Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin...NOT!

http://bethwoolsey.com/2013/10/3-reasons-i-quit-loving-the-sinner-and-hating-the-sin/


Good advice!

The Secret to Contentment

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, written by Jeremiah Burroughs in the early 1600’s. In it, Burroughs presses us to consider the root of our discontentment as well as the source of true contentment. He makes an interesting assertion that we 
 “come to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subtraction.” He says that there is no end to what the world can offer us by way of things to buy or possess; so we’ll never be satisfied by adding possessions, because there will always be so much we don’t have. Instead, we subtract - we subtract our desires back into line with our reality, or as Burroughs puts it, “[the content man subtracts] from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal.”

Besides subtraction, he goes on to describe the other side of contentment, the addition part, which C.S. Lewis later delved into head-first in The Weight of Glory, where he wrote:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

From Live It: Wes Shelnutt is the product manager of Money4Life Coaching  

Boundries

As a people pleaser, I struggle to make things right for everyone else.  When am I ever going to learn that I am not responsible for another person's happiness?  This might help:

A script to help me self-talk my way through my own feelings as I respond to the feelings of others about our holiday plans:  

I am not responsible for  (fill-in-the-blank family member/friend’s)  happiness.
If    ?    is mad, that is his/her feeling, and it doesn’t have to affect me.
I cannot make     ?    happy.
It’s okay that I am happy.
Good boundaries mean that I don’t let his/her attitude ruin my holiday.
Good boundaries also mean that my feelings matter just as much as his/hers, and I might need to call him/her on it.

Life is full of challenges

"It is imperative to rise to the level of adult and be the expert on your own life...We each have to face struggles, figure out the answers, apply them and learn from mistakes and successes. It slows us down to spend energy looking for experts or paths or easy solutions--instead, we must face the reality that it is supposed to be hard, and go to work doing what needs to be done."
~ Oliver & Rachel DeMille, Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning

 Just because life is hard at times doesn't necessarily mean we are doing something wrong.  Things aren't going to be perfect this side of heaven.  Life can be incredible and  imperfect at the same time.  Just keep at it...put one foot in front of the other and rely on God...that's the nature of life...it is hard!

"Problems are like washing machines. They twist us, spin us and knock us around but in the end we come out cleaner, brighter and better than before."
~ Source Unknown  

 

Post Thanksgiving

Thomas Merton
To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.

Thanksgiving

Lord, help me to live thankfulness, not just around this time of year.

Psalms 116:12  What can I offer the Lord for all He has done for me?

 1 Thess. 5:18  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Jonah 2:9  But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you.

Thoughts on gratitude from William Law (English cleric and theological writer, 1686 –1761

"Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God willeth, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.
…If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.
…though it be the noblest sacrifice that the greatest Saint can offer unto God, yet is it not tied to any time, or place, or great occasion but is always in your power and may be the exercise of every day. For the common events of every day are sufficient to discover and exercise this temper and may plainly show you how far you are governed in all your actions by this thankful spirit."

Henri Nouwen said, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep on choosing it every day.”  The same with thankfulness...I want it to be an attitude of my heart...not just a once a year holiday!

Decluttering

I have been working for weeks to declutter the basement utility/craft room.  It has been quite an undertaking.  It took a long time to get motivated to start because the job seemed overwhelming, though I had the desire to get er' done.  I have hauled boatloads of stuff out of there and it feels so good.  There has been lots of progress.  I saw a quote today, 

 

"Clutter breeds clutter!"

 

So, I am trying to get out of the breeding business.  This blog entry I came across today was very encouraging: 

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/12-habits-perfectly-organized-people.html

 

Lord, please restore to us the comfort of merit and demerit. Show us that there is at least something we can do. Tell us that at the end of the day there will at least be one redeeming card of our very own. Lord, if it is not too much to ask, send us to bed with a few shreds of self-respect upon which we can congratulate ourselves. But whatever you do, do not preach grace. Give us something to do, anything; but spare us the indignity of this indiscriminate acceptance.  Robert Farrar Capon (1923-2013)

May it never be so Lord!  Thank You for Your grace, love, mercy, acceptance and forgiveness. And thank You, that it is based on Your character and sacrifice  on the cross, not on my deeds.

WOW, where did the summer go?  I've been enjoying the gardens...the morning glories and dahlias especially.

What is a Christian?

To be a Christian is not only to believe the teaching of Christ, and to practice it; it is not only to try to follow the pattern and example of Christ; it is to be so vitally related to Christ that His life and His power are working in us. It is to be "in Christ," it is for Christ to be in us. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Occupy Me

Jan Johnson Wisbit - July 2013       A Simpler Way to Live       www.JanJohnson.org

For a class I teach, my students get to read Jeremy Taylor’s 19 rules for humility. You may think: Rules? Ugh. Humility? Any shred of humility is near-miraculous, who wants rules?

I thought that at first, but then I looked at them in light of Andrew Murray’s idea that humility is being occupied with God instead of being occupied with self. That takes a lot of the confusion and burden out of humility. It now sounds logical and likeable. Maybe it’s even in my best interest. So to help my students (and myself), I rewrote them for today’s reader and added a prayer to each in italics. I’m soaking in them, which usually results in an organic, natural sort of obedience. Here are a few of my faves below:

I don’t think better of myself because of some outward circumstance that happens to me.
         I’m grateful to you, but I understand that I didn’t earn this.

Humility is not about criticizing myself, but about being realistic about myself.
         I have blind spots, and You and I are working on them.
          And there are many You have not yet revealed to me.

It’s OK that others are realistic about my faults.
          Others can see my blind spots--more easily than I do!

Doing good things in secret where no one else can see what I do is an adventure in being with God.
          As I do those things, I will be grateful to partner with You. This can be fun!

When praise is given to me, I will rejoice that God is blessed.
          I am grateful to You that You use me well. I want You to be glorified most of all.

When I am slighted or undervalued, I will accept it instead of harboring resentment.
          I look only to You for love and value. I am learning to be content with whatever I have.

Listening to little whispers of pride about how well I’m doing will trip me up.
          I will stay preoccupied with You, O God.

I will enjoy actively praising others.
          It’s fun to see how well You work through people!

I can be content when others do well (even if I don’t).
          The goal is that You are praised, that the Kingdom is manifested and advanced.

I will stop comparing myself with others.
          Comparisons and judgments are silly and irrelevant.
          Only You know all the facts. I’m not omniscient so I don’t judge.

Confessing sin straightforwardly keeps me from harboring blind spots and playing games with deceit.
          Help me always to speak forth my mistaken words, actions and motives.

I can be thankful for weaknesses, faults and imperfections because they help me see that we are all human.
          My mistakes make me so much more merciful to others!

Exposing others’ weaknesses is not caring. And I don’t need to congratulate myself when I do things better than others.
          It’s not my role, O God, to point out others’ shortcomings.
          Besides the fact that I could be wrong, I’m judging and condemning,
          which is something only You do well.

Surrender to God involves enduring whatever comes, being content in any state and being ready for every change.
          The only way I can fully surrender is to lean on You every moment.
          Then I can persevere, return to a state of contentment,
          and be flexible as the way ahead curves.

Living this way is easier and simpler. I stop sweating what other people think. I live to an Audience of One.

Grace and peace,
Jan Johnson,
www.JanJohnson.org

Radical or just plain Real?

"Live a life of steady goodness," from James 3:13.

"Daily discipleship is not a new revolution each morning or an agent of global transformation every evening; it's a long obedience in the same direction."  Matt Pease

It's a tension, am I to go about trying to manufacture the "radical Christian life," or am I to live radically in whatever state God puts me in?  He's a God of the ordinary and mundane as well as the the extraordinary.

Thoughts to consider:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/march/here-come-radicals.html?paging=off

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/glory-plodding 

Reading

Joyce Carol Oates, "Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul."

I love to read but this is probably why I don't get around to blogging much...between reading, knitting/crocheting, gardening and "life happenings..."  it just doesn't seem to happen.

Eugene H. Peterson explains in Eat this Book, "Reading is an immense gift, but only if the words are assimilated, taken into the soul -- eaten, chewed, gnawed, received in unhurried delight."  My healthy eating plan would be going a lot better too....if I did more "chewing on words" than on food.

God and the Garden

A kiss of the sun for pardon,
 A song of the birds for mirth.
 One is nearer God’s heart in a garden 
than anywhere else on earth.

Prayer of St. Fursey

A Prayer of St. Fursey 7th Century - died 650AD

“The arms of God be around my shoulders,
The touch of the Holy Spirit upon my head,
The sign of Christ’s cross upon my forehead,
The sound of the Holy Spirit in my ears,
The fragrance of the Holy Spirit in my nostrils,
The vision of heaven’s company in my eyes,
The conversation of heaven’s company on my lips,
The work of God’s church with my hands,
The service of God and my neighbour in my feet,
And a home for God in my heart,
And to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit my entire being.
Amen.”

Holy Ravenousness

 At its simplest, gluttony is the soul’s addiction to excess.

The more we drink deeply of the endless love of an infinite God, the more our tastes will be changed. The deep bright marrow of grace will drip down into the restless souls of the ever-hungry. 

Psalm 34:8 challenges us to see the difference for ourselves: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” I think Paul understood this verse when he told the people at Lystra that God gives food and gladness so that our hearts would turn from vain things and turn to the ultimate satisfaction of who God is (Acts 14:15-17).

Feasting on God is as foreign to most Americans as an empty stomach. 

Quotes from article in Relevant:  http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/socially-acceptable-sin
By Jason Todd April 24, 2013

OUCH!  Lord give me a holy ravenousness for you and Your kingdom.

Quote from 19th century architect William Morris:
“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

 (freedigitalphotos.net)

Boy, do I have a long way to go and progress has currently been nonexistent....but I long to get there.  One of these days.....

 I want this to describe me:

 "a poor broken shell, washed up by his love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to him that if he will put his ear to me, he will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of his own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at his feet for ever." Charles H. Spurgeon

(2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

 

COURAGE doesn't  always roar, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."  (Unk)

I don't know where the past 6 weeks has gone.  I've been in a bit of a funk lately.  Had so much I wanted to accomplish this spring and have made little progress.  But, tomorrow is another day, though we're not guaranteed it, so I will do something today, though I cannot do everything I'd like to do.  That is progress...not perfection.

Okay, I'm listening.....

“I think God wants us to be whole, too, but maybe sometimes the only way he can make us whole is to teach us things we can learn only by being not whole. “

Madeleine L’Engle Irrational Season

“I had gorged myself on all the products of the Christian industrial complex but was spiritually starving to death. I was marked by an overconsumption but malnourished spiritually, suffocated by Christianity but thirsty for God.”  Jen Hatmaker, Interrupted

May God be your greatest distraction.  Karen Spears Zacharis, blog 2/29/13

 I'm pondering:

How Institutionalism Inhibits our Expectation of the Supernatural

February 18, 2013
S. Michael Craven

---

By reducing our conceptions of the church to an institution or organization to be managed, there often follows a decreased expectation of the supernatural in the affairs and activities of the church and, by extension, the individual Christian. Rather than seeking results beyond our human schemes and expectations, we find ourselves managing the church as an enterprise in which results can be forecast and progress measured using metrics common to modern business. The watchword becomes “measurable results,” without which an activity is deemed unworthy of pursuit or, if implemented, unsuccessful. Lost is the concept of faithfulness to our Lord and the principles of his kingdom, which may not always yield success in terms visible to us.

This, I think, is why “making disciples” is often exchanged for proselytism—because conversions are more easily measured than spiritual growth. The result can be evangelistic efforts and campaigns that are aimed at obtaining professions of faith, which as we now know are often nothing more than assent to a set of ideological propositions. This might explain why seventy-seven percent of American adults claim to be Christian and yet a mere four percent agree with the most basic tenets of the Christian faith. In the absence of true spiritual growth—in which our conceptions of reality are informed by Scripture—we can remain immature in our understanding and practice of the Christian faith.

Additionally, conversion through mere intellectual assent may remain devoid of real spiritual transformation. In the absence of an incarnational experience, one is left with an understanding of being Christian as merely following a set of do’s and don’ts—a life of self-reliant sin management. The unhealthy institutionalization of the church only reinforces this false notion, thus perpetuating a false understanding of what it truly means to follow Jesus.

Lastly, institutionalization has a dramatic impact on our expectations of the office of pastor. Instead of shepherd, the pastor is expected to function as the CEO—the person primarily responsible for the so-called success of the organization. As a shepherd, the pastor is devoted to the spiritual well-being and maturity of the flock. This is an activity beyond the scope of measurable metrics. In contrast to task-oriented church leaders, the pastor who shepherds a faith community through the competent exposition of the Scripture in a spirit of self-sacrificial service to those entrusted to his care leads a flock that thrives.

Sadly, the institutional mind-set has little patience for such pastors who invest more in the spiritual growth of their people rather than the numerical growth of the congregation. This might explain why only one out of ten men who enter the pastorate today will survive until retirement. This is an appalling statistic that reveals unhealthy expectations, which when unmet result in the pastor being kicked to the curb. I can’t imagine Jesus treating people the way we frequently treat those who have been called to preach the gospel!

© 2013 by S. Michael Craven
http://www.battlefortruth.org/How_Institutionalism_Inhibits_our_Expectation_of_the_Supernatural.asp?

Prayer

I went to a local cooking class today based on some recipes from this book.  Fun, Fun, fun and the food was delicious!  I may have to check out her other books from the library.

(http://www.amazon.com/The-Pioneer-Woman-Cooks-Accidental/dp/0061658197/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358194480&sr=8-3&keywords=ree+drummond)

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with reality TV, cheesy romance novels, and decorating our homes with trinkets—when we could watch great films, read great books, old and new, that accurately describe the human condition and cause us to examine our lives; and feast our eyes on works of art that point to a greater beauty and Truth."  http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/21160 

What a great quote!

 Where have I a been these past few months?  Well, reading (LOL), baking, holidays, life, etc.  Stuff just happens.