Tomorrow

In  Deuteronomy 6:10-12,Moses reminds the Israelites that they are entering a land to live in cities they did not build with crops they did not plant.  God had already provided them with food and shelter.  He also warns them to be careful not to forget  that it was God who created this opportunity.  God freed them from slavery and led them to the Promised Land.

My paraphrase for these verses:  Remember when life is good from where that good life came, not you but God.

I thought these were appropriate Thanksgiving season thoughts.  God has blessed our lives with much we do not earn or deserve.  The Pilgrims remembered that it was God who provided them in their new home.  I found this quote from their governor in 1623:

"...as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and made the forest to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from the pestilence and granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience."

I was impressed that he was specific and remembered well- from the specific list of the crops, the sources, the deliverance and the opportunity for life free from oppression.

 I spent a few days pondering my life and my Promised Land.  I spent some time wondering through Psalms about thanksgiving. I read my favorite, Psalm 24 because it reminded me that God created it all and He is SO Worth my praise for this world that I am given to live and learn. 

I wondered what was my Promised Land. Most often we think in the physical location as the Israelites.  Is my Promised Land where I live?  Perhaps and probably.

Yet as I sat in the congregation at a friend's funeral this week, it occurred to me that tomorrow when I wake up that day will be my Promised Land.  Tomorrow is available to me and I didn't build it or earn it.   God gives it to me to use for myself and to bring Him Glory.  At the end of tomorrow I need to remember that it was God who gave me the day, my Promised Land.  Another day is good and God gave it to me.

The Book Tree

I'm in a new project mode.  I get caught up in a new creative project and it's all I can think about.

My current project is to make a tree out of an old book.  It has been on my mind for quite awhile.  I couldn't bring myself to sacrifice a book.  Then when I was in the basement. There it was, a book I didn't care for when I read it and it was dusty.  I thought that will go in the trash.  Aha!  I'd found the sacrifice!

Yesterday  I watched the tutorial and tore into the book.  The folding was brief and painless.  I only burned my finger on the glue gun once.  I even came up with the idea  to recycle old Christmas cards into the star on the top of the tree. (Good news, honey, I used up a dozen of those hundreds of cards I've been saving!)

Now I can hardly wait to get to the store to buy glitter to finish my project.  I'm on the hunt for more books.  I'm thinking of how I can take this project on my next trip.

I've already given the endorsement of "Stinking cute."  Do you agree?

 

I was convicted this morning as I read Deuteronomy 6: 4-9.  My paraphrase of the verses included:

"Listen, I know your name and I'm talking to you.  I am The One.  Love God above all you desire, above your life, above your personality.  These commandments are to be your desire, your life, your personality.  Let them consume your day."

I realized that my creative projects too often consume my thinking, my time and my talk.  I'll get up early to work on my latest project.    I'll think about it when I drive, coming up with my own creative improvements to the pattern.  If I don' t have a supply, I'll go immediately to procure it.

It consumes my thinking,

                                                my time, and

                                                                my talk.

What if creating my relationship with God consumed

                my thinking,

                                my time, and

                                                my talk?

Benefits

"Thank you for sharing but your belief system doesn't offer me anything.  I have what I need in my belief."  I had listened patiently to the lady at my door as she did her presentation.  Then I shared my faith in Jesus and how I knew where I would spend eternity.

I had two bullet points in my journal as I read Deuteronomy 6:1-3:

-Obedience benefits my family.  Moses reminded the Israelites  that it would go well with them and their children if they followed God's commands, laws and decrees.

-Obedience leads to benefits.  This made me think on "What does obedience to God offer?"

Brainstorming from these verses I listed:

An enjoyable life for me

An enjoyable life for my children and grandchildren

Increase in life- might be materially or in relationships.

I made a short list of the benefits for me as a result of obeying God.  I remembered that encounter at my front door.  I rejoiced when I remembered she made me realize I didn't have to work or wonder if I was one of the chosen.  I know I have been chosen.   Countless verses in the Bible as well as my experiences with God have proven to me that for some reason God wants a relationship with me and He picked me. (2Thessalonians 2:13)

I know that I don't control all the circumstances of my life.  I also know that this life is not all of my life.  This world is just my temporary home.  The best part of life is yet to come and it will be better than my little human brain  can comprehend.(Philippians 3:20)

I have a purpose in a world of people that don't know the meaning of life.  My purpose is to have a relationship with God, to bring Him glory through my life.  I may not understand all that happens but God does.  God has a purpose for my life and it's a good one.  (Jeremiah 29:11)

These were just three benefits I thought of early in the morning.  If I paid attention to God's work in my life throughout the day the list would be so much longer.

It's the season to be thankful.  Today I am thanking God for all the benefits He had brought into my life.  I looked up benefit in a dictionary and picked out a few words:  advantage, gift and kindness.  I liked these words as they describe what God has done in my life so far.  He has given me advantages.  He has given me many gifts.  He is really kind in His direction in my life.

What a benefit package!

Motto for life

"Drink alot of water."  My family has heard this advice from my lips on countless occasions.  Regardless of the ailment or disease, my first comment is "drink water".  Water will flush out disease and poisons. Water keeps you hydrated and feeling better through exercise.  I've said it so many times, it probably will end up on my tombstone!

I also use the phrase, "in life you have two choices, laugh or cry.  I'm choosing..."  This helps me keep perspective on life's daily obstacles.  I think it comes from my mom.  I can hear her voice asking me, "In the span of eternity, how important is......."

I made a list of other statements I've heard from family members that I associate with them and my memory of them.  "This is probably the last time you'll see me..."  "That's fine for you."  "It is what it is."  "Pick your battleground." Perhaps these common phrases are also life mottos.  There must be a life philosophy behind those statements.

I thought about life mottos when I read Deuteronomy 5:30-32.  I made a list of verbs.  It's one of my favorite study methods.  Years ago a bible study leader taught me to list the verbs to learn the actions I should follow.

My list of verbs included:  stay, follow, walk, live long and prosper.  I got a little excited when I saw the last three words.  I'll admit to being a science fiction fan and enjoyed the Vulcan salutation of "Live long and prosper."

I  doodled mottos from these three verses.  I chose "Prolong the Prosper-Walk God's Way."  I am going to choose this life motto.  Surely this motto will look better on the tombstone. 

The challenge is now to live it and incorporate it into my life.  I need to look at the verb list again.  To walk in God's way I need to follow and stay.  First I make a conscious choice to follow God's commands and then stay with them, not turning to the right or left, to stay straight in His Way.

Learning to stay is challenging.  I have two puppies that don't know the meaning of stay yet.  They need to learn to focus on me and me alone.  They are easily distracted by each other and the activities of the world!  My first step is getting them to focus on me.

Choosing the life motto is easy.  Staying with the motto is a life's challenge.  My first step will be to focus on God.  I'm learning to stay!

Let's stretch

"You seem to be closer to God.  Could you pray for........"   Over the years this has happened to me several times in the workplace.  People forget they have the same opportunity to pray and speak to God as I.  What makes them unsure of the availability of God?

In Deuteronomy 5:22-29 Moses is retelling the delivery of the ten commandments.  God's voice came out of fire, cloud and deep darkness before the whole assembly of the people.   After this experience the tribal leaders and elders came to Moses and said "God has shown us His glory and majesty in a loud voice.  Today we saw a man can live even if God speaks to him but what about next time?  Why should we take the risk?  So Moses, you go ahead and speak with God and then come tell us all about it.  We promise to listen and obey."  (Right, that is definitely the Jan translation!)

I've always thought, "Silly Israelites!  You would give up this opportunity to go to The Source!" Then I am always surprised when God responds with "Everything they said was good."  So this is what God wants?

In the King James version, God's response is translated "well spoken".  Perhaps God meant what they said was true. We are human and think we need humans to meet our needs.

We need skin.  We need tangible people that we can touch, if we want.  It's a dilemma.  God created us to have a need for relationship but we also have a need for touch.  So we keep looking for other humans to satisfy this longing.

I see in these verses again-- We need a Savior.  We need One to bridge that gap between intimate relationship with the One True God and our humanity.

God wants us to "incline to Him and keep His commands" but He also understands our humanity.  We don't think it's in us to have that intimate relationship with the greatness and majesty of God.  God loved us so much that He revealed Himself.  Jesus was like us, with skin, but at the very same time God Himself.

God created us with the need to "incline to Him" but we let our fears interfere with that relationship.  God's desire, and the desire He has placed in our hearts, is that we incline to Him and keep His commands so it will go well for us and our families.

I looked up the word "incline" in a concordance.  One of the meanings is to stretch.  I need to stretch myself and reach out to God.  It is a stretch in my mind to think God loves me enough to want a personal relationship with me, who would have been right with the leaders and elders after hearing God's voice.  It's easy for me, centuries later, to think I'd have been braver and had more faith but I have to admit, I sleep with lights on!

Today I remember that God really knows my humanity, loves me anyway and provides me with the means to have a personal relationship with Him.  I need to stretch my faith in myself and God and get to know Him more.  He knows me well.  How well do I know Him?

Relationship + obedience = a good life

 

KIS&S

I’m tired this morning. I went out with friends last night so the puppies were in their kennels during the evening. Usually I’m home and the evening is their play time. So at 9:30 pm last night when I got home, they were ready to "party." They partied until well past midnight with a reprise at 3:30 am.

I slept late this morning and so did they. We are all experiencing the consequences of our actions last night.

Consequences came to my mind when I read Deuteronomy 5: 17-21, the final commandments that all start with "you shall not...". In some people’s minds these are the big ones. They list the big sins. Yet sin is sin, none are bigger. Maybe these have bigger and more complicated consequences.

My logical mind thinks, "Why would God even need to mention these sins? Isn’t it obvious?" Yet the Israelites were entering foreign territoy where some of these practices were common. God knew He needed to be abundantly clear about these practices being sin. Maybe that is why they are short and sweet. Just don’t do this.

Today my mind again goes back to the first commandments and the advice to be safe. The final commandments also have a purpose of keeping us safe. Our lives will be safe in a world without murder, adultry, theft, lying and jealousy. If we follow these commandments we will be free of the consequences: revenge, hate, bitterness, lack of control, despair and sin. Just think of the "lack of drama" in modern life if we lived safe and followed the ten commandments.

In today’s world, we don’t think about the consequences of our actions often enough. Our society is driven by "if it feels good today, do it". Just look at the popular TV shows. The drama comes from the consequences of bad actions. Study the news for the day. Politicians and leaders study the impact of actions and plans to prove their point. Yesterday, two different news stories complained that leaders didn’t think of the consequences of their proposals.

I remember a night when my dad and I pulled into the garage after a long day at the hospital with my mom. He was tired but needed to call Grandma with an update. Grandma was an "Uber-worrier". To protect her, we would just not tell her things. We had years worth of omissions and hidden truths. We thought we were being kind. Yet our omissions created a web of hidden events and information that was very complicated to keep track of what she knew and didn’t know. Before we got out of the car that night, my dad and I reviewed the list of what Grandma knew and shouldn’t know.

I remember this incident and use it to keep me honest. Deception is so complicated and leads to the dramas of life, even when I think I’m protecting. I may chose to protect someone in this way but I also accept the consequence. I may be willing to do it to protect but do I want the drama and consequence if I have another choice, a better choice to avoid the consequence?

The Israelites were entering a complicated land. They needed to be safe. To be live long and well they needed to Keep It Simple & Safe: Follow God’s commandments.

I live in a complicated world. My actions and decisions have consequences for me and those around me. I need to Keep It Simple & Safe and follow God’s commands.

Keep

It

Simple &

Safe

The "Key" to Prosperity

"What was the worst thing Janice ever did?"  Dick asked my parents shortly after we were married.  He had a colorful collection of boyhood mischief stories.  He thought my childhood tales lacked adventure and authenticity.  So he went to my folks.

He thought I presented myself as too good as a child.  He was looking for the "dirt".  My mother picked a charming story about potty training and me insisting on unrolling the toilet paper.  Dick and my dad scoffed.

My dad said, "Oh I have stories!  I remember one night when she called me on the phone to come to the mall."  Yikes I couldn't believe he picked the mall key story.  I'll give you my side.  It was the first Christmas break of my college years.  My high school friends had gone out to the movies at the mall.  I had driven my car.  It was after midnight when the movie ended and it was very cold.

The key in my car door lock didn't work!  We went into teenage girl panic as only a gaggle of girl teenagers would late at night, in a dark parking lot, locked out of the car with the mall about to close and cell phones had not been invented!

I sent a friend in to call my dad before the pay phone in the mall was unavailable.  We were sure the lock was frozen.  He needed to bring a torch!

A few minutes later Dad arrived and quietly took the keys from my hand.  He inserted the other car key.  The door miraculously opened.  He then turned and drove into the night and went back to bed.  (Yes, in the old days, we had two keys, one for the door and one for the ignition.)

OK, this incident was not my finest moment but I was surprised and relieved when he picked this story.  I was a sharp tongued little girl.  There must have been times when I said mean things.  Yet my Daddy picked a humorous but embarrassing story.

That's why I thought of my Dad when I read Deuteronomy 5:16.    God tells us to honor our father and mother so we will live long and prosper. (That is my translation.)

Perhaps if we take time to honor and remember the parents who gave us life, provided for us and managed our maturing, we would learn how to honor and remember God, the true provider, giver and nurturer.  When we take time to thank those who have given to us to better our lives, we remember that "it's not all about us."  I do not deserve full credit for my accomplishments.

The world teaches us to blame others for the tragedies and consequences of life.  God teaches us to honor those who have provided for us and made our lives possible, better and long.  Maybe that is prosperity- life that is possible, better and long?

Thanks Dad.  I honor you for being a man of honor and for sharing a humorous yet slightly embarrassing story instead of those times I would be really embarrassed!  And thanks for never mentioning the mall key story until Dick asked, especially the morning after!