The Recipe for Productive Faith includes...

“and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/2pe.1.6.niv


I shook my head when I read the sixth verse of 2 Peter, the next verse in my journey through the sixth verse of every book in the Bible.  The horse bucked in an unusual place.

 I've heard a story about how the Bible was divided into verses.  My storyteller described an  itinerant preacher on horseback.  The preacher read as  he rode and whenever the horse bumped, the preacher marked a new verse.  I don't believe this to be authentic, yet it makes me comfortable with verse designations in the middle of a sentence..

What makes me comfortable in a crazy world where comfort has definitely been disrupted?   Too many have more than their comfort disrupted. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness seems to be beyond one's control.

The world teaches that if we feel productive, we will be happy. My attempt to feel productive in my shelter at home period has been sewing masks, baking bread and shopping online..

I've made  a substantial dent in my fabric collection.. Now I'm starting to alter the bread recipe with my own creativity.  It keeps me busy but I doubt the momentary happiness from this productivity will satisfy my soul.

Peter gives me a better recipe to be productive and effective.  Peter encourages me to add,to my faith in Jesus goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love.

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/2pe.1.8.niv

Better Days Ahead Despite Current Situation

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.”

1 Peter 1:6 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/1pe.1.6.nlt

Q3.  Granddaughter built the fort.  Dogs slept in it.

It's Q33 for us today.  Each night my husband asks "What's on the schedule for tomorrow?  We both giggle. We're retired.  Our life revolves around the currently trending phrase "with an abundance of caution."  The highlights of our days are trips to the grocery store pickup line.  We drive to the store, pop the trunk, thank the kind loader of the groceries with a smile and a wave from the safety of our car and drive home.  The rest of our days are spent "hunkered in" the safety of our little house.

Perhaps you are likewise hunkered in.  Perhaps you are one of those essential workers that make my life safe and comfortable. Let me pause to say to The Essential Troopers- THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It may seem like these strange COVID 19 Quarantine days will never end.  We ponder the why and the when.  Today's sixth verse provides a better point on which to focus. The sixth verse of 1 Peter is ripe with wisdom for such a time as this one we experience.  The promise of "wonderful joy" in the future "even though" we must endure trials. 

My eyes are first drawn to various trials.  Isn't that where we start...the trials, the burdens, the inconveniences.  Yet the more meaningful words are "even though" and "wonderful joy".

"Even though."  These words act as a slap on the face.  A snap out of it.  A look up, not down. In the span of my life of 66 years how do 33 days relate?  I did a rough calculation of my total days on Earth.  My Q days amount to .00136324.  Hmmm... pretty miniscule. No wonder, my mom's favorite advice was "in the span of eternity, how important will this be?"

I choose to ignore the "various trials" words and focus on the "wonderful joy" awaiting me, and you.  As the celebrities on TV remind us, oh so many times each day, "we will get through this." 

With every challenge, I am given an opportunity.  In my time of an abundance of caution, how will I best use it?  How will I learn to improve life, mine and others? How will I memorialize this blip in the span of eternity to focus my attention on the wonderful joy awaiting me, and you, in the future?

I've made quilts and scrapbooks for other change points in my personal Earth history.  What will remind me of the Q days when they end?  I'm pondering my memorial of the past .00136324 of my life.  One act will be a precious reminder of this experience...The handshake.  From now on, if I ever am offered a hand to shake in greeting, I will appreciate the enormity of the gift.

I've learned from this current trial the value of a human touch and how precious it is.  I'm also reminded that Jesus touched my life in a precious way when He invited me into a personal relationship with Him.  Today's verse reminds me that while other humans may be cautious when touching my hand, Jesus continues to hold my hand through this and any future trials.  There is the wonderful joy!

Steady,Keep Looking to the Horizon

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/jas.1.6.niv

s

A rare photo of waves...There's a dolphin in there!

It took me quite a while to find a photo of waves in my archive of vacation memories.  I rarely look at waves. Mother taught me that looking at waves leads to seasickness.

I am extremely  susceptible to sea, air and motion sickness .  I can feel it coming on just thinking about waves!   I can't even watch a movie of a car chase through the mountains!  Adventures on the water tense me up with thoughts of illness.

 One day as I was boarding a small vessel for whale watching, swallowing motion sickness prevention pills, my mom gave me this sage piece of advice  ."Don't look at the waves. Focus on the horizon. It never moves."

The sixth verse in the first chapter of the book of James warns of being tossed about in a sea of doubt.  James reminds me how to keep steady on my course of Life.

Ask in faith. That means ask without doubt.  Doubt is what confuses life.  To focus on the churning waves of circumstance too often leads me to be tossed about or even sink.  God is the horizon.  God is the steady course.  Commit  my vision up and  toward the future and to God.

Cary On- Focus on Whole Picture

“Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words! After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you” or “I’m his Father, he’s my Son”? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, “All angels must worship him.””
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:3-6‬ ‭MSG‬‬
https://www.bible.com/97/heb.1.3-6.msg

Today's sixth verse will break my rule.  I've been on a trek through just the sixth verse of every book in the Bible.  My premise is there is inspiration in every single verse.  I still believe but the sixth verse of Hebrews and today's current crisis reminds me of context.

As a quilter, I've been able to use this "retreat" (or stay at home order) to finish projects and organize. I've had a tub of scraps I've stored and moved and stored.  Last week I enlisted my husband to aid me in ironing and cutting these potential throwaways into possible projects. He ironed.   I trimmed the scraps to my predetermined size.

The scrap pile loomed.  Yet I chose a scrap to "fussy cut."  To fussy cut the quilter will select just a single element of the fabric's overall design. Often the featured design is the middle of the whole piece

It's time consuming and wasteful but highlights a small portion.  My mind wandered to life and its meaning.

Too often we spend too much time focusing on just a small portion of life to make sense of all of life.  Yet what we focus on only makes sense in the context of the whole.  The whole is something we rarely understand.  It's beyond our comprehension.

Enjoy the focus on a "fussy cut" of life but remember it only makes sense when in context of the whole, which could be eternity.   Good thing God is eternal and understands eternity for me.

When I read the preceding verses of Hebrews 1:6, I am reminded that
Jesus is the radiance of God's glory;
Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature;
Jesus upholds the universe by His word;
Jesus purified sins;
Jesus sits at the right hand of God;
Jesus is superior to all.

Jesus' resume for understanding Life is better than mine.  I'm leaving the whole picture to Him.  My life will only make sense in context of life trusting Jesus.

Faith Should Show Up in Deeds

 And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.
‭‭Philemon‬ ‭1:6 ‭MSG‬‬
https://www.bible.com/97/phm.1.4-7.msg

Photo courtesy of Dick Sipe

My husband loves to grocery shop.  It might be his hunting instinct.  It is definitely his opportunity to engage people and he uses it to talk about Jesus.  He stops to chat with any church member he sees.  He stops to greet all acquaintances.   I never plan for a quick trip to the grocery store.

I remember the day nearly 40 years ago when verse six in Philemon made sense to me.  My husband was engaged in conversation with someone who had recently visited our church.  At one point the visitor commented that our church people had made an impression on him.  "They act the same in the grocery store as they do in church."

This moment is one of my AHA moments. I represent Jesus everywhere, in all that I say and do.  Wow and Yikes.  There is ease and concern.   Ease  - I'm always a Christian and every moment is an opportunity to witness.  Concern - Someone and everyone observes my words and actions as a reflection upon God.

From The Church Sign Calendar March 18

Leadership begins with nearest and dearest

“namely, a man of unquestionable integrity, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of being immoral or rebellious.”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭AMP‬‬
https://www.bible.com/1588/tit.1.6.amp

My Dad was MacGyver before there was a MacGyver! My favorite childhood memory begins just before noon somewhere in Northern Missouri.  The family was heading toward our first camping trip.

My parents' friends had trailers and went camping together.  We were not professional campers.  My brother and I had scout camp experience but the camping for enjoyment craze had not captured our family.

My dad had found a "10 man" tent used at a garage sale  This particular weekend was its debut.  Unfortunately half way to the destination Dad realized he'd forgotten to pack the tent poles.  He made a quick choice and pulled the car off the highway into the nearest small town hardware store.  He apparently had a shopping list in his head.  We left the store with planks roped to the top of the car.  Yet I recall that he and I traveled the remaining miles with our windows down and left arms up holding the wood to assure it never left  the top of the car.

Upon arrival, Dad was quite particular in the location of our tent site.  He used trees to tie up the tent to supplement the make sift tent poles.   I don't remember being embarrassed as most  teenagers would.  I realized that our tent site was now everyone's destination to marvel.  The entire weekend was a steady stream of drive bys.  People pointing in amazement as word spread through the campground.

Surprisingly, this was not our last camping experience. We had more adventures which included a Kool (cigarette) sailboat, skunks and trash bag clothing.  Apparently we would follow our leader,Dad, anywhere.

The sixth verse of Titus reminded me of three elements of leadership:  integrity, commitment and influence.  Paul gave Titus instructions to appoint leaders and these were just three of the qualities.

I learned them first from my dad and observing his career.  I don't remember him saying the words but my dad worked to do what was right.  My dad was committed first to his family.  He turned down promotions that meant the family would relocate once my brother and I were in school.(We moved 9 times before I was in the second grade but never after.)   He influences my decision making,   I don't seek his approval but I do crave his wisdom.

As  followers of Jesus, let's lead others to Jesus with integrity, commitment and influence.  Our lives may not be perfect but hopefully others will "drive by" and be amazed. We may forget the tent poles but Jesus will make our lives amazing!.

Love afresh the Gift of God

“For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NASB‬‬
https://www.bible.com/100/2ti.1.6.nasb

The day I fear and relish is almost here!  I've been waiting since Christmas Day.  The hint of Spring is in the air.  Any day now one of the men in my life will carry my new fire pit from the dry safety of the basement to the light of our backyard.  I'm accumulating my fire ingredients.

I love to sit by a fire. The attraction could be nostalgic.  I was a Girl Scout for all my youth and part of my adulthood.  Rarely do I use the flames for cooking.  The draw is the beauty of the flames.  The consuming of fuel. The control of its destiny.  The singularity of purpose.  Fire has one purpose to continue to burn.

Fire's one purpose is my concern.  The singularity of fire's purpose compels me to take precautions.  I'll pay attention to the presence of wind. I'll also have a bucket of water ready to douse.

My internet instructions for fire building had a recipe of three ingredients:  Tinder (the little stuff); Kindling (the good stuff) and Log (the main stuff).  I have lots of tinder.  Scrap paper aplenty in my house.  Logs, I'll purchase at the lumber store. Kindling is my challenge.  I'll need to gather the medium sized sticks somewhere else.  I have two trees with a total of 12 leaves each!

Paul reminds Timothy to rekindle the gift God  has given him.The following verse tells of the three attributes of the gift- power, love and discipline.  The second ingredient in this list is a challenge just like kindling in my yard.

The world teaches us to lust for power.  Every self help plan offers discipline and order.  Love in our world is in short supply.  I don't love others enough.  I love myself too much and not enough.  I am challenged to love God more.  To love and use the gifts of God more. 

I have no reason for concern or fear.  God is love.  God defines love.  God pours out love. God's love is good,really, really good.  Nothing in this world satisfies more than God's love.

This verse has kindled afresh my purpose, my destiny.  To have one purpose and only one purpose.  To love God,and His gifts,with all my heart, mind and soul.