Just another day . . .

I was talking with Brant yesterday about being ordinary (common) and how the world seems to say you have to be extraordinary to really be a success. The world seems to hold in high esteem those who excel in some area or profession.  I don’t know that there’s anything wrong with wanting to be extraordinary but I wonder if we don’t set ourselves up for failure and in so doing miss a higher purpose.

I’ve never considered myself to be extraordinary at anything.  In fact I’m about as ordinary as they come.  But I’ve always strived to do my best because whatever I do, I do unto the Lord.  I no longer feel the need to be extraordinary but to be the best ordinary that I can be; depending on Him to make that happen.  Because ultimately it’s Him I want to please . . . not the world.  And isn’t that what makes us holy.

My reading this morning talked about holy, in regards to holy matrimony – being set apart for a higher purpose, not common (ordinary) or every day, but special and unique.  (Love Dare/Heb 13:4) This is how we should see our spouses and perhaps even one another because this is how our God sees us because of Jesus.  It’s His love for us that makes each of us extraordinary and that’s more than enough for me.

A morning muse on freedom

I started this morning reading the Love Dare devotional and came across the verse from 1 Peter - Yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.  (1 Peter 2:16)
I started thinking about and looking at liberty/freedom and read the following:
True liberty is living as we should not as we please.
"Free in yourselves, free in your conscience, free in your mind and heart.”  Spurgeon

I then read from a book by Frances Chan about Ester Ann Kim – a woman who was imprisoned for her faith and knowing she would be imprisoned, how she prepared herself and how God used her to be a light in such darkness.  This sentence really spoke to me:
“Her obedience to Christ only increased her ability to hear the voice of the Spirit, and consequently filled her with overwhelming love for the people she came in contact with.”

And then, in the quiet, I thought:  We have been set free to obey – and it’s a gift, not something we earn.  Thinking about the dogs and having them on a leash or not.  Bob’s desire to please, because he craves attention, has earned him the privilege of not always having to wear a leash.  He has learned to come when called (which keeps him out of trouble).  Autumn, on the other hand, wants to do what she wants to do, which sometimes causes her to run off and because of that, we usually keep her on a leash.  Shadow, because of his compliant nature, always stays close and comes when called and never has to be leashed.

God has set the standard whereby we can be free and has provided the means to real freedom, through the cross and through His indwelling Spirit.  The cross set us free from the leash and His Spirit guides us as we learn how to walk in true freedom.  It’s a day by day journey, but one we do not walk alone as we listen for His voice.

a morning muse

If God’s part were to scope up all the sand along the shore of a beach and to carry it – then my part would be to pick up one small tiny grain of sand and hold it in my hand . . . and even in this I would need His help . . . And He would carry me too.

Brave and fearless

"He wants those who belong to Him to be brave and fearless."  was a quote I read this morning.

Father, when I hear those words, that description “brave and fearless” I don’t know that they could apply to me.  I often times feel so weak and fearful – where I want to run and hide myself in You . . . to just lean against You and breathe.  I’m just an ordinary person, who believes in and trust in an extraordinary God. . . that when the time comes that I need to be brave and fearless, You will provide the strength necessary to accomplish Your purposes in and for me.  Until then, I’ll remain a caterpillar waiting to get my wings and learn to fly.  Or maybe I am learning to fly, but just don’t know it.  Either way, Father, I’m relying on You.

In the quiet

As I sit here this morning, in my quiet time with the Lord, I feel such a peace.  Percy’s sleeping in a chair next to me, the three amigos are cuddled up on the floor surrounding my chair, I can feel the warmth from the gas heater at my back, the rain is gently falling outside, Brant’s dozing in the other room or on his cell phone – I haven’t a care in the world, at least for the moment.  No doubt about it, I am blessed!

A memory of His grace

"When we acknowledge that our hearts are deceitful and our lives are full of weakness, stubbornness, ingratitude and foolishness we discover to our surprise that in Christ none of these can separate us from the love of God.  In those moments Jesus becomes more precious to us." (John Newton)

        I recently had a conversation with a dear friend regarding addictions and was sharing how I had once be addicted to cigarettes and how God had literally delivered me from it.  I had struggled with it for years and tried numerous “cures”, including prayer, but nothing had ever taken the cravings away. 

I recalled how I had heard a Christian speaker talk about people who quit smoking – and how some people quit just by their own will power, their own internal fortitude – something I found myself to be lacking in.  But at the same time when I realized I couldn't it opened the door so that He could.  Something in me changed and I was no longer bound by the shame I felt in being addicted.

I came to a point where I knew He could (and would) deliver me.  He used the prayers of another but I know it was only the means through which He worked.  I was surprised at how easy it was to let it go and I have been free for about twenty years now.

The quote from Newton just resonated with me of how amazing the love of God is and how dependent we are upon it and how dependable it is towards us and that we rest in His righteousness, not our own.

Out of darkness into light

Sitting here in the quiet stillness I see the moon in all its fullness peeking through the tress one moment and hiding behind them the next - but knowing it’s always there.  Remembering a time long ago, a traveler in the dark, the long and lonely back roads and the moon’s presence keeping company on the way home.  Knowing that I was not alone, am never alone because Your light has driven out my darkness and that You will guide me home.