The Plumbline

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. (Psalm 46:10) I have a hard time being 'still'. It is as though there has to be some 'activity' going on, even if it is thought. I spend a good deal of time thinking on things, then I usually take action after learning what I can from thinking on the subject. I think about what is for dinner, plan a menu in my head, and then execute the preparation of the meal. I think on my next woodworking project, plan the tools I will use, bits and blades needed, any finishes I will utilize, and the types of woods I will incorporate into it. Then I execute the steps to see what I envisioned created. It is never wrong to just 'be still' - for in the stillness, we often 'hear' much clearer and 'plan' much better than we do without all that thought! To 'be still', one might imagine we need to cease all movement, but there can be movement in stilln

What or who do you listen to because you feel you "have to"? For some of us, it is our parents - we listen because we know we are to respect them and to listen to their wisdom. For others of us, it is our supervisors - because they are the ones who guide our days and provide that paycheck at the end of the week. For still others, we listen to no one and nothing, other than our own minds and hearts. How's that one been working out for you? I know it didn't work out for me! My heart and mind doesn't always know what it wants - it can be rather indecisive and vacillate with the ups and downs of what is going on around me. It isn't worth listening to sin tell us what to do - and it isn't worth thinking our own mind will actually always know how we are to respond. We need to be aware of the presence of God in our lives, learning to listen to him FIRST and foremost. Only then will we experience all the glory of the goodness he has prepared for us! But now that y

The other morning, I happened upon a quote that caught my eye, not so much because it was majorly profound, but because it was just a little insightful. Kin Hubbard wrote, " A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower ." While that may not be labeled 'profound', it is quite revealing of how some of us go through life - buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, all the while appearing very busy, but really doing not much more than buzzing! We have those huge carpenter bees here in Arizona - some black and others kind of orange and black colors. They can come out of nowhere, then 'buzz' all around you incessantly until you wonder if they are eyeing you as a huge piece of wood they could burrow into! All the while, they are menacing, but not very productive in what they are doing! Light, space, zest—that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing. When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive, those bu

Long ago, at different times and in various ways, God’s voice came to our ancestors through the  Hebrew  prophets. But in these last days, it has come to us through His Son, the One who has been given dominion over all things and through whom all worlds were made. ( Hebrews 1:1-2   VOICE ) You listening? Do you hear him speaking? Is there a tug at your heart unlike any other? Can you see evidence of his words deeply affecting who you are and the choices you make? If the answer to these is yes, you are doing well, but if it is "not really" or "uh uh", then maybe it is time to just stop to consider which voices you are listening to! I find that the loudest voice I hear at times is not his, but mine! I am whining, just downright complaining about something not going my way, or I am disappointed because I didn't get something I thought I wanted or deserved. Have you ever noticed just how loud the voice of complaint can be? In fact, I'd have to say it is the

8  People who won't settle down, wandering hither and yon,    are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.  (Proverbs 27:8) We might call this person who absolutely refuses to "settle down" a "restless" individual.  Restless people have a tendency to drive us nuts just because of their constant activity.  We find it unsettling to constantly be in a state of "flux", so we avoid these individuals.  Restless people are in a position of missing the "good stuff" in life because their activity of heart, mind, and body keeps them so busy that they miss the "stuff" that comes by being settled, relaxed, and available. There are several characteristics of a restless individual - the first being that they just don't enjoy any "ease" in their spirit or heart.  In other words, they are in a position of constantly "redoing" their decisions - reworking the plan.  Do you know that feeling that comes when you finally &quo

Be still, and know that I am God... (Psalm 46:10) Those three words, "I am God", carry so much meaning.  In those words, God declares that he is our refuge, strength, conqueror, and redeemer.  This is an expression of his love, his might, and his grace. As our refuge, he is our shelter, or our place of escape.  There are always going to be times when we just need a "safe" place of repose and renewal.  When under attack, we have hopes for a place of covering - that is what God is for us.  When we are without resources of our own, we hope to find a place that will provide what it is that we need - that is the place God prepares for us. As our strength, he is all that we need in order to endure.  In his wings, we find the provision to endure.  He is the one who gives us the ability to resist the forces that are against us.  As our strength, he is also the one who gives us both our potency and our intensity for life. As our conqueror, he is the one who removes obsta