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The Risk of Choice

Happy Friday! It is warm finally. My son starts Little League practice Saturday. It must be Spring! I hope to pack up the winter clothes this weekend at last.

Reading The Giver (I gave a quick synopsis in yesterday’s post), soon after the boy begins training, he is frustrated by the lack of choice in his community. He wants to be able to decide. He quickly concedes that there is a danger in that. If people can choose, they might make the wrong choice.

Beginning with Adam, God trusted man with the ability to choose, knowing the risk it presented. [I am NOT going to get into Calvinism and irresistible grace.] God gets glory when we choose to love and serve Him. That means we understand that He is worthy. It’s a step toward revering Him the way He deserves. It also reflects His character- He loves us because He chooses to.

The Wisdom of Suffering

By Paula

Yesterday, I finished reading The Giver, a Newbery winner from 1993, by Lois Lowry. I cannot wait to start discussing it in class! It’s a deep book with weighty themes. In fact, I’m shocked it’s a children’s book. There will probably be several posts about it in the coming days. The story is set in a tightly controlled society in the present or near future. Every facet of life is regulated by the Committee of the Elders. They choose your mates, your career, your children and even the day of your death (we find out later). In exchange for the regulation, people enjoy a safe, pleasurable life with no upsets. There is one elder, however, who carries within him the collective memories of the society throughout their history. He alone remembers pain, suffering, loneliness and grief. He is also the only one who knows true joy and love. A twelve year old boy is sent to train with him and eventually take the old man’s place. That’s the background.

The boy asks the old man why the community needs to remember pain and suffering. Wouldn’t they all be happier without it? The old man replies that the memories- which for him means reliving the events- bring wisdom. Proverbs in the sourcebook for wisdom, but one verse in particular 8:35 reads ‘For whoever finds [wisdom] finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.’ I admit, I don’t want pain or suffering. Most days, I don’t even want aggravation. But it’s the difficulties that make me depend on God’s grace, on His strength, not mine. It’s the suffering that allows me to become more Christlike, so I may know Him … and the fellowship of His sufferings. (Phil 3:10) Suffering and pain bring an intimacy into our relationship with Christ that cannot be achieved by any other means. And that realization is just a small sliver of wisdom.

God’s Hideout

By Paula

Psalm 27

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed/ That I would see the goodness of the Lord/ In the land of the living.

Let me rewrite this for myself – I lose heart when I forget that I can see the goodness of the Lord. I get so near-sighted and so focused on the here and now and on myself that I lose sight of GOD, His holiness and His call on my life.

But even when I forget, this is what He does for me…

5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

High on a rock- easy to defend, gives a tremendous perspective on things below. He will realign my thinking from a safe place, where not too many others can reach me. His tabernacle is symbolic of His presence. He won’t hide me and leave me, but He will hide with me, and then tell when it’s safe to come out. It’s a place He’s prepared for that purpose.

Thinking about thoughts

By Paula

Some thoughts on Psalm 19-

Who can understand his errors? Will I, can I ever really understand how and why my heart and mind conspire in sinful presumptions? Is understanding as necessary as it seems to understand how and why?
Cleanse me from secret faults, from the faults I’m unwilling to admit even to myself. To be cleansed, they must be recognized, identified, brought out into the light.
Keep [me] from presumptuous sins – I’m learning that these are some of my favorites. These are the ideas that I have rights and entitlements from God, that He is obligated, owes me things. Let them not have dominion over me – When they do, that’s when I crash. When I am more focused on myself, how I’ve been treated/accepted then I get off track.
I want to be blameless and innocent of great transgression, but am I willing to do the hard work required to achieve it?
the meditation of my heart/ Be acceptable – Even the things I brood over should honor God and not seek to displace Him as Lord.

Getting Slimed

By Paula

Yesterday was a science day for the second graders, and we made slime. It’s always a huge hit and it’s the closest I’ll ever get to being a rock star. After I got home though, I thought about the experiment and soon began to identify with the slime, or actually the glue that is the primary ingredient. Stick with me on this one… (yeah- a pun, I know.) The first step in the process is to add water to the glue to destabilize it, and break it down. Then you add some borax that has been activated and wham-o! Slime! (After you shake it until your arms fall off, of course.)

I can’t tell you how many times I have felt like that glue, confined in a jar, destabilized, disordered and useless. My worship suffers. My joy wanes. I have a tendency to get very busy with church and lose sight of the Christ who heads it. There is so much work to do, after all. I so need that “activated” ingredient to infuse my life, my worship, and my fellow believers.

So how do I get “it” back?

I get a tremendous boost from God’s word, so good study time is critical. I can lay those issues out in prayer- often I write them down- and listen for God to speak to my heart. I love to study. God’s word is an inexhaustible source of strength, comfort and encouragement. There’s so much there… how can you not… and then the Greek and the Hebrew… (I am a “Word-nerd”.)

I also like great music, in my car, played loud! I can sing really loud, and have some serious worship. That seems to give me that ‘reset’ I need.

Occasionally, I have to evaluate my activities. Are they helping me honor Christ or are they interfering with it? This is tricky because sometimes ‘good’ activities can be an issue and squeeze out the best. I dropped some things a while back, and even though I was good at them, had been involved with them for years, I didn’t miss them. That was a tip-off that I did the right thing getting them off my plate. I replaced them with some things I’m passionate about and have been blessed to have God work through me in some new ways.

Maybe you can identify…

Called

By Paula

I’m reading an article by Mary DeMuth about getting and keeping the heart right before God before attempting to write. One of her first points is to explore that calling. I have never felt so suited to anything (except teaching) in my life. I enjoy writing- the craft, the feedback, the process- immensely. I know God has been in it because of the things I’ve learned, because of the passages I know I didn’t write, and because the words have touched others. That’s not me, and that gives me chills. To think God has chosen to work in anything I do is pretty incredible. I’m still searching out God’s ultimate purpose in this, but I’m pursuing publication as the next step.

So what’s the difference between a gift and a calling? Jon is studying this with his Sunday school class right now and here’s his definition. Your gift is what the Holy Spirit has equipped you to do to help the church carry out its commission. Your calling is the how and where that gift is put to practical use. I have a gift of teaching, but I’m called to use that in several capacities- with my children, in various ways at church, and through writing. Others may have a different take, and it’s not worth nit-picking. It’s all a God thing anyway. He gives the gifts and the callings for His purposes and glory. I’m awestruck that He lets me participate.

The Risk of Choice

The Wisdom of Suffering

God’s Hideout

Thinking about thoughts

Getting Slimed

Called

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series