The Plumbline

Have you ever missed out on something?  You planned to attend some special event, having seen it advertised in the media, but then the weekend came and you totally spaced it!  The event happened without you!  How does that happen?  I think it may be related to the busy-ness of our lives these days - getting so much crammed into our lives is just impossible - but it could also be related to our inattentiveness to the details of our lives.  I often remind my readers about the importance of paying attention "on purpose" to the things recorded for us in scripture because they are put there for a reason. They sometimes act as words which will build us up when we are low, or to give us wisdom in the things we should avoid in this life.  Regardless of their purpose WITHIN our lives, they all serve a purpose at some POINT in our lives.  There is no accidental text in the scripture - it is all there because God intended us to learn from it - but to learn from ...

We can get fatigued - it is natural for the body to run down, the mind following just about as quickly.  What gets us to the point of fatigue may be the day-to-day activities of life, or the totally unexpected event which happens in an instant and demands all of our energies to remedy.  After having undergone knee replacement this past week, I am feeling the fatigue of my body having to adjust to the new device, the influence of pain medications, and the pain associated with swelling from the tremendous manipulation of the knee to accomplish the procedure.  It is a physical fatigue, but it has taken a toll on my mind, as well.  I genuinely get to the point of needing to just "shut down" - a rarity for me as most will tell you! When fatigue gets to us, we all respond a little differently - my usual response is to just move a little slower, take a little longer to process, but not to totally "shut down" and nap.  I have a good friend who enjoys those afternoon na...

I'd like to quote something my pastor has frequently said, but which I think bears repeating:  "Religion is US working OUR way to God.  Christianity is GOD working HIS way to us."  (Pastor Chad Moore)  There is really no more eloquent way to put it!  Our old way of doing business centered entirely around US keeping the rules and getting things straight.  Our new way of living is to allow God to make his way into our lives and to go about setting things right on our behalf.  Lest we think this involves absolutely nothing from us, let me set the record straight on that one.  As long as we are connected with Christ, sin speaks a "dead language" to us - it is like we hear it, but we don't respond to it because we don't understand it any longer.  The part we play is in maintaining the connection.  I use a wireless router when I am on my laptop.  This allows me the freedom to be on it in my kitchen, the front room, or even in the bedroom...

Somewhere in time, the expression "end of my rope" came into use.  In a general sense, it means someone can't take anymore.  The origin of the saying might just shed a little bit of a different light on it, though.  It comes from the practice of hanging a condemned man.  The noose is placed around the neck, cinched a little to make sure it is snug, and then he falls through a trap door underneath his feet.  As he drops, he comes to an "abrupt end" to the rope!  In essence, he is jerked short - he doesn't have any more "give" in the rope to allow him to stand against the growing pressure of the rope around his neck.  Now, this indeed paints a picture of something not quite as casual as being at the point of just throwing up one's arms and walking away - it suggests the "pull" that makes one feel like they have run hard, but come up short of realizing the hoped for end.  There is just nowhere to go when you are at the end of the rope -...

Quite some time ago, as I was considering a big move with my career, I faced the fear of not being ready for the next step, but also the overwhelming excitement about the possibilities that come with change.  I was a fairly new nurse at the time, not really sure of myself on so many accounts.  To take a huge step toward a position of leadership was almost one of the scariest things I did.  That day, a good friend gave me some advice which has stuck with me on so very many future decisions.  I'd like to share that advice with you today. She said, "Green is growing, ripe is rotting."  Now, at first, this may not seem like a very "profound" truth, but I have often thought on this, mulling over decisions I have made throughout my career, in my home, with my family, and in all kinds of relationships using this simple "rule of thumb". Keep yourself in a place of being just a little greener than you may like and you won't risk the potential of losing cont...

Some of us have a tendency to deal too much in the "past tense" of our lives. There is this intense focus on the "what ifs" and the "should haves" instead of the stuff which makes up our current picture.  Maybe it is because our minds have this way of capturing those moments in living memory - "scrapbooking" the sadness of our past and continually dragging it out to dredge up these old memories in our present.  There is one part of "past tense" we don't realize - what has been done doesn't need to be done again!  Perhaps this is why God thought it so important for us to recognize the futility of continually living in sin when we have ALREADY died to it! Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?     Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?     Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him ...

There is much power which comes as we learn to walk together in unity.  I think we all know how truly difficult it is to actually be and stay in unity, though.  Deep, intimate relationships require a different commitment than mere acquaintances.  Friendships help to sustain us and keep us on track. How we view each relationship kind of tells us a little bit about what we may actually invest into and take away from them.  We may find some actually are an ordeal for us because they demand more than we want to really put into them, but does that make them unnecessary relationships?  Some may seem like a big deal to us, but does that make them worthy of special attention while neglecting others?  Other relationships seem like they are kind of ideal, almost making us want to be exclusionary within those relationships, but doesn't that isolate us from the other types of relationships which might actually help us chip away some of the rough edges in our character?...

If you have ever lost focus, you know how devastating this can be.  What tends to give us the greatest heartache in loss of focus is not always the "evident" stuff, but the things which happen just beneath the surface of our lives.  We get a little distracted, even find ourselves doing things we know better than to do, but what damages us the most is the "underneath" stuff. The loss of focus affects our peace.  Peace disturbed leads to all kinds of issues which magnify the sense of "restlessness" and "fear" we might just be experiencing by our loss of focus.  If you have ever put up a good front for someone, you probably know just how hard it was to "maintain the appearance" of peacefulness and focus, but be experiencing the deep inner turmoil of restlessness, fear, anxiety and a total lack of concentration.  It gets hard to deal with what life sends our way when this happens - so learning to "refocus" is quite necessary. Yo...

Every now and again we just need a reminder to be grateful, don't we?  When I stop to consider some of the stuff others around me are dealing with, my "issues" pale in comparison.  When I stop to consider my "momentary afflictions", the life-long battles some face with disease make my aches and pains look like a vacation.  Sometimes we forget the principle of thanksgiving as the scriptures would teach:  Give thanks IN everything, not necessarily FOR everything.  We don't have to give thanks for the flat tire, but we can give thanks we have roadside service to get it changed! On your feet now—applaud  God !   Bring a gift of laughter,   sing yourselves into his presence.  Kn ow this: God is God, and God, God.  He made us; we didn’t make him.   We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.   Enter with the password: “Thank you!”   Make yourselves at home, talking praise.   Thank him. Worship him.   For God is sheer be...

Most of the time, we glance over words as we read text - mostly because our brains are good about picking them up, interpreting them quickly and then moving us onto the next ones.  We don't have to read each individual word to get the "gist" of what is often being said, but we may miss out on something if we don't!  This is why I insist on taking scripture "in context", rather than pulling out a verse or two and hanging my hat on it.  The "context" gives us the substance we'd otherwise just "glance over".  In the 5th chapter of the Second Letter to the Corinthian church, Paul lays out the basis of hope in Christ Jesus.  He begins the chapter with a discussion about a particular hope we all have: resurrection.  In fact, he goes so far as to proclaim we get new bodies!  I don't know about you, but having one free of aches and pains seems pretty awesome to me!  Then he reminds us we don't get to "see" this "transit...

I am a people watcher - I can sit quietly, observing their interactions with others, or simply watch as they discover they have been caught in the act of talking to themselves!  We are interesting creatures - full of all kinds of surprises.  We often learn best when we can observe someone else do what it is we want to do.  For example, when I wanted to learn how to crochet, following those "easy illustrations" in the guide didn't help as much as watching my sister-in-law tear through a piece she is crocheting at the speed of light!  She counts stitches, creating a series of in/out movements, and makes it look all so easy.  I take the hook, count a few stitches, looking at what I have done, and it looks a little like what she has done - maybe not with the practiced perfection she exhibits in her knots, but I get closer to the desired outcome by having followed her "example" than by following the illustrations in a book! Watch what God does, and then you do it, ...

Parents today have some neat things we did not have "back in the day".  There are all these new electronic gadgets (something near and dear to my heart) to help you with "taking care of baby".  When I first heard of the "baby monitor" - the little device with a monitor at the baby's bedside and a portable receiver you could carry around with you from room to room while baby slept, I thought this was the greatest idea!  Do you remember the days when you had to avoid doing a little yard work, or perhaps not even sit out on the patio for a little fresh air when they napped, afraid you'd not hear them when they awoke?  This device makes sense. Another device which has come out is the "middle ear thermometer" - the best device since bread was bagged for purchase on the store shelves!  Ever try getting baby to lie still long enough to get a "read" on the old rectal glass thermometer?  If you have, you will echo my sentiments about t...

Periodically I like to come back to familiar passages of scripture because they speak fresh intent into my spirit and just bring something refreshing within my parched soul.  You have probably heard me say I tend to turn to the Psalms, Proverbs and Pauline Epistles as my "favorite" places to turn in the scripture.  It is because I "connect" with David -  a sinner through and through, but intent on keeping God first in his life, not afraid to turn again and again to God seeking grace for his misadventures, much like me.  I also connect with Solomon, a man seeking wisdom and intention in life, always open to the truths God would teach.  With Paul, I find the honesty of a heart struggling to make a break from the past ways of doing things and reaching to do things in the newness of this Christian walk.  Regardless of the place I go, the theme is the same - God's gift of grace leads us right to where we need to be - connected to the one who gives life!  I ...