Ok, so I've had this idea floating around in my head since I was in Miami visiting my cousin Jon in October. He enjoys watching Two & a Half Men...Not really my kind of show but it can be mildly amusing at times. Anyway, one of the episodes we watched had Charlie getting the family, including Berta, to go to church with his girl of the week. So they're singing a hymn, I think its "Bringing in tthe Sheaves", and Berta keeps eyeing Charlie while she's singing. When he asks why, she replies that she's waiting to see him burst into flames or be struck by lightening...
Upon seeing and hearing that, I was reminded of the many people I've recently heard say things along that line. You know who I mean, you have that friend (or friends) who say that the place will burn down or lightening will strike if they cross the threshold of the Lord's sanctuary. My heart sinks when I hear that, and my first thought is GRACE! When we think we've gone too far, so far that we can never return, that is when Grace means the most. Our Father doesn't play around! He offers us in unconditional love and forgiveness, all we have to do is turn to Him. Bursting into flames, lightening, whatever phrasing you want to use, doesn't happen. What happens is an outpouring of GRACE!
Luke 15 discusses a few parables that are quite appropriate to this topic. Luke 15:4-7 speaks of the Lost Sheep. The shepherd goes out searching for his one sheep. The other 99 are safe in his fold and yet he turns around; after a hard day most likely, hungry & tired, and goes back out actively searching for the one who is lost. When it is found, the shepherd lays it across his shoulders, carries it home and there is much rejoicing. Verse 7 is the kicker here: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over the ninety-nine just persons, which need no repentance." (Also of note...If you just scoffed to yourself that obviously you belong with the 99 righteous, humble yourself in the sight of your Lord and seek His grace.) If you need further food for thought on coming back to the fold or the farm after falling into the trap of the world, may I gently *nudge nudge* remind you of the prodigal son...Also found in Luke 15 -- You can go read that one on your own :-)
Christmas marks the time when Our Lord began to put His ultimate sacrifice plan into action, leaving heaven and becoming a baby. Our God, came down helpless and dependant. In order so that we would have a mediator, a covering veil when we go before the ultimate Judge. If you or someone you know is afraid of inviting the fire or lightening bolt, now is a most opportune time to reassert the message of God's grace and compassion as we celebrate the gift of His son, Jesus Christ.
May the Peace of our Lord be with you and yours as you celebrate this holy Christmas season!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Love Letter? For Me? From Whom!?!
Up at the Farm...In the kitchen....Stuck on the side of a window by the stove...A yellow sticky note flutters...It is a quick note from my Father to my Mom that says, 'I love you, alot'. (That's not verbatim I don't think, but you get the idea.)
Upstairs...In my room...In a box...I have a few cards, letters, photos. Each one says 'I love you' in its own way...Some are from old beaus, some are from friends, many are from family. Words from others letting me know they care...
In my humble opinion the written word is a beautiful thing. There is nothing quite like getting a handwritten letter in the mail. They say actions speak louder than words...sure I can go with that. But isn't it also nice to read them later over and over again?
Luckily our Lord knew what we need. We have the written word, The Bible. In each page He shows us a little more of Himself. And isn't that what love is, sharing yourself with someone else? Opening up and risking rejection? Putting someone else before yourself?
He already made the sacrifice, and yet look around you...At the world around you...Created for you. Fall is probably my favorite time of year. Every tree is unique, every changing leaf is a word in a letter saying over and over "I love you".
Upstairs...In my room...In a box...I have a few cards, letters, photos. Each one says 'I love you' in its own way...Some are from old beaus, some are from friends, many are from family. Words from others letting me know they care...
In my humble opinion the written word is a beautiful thing. There is nothing quite like getting a handwritten letter in the mail. They say actions speak louder than words...sure I can go with that. But isn't it also nice to read them later over and over again?
Luckily our Lord knew what we need. We have the written word, The Bible. In each page He shows us a little more of Himself. And isn't that what love is, sharing yourself with someone else? Opening up and risking rejection? Putting someone else before yourself?
He already made the sacrifice, and yet look around you...At the world around you...Created for you. Fall is probably my favorite time of year. Every tree is unique, every changing leaf is a word in a letter saying over and over "I love you".
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Long time coming...
Good Grief! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to write another entry here. Real life has gotten in the way, LOL. I had a great idea earlier today that I wanted to share, however I neglected to write it down, or put it into the sticky widget on my phone. So hopefully it'll come again. In the mean time I am working through an inspired Love Letter piece that will go up this week, possibly even tomorrow. So for lack of a better topic let's touch briefly on technology.
I spent the weekend at my parent's last weekend and since it's up in the mountains, cell phone signal is hard to come by. It made me think about just how attached to our text/email/twitter/facebook updates we are. And unfortunately as our society has gotten more social, we've gotten less personal. You know how it goes, logging on instead of picking up the phone. We're all guilty. Making small talk instead of asking and addressing the inportant questions. (That brings up issues with online dating, but I'll save that for another time...)
Did you know? I have over 200 friends on Facebook? 200!! Granted, I could probably name a lot of them and where I know them from...But if you asked me for more detail about their lives I'd be hard pressed to find correct answers. I admit, I love Facebook. It allows me to easily "connect" with cousins I barely see and friends who live farther away. It's great to share pictures and see what everyone is up to. But with all of the online connection, I feel that in many ways I've lost some of my ability to connect with someone in person. Oh sure I work in an office full of people, and I totally enjoy moments playing with my nieces and nephews. But when it comes to making an effort with someone new I lose a bit of my intuition. I've never been a fan of small talk, in a lot of ways I feel it's a waste of air. However it is a nicety that one endures, especially when meeting someone new...You don't just jump in with the heavy questions, you start small and work your way up.
Take it a step further, instead of meeting someone new, let's turn the search on ourselves. When was the last time you thought about your beliefs, your dreams, your favorite color? Ok, so the color is probably the snowflake on the iceberg, you thought of it immediately. Blue? Purple? Yeh totally. Beliefs are a bit tougher, Christian? Spirtual but not religious? Jew? Messianic Jew? Muslim? Undecided? And when you think of beliefs is it something you yourself own or is it something that you inherited from your family? How deep are those beliefs? Do you vote according to them? Shop according to them? Live according to them? Date according to them? Raise your kids to follow them?
(Dangit I think I just grabbed a flash of my idea from earlier, hold on I'm putting it in my sticky. Phew, glad that wasn't gone for good :-D) Back to the current thought stream...Hopefully some of this is making sense!
Beliefs, if someone asked you right now what you believed what would you say? Lead off with the Apostles' Creed? John 3:16? A Hebrew passage? Something from the Koran? (I'm not as familiar with what those statements might be outside Christianity, sorry...) As I said I was up at the farm last weekend. After church on Sunday we went back to the farm for lunch and a couple, who are good friends, joined us. It was a wonderful time. After lunch the conversation turned to end times, Revelation, Incan Calendar and all those sorts of things. I will admit, I am not into the end times and trying to figure it all out. Scripture seems to say clearly (to me anyway) that no one will know the day or time. Not even the Son will know, so how can all these scholars claim too. I think it's another one of those moments where God laughs heartily and shakes His head (Much like when I told him at age 12 that I would be married by age 25 and have 5 kids by the time I was 40, all boys mind you...He does have a wild sense of humor...) The gentleman we were eating with made the comment in the course of the discussion on persecution that he would have no problem standing for his beliefs even if his life were at stake, HOWEVER if you held the gun to his wife's head he would definitely have to hesitate. She in turn gave him permission to shout it from the rooftops regardless of danger to her. An interesting, loving pair they are and so much fun!
She and I wound up sitting on our side of the table watching most of the discussion like a tennis match, heads turning and everything. On the side we basically made an agreement: Jesus is our Lord and Savior, He died to save us, and rose again on the 3rd day. He's not interested in whether we figure out (Haha) when He's 'coming again'. He's interested in whether we are living our lives secure in the knowledge that He is. Regardless what form the end times takes, the Beast, literally or metaphorically, will the pale rider actually make an appearance? His concerrn is for His people. He wants us to be hot for him, not tepid or cold...HOT! (This feeds a bit into my next entry...)
Whatever your beliefs today, are you living them out? If not, what's the point?
I spent the weekend at my parent's last weekend and since it's up in the mountains, cell phone signal is hard to come by. It made me think about just how attached to our text/email/twitter/facebook updates we are. And unfortunately as our society has gotten more social, we've gotten less personal. You know how it goes, logging on instead of picking up the phone. We're all guilty. Making small talk instead of asking and addressing the inportant questions. (That brings up issues with online dating, but I'll save that for another time...)
Did you know? I have over 200 friends on Facebook? 200!! Granted, I could probably name a lot of them and where I know them from...But if you asked me for more detail about their lives I'd be hard pressed to find correct answers. I admit, I love Facebook. It allows me to easily "connect" with cousins I barely see and friends who live farther away. It's great to share pictures and see what everyone is up to. But with all of the online connection, I feel that in many ways I've lost some of my ability to connect with someone in person. Oh sure I work in an office full of people, and I totally enjoy moments playing with my nieces and nephews. But when it comes to making an effort with someone new I lose a bit of my intuition. I've never been a fan of small talk, in a lot of ways I feel it's a waste of air. However it is a nicety that one endures, especially when meeting someone new...You don't just jump in with the heavy questions, you start small and work your way up.
Take it a step further, instead of meeting someone new, let's turn the search on ourselves. When was the last time you thought about your beliefs, your dreams, your favorite color? Ok, so the color is probably the snowflake on the iceberg, you thought of it immediately. Blue? Purple? Yeh totally. Beliefs are a bit tougher, Christian? Spirtual but not religious? Jew? Messianic Jew? Muslim? Undecided? And when you think of beliefs is it something you yourself own or is it something that you inherited from your family? How deep are those beliefs? Do you vote according to them? Shop according to them? Live according to them? Date according to them? Raise your kids to follow them?
(Dangit I think I just grabbed a flash of my idea from earlier, hold on I'm putting it in my sticky. Phew, glad that wasn't gone for good :-D) Back to the current thought stream...Hopefully some of this is making sense!
Beliefs, if someone asked you right now what you believed what would you say? Lead off with the Apostles' Creed? John 3:16? A Hebrew passage? Something from the Koran? (I'm not as familiar with what those statements might be outside Christianity, sorry...) As I said I was up at the farm last weekend. After church on Sunday we went back to the farm for lunch and a couple, who are good friends, joined us. It was a wonderful time. After lunch the conversation turned to end times, Revelation, Incan Calendar and all those sorts of things. I will admit, I am not into the end times and trying to figure it all out. Scripture seems to say clearly (to me anyway) that no one will know the day or time. Not even the Son will know, so how can all these scholars claim too. I think it's another one of those moments where God laughs heartily and shakes His head (Much like when I told him at age 12 that I would be married by age 25 and have 5 kids by the time I was 40, all boys mind you...He does have a wild sense of humor...) The gentleman we were eating with made the comment in the course of the discussion on persecution that he would have no problem standing for his beliefs even if his life were at stake, HOWEVER if you held the gun to his wife's head he would definitely have to hesitate. She in turn gave him permission to shout it from the rooftops regardless of danger to her. An interesting, loving pair they are and so much fun!
She and I wound up sitting on our side of the table watching most of the discussion like a tennis match, heads turning and everything. On the side we basically made an agreement: Jesus is our Lord and Savior, He died to save us, and rose again on the 3rd day. He's not interested in whether we figure out (Haha) when He's 'coming again'. He's interested in whether we are living our lives secure in the knowledge that He is. Regardless what form the end times takes, the Beast, literally or metaphorically, will the pale rider actually make an appearance? His concerrn is for His people. He wants us to be hot for him, not tepid or cold...HOT! (This feeds a bit into my next entry...)
Whatever your beliefs today, are you living them out? If not, what's the point?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Platter Philosophy
Ok, so I've talked to a few people recently discussing my 'platter philosophy'. Since it's part of the basis for starting this blogging thing I should probably enlighten the rest of you! :-)
Picture this, it's dinner time and you're at the local buffet. Your choice, Golden Corral, Ponderosa, Sizzler, ok I'm showing my age. Pick your buffet, grab a plate and wait. Wait for what you ask? Well many singles stand in front of the buffet and wait for a DATE! Specifically the "love of their life". (Swoon...)While you wait, you are bored, not to mention starving! GO! Get in there. Your plate is your life! Take a scoop of hobbies, take a scoop (or three) of church, fellowship, friends, family, how about camping, hiking and sports. Fill your plate!! Don't like those candied sweet potatoes, eh switch it out for plain mashed. Who knows, while you're up there you might bump into a meat and potatoes guy! Haha, just my type. My point is, you can't wait around for someone else to fill your life. At the very least you have to let the server know what you want. And if your plate is empty, there's nothing to share with someone else. And we all know that it's no fun to just give your food away, sharing is much more fun!
Picture this, it's dinner time and you're at the local buffet. Your choice, Golden Corral, Ponderosa, Sizzler, ok I'm showing my age. Pick your buffet, grab a plate and wait. Wait for what you ask? Well many singles stand in front of the buffet and wait for a DATE! Specifically the "love of their life". (Swoon...)While you wait, you are bored, not to mention starving! GO! Get in there. Your plate is your life! Take a scoop of hobbies, take a scoop (or three) of church, fellowship, friends, family, how about camping, hiking and sports. Fill your plate!! Don't like those candied sweet potatoes, eh switch it out for plain mashed. Who knows, while you're up there you might bump into a meat and potatoes guy! Haha, just my type. My point is, you can't wait around for someone else to fill your life. At the very least you have to let the server know what you want. And if your plate is empty, there's nothing to share with someone else. And we all know that it's no fun to just give your food away, sharing is much more fun!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A virtuous wife...But I'm SINGLE!
Ever since I started reading the Bible I have always been mesmerized with the last part of Proverbs 31, often referred to as the Virtuous Wife passage. If you are unfamiliar with this passage in scripture, I encourage you to look it up and study on it. Funny, I was absolutely sure when I started Single Serving that my first post needed to be on this topic and this passage specifically. For three different reasons.
First, I want to be a virtuous wife, and if they're gonna spell it out in plain KJV english for me; then dang it I want to know it backward and forward so that (as Dolly Levi says) I have what it takes to be a 'credit' to my future husband. Long and short of it, a virtuous wife takes care of her family (she looketh well to the ways of her household) and honors her husband (she will do him good not evil all the days of her life). She is not lazy (she gets up before the sun), nor does she wait for things to come (she sees a field, buys it and creates a vineyard). Nay, instead she makes things happen. She is compassionate, giving to the poor and less fortunate. She is wise and kind with her words. Her worth is beyond rubies...and they are expensive!!
Second, this passage also tells me a bit about the man I should be on the lookout for. Not much is said in this passage about the virtuous wife's husband, but a few things are there. He trusts her, so he does not worry about spoil or evil in his household. He is known at the gates, that means he is probably a pillar of society, someone respected among his elders as well as his peers. He praises her, he doesn't speak down to her, he builds her up.
And third, what does it mean to me as a thirty something single attempting to navigate the dating game and still maintain a healthy balance in my life. Married or Single, our main purpose is to honor and glorify God. If He has given this outline on how to be a virtuous wife how much moreso do I want to follow this guide being the Bride of Christ. I struggle daily with taking the time to read my Bible and pray. I'm shocked if I can manage to settle down quietly for two days straight in prayer and study. I know this is not good, but at the same time I know that He knows I'm trying, or that I'm getting lazy and need a kick in the pants.
First, I want to be a virtuous wife, and if they're gonna spell it out in plain KJV english for me; then dang it I want to know it backward and forward so that (as Dolly Levi says) I have what it takes to be a 'credit' to my future husband. Long and short of it, a virtuous wife takes care of her family (she looketh well to the ways of her household) and honors her husband (she will do him good not evil all the days of her life). She is not lazy (she gets up before the sun), nor does she wait for things to come (she sees a field, buys it and creates a vineyard). Nay, instead she makes things happen. She is compassionate, giving to the poor and less fortunate. She is wise and kind with her words. Her worth is beyond rubies...and they are expensive!!
Second, this passage also tells me a bit about the man I should be on the lookout for. Not much is said in this passage about the virtuous wife's husband, but a few things are there. He trusts her, so he does not worry about spoil or evil in his household. He is known at the gates, that means he is probably a pillar of society, someone respected among his elders as well as his peers. He praises her, he doesn't speak down to her, he builds her up.
And third, what does it mean to me as a thirty something single attempting to navigate the dating game and still maintain a healthy balance in my life. Married or Single, our main purpose is to honor and glorify God. If He has given this outline on how to be a virtuous wife how much moreso do I want to follow this guide being the Bride of Christ. I struggle daily with taking the time to read my Bible and pray. I'm shocked if I can manage to settle down quietly for two days straight in prayer and study. I know this is not good, but at the same time I know that He knows I'm trying, or that I'm getting lazy and need a kick in the pants.
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