The i's have it!

"And every kid will have matching sox that they can keep!"  Maurice announced. 

Our little church had taken our kids to a competitive event.  We were told the "official" uniform was a white  t-shirt and jeans.  When we arrived in our jeans and white  t-shirts, we were stunned and embarrassed.  Every other team had matching shirts and shorts. 

On the ride home, the adults planned for the next competition.  We had our eyes opened and we were not going to be innocent again.  Our kids would compete looking like a real team.  We told ourselves they would compete better when they looked better. Although, we took second place!

I've been meditating on Deuteronomy 27: 9-26 for a long time.  If you follow my blog posts you will note it has been three months.  I have been busy enjoying Life  by becoming a grandmother and preparing gifts for Christmas while concerned that I'm nearing the end of Deuteronomy and what will I study next?  It is so easy to slip into distraction and lose focus on the important tasks.  So I'm back with "another beginning"!

In Deuteronomy 27 Moses tells the people to be silent and listen.  If they are going to own the Promised Land they will need to live and act like God's people.  Half of the tribes stand on Mount Gerizim to repeat the blessings and half the tribes stand on Mount Ebal to repeat the curses.  All the people say "Amen" after each curse.

As I rewrote each curse in my journal, I noticed the common thread of the innocents being victimized.   The victims of the  "do nots" were blind, unaware and powerless.  This reminded me of Maurice and the other adults protecting our innocent little kids from future embarrassment.

I also noted that the curses were about very intimate matters.  Most of them dealt with sexual immorality in very specific relationships.

God wanted to impress upon the Israelites the importance of these commandments, these "do nots", so the people were instructed to say "Amen" (or in my own translation "so be it" or "I do") after each one.

These verses convince me that the "i's have it!"

Don't let idols distract me so I lose focus on following God into my Promised Land.

Don't take advantage of the ­innocent so I can prosper, even when I may be the only one who will know, God will know.

Don't be impure in the intimate matters in my life. Maybe I am the only one who knows but God does know my heart.

The "do nots" are really important, every single one of them.  It made me think of initialing every single line in a contract, time consuming as it would be I would read every line and decide I accepted each line.

Hallelujah, we have such a loving and forgiving God.  Even though I am again impressed with God's expectations for my life, including the "do nots", I can come back to Him daily and admit my distraction and loss of His priority in my life and begin again. I do want to follow God into the Promised Land He has destined for me.

Here I begin again, "Another Beginning"!

Learn like a dog

“Eyes, Nose, Ears.”  I had made this note while reading one of the Dog Whisperer books.  He says that’s how dogs learn, through their eyes, nose and ears.  Praise the dog every time he or she looks at you, so they will recognize the pack leader.  Dogs learn a lot about the environment and us through their noses–hence the intimate sniff-over strangers get upon arrival at my house.  Dogs need to learn to recognize the pack leader voice and her commands. (Wishful thinking on my part that as the human female I am the pack leader.  Those puppies recognized Dick as the alpha dog the minute he came home!)

I pondered these tips for successful dog education when I read Deuteronomy 27:1-8.  Moses and the elders commanded that the Israelites keep all the commands given by God.  To help them remember after they have crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, they are instructed to set up large stones, coat them with plaster and write the words of the law on them.  They are to build a stone altar, no iron tools used and use it to offer burnt offerings to God.  At that place, they are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, rejoicing in the presence of God.  They are to very clearly write the words of the law on these stones.

Perhaps we learn in a similar manner to my puppies.  To remember God’s expectations, I need to  hear them.  Occasionally I hear the audible voice but usually God “speaks” to me during my personal reading of the Bible.  When I read the scriptures I need to have my listening ears ready to hear.  Too often, I have to call Molly several times when she is playing with Mickey, to get her to listen to me alone.  I imagine God calls to me many times before I listen to Him and not to the distractions of the world.

I know I learn better when I have written down what I want to remember.  My desk and files at the office have cryptic notes with numbers, names and partial words.  Usually I know what they mean and they remind me to take action.  My bathroom mirror often has bits of scripture taped to it so I’ll focus on them beginning first thing and work that day to apply them to my daily life.

Finally, I do need to “Keep my nose to the grindstone” and conscientiously learn, review, apply and do what God has asks of me and expects of me.  Each day I want to incorporate my learning from God’s word into my whole day, not just five minutes first thing.  I think about what I’ve “heard” while brushing my teeth and driving the car.  I ponder how I can apply or use God’s word in my daily actions.  This takes effort and commitment on my part.  I need to be busy with my “nose” to the following God’s word “grindstone.”

“Ears, eyes, nose" that's how I learn to follow God!

I promise...

 

"...through all the varying experiences of our life..." The phrase from our marriage vows makes us giggle.  It was trendy when we spoke it so many years ago and several young couples have used it in their vows since.  Little did we know that it would be so descriptive.  Together we have see gain and loss, success and not so success, accomplishment, opportunity, lessons, parenthood, illness, joy and a whole lot of just plain fun.    Little did we know that we promised to live together through so many changes in a world where most people don't or aren't able to keep a commitment.

Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 made me think about promises.  In these verses, God asks the Israelites to promise that He is their God and to walk in His ways by keeping His commands.

I realized that I have made only a few promises in my life.  I was a Girl Scout for many years and promised to do my best to serve God and others.  I made a promise for life to my husband.  I am careful with my promises.  Life happens.  I'm human and fail to deliver occasionally.

In a world where promises and commitment are uncertain, these verses in Deuteronomy remind me that God always delivers.  He promised the Israelites that they would be His treasured possession and He would set them above all nations to be His people.  The Israelites who would have heard these verses for the first time were about to actually see the land of milk and honey, to be rich beyond anything they had known before and to become leaders instead of slaves.

These verses also remind me of the purpose of my promise, to fulfill my longing for belonging.  When I said the Girl Scout promise, I declared that I belonged to a troop and a worldwide network of other scouts. 

After nearly 40 years of marriage, there is no doubt that I belong with Dick Sipe for life.  Through all the varying experiences of my life, my longing for belonging has been satisfied with Dick.

God knows our heart and soul and knows that we long to belong to Him.  There is a void within each of us that only God fills.  He promises that we will be treasured. 

History and my personal experience with God affirms that God keeps His promise. He is faithful and dependable.   He asks that I keep my promise to Him to follow His ways.  I see no other way!

I'm a basket case

 

I'm a basket case. I love a particular brand of baskets.  I have more than I care to count.  Most have stuff in them but a few have not been filled with purpose, yet.

Deuteronomy 26: 1-15 reminded me it was time to fill my "basket."  The Israelites were told that when they had settled in the Promised land, they were to take some of the first fruits of the land and put them in a basket.  Then they were to take the basket to God's Name's dwelling place and declare to the priest:

My father was a wanderer and went to Egypt with a few people that grew to a great nation.  The Egyptians mistreated them and  made them suffer.  They cried out to God who heard our voice and saw our misery.  He brought us out with a mighty hand and outstretched arm with great terror and miracles and brought us to a land of milk and honey.  I bring this basket to God and bow before Him.  I rejoice, along with the Levites and aliens, in all the good things God has given me and my household.

In addition, every third year, the Israelites were to give to the Levites, aliens, orphans and widows so they could eat and be satisfied.  Then they were to  say:

I have removed from my house God's portion and given it to others; I have not turned aside from God's commands nor forgotten them;  Look down and  bless the people you gave the Promised Land.

Today I am reminded that I should regularly review what God has done in my life; share His gifts to me with others and renew my commitment to follow His ways.

B efore I was__________________

A nd God delivered me.

S ince then,      

K uz God loved me first, I share with others.

E ach day I obey God's commands.

T o God belongs my love and praise.

I have a very large, expensive basket which was a gift.  I haven't given it its purpose yet--it's empty.  Today I need to give it a purpose and fill it. 

Each day I need to fill a spiritual basket.  In this basket I put

my review of what God has done in my life;

how I will share my blessings with others, and

give thanks that God has given me life, an abundant life!

 
 



Don't forget to forget"

I turned to my traveling companions and said "I think I just shook hands with a piece of history!"  I was in a small home in Northern Thailand not far from the Burmese border.  A wrinkled elderly gentlemen had finished his testimony.  He wasn't speaking in English but even before the translator related his comments, I recognized his mention of Adoniram Judson.  He had said, "My grandfather was baptized by Adoniram Judson."

God called Adoniram Judson to be a missionary in Burma in the early 1800s in a time when most believers thought missions was a waste of time. Many years passed without a single convert. Judson served the Lord his whole life.  He suffered the loss of wives, children, friends and finance.  Perhaps his time on earth seemed a failure when measured by human standards.

Yet his faith in God and his faithfulness laid the foundation of missions as we know it today. Thousands have come to know salvation because of his persistence to share God's love with a few.  He has inspired hundreds to duplicate his call and go to other lands to live and tell of God's great love.

Today I am reminded that the fulfillment of God's plan has its own time schedule.  In Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 God tells the Israelites to remember the evil of the Amalekites, what they had done to them on the way out of Egypt and that the Amalekites had no fear of God.  The Israelites were to blot out the memory of the Amalekites.   God told them "Don't forget to forget them!"(That's a Jan Sipe translation!)

The evil of the Amalekites began well before the Israelites who heard these words were even born.  They were a generation removed from the exit from Egypt.   The Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim early in the journey to the Promised Land. (Exodus 17: 8-16) The Israelites defeated them but the victory came only when Moses kept his hands held up.  When his arms grew tired Aaron and Hur helped him sit and they held his arms up. That day they were instructed to write it down that the memory of the Amalekites would be blotted out!  Don't forget to forget them!

Generations later, Samuel told Saul (I Samuel 15) that it was time to punish the Amalekites for what they had done to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt.  Saul was not to spare any Amalekite human or animal.  He was to be the one to blot them out.  Yet he let Agag the king of the Amalekites live along with his best livestock.  He forgot to forget them and instead forgot what God said!

In our instant gratification mindset, it seems that fulfillment takes forever.  Yet these verses remind me that God has a plan with a completely different time frame.  I am reminded that I am to forget the obstacles along the journey but remember the victory and that the victory belongs to God.  I  may enjoy the fruits of the victory but God is the victor.  So my thought of "Don't forget to forget" means forget the effect of the obstacles, ignore the scars and don't live as a victim of the bumps along the journey.  Remember the victory, even when it has been a long time coming or perhaps is still yet to come, and that God is The Victor.  As Adoniram Judson was an ingredient in the fulfillment of God's plan to reach all people, so I am given the opportunity to be a part of God's plan.  Yet His timetable will be different from my desired timetable.

When I was a young girl facing life's slights and disappointments, my mother would ask me a question to keep these obstacles in perspective.  "In the span of eternity, just how important is this........?"  It may not have been the answer my young heart wanted to hear but the question eventually made me keep a balance to the power of disappointment.

My elderly Christian brother from Thailand will remind me that God has a  plan and I have a part in the plan if I so choose to follow God's call.  Adoniram Judson will remind me that I may not see the full fruit of my service but what I do is part of something much bigger than I could plan or imagine.  My  mom will also remind me not to think more of myself nor life's disappointments.  If God will insure that the Amalekites will get what they deserve, at just the right time,  He is certainly able to handle the obstacles in my lifetime.

Today I am reminded to trust The Plan, God's plan, and have patience, the victory is imminent.  I need to forget the obstacles in my journey and  refuse to live under their power.  I will remember that the victory is sure because God is in control, He is able and He has a plan!

Life's obstacles  present us with a choice- to allow the obstacles to form the path of our existence or to trust the One True God on the path of abundant life.  Don't forget to forget the obstacles.  Do remember that God is in control.

Remember me as The Sandaled

 



This is a photo of the organizer on the back of our bedroom door.  As you can see I have "a thing" for sandals.  I love to wear sandals.  My collection is smaller than usual.  Mickey, my young male dog, likes to eat them.  He is stealthy and quick to snap the strap so the sandal is no longer is functional.

Deuteronomy 25: 1-16 is a collection of curious instructions on crime and punishment, sharing your grain with the ox treading for you, a brother marrying his brother's widow, the improper method of rescuing your husband in a fight and using only one set of weights and measures.

These verses seem totally unrelated to each other and maybe to modern life.  Yet today they remind me of mercy, justice, fairness, honesty, integrity and my legacy.

Several years ago I attended the funeral of the father of a coworker.  After the grandchildren told stories of him and gave a compelling description of his character, I thought "Gee I wish I'd know him."

I frequently regale my son and my brother's daughters of stories of "MaMa", my mom and their grandmother to preserve her legacy.  I keep some of her possessions in the hope that her grandchildren will cherish these seemingly valueless objects to remind them of her character and personality.

In Deuteronomy 25: 5-10 God gives the instructions to brothers to marry their deceased brother's wife so the deceased brother will have a child to carry on his name and legacy.  God also gives the warning that failure to do so has consequences.  The consequence may not seem like punishment to us but in that culture to be known as "The Unsandaled" must have had quite a sting.

Today my sandal organizer will become a reminder to me to be merciful, to be just, to be fair, to be honest and have the reputation as a woman of integrity.  In today's world this goal can be a challenge.  Too many times in a week the thought of "this is not fair" crosses my mind.  God tells me to be fair in an unfair world.

My sandal organizer will be my reminder to build and protect my legacy by living my life according to God's love and way (The Sandaled), not the world(The Unsandaled).  I want to be known as "The Sandaled" because of how I live my life and not because I have a large collection of sandals!  (Thanks Mickey for keeping the collection number low.)



12 and counting

More miscellaneous laws? Not even close! This is a special learning for a special day!

Deuteronomy 24: 10-22 tells the Israelites how to be rich.  They had been slaves and nomads but very soon they would be landowners, powerful and have more wealth than they could imagine. The prosperity to come will also mean responsibility. 

God tells the Israelites to give their debtors dignity, to not go into  their homes to collect the collateral; to pay their laborers every day because the laborers will be counting on it; not to take advantage of foreigners, orphans or widows; to leave some of the harvest available for the poor to glean.  God reminds them to remember that they once were Egyptian slaves. 

God instructs the Israelites to be generous, to be honest and to provide for the powerless.  He also tells them that their attitude for being generous, honest and caring was not to gain God's favor but they were to remember how God blessed and delivered and be thankful.

God reminds them to  be kind to the lost and those who have lost because they once were lost.  God is giving the Israelites examples of how to live out one of my  themes for the Book of Deuteronomy- God does not leave us alone.  He reminds them that once they felt alone but He heard their cries as slaves and delivered them. He will give them opportunities to share their blessings with those in need.

These verses are a lesson in how to act when you are blessed. The key word for me today is Remember. Remember your past.  Remember why you are blessed.  Remember to do as commanded.  Remember you are never alone.  God is always with you.

Today is a special day of remembrance for me. Today I mark 12 years as a cancer survivor. I celebrate the freedom from that disease but more importantly, I celebrate today as the day I really learned that I am never alone.  My family and friends rallied around me 12 years ago and were tangible reminders that God was and is in control of my life.  God loves me and will provide for me.

Today I am planning on partying with cake, pie, friends and maybe flowers.  Yet I want to begin the day remembering that I AM NEVER ALONE- God is always with me.  I hope I have reminded others of this great blessing.

Hey, Hey I'm a Believer! Don't Monkey Around

"You are bigger than everyone else so act like it!" I heard a young coach holler across the soccer field at the bigger than average boy. The coach was reminding the player to use his natural advantages or as some athletes have called it,  God-given abilities to help his team win the game.

I'm still in those "Miscellaneous Laws" in my reading in Deuteronomy. In  Deuteronomy 24:1-8, God tells the Israelites:

that if a man divorces a woman for something indecent, she remarries, is divorced again, not to remarry her;

that a newly married man is not to be sent  to war but is to be given a year to stay home and make his wife happy;

not to take any millstone as a security for a loan;

that kidnapping a fellow Israelite to make a slave or sell as a slave is grounds for the death penalty; and

in cases of a leprous disease to do exactly as the priests instruct.

It seems to me that God is telling the Israelites how to act like Israelites. They belong to the One True God.  He gives some "do's and don'ts". 

Don't  associate with known indecent people. (From verses 1-4, if it's obvious she has not changed from the first time he married her, as she was divorced again, don't get involved.)

Do bring your spouse happiness.  Make your spouse's well being your priority.

Don't take advantage of another's misfortune and prolong it by taking their livelihood.

Do purge evil among the community.

They are Israelites and here is how to live like an Israelite. God tells the Israelites they are blessed with the Promised Land and they are to be caring, honest, upright and pure.  Why?  They have been given a great new life  by a great God so don't taint it with sin. Their sin will reflect upon God's gifts and reputation.

In today's world we try not to judge  people by how they look but rather how they act.  We do form opinions of others by how they behave.  Too many times, I've thought, "Who is that person's mother?  Who raised that person to behave so inappropriately?"  We think we can be free to be and do whatever we wish and we even think we are the only one with consequences.  Yet our family, friends and associates will experience consequence from our personal choices.  Just watch the news. When a politician acts outside the norm of acceptable behavior, his party members are quick to disassociate.

So it matters how I act and live my life.  My life choices will reflect on God's good gifts and reputation.  I'm a believer in God and I've made it public so I do have to live His way.

I'm always frustrated when I hear "the church is full of hypocrites" but I have to admit that  there have been some poor representatives of Christians.

The final "do" in my list of "do's and don'ts" of how to live like a believer is "Do again what God said to do."  In verses 8 and 9 I am reminded that we are human and we will fail to live God's way and we might fail to be a good representative for Him.  There is Good News.

Miriam, Moses' own sister, spoke against Moses and therefore God.  The consequence was she had leprosy which meant she had to leave the community, everyone had to shun her for their own protection.  This was severe consequence for challenging God's chosen leader.  Yet Moses cried out to God and pleaded with God to heal her.  So God instructed them to confine her outside the camp for 7 days.  Then she came back to another opportunity to live like an Israelite and the Israelites waited for her. (Numbers 12)

God loves us so much that when we misbehave, when don't act like a Christian, when we sin, He provides for our forgiveness.  The Israelites were told to go the priests and do what they instructed to be healed.  God has given me Jesus as my advocate and my sacrifice so I can have a second, third, fourth... chance to live like a believer.

I'm comforted by this list so I know how to live.  I'm relieved to know that when I fail, God has a  plan to restore me. He and my community of believers wait for me to get back on the path of living God's way.  Today I'll act like a believer!

 

 

 

 

Weeds of Greed

5 tons of river rock, 50 bags of cedar mulch, three gallons of pre-emergent herbicide and at least 3 trips to the city compost pile. Dick has a new passion in retirement.  He has been fully retired now for about 30 days and he has accepted a new challenge, a new mission, a new enemy to conquer.  He has taken on the landscaping of our yard with the opposition being weeds.  We have not been diligent in our battle against the weeds in the last several years so it appeared the enemy, the weeds,  had already won.  But 30 days later, I see Dick's victory over the weeds on the horizon!

The heading some fellow gave Deuteronomy 23:15-25 in my translation is again "Miscellaneous Laws". God warned not to oppress a runaway slave;  Don't be a prostitute nor use a prostitute's wage to pay a vow;  Don't charge your brother interest, a foreigner can pay you interest but not another Israelite; Don't be slow to pay a vow made to God; and Don't harvest the crops of your neighbor.

Yet when I read them this week, I saw a common warning God gave to the Israelites.  I noted that these verses warn about wealth and the source of wealth. God identified the "weeds of greed."

These verses tell me not to benefit from another's misfortune or illegal gain.  These verses remind me to have honor and integrity in my financial matters.  It might appear to be convenient and beneficial to use another's misfortune to benefit my financial state or even to use ill-gotten wealth to give to God.  Yet, these verses warn that God knows the source and our motivation in building our own garden of wealth.

God promised the Israelites that if they would follow His ways  He would bless them in everything they put their hands to in the Promised Land.  God knows our thoughts and our frailties.  He knows we will try to build a garden of wealth for ourselves with our own plan.  He knows that if we allow the "weeds of greed" to convince us that we have a better way, our lives will be more complicated.  We too often choose the scheming and conniving way when God offers us the easiest way- His way, like just do what He says and not think of a "better way".  We are motivated by our calculation of  how much we can gain.  God's ways  promise us everything.

I plan to pull the weeds of greed in my heart and remember God is The giver of great gifts and God alone is the source of my wealth.

Think tall

I  came down the steps from my bedroom and found my mom perched atop a chair in the kitchen.  "What are you doing?" I asked.  "Cleaning the top of the refrigerator."  I asked "Why?" as I didn't recall her doing this before.  "Your grandmother is coming."  "So?" "She's tall enough to see the top of the refrigerator."

My grandmother was a few inches taller than both my mother and me.  She would be able to see the dust atop the frig.  Mother and I never saw the top or the dust but my mother didn't want her mother to see something that would disappoint.

Deuteronomy 23:1-14 details a list of don'ts so the Israelites won't disappoint God.  He instructs who is not allowed in the assembly before Him.  These verses also give instructions for basic sanitation practices.

Whereas, the Ammonites and Moabites are not allowed in the assembly before God, because they opposed God and Israel, the next verses warn that  the point is not that they are outsiders and different.  The Edomites and Egyptians are allowed.  They are relatives and instruments for Israel's deliverance.  I am reminded not to be legalistic but to listen to God's reasons for determining good and evil.

The verses that speak to me today are at the end of this section.  The Lord moves about the camp to protect and deliver you.  The camp must be holy so God won't see anything indecent and turn away.

Today these verses tell me that God moves among the events of my life.  He is available to protect me and deliver me.  I may have enemies that will come against me and God is ready to  protect me.  God is also available to deliver me from those dangerous situations that I may get myself into with my own poor choices.

God doesn't want to see anything from me that would disappoint Him and He is with me, in my daily life to protect and deliver me.

For a while I carried on the tradition of cleaning the top of the refrigerator when my mother visited.  Even though neither of  us could see the top without assistance, it meant that occasionally that part of the house did get cleaned.  I'm putting it on my "to do" list as I can't remember when it was last cleaned and I'm sure the last time it was cleaned, Dick did it! 

Perhaps cleaning where I can't see but God can will make my life safer and less complicated. These verses do tell the Israelites that when (not if) they are encamped against their enemies to keep away from everything impure. So part of fighting evil is to remain pure. In today's world, I occasionally feel that I am encamped against some enemies. I certainly need and want God actively moving, protecting and delivering me.  I need to look at my behavior and confess what may be disappointing to God.  In my life, I don't want to live a moment away from God.

Hidden Things?

"It's the most important thing you'll do."  My quilter friend gives me this advice often.  It's why I clip my threads as I go (because I really hate spending a long period of time clipping at the end of my project) and why I make sure my seams are pressed the right way.  Threads and seams are hidden on the inside but my quilt adviser has taught me that what is hidden will affect the final product.  If I do not adhere to clipping the threads and repairing seams pressed the wrong way there will be consequences in the finished quilt.

In Deuteronomy 22: 13-30 God gives the Israelites His expectations for intimate matters.   There are several scenarios:  a man may not be satisfied with his wife and think by slandering her he can get rid of her; a woman might be found to be impure and think she can hide it but there are serious consequences for infidelity; a man and woman married to another may be found sleeping together and both must die; a man might think since he is in another town he could sleep with an engaged woman but he will face the sentence of death and she will too if she consented; a man may take advantage of a girl who is not engaged to be married but he will end up paying 50 silver shekels and have her as his wife for life; a man can not marry his father's wife.

Today's society teaches us that we have freedom in our private and personal lives.  Yet these verses teach that even in the most intimate relationships purity is what God expects.  What we do in our private and personal life will affect our relationships with others and our relationship with God.

God has a high standard for purity.  These verses detail several situations and the consequences. At first read I think the situations sound like a soap opera.  Sadly, if I think, I probably can recall real people that have gotten themselves into similar situations.

These verses do not give the loopholes our society tries to manufacture.  God gives serious and often deadly consequences for these situations and some of them are public, with the town elders and community administering the  penalty.  There is a recurring statement, "You must purge the evil from among you."

In today's world, impurity is too often treated as common place.  Yet God expects us to be  pure, especially in our most intimate matters.  These verses remind me that what I do in private will affect my public life as well as those in my family and the community.  What is hidden does matter to the community.

Today I am grateful that God gives and expects the best from me.  He also knows me and knows I might  fail in my efforts to be pure.  He loves me and gave His own Son to be the sacrifice so I could have forgiveness.

Just as I rip open a seam that goes the wrong way and make it right, I go to God when I know I've gone the wrong way and His forgiveness will make it right with our relationship.

The Every Day Blue Cord

Be careful who you lend your car.... Go to Church...Drink plenty of water...Go to Church...Do your laundry...Go to Church...Be careful who you party with...Go to church...

When my son was headed off to college, the "momisms" popped up in our daily conversation.  Often these tidbits came at the most random moments.

When I read Deuteronomy 22:1-12, I had the same feel of random advice.  Even the fellow who added the headings in Deuteronomy centuries later felt the disjointedness.  The heading in my translation is the catchy "Various Laws".

I tried to make a short phrase of teaching for each one to see if there was a theme. 

Some of the laws seemed to be simple teaching on agriculture.  Leave some animals to breed for future food (verses 6-7).  Don't plant 2 kinds of seeds, who knows what fruit will grow (verse 9).

Some of the laws tell the Israelites not to make life more complicated than it needs to be.  Avoid trying to look like someone you are not (verses 1-4).  Don't plow with an ox and a donkey (verse 10).  This one makes think of trying to walk in two different height shoes,  really awkward!  Don't weave wool and linen together (verse 11).  This is a classic quilt rule.  Keep your fabric content consistent because different fabrics wash and shrink differently.

The final verse in this section made me think.  Verse 12 simply tells the Israelites to make tassels for the four corners of their garment.  Fortunately the margin in my Bible  cross referenced Numbers 15:37-41.  The use and purpose of tassels is better explained. 

God knows we need tangible reminders.  He instructed them to make tassels with a blue cord to wear on their everyday clothes to remind them of God's commands.  The single blue cord in the tassel was the reminder of God and following His ways.

The tassels with the blue cord was the reminder to remember all the commands and to obey them, to avoid following selfish desires.  The blue cord reminded them not to follow the lust of the heart and eyes and to obey all God's commands.

What tangible reminders do I have in my daily life to remember to follow God's commands? 

My Bible and journal sit in a basket on the end table.  I rarely "put them away."  I want to have them in my field of vision to keep me accountable and without excuse to open them up. 

I  have a little rock on my desk to hold down my phone list.  One side says "Be still..."  and the flip side "Pray..."  I spend quite a bit of my time on the phone and refer to the list several times a day.  I often need the advice of my rock.

I have a Nativity set in my kitchen window year round, it never gets put away.  Christmas may be once a year but the gifts Jesus brought and brings to my life are daily blessings.  The Nativity makes me smile and rejoice whenever my eye lands on it.

God knows we need tangible reminders to follow His way, to follow the Best.  Maybe I need to add a few more in my everyday life.

A Fashion Statement

I wear yellow post it notes.  I know.  They were created to be worn by file folders, envelopes, letters, boxes and refrigerators but I'm a bit like Uncle Billy in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life".  He tied string to his fingers to remind him.  I work in a world without string!  If I'm told to do something on the third floor I worry that I'll forgot when I return to my second floor office.  I like the fact that I actually have words written down so I don't have to have a string to remember what a string meant.

I have also used my bathroom mirror to tack up notes to remind me how to handle the day.  They are bits of scriptures, sermons or words I've heard from the Spirit that remind me of my purpose and position.

When I read Deuteronomy 21:22-23, I felt like these verses were a "post it note" from God to the Israelites.  The verses tell them not to keep the dead body of an executed criminal hanging overnight. They were reminded to bury it  the same day because the cursed body would desecrate God's gift of the Promised Land.

Today's television schedule is full of crime dramas. Too many are too full of gory and shocking details. The newspapers include more and more of the disgusting details  of violent crimes.  Our society has a lust for bad news and its gory details.

Today's verses remind me not to dwell on the details of the crime and the sin.  The verses remind me to dwell on God, dwell on His Honor as the Author and Source of  justice and that my honor belongs to Him, not the sin, other's sin or mine.

Full vs Futile

Resistance is futile!" It's a line from a science fiction movie.  The aliens say it just before the captive is absorbed into the community.

"Resistance is futile" is also the theme of the last four days of walks with the puppies.  Mickey and Molly are now one year old and a  lot bigger  than we expected.  Our  daily walks were typically jerk and pulls.  I expend plenty of upper body strength.  Mickey sounded like Darth Vader as he strains and pulls at the  leash to smell more and go farther than Molly.  Passing walkers would tell me I "had my hands full".

I'd had enough.  We need to make a change in their behavior.

"Resistance is futile" was also written in the margin of my journal for Deuteronomy 21:15-21.  These verses are telling the Israelite parents what to do when their son became stubborn, rebellious, a glutton and a drunkard.  Perhaps the parents were far  too lenient with their son and created the situation.  Perhaps the son made poor choices as an adult-- sometimes we can't just blame the parents. It's a sad story far too prevalent in today's world. 

These verses remind me that rebellion is contagious.  When one puppy sees a rabbit the adrenaline streams through them.  The other one picks up on the excitement and all sense, and obedience, leaves their consciousness.  My job is to teach them to obey in spite of the distraction.

Obedience is not a private matter.  One annoying, disobedient dog could be banished to the yard when we have guests.  But three annoying dogs make it chaos. It is my responsibility to teach the dogs to behave in society.  When reading these verses we may focus on the instruction for family issues but these verses also remind me that evil is contagious and dangerous to the community.

What have I learned the last four days walking the dogs?  "WHY did I wait so long to make them walk correctly on the leash?"  The first  day I saw Molly glance up at me to see where I was leading her.  It dawned on me.  They know how to behave but I haven't  required it.

On Day 2 Dick took Mickey alone and by the end of the route, Mickey was prancing like a race horse, tail feathered up and head held high. When I came in the door on day 3,  I pronounced it was "the best walk ever."

These verses in Deuteronomy, and the puppies, teach me that resistance to God's way makes my life futile.   I don't want my life to be futile, to just be a quest for self satisfaction.  I want my life to be fruitful and be a productive member of my community.  My adherence to God's plan for my life will be a testimony to others of His glory and love. 

My way is futile.  His way is full and free.  Freer from strife, drama and tragedy. Fuller of joy and excitement. Free because God gave me the opportunity through Jesus' sacrifice, even when I certainly had not earned it nor deserved it.  Full because God expects and gives me the best.

The less complicated life

My first day on the job the "cardinal" rule was explained to me.  It was in regard to handling of a particular document that would be my responsibility.  The word "never" was used.  We have  a set of procedures and there were some actions that were never to occur.  The reason for "never" was to protect  the integrity of the document.  Since that day I have adhered to the "never" and I have impressed upon anyone who works with me, this cardinal rule, the one never to break.

I thought about our human tendency to break rules to obtain the fleshly desires of our heart when I read Deuteronomy 21: 15-17.  God gives instructions for the situation of a man who has two wives.  He loves one but not the other.  Unfortunately his firstborn son is the child of the unloved wife and God knows that this man will want to follow his heart and give the other child, the son of his beloved wife, the rights of the firstborn.

It seems too prevalent in the world that we are encouraged and taught to follow what we want, not what is right.  We always want to be first, preferred, double blessed, so we bend rules to justify getting what we want. What we want may not always be what is right.

My puppy Molly is learning what it is like to be number 3.  She wants to be number 1.  She will bark, grab, ignore, beg and now that she has had a limp, use sympathy to get what she wants.  The limp will appear occasionally now when begging, barking and grabbing hasn't worked!  Yet Makena is the oldest dog and I am the pack leader on the other end of the leash.  (OK Dick is the real pack leader but I'm holding the end of the leash.)

As I look ahead in the coming verses in Deuteronomy, I might subtitle them as " You will make your life complicated, here's some advice ..."  My first lesson to learn from the man in today's verses would be stick to one wife.  Today's verses will go under the point, "Stick to the rules."  I know I need a Savior because I have learned that I often have a hard time following the rules I make up myself.

I thought of the words in Proverbs 3 "lean not on your own understanding".  My own understanding would be what my flesh wants and how I can make that happen.  If I want something the world will tell me to beg, bark, grab or guilt to get it.  When I went to Proverbs to read that chapter, I noted it was a father giving advice to his son.  The advice was to stick to God's commands.  God's ways will make life's ways straight.  Our desires too often make for a complicated life.

Today I am reminded that I must stick to God's ways and perhaps say "never" to my fleshly desires.  If I live with integrity my life will be less complicated.

I also noted that I write this on Father's Day.  I thank God that He is the example of integrity in my life.  God has stuck with me throughout all the complications and curves of my life journey.  He still loves me and continues to point out that His way is less complicated. Yet I, also,  see examples of integrity  in the men in my life, my dad, my husband and my son.  Thanks, guys, for sticking to the rules!

Prepared for the future

"Exactly right!"  I had figured a payoff of a mortgage and called the lender to confirm the amount.  After I hung up I "flashed back" to over 30 years ago to the job  that taught me the skill.  I was glad that the job so long ago prepared me for the job I have today.

When I read verses 10-14 in Deuteronomy 21 my first thought was "Oh no, my streak is over.  What can these verses possibly teach me?"  God gives the Israelites the proper behavior for taking a captive woman during war.  I thought about ignoring it and skipping but being an occasional legalistic I decided to ponder the verses.

These verses remind me that God knew the future.  He knew some of the Israelites would get themselves into  the situation described.  They might be attracted to one of the women taken captive during the wars.  They might choose to take her as a wife and they  might even  lose interest in her.  So God gave the instructions ahead of time so the Israelites would behave appropriately.

So God must know my future.  He knows that my emotional desire will get me into situations and He gives me instructions on my behavior in the situations I have created.  God didn't tell the Israelites to take these women into their homes and hearts but He knew they would.

So when I get myself into these situations I can't blame God or try to believe He planned it.  I can ask God how to handle it.  Hopefully, if I look back over my life, He has equipped me to deal with the situation.  Today I am reminded that the Bible has given me some advice for my behavior.

I am comforted that God knows my future and loves me anyway. There will be times when my heart leads me, rather than logic and His Will.  These times may not turn out as I thought and I may be mired in a predicament.  These verses tell me how to handle the consequences of my decision.

Honor my commitment.  I may not want to but I have responsibility for creating the situation.  I will ask God how I should fulfill the commitments I have created.

Respect the parties affected.  In the situation I have created, it is not all about me.  Other people are affected.  I will ask God how to be respectful to those involved.

Have compassion on myself and those involved.  These verses remind me that God knows exactly who and what I am.  So He knows I will get entangled in my own desires.  He loves me anyway and has compassion on me, so I will remember to have compassion on others and myself.

Finally I ask myself "Why these verses are still important today?"  My conclusion for today:  It's about reputation, God's and mine.  God reminded the Israelites that how they handle such situations will be a stark contrast to the evil in the nations Israel will conquer.  Their behavior will reflect on the ONE True God.

My behavior, even in the situations I choose, ultimately reflects on God and His reputation.  My first goal is to choose wisely but when I miss that mark I choose to respond with honor, respect and compassion.

I know nothing

"I know nothing."  When I read the verses in Deuteronomy 21:1-9 I remembered a TV show from my childhood.  The prison guard knew of the prisoners antics but refused to acknowledge them.  He thought that if he didn't know he would not be held responsible. 

These verses in Deuteronomy made me ponder what society teaches us.  Too often and too many people operate their daily lives around the phrases "I don't know" "I don't care" "It won't affect me" "It doesn't bother me".

These verses show me that God cared about an unknown man killed by an unknown assailant in an unknown field.  He cared enough to give the Israelites a plan to care.  They had to  measure the distance from the deceased to the nearest town to assign jurisdiction.  He gave careful instructions to find an innocent heifer to be the atonement for the sin.  The nearest town's priests were to wash their hands, to show their innocence yet place innocent hands on the innocent heifer which would be the sacrifice for a sin no one they knew had committed.

God cares about the unknown sin and He knows that the mysterious source of sin will hang like a cloud over a community.  He knows that the community needs the atonement even when they are not guilty.  Sin is not sin in a vacuum.  Sin effects the community.

God knows that for the Israelites to live in a community, to "get along", there will be situations that the community will need to acknowledge and take some responsibility.  These verses also comfort me.  Even though no one may known of an injustice I have experienced, God knows and He cares.

In our sinful and too often mystery filled world, we cannot claim lack of knowledge and still be innocent.  If our brother is a part of the community, we should care just as God cared about the unknown deceased man. I must be the one to call 911; to report a crime; to assist a person in distress.  Just because I think something won't affect me, I still am responsible for  my community.  It's why I vote; why I believe in better schools; want a cleaner environment; help to feed the hungry...

I may not know or be held responsible but God always knows and that makes me responsible.  Each time the TV show prison guard's plan of deniability backfired.  Many times the prisoners had to come to his aid.  It made for a humorous TV show but in life it makes life stressful and complicated.  Caring and being responsible is the less complicated life. 

"I didn't know" doesn't absolve my feeling of guilt, it's a call to care.

Leave it

"Leave it"  My most frequent command to the puppies on the Monday morning walk.  Most people mow their lawns on the weekend.  Clumps of cut and fermenting grass will be plentiful on the curbs and edges of lawns.  It is like chocolate to the puppies.  They strain at the leash to grasp a clump and swallow it.

I give the "leave it" command and a little jerk on the leash to remind them of the forbiddenness of these clumps.  I know the consequences of their consumption.  The clumps can make them ill.  I've cleaned up the evidence.  The clumps cause discord between the two pups.  Whatever Mickey has, Molly wants and usually gets.  And I find it distracts them from our goal, an energy-depleting walk. (And I find it jut plain gross!)

"Leave it" will be my topic heading for Deuteronomy 20:10-20.  God gives the Israelites instructions for attacking cities.  In their near future they will be attacking cities to conquer the Promised Land and in their future future there will be cities at their borders that will need to be subdued.  God gives instructions for the plunder, the inhabitants and the trees.

The verse that is impressed upon me is verse 18.  God lists the enemies they must completely destroy.  He even tells them why:  they will teach the Israelites their detestable ways and the Israelites will sin and worship their gods.

Have you  noticed the same defect in yourself and others that I notice in the puppies?  That which is forbidden is so attractive.  If God says "leave it" we still strain to make it ours.

These verses remind me that if God has condemned it for me, I need to leave it.  He has told me it could be harmful to me or others, it will cause discord and/or it will lead me away from Him.

Thank you God that you know my immediate future as well as my future future.  You love me and give me commands that are for my best.  Your plan for me is to avoid harm to myself and others, to live in peace with others and to worship God alone.

My response to your commands should be to strain away from the detestable and strain toward You.

Battle Plan

I'm not a real warrior.  I live my comfortable, secure, safe and privileged life because of the countless men and women who have warred on my behalf.  I live in their debt.

Deuteronomy 20:1-9 made me think about war.  First to pay tribute to these many souls who know or have known real war and then to consider what these scriptures say to me.

"Gone" "Over" "No" "End" "Lost"  "Not you"  These words are just a few of the "wars" I have faced or may face in my privileged existence.  They represent the challenges of life.  Times when life does not go according to my rosy plan.

I noticed that verse one begins with when you go to war not "if."  The challenges of life are near certain.  Some we can wisely avoid.  Others happen no matter how I try to control.

The following verses give me advice to face the battles of my life:

1.  Don't be afraid, God is with me.  I need to remember who God is, what He has done for me in my past and that He has chosen me and given me a future.

2.  Seek spiritual counsel.  I need to seek and find those spiritual folks who will point me to remember who God is, what He has done for me in my past and that He has chosen me and given me a future.

3.  Don't be distracted by home, harvest and/or heart.

4. Don't surround yourself with  those who  might cause you  to panic.

5.  Get organized.

I attended a high school graduation where 8 students shared a few moments of reflection for their fellow students. Five of those messages centered on fear.  In the midst of one of the most exciting achievements of their lives so far, they faced fear in this  giant change in their young lives.  The speakers also recognized that while fear may be the obstacle, newness awaited in the future.  Each had "words of wisdom" to encourage the young people to take the challenges of life and treat them as opportunities.

Fear of change and the unknown is a war that we all face. A life challenge can also be an opportunity.  Those same words, gone, over, end, not you, no, can also be the beginning. God knows the outcome.  He will always be with me, just as He has always been with me.   

 

 

 

My daily goal

It’s about lying.”  I announced loudly to the television.  The “talking heads” were discussing a politician’s dilemma.  There seemed to be too much situational ethics being used and I felt the need to point out to my young son and the “talking heads” that the real issue was not privacy but lying.

Our society is based on honesty.  It will only work if the citizens maintain a dedication to honesty in all areas of life.

Deuteronomy chapter 19 made me think, “why would cities of refuge, land boundaries and false witness be grouped together in one chapter.  I realize that the chapter breaks were added many centuries after Deuteronomy was written but these topics made me think that the common denominator is honesty.

The cities of refuge only works if the person seeking refuge is honest and admits there was consequence from his action, if the city leaders are honest enough to administer the refuge and if the victim’s family will be honest and respect the refuge status of the city.

Verse 14 is very plain with the admonition to not move a boundary stone.  This statement tells me that it is dishonest to expand your land ownership by simply moving the marker stone when no one is looking. 

The remaining verses explain the necessity of two or three witnesses, not just one, to convict a person of any crime and spells out the remedy in the event a malicious witness takes the stand.

I might summarize the chapter with the statement, “Honesty is the best policy.”  That is a challenge for today’s world.  Every day we are given a new warning that leads us to mistrust the honest intent of an email, a document or a person. 

It seems there are so many more dishonest people and scams to be wary.  When I did an internet search to find out the source of "Honesty is the best policy"  there was an instruction to "click here" to find out.  I've been on the internet enough to know that will most likely lead me to information I don't want.(By the way, many attribute the saying to Ben Franklin, Shakespeare or Don Quixote but it was probably Sir Edwin Sandys  in 1599, an English politician in the Virginia Company which founded Jamestown.)

These verses are about protection, possession and power.  They warn us not to use protection, possession and power to be dishonest to gain more protection, possession and power.

We live in a world where people think they must justify their actions.  Too often the justification is "it's not my fault," "I'm a victim," "I didn't know..."  We even think we can be dishonest with God we have so much practice in the world.

We do need to be justified in our actions because we live in a dishonest world and we have hearts that lean to the dishonest.  The only justification that will save us is  the justification given by God.  God will make it "just as if I hadn't sinned" but I have to be honest, completely and totally honest, with God.  I must be honest and admit that I need a Savior. 

Hallelujah, God knew me and had a plan for my rescue from a life in a world of dishonesty. God gave me the protection, possession and power to use for His glory, not for my personal gain. My daily goal is to be honest with others and with God.