THE LORD OUR PROTECTING SHEPHERD!

I will fear no evil.

That's PROTECTION!

Fear itself can have a devastating effect on the sheep in GOD'S household. In today's evil times, protection is needed even in one's thought life. Be vigilant to guard your thoughts. Don't let the voice of today's culture lead you.

Time in His Presence is key.....from care in the day to watch in the night. (Laniak p. 112)

Courage comes from the shepherd's role of protector. It's part of the Good Shepherd's ID. (John 10:11) His sheep know him as he calls them by name. Aloneness disappears, displaced by an abundant life given freely by the "Protecting Shepherd".

3 Rs OF OUR HEARRRT!

Renewed. Revived. Refreshed.

Great inner man descriptors both physical and or spiritual.

Even as one ages Lord, allow us to daily depend on you for strength, grace and courage to endure until we meet you face to face as Betsy so beautifully writes!

Renew. Revive. Refresh............our hearts until the end. 

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I am asked, at church at the gym and in my neighborhood---"what are you reading?". Hm-m-m---that must mean I'm a reader. A reader whom they can trust. That's a big responsibility.

Here are 2  "real" books on my shelf. My other book is an e-book---not my favorite choice but it
is the only access I had to Dear Mr. Knightley! I'm only 65% through the story but it already is in my 4 star category. It's a "reader's" delight as it has many classic book references in the text!

Timothy Keller is always a good read for me when I'm seeking insight.  Following the Intro of Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering, I have used the Table of Contents a lot.  It's often the way I "read" non-fiction. For me. the third part of the book provided the most practical material. From the crushed in Spirit to those in the fiery furnace, the author offers hope, within the reality of suffering, through Scripture. I appreciate that Keller is a reader and appropriately quotes from a variety of backgrounds, e,g. Shakespeare and Patchett to Lloyd-Jones and C.S. Lewis. 

A few take-aways for me: Suffering puts its fingers on good things that have become too important to us (me). (p.308) Human beings are hoped-shaped creatures. The way you live now is controlled by what you believe about your future. (p.334)

For fiction, Elizabeth Musser's books have long been a favorite. She had me hooked with Swan House, the first on I read.  Hopefully, I will soon be able to borrow her latest one, When I Close My Eyes. Two take-aways from The Long Highway Home deal with courage and faith. The book highlights the terror and horror of refugees as they flee their homelands.   

Courage is fear that has said its prayers. (p. 334)

Faith has changed my perspectives on things. My wants and needs and desires. (p.369)

Books, both fiction and non-fiction, change me as I read with my spiritual insight lenses intact. 

As I age, more and more of my books are audio---hearing those words give me vision as clearly as the printed text.

Sight without vision. Sight beyond vision. Think periscope. Periscopic. Seeing things that are out of sight but spiritually intact. Close by. Sounds like faith to me.

What are you reading?

CHOOSE: ACTION

CHOOSE: Action Verbs might have been a better title choice.

Trust is a noun. Trust is also an action verb when one chooses to "trust" God.

Trust God whether you "feel" like it or not. It's an action of the will.

Like choosing to be faithful, choosing to trust, especially in the hard places of suffering is an internal action. It's a first step. A step that starts in the mind.

When one is hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing, not feeling abandoned in the midst of persecution, or  struck down, but still upright and functioning, those folks have chosen to take action and choose to trust. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

That first step can lead to courage in action. A heart strengthening. Hope. (Psalm 31:24) As The Message states, "Expect God to get there soon."

Courage, strength, hope---all results of one action verb----trust. 

Choose to trust Him, knowing "soon" is the adverb of His timing.

CHOOSE: COURAGE

In the midst of the pain and suffering, choose courage. (Psalm 27:14)

Choosing courage is much easier to type than it is to experience, especially when times "feel" hopeless. 

REMEMBER---Courage is not the absence of fear. 

I love it when courage "trumps" fear---
-- even if it is just in a Scrabble game.

REMEMBER---Fear is our recognition of needing God during these particularly "hard" times. 

Anxiety results when we try to deal with our fear without God. Times of soul wounding and buckets of tears. (Psalm 42:1-5) 

REMEMBER---Salt from tears CAN provoke our deepest thirst for God. (Jeff Schulte, 9/18/16)

REMEMBER---Thirst gives us the courage to choose to turn to Him with renewed hope.

Know that I am preaching to the choir here---one with no vocal ability, who is trying to quietly choose courage.

EQUATIONS

10/17/13 I don't "do" numbers well. Number equations would be over my head----BUT word equations, I "get." Especially word equations with spiritual connotations.

Carolyn Down's H2H lesson last night included equations that made sense to me.

• My weakness + His Presence = STRENGTH 
• My fear + His Presence = COURAGE 
• My Dismay + HIS Presence = HOPE

My conclusion was that God's Presence must be factored into all situations. The variables in my life can change but if I want the "correct/positive answer," I must always remember that God's Presence is the highest common factor. That's not even tricky for me to figure out.

GP(God's Presence) = S(strength)+ C(courage) + H(hope) and 

GP(God's Presence) + S(strength) + C(courage) + H(hope) = GR (God's Rest)

Wordwise I get all of that......but I don't know how to factor those two equations into a whole expression---I just know how to live it.

Waiting Room Angst

6/30/11 Frustration loomed as I had to ONCE AGAIN, declare my gender, race, SS #, etc. Somethings don't change folks----so why after coming to this same doctor's office for 25+ years do I have to fill it out yet again? Were others as frustrated with this clipboard conundrum? I glanced around the waiting room. Mostly old folks. Only one with a cell phone---how rare is that! Most looking at their toes or a magazine. No one looking up. One coughs, others lean away. All waiting as announcement blares, "patient for Dr. Finn." Each hopeful that they might be "said patient." Nurse appears at the door. Patient's name is called. Others resume their unresponsive waiting posture in the drab chairs of the "waiting" room.

Waiting seems to be hard for all of us, especially when the answer might be "negative"---waiting for the possible pink slip, waiting for the diagnosis, waiting for the RX that will offer us hope, waiting for the Lord, whose voice seems to be faint.
For today, my diagnosis wasn't perfect but nothing out of the "aging ordinary." Steps will be taken. Different paths tried. More waiting will take place as different meds are adjusted, 'til right prescription is found, hopefully without bad side effects.

All of this has me coming to realize that waiting doesn't have to be passive. Action continues. Steps are taken. Different procedures are tried or paths taken while waiting on the best direction.
Sounds like the Christian life to me. Right now I'm still waiting on the Lord for direction in several areas. Maybe some of it will be trial and error while I continue to seek Him.

Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

Kneeling in God's waiting room, I await more divine information. As it comes, I'll share it. You'll just have to wait along with me.