My Advisor

Jesus is my good advisor; I have all I need and desire nothing more than His presence in my life.
Jesus makes me sit still in His abundant power (not my own strength),
He brings me rest, quiet and comfort in a foul, chaotic, fast-paced world.
He refreshes my soul like hot coffee in the early morning.
Jesus covers a battered, tattered me with His perfection because it delights Him and brings applause to His deserving Name: Jesus.

When my life becomes burdened, busy and miserable,
I don't have to worry,
for Jesus is with me;
His written Word and its instruction bring me hope and comfort when I choose to follow them.

Jesus gives me as much love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as I could ever want, like a Thanksgiving Day feast.
This is all within my grasp while Satan watches and scowls because He can't have me;
No instead I have all the resources I need for a full, rich, meaningful life.
Only good gifts and undeserved favor will describe my life,
when I choose to live my life in Jesus' advisory office.
Psalm 23, paraphrase

Is Jesus your advisor? "[Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. [Jesus] came that we might have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10. Choose abundance!

Changes

It's the end of summer and my potted plants look rough; the pansies have long bit the dust; weeds have taken over the garden, lawn and landscape; the pool has a film of algae clinging to its sides; the house hasn't been vacuumed in a month, (don't even ask about the layer of dust on the mantle); I have more green beans in the fridge than I care preserve; the school supplies are sold out in the store; the birds don't sing as loudly; and the sun peaks later each day. In contrast, the mums look gorgeous; hints of red are popping out on the neighbor's maple trees; the acorn squash blossoms flourish; the golden head's lockers and desks are loaded with supplies after open houses; and invitations have been sent for fall ministries. There's something sad yet beautiful about this transition. Defeating yet victorious about this shifting.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. Eccelsiates 3:1-13

The wise King Solomon teaches us that God makes "everything beautiful in its time." Sometimes the beauty is yet to come: like when the seeds have just been buried underground. And sometimes the beauty is over: like the thirty birthdays cards and written wishes from friends and family. Beautiful and edifying then, but now just scrawls on a page.
Solomon also instructs us that God "has put eternity into man's heart." God has put a longing and desire for eternity with Him in our souls. Indeed He has given us eternal life that begins when we first know Jesus Christ. "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," John 17:3. And though our eternal life begins at belief in Jesus Christ and leads us into His presence in heaven, we don't know the route. However, the route He leads us on is always on purpose and on time even though the seasons change and beauties come and go.

Solomon "perceived that there is nothing better for (us) than to be joyful and do good," as long as we live out our eternal life on this side of heaven. We should enjoy these changes God places strategically on our path. They are God's gifts to us.  

As you walk through your own transitions, do good and do well from a healthy, trusting attitude. To do otherwise would be to cling to a dead daisy when a beautiful mum is within your grasp.

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man... Ephesians 6:5-7

Messy

As I hurried to clean up the kitchen for the evening (dishes put away, dirty towels in the laundry, stainless steel sinks shining), the engineer dumps them in the sink. A pile of garden carrots, their dirt soiling the sink. Gardening is messy but rewarding, fulfilling and leaving a legacy in its own little way.

The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
When the wicked increase, transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their downfall.
Discipline your daughter, and she will give you rest;
she will give delight to your heart. Proverbs 29:15-17

This morning, I'm looking on my downfall. I've done too much complaining. I have the privilege of being the one to raise my girls practically 24-hours a day, teaching them, being with them and I complain. They annoy me, they aren't perfect and they have personalities that aren't just like mine (or are too much like mine) and I complain. I have a husband who values my role in training, who asks me when he comes home from work, "How'd it go today?" Yet I complain. I must choose gratitude and change.
The words rod, reproof and discipline  mean directing, guiding, correcting and letting natural consequences incur. They all imply that much time is spent with your child. When I see this word, I immediately see disciple. Jesus spent time with His disciples, teaching, training, working and living life. My call is to do life with my golden heads. This takes time and sacrifice.
So much would get lost in this generation of golden heads if I chose to follow the societal norm and secure my career. Instead, I choose to teach: how to keep a home, cooking, family meal planning, gardening, handiwork, and even graphic design. Will I ever look back on my life and think, I wish I would have had a career? Though there are times that the income from a second household income would be nice, I think, for what? To pay more taxes, more dining out, a larger grocery bill (because you buy more convince food), less margin in our lives, to pay day care, to miss special moments, to drive more miles? I'm convinced as I watch the coming generation, they want mom more than they want stuff or opportunities. And no matter your degree or trade, I'm convinced it can be used in many other venues: home, family, church or volunteer organizations.
I'm not saying be careless, leave work to disciple your children and leave your family in the financial red. Rather, realize what your priorities are. Your money and your calendar will quickly tell you your priorities. Then choose to be radical: change your spending and time in order to make discipling your children a priority. No doubt, it's messy, like the pile of dirt in the kitchen sink. Physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually messy!

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4

When my golden heads are gone from home, the house is clean and the introverted mother has silence and solitude. I have to admit, I love that, but with the mess the four of us leave behind as we're doing life together day to day, comes a great harvest of personal growth, responsibility, honesty, hard work, integrity, life skills and memories. I may not leave my golden heads with a pile of cash, designer clothes and expensive camps but I choose to do my part to leave them abundant crops.

Pasture

Paralyzed in my circumstance, I feel hopeless. Then I recall...

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Psalm 37:3, KJV

A recent sermon on Psalm 37 opened my eyes to the richness of this verse in particular.  As I've studied more on my own, I think King James gets it right.
Trust in the LORD...the Hebrew word for trust is the verb batach. This action verb means to trust or trust in, have confidence in any one. We can choose to be secure in God's plan and purpose for the right now.
and do good...Because we trust in God's plan for right now, we are able to respond with kindness and goodness toward others.
so shalt thou dwell in the land...God wants us to be content in our circumstance (it's not a mistake, it's His will or plan). We can exhibit the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) wherever He's placed us. We can peacefully and securely settle down or abide with Him by our side.
and verily...the Hebrew translated verily means firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness, faithfulness.  God is a steady, faithful shepherd.
thou shalt be fed...is translated from a complex Hebrew word. It means

• to pasture, tend, graze, feed
• refers to a shepherd, a teacher or ruler, people, Israel as a nation
• implies meaning of pleasure and delight in companions or special friends

God is our shepherd, leading us where He wills and He wants us to take delight in His presence and those people He's placed in our lives. Because God is a steady, faithful shepherd, we can be confident that we will be fed. God leads us to fertile ground.

We tend to be people who always think the pasture is greener on the other side of the fence. My brother is a cattle farmer. He systematically and continually rotates his herds through the pasture land, making sure the cattle has sufficient green, lush grass to graze and access to fresh water. He's observing and making judgements based on weather, rainfall, and herd cycles. He knows what's best for the cattle. So God's perfect will knows what's best for us and right now, today, He's placed us where it's most beneficial for our spiritual and personal growth. We need to choose to be content here, find joy here and trust His timing and plan.

The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want,
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake...Ps 23:1-3

Read through all of Psalm 23 picturing God as your perfect shepherd, knowing what's best for you, loving you, having a perfect plan for you. No matter your present circumstance, He's got you in the pasture that's best for you. "God, you're present, you've proven Yourself reliable throughout Scripture and in my life so far. Therefore, I can stay in the position where You've placed me, You are my trust."

One

How much do you really remember from your wedding day? It's typically a blur of events that whizzes past. I do remember a few distinct things. One of them is the way the pastor took our wedding rings, laid them in the palm of his hand and then bounced them lightly up and down until they nestled almost completely inside one another. A picture of husband and wife becoming one in Christ.
Fourteen years later, I would more fully understand how that is accomplished.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him...Philippians 3:8-9

Everything else but Jesus is worthless to me, I want more Jesus and to "become one with Him," (from the New Living Translation) like the wedding rings nestled together. This means to understand Jesus by inquiry, thought, examination, observation, practice and experience. By these means, my life becomes increasingly encompassed by His. Jesus' thoughts are my thoughts. My daily aim is to be a bit more like Him every day. Nothing else matters as much as becoming nestled in His presence, becoming one with Christ. And as I become increasingly one with Him or am found in Him, this word also implies that I find myself; who I was created to be.
What would it look like in the church, in our marriages and families if each individual was becoming one with Christ? If we were all becoming conformed, changed into the same Jesus Christ? We'd truly have the same mind, same love, and mind:

...complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Philippians 2:2

When we individually focus on being found in Jesus, becoming like Jesus, collectively we become united. We have the same mind and love: Jesus' mind and Jesus' love.
Flip back another chapter in Philippians.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, Philippians 1:27

Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, written from prison, calls them to keep advancing the gospel and to gain momentum for the task by being transformed into Christ's image and becoming one Church. The more each Philippian became like Jesus, the more united the Church would be and the more effectively they would spread the gospel message. When we are each individually becoming surrounded by Jesus, one with Him; we're a unified team of little Christs in a dark world that desperately needs His light.
Are you being surrounded by Jesus a little more each day? What step will you take today to bounce your ring just a little and settle into Jesus' ring? You can not push anyone else into His ring but set an example by your own lifestyle. Unity begins with you.

Foggy

It's there, I know it: a beautiful summer sunrise in the northern horizon. It's brilliant orange and reds blurred as in an abstract painting through the foggy pane of the window. Only when I step outside into the damp, crisp morning air can my eyes focus on the glory of this gift.
Isn't it the same in the midst of pain, struggle, trial and testing? I know God is there in the midst of trial, He has a path for me to walk on and His glory, like the radiant sunrise, is present, but I have only an obscured view from behind the foggy window pane. I can't see or grasp it fully.
Consider David, fleeing from King Saul: exiled, a nomad, living from cave to cave, running for his very life.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?
Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. Psalm 6:2-10

I can't help but get this picture of David pouring out his heart to God and then in verse 3, he says, "Yehovah…." and with a deep sigh thinking, You can relieve this pain, You are able, but "How long will you make me wait?" and by the way, what's the purpose of this struggle? Can you relate?

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13

Four times David asks, "How long must I wait because I know you can deliver me, Lord." It's never a question of God's ability, but usually a question of His will. Even Jesus prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine," (Matthew 26:39). So David too, leaves room for God's perfect will and in the meanwhile, David trusts in God's plan and timing, rejoices that he's saved and he sings.
David hasn't forgotten the ultimate truth. Yes, he's miserable. David knows God is present yet he can't quite see God's glory, goodness and plan in all of it.
An hour later, the heavy dew evaporated by the warmth of the sun, my view of the morning sun is unobscured. It just takes time. But His glory, His presence, His power has been there all the while. Sometimes in the moments of anxiety or trial, I love to sing to God, inviting His presence to my life. This is a favorite by Francesca Battistelli.
Cry out to Him because you know He's listening and His glory is present. Trust in His sovereign plan, rejoice in your eternal salvation and sing.

Black bird

Spying on the black birds raiding the garden, I try determine the cause of their charge. His head, buried under a newspaper left for mulch, lifts the paper up and down. After minutes of satisfied pecking, the black bird flies away. What did he find under that newspaper? I hope it was something good: a grub, worm or bug that filled his belly.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. Philippians 3:7-8

There was a lesson in the black bird. His sights were on finding the goods and he did whatever he had to do to get them. He pushed the garbage out of the way. Do I move the garbage out of the way and dig for the good stuff? Do I move the "to do list" out of the way, the busyness of each day, stubbornness, bad habits, false emergencies, pride, worry, fear? Paul said all these things are worthless garbage even if the world esteems them. Even our dreams and goals can keep us from finding what's valuable.
What's good? What's most valuable? Knowing Jesus so intimately that you are becoming one with Him or becoming more like Him every day. This is a present tense action verb and is on-going, not a one-time event. He desires a relationship with you and you can intimately know Him. Will you push the garbage out of the way and dig?
What garbage do you need to push out of the way to get to the the most valuable treasure of knowing Jesus? After God reveals what your garbage is, make an action plan. How will you push that item out of the way and focus on Jesus and grow in intimacy with Him?