I had not thought about the correlation of taking out the trash and living the spiritual life. It just never occurred to me that the "feel good" feeling I get when I realized that the trash has been taken out was so freeing.
The evenings I come home after taking the trash out, I almost smile. I think how wonderful all of that gunk and junk is out of my house. It's almost a feeling of complete freedom!
And then... this morning, God put a picture in my head.
How wonderful it is when we clean out our temple of the gunk and junk that piles up. It's so freeing to be rid of bitterness, envy, strife, gluttony, pride, lust, anger, greed and laziness.
And then... I also realized that I would have to take the trash out again next week because it will be full again. Just like those sins. We must continually "take out the trash" in our temples. The sins just keep piling up, like trash. But that trash needs to be dealt with each day.
Mental picture...trash can with lid. When I start feeling one of the 7 deadly sins, I just mentally open that trash can and throw the feeling away. If I continually hold on to it, it will become rancid...and stink...and grow moldy and trash the temple that God has freely given me.
Who knew taking out the trash could be so freeing?
Ecclesiastes 10:1 "As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor."
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Laughter
I've had two complete days of laughter. It's been marvelous, but WOW my face hurts. I realized I must not exercise those muscles enough. I need more laughter. Isn't it in Proverbs the Bible says a merry heart does us good? I plan to remember to laugh each day!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Don't know why I was thinking about these things...
Little memories starting popping up this evening...memories of my children..
Chris was so impressed with the garbage man... he aspired to be one when he grew up. I guess he is in a way...he works in law enforcement.
He loved to take apart everything in the house. I'd find radios with pieces strewn all over. He was always so curious about how things worked. I read today that he will be moving the plugs in his house to different locations? Because he can! He loved Captain Kangaroo, I ordered the free "picture pages" from the show, and he painstakingly worked on them with the characters. (The clock--what was his name???... Mr. Green Jeans, Dancing Bear)
His favorite foods at two years old were chocolate milk and french fries. Who wouldn't love them? I think he probably thinks I shouldn't have given him so much of them now...having to work hard to lost that baby fat!
Geoff was innovative on his own account. Just doing things in ways that confounded me some times. I often wondered why the underarms of his shirts were always so dirty...I mean there were clots of...stuff in the arm pits of all his shirts. He found out that if he wiped his fork clean between his underarm and chest, it would be ready for the next course at each meal time.
His first time at mowing the lawn was a source of great frustration to me...I do wish I could have been more open-minded than I was, because I would have probably had an accomplished artist on my hands. He mowed a little here, then would cross the yard and mow over there, then move over there and mow a patch or two... it took us hours to get all the little patches out of the yard.
Geoff wanted to be a super-hero when he grew up. I guess he is in a way...he rescues people who are hurting ... he feels their pain.
He still has very unusual thought processes, but now I appreciate them, because my patience level is very high.
We were driving down a highway and she saw men, dwarfed by the huge billboard they were working on. "Mommy!" my three year old daughter exclaimed, "Look at those itty bitty men." I remember laughing so hard I had to slow down driving for fear I couldn't see.
Melissa hated meat loaf. But living in a home where we barely had meat, to me that was a delicacy. She finished her meat loaf... I found it, individual little rounds of hamburger under her chair. I think she was hoping the cat would eat it. The cat didn't. Melissa swears I made her get down on the floor and lick it up...I don't remember that... but it would have been innovative on my part...getting the floor clean and making sure she got her protein. I never made meat loaf again, and still miss it at times.
She ran away from home twice, because she wanted her own way. I laugh now, because she was always so head strong. I took dinner away from her for two weeks because she wouldn't clean her room. After two weeks she got dinner back, and her dirty room. She won.
I'm just thankful now that she appreciates a clean house.
She is so head strong at work, demanding the best of herself at all times. I think the meat loaf helped her get that way.
None of my children liked Mr. Rogers. I'm sure there's a deep thought about that somewhere.
Chris was so impressed with the garbage man... he aspired to be one when he grew up. I guess he is in a way...he works in law enforcement.
He loved to take apart everything in the house. I'd find radios with pieces strewn all over. He was always so curious about how things worked. I read today that he will be moving the plugs in his house to different locations? Because he can! He loved Captain Kangaroo, I ordered the free "picture pages" from the show, and he painstakingly worked on them with the characters. (The clock--what was his name???... Mr. Green Jeans, Dancing Bear)
His favorite foods at two years old were chocolate milk and french fries. Who wouldn't love them? I think he probably thinks I shouldn't have given him so much of them now...having to work hard to lost that baby fat!
Geoff was innovative on his own account. Just doing things in ways that confounded me some times. I often wondered why the underarms of his shirts were always so dirty...I mean there were clots of...stuff in the arm pits of all his shirts. He found out that if he wiped his fork clean between his underarm and chest, it would be ready for the next course at each meal time.
His first time at mowing the lawn was a source of great frustration to me...I do wish I could have been more open-minded than I was, because I would have probably had an accomplished artist on my hands. He mowed a little here, then would cross the yard and mow over there, then move over there and mow a patch or two... it took us hours to get all the little patches out of the yard.
Geoff wanted to be a super-hero when he grew up. I guess he is in a way...he rescues people who are hurting ... he feels their pain.
He still has very unusual thought processes, but now I appreciate them, because my patience level is very high.
We were driving down a highway and she saw men, dwarfed by the huge billboard they were working on. "Mommy!" my three year old daughter exclaimed, "Look at those itty bitty men." I remember laughing so hard I had to slow down driving for fear I couldn't see.
Melissa hated meat loaf. But living in a home where we barely had meat, to me that was a delicacy. She finished her meat loaf... I found it, individual little rounds of hamburger under her chair. I think she was hoping the cat would eat it. The cat didn't. Melissa swears I made her get down on the floor and lick it up...I don't remember that... but it would have been innovative on my part...getting the floor clean and making sure she got her protein. I never made meat loaf again, and still miss it at times.
She ran away from home twice, because she wanted her own way. I laugh now, because she was always so head strong. I took dinner away from her for two weeks because she wouldn't clean her room. After two weeks she got dinner back, and her dirty room. She won.
I'm just thankful now that she appreciates a clean house.
She is so head strong at work, demanding the best of herself at all times. I think the meat loaf helped her get that way.
None of my children liked Mr. Rogers. I'm sure there's a deep thought about that somewhere.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Silence of Snow
Waking up this morning I knew something was different. The silence was amazing. Amazing because it's so rare in this world of noise.
There wasn't a songbird singing, not a car starting... nothing but silence. Opening the blinds I saw the beauty that awaited my eyes...the same beauty that filled my ears---- pristeen, beautiful, quiet, white, virgin snow. No footprints. No car prints, just a sea of white.
And the silence was not deafening... and it was welcomed.
I listened. I "felt" that still small voice of my Lord. Illustrating in the whiteness of the blanket covering my world, was my sin--covered by the purity of my Jesus. The bland cement, the rusted cars, the dull beige of the condos, the barren trees...all covered by a blanket of purity...making everything clean and perfect once again.
A tear trickles down my cheek as I realize that all nature is crying out His majesty, His Lovingkindn
ess, His Words...His love...His forgiveness...if we will only stop and listen...in the silence of snow.
ess, His Words...His love...His forgiveness...if we will only stop and listen...in the silence of snow.Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole
I want Thee forever to live in my soul
Break down every idol, cast out every foe
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
Friday, December 31, 2010
What I've Learned in 2010 that will carry me through 2011
This has been a year of learning. I'm so glad God isn't finished with me yet!
1. I've learned I cannot make everyone happy. Walk away from those who want you to change your life and lifestyle for them.
a. I don't have to please everyone.
b. Those who try to change others to fit their lifestyle are co-dependent, high maintenance and needy.
2. I've learned my physical life may be weak, but that doesn't mean my spiritual life must align itself.
a. I started 2010 feeling very sick, but was in a sweet friend's home that kept me warm and secure.
b. God's Word has been abundant whether I've been sick or well.
3. I've learned I LOVE fresh squeezed orange juice.
a. I bought a whole bunch of oranges from a school to support a friend's child, and hand squeezed them. That's when I learned fresh orange juice is so different than store bought.
b. I also bought a new-fangled orange squeezer doo-dad that will help me make my own.
4. I've learned I have yet begun to know all the secrets that God has in store for me.
a. As I studied each lesson, God revealed a little more of Himself to me.
b. I salivate as I study God's Word... it's more than fresh squeezed orange juice to me.
5. I've learned that I did okay raising my children.
a. I really did.
b. They are the most wonderful people in my life.
6. I've learned I love Honeycrisp apples and cheddar cheese together.
a. I love honey crisp apples.
b. I love cheddar cheese.
7. I've learned I love to exercise my mind by learning more about God.
a. I re-read the Bible through chronologically this year, and each day wrote a verse or 'speculation' I had read or thought.
b. Excited that in 2011 I will be going through two devotional books to further increase my relationship with God.
8. In August, I learned my body is weak, but my will is strong.
a. Started physical therapy and learned my body was very weak.
b. Met several new people during PT who have increased my happiness.
9. I've learned untold number of whispers from God by reading the Bible through once again.
a. Many many "A-HA" moments in 2010.
b. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in 2011.
10. I learned I don't have to have coffee, but I choose to have it.
a. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
b. Except to say, I love coffee in the morning.
11. I love to teach God's Word.
a. I love my Connect Group who soak up God's Word as fast as He reveals it to me.
b. There's nothing wrong with learning as I teach.
12. The hardest lesson I've learned, which I'm still learning, is to keep my opinions to myself and my mouth shut.
a. God directly told me through prayer to leave one opinion alone, that He would handle it. I have, and it's been the hardest time keeping my mouth shut...and I have.
b. Let God be responsible for the consequences of my obedience to Him.
God is good all the time. All the time...God is Good.
Happy 2011!
1. I've learned I cannot make everyone happy. Walk away from those who want you to change your life and lifestyle for them.
a. I don't have to please everyone.
b. Those who try to change others to fit their lifestyle are co-dependent, high maintenance and needy.
2. I've learned my physical life may be weak, but that doesn't mean my spiritual life must align itself.
a. I started 2010 feeling very sick, but was in a sweet friend's home that kept me warm and secure.
b. God's Word has been abundant whether I've been sick or well.
3. I've learned I LOVE fresh squeezed orange juice.
a. I bought a whole bunch of oranges from a school to support a friend's child, and hand squeezed them. That's when I learned fresh orange juice is so different than store bought.
b. I also bought a new-fangled orange squeezer doo-dad that will help me make my own.
4. I've learned I have yet begun to know all the secrets that God has in store for me.
a. As I studied each lesson, God revealed a little more of Himself to me.
b. I salivate as I study God's Word... it's more than fresh squeezed orange juice to me.
5. I've learned that I did okay raising my children.
a. I really did.
b. They are the most wonderful people in my life.
6. I've learned I love Honeycrisp apples and cheddar cheese together.
a. I love honey crisp apples.
b. I love cheddar cheese.
7. I've learned I love to exercise my mind by learning more about God.
a. I re-read the Bible through chronologically this year, and each day wrote a verse or 'speculation' I had read or thought.
b. Excited that in 2011 I will be going through two devotional books to further increase my relationship with God.
8. In August, I learned my body is weak, but my will is strong.
a. Started physical therapy and learned my body was very weak.
b. Met several new people during PT who have increased my happiness.
9. I've learned untold number of whispers from God by reading the Bible through once again.
a. Many many "A-HA" moments in 2010.
b. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in 2011.
10. I learned I don't have to have coffee, but I choose to have it.
a. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
b. Except to say, I love coffee in the morning.
11. I love to teach God's Word.
a. I love my Connect Group who soak up God's Word as fast as He reveals it to me.
b. There's nothing wrong with learning as I teach.
12. The hardest lesson I've learned, which I'm still learning, is to keep my opinions to myself and my mouth shut.
a. God directly told me through prayer to leave one opinion alone, that He would handle it. I have, and it's been the hardest time keeping my mouth shut...and I have.
b. Let God be responsible for the consequences of my obedience to Him.
God is good all the time. All the time...God is Good.
Happy 2011!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The Month of Thanksgiving
1. I am thankful to be living in November 2010. Who'd thunk it?
2. I am thankful that Jesus, my Savior and Husband has allowed me to be part of the family of God since April 23, 1984.
3. I am thankful for my parents. They did the best they could do with the tools they had. (Psalm 27:10)
4. I am thankful to have experienced marriage, for better and worse. For a moment I knew what it felt like to be totally loved by a man.
5. I am thankful for my oldest son Chris. A man's man, yet a beloved soldier of the cross.
6. I am thankful for my youngest son Geoff. A drummer who drums with a different beat. And that's okay.
7. I am thankful for my daughter Melissa. A woman after God's own heart.
8. I am thankful for my daughter in law Amy. What a warrior woman she is. I keep saying I want to be like her one day!
9. I am thankful for my grandchildren, Jack, Thatcher & Margaret. I know, right?
10. I am thankful for my life experiences. Indeed...I am
12. I am thankful for Sam and Teena McLamb, who I have known at both churches. They have been mentors, friends and a precious sister and brother in Christ.
13. I am thankful for Dr. John Sullivan, the pastor who baptized me. My first Bible has so many notes in it I can hardly read the words of the Bible.
14. I am thankful for James Walker. I smile each time I hear my name pronounced "Weeder".
15. I am thankful for Pastor Bruce, who is so real as he teaches and preaches.
16. I am thankful that my daddy taught me about cars, alignments and brakes. When to be concerned and when to blow it off.
17. I am thankful that I didn't inherit my dad's inability to do house repairs correctly.
18. I am thankful that God gave me gifts of the spirit, which I use daily.
19. I am thankful that I have been given some forever friends. Women who have made my life stronger by just being a part.
20. I am thankful for my Connect Group. This group of women is a strong spiritual support for one another...and a mighty force to be reckoned with.
21. I am thankful that God has shown that He is still healing people, if we allow Him. God is still saving people, if we allow Him.
22. I am thankful for the freedoms I have received from unknown soldiers who have died, and those who have lived...and from my God and Savior.
23. I am thankful that God has given me a quirky sense of humor that sometimes cracks me up...and sometimes I cannot share any of it with anyone.
24. I am thankful for a roof over my head, a car to drive, and food to eat. May I never ever take any of that for granted.
25. I am thankful for my job. I am very thankful for my job.
26. I am thankful when I see the blue of the sky and the green of the trees meld into a beautiful piece of art, designed by God. Who knew those two colors would look so great together?
27. I am thankful for my sister and her family. It is nice to belong.
28. I am thankful for my oldest brother and his family. They have been prayer warriors and prayer walkers and sometimes prayer sitters...but they've been pray-ers.
29. I am thankful for my youngest brother, who calls me every week and checks on me to make sure I'm okay. I love that! I am thankful for his wife and daughter who complete him.
30. I am thankful for the breath I breathe. Praise God Almighty, for so many treasures.
2. I am thankful that Jesus, my Savior and Husband has allowed me to be part of the family of God since April 23, 1984.
3. I am thankful for my parents. They did the best they could do with the tools they had. (Psalm 27:10)
4. I am thankful to have experienced marriage, for better and worse. For a moment I knew what it felt like to be totally loved by a man.
5. I am thankful for my oldest son Chris. A man's man, yet a beloved soldier of the cross.
6. I am thankful for my youngest son Geoff. A drummer who drums with a different beat. And that's okay.
7. I am thankful for my daughter Melissa. A woman after God's own heart.
8. I am thankful for my daughter in law Amy. What a warrior woman she is. I keep saying I want to be like her one day!
9. I am thankful for my grandchildren, Jack, Thatcher & Margaret. I know, right?
10. I am thankful for my life experiences. Indeed...I am
- thankful for the devastating divorce in 1981
- thankful for the many broken relationships I experienced
- thankful for the days without money
- thankful for the sleepless nights
12. I am thankful for Sam and Teena McLamb, who I have known at both churches. They have been mentors, friends and a precious sister and brother in Christ.
13. I am thankful for Dr. John Sullivan, the pastor who baptized me. My first Bible has so many notes in it I can hardly read the words of the Bible.
14. I am thankful for James Walker. I smile each time I hear my name pronounced "Weeder".
15. I am thankful for Pastor Bruce, who is so real as he teaches and preaches.
16. I am thankful that my daddy taught me about cars, alignments and brakes. When to be concerned and when to blow it off.
17. I am thankful that I didn't inherit my dad's inability to do house repairs correctly.
18. I am thankful that God gave me gifts of the spirit, which I use daily.
19. I am thankful that I have been given some forever friends. Women who have made my life stronger by just being a part.
20. I am thankful for my Connect Group. This group of women is a strong spiritual support for one another...and a mighty force to be reckoned with.
21. I am thankful that God has shown that He is still healing people, if we allow Him. God is still saving people, if we allow Him.
22. I am thankful for the freedoms I have received from unknown soldiers who have died, and those who have lived...and from my God and Savior.
23. I am thankful that God has given me a quirky sense of humor that sometimes cracks me up...and sometimes I cannot share any of it with anyone.
24. I am thankful for a roof over my head, a car to drive, and food to eat. May I never ever take any of that for granted.
25. I am thankful for my job. I am very thankful for my job.
26. I am thankful when I see the blue of the sky and the green of the trees meld into a beautiful piece of art, designed by God. Who knew those two colors would look so great together?
27. I am thankful for my sister and her family. It is nice to belong.
28. I am thankful for my oldest brother and his family. They have been prayer warriors and prayer walkers and sometimes prayer sitters...but they've been pray-ers.
29. I am thankful for my youngest brother, who calls me every week and checks on me to make sure I'm okay. I love that! I am thankful for his wife and daughter who complete him.
30. I am thankful for the breath I breathe. Praise God Almighty, for so many treasures.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bitterness is drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
I remember her telling me a long time ago that the words "I'm sorry" were the most useless words in the world and no one would ever hear them come out of her mouth.
She would never let go of any hurt, and could give you the date, time and exact words that were told to her in the way she heard them.
When I was younger, she had accused me of stealing a ring from her. I was blamed for many things I didn't do (and conversely, probably not blamed for some things I did do!) When she was old she told me that she had discovered the ring in one of her keepsakes. I reminded her that she had accused me of stealing it.
For the first time that I could remember, pain for someone else etched across her face. With tears forming in her eyes she said, "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I would have said that."
In her later years, she wondered if God could ever forgive her. She knew she wasn't good enough to go to heaven. (Who is???) And she accepted some forgiveness...however, there was some she said she couldn't.
Softening of the callous called bitterness had begun.
I watched her inch her way across the desert of hurt, anger and yes the bitterness of unforgiveness. She would stop along the way and refill the tank with crude oil. But as she slowed down and began to take in some of the softening agents of God's word, a metamorphosis began.
She started seeing a little good here and there. She complimented more and talked about people less. She began to say "I love you" more and she quit pointing her fingers.
She was just beginning to see how important she was to God...she was just beginning to feel what forgiveness felt like. And she had just begun to live...
And then she died.
But her life was not in vain. Because of her:
- I learned to apologize when I've hurt someone--even if they don't accept my apology.
- I learned to forgive people for hurting me.
- I learned to forgive myself.
- I learned that I cannot change people, but I can change myself.
- I learned that in order to be a good teacher, I have to be a better student.
- And I learned that true love can soften even the most captive heart.
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