The Plumbline

 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. (Ephesians 5:15-17) How do we begin to make the most of the opportunities in front of us? It might just begin the moment we take time to think through our decisions. We all make flash decisions, but that should not be our primary way of living. We need the time to bring our day before the Lord and listen to what he says to us. In the church, this is called our quiet time, but in my life, I call it my planning time. Why? It is when I take my day to him, gaining his perspective on what should have priority and what should not. It includes time in his Word and sufficient time to actually think upon it. It involves prayer - discussion with God. Maybe the most important thing is the time I take to listen, so I don't go off my own way and do things without reason or outside of his tim...

I may never write a book, but I am able to write a blog. A friend once asked me to write a book. The idea of having to put into words my life experiences almost intimidated me, not to mention the stories I have heard about getting a book edited and published. When I began to really think about it, I came to the realization we are all writing a book of sorts. We might call it the "book of decision" because each day is really a 'record' of the decisions we have made throughout that day. Each action we take is somehow "writing the next chapter" of our lives. Our response to today's events go a long way in determining the events of tomorrow, don't they? The events of one "chapter" open up many other chapters of victory or tragedy, gain or loss, celebration or grief for many more days to come. The same is true of our obedience - although it seems to us as less likely to affect as many or to be as profoundly impactful, each 'obedient choice...

Know anyone who just has a hard time making decisions?  I do!  I must confess there are times, especially when I need to plunk down a great deal of money on something, when I just take forever to make a decision.  I almost "labor" over the decision because I don't want to make a mistake when it comes to spending that sum of money.  Recently, I purchased a new washer and dryer.  Do you know it took me nearly six months to settle on the ones I was to buy?  Yep, six months.  Oh, my other ones were limping along, so I still had clean clothes, but in the interest of efficiency, timeliness of drying, and the like, they were at the end of their lifespan.  The space constraints where they had to fit were one of the biggest factors, but when I found a couple which would work, they were hard to get in a set.  It seemed one place would have a washer the right size, but not the dryer.  The next place would have a dryer, but not a washer.  Do y...

We all have desired or intended results to every action we take in life.  Even setting the alarm before bed is an action intended to awaken us at a particular time to afford us the opportunity to be up, dressed, and engaged in some activity.  Some of our "aims" in life are little rote - like setting the alarm to awaken in the morning.  Others are a little spontaneous - such as when someone calls and asks if you want to hang out a while.  You manage to drop a few things you have going and make plans with the individual because you enjoy the relationship and want to get together.  Still other "plans" or "aims" in life are a little more formalized, take a little longer to accomplish, and serve a specific purpose - as when we make a savings plan or choose to live by a budget.  I don't consult anyone when I set the alarm - because I "own" that activity for my life.  I do consult someone when I want to change my investments to have them perform a ...

Have you ever experienced one of those "empty-head" moments when you just do something and then look back and say to yourself, "Now why'd I do THAT"? I think we probably all have at some point.  We just plunge right in and then in retrospect, we kind of wonder how we ever got as "messed up" as we did. It was probably because we had one of those times when we just didn't stop long enough to consider the consequences of what we were doing - the scripture calls this being "empty-headed".  These empty-headed decisions are really not built on a solid foundation, therefore they will not turn out well. Our conduct may be fun for a while, but eventually empty-headed decisions catch up with us.  Mindful decisions are marked by attentiveness, awareness, and great care.  These types of decisions make for a much better outcome - their foundation is a lot stronger and more enduring. An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,   but a mindful person relish...

Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him;     quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it. (Job 9:11 The Message) Have you ever been looking so diligently for something only to find that what you sought with such great earnestness was right there in front of you all the time?  When you finally realize that the object of your search was just within your reach, didn't you feel a little silly having spent all that time and energy in the seeking?  It's kind of like you just have to say, "Duh!  Here it is!" and give yourself a little knock up beside the head!   There is a process in the business world called "building shared vision" that in its simplest form is usually facilitated by bringing a group of people together for a period of time to tap into what it is that they imagine for the success of the group.  Now, I have made this definition pretty broad, but you get the idea.  It is all about getting the people i...

2  Ignorant zeal is worthless; haste makes waste.   3  People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does  God  always get blamed?  (Proverbs 19:2-3) Ever hear someone say, "Why did God let this happen to me?"  It is a natural question to ask whenever something bad happens in life.  We somehow feel that we did not "deserve" this moment of disappointment, season of loss, or depth of difficulty that we are experiencing.  Solomon gives us insight into how these "bad things" sometimes come into our life exclusive of God "doing" anything to orchestrate them.  He tells us that it is our own ignorant zeal - hasty decisions, careless answers, silly compromises - that get us into the "soup" we are in.  Uh oh...now the truth is revealed!   People ruin their own lives and God gets the blame for our own silliness - that is what he puts forth to us in this passage.  So, rather than asking why God allowed someth...