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My Internal Compass…Revisited

This is one of those weeks when I am trying to mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually regroup—and have fun doing so. So I’m taking it easy on myself and setting realistic expectations (instead of my usual desire to proverbially build Rome in a day). Part of my “enjoy the view” process this week includes allowing myself to share a “repeat” blog post and also asking my mom to answer an “Ask Grandma” question for a blog post later in the week (i.e., no new writing for me this week). This post first appeared on April 19, 2012, less than a month after this blog began. A lot has changed since then. But as I reread it today, it struck me how the truths haven’t changed. God is still an amazing God! So thanks for letting me join you as a reader of this past post!

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The title of this post [the original title was: “My Internal Compass”] makes me laugh. In fact, my family will laugh also! I have NO internal compass. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. The gift of “navigational direction” was withheld from me—completely.

My favorite story to illustrate this is from the time my mom and I were headed from central Iowa straight across the state to a town not far from the Nebraska border. My dad told us that it was a very easy route, and there was only one little section to watch. Well, we were singing and laughing and talking, and apparently we didn’t watch! Add to that the fact that my lack of good “navigational direction” is inherited from my mother, and you get two women who didn’t even KNOW they were lost! To this day we still recall the moment when we simultaneously read a billboard that read: “Welcome to Eagleville, Missouri!” For those of you with the ability to know directions, no, we did not know we were going south instead of west! Ooops!

While doing some packing, I found an old compass that I had used in a play I once directed. Perhaps because of the “direction-seeking” season I am currently experiencing, that little compass reminded me of some great truths last night.

I have two sisters and one brother and (this is my favorite part!) I am the youngest of the four of us. We have many similarities, but we also have very distinct personalities. At times I have said that we are “North, South, East, and West” in the way we do things, but that we still have a strong connection at the center of the compass. As I saw that little glass-encased compass last evening, it was the center of the compass that caused me to think of just how a compass functions. I went to “Wikipedia” (the “online encyclopedia”) for help in summarizing my explanation:

“A compass functions as a pointer to ‘magnetic north’ because the magnetized needle at its heart aligns itself with the lines of the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic field exerts a torque on the needle, pulling one end or pole of the needle toward the Earth’s North magnetic pole, and the other toward the South magnetic pole. The needle is mounted on a low-friction pivot point…so it can turn easily. When the compass is held level, the needle turns until, after a few seconds to allow oscillations to die out, one end points toward the North magnetic pole.” —Wikipedia

The magnetized needle represents my parents. Guiding us. Teaching us. Uniting us as they pointed us to Christ and to the Word of God—the true Center of our home.

However, it is interesting to note that “the needle is mounted on a low-friction pivot point…so it can turn easily.” I am thankful that my parents, while being the center of the compass and accepting their God-given assignment to “point the way” for their children, were always aware that their children did not “belong” to them but to God. They did not try to become a point on the compass themselves (they were, after all, the only ones who got to claim the title of “parents”—a ranking even higher than “friend!”), but they accepted their positions in the center of the compass, teaching us and allowing us to “turn easily” to the places where we knew God was leading us.

This post is not written to praise my parents, though I am eternally grateful for their example and godly leadership in the home and in their vocational callings, but to remind each of us that we should keep eternal values at the center of the compass. The freedom that comes from loosely holding our families, our possessions, and even our dreams allows us to follow joyfully wherever the compass leads!

Psalm 25:4-5 “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”

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 Image courtesy of voraorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Thank you for taking time to read/reread this post. Please feel free to leave a comment.

By Petals from the Basket | April 27, 2015 | Family, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Trust

Trust is earned. God has earned it.

When He says He will, He does.

When He says He won’t, He doesn’t.

When He says, “always,” He means it.

When He says, “trust me,” you can!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverb 3:5-6, NLT).

By Petals from the Basket | April 22, 2015 | God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Sure, I’ll Clean Your Bathroom

I love to clean bathrooms (seriously)—at someone else’s house. I love to fanatically organize clothes, closets, or storage boxes—at someone else’s house. And, I’m sad to confess, I love to fix what’s wrong—in someone else’s life.

Maybe it’s the way bloggers view life. Maybe it’s just the writer in me, seeking topics of interest to develop into some great masterpiece of timeless literature that will transform hearts and lives (as if). Maybe, just maybe, it’s that it’s easier to point out what someone else is doing wrong and needs to work on than it is to use the mirror of reality, viewing my own reflection through the eyes of truth.

There are many times that I have been tempted to address an “issue” or a “wrong” in order to “preach” at someone else. In my own mind, of course, I convince myself that my goal centers on the lofty purpose of helping him or her to be more like Christ. After all, I’m a teacher, an encourager, and…[as reflected in that mirror of truth]…proud, judgmental, and willingly blind to my own sins.

I’m spending a gloriously inordinate amount of time studying the book of James these days, and James 2:10 had, as it were, a trumpet fanfare of, “Read this carefully, Brenda Lee,” attached to it this morning:

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10, NIV).

This was one of those SMH (“smack my head”) moments, when I saw the words, “and yet stumbles at just one point.” I teach, know, and wholeheartedly believe that sin is sin; it is that which separates the unholy me from the holiness of God. Yet I continue to excuse my “little sins.” (I love how the writer of this verse called it just stumbling, not even falling!) And my thoughts—”Thank goodness I’m not as bad/sinful/ungodly as that person”—too often cause me to think that my wrong choices and arrogant attitudes are somehow justifiable.

But this morning it hit me (sorry for my delayed learning times, faith-friends—I’m a slow faith-learner!): I cannot justify [make excuses for] my sins, but because of God’s grace, mercy, and love, I am justified [excused, pardoned, forgiven]!

As that takes root in my mind, my heart, my life, I suddenly view my gifts of teaching and encouraging not as tools for “showing others what they’re doing wrong” but as opportunities to reflect the grace, mercy, and love that I have received. I see the forgiveness that I do not deserve, have not earned, and need so often, and my pride turns to grateful humility.

Now, friends, if you’ll excuse, me, I need to go clean the bathrooms…in my own house.

Lord, may the only one I “judge” be me,
and may the One I reflect be You. 

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Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

By Petals from the Basket | April 18, 2015 | God-and-I-Time |

Receiving and Giving Comfort

Photo credit: Shutterstock, Feng Yu

On Tuesday afternoon, while working upstairs in my home office, I overheard my mom making several phone calls to promise prayer for, offer comfort to, and encourage several women who had recently lost their husbands. She understands. She gets it. She’s also recently widowed.

I couldn’t help but think of one of her favorite passages of Scripture as I saw her living it out:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. —2 Corinthians 1:3–5, NIV

You  might reply, “But no one reached out to me. No one understood my needs.” Then you should know how greatly you longed for that and how awful it felt not to receive it. Don’t let someone else feel that way.

What loss, life change, shattered dream, problem, trouble have you gone through that you can use as a springboard for reaching out to others with a heart of understanding? They need you. They need your understanding. God has asked you to share it with them. How will you do that today?

By Petals from the Basket | April 16, 2015 | Bible Reading, Ideas, Life Changes |

Grandma’s Guide to Personal Bible Study

One of the questions I am asked most often is about how to have devotions. People are often told that they should have daily devotions, but they are not taught how to have them. The way I have chosen to have my devotions is a way, not necessarily the way.

In order to worship the Lord and to know His will, we need to have a daily time (a “devoted” time; hence, the term “devotions”) to be alone with Him, reading His Word. When this is an established choice, we are more likely to make it a part of our to-do list for that day. As I mentioned above, I have a plan that works well for me, and I would like to share that plan with you.

1. Begin your devotional time with a plan to memorize Scripture.

Psalm 119:11 (NIV) states: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Determine to learn one verse per week. Read the verse aloud five times. Repeat this before you go to bed. Continue this for the entire week. In the weeks that follow, keep going back over these verses as you add new ones. When you have completed a chapter, continue to say it at least once a week for several months. Then review it at least once a month, and you will have it hidden in your heart forever!

2. Pray for guidance.

Ask the Lord to show you something from His Word that will help you glorify Him and strengthen your Christian walk today.

3. Read your Bible.

Find a place where you can spread out the materials that will make your devotions a time of worship, encouragement, and spiritual growth. Do not substitute other books for the Word of God. Use supplemental materials (e.g., a good commentary or other study aids) to help you understand and get the most from your reading. Second Timothy 2:15 instructs us: “Study to thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Choose a plan for your Bible reading. You may wish to read your Bible through in a year. You may wish to do a more in-depth study of one book of the Bible or do a word study. Character studies are exciting and can be challenging.

4. Have a notebook in which you answer two questions at the end of your Bible reading time:

a. What did I read?

b. What did the Lord show me through what I read?

This is your time to meditate on what you read and to seek God’s wisdom for how to apply it to your life. Answer both of these questions with only one or two sentences. Making your answers too long will discourage you from using your notebook consistently.

5. Pray.

Have a prayer list. I recommend that you divide one page of your notebook into seven columns, one for each day of the week. Simply list those you plan to pray for on each of those days. If you have promised to pray for someone, write it down so that you won’t forget it. You may also wish to include a page where you can write down answers to prayer. First Thessalonians 5:16–18 tells us to: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Keep some little sticky notes in the front of your Bible. Then, when you learn of something you should pray for, write in on one of the blank sticky notes. Later, transfer that note to your prayer list and pray for that need faithfully.

Your daily devotions should be the highlight of your day! Never let them become a boring or meaningless ritual. Psalm 109:105 (NIV) states: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” If we are to glorify God, we must choose to use the light of His Word as the guide for every choice we make.

With love,
Grandma

 

By Petals from the Basket | April 11, 2015 | Ask Grandma, Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Guest Posts, Ideas |