Worry Knot

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Do you ever worry enough to feel knotted up inside?

It’s not hard to court negative feelings in a whirlwind world. We worry about our children, families, jobs, government, economics, rumors of war, contagious disease, catastrophic weather patterns, health. . . and a zillion other reasons we can add to the list.

The definition of worry is to choke or strangle.  It chokes our peace.  The Greek root (merimnao) means to divide . . . another words, we go to pieces.  Not good.

Sometimes we deceive ourselves and dress worry as concern.  The difference is in the ability to take action out of concern, or identify it as something out of our control (and most things are). Then, it’s just wasting time and emotion stewing over something we can’t fix.

It’s not about those who suffer from the medical problem of anxiety – I mean those of us who wring our hands with the today (and tomorrow) what-ifs. We allow them to ambush our minds and steal our sleep, when worries grow in the dark.

Jesus, the One in control, had a solution.  Stop.

images-7Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.  Matthew 6:34

I don’t know about you, but if I carry yesterday’s load along with today’s load, while worrying about tomorrow’s load, I will be absolutely flat-lined.  So, I want to accept the good counsel in Matthew.

Worry is when we doubt God’s ability and presence. It’s when we say God can’t, that He’s not big enough.

Instead, we can give our worse what-if to God.  The maybe-might happen-probably won’t, but what-ifs.  I have a few things that could grip me this week, so what steps can I take to not knot? 

Trust.  Pray deep.

Identify and write it down (I’m a journaler), lay it in Father God’s lap (and don’t go back for it), look up verses on worry (and memorize a few), and dwell on the positive . . . with today’s grace.

Worry knot . . . and ask God to have strength to live for today . . . just today. 

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul.

Psalm 94:19

Margins and Moments

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Are you enjoying life?  Honest answer.

Life goes fast.  We have very little margin in life anymore.  I had more time years ago meeting the needs and schedules of a husband, home, and four children than I do now.  It’s crazy.

Most of us are living at a pace that’s unsustainable . . .  and unbiblical.

I had a few special moments with close friends the other evening. One of the first things we talked about was stress and overload.  We’re all on the same wheel and don’t know how to get off.

The next morning, I took inventory of priorities and commitments.  Hmmm, still didn’t see the problem.  I had to ask, Are you doing a lot of good things, or are you doing the best things?

Normal is busy.  I don’t want to be normal.

If the devil can’t make us really bad, then he’ll make us really busy.

Unknown-2I see people everywhere multi-tasking, interrupted by iphones and ipads, having to be in the next place ten minutes ago.

We have to be all there – when we’re there!

 

We’re so extended we don’t have enough time to have meaningful relationships with family and friends anymore.  Even on Sunday.  Sometimes I search the archives in my head to remember when that was simply a day to rest and enjoy family.

We can’t create time, but we can create moments. 

So, what do we do?

I challenge (us)  . . .

*Start at the beginning.  Sunday.  How can we handle this sacred day differently than the other six days?

*On the other six days – create a to-don’t list.

*Talk to a 90 year old.  Ask what they’d do differently with the longer twenty-four hours they use to have every day.  I doubt if they’d say, “I wish I worked longer hours.”

But, they might say, “I wish I enjoyed more sunsets and ice cream.”

Life is speeding by . . . but this day we can know, love, and live for Jesus, the Master of time.

We have twenty-four hours to catch up . . . and start over, creating margins and moments.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

God’s Breath

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The Bible can be a pretty intimidating book.  This week I spoke with a young woman who told how she experiences peace when she reads the Bible, but isn’t sure how to gain a personal understanding of Scripture.  Have you been there?

A few years after my conversion, I found I was neglecting the word of God.  I couldn’t get past the thee, thou, and begats . . . I wanted to, but didn’t know how.  I bought a child’s version with the passages in pictures and speech balloons to help me have better understanding.  Really.

I was confused that it was an irrelevant book for this time, tearing through Gospels and the Genesis drama, I soon became bored with chronology, genealogy, and cubits.

UnknownThen one day, I visited a Scripture where I wanted to dwell and realized the Bible is seeing God’s breath and hearing His heart.

All Scripture (all 66 books) is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16).  The word inspired means God-breathed  (theopneustos).

His breath is all over the stories about real people in real time, who made real mistakes, and met a real God.  I’m grateful for human scribes like Moses, David, Paul, and John who were inspired by a holy Author to write it down.

So, I wanted to know what it meant for me.

I joined a small women’s Bible study that helped develop my love for God’s Word, and twenty-five years ago found a Precept Bible study (Kay Arthur) that taught me how to study and understand the sacred depth of God’s word.

I learned three steps to revelation:

  • Observe (what does the text say?)
  • Interpret (what does the text mean?)
  • Apply     (how does it apply to me . . .  today?)

I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to know that I know when facing difficult and challenging times.  I don’t understand it all, but cling to what I do.

There’s not only peace on the holy-breath pages, but there is life-altering power.

So, if you’re like I once was and don’t know where to begin, may I challenge you to just open your Bible and try these four steps:

  • Set aside a time (make a daily appointment with God, don’t stand Him up)
  • Choose a place with no distractions (nothing special, a sanctuary in a corner)
  • Have a Bible, concordance or dictionary, pen and journal.  Listen hard.
  • Prepare your heart in prayer. Meditate.

Use a Psalm to praise Him, Psalm 32 to confess, Matthew 6:9-12 to present needs, and Philippians 4:6 to express gratitude.

As you dig deep you will undoubtedly fall deeper in love with Jesus.

What can you add that has helped you as you study the Bible?

Ministry of Mountains

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I just returned from the Colorado Christian Writers Conference.  What a great experience!  Although I’ve attended the Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference for nearly twenty-five years, the added perk to this one is the picturesque mountain setting.

The conference itself is amazing, a wealth of wisdom from the faculty and Jesus-lovin’ community who have a passion to “write His answer” to a needy world. Not just a learning experience, but also a worshipful one, thanks to the heart of director, Marlene Bagnull.

Closer to heaven than my sea-level portion of Pennsylvania, it is breathtaking . . . literally! Slender air within a mountainous embrace can definitely alter the oxygen intake.

And then, just when I got used to it . . .

rocky-mountain-national-parkSuper-pal Lori Hynson, my traveling sidekick/roomie, suggested one afternoon, we make the great ascent to higher ground in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Now I know about altitude sickness, but it was still awesome! It definitely gives new meaning to having faith that can move mountains.  They’re huge.

Is our faith . . . huge?

I lifted my eyes to the heavens where my help comes from, from the Lord who made heaven and earth Psalm 121:2, and was reminded that we can scale the mountains in life that appear too massive, by faith, in a bigger Most High God.

I could only take a snapshot of remembrance.  Manmade pixels can’t get the fullness of the glory of clouds draping over outrageous peaks and their ministry over earth.

. . . and their ministry to me.  Sometimes I’ve wondered if the mystic veil of clouds blocks God’s view from watching over the messy part of my life.  No.  When we see clouds from the other side, from the airplane view, by faith we can be on the other side of the dark cloud of circumstances . . . . with only one look to the Highest.

Above mountains, above all else.

Elk and mule deer decorate organic mountainsides in Estes Park, but the most beautiful sight was one of a woman worshipping at dawn.  Her prayer closet was a boulder across the waters.  Not even a zoom lens could capture the beauty.

I’ll remember.

Look for a picture to post in your mind today . . . and let me know . . .

Yester-time Moms

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I often wonder if my mother would be the same parent today as she was in the 50’s. Although the voices of culture have made radical changes in family life, I believe she would.  Her child-rearing principles were unchanging.

Challenges are countless for the moms of today.  They go a hundred miles a minute and feel guilty because they didn’t go a hundred and fifty. I speak with many women who are weary-busy.

I understand.  I remember.

1485778585_f6ef2fb3f3But, the challenges of yesteryear moms must have seemed overwhelming!

Think about the ancient moms of the Bible.  Eve, the garden mom, the first woman to have a baby.  Wow!  No books, no midwife, no fig leaf layette.  After the fall, she suffered the heartbreak of dysfunction in her family . . . brother against brother.

The sacred mama of Jesus labored while on a donkey, birthing her holy baby on the floor of a cave.  And then, this young mom had the responsibility to teach and protect the baby Messiah.

Fast forward to the time of television moms . . . extremes from June Cleaver to Peg Bundy, the “ladies we’ve learned from.”  However, my admiration was for the wise Caroline Ingalls, the pioneer mom of Little House on the Prairie, and Olivia Walton, the faithful mountain mama, who continually kept loving order among her brood of seven.

They never seemed to have a meltdown.

Through the ages, God’s design for the amazing role of mother-dom is unchanging . . . to give life, teach, nurture and protect the heritage God has given us.  It has been my privilege to be a mom, no matter the stage my children were growing through, no matter the season I was going through.  I have learned much from them.

And, unlike Ma Ingalls or Mama Walton, I’ve had a melt-down . . .

No matter how our culture changes, a mother’s heart remains.

I look to my own mother, an everlasting example to me.  Not a biblical mom, not a tv mom, but a practical woman with extravagant dedication to her family.  Her eye was faithfully upon me clear and steady, and remained upon me when it faded and became framed in flesh timelines – still holding out a wrinkled hand of help.  She infused strength down to her granddaughter and greats.

No matter what stage of mamahood or grammahood, we can be a strong influence and example to leave long after our homegoing.  So, on this I Remember Mama Day, I honor her, and I honor my children who have allowed me to be a lasting legacy in their life.

And I honor the moms of today who are the yester-time moms of tomorrow.

Noah and the Mrs

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It has been a week busy with life.  So, I was grateful for the other day to take an annual break with some Jesus-lovin’ gals from my Precept class to go out to Strasburg, Pa to see the amazing production of NOAH.

I’m blessed to be able to meet with these great ladies every Thursday morning to study the Bible, but our once a year get-away is a special gift.  Even more spectacular is the dramatic presentation of seeing the Bible come to life at the Sight and Sound Theatre.

Between invitations from friends and family, this was my number five visit to see NOAH. Each time I see something different and new, something deeper.  And it’s not just because the theatre opens into an ark.  Yes, get amazed!

Everybody has a story . . . except it seems, for Mrs Noah.  Her story is about her husband, the flannel-graph star of the Sunday School room, the one who dominates coloring books, and the poor guy who skeptics use as an example.

So, this time, I focused on the lady of the famed ark.

In the days of old, much like the days of now, when godlessness reigned, lived the nameless woman who stood by her man.  She’s mentioned in the Bible five times; Genesis 6:18, 7:7, 7:13, 8:6, 8:8, but unnamed.  However, the drama using poetic license, gave her a beautiful name.  I like that.

536211_490413254340722_1161460654_nMarried to the upright and obedient Noah, I believe the Mrs had to be equally obedient in order to support her husband to carry out what God instructed him to do.

I try and put myself in Mrs Noah’s dry shoes.  She had to be a woman of great faith.

Her life is a lesson in how to let go and start over. She lived in a world gone bad, and the world she knew, and everyone in it except for her immediate family of eight, were to be destroyed. Her heart had to break as she listened to the pounding on the door and the cries of those who at the last minute begged to enter the safety of the ark.

How could she bear to know those she loved would suffer death and destruction – how can we?

It took great faith to keep her eyes looking for rainbows on the other side of the flood, instead of what was happening.  It takes great faith for us to realize the story not only tells of the grace of the rainbow, but also the judgment of a holy God who hates sin.

And greater grace  . . . from her oldest son, Shem, came generations to give us our Savior Jesus, who waits at the door of the ark for us to come in before His return to this earth.

Photo, courtesy of my own grandson, Japheth and his betrothed, Rachel . . . who look a little like a modern day ark couple holding a few of two of every kind, don’t you think?

First Love

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First love is, abandoning all for a love that abandons all.  I heard this somewhere.

It’s how we feel when we first fall in love.  We can’t spend enough time with one another, hang on every word, believe it all . . .

Unknown-2We can’t wait to introduce our new beau to everyone.

We abandon all, until the excitement dims into the mundane, and one day we find ourselves asking the one who gave us shivers to take out the trash and stop hogging the bed.  And we wonder how it happened.

We lose the freshness and the presence.

Somehow time, people, and responsibilities took first place.

It can be the same when we experience Jesus for the first time.  I remember looking up at my Love at first sight. I needed to be shackled. I was reckless and zealous in declaring my love and had to tell everyone within reach. Every. One.

The image of life faded into the deep wash of grace. Of course, I had to tell someone!

Are we still as passionate about our relationship with Christ, or do we need to rekindle our first love?

You may have been bruised by life and fallen out of love with the One who abandoned all for you.  Or maybe you haven’t met yet.  I’d love to be matchmaker . . . wink.

If you allow Him to court you, He will bring gifts.  Jewels of faith.  He will whisper unfailing love into your ear, and come on bended knee to ask you to spend the rest of your life with Him.

His rival comes courting and does all he can to rob us of our deep devotion and complicate our relationship with Jesus.  We get caught up in intellectualizing the Bible instead of receiving just the simple beauty of His love letter.

At the end of the day, and at the end of our life, only one relationship will matter. The one with the Redeemer.

Revisit your sacred moment.

Jesus, restore to us the excitement of first holy glance.

I know all the things you do.  I have seen your hard work and patient endurance.  But I have this complaint against you.  You don’t love me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen from your first love.  Turn back to Me.  Revelation 2:2, 4-5