The most phenomenal thing that ever happened to me in my life was being healed by the unconditional love of God. He loved me enough to die for me while I was His enemy. What kind of love is this?! How much must He love humanity!
When you have received this much mercy what else can you do but show mercy to everyone the Father loves--the whole World! We love because He first loved us (http://biblehub.com/1_john/4-19.htm). This is supposed to be the pattern of a child of God. Receive Love, Joy, Mercy, and Peace; give love, joy, mercy and peace.
This in-pouring of love healed so much of the wounds of my life. These wounds were mostly caused by feeling devalued by others. The Love of God poured truth onto my wounds like a healing salve. I will never be the same again!
Yet, this is only half of the equation for healing. Receiving Love is a wonderful thing! But, there is more healing to be had. If all that we do is receive unconditional love, but do not pour it out on the world around us it turns putrid in our souls.
Love is a dynamic force. It is meant to flow. If we choose not to let it flow into our lives we cannot be healed. In the same way it must flow out of us to the world around us. Like a swamp where water flows in but doesn't flow out at the same rate, our thinking begins to rot and stink.
I have received as much healing from my old wounds by letting unconditional love flow out of me as much as allowing it in. There is still a lot for me to learn about love, but I am committed to it. I have seen the results and there is no going back.
Loving others is hard. It isn't always as simple as doing what others want you to do. Often times that is the worst thing to do. Love is looking out for others best interest. Often times they can't see what is in their best interest. Sometimes the equation involves more than one variable. Things like how do I love one person and another person when the two things look like opposites. Love isn't just roses and chocolates. Sometimes it's downright muddy.
However, I have always found that making the effort has returns-on-investment that I never contemplated. I have received more healing letting love out than letting it in.
We all have those relationships with "difficult" people. Sometimes it is with the person we committed our lives to. I have seen so many marriages crumble around me lately--ones I would never have imagined. My heart aches for "Christians" to realize that love is not just something we are supposed to talk about or receive. It is to become who we are. God loves because He is love. It is the essence of His character therefore He cannot act otherwise. We are to be reflecting who He is to this World. We are to be transformed into the likeness of His image! Love because it is who you are, not because the world deserves you.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Rain
My five year old reminded me of something just now. (She's nine now when I found this draft of an unpublished post.)
It's pouring rain outside. Usually she is disappointed that she cannot go outside and play. Not today. She is jumping up and down excited, "Mom, Mom, it's raining. That means our garden is gonna grow!"
Rain takes on a whole different meaning when you are growing something with the intent of harvesting fruits of your labor. The goal of your days is no longer merely the enjoyment of a day in the sunshine. Those are nice, but a week without rain doesn't have the same appeal that it used to. It seems like drought in the making.
It hadn't rained since we put in our garden last week. We've been watering it by hand, making sure each plant has just the right amount. Now we are able to sit back and watch our plants grow.
Humans are a lot the same. We admire those who are strong and courageous but often overlook the work that it takes to get there. Some of that growth is caused by natural storms of life giving opportunity to mature. Yet, if all we do in between storms is enjoy the sunshine we will never harvest a crop of fruitfulness in our lives.
Our personal growth should never just be dependent to periods of storm and sunshine. Between storms we should take the effort to water our souls by hand. Once a week on Sunday's isn't enough to have a fruitful harvest. It takes watering every day.
By carefully tending the garden of our hearts on a daily basis we can reap the rewards of a strong, healthy inner man. With deep roots we will not be so easily blown about by every storm that rages. Strong plants are able to be more productive. We must pull the weeds that threaten to choke us and dig out the stones that have no place (Matt. 13). For a strong soul we need to tend our minds, our hearts, and our spirits.
I'm much more thankful for the storms in my life now that I've been through a devastating drought. Yet, I've also been through storms that threatened to take away everything. I've seen the amazing growth both from the hard work of rebuilding and from toiling to keep things watered through months of sunshine.
We often think of the storms of life as moments sent to bring us to our knees. But, the reality is we can grow both in good times and bad. Growth in the good times takes concentration on the goal of harvesting in order to inspire us to toil instead of only play. Growth in the bad times usually happens either by prepping for the storm to hit or after the storm in hind sight through repair and a lot of hard work.
During the sunny times of life remember to tend your garden by spending time with God in His Word, and through prayer and fasting. These are like fertilizer, clean air, and water to our souls. Allow the Spirit of God to nourish our hearts, minds and spirits so that our soul can be strong rain or shine.
It's pouring rain outside. Usually she is disappointed that she cannot go outside and play. Not today. She is jumping up and down excited, "Mom, Mom, it's raining. That means our garden is gonna grow!"
Rain takes on a whole different meaning when you are growing something with the intent of harvesting fruits of your labor. The goal of your days is no longer merely the enjoyment of a day in the sunshine. Those are nice, but a week without rain doesn't have the same appeal that it used to. It seems like drought in the making.
It hadn't rained since we put in our garden last week. We've been watering it by hand, making sure each plant has just the right amount. Now we are able to sit back and watch our plants grow.
Humans are a lot the same. We admire those who are strong and courageous but often overlook the work that it takes to get there. Some of that growth is caused by natural storms of life giving opportunity to mature. Yet, if all we do in between storms is enjoy the sunshine we will never harvest a crop of fruitfulness in our lives.
Our personal growth should never just be dependent to periods of storm and sunshine. Between storms we should take the effort to water our souls by hand. Once a week on Sunday's isn't enough to have a fruitful harvest. It takes watering every day.
By carefully tending the garden of our hearts on a daily basis we can reap the rewards of a strong, healthy inner man. With deep roots we will not be so easily blown about by every storm that rages. Strong plants are able to be more productive. We must pull the weeds that threaten to choke us and dig out the stones that have no place (Matt. 13). For a strong soul we need to tend our minds, our hearts, and our spirits.
I'm much more thankful for the storms in my life now that I've been through a devastating drought. Yet, I've also been through storms that threatened to take away everything. I've seen the amazing growth both from the hard work of rebuilding and from toiling to keep things watered through months of sunshine.
We often think of the storms of life as moments sent to bring us to our knees. But, the reality is we can grow both in good times and bad. Growth in the good times takes concentration on the goal of harvesting in order to inspire us to toil instead of only play. Growth in the bad times usually happens either by prepping for the storm to hit or after the storm in hind sight through repair and a lot of hard work.
During the sunny times of life remember to tend your garden by spending time with God in His Word, and through prayer and fasting. These are like fertilizer, clean air, and water to our souls. Allow the Spirit of God to nourish our hearts, minds and spirits so that our soul can be strong rain or shine.
Boredom
I found a 3 year old draft I had not publish, so I thought I'd go ahead and do that now.
Boredom.
There are so many "cures" for it these days. Every minute of every day seems to need filling up.
"Mom, I'm bored!" We all said it as kids. It's easy to point a finger at them and say, "If you can't find something to do, you can clean the bathroom." To which they answer, "Can I watch a movie?" or "Can I have a few extra minutes on my game?"
I do not hear "I'm bored," from my kids nearly as often as I said it as a child. There is always some form of amusement to be had, even around here.
I recently realized just how big a motivating factor boredom can be. I gave up playing a silly little time filler as a Christmas gift to my family. Yes, it was Candy Crush. I wasn't addicted or anything. I just played it while waiting for the toaster to ding, or for the water to boil, or for the laundry to get done, or between classes, or running here or there, or you know, those times when there was a few minutes, but not enough time to start a big project, or to think really hard about important matters. It sucked up those boring minutes of waiting.
When it was gone, I was shocked at just how much of a role boredom played in my life. I found myself bored enough to go looking for a chore to do. The dishes get loaded a lot more often. Creative projects got started. I read for those little minutes. My mind began to search for answers to questions, when it found them it began searching for more questions to find the answers to.
I thought, "My goodness, with all of the information available to us today, what would happen if the human race as a whole sat around and thought about things like they used to do around a fire or a harpsichord." My mind is exploding with possibilities.
I am so thankful that previous generations worked so hard to provide the leisure that we have today. Most of our business is self induced, not actual survival to find food or shelter, or protective clothing. We don't have a "do it or die" crisis lifestyle. How tragic that for the most part I waste it.
Right a book, paint a masterpiece, create culture, form a hypothesis, test it, build, grow, learn a new skill, master an old one... do something for society, do something
Boredom.
There are so many "cures" for it these days. Every minute of every day seems to need filling up.
"Mom, I'm bored!" We all said it as kids. It's easy to point a finger at them and say, "If you can't find something to do, you can clean the bathroom." To which they answer, "Can I watch a movie?" or "Can I have a few extra minutes on my game?"
I do not hear "I'm bored," from my kids nearly as often as I said it as a child. There is always some form of amusement to be had, even around here.
I recently realized just how big a motivating factor boredom can be. I gave up playing a silly little time filler as a Christmas gift to my family. Yes, it was Candy Crush. I wasn't addicted or anything. I just played it while waiting for the toaster to ding, or for the water to boil, or for the laundry to get done, or between classes, or running here or there, or you know, those times when there was a few minutes, but not enough time to start a big project, or to think really hard about important matters. It sucked up those boring minutes of waiting.
When it was gone, I was shocked at just how much of a role boredom played in my life. I found myself bored enough to go looking for a chore to do. The dishes get loaded a lot more often. Creative projects got started. I read for those little minutes. My mind began to search for answers to questions, when it found them it began searching for more questions to find the answers to.
I thought, "My goodness, with all of the information available to us today, what would happen if the human race as a whole sat around and thought about things like they used to do around a fire or a harpsichord." My mind is exploding with possibilities.
I am so thankful that previous generations worked so hard to provide the leisure that we have today. Most of our business is self induced, not actual survival to find food or shelter, or protective clothing. We don't have a "do it or die" crisis lifestyle. How tragic that for the most part I waste it.
Right a book, paint a masterpiece, create culture, form a hypothesis, test it, build, grow, learn a new skill, master an old one... do something for society, do something
Moving Blog Pages after Publishing
After publishing The Book of Job: Seeing God through the Ashes, I started a fresh blog page. You can find it here: freeingbehemoth.wordpress.com. You can find my book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXC6QTF. The book details what I have learned about the character of God through studying the "Book of Job." It goes through God's answer in fine detail to reveal God's love for all of creation--including the rebellious and under-achievers, as well as the obedient and excellent. If you find yourself failing in any area and wonder if God still loves you, or if you wonder how God can say he loves and provides yet watch us struggle (like me), then I hope the book will encourage you to trust him. He loves you, of that you can be sure. So do I. I am praying for you, dear one.
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