Time to get healthy

A healthy spirit has a somewhat conquering power! There is a physical and mental soundness or vigor that is evident when the spirit is in a place of "healthiness". The hard times and then we are subject to the potential of a crushed spirit. What can we do when the spirit becomes crushed by hard times, difficult circumstances, or disappointments galore? That's a tough one - even though our first answer might be to turn to Jesus to have him heal it, we sometimes don't think of that as our 'first go to' in these circumstances! That is kind of like a "pat answer" for all of our life's problems for some people, but do they really 'work that one out' by really going to Jesus first off and leaving the tough stuff with him? We often turn to him for this return of spiritual health without even realizing what it was that brought us to the point of being crushed - we just know that we 'hurt' and we don't want to any longer!

A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? (Proverbs 18:14)

We rarely get into a place where we have "crushed" spirits because we were blind-sided by some event, course of discussion, or infirmity of mind - but it does happen that we can be caught unaware of the things that resulted in the way we were crushed by these events. The emotional investment we make into our daily walk with Christ is a pretty good indicator of how "healthy" our spirit will be over the course of the day. When we are emotionally "invested" in these times together with him, we might find ourselves looking forward to times in the Word, moments to sneak away to share a few words with our Savior, or just some downtime to take in the things of beauty he has provided in our lives.

I know we are not supposed to be emotionally driven - but hear me out on this one. Our emotions are "indicators" much like those on the dashboard of our automobiles. We get "warning lights" in the emotional sense much like we get them when a tire is low, the oil pressure is askew, or the radiator is about to blow a gasket! When we learn to pay attention to those emotional "warning lights", we are more likely to get our spiritual condition back to a place of "health" quicker. Think of the emotion of fear - it causes us to have rapid heart rate, increased respiratory rate, and we might even feel like the pit of our stomach is churning a little. Even if it is a mild form of fear, like apprehension, there is an emotional-physical connection that occurs. What we "feel" is translated into certain responses within our body. The same is true spiritually - what we "feel" is often impacting our spiritual health in bigger ways than we might first recognize.

In thinking of the emotion of anxiety or fear again, but from the impact this has on our spirit, we might realize that we won't realize what made us feel this way, but we know we 'feel'. Why is it that we are feeling such anxiety in the first place? It is usually because of a "trust" issue that we have embraced in our emotions. We might not "feel" like God is trustworthy, maybe because we have experienced some set-back or loss. We don't "feel" like he has been faithful, perhaps because somebody we loved hasn't kept up their "end of the bargain" in relationship - we might think God allowed this to happen. When we form "emotional attachments" around false impressions or beliefs, we are allowing them to impact our spirit. It compromises the integrity of our health spiritually much like one microscopic virus invades our body. When false beliefs are allowed to take hold, just like the virus or bacteria that multiplies willy-nilly in our bodies when they take hold, it will soon impact the "defense system" of a healthy spirit. The antidote to a crushed spirit begins with a healthy assessment of our emotional condition. We look for the warning signs, address the issues that are "under the hood" and then work out a plan for maintaining the "health" of our spirit. Just sayin!

You saw that?

Have you ever had someone approach you with, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but..."? Inside they are just aching to tell someone the tidbit of information they believe they are the only ones to know. It is like they have some 'inside track' and they want someone else to know it. What they may not know is that some secrets or 'inside track' stuff isn't really known to 'just them'. God knows all things - there are no secrets from him! So, even the best kept secrets are known by at least one other! Some secrets of the heart are not the most pleasant ones for others to know - they are downright uncomfortable to have 'exposed'. How about the secret that someone is struggling inwardly and they don't want others to know about the nature or depth of that struggle? They want these secrets of their heart to be kept, but the things we feel we must keep to ourselves can be the things that we often believe are too difficult to for others to know about us.

Even hell holds no secrets from God—do you think he can't read human hearts? (Proverbs 15:11)

For some, a secret is something that only the "privileged" have any access into knowing. For others, a secret is more of a "gossip" channel. It could even be a means of controlling individuals through "protected information" that only you know about the individual. Regardless of the "reason" for the secret held, it can be both a burden, or a blessing for some, depending on the type and nature of the secret. There have been times when a secret is shared with me, knowing very well it will be revealed by the individual at a later time, but I am told 'in confidence' that something is about to happen. The timing isn't right, all the individuals who need to know before the facts become 'common knowledge' haven't been 'made in the know' yet, or the individual isn't quite ready to let the cat out of the proverbial bag yet.

Some things are kept concealed (secret) because we don't want others to know at all - we are just too doggone afraid of what others will think or say or do if they know the secret. The fact remains that there are no secrets from God. As a matter of fact, even Satan's domain (his "neighborhood" and "acquaintances") cannot even hold secrets from God. The fact is that God has a good hold on the human heart and he knows what we try to keep bottled up there - there are not really 'hidden areas' of our lives that he isn't already fully aware exist. Try as we might, we cannot hide our true struggles, the not-so-holy intentions, and the frequent compromises we make in our lives. We might think we have managed to bottle them up, but how is it we think we can keep what is inside the bottle hidden from the one who created the bottle in the first place?

Over the years, there is one thing I have done with the "secret" stuff of my heart and that is to frequently and honestly ask God to expose it. Sometimes we don't even know what all is hidden in the recesses of our minds, our emotions, and our desires. We almost get "caught off guard" by the stuff that surfaces on occasion - thinking we had "dealt" with that stuff a long time ago and it would never show up again. When it surfaces, we are surprised by it and often struggle afresh with the challenge that having this "secret" presents in our relationships, activities, and motivations. God has more knowledge about each one of us than we'd like to imagine he possesses. He knows each compromise - big or little. He understands the motives behind each action - good or bad. He holds the keys to breaking through addictions, bad habits, secretly held compromises - knowing exactly what needs focus in order to live beyond each of them.

Trying to hold "secrets" from God is pretty foolish indeed! Tucking things away in the recesses of our minds and refusing to deal with the unpleasant side of life's everyday struggles just doesn't cut it. God has already seen it, heard it, and prepared for it! He already knows it exists even before we are aware of the issue ourselves. There is nothing we can hide - no place we can "tuck it away" unnoticed. If we are serving the Lord, all is "fair game" for his touch and his grace! The best thing we can do with the secrets of our heart is to give them to the one who knows exactly what to do with them. The worst thing we can do with them is think that they will remain secret forever! We all have them, if we will be honest with ourselves. Isn't it about time that we give him access to what we have been so determined to keep tucked away? Just askin!

Wow...I didn't expect that one

How extravagant has God's love been toward you? Almost all of us would immediately announce that it has been very extravagant, but if I were to ask you to list fifty ways his love has been extravagant, you'd probably find it gets harder and harder to describe his extravagance the lower we get down that list. God's extravagance is often 'felt' - something we don't oftentimes put into words. Yet, if we were honest here, his extravagance is actually what produces our sense of 'well-being' and 'peacefulness' within. It is what causes us to jump for joy, brings comfort to the depths of our soul when we have experienced moments of grief, and encouraged us with tender nudges when we have been too focused on something to notice we have not moved in a while. It is his extravagance that fills us, but did you ever stop to consider it is his equally his extravagant love that empties us?

God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.  (Lamentations 3:22-24)

As you might imagine, my inventory of being able to express all the ways his extravagance has been evident in my life fell far short of what he has lavished upon me in my lifetime - even in those days when I felt the darkest, his love was still quite extravagant in my life! If we begin to really consider his extravagance, we begin to recognize mercies in our life that have been extended repeatedly without any real change in our actions! Now that is indeed extravagance on his part, for who really loves when there is no evidence of change? Most of us would struggle with repeatedly lavishing love on an individual who constantly resists necessary change - we might even get a little frustrated with them. Yet, God continues to lavish his love in all the extravagant ways he does - in spite of our 'foot dragging' and 'whining'.

God's mercies are "unrestrained" - that is just another word for extravagant! They extend the bounds of reason - yours and mine! There is no end to his mercies - what we deserve or what would be considered to be "reasonable" in our estimation - he goes way beyond all of that each and every time! Thank goodness he does! If God gave up on us the first couple of times we returned to old habits, or reverted back to old patterns he had convicted of us many times before, we'd be a total mess! The extravagance of God - it really points to the fact that God's love just doesn't dry up or give up - it is like a spring flowing forth - it has a source not fully seen, but its refreshment is fully enjoyed as often as we take time to notice it. His merciful touches are a constant source of refreshment to our souls. He uplifts us time and time again - not because he has to - but because he loves to!

The greatest hope we have is to found right at his feet. There is no greater opportunity to experience the extravagance of our God than when we fall at his feet in humble admission of our sin and penitent surrender of our will to the leading of his. The thing that moves God's heart like no other is really the yielded will of one who wants to learn of his extravagance first-hand. Into that hungry and hurting life he lavishes his unfailing mercies - new every morning and there for the taking. It is not quite dawn yet as I am typing these words - the sky is still black with the light glow from the ebbing moon. I will take for granted today that the sun will rise as it always has - coming gradually over the Eastern horizon, settling high into the sky by midday, and then dropping gracefully behind the mountains on the West without my even noticing the awesomeness of the movement of the sun. That is kind of how we treat God sometimes - just taking for granted that he will always be there, is passing through our lives moment by moment, all the while without us being cognizant of the fact that in his passing he has once again and quite faithfully extended his mercies.

When we truly begin to see the extravagance of our God, we look for ways to begin to express that extravagance in our lives. That desire to display his extravagant love delights the heart of God. Reflecting his extravagance is just one way we become light in the dark, a guide to the blind, and a haven of compassion to the hurting. Isn't it time that we begin to truly "experience" the extravagance of our God? In the passing of time, his mercies are there, new every morning - learn to recognize them well and reflect them faithfully! Let us learn to seriously acknowledge and frequently consider his extravagance in our lives. Just sayin!

Is that a diamond I see?

Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles. (Thomas Browne)

I'd have to admit - there are a few 'diamonds' I have kicked in life, all the while thinking they were just rough-edged stones not really of much value. I didn't mean to just kick them aside, but I didn't see the value in them at the time. I think we might all do this from time to time, not even cognizant of the fact we are. One thing is for sure - we can overlook some 'gems' in our midst - but God isn't content for us to just 'overlook' them. He wants us to look over those 'stones' we might have only given a cursory 'once over' in life and see them for the jewels contained within!

God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. (Psalm 19:10-12)

We sometimes have a tendency to take God's Word for granted - like a pebble we might just casually turn over, but never really closely examine for all the worth within. The more we explore the depths of God's Word, the more we realize there are treasures galore. We find what was cleverly hidden and required just a little more effort to discover. Why does God sometimes allow some of his greatest treasures to be a little 'hidden' like what appears to be worthless stones? I think it is because he wants us to get very skilled at seeing the potential within what isn't immediately obvious. There is much revealed in our tenacity to find the 'gem' within - it requires committed examination.

Some of the gems in God's Word? Might one of them be the very thing that keeps us from dangers before they occur? Could another be the ability to 'clean the slate' in our lives so nothing remains that is shameful? Perhaps the hidden gem is really the Word's ability to keep us from those stupid sins in the first place! We don't always appreciate the gem until we see it on full display. It has always been there, but we didn't know the extreme value in the tiniest of gems until they were on display in our lives.

Scrubbed clean of the grime of sin - this is probably the most beautiful of the gems we can discover in God's Word. Yes, we will make dumb mistakes in life, but let none of those mistakes be the overlooking of one of these beautifully disguised gems in God's Word. They are meant for our adornment and will always contribute to our beauty more than we realize at first glance. Just sayin!

Keep him as your closest friend

Have you ever awakened from sleep only to feel a little MORE tired than when you went to bed? Just because you 'slept' doesn't always mean you 'rested', does it? Sometimes our sleep is restless, because of the burdens we bear or the interruptions in life that seem to interfere with that 'rest'. For some of us, it is the company we have been keeping that keeps us from resting more than anything else. Maybe that company is us! It doesn't have to always be anyone else - we can be our own worst company at times! No one knows the Father unless they know the Son - keep company with him and you will get to know God. That is the basis of Jesus' teaching - know me, the Son of God, and you will know the one who sent me, my Father God. Why is this important? Jesus tells us that no one really knows the Father like the Son does. Our kids know us so well - it stands to reason Jesus would know his Father very well, too! Since he knows what impedes our rest, isn't it wise to learn to keep company with the one who knows who stands in the way of us really being 'at peace' and at 'rest' in our lives?

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Three questions are posed for us to consider - questions that help us to realize what close union with him produces. 1) Are you tired? Tiredness comes from exertion - sometimes it even comes from over-exertion. He is asking if we are exhausted by all the self-effort we have been putting into "being righteous". If we are truly tired, we will desire rest. 2) Are you worn out? When we run for so long, we become depleted of energy. As our energy wanes, we soon lack enthusiasm in what it is that we are doing. He is asking if we are tired of just doing things by the books, doing them from memory with no real heart behind it. The energy behind our work is often directly linked to where our heart finds rest. If there is no rest in our heart, there will be very little energy in our work. 3) Are you burned out on religion? That which is burned out is usually totally consumed - there is no effectiveness in what it is we are doing any longer. He is asking if we are tired of living ineffective lives. Tough questions, but if we answer them honestly, we are likely on the verge of finding the solution we need!

We can probably associate will all three of these questions at one point or another! Exhausted by our efforts to be righteous, lacking enthusiasm because all we do is sucking us dry, and totally ineffective in our testimony, as a result. The answer to these three questions: 1) Come to me. Plain and simple - go to the source of energy, to the supply of sufficiency. Stop wallowing around in your own efforts to be righteous and take up new company - company with Jesus. 2) Get away with me and you will recover your life. He is offering us the ability to bring balance back to our lives once again. Balance is not found in the "doing", but in the "being". When we are content to just "be" with Jesus, we find our greatest balance. 3) Walk with me and work with me. Jesus does not present the life of laying around in a field of wildflowers, just consuming the air and taking in the beauty. These are action words - walk with him and work with him. Walk suggests "keeping current" with Jesus - keeping pace with him. When we "walk with" someone through life, we are involved with them daily, moment-by-moment. Work suggests that "keeping current" involves us being right there with him in the day-to-day activities he engages in (reaching out to the rejected of the world).

Jesus concludes that we "learn the unforced rhythms of grace". The UNFORCED rhythms of GRACE. Grace is not earned - it is given freely - nor is it forced. Grace is not crammed down your throat - it is extended willingly for the taking and enjoyment. The idea is that we come to a place where the 'grace-filled' company we keep brings us to a place where we come out of the FORCED rhythms of religious pursuits and into the UNFORCED rhythms of his unmerited grace and favor. The final invitation he extends - keep company with me. He invites us to make him our "usual" companion in life. We all favor certain individuals in our daily life - walking closer to some than others. He asks that we keep him as the closest! Just sayin!

Can we all get along?

How hard is it to get along with each other? HARD! How big does your tolerance have to be at times? BIG! How open do you have to be to finding ways to forgive one another? WIDE OPEN! This 'getting along' thing is harder than we might want to admit. If it was all that easily accomplished - there would never have been the first war, the first school yard fight, the first divorce, or the first debate over any issue! Doors would never have been slammed, feelings would never have been hurt, and work place violence would never have become an issue, either. If 'getting along' is the goal, then it must be achievable - because God never gives us goals that are not achievable in his grace!

Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. (James 3:17-18 MSG)

A healthy and robust community is our goal, so understanding it begins by being in right relationship with God that we come into right relationship with each other is important. Yes, it is hard work - but every step we need to take to accomplish this goal is given to us in the Word, in times of prayer, and in simple use of our common sense. We need to be sensitive to the needs of others - but will we ever see those needs if we are always looking no further than our own needs? We are to be open to the ideas of others - but will we ever see those ideas come to fruition is we are always demanding our own way? Not likely!

We don't just get along by going along. We don't just go along with the plans of another and find we are getting along with each other. At some point, we are going to get a little disgruntled with always having to follow the plans of another - because we have ideas of our own and we sometimes want to do what we want to do. If this is the case, we need some way of 'incorporating' each other's needs into this thing called 'community'. Did you realize the root of community is common? It means we find things in common and we work to keep our attitudes in line - so that the community is maintained. There is no better 'common ground' than at the feet of Jesus.

Each of us has a need for Jesus in our lives. We ALL need his grace to be at work in us. Yet, we create scenarios in our imaginations in which there is more of us at the helm than there is Jesus. We don't want anything to do with finding out what God wants of us in the circumstances that arise - we'd rather just plunge ahead with our own misguided ideas and wants. Isn't it about time we look around us at those God has placed in our community and ask ourselves how well we are doing more than 'getting by' in that community?

God's desire is that we 'do' the hard work of getting along with each other - not by one being a doormat for the other, but by allowing him to be the center of each relationship. When he is at the center, there is no room for our endless selfishness to be in control. We find we are more understanding of each other, tolerant of those idiosyncrasies we ALL have, and we desire to give a little - take a little, but in shared recognition that God is the center of our community. Just sayin!

Reach THAT one

Ever feel like you could do a little more in your community, or to help some world mission? The disasters that hit far off places seem to be never-ending, causing us to be always bombarded by opportunities to get involved. In the times of Jesus' ministry on this earth, things were quite similar - if not in the form of 'natural disaster', then in the form of persecution and oppression from kings of quite unfriendly kingdoms. The twelve disciples were being trained to "do" the ministry of serving those they were surrounded by - those in their immediate focus and influence. The simple instructions of Jesus speak volumes - "Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place..." He was focusing them on the immediate needs of those in the communities in which they lived and did business. People with indecision and confusion in their lives who simply need a helping hand to sort things out - help them. People with the need to know that Christ is here - now - in this very moment with the answer to their life challenge - help them meet him.

"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously." (Matthew 10:5-8)

World mission are quite important, but never lose sight of our calling to be involved in the lives of those in our immediate reach. These may be our neighbors, our work-mates, or our community leaders. Right now, the budget "wars" are raging in our national capital, walls are supposed to be built to keep out immigrants, and things just seem to be constantly in a state of upset. Leaders are pitted against each other, often taking a stand on one side of the issue, sometimes without any respect for the other side's perspective. In fact, our local media is probably playing this "battle of the budget" to the max - encouraging us to call our leaders and complain vehemently that they settle the budget issues and move on to more important business. This is exactly the type of thing where we need to be "light" in a rather dark place - the regular stuff of life that just mounts to catastrophic proportions without much effort! The disciples were being called to be concerned with the confusion and unrest in their neighbors' lives - to be light in their darkness. They were encouraged to be involved in the lives of their neighbors - rather than looking beyond them to only the needs of others in far off regions. It seems that we have lost sight of that today. We are surrounded by all kinds of hurting, confused, and destitute people - right here in our own backyards (maybe in our own families).

Simple instructions can be the most difficult to follow! Somehow we read more into them than we see there. We just cannot believe that the instructions can be that simple - so we create more complex ones in our minds that we "believe" to be true. We cannot look beyond the simplicity of what Jesus tells us to do, though. He is quite simple in his instructions and we need to be a 'simple' in our belief and actions as he asks us to be! Go to the lost, confused people - those who have missed the way, are bewildered by life's circumstances, not sure of what direction to take next. These are the ones who may not have made good use of past opportunities and now live with all kinds of regret. These are our neighbors - look around you and you will see them everywhere. Bring health to the sick - we often think of these as those who have been affected by physical disease alone, but I challenge us to look beyond the physical to see spiritual, emotional, and relational "disease", as well. There are people all around us who have been affected by some unpleasantness that has left them with deep sorrow, plaguing their peace and stealing away their joy. To these, Jesus says to bring them health. Soundness of mind, freedom from what ails them.

Touch the untouchables - he was never afraid to reach out to the lepers and those who others considered "unclean". We think of these as those who society rejected - making them untouchable. Jesus encourages us to bring the touch of healing into their lives once again. Kick out the demons - there are very real evil spirits that exist in our world today. We indeed have been given the authority over them. But, I want us to look beyond what we believe to be "demons" to what also has "demon-like" power in a person's life. Those are the things that exert influence, or undo passion, in a person's life that keeps them bound by some measure of evil influence. It could be the "demon" of unforgiveness - we need to bring the ministry of reconciliation. It could be the "demon" of sexual violation - we need to bring the ministry of restoration and cleansing. It could be the "demon" of addiction of any sort - we need to bring the ministry of wholeness and healing. Yep, we need to see the entire world as our "mission field", but we cannot neglect our own backyard in the process! To whom is Jesus calling you to bring the ministry of hope, reconciliation, or restoration today? To that one, be faithful to reach out! Just sayin!

My favorite shorts

One of my most comfortable pair of 'knock about the house' shorts has developed a stress tear at a very 'not so easy to fix' location. I will attempt to fix it, but a stress tear is kind of hard to fix because it follows the path knit in the shorts and it isn't parallel to the seam! So, try as I might, these may be 'beyond fixing' in the long run. Try as we might, we can attempt to bring the frayed edges of the tears in our lives known as "stress tears" together without the tear being noticed, but it is almost impossible. Things just don't match up and if we simply join at the point of 'stress', the surrounding fabric of our lives has also been weakened, so that patch is not going to last long either.

“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. And no one puts new wine into old wine skins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wine skins so that both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16-17)

We experience these same kind of "stress-tears" in our character, commitments, and constitution. The things we have become so familiar and comfortable with, like our little habits or routines, actually "fit" us well, but are riddled with weakened areas that can "burst-out" at anytime. The very moment that the stress of life gets a little too much to contain, we experience the "stress-tear" and it leaves us feeling a little too exposed! A lot of us think that the answer to those "stress-tears" is to simply apply a little patch here and there, until what was exposed is covered up well again. Some of these "patches" are not all that bad - like when we attempt to incorporate prayer as a "patch" to our worries. The thing we don't recognize is that the entire "garment" of worry is what is giving us the trouble - patch one area and another will give out under the stress of life! It isn't the tear that is the problem - it is the quality of the fabric we are attempting to bind together!

Jesus doesn't offer us "patches" in our lives. He offers us completely new garments! He says to be clothed with his righteousness - to be outfit with his graces, power, and authority. The "patches" are our doing - the new garments are his! In various times in our 'fashion history' as a nation, patched jeans were the "in" thing - but that did not last long. Now kids wear purposefully "distressed" or 'whole-riddled' jeans - paying good money for those "stress-tears" in perfectly new fabric! I may not fully understand the "statement" of such attire, but I do know that my Lord is not keeping up with the latest fads when it comes to our lives! His garments are perfect - fitting us to a "T" and adorning us with just what we need in those areas of our life where character, commitments, or constitution are a little too 'stressed' and 'flawed'! I don't know about you, but the times of simply "patching-up" the failures of my life have not been working and they need to be over. I am serious - we need this spiritual wardrobe exchange of our ragged garments for his beautiful garments! Isn't it about time that we evaluate the "patch" jobs of our lives and truly shed the old garments in exchange for his new ones? Just askin!

What are you doing with those needs?

For a great many of us, prayer is a kind of "hey, God, it is me again" approach. We find ourselves going to him repeatedly for much the same thing, maybe laying it all out again in just a slightly different manner, but doing so because we just "need" something that only he can provide. There are also times when we simply pussy-foot around the whole matter that is niggling at our brains and pulling at our heartstrings because we aren't entirely comfortable talking to him about it. Regardless of our reluctance to actually lay those things out before him openly and honestly, he knows what they are, so all our pussy-footing around isn't really helping the matter. There is just something that comes when we are open, direct, and totally honest with ourselves and him in prayer - it is often referred to as "he answers"!

Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, "Master, if you want to, you can heal my body." (Matthew 8:1-2)

Somehow, we have learned that we cannot be forthright with God about our needs, fears, hopes, etc. We have developed a skill of "sugar-coating" them, or not even presenting them to him at all. Either way, we are denying God exactly what he wants to do! God is delighted to take care of us - not just in meeting every one of our "wants" we might lay out before him without issue, but also in meeting those "needs" we may not be quite comfortable discussing with him at first. Jesus' immediate response back to the leper was a hearty, "You betcha, I wanna!" The man was made whole again - no sign of his leprosy! I wonder just how much time we allow to go by with unmet spiritual, emotional, and physical needs simply because we don't lay it out there before God. When we are honest with God, he has a chance to be involved in our lives as he desires to be.

Let me just say that we may have a difficult time at first trying to decipher between our "wants" and our "needs" as we approach God in prayer. Yet, if we are forthright about both in our times with God, he will sort them out! The leper had been living with a disease that separated him from his family, friends, and his worship. His healing was more than physical - it restored him in so many ways. Jesus did not look at this fellow and say, "Now, Mr. Leper Man, is this really a need?" Nope, he saw the man's faith and he responded with a resounding, "I wanna do that for you!" - and he healed him.  Here's the thing - if you "wanna" grow in your relationship with God, then he wants to help you grow. If we "wanna" be free of our fears, then he wants to help us develop the faith to trust him with what it is we are fearful of in our lives. If we "wanna" let go of ill feelings toward another, then he wants to help us get out from under the burden of carrying all that baggage. If we "wanna" new SUV when the old one is still in awesome condition, God may not see that as a need at the moment - we already have something that is blessing us with faithful transportation right now - so the answer may be that we need to wait.

Isn't it time that we start laying it all out before God, allowing him to sort through the needs and the wants in our lives. The desire of God's heart is that we come to him with the faith to give him what it is that is on (and in) our heart - those things that burden us, keep us bound, and chew up so much of our attention trying to "fix" or "live with" them. He wants to meet our needs - we just have to "wanna" give them to him! Just sayin!

The mystery at work

It was Dickens who reminded us that, "the whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists." (Charles Dickens) The 'created thing' is loved before it even exists - think on that one a little bit and you might just begin to feel a little differently about yourself. In fact, when you realize that God saw you fully formed, created you specifically for his purposes, and enjoyed you even before he created you - that is the beginning of wisdom! We may not fully understand how he sees each of us, but we can stand assured that he sees us as we are often incapable of seeing ourselves.

Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, So you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does. (Ecclesiastes 11:5 MSG)

What is the 'all that God does' in your life? This is a pretty open-ended question, but I really must ask it this morning because it may just be that you and I are not entirely certain God has been at work at all within us! We have fallen too many times, doing the wrong things over and over again, and then we get all wigged out over stuff we shouldn't have even been engaged in at all. We might think there is just too much water under the bridge to ever 'come back' from wherever we are at the moment. We could even imagine God isn't interested in this beat up, broken down life of ours - made all the worse for the wear because of all the junk we have put it through. Regardless of where we have been, how many times we have fallen, or whatever 'stuff' has drug us down into the mire, God sees us as he has always seen us - his perfect and totally loved creation.

I have studied the process of human conception, recognizing the coming together of ova and sperm, the division of cells one after another at what is sometimes an astronomical pace, but I still marvel at how little we know about how life 'comes together' in the womb. The process is nothing short of a miracle. The mystery at work in all that God does is most certainly the result of his loving care over all he does. His 'design work' isn't limited to a cookie-cutter creation - it is uniquely different in each of us. We might think we aren't as 'good' as the one we admire or look up to as a role model, but trust me on this one - God didn't design that individual with any more care than he has taken in designing you! There is no 'difference' in his love for us - even though there is a 'difference' in the color of our hair, tone of our skin, or shape of our body. His 'total care' is the same for each of us.

What is the 'mystery at work' in what God is doing in your life today? If you don't know, then maybe it is time to ask him yourself. God isn't put off by that question - he doesn't think we are questioning his love or challenging his authority. He is genuinely interested in us being interested in what it is he sees in us, and in fulfilling the specific purpose he has created us to fulfill. Even the most 'insignificant' life in this world's eyes is a much treasured life in the eyes of God. He has created each life with a purpose and the mystery at work in each life begins and ends in him! Just sayin!

No clever dupe for me

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. (Hosea Ballou)

The 'counterfeit of happiness' - what might that look like? I daresay a good many of us know perfectly well what it looks like because we only have to look as far as the mirror to see the counterfeit on display. Many times we are in pursuit of what others tout as 'happiness' in some form or another, only to find it never really leaves us satisfied when we achieve it. It is when we finally lay down the pursuit of happiness and begin to pursue the one who provides true joy that we begin to realize the picture in the mirror has changed.

Don’t bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they’ll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun. Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best. (Psalm 37:1-4)

The price of the 'counterfeit' isn't always immediately recognized. If you have ever received a counterfeit bill in some exchange of money, you rarely can tell the difference, but try to deposit it into your account or spend it at a later date and you will find that 'exchange' cost you dearly. You are out whatever you 'exchanged' for the counterfeit, and you have nothing of 'true value' because you only possess the counterfeit. The counterfeit is merely a cleverly disguised thing designed to 'dupe' us into believing we have received something of value.

Let me ask you when was the last time that you really stopped to consider if you were pursuing things or relationships that merely promised happiness, but proved to be a little bit of a let down in the end? Maybe it is just dawning on you today that you have been pursuing something that promised one thing, but really has not proven trustworthy. As disappointing as it is to recognize we have accepted a counterfeit, it is even more disappointing to hold onto it in the belief it will some day prove to be worth the cost!

God doesn't issue counterfeits. He doesn't have the need to create something that is a clever dupe. His promises are trustworthy. His grace is steadfast and unwavering. His truth stands up against all scrutiny. His love transcends anything we have experienced in the natural. His standards don't lower to keep up with the times. He issues no counterfeits. Honesty is a hallmark of his character and he will not change his character. Just sayin!

Detour me

It seems like every road I take to work these days is riddled with construction! We cannot turn left at some intersections, whittle down to one lane in others, and are detoured in directions we have to rely upon GPS guidance to maneuver! The inconvenience is made all the more unbearable by the rudeness of those who think they can avoid the longer waits by moving to the head of the line and cutting in around all of us who have waited our turn to make it through! It brings me back to elementary school all over again when you'd frequently hear the cries of "No Cutting" called whenever someone tried that in the cafeteria line! The benefits of the construction projects are hard to imagine when you are enduring the agony of the months of torn up roadways, but when they finally reopen that intersection with wider and safer turn lanes, you suddenly understand it from a different perspective. It makes sense on the other side of that construction, even though it seemed unbearable whilst it was underway.

"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. 

But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." (Matthew 7:24-27)

The same is true in our lives - we are almost continually "under construction". That construction process involves quite a bit of noise on our part - usually complaining, whining, and statements about not understanding what is going on! We deal with a lot of mess - because our lives are more than a little messy at times. We certainly view the constructive processes of our lives as less than convenient, as they rarely "fit" our schedule! They give us 'detours' we may not have wanted and we get a little wigged out when the delays are significant. Jesus tells his disciples are life lessons that need to be "worked into the core" of their lives. In other words, they are the foundation of all they are to be, will do in this lifetime, and what they will experience. As is the case with our torn up roadways, the "cement" or foundation of our lives is poured, smoothed out, and takes form by the skilled work of his hands. It is not a quick project - it takes time to get it right!

The better the foundation, the stronger the structure. The process of preparing us for the foundation to be laid is as important as pouring that which will bring the sure and certain foundation into our lives. The ground of our hearts and minds must be prepared to receive what God is doing. The recesses of what brings "unevenness" into our lives must be explored so that the things that would "trip us up" are removed. The potential for 'sink-holes' in our lives must also be explored - because what is just underneath what appears to be a hard or firm surface may not be as reliable as we'd like to imagine. Then, and only then, is the ground prepared for the receiving of the "cement" of his Word. That "poured out" Word has to be smoothed out into all the corners of our lives - taking on the form Jesus desires to see within us. Just as with the cement, the Word is carefully eased into the corners, worked and reworked, in order to get out all the tiny "bubbles" that would form weak areas if they remained. God is careful in his design because it is paramount to the success of the next phases of our usefulness! He takes time to "form us" so that we don't just take the Word in, and then it dries up and is worthless in purpose or design.

There is a design to the work being done in each of these roadway construction areas this morning on my way into work. There is an even greater design in what God is doing in our hearts! He is about the process of "molding" us into what it is that will bring him honor, bring others access to him, and give us usefulness in his hands. These Words are what give us strength, allow us to pass from one stage of growth to another, and give passage to the waters of the storms that come. We cannot escape the "construction" work of the Word - if we do, we are certain to have cracked foundations, weak spots, impassable areas of our hearts, and little shelter from the storms of life. It is by his hand that we were formed - it is out of his heartfelt love that we receive his Word. What we allow to be formed within us is what will become foundational to all we do and become in life. Just sayin!

Drawn by the light

Charm is a glow within a woman that casts a most becoming light on others. (John Mason Brown)

What amount of light do you cast on the lives of others? If we were honest, there are times when we cast more of a shadow, not light! The truth is that we can be very 'charming' at times and altogether 'mean spirited' at others. The more we try to 'charm' another, the less 'true' we are, for 'charm' is really designed to display one thing while silently moving to perform another. A snake-charmer speaks soothing noises, plays a little tune, and uses his hands to mesmerize the snake. His aim is to get hold of the thing! The very enticement he has displayed is meant to display one thing while his heart and mind is all about doing something quite different. Charm can be deceiving, but when it is combined with the true grace of God within a life, the light that is cast by that charm is genuinely warm and enriches the lives of those that bask in it.

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. Give her everything she deserves! Festoon her life with praises! (Proverbs 31:28)

The one who lives in the 'fear of God' is 'graced' with his peaceful presence and that presence brings a glow from within that reaches deep into the lives of others like nothing else is capable of doing. There is a radiance about one who has given their life into the hands of a gracious God - he adorns that life with his glory. Live in this way and others will be drawn to you, not because you 'charm' them with manipulative words or actions, but because of the genuineness of each word and commitment of each action. 

The love of God changes a life in a way that is quite unlike any other thing. We can be 'positive' in our intent all we want, but the life that is touched by the grace of God becomes one that emanates the positive glow of grace. Why? There is no room within that life for one's own pride. There is no seeking of the attention of others, or the desire tor receive the 'credit' for things done well. In fact, the 'credit' comes from within - for the individual moved upon by the grace of God basks in that grace and is nourished by the presence of that grace. No amount of praise really gives us what God's grace produces wherever it dwells.

We might not realize we are being 'charmed' by the grace of God when we see a life lived well in the Lord's presence, but we do know we are being drawn toward that life because of the sheer beauty of light within their soul. Just sayin! 

Lay down, give in

There are many life events that we just barely eke by with any semblance of being "all together" at the culmination. There are others that we seem to simply "sail" through. Which do you prefer? I think we'd all say that we want the ones that we can "sail" through opposed to those that give us cause to reconsider how on earth we ever found ourselves messed up in the muddle we are in right now! I once read that we should not borrow from tomorrow what rightfully belongs in tomorrow - leave it there because today has enough worries of its own. That is the definition of worry in a nutshell - bringing imaginations about the "what if" of tomorrow into the "known" of today. There is a moment in time when we need to "deal with" life, not by just doubling-down or digging-in, but by laying down and giving in!

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.  (Matthew 6:34)

The very definition of us "coping" with anything is to struggle or deal it, for however long the struggle will go on. I imagine that we all have days where we are simply "dealing" with stuff - not really rising above it, but muddling through with all the intensity of the moment. Yet, the definition of coping does not end wit the struggle. It goes on to remind us we struggle or deal on a "fairly even playing field" or "with some terms of success" - in other words, we aren't always 'going uphill' in life because God has leveled the playing field. That means we are making it despite the pressure to give in that we all feel from time to time! The very best definition of coping is the ability to face difficulties with a sense of calm and adequate resources. We all have different "coping mechanisms" - some of us exercise a little more to "burn off" the stress, while others of us "eat a little more" (a method I don't really recommend as it adds more stress because you now have to exercise a little more!). The simple truth is that we all have the same resources to "deal" available to us - we just may not realize that they are at our disposal or avail ourselves of them.

It is "when things come up" that we get the resources to "deal" with them. Worry gives us an "uneven" playing field - in other words, the other guy has 10 husky linebackers and we only have one puny one better known as "me". Worry opens the doors of our minds to the infinite possibilities of rationalization - what we think is "rational" at the moment. We think we are "rationalizing" our way "through" the problem at hand, but we are really bringing all kinds of irrational thought into the mix. The truth is that we are all given the capacity to "cope" with life - we just have to realize our capacity and then allow God to exercise his capacity where ours is grossly insufficient. That is where we come to the place where we are really able to "cope" with life - when God is given freedom to intervene instead of us struggling through on our own. There is a very "old world" meaning to the word "cope" and it simply means that we come into contact with and encounter something or someone. What better source of contact can we make than to go to the one who holds our destiny in his hands?

If you are holding on by the skin of your teeth, just barely getting through today, take hold of this truth and begin to "cope" from a different perspective. Act on the instructive portion of this passage: Give your entire attention to what God is doing. Stay focused on the time frame we are each reminded to maintain: NOW. Stop "planning" tomorrow while we have things to deal with or allow to be dealt with this very day. Know with a certainty that God will help you! He does not make promises that he will not keep! Recognize the timing: It is God's, not ours! Coping isn't about us knowing it all or having it all under our control - it is more about realizing there are answers beyond our knowledge and action beyond our ability that might just be more easily recognized if we just lay down and give in a little quicker! Just sayin!

Me Time

The very fact that we can make frequent and open contact with a holy God is always a thing of comfort to me, but it is hard for me to fathom the degree of love and grace that so openly welcomes sinners into the presence of the holy and mighty God of the Universe! Jesus was always very forthright in his reminders to his disciples about prayer, or conversation with God - first in his instruction to the disciples about "how to" pray (we call that the Lord's Prayer), and in his reminders that God is not to be "bargained with" in prayer. It is not a "you do this for me" and "I will do this for you" kind of contact, as we are so accustomed to in many business and day-to-day dealings these days. It is a direct, ask what you need type of relationship - but God isn't just there for our every whim and fancy. When we are in the position of bargaining, we are saying we have something "worth" trading or bargaining for. Either our price is what the owner of the item really can "get by" with, or the advantage of having what we are trading is something to be desired by the owner of the item. God has way more than we could ever offer and we need so much more than we are capable of ever offering in return!

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" (Matthew 7:7-11)

We come to God with a whole lot of needs and not much else. God isn't looking for us to bring him something as a "trade" in order to receive his blessing - he just wants us to fall so totally in love with him that we enjoy spending the time with him. The "side benefit" of that time with him is often the blessing! Amazing how that works, isn't it? We fall in love with him, spending more and more time with him, and in return we experience way more from the relationship than we ever knew was possible. Even more amazingly, we experience things we never even knew we had need of in our lives in the first place! Being direct for some people is easier than it is for others. They may have been raised in a home that actually made this an expectation. Yet for most of us, being direct was not the expectation and often was taken as a little bit of an affront - we may have been viewed as being "too" direct. So, we learned to "skirt" the real intention of our actions or requests with subtle "clues" and "little bargains" that would eventually get us what we hoped for. We learned to "mask" our intent because we didn't think we had much hope of getting whatever it was we needed if we were open and direct about it.

Being direct is simply proceeding by the shortest course - in other word, you get to the crux of what you want to express, not mincing words or hiding behind a huge display of words. God actually doesn't mind that his children are that open with him. He wants us to experience that total freedom of expression - even if the thing being expressed is disappointment, fear, frustration, or doubt. God can work with that kind of "directness" much more than he can our "hiding behind" a huge display of words! Contact with God is the best when it is by the shortest course possible! Whenever we put up "obstacles" to that access - like the idea that we have not "performed" well today, so God doesn't want to hear from us until we get our act together - we are doing ourselves the most harm! God doesn't need our perfection - he needs our heart. He doesn't reward our "perfect performance" - he rewards our commitment and our openness. I am a performance kind of person - it is true. I like to do well in life, but truth be told, I miss the mark WAY more than I hit it! I am not all that good and most of my friends know it!  The totally good news is that I don't have to hide behind my words when I approach God - I can be direct about my need for forgiveness, my help with overcoming my 'issues', and the confident expectation he will realize my heart is so totally in love with him.

Today is a fresh day for "direct" and "open" contact with God. Don't let anything be an obstacle to keep you from that. In fact, maybe you have never discovered the "shortest course" to his feet - it is on your knees! So, fall down on those knees, or just crawl right up into his lap, open up your heart, and enjoy that time with him today. You won't regret that "contact"! In fact, you may just find that the shortest trip to realizing the thing you needed most wasn't really what you thought you needed in the first place! It may just be you needed a little more "me time" with him! Just sayin!

Give credit where it is due

Harry S. Truman reminds us, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." I wonder how many of us go through our lives just trying to get credit for whatever good we manage to accomplish and totally discount the very significant struggle we have with that stuff in our lives that often might just border on being a little bit 'not so good'? Most of the time, the desert region around where I live is kind of arid, not very 'colorful', and kind of scraggly. Yet, whenever we have a particularly wet winter and early springtime showers, something amazing happens to the desert floor. Not only do the cacti come into full bloom, but there is a plethora of wildflowers that spring forth. I had never really considered the fact that most of the wildflowers in the world go completely unnoticed by human eye. They spring forth from the hard soil of the earth, struggle against the elements, bloom in all their majesty, and no one ever sets an eye on them, or gives them 'credit' for all the hard work they have had to go through to actually bloom for such a short time! The 'credit' doesn't matter to them - their main 'job' in life is to just bloom!

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:30-33)

What are the differences between the wildflowers and the ones planted in my garden? Well, first of all, it is who is doing the planting and caring for them! One is completely God's handiwork - the other is a local nursery worker, followed by me, then their fate is left to the sprinkler system and the elements! No wonder God's wildflowers do so much better than mine and look so majestic! That is not the only difference between the two types of 'growth', though. There is also the fact that one is deliberately planted to bring God joy - the other is planted to bring only me joy! That wildflower, bending with the gentle breezes, in the meadow, or tucked gently into a crag on the side of a rocky cliff or desert floor, has been placed exactly where they are by the hand of our Creator God. They enjoy their placement and beauty because it has been designed by God. I doubt if that wildflower on the side of the cliff or desert floor says to itself, "I wish I was in the meadow" and then bemoans the "fate" of being on the majestic cliff or otherwise pretty 'bland' desert floor! Yet, how many times do we "bloom" where we have been planted only to complain about our "planting"? The 'credit' of where we are planted and who had done the planting gets in the way for us many times.

The fact is that God plants us where we will bloom best! In his perfect wisdom, he plants us - some in meadows, others in seeming "craggy places" of life. Yet...in our perfect placement we have the true honor of bringing God joy and glory. It is when we understand that we are not placed to bring ourselves joy or glory that we truly begin to enjoy where we are "planted". It is there that we can begin to be "carefree" - allowing God to soak up the beauty of our lives as he designed it! You may not be noticed by the masses, but God has his eyes constantly directed toward you. You never escape his watchfulness. He sees your struggle to get your "head above the hard soil" of life. He knows how you will "fit in" with the "environment" where you have been planted. He encourages your growth with "gentle storms" and "forming winds". He opens you to the fullness of beauty with the warmth of his radiance, much as the sun does for the wildflower in the field. He does get a little concerned when all we focus on is that we didn't 'get the credit' for any of the work, though! It is in being "carefree" that we truly become aware of how much we are "cared for" and watched over. In blooming exactly where we have been planted, we bring much joy to the one who has planted us exactly where we are! In worrying less about the 'credit' and more about the one who watches over our lives with such care, we actually begin to enjoy life much more! Just sayin!

I see that!

The eyes really tell a lot about what is going on with a person. Whenever someone gets sick, we often see reddened "rings" around their eye, making the eyes themselves look a little "hallow" and "sad". They may not open their eyes as wide, and the "crystal-clear" appearance of the eye may look a little "foggy" or "dry". A "yellow" appearance turning to brighter shades of orange over time can signal huge issues with the liver. The size of the pupil, especially with one larger than the other, can signal a huge issue going on with the brain. The eye really can "alert" us to much that is going on inside a man in the physical sense, but it also betrays what is going on inside of the man in terms of his emotions and spirit!

"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"  (Matthew 6:22-23)

I may not know all the specifics of what is making the man "ill" at that moment, but the eyes "betray" that something is happening in their body, soul, or spirit! The emotional and spiritual matters affect the "clarity" of our eyes, often in conjunction with how a man holds his frame, or walks along. For example, ever see a man so stressed by what he has managed to get himself into by not being able to say "no" to the things he should be saying "no" to in his life? His eyes betray much about his situation as they appear to give off a sense that there is no hope of being out from under his burdens, his lack of rest, and his fear of inevitable failure.

Whenever you want to "meddle" a little into the life of another, simply examine the eyes. You don't even have to ask much to see that the person is hurting, they are playful, or they are weighed down by some circumstance. The truth is that the eyes are indeed windows into our souls. They betray the true condition of the heart, even if we have become good at displaying a 'poker face'. Whatever is within a man will be on display through the eyes - maybe without him even being the wiser that it is on display. Maybe that is how moms all over the world know when their children are lying to them!!! Try as we might, we cannot successfully hide what is hidden deep. We think we "pack it away" very successfully - but as Jesus puts it, either we display the good, or what comes across to others is the not so good! There have been many times that I told a friend that their eyes "betray" them - even when they are saying everything is "all right" in their lives. The sadness or pain displayed in their eyes says more than their words do. We would do well to look beyond the words!

So, why is this important? Simply put, what we allow into our lives affects what others perceive from WITHIN our lives. We are mirrors of what is within - through the "eye-gate" of our souls others will see deep within even when we are too scared or proud to share it. When we begin to be selective about what we will allow into our lives, we are also making choices about the "window-treatments" we are allowing for the windows of our soul! Just sayin!

The reward is in the time

It is easy to get distracted when it comes to anything like a little quiet time with God. Taking time with my best friend is hard enough, but time alone with God is sometimes harder. Why is that? I think it might just be because the enemy of our souls knows exactly what happens when time is spent together with our mighty Savior! He knows the power that is given and the settling of uncertainty that comes. He doesn't want either to occur, so he puts up as many smoke screens and mirrors to distract us from this exchange as much as possible. Create the right environment and you can eliminate a few distracting forces. Allow the wrong ones and you will find time alone with God becomes harder and harder.

"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well." (Matthew 6:16-18)

Jesus points out that there should be some times (periods) in our lives when we will set aside some time and energy toward really "concentrating" on God. We may think of these times as going to a retreat, choosing a time to fast and pray, or even just a few days set aside with limited interruptions from the outside world, such as camping in the outdoors or fishing by a cool stream. The purpose of the "set apart" time is to focus on God. It is to have some 'alone time' with him and to allow him to really settle into the space we have created for him by enjoying the space he has created for us! In the process of "concentrating" on God, we are bringing all our efforts, activities, and attention to one central place. We are moving from being very scattered in our efforts, activities and attention, to being very focused. When we are concentrating on something or someone, there is a tendency to come to a place of "convergence" - we become in sync with each other.

For example, my mother is at a stage where she loves some time now and again to just tell me something - sometimes about anything that comes to mind, while at others it is a more concerted effort to share something she was wanting to tell me about. In that "talking time" she sometimes doesn't make a lot sense because word-finding can be difficult at a hundred years of age! Yet, when I take the effort to really concentrate on her (putting aside all other distractions), I find that she is really trying to connect with me, figure something out, or share some very meaningful experience she has had that she needs me to know about. If I miss the chance to concentrate on her and what she is sharing, I miss the chance to connect with her where it is she needs me to make that connection. It is vital to make that connection - in her eyes and in mine.

When we are in the process of concentrating on something, we are coming to a place where that object becomes clearer, stronger, and more intensified. It is like turning up the power on a microscope, with each lens serving to intensify the view we have of the object within our focus. Jesus reminds us that we need those times when we are concentrating on him - not because he 'needs' to be the center of our attention - but because we gain something in the time of examining him this closely.

It was no big production to take time to listen to my mom. All it takes is a little time, effort on my part to concentrate, and a heart desire to get something out of the encounter. That is what God says he will reward. Not a big show of religious activity - just the simplicity of a heart focused on knowing him better. So, don't miss out on the times of "concentrating" on God. The ability to focus on him, the desire to have him "intensify" himself in us, is really a matter of us making the time and effort of really getting into the encounter with him. Just sayin!

A well-worn path

We all probably have heard some variation of the 'confession is good for the soul' terminology. The fact of the matter is that it is one of the most powerful 'actions' we take on behalf of our soul that actually begins to touch the souls of those around us. Being able to own up to your mistakes is hard, but there comes a time when the soul is changed by one simple confession. There is nothing that binds two people together in a more committed manner than being able to confess one's mistakes to the other. Too many times, we hold out for the other to come to the place of admitting they were wrong before we will take even one step in that direction. When we choose to do this, we alienate ourselves from that which will bring health to our own lives. It is in confession that we find healing. The first place of healing is at the foot of the cross - in confession we find deliverance. The next place we may need to make confession is at the feet of a friend - for in confession, we find wholeness in the relationship is restored.

"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God. Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine." (Matthew 5:23-26)

Jesus is talking about making the "first" move. Whenever you have knowledge that you have offended, or that the other feels that you have offended them, it is your responsibility to make the first move toward reconciliation. Sometimes we think that we did nothing wrong and in actuality, when the facts are examined, we probably didn't have much to do with the thing that now drives a wedge between us! But...the other person interpreted something you said or did as offensive to them. It was a very difficult thing for me to actually learn that I was responsible for the way others perceive me. I wanted to believe how they saw me was their problem - not mine. After all, if it was their problem, then I didn't need to do anything to 'fix' the problem!

It is in my actions, words, or lack of these, that you form an impression of me. You "perceive" me as kind, caring, and a joy to be around, OR you see me as meddlesome, overbearing, and a pain to be associated with at all. The way I "come across" is my doing - it is my responsibility! Sometimes, we don't do such a good job at putting our best effort into being our best in relationship. Whenever this happens riffs are apt to occur. Jesus gave us the picture of being at the altar, ready to offer a sacrifice of worship, and realizing that a "riff" had occurred. His instruction: Leave the sacrifice (abandon what you are doing) and beat a path to the doorway of the one you have offended - the sacrifice matters little if there is discontent and misunderstanding in relationship.

Now, for some of us, this "pathway" to the door of the one we have offended may be a little better worn! I have been in relationships where I find that the two of us are just like course sandpaper to each other - constantly rubbing each other wrong. Those "paths" are a little deeper worn than in some of my other relationships. In fact, I "know the way" without even looking - simply because I have made my way to them often enough that the way is familiar to me. At first, it was very awkward and uncomfortable. Now, it is a little easier, but no less important! If we are always waiting for the other to make the first move, we may wait a long, long time. In that passage of time, the mind and heart has a chance to "formulate" all kinds of imagined reasons for why the relationship will never work again. It is that very passage of time that Jesus was focusing on us avoiding. He even says that worship is not more important than making things right when an offense exists. It matters that much to him to see us living well with each other!

We are not "overlooking" an offense and just letting someone get by with something. Instead, we are coming together to "settle the differences" - making a clean slate of things. Sometimes, it means we both confess we were wrong - at other times, it may only be one of us that comes to the place of confession. It does not have to be both of us realizing the error in our ways to bring reconciliation - it only takes one of us making the move! In time, God will do the rest. In the times of open dialogue within relationship, confession plays an important part in the destruction of "dividing walls" that serve to drive us far apart. That 'well-worn' path is not a bad thing, but remember - as important as the pathway is, avoiding the need to use it at all is something we should learn over time! Just sayin!

Did I say that?

I know I am not the only one who has ever said something long before they ever thought about the impact of those words or the tone of voice used in speaking them forth. There is a whole lot to be said about our words, but I don't need to say a lot to tell you these words of us are like a loaded weapon at times! Words matter - what we think should not always be spoken! There is no greater struggle than to learn to control one's speech. Words that are thoughtlessly spoken often require us to "mop up" the aftermath of those very words! Jesus focused on the fact that words "kill" - they have an absolute  destructiveness that rises to the level of committing murder! If he feels this strongly about our speech, isn't it worth evaluating our choice of words?

A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! (James 3:3-5)

The reality of how powerful our words are is likened to a tiny rudder on a ship. They have the power to direct the course of events. I have heard it said that words don't matter - actions do. I think in some cases, this is quite true - such as when I am evaluating if someone's commitment is genuine or that there has been a true life transformation. Actions often speak louder than words in these cases - the individual may still call themselves an alcoholic, but their commitment to stay away from alcohol for the past ten years speaks volumes about their recovery. There are some basic communication "tips" that we should heed if we want a strong community of relationships, though.

Don't be afraid to think before you speak! When we "run" our words through our mind first, we may not always speak everything we are thinking. Some people may see this as a weakness because you are not as quick to speak as others, but the words that come forth will often be more readily embraced because they have been "processed" before they are spoken. We are actually practicing the skill of "filtering" our words when we do this - allowing the Word of God we have tucked away to help us bring light to what needs to be said and to hold back on that which really is not necessary to speak at that moment. Learn to hear the "tone" of your words. There is often more "spoken" in the tone of our voice than in the actual words spoken. You might respond positive words, but your tone of voice lacks excitement and is actually conveying something entirely different. Words matter, but the tone conveys the heart. When we realize the tone of voice matters, we can deliver even the hardest message in a loving and compassionate manner - making the message just a little easier to be heard.

Words that are not solicited are meddlesome. We may think we have something "worth hearing" in the situation, but if the words of advice are not solicited, they are not going to be heard anyway! It is important to "weigh" the moment, consider the attitude of heart each person is conveying at that moment, and then choose our words according to the moment. That moment may not be the best - the attitude of heart of the hearer may not be open to receiving the message. The message is important - but the hearer's open mind and heart as equally as important. Not rocket science here - just practical advice on communication. Words do matter - they often control the outcome of community and relationship development more than we know. Our silence conveys meaning as much as our words! Our words, aptly spoken, direct the course of our lives and those we associate with! Just sayin!

Be a little salt

Ever wonder why Jesus left his disciples with the idea of being 'salt on this earth'? We don't fully appreciate salt these days because we aren't as accustomed to how it was used during the times Jesus spoke those words. We often have to put ourselves into the culture where the words are being recorded in order to fully comprehend the significance of their meaning. In the days of the disciples, salt was a basic "staple" of life. It was that which acted as "preservation" for everything. It also was the main seasoning of the dishes prepared - although there were other spices, salt was a 'staple'. Perhaps we would do well to look at some of the other functions of salt in order to see what Jesus may have meant when he referred to our lives a salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of the earth.

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." (Matthew 5:13)

Did you know that the taste of salt is one of the basic "tastes" that we can sense? There are four basic "tastes" that the human tongue can interpret - sweetness, bitterness, sourness and saltiness. Take in something that is too salty and you will immediately form a desire for hydration - you want to drink because salt has the function of assisting in the "water-balance" of your body. Too much or too little salt in your diet affects you with dizziness, muscle cramping, neurological problems, and even death. So, having the right "balance" of salt in our system is important to our good health. Yesterday, I worked out in the heat a little too long. Even after showering, I licked my lips a little while later and my immediate taste was that of saltiness. Why? I had been perspiring out all the extra sodium in my system while out in that heat and I think there was a little bit left on my lips! It is one of the easiest 'tastes' to interpret by the human body.

When Jesus spoke of being "salt-seasoning" that brings out the God-flavors of the earth, he was describing the purpose that salt has in being a flavor-enhancer. If you have ever had to restrict your sodium intake for any length of time, you will know how much you can "crave" just a little salty snack! Your body has a use for salt, so when it is restricted too much, it craves it. The same is true in a spiritual sense - if the "saltiness" of our character is not doing the work it is intended to do on this earth, life is dull! According to the "Salt Institute" there are about 14,000 known uses for salt! If we explore just a few, we might see why Jesus tells us not to lose our "savor" on this earth.

1) When added to water on the stove, it functions to allow the water to come to a higher cooking temperature, thus reducing the cooking time required for the food being prepared. Maybe Jesus is challenging us to be salt on this earth because the time is short! The time for his message to 'cook' on this earth is growing short - we need to be salt!

2) When you add two teaspoons of salt to a cup of water, a fresh egg will rise to the top and an older egg will sink to the bottom. This doesn't mean the egg is rotten - just that it is more "mature". Maybe Jesus was challenging us to reveal the spiritual maturity of those we associate with in community. Bring to the surface those who need help in their growth and allow those who are more mature to mentor those who need our assistance.

3) When you don't want freshly cut fruit to lose their natural color, turning brown on the cut edges, you quickly dip them in a salt water bath and drain. Maybe Jesus was reminding us that we have the ability to keep things fresh - allowing the "true colors" of this world to be seen. We rarely think of ourselves as 'keeping fresh' this world, but without the influence of Christ in this world, it would quickly become a rotten and putrid place to dwell.

4) When you want to keep a "cured" cast iron skillet clean, but not damage the "curing process", you clean it by rubbing salt on the pan's surface to remove the excess grease. This is one of the uses that the earlier pioneers had for salt. Maybe Jesus was giving us the wisdom to be able to touch lives without damaging them! There are a whole lot of damaging influences in our world today - to be one that allows the 'curing process' to continue is a good thing.

5) When you add salt to your wash-water, it functions to brighten your colors. Maybe Jesus was showing us that we actually bring "new life" to old things just by being "salt". Just a few ideas on the ways that we might be "salt" on this earth - bringing out the God-flavor and spark of life for all to enjoy! Just sayin!

Living in the open

Conviction of heart really refers to not only the condition of the heart, but the 'bent' of the heart. Which way will we choose more than once when offered the choice? This is often the 'conviction' of our heart. We find we pursue one direction more than another - maybe not all the time, but this particular choice rises to the surface repeatedly. It may be a good direction to choose, or it may leave us feeling a little out of sorts because we know it wasn't the best choice at all. It is our actions, not so much our words, that reveal the real convictions of our heart. We always hear that we "cannot judge a book by its cover" and this is so very true. I have learned what is hidden in the heart is what is manifest in the actions - if not openly, then in secret. We have a huge opportunity to affect how the world sees Jesus based on what actions we reveal to the world. We have an equal opportunity to affect how we see ourselves by the choices we make in secret! Remember this - our faith is revealed in our works - both those openly performed and those secretly pursued.

"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom. Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable." (Matthew 5:10-12)

Conviction is defined in several ways. Personally, conviction is being fully convinced by the evidence so as to be able to stand firmly on the facts presented - unmovable, resolute, and wholly determined to pursue that truth. We become a dynamic evidence of God's grace when we model that grace to others. We are "evidence" that helps to convince others of the unmerited favor of a holy God. Conviction is also the state of standing "confident" - in times of public action and in those of secret choice. There is nothing that conveys living a really "solid" life than being able to speak and act with assurance - knowing what we believe and in whom our trust is fully placed. Equally, making consistently right choices is evidence of the grace of God working in our lives.

Conviction also carries the idea of being convinced. Conviction comes from a Latin word "convictus" - meaning to convince. When we are "convinced" of something, we move from a place of just being acquainted with the evidence at hand into a place of belief, agreement, and consent. The evidence results in a transition - we have a solid footing upon which to stand. Jesus challenged his disciples with the idea of persecution - telling them that it would actually cause them to be drawn closer to the Kingdom of God. What he is saying here is that persecution actually drives us closer to the heart of God - it urges us to turn to what we know we can trust. The outcome of that closeness to God's heart is that we have a testimony that presents the evidence of God's grace, justice, and love. This kind of "evidence" makes people who don't know God in the same way do just a little uncomfortable - it affects the status quo.

Jesus was not giving his disciples (and us) the marching order to "mess with people's minds" or even our own minds. He simply is telling us to live in such a way that we are totally convinced of what it is we believe and allow that "firmness of faith" to become that which brings the conviction to our heart and then to the hearts of others. We are simply presenting the evidence - the conviction is delivered by the evidence! We cannot judge a book by its cover, but we can learn much about the "author" by exploring the pages. Our depth of conviction is revealed in what the "author" of our lives has written on the pages of our heart. The best thing we can do is live our lives as open books! In open and in secret. With others and with ourselves. Just sayin!

Prepare for the ride

If you are anything like me, you might have tried to side-step all the 'preparation' required for some exam in life, only to find all that side-stepping really left you wanting when you needed the right answer! You believed you could just do a cursory review of the work and all would be well. Preparation is key to not only exams in school, but for each of life's challenges as they come day by day. We all have differing responses when we face one of life's challenges, don't we? Some of us will rise up, take the bulls by the horns and plunge right in, while others withdraw a safe distance, consider their options and seemingly take forever to respond to the challenge. Sometimes we take every opportunity to avoid the challenge, just hoping it will go away! Regardless of how we face life when we are "challenged", it is important to keep in mind that each challenge carries a purpose. As Jesus remind us, true blessing in our lives comes when heart and mind are in alignment. Believe it or not, the "purpose" of the challenge is oftentimes to assist us in identifying where our heart and mind may not have that "perfect alignment" - the places where some preparation is needed.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4)

If you have ever driven while your tires are "out of alignment" you can relate to the "challenge" of controlling the vehicle. It is a rough ride and there is a tendency for your car to just drift to one side or the other! This tendency to "drift" to one side of the road doesn't take any real effort on your part. The effort your must exert is more in keeping the vehicle centered on the lane you need to stay within! That is how you know you might have an "alignment" problem - when there is continual "drift" out of the path you should be traveling. Guess what - it is pretty much the same in our spiritual lives! We might just begin to take notice of the fact that when faced with challenges, we often find ourselves "drifting" to the path of least resistance. When we try to "counter-act" that drift, it becomes a little difficult to control mind, will, or emotions - because they are not 'set' right. It takes effort - sometimes beyond what we seem to have left within ourselves for us to stay on course!

The truth is that the car "stays on course" much better when we routinely have the alignment checked.  The ride is a little smoother, isn't it? As long as we have those tires rotated every 5,000 miles and request that the mechanic also "check the alignment" with those rotations, we enjoy a much easier ride! Take this idea into your everyday living. It is because of the continual focus of the one who operates as the "mechanic" in our lives that we can enjoy the alignment of our mind, will, and emotions with what he knows will produce the best "ride" in our lives. The mechanic does not automatically check our tires for alignment when we come into the shop each time - we have to request him to do so and we have to be willing to pay the price for that request. The same is true in our spiritual lives - we have to make frequent requests of our Lord to "test our alignment" and then we have to be willing to pay the price in order to be "realigned". There is always a price for preparation, but without preparation the ride we call life can be much more 'bumpy'!

God sometimes points out that we are "out of alignment" much as our mechanic might point out uneven tire wear as a sign that our car needs an alignment. God's way of "pointing out" our lack of alignment is often in the challenges we face throughout the day. He often lets us "struggle through" the natural pull of our emotions, will, and thought processes until we become aware of the lack of alignment that is giving us enough 'drift' that we aren't quite able to stay the course on our own. Yet, there are times when we have been drifting long enough and he just simply sits us down and points out the "results" of our lack of alignment - the wear and tear the drift has taken on our being becomes evident the more the 'drift' has been accepted as an 'okay' part of our lives. When challenged by the drift the best response we can have is to take time to realign our mind, will and emotions. You will save yourself a whole lot of unnecessary and expensive wear and tear on body, soul, and emotions when you prepare for the ride! Just sayin!

Our need, His provision

I absolutely love the tiniest of words that seem to join ideas together. Take the word "but" for a moment and you might just find this tiny word actually negates or puts a condition into play. For example, when you say 'I wanted a taco, but I ate a salad', you are putting the condition into play of choosing the healthiest of the two options. The tiny word "and" joins two idea together. There is much to be explored when "and" is put into play in a sentence, for it often joins two things that are required in order to make something whole. For example, when you join 'peanut butter and jelly', you get a mighty enjoyable sandwich! When you join 'black and blue' in describing a recent bruise, you are letting others know of the severity of damage done when you struck yourself against that hard object. When God tells us we must believe that he exists AND that he cares enough to respond to us when we seek him, he is describing two very coexistent conditions which must be evident in our lives. One just doesn't exist without the other.

By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6 MSG)

If we want to have a relationship with God, we must believe two things - that he exists and that he cares for us. How futile it would be to just imagine someone exists and then not ever believe they will respond to us when we seek them out. If a child is separated from his parents for even a while, he would seek them out because he believes they exist. He somehow knows that even though he cannot see them, they are still there somewhere - so he makes his intention to be rejoined to them known by crying out from his crib. There is a deep trust, even though the object of his seeking remains unseen. In the seeking, he hopes to discover they are still near and want to relate to him as much as he wants to relate to them. When the parent returns to the crib in response to the crying child, the parent is affirming his trust.

God isn't going to respond to our seeking with any less concern or care. He exist AND because he exists, we can be assured he loves us enough to care for us in a deeply loving manner. We only seek what we believe exists. I have on more than one occasion put something away 'so carefully', only to discover I cannot find it when I want it! Yet, I believe it still exists - so I seek even harder to discover that spot I so cleverly placed it in! I believe - therefore I seek. The same is true in relationship with Jesus - I believe he exists AND therefore I seek. In my seeking, I believe he will be found AND he will respond to my seeking heart in a way that tells me my seeking has not been in vain.

Seek AND find. Come AND eat. Knock AND it shall be opened. Confess AND be forgiven. Surrender AND be made new. There are a lot of ways AND is bringing together our need with is provision, aren't there? Just sayin!

Hallmarks of Care

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy." I like how the Message interprets this passage as 'at the moment you are "care-full" - you find yourselves cared for'. There is a saying in both scripture and common day that reminds us we reap what we sow. There is a direct link between us sowing seeds of "care" and reaping a reward of being cared for. As many of you have discovered over the years of following this blog, I am in the role of a caregiver - mom having come to live with me about 11 years ago. It has been a lot harder than I imagined at times, but it has equally been as rewarding! There are lots of ways we sow into the lives of others - not just to receive something in return - but because we sense how blessed we really are when we begin to reach out to sow into the lives of another. It might not seem like we'd receive much blessing in the 'toil' of sowing, but remember that the farmer only receives the crop because he has done a whole lot of work to realize any harvest!

Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. (James 3:17-18)

When we are "care-filled" (full of care), we are looking out for the other person, not just ourselves. There is an extension of our lives that looks beyond what is in it for us and sees that there are others around us that need to be "cared for" in the midst of today's challenges. True "community" is built upon living right with God - but never forget that this is HARD WORK that requires consistency and integrity. Lives of 'care' don't just happen - they are built. The heart doesn't just determine to love others - it learns to love others. The mind doesn't just create goodness at every turn - it is persuaded to find goodness because the heart is turned toward Christ!

Extending mercy - being able to care about another's thoughts, opinions, or desires - in the midst of not understanding why it is that they are acting a particularly harsh way is sometimes quite challenging. We don't "naturally" want to respond with "care" or "mercy"! In fact, if we were totally honest here, we'd probably like to tell them off! The moment we realize there are some "community-traits" that need our attention we will be more apt to help one another to always be "care-full" in dealing with each other - regardless of how our 'help' is received at that moment. Sometimes our parents won't be patient with us - not understanding why it is we don't want to stop what we are doing to do what they want done, or listen when they want to tell us the story that will take some time for them to fully explain. Even in those moments, we have the opportunity to be 'care-full' with one another!

We are to be gentle with each other. Two words to describe this trait - compassionate and considerate. We avoid severe, rough, condescending responses - even when the other guy may be struggling with these responses themselves. This is the idea of turning the other cheek. Rising above the emotion of the moment and extending a kindness where it may be least deserved is hard, but the sowing of kindness instead of harshness will yield a positive reward. We are to be reasonable in our dealings. This means that we exercise sound judgment at all times. We don't respond "out of proportion" to the circumstances at hand. In other words, we don't get caught up in the emotion and allow those emotions to stir us into responses that are disproportionate to the facts! Emotion often outruns reason! We respond out of emotion, without all the facts, and then wonder why we have no sense of "community" or harmony in our relationships!

We are to be consistent with each other - for nothing bespeaks 'care' more than consistency. Not being hot one day and cold the next, up and down in our 'carefulness' with each other. Whenever we ride the roller-coaster of being okay one day and then out of sync with each other the next, we always struggle to keep our "community" together. Learning to bring balance, order, and proportionate response to circumstances goes a long way to keeping us on even ground in our daily relationships. Dignity and honor - the hallmarks of a strong community relationship - are the outcome of learning to live "care-full" lives. It isn't easy work, but 'work' rarely is! Just sayin!