GROWING SEEDS: Beatitudes & Blessings

 

"Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! 
I would fly away to the quiet of the wilderness. 

 

 

How quickly I would escape - far away from this wild storm of hatred." 
Psalm 55:6-8

Amen David.  As Christians, our hearts ache much like David's did when he wrote this Psalm above. 

This past week.....we can't turn on the news without seeing protesters screaming obscenities through hate-filled signs in every major city in this country....we hear racist taunts coming from the mouths of people we once respected.....we have witnessed bizarre and outrageous women wearing bizarre and disgusting hats while holding in one hand the hand of their little child and a sign that says, "Abortion > God" in the other.  Sometimes.......it's just downright hard to love these people, right?

At times like this, one of the hardest lessons a Christian (or Jew or Muslim or Anyone) can cling to is what Matthew 5:43-47a teaches us:

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’
I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
(The Message)

It's interesting to me that on that hillside in Galilee so many years ago, Jesus said these words just 26 verses after teaching the Beatitudes....the Blessings of this Life:

"You're BLESSED when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world." (verse 8)

"You're BLESSED when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight
That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family." (verse 9)

"You're BLESSED when your commitment to God provokes persecution. 
The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom." (verse 10)

We.....that's YOU and ME....are the Light to this wicked world.  We are to take these blessings we were given and go Light up the darkness.

(All Scripture quoted from The Message)

GROWING SEEDS: The Real Meaning of Baptism

 

 A few weeks ago, as I sat on the handicapped pew with my Beloved in this precious church, I heard Pastor Cotten say something that shook me to my core.  He said, "Remember Your Baptism".  I didn't hear another word he said after that. 

I sat there struggling to remember the details of my Baptism.  I was 12.....I remember my parents saying it was "time" for me to be baptized....I remember standing at the front of the church with several of my friends facing the congregation and agreeing to the 28 fundamental beliefs of the church I grew up in.......but what disturbs me now, was I don't remember feeling anything..."special".  Being baptized to me then was like moving from the Children's Class to the Youth Class.  It was expected.  It was the next step.  It was what you did when you were 12.

This memory has been haunting me.  Did the sheer act of putting on the white robe, stepping into the waters of that baptismal tank, holding my nose and hearing the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost" save me?  I assumed at the time it did.....and it would be many years before I realized it actually didn't.  I wasn't saved when I was 12.  I'm pretty sure it happened when I was 48....in my living room....sitting in my favorite chair....early one morning, reading about how all Jesus really wanted from me was a relationship.  It was when I felt the pain of the scars on his hands and feet that morning like they were my own.  It was when I heard Him tell me I was His and He was mine. 

I've lived the bulk of my life assuming I was "saved" when in reality, I never "knew" God.  I knew "of" God.   I knew facts and figures, but I didn't know Him personally. 

But I'm proud to say today, with enormous tears of gratitude in my eyes, that I do now know Him personally...and He knows me!  It is my sincerest belief that my salvation wasn't based on being submerged in a pool of water....but maybe....just maybe....our baptism is our "new-parent" gift to God after He birthed us the gift of Life.

GROWING SEEDS: The Yellow Brick Road to Home

 

The Yellow Brick Road To Home

The Wizard of Oz.  Now THERE'S a movie I love to watch!  A hundred years ago when I was 10, it would come on once a year.  Those were the days before VCR's and DVR's and being able to record 16 shows all at the same time.  You actually had to be present when it came on and there was no fast-forwarding through commercials.  Bathroom breaks were scheduled and I would be ready with popcorn, blanket and my favorite spot on the sofa two hours before it was scheduled to come on.  Every - Single - Time.

There's something about flying over the rainbow.....dropping smack down in a new beautiful world....and starting the journey to find Home.  Having to walk an unfamiliar road and meeting the brainless scarecrows, the heartless people who have rusted from much rain in their lives, and the cowardly lions who carry fear in their heart everywhere they go.

It always reminds me that my journey on this earth is just that........a journey.  It's a bleep on the radar in the whole story of my eternity.  I have been the scarecrow.....scatterbrained, making bizarre choices without the guidance of God......and I have been the heartless tin man as I passed people up needing help, time and time again....and I have carried fear in that most coveted of places next to my heart. 

But I long to be Dorothy......always looking ahead.....to the Finish Line....Heaven.  The FAITH to know that if I just keep walking....if I just keep pressing on and keep my eye on the Prize and stop focusing on the road I'm walking and concentrate instead on the destination, one day I will top a hill and I will see it.  Home.  I long for Home.  I long in a way that brings tears to my eyes and a desperation in the deepest parts of my soul.  I can't wait to get Home. 

Some day I'll wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops,

Way above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me

GROWING SEEDS: I Want You To Learn A New Habit

 

"I want you to learn a new habit. 

Try saying, "I TRUST You, Jesus" in response to whatever happens to you. 
When you view events from this perspective - through the LIGHT of My universal Presence -
FEAR loses its grip on you." 
Sarah Young

When we moved into our first of two temporary houses last year, although we were warm, comfortable and grateful, I couldn't shake this nagging feeling that "something" was missing.  It wasn't till three weeks into our stay that I went looking for Q-tips in our storage unit, and I saw it...that "something" missing.

There, amongst the sofas, tables and beds, was a floor lamp.  A simple, unattractive lamp I had once purchased from the Salvation Army that had stood by my side every day for years, illuminating my Bible in the mornings and providing light as I poured words into my blogs and church bulletin articles.  I dragged it to the temporary house and sat it down right next to a chair I had been using for my morning quiet time.  There are no words to express the JOY I felt when I turned this lamp on.  It provided warmth, not just to the room, but to me.  Almost like......it gave me life....it gave me HOPE.

"A lamp is just a piece of furniture until its plugged into a power source. 
When light emanates from that lamp, it brings forth more than light. 
It brings forth clarity, even life, into the room. " 
Kristi Watts

I remember looking at that lamp from every angle.....even from outside on the deck through the window.....and feeling pure joy.  Fear of the unknown was replaced with joy from the light of His presence.  Like a warm blanket on a cold day, I felt His amazing companionship in the light from that lamp.  He had gifted me with this tiny piece of Home......

It's the same way when we read the pages of His Word.....we feel His "Light" embracing us....warming us.....giving us hope.  We stand up taller, we speak a little louder and we walk more confidently....because we're no longer afraid of the dark....we're walking in the Light.

"I am the Light of the world. 
Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life." 
John 8:12

GROWING SEEDS: I Want You To Learn A New Habit

 

"I want you to learn a new habit. 

Try saying, "I TRUST You, Jesus" in response to whatever happens to you. 
When you view events from this perspective - through the LIGHT of My universal Presence -
FEAR loses its grip on you." 
Sarah Young

When we moved into our first of two temporary houses last year, although we were warm, comfortable and grateful, I couldn't shake this nagging feeling that "something" was missing.  It wasn't till three weeks into our stay that I went looking for Q-tips in our storage unit, and I saw it...that "something" missing.

There, amongst the sofas, tables and beds, was a floor lamp.  A simple, unattractive lamp I had once purchased from the Salvation Army that had stood by my side every day for years, illuminating my Bible in the mornings and providing light as I poured words into my blogs and church bulletin articles.  I dragged it to the temporary house and sat it down right next to a chair I had been using for my morning quiet time.  There are no words to express the JOY I felt when I turned this lamp on.  It provided warmth, not just to the room, but to me.  Almost like......it gave me life....it gave me HOPE.

"A lamp is just a piece of furniture until its plugged into a power source. 
When light emanates from that lamp, it brings forth more than light. 
It brings forth clarity, even life, into the room. " 
Kristi Watts

I remember looking at that lamp from every angle.....even from outside on the deck through the window.....and feeling pure joy.  Fear of the unknown was replaced with joy from the light of His presence.  Like a warm blanket on a cold day, I felt His amazing companionship in the light from that lamp.  He had gifted me with this tiny piece of Home......

It's the same way when we read the pages of His Word.....we feel His "Light" embracing us....warming us.....giving us hope.  We stand up taller, we speak a little louder and we walk more confidently....because we're no longer afraid of the dark....we're walking in the Light.

"I am the Light of the world. 
Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life." 
John 8:12

GROWING SEEDS: "Do You Have A Spare Chair?"

 

Do You Have A Spare Chair?

The time between Christmas and New Years' Day has, for many years, been one of the most stressful weeks of the year for me.  It's the time of year when I hear from Mr. Stein, the CPA; a man of whom....I've been terrified of.

I don't know why.  Just am.  Maybe it's my insecurity as the Bookkeeper of everything financial both for our company and personal dealings.  Maybe it's because I was trained to be an insurance agent and not a bookkeeper, and when he mentions words like "Retained Earnings", he says it in a way that suggests I should know what he's talking about.  Yes.....I start stressing and dreading this last week in December......in October.

After years of breaking into a sweat when seeing his face pop up on my cell, I needed to do something about this fear of our Jewish CPA.  So four years ago, I decided to spend a little time on these nobby knees in the closet before the scheduled phone conversation, and chat with God about this anxiety.  Who knows, I reasoned, maybe God had some helpful hints He could throw my way.....

He did.

As I said "Amen" and moved out of the closet and into the home office, I sat down at the desk and prepared for "the" call.  I knew God was with me on this.....I knew He longed for me to have peace.....and I knew He was standing next to me....

......so I pulled Him up a chair.

Yep, grabbed an empty chair from the corner of the room and placed it smack-dab next to mine and designated it "Jesus' Chair".  Now, every time I start to feel anxious or nervous during the conversation with Mr. Stein, I look over at Jesus' Chair and see Him smiling back at me with those eyes that say, "I'm right here, Liz....there's no need to fear.  Together...we can handle Mr. Stein." 

"Together......we can handle ANYTHING!"

The fears have been replaced by a wonderful friendship with Mr. Stein and no longer rules our conversations.   I simply bring my Consultant when we meet and now, my Jewish CPA never forgets to ask me, "Is Jesus sitting down?"

"I know the Lord is always with me. 
I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."
Psalm 16:8