiveness of myself...for being such a bone head. Again.
Until I learn the lessons 1) that what I perceive that causes frustration may not be the whole story; and 2) not EVER to let frustration provoke a response, and certainly not in front of innocent bystanders.
Sigh. If I can finally learn those lessons in the Jubilee year, I will have Learned Something.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sewing and Growing
If you're reading the sewing blog, you know I've been working frantically on a personal costume project for one of our pastors at church. There is a method to my madness - I'm counting on him to wear it if we ever need a character dressed in that period in a church production, so it's not totally being done just out of the Goodness of My Heart. ;) Just kidding. These folks have worked hard and patiently training my kids in ministry and I'm glad to be able to repay a little of that investment.
But the truth is it has been good for me to have a seriously focused sewing project. We have a stack of sermon CD's (we are 'Message of the Month' subscribers to a ministry that has been feeding us for YEARS) and I've got a little CD player by the sewing machine, so while I'm pinning, sewing, (and, um, un-sewing and repinning) trimming, pressing, etc., I've got some spiritual teaching going in as well.
I've listened to some really good stuff this week; I could feel some mental and spiritual gears shifting as I listened. One message in particular was about worship; I think I'm going to go back and listen to that again today.
Since I'll be pretty much just sitting in the rocking chair with a needle and thread sewing the lining in the coat....
But the truth is it has been good for me to have a seriously focused sewing project. We have a stack of sermon CD's (we are 'Message of the Month' subscribers to a ministry that has been feeding us for YEARS) and I've got a little CD player by the sewing machine, so while I'm pinning, sewing, (and, um, un-sewing and repinning) trimming, pressing, etc., I've got some spiritual teaching going in as well.
I've listened to some really good stuff this week; I could feel some mental and spiritual gears shifting as I listened. One message in particular was about worship; I think I'm going to go back and listen to that again today.
Since I'll be pretty much just sitting in the rocking chair with a needle and thread sewing the lining in the coat....
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Slow Look at Fasting: Final Thoughts
posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Jan. 6 - Intro
Jan 13 - Fasting in Faith
Jan 20 - Fasting seeking Answers
Jan 27 - Fasting as Submission
Feb 4 - Fasting for a Time
Feb. 11 - Fasting for Show
Final Thoughts
Amy asked me on the second lesson if I thought fasting for answers was more difficult than responding to God's call to a fast. I've been mulling that over and, for me, anyway, I think it depends on my desperation level. There've been a couple of crisis points at which I needed an answer...and, not only could I physically not eat, I could actually do very little besides lay on my face and cry out to God. That was a difficult time to live through, but it wasn't hard to fast. On the God-called fast I did last year (which rather indirectly resulted in this blog, btw), I ate what I felt instructed to eat and never really felt hungry at all during the three weeks it lasted. So that wasn't a difficult fast. The difficult fasts for me have been the called corporate fasts...the fasts of submission. That really is an act of personal discipline, and it is hard to stay focused during those times. I know our leadership has felt a call from God for the fast, but sometimes it's difficult to get my spirit engaged just from submission. And, I'll confess, not all of those fasts (there has been at least one every year we've been at our current church) found me in an attitude of submission and obedience. I went through the motions, but my personal results were minimal. Maybe I've just needed to grow some more before I could properly connect to what was happening.
However, there is one scripture regarding fasting that has come to mind over and over again and I think I'll use it to kind of close out this little look at fasting. It's in Mark's record of Jesus casting out a demon that His disciples couldn't budge (Mark 9:14-29). I admit this is a marginal reading in my NIV, but Mark relates that when the disciples questioned Jesus about why they could not cast out the demon, Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer (and fasting)." (verse 29).
Jesus had not prayed and fasted over the boy; I wondered for a long time just exactly what that meant. But, as I've gone over the scriptures for this little study, and that verse kind of simmered in the soup along with what I was looking at, I had a realization that it wasn't prayer and fasting that gave Jesus power over the demon...it was prayer and fasting that put Jesus into such close communion with the Father that he saw and heard what the Father wanted said and done in order for the boy to be delivered, so that's what Jesus said and did (see John 5:19). And the boy was delivered.
What I've learned is that fasting is a time of listening, of aligning, of focusing on God. And if I want to move from the level where I am to a higher level of service to Him, I've got to be aligned more completely, listening more intently and focusing more exclusively on what He wants said and done in every situation.
So...I need to purpose in my heart to trust Him to take care of me if I follow Him into the desert, seek Him until the answer comes, submit to and align myself with the body of believers and expect that, when the time for fasting has passed,He will do what only He can to to resolve the situation according to His purpose.
Jan. 6 - Intro
Jan 13 - Fasting in Faith
Jan 20 - Fasting seeking Answers
Jan 27 - Fasting as Submission
Feb 4 - Fasting for a Time
Feb. 11 - Fasting for Show
Final Thoughts
Amy asked me on the second lesson if I thought fasting for answers was more difficult than responding to God's call to a fast. I've been mulling that over and, for me, anyway, I think it depends on my desperation level. There've been a couple of crisis points at which I needed an answer...and, not only could I physically not eat, I could actually do very little besides lay on my face and cry out to God. That was a difficult time to live through, but it wasn't hard to fast. On the God-called fast I did last year (which rather indirectly resulted in this blog, btw), I ate what I felt instructed to eat and never really felt hungry at all during the three weeks it lasted. So that wasn't a difficult fast. The difficult fasts for me have been the called corporate fasts...the fasts of submission. That really is an act of personal discipline, and it is hard to stay focused during those times. I know our leadership has felt a call from God for the fast, but sometimes it's difficult to get my spirit engaged just from submission. And, I'll confess, not all of those fasts (there has been at least one every year we've been at our current church) found me in an attitude of submission and obedience. I went through the motions, but my personal results were minimal. Maybe I've just needed to grow some more before I could properly connect to what was happening.
However, there is one scripture regarding fasting that has come to mind over and over again and I think I'll use it to kind of close out this little look at fasting. It's in Mark's record of Jesus casting out a demon that His disciples couldn't budge (Mark 9:14-29). I admit this is a marginal reading in my NIV, but Mark relates that when the disciples questioned Jesus about why they could not cast out the demon, Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer (and fasting)." (verse 29).
Jesus had not prayed and fasted over the boy; I wondered for a long time just exactly what that meant. But, as I've gone over the scriptures for this little study, and that verse kind of simmered in the soup along with what I was looking at, I had a realization that it wasn't prayer and fasting that gave Jesus power over the demon...it was prayer and fasting that put Jesus into such close communion with the Father that he saw and heard what the Father wanted said and done in order for the boy to be delivered, so that's what Jesus said and did (see John 5:19). And the boy was delivered.
What I've learned is that fasting is a time of listening, of aligning, of focusing on God. And if I want to move from the level where I am to a higher level of service to Him, I've got to be aligned more completely, listening more intently and focusing more exclusively on what He wants said and done in every situation.
So...I need to purpose in my heart to trust Him to take care of me if I follow Him into the desert, seek Him until the answer comes, submit to and align myself with the body of believers and expect that, when the time for fasting has passed,He will do what only He can to to resolve the situation according to His purpose.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Jubilee Monday # 26: The High-Fired Pot
At long last, the other one of my two pottery pieces arrived from the folks who do the high-firing. I guess it really is a 'flower pot'...(groan)
It'd been so long since I glazed it I'd forgotten what colors I used. Actually, there were only about four to choose from for the glazing, so it's not like I deliberately chose the colors to make an artistic statement. And I remember one of the glazes was mixed very thin and didn't want to stick well to my pot.
But, all the same, I'm pleased with it. It is unique; the colors kind of work, and it has the nice graceful, flowing look I wanted.
The reason it was high-fired is that the higher temperature makes a more durable piece, and since this had some very delicate parts the Artist Instructor thought it might be wise to high-fire it rather than do the lower-temp raku firing that I used on the the braid-top bowl. And, seeing the difference in the finishes, I'm rather glad I did that, even if it took longer to see the final product. The flower pot has a smoother, more even texture than the bowl. They're going to make good conversation pieces.
And I've been thinking about the high-firing process. Some things I've noted:
--High-firing took a greater investment of time, and I had no control over it at all.
--High-firing results in a stronger piece.
--A high-fired piece is useful; the raku pieces, while pretty, are not meant to *do* anything, because they are rather fragile and the glazes are not food-safe.
--A high-fired piece can hold food and/or drink. It can even be washed in a dishwasher. Hm...it can be a vessel for feeding folks, and it is easily cleansed.
Now, consider applying those truths, not to ceramics, but to one's faith: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -- James 1:2-4 NIV
Next time I feel like I'm in the middle of a really hot spot, I should remind myself that it's just the high-firing necessary to be beautiful and useful in the Kingdom....
It'd been so long since I glazed it I'd forgotten what colors I used. Actually, there were only about four to choose from for the glazing, so it's not like I deliberately chose the colors to make an artistic statement. And I remember one of the glazes was mixed very thin and didn't want to stick well to my pot.
But, all the same, I'm pleased with it. It is unique; the colors kind of work, and it has the nice graceful, flowing look I wanted.
The reason it was high-fired is that the higher temperature makes a more durable piece, and since this had some very delicate parts the Artist Instructor thought it might be wise to high-fire it rather than do the lower-temp raku firing that I used on the the braid-top bowl. And, seeing the difference in the finishes, I'm rather glad I did that, even if it took longer to see the final product. The flower pot has a smoother, more even texture than the bowl. They're going to make good conversation pieces.
And I've been thinking about the high-firing process. Some things I've noted:
--High-firing took a greater investment of time, and I had no control over it at all.
--High-firing results in a stronger piece.
--A high-fired piece is useful; the raku pieces, while pretty, are not meant to *do* anything, because they are rather fragile and the glazes are not food-safe.
--A high-fired piece can hold food and/or drink. It can even be washed in a dishwasher. Hm...it can be a vessel for feeding folks, and it is easily cleansed.
Now, consider applying those truths, not to ceramics, but to one's faith: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -- James 1:2-4 NIV
Next time I feel like I'm in the middle of a really hot spot, I should remind myself that it's just the high-firing necessary to be beautiful and useful in the Kingdom....
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A Microwaved Drama
One of my personal favorite ministry things is doing dramas/skits/etc in order to provoke an audience to consider spiritual truths. But, for several reasons, our little drama troupe at church has been kinda dormant for a while.
This morning, however, we got to do a little skit. The drama team had a slight misunderstanding somewhere along the way and thought it was supposed to be presented next week...at least we found our error on Wednesday instead of, say, this morning...
So we were scrambling to get something to work.
And, to add spice to the challenge, we had to get the point across in less than 5 minutes (preferably between 3 and 4 minutes). Since we now have three Sunday morning services, time constraints just don't allow anything longer.
The consensus on the skit, just looking at the script, was that it was too long. So it was trimmed a bit. We went into rehearsal with a script that I *thought*, upon reading it aloud at home, would come in at less than 5 minutes.
When we went through it with the blocking, it was NOT under five minutes. And it didn't seem to get the point across.
So, the three of us in the skit took a literary scalpel to it and began whacking some more. One husband arrived to pick up his actress wife, and we performed it for him, hoping for some objective thoughts. Did the point come across? Was it too wordy? Was it funny? He liked it, but said it needed a bit of punch at the end.
Inspired, our 'Angel' character came up with exactly the right line for that punch. Time on the final run through: three and a half minutes.
So, we were on this morning...three times. And, let me just say, God is very good! It was well received, and well complimented. Put together quickly, and quickly performed.
And it was fun.
It's an indescribable feeling to be part of a message. And, given the time constraints we had, it's pretty obvious that the success of it wasn't due to the people involved! Only God could put something like that together.
Which is why it's indescribable! ;)
This morning, however, we got to do a little skit. The drama team had a slight misunderstanding somewhere along the way and thought it was supposed to be presented next week...at least we found our error on Wednesday instead of, say, this morning...
So we were scrambling to get something to work.
And, to add spice to the challenge, we had to get the point across in less than 5 minutes (preferably between 3 and 4 minutes). Since we now have three Sunday morning services, time constraints just don't allow anything longer.
The consensus on the skit, just looking at the script, was that it was too long. So it was trimmed a bit. We went into rehearsal with a script that I *thought*, upon reading it aloud at home, would come in at less than 5 minutes.
When we went through it with the blocking, it was NOT under five minutes. And it didn't seem to get the point across.
So, the three of us in the skit took a literary scalpel to it and began whacking some more. One husband arrived to pick up his actress wife, and we performed it for him, hoping for some objective thoughts. Did the point come across? Was it too wordy? Was it funny? He liked it, but said it needed a bit of punch at the end.
Inspired, our 'Angel' character came up with exactly the right line for that punch. Time on the final run through: three and a half minutes.
So, we were on this morning...three times. And, let me just say, God is very good! It was well received, and well complimented. Put together quickly, and quickly performed.
And it was fun.
It's an indescribable feeling to be part of a message. And, given the time constraints we had, it's pretty obvious that the success of it wasn't due to the people involved! Only God could put something like that together.
Which is why it's indescribable! ;)
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