Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Here is a prayer for our children by Mike Shreve : "The death dealing elements of this world will not destroy our children. According to his promise, he will circumcised their hearts - cutting away the influence of the world -and awaken within them love for him and .LOVE for the truth. YES,I. claim it. He will pour out both his blessing and his Spirit on my seed."
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Spring Muslings 2013
Well, it is Summer, 2013. Not officially for a couple more weeks, but the cicaidas are singing in New England; the trees are in bloom, shedding pollen everywhere; and my cats are shedding. Everywhere. : )
A year ago this week I had my second hip replacement!! Cannot believe its been a year! In April, 2013 I had successful major eye surgery (my 38th) and am thankful for doctors, family and friends who helped me get through. The Lord is for me through those who help me.(Ps. 118: 7). Hopefully, it will be many years before I need any more surgery. My knees would like to be replaced, but we are not going to entertain that idea unless many other options are a no-go.
While Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons, I still like Summer. Here in the KY/Ohio region we have lots of humidity all summer, but with air conditioning almost everywhere, no one really minds. The temps have been cool this Spring, and with a fair amount of rain. So everything is greening up nicely. I just potted plants for my screened in porch which gets late afternoon sun. I hope that the plants take to the new pots alright. Unpredictable. Just like people. They do not always transplant well. My mom is struggling with being in the Nursing Center of her retirement
community, and longs to go home...to Heaven mostly, I imagine. You may be struggling with a transplant situation too.
In a way, our life here is a transplant situation after we are regenerated by the Lord Jesus. He moves us out of the Garden of Darkness into the Garden of Light and Love. Grace and truth become the two major nutrients that keep us going, much as sun and rain keep the plants going. With too much of one or the other, things go awry.
With too much truth and not enough grace, our garden begins to look like a huge bonsai factory. All that pruning has left little growth potential, and things begin to feel stunted. Too much grace, on the other hand, and everything gets wild and leggy, with lots of leaf and little fruit.
It seems that so few voices are speaking about a balance in this area. I do want to commend the team at my church Crossroads Community Church, headed by our pastor Brian Tome for the recent balance of grace and truth in the series called " Good Sex" . It is the best series for adults I have ever seen. You can download it by going to www.crossroads.net/media. I highly recommend it for parents of teens and college age students. Watch together and discuss. You will not be disappointed.
Our society is so grace oriented that anything goes. We are so open-minded I think our collective brains are falling out. Whether it is in politics or social issues or economics, we are running full tilt into the Windmills of Reality with no more sense than the Man from La Mancha.
Yet some in the community can be so strident and harsh and judgmental, that no one can hear what they are saying because of the tone. There is anger born of fear that seems to rule some people and their approach to the day's issues. If you disagree with a certain view,you are automatically a bigot. If you question something, you must be an infidel. If you want more information, you are a doubter. What has happened to tolerance? Tolerance used to be a good word. It meant 'live and let live'. It was a willingness to allow others to disagree agreeably; to not all have the same views; to have real dialogue in our democracy. We have lost that somewhere. Whether right or left, conservative or liberal, gay or straight, old or young the divisions seem more important than the things we have in common. Freedom has become license; guidance has become legalism; truth has been traded for relativism, and bondage has been substituted for discipline. Grace and acceptance of all sides has been neglected in favor of pushing our own agendas. God help us. I do not know anyone else who can.
So what about you? Have you or your ideas been transplanted lately? Do they need re-potting? Do you need some grace? or truth? or a bit of bot-h? Are you giving grace with truth and truth with grace? How's your tone? Can you listen dispassionately to someone you disagree with?
Jesus says we can come to him when we are weary of our own ways and tired of ourselves and our own thoughts. His ways are not ours. Thank Goodness. So come to him today. Let him point out the weeds, the dry spots, the sections of mold. Let him be the Re-Potter. He knows just what you need.
A year ago this week I had my second hip replacement!! Cannot believe its been a year! In April, 2013 I had successful major eye surgery (my 38th) and am thankful for doctors, family and friends who helped me get through. The Lord is for me through those who help me.(Ps. 118: 7). Hopefully, it will be many years before I need any more surgery. My knees would like to be replaced, but we are not going to entertain that idea unless many other options are a no-go.
While Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons, I still like Summer. Here in the KY/Ohio region we have lots of humidity all summer, but with air conditioning almost everywhere, no one really minds. The temps have been cool this Spring, and with a fair amount of rain. So everything is greening up nicely. I just potted plants for my screened in porch which gets late afternoon sun. I hope that the plants take to the new pots alright. Unpredictable. Just like people. They do not always transplant well. My mom is struggling with being in the Nursing Center of her retirement
community, and longs to go home...to Heaven mostly, I imagine. You may be struggling with a transplant situation too.
In a way, our life here is a transplant situation after we are regenerated by the Lord Jesus. He moves us out of the Garden of Darkness into the Garden of Light and Love. Grace and truth become the two major nutrients that keep us going, much as sun and rain keep the plants going. With too much of one or the other, things go awry.
With too much truth and not enough grace, our garden begins to look like a huge bonsai factory. All that pruning has left little growth potential, and things begin to feel stunted. Too much grace, on the other hand, and everything gets wild and leggy, with lots of leaf and little fruit.
It seems that so few voices are speaking about a balance in this area. I do want to commend the team at my church Crossroads Community Church, headed by our pastor Brian Tome for the recent balance of grace and truth in the series called " Good Sex" . It is the best series for adults I have ever seen. You can download it by going to www.crossroads.net/media. I highly recommend it for parents of teens and college age students. Watch together and discuss. You will not be disappointed.
Our society is so grace oriented that anything goes. We are so open-minded I think our collective brains are falling out. Whether it is in politics or social issues or economics, we are running full tilt into the Windmills of Reality with no more sense than the Man from La Mancha.
Yet some in the community can be so strident and harsh and judgmental, that no one can hear what they are saying because of the tone. There is anger born of fear that seems to rule some people and their approach to the day's issues. If you disagree with a certain view,you are automatically a bigot. If you question something, you must be an infidel. If you want more information, you are a doubter. What has happened to tolerance? Tolerance used to be a good word. It meant 'live and let live'. It was a willingness to allow others to disagree agreeably; to not all have the same views; to have real dialogue in our democracy. We have lost that somewhere. Whether right or left, conservative or liberal, gay or straight, old or young the divisions seem more important than the things we have in common. Freedom has become license; guidance has become legalism; truth has been traded for relativism, and bondage has been substituted for discipline. Grace and acceptance of all sides has been neglected in favor of pushing our own agendas. God help us. I do not know anyone else who can.
So what about you? Have you or your ideas been transplanted lately? Do they need re-potting? Do you need some grace? or truth? or a bit of bot-h? Are you giving grace with truth and truth with grace? How's your tone? Can you listen dispassionately to someone you disagree with?
Jesus says we can come to him when we are weary of our own ways and tired of ourselves and our own thoughts. His ways are not ours. Thank Goodness. So come to him today. Let him point out the weeds, the dry spots, the sections of mold. Let him be the Re-Potter. He knows just what you need.
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