New Tricks

I am learning tp tupw. If yoy can read this it will be a small niraclw. At leasr it is good for a laugh! The temptation to correct ny mistakes is huge, but I will nir (not) brcause I am learning. Just three days agp I couls not have ty[ed a thing without looking at the keys, so I am happu.

I keeo wondering why I did not do this a ling time ago. I have been pecking out wouds with two fingers sonce I was in high school. I cleatly renember the dat I started to look down at the keyd and began to forget how to actually typw. There is probably a profound spiritual lesson there, but I am not sure what it is yet. (I typed that whole sentence without a mistake!)

I guess I will have to thinl more slowlu if I am going to tupw as I write. (Yiles! Pride really doth goeth before a fall!)

Go learn something new today and don’t be afraid to look stupod. It’s wotth iy!

God Does Not Send People to Hell

Earth is the closest thing to heaven the lost will ever know.

I am not a theologian. I have not been to seminary. But I have heard, read, and studied the Bible all my life. More than that, I have come to know the One behind those words.

The God I know does not send people to hell.

In fact, He loves the world - and those in the world – so utterly that he sent His Son, Jesus, to seek and save the lost. While we were yet sinners, Jesus chose to take our sin and “own it” and pay for it with His life.

We are born separated from God. We will remain separated from Him, unless we say Yes to His grace. The blood of Jesus alone can “wash us” clean enough to be in relationship with a holy God. Any and all effort to be “good” is completely pointless. God has provided the way. Jesus is the Way, the only way.

God makes His love and goodness known. The evidence is all around us every day. Our empty lonely hearts are searching for Him, whether we know it or not. He orchestrates. He works. He woos. He whispers. He tugs. He entices. He invites. He hurts, that He might heal. He takes, that He might give. He condescends, that we might dare to draw near.

He loves. He loves. He loves.

Hell is separation from God and all His grace. It is the natural “end state” for those who have not been reconciled to Him through Christ.

Earth is the closest thing to hell the believer will ever know.

True Blessedness

In recent months I have become aware of a new desire stirring way down inside me - a longing for humility. Sometimes the wanting is so strong that tears flow. I cannot thank God enough for bringing me to this place; it is completely a work of His grace.

Humility. Meekness. Lowliness of heart. Poor in spirit. Contrite. Considering others more important than oneself. A servant heart. Self-sacrificing. Not considering equality with God a thing to be grasped. Helpless. Glad to be weak, that the power of Christ might be strong.

To be so set free from "self" is the most wonderful blessedness I can imagine! I am making this my goal in the coming year. No, not to "arrive" at this, but to wholeheartedly learn from Jesus. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

This morning the Quaker hymn "Simple Gifts" came to my mind, so I googled the lyrics. I thought they were well-worth sharing.

'Tis the gift to be simple
'Tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
it will be in the valley of love and delight.

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and the richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say -

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right.

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others, not to only think of "me,"
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

What a Gift!

If Henry the VIII had been a Teetsel, he would not have run through six different wives trying to get one male heir. Although Bob has a younger sister, Kathy, those “boy genes” have dominated going way back. For the whole five years we dated, I knew we would have sons. I even imagined their bedroom decorated in navy and red, with two twin beds side-by-side and baseball caps hung on the bedposts.
Almost as soon as I discovered I was pregnant with our first, we called the baby “Elmo.” We were just having fun and being goofy. “Daniel Austin” was the real name we settled on, although Bob was pushing for “Sam.”
I went into labor over three weeks early. (Maybe it had something to do with carrying that floor buffer up three flights of stairs!) The baby had been in a breach position for months…and still was. Although Bob and I had attended Lamaze classes in preparation for the birth, a C-section was ordered. We were crushed to learn that I would not be awake and Bob would not be present. I was wheeled away to surgery.
The room was cold, but warm blankets covered me as the anesthesia began to wear off. I began to hear the voices of the doctor and nurses around me. Every now and then I would hear “she.” This confused me. I strained to understand through the post-op fog. The voices became increasingly clear. More references to “she.” Then it hit me – “she” was my baby. The baby was a girl!
My mind flashed back to a couple of weeks earlier. I had taped a list of girl names on the refrigerator. It just seemed like the right thing to do to pick a girl’s name, too. I asked Bob which one he liked best. He chose “Marie.” Bob was stationed in Germany and we attended a very small German-American Baptist Church. Our pastor was an old, retired Southern Baptist preacher from Texas. Marie, his wife, was one of the kindest, loveliest women I had ever met. She is the reason “Marie” made the list. I then asked Bob for a second-favorite name. “Christine,” he said. “Marie Christine” – perfect.
Our baby had not been due until early January. We would never have connected the arrival with Christmas, but God knew - “Marie” a variation of “Mary” and “Christine” for Christ Himself. We had not chosen her name. He had.
My roommate in the hospital had a baby boy. I was happy for her, but would not have traded my five pound 13 ounce pink bundle for the world! I only wish I had known 30 years ago what I know today – just how amazing a gift God had truly given us. Marie’s heart is, and always has been, as kind, tender and genuine as any I have known. She sees. She hears. She cares. She reaches. She gives. She loves.
We marvel.
Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

How to Become a Perfectly Miserable Christian

(Don’t worry – it’s effortless!)

First and foremost, keep your focus on yourself. Remember that your life is all about you. Take great pride and pleasure in how good and caring and capable you are, especially compared to others. Cling firmly to the belief that God is always there to serve you and to make you even more special than you are today!

(If you tend to see yourself as a total loser, an utter failure and completely worthless – you’re way ahead of the rest! Spend all your time dwelling on how weak and sinful you are and you are certain to become trapped in hopelessness and despair. Then you will have a perfect excuse not to exert yourself or take any responsibility for your choices. Woo-hoo!)

Stay very tuned into your feelings and allow them to dictate everything that you say and do. Your emotions are a completely trustworthy indicator of what is true about you, God and your circumstances. Never examine them too closely. If you can’t trust what you feel, what can you trust?

Set your priorities based on what you believe will bring you the utmost comfort, security and pleasure in the short-term. Heaven can wait! Why bother to think about eternal realities when God has blessed you with so much to enjoy right now here on earth? Besides, God loves you too much to want you to experience anything painful or difficult.

Concentrate on looking good on the outside since this is what others will see and applaud. Then you’ll feel proud and your self-confidence will remain high! Don’t miss an opportunity to show off or brag, just in case people have not noticed or fully appreciated all that you have done and how much you have given.

Don’t bother to cultivate a thankful heart or to actually express gratitude to God (unless others are listening). Clearly, He is only taking care of you as He should. If difficulties come or your needs are not met to your satisfaction, let God know immediately that He has failed you. Keep complaining until things change.

You can rack up tons of brownie points by reading your Bible every morning, but don’t take it too seriously. After all, those words were written a long time ago to people in a completely different culture! They can’t possibly apply to you or your life.

If you have already been persuaded that the Bible is true, make sure that you don’t believe it is true for you or about you. Keep your Bible-reading a purely academic exercise. Concentrate on the passages that emphasize God‘s love and grace, and just ignore the parts that describe His holiness and judgment. (Those are obviously for other people.)

Let’s face it, prayer can feel really hard. It is best to hold off doing it until you are in the right frame of mind and full of spiritual fervor. Count on those “911” prayers for times when you face a real crisis - or if you are running late and need a good parking spot. God is too awesome to be bothered with the little details of your life, and your “to do” list is too long to waste valuable time in prayer, accomplishing nothing. If you still feel uneasy about failing to pray, try to remember that God is GOD. He is going to do whatever He wants to do anyway.

As far as confession of sin goes, being honest about your “mistakes” can make you feel really bad about yourself. So if a guilty conscience bothers you, keep in mind that Jesus already knows about what you’ve done. There is no need to bore Him with all the gory details! You’re covered, right? The fact that you feel sorry is sufficient. Just make yourself a promise to try to do better in the future.

Maintain a proper view of other people. They exist for your benefit. If others treat you in a way that is upsetting or disappointing, let them know immediately that this is unacceptable. Set the bar of expectation high and don’t settle for less. Withhold forgiveness until the offending party has proven how truly sorry they are and made it up to you. Employ whatever forms of manipulation and control may be necessary to get your own needs met.

Never risk doing anything for God that you are not certain you can do to His high standards. The last thing you want is to have a big, fat failure on your otherwise perfect record! Success is what gets you those gold stars, right? If you happen to blow it in this area and fail, wallow for a good, long time in humiliation and self-pity. This will keep you from making a similar error in the future. Better yet, blame on God for making you weak and inadequate.

It is almost impossible to say enough about the power of distraction to keep you from obsessing about your current spiritual condition. Work, exercise, TV, movies, video games, sports, shopping, hobbies, social media, food and alcohol are a few obvious ways to keep your mind off your relationship with God. Whatever you do, avoid quiet and solitude. Either one will leave you wide open to hearing His “still, small voice.”

Following any one of these suggestions will have the effect of dousing your joy, robbing you of peace and snuffing out the light of Christ in your life. Obviously, the more of them you can implement, the more perfectly miserable you will become.

Trust me, I know. I’ve tried them all.

Reach

I assumed going in that Bob's year-long deployment to Afghanistan would be the hardest of my life. It ended up being the most blessed. Sure, the "heat" was turned up, but so was the joy! I experienced an intimacy with Christ that caused me to confess to a friend, "Jesus is better than a thousand husbands!"

When Bob returned and the glory began to fade, I felt abandoned and grieved for the lost sense of His nearness. "Reach, Child!" I heard Him whisper to me. But I had little practice with reaching and I did not understand at the time why the Lord had "gone."

Now I understand more clearly: He allowed me to experience what I did because He wanted me to know what is possible, if I will set my heart to seek Him. When He told me to "reach," this is what He meant:

R - Remember by calling to mind what God has personally done for me in the past.

E - Extol His character and His works by singing, shouting and declaring them.

A - Acknowledge Christ's sovereignty and authority over all, especially over "me and mine."

C - Confess my sins, my fears, my weakness, my lack, my doubts outloud to Him.

H - Hear from Him by being still, attentive and surrendered.

I should not expect this to be easy! I have to realize - upfront - that it will feel difficult, awkward and stressful. I will feel like I am doing it poorly. I will feel foolish and inadequate. I will be tempted to quit. All of these feelings will be various manifestations of the "flesh" resisting what is not natural.

But to truly find Him is worth everything!