Petals from the Basket

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Lessons from the Queen…and King

Petals from the Basket - Brenda StrohbehnThrough a gift from a dear friend, I recently acquired a DVD of the movie War Room. As I watched it with some of my family members one evening, tears streaming down my cheeks at times (okay…many times), I was reminded of the importance of acknowledging my need for—and my sole reliance upon—God. And trust me, coming from a woman who, as a caregiver and as someone with no spouse in her house, often has to be “independent” and a “take-charge” kind o’ gal, that’s so much easier said than done.

But on December 30, 2015, only a few short weeks ago, I said, “No more. I’m done trying to plan how I think things should go; I’m done foolishly trying to remove the specks from others’ eyes while I’m walking around with a redwood tree in my own (Matthew 7:5); I’m done giving God a list of selfish demands and failing to see that He has abundance ready for me along the path He wants me to follow; I’m done blaming my spiritual failures on the perceived failures of others; I’m done with thinking that in even some small way, I’m in charge. Done!”

And in that very moment, it was as if God said, “What took you so long? Let’s get started on this process of renewal!” No, not everything has been peachy keen since then. No, I’ve not suddenly been transformed into a woman who wholeheartedly makes right choices. But God is at work. And what He does is good…sometimes painful…but always good.

When speaking with one of my sisters about how God was giving me new opportunities to mentor others in their walk of faith, I spoke of this renewed knowledge of the power of prayer and how I was trying to pass that along. In her reply, she in turn mentored me as she shared an important reminder through this illustration [I have presented the true story as if in her words, for the sake of condensing our conversation that day]:

“When I was in England, touring the palace, we were reminded of an important element of protocol. When someone receives an audience with the queen, he or she doesn’t walk in, greet the queen, and begin stating his or her request or offering comments. The queen speaks first. The person who is privileged to be there must begin by listening. The queen must always speak first.”

So often I begin my God-and-I-Time with my prayer list. I enter my personal “War Room” (i.e., place of prayer) with sincere and appropriate petitions on behalf of myself and others. But I forget that I must first listen. The King of kings has given me His own unchanging words of truth, guidance, teaching, admonition, and love, forever recorded in the Bible. He wants me to read them, to know them, to live them…to listen.

It seems that the proper order should be: He speaks, I listen, and in prayer, I respond.

Even the petitions He tells me to bring to Him are offered in response to my first listening to and believing His promises to hear and to answer. So yes, I will continue my journey of fighting my battles in prayer, of focusing on intentionality in my prayers. But more importantly, I will sit at the feet of Jesus and learn…and listen.

I will begin with obedience to His command: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NIV).

Because the King speaks first.

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Did you know that you can literally listen to God’s Word on BibleGateway.com?
Simply click on the links to the Bible verses above (or search for your favorite chapters and passages) and select the “audio” icon in the box that appears.

By Petals from the Basket | February 4, 2016 | Family, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Inspired by Amy Carmichael…and a Fountain Pen

Amy Carmichael’s book If may be little in size, but it packs a powerful punch. Miss Carmichael used “if…then” statements to reiterate the overwhelming beauty, power, and grace found in the love that Christ demonstrated at Calvary. The reminders contained in its pages cannot be skimmed over lightly or read in their entirety in one brief sitting. They must be absorbed, pondered, grasped, and implemented one by one.

Several years ago I began writing down my own “If” musings, and while I have occasionally shared a few of those entries as Facebook posts or in letters to friends, they have been so personal at times that I have protected them as if they were a private prayer. Until recently, the entries were sometimes written on note cards and then inserted into the otherwise bound pages of a daily journal; other times, they were written on the pages of my daily planner, on Post-it notes, or on the backs of sermon notes.

With the arrival of 2016 a few weeks ago, I determined to use my smartphone for the purposes for which it was created and not for those which are often attached to it: it is not my best friend, the only means by which I can connect to or interact with others, my security, or the source of my identity. I even went back to wearing a watch so that I would no longer have to keep looking at my smartphone for the time, because I found that I was often becoming distracted by the notifications or options it offered me with each glance.

For some of those areas I eliminated through this decision, I chose instead to pick up…get ready for it…a fountain pen and a journal with pages begging to be the recipient of its ink. (If you haven’t tried one, start with an inexpensive disposable fountain pen like the one you’ll find here.) There’s something about being reunited with your fountain pen that prompts you to write from the depths of your heart. And for me, when the contents of my heart met the flow of the ink, I felt the need to begin an official If journal (as opposed to randomly jotting my “if…then” statements on whatever form of paper was near at the moment).

Some of these, I will share on this website; some I will share on the Petals from the Basket Facebook page; some will remain private prayers. Today’s will simply serve as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with Amy Carmichael’s book, the original example and inspiration for these thoughts of my own:

If, when my path crosses that of one whose journey does not mimic my own and whose transgressions may seem more public than those I have privately committed, I do not offer the grace I have received, the understanding with which I have been blessed, or the forgiveness that was on me so freely bestowed, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

~BLS, from my personal If journal, inspired by Amy Carmichael

By Petals from the Basket | January 22, 2016 | Books, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Control

Okay. So…I messed up. I tried to control what wasn’t mine to control. I said what should not have been said. I tried to change what only God can change…if it even needed changing in the first place. And in so doing, I blew it. But God, in His transforming grace and infinite love, is greater.

Greater than all of my pride.

Greater than my impatience.

Greater than my harsh judgments.

Greater.

I don’t know if He will choose to repair what I broke or if He will simply continue to use my brokenness to change me. I only know that He has lovingly, and with the forgiveness He promised, opened my heart to a level of yieldedness I didn’t know I needed but that I’m grateful to put into action. Hands off the control panel. He’s got this!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV).

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, NIV).

By Petals from the Basket | January 13, 2016 | God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Leaving My Regrets in 2015

Are you leaving 2015 in a few days with no regrets? Oh, trust me, I have regrets from 2015: I messed up. I sinned. I got angry. I was selfish. I was proud. I was impatient. I was…a whole list of things. And I regret that. But I’m moving forward into 2016. By God’s grace and with His help, I’m turning my open hands heavenward and asking Him to fill them, to teach me, to change me, to prepare me, and to create in me more possibilities for growth, accomplishment, outreach, and love than I would have thought possible—all because of the lessons learned from those regrets. But because of His amazing grace, I’m not taking them with me!

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14, NIV).

By Petals from the Basket | December 30, 2015 | Events, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

A “Long Obedience”?

Do you ever hear a phrase or expression, think it sounds beautiful, and know that it must mean more than you’re grasping, because, in spite of how eloquently it rolls off the tongue, you just don’t quite “get it”? In my ongoing promise to be honest and transparent with you, I’ll confess that, at the age of 54.972, I awoke at 4:21 this morning, and by 4:25, I thought: “That’s what that means!” The second that is the descriptive phrase: “a long obedience in the same direction.” The first that is what I will attempt to share with these words.

Friedrich Nietzsche is generally cited as the originator of the expression and is quoted as saying, “The essential thing ‘in heaven and earth’ is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction.” On his secular (as opposed to faith-based) leadership blog, “Leadership by Soul,” Jonathan Wilson states it more succinctly than I could come up with:

Nietzsche had a rather narcissistic and exploitative view of what is “worth living for.” Nevertheless, I believe the overall principle he states is correct. Influence may begin with a leader’s courageous initiative to do the right thing, but it is unlikely to reach its potential unless the leader practises “a long obedience in the same direction.” Leadership that influences does not only begin with courageous initiative: it is the long, arduous and often wearisome repetition of multiple acts of courageous initiative. To succeed, leaders have to persevere unstintingly; and to the end. —Jonathan Wilson, Leadership by Soul

This morning I awoke with the same sense of urgency I have had in recent mornings to pray for a friend who is battling this very thing: not in the area of leadership but in the walk of faith. But, as is usually the case with me, I ended up saying, “Lord, before I can pray this for my friend, I must pray for myself in this same area.” And…BAM…that’s when the clock struck 4:25, my aha moment.

You see, it’s easy to cling to Christ when I am able to set aside possessions, people, position, and prestige and realize that Christ is all I truly have and all I truly need. Herein lies obedience: obedience to His command to seek His kingdom first, to set my affection on things above, and to love my Lord and my God with all my heart, soul, and mind.

But then complacency, double-mindedness, and a lack of two-way communication with my loving, forgiving Creator set in…yet again. My crisis is resolved; my urgent need no longer exists; I’m settled back in to receiving the temporary salve of that which makes me feel better…about me…and my direction begins to shift. Sometimes the change is dramatic and seemingly sudden. But more often than not, it is gradual, subtle, and easily denied. After all, I tell myself, “I’m still a Christian who believes in God; I’m still going to church when my schedule permits; I’m still praying eloquently when called upon to ‘say grace’ before the meal.” Oh yes, I’m still moving forward; I’m just moving in a different direction now—complacently wavering instead of fervently worshiping.

It’s that shift in focus—that one-second glance away from the cross and the depth of meaning that it holds—that’s all it takes. In that singular moment my spiritual compass gets off course and leads me in a direction that seems so inviting, welcoming, and exciting that I tell myself I haven’t changed; I have only progressed. I’m so caught up in its “benefits,” that I neglect to see that Christ, previously the focal point of my endeavors, is no longer in view.

Sadly, it often takes yet another crisis, another eye-opening event to awaken me to the fact that I have not only changed course, but, in doing so, I have been disobedient to the One whose simply stated command was, “Follow Me.”

But along with an aha moment at 4:25 in the morning comes the reminder that there are fresh mercies for me to claim and apply today! As the old hymn states, He offers “grace that is greater than all my sin.” Wow. Just wow! His forgiveness is already there. He just opens His arms and with His unconditional love embraces my return as I confess my disobedience and repent of giving in to the distractions and the change in direction they produced. And I find there a more inviting, welcoming, and exciting depth of joy than all I had dreamed possible only a few short moments before.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23, NIV).

And in that moment I choose Christ. I take His hand, determined through its strength and by His grace to retain my focus, to know Him more personally, and to walk beside Him with a “long obedience in the same direction.”

 

By Petals from the Basket | December 22, 2015 | Bible Reading, Family, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |