PERFECT GIFTS!

It's hard to believe---December will be here in just a few hours! 

That will mean there's just 24 days until Christmas. Ads on TV are already calculating the number of shopping days left to spur the buying frenzy!

Having trouble with your shopping list?

This past week, ABC's Reading List had us reading in the book of James---right where I found the perfect answer. Tonight as I changed the calendar on the kitchen table. I was affirmed in that answer.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, (James 1:17a)

Share Jesus, a true and perfect gift from the heart!

LORD'S PRAYER #3

Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

(Matthew 6:10, New Heart English Bible)

Stacy Tyson has been giving such insight through his series on the Lord's Prayer. (thebesttimes.com e-version, May 2023, p.21) "God's kingdom is where truth defines reality and the lie has been rejected." Ponder that for awhile. 

Part of the kingdom coming shows a connection of Hallowing His name and His will to be done. The first coming of Jesus brought that kingdom but we still pray this prayer today for God's continued reign in the hearts of His children. His kingdom to come, His will to be done begins with each one of us. Tyson refers to that as "first taking root in us."

Stacy also shares a quote from Dallas Willard that sums up the link between "kingdom come and will be done," as God's effective will where what he prefers is actually what happens."

"In short, when we pray these lines, we are asking that all things be arranged and in line with the with the good and wise purposes of Father God. (Ibid, p.21)

Prayer warrior, JoLynn, ends most all of her prayers of petition with "if it be your will, O Lord" or "according to your good and perfect will."

That's "Thy will be done" in a nutshell.

CHOOSE: TO MEASURE UP

Measuring up can be hard. Many strive for perfection, especially young moms who try to do it all so they look good on FaceBook, or other social media, ""Mommy Moments!" 
If we compare, we despair. (J Hezlep) Never compare your insides with someone else's outsides. (my NASB marginalia)
When you’re tempted to use the measuring stick of comparison — be sure to measure UP by focusing upward on Christ — whose you are and who you are in HIM! (Renee Swope, Proverbs 31 Ministries)

The opposite end of the self-pity spectrum (guilt and shame for not being "good enough") is the self-promoting end. One can always rationalize their sin as not being as bad as someone else's or even worse in someways, is seeing the sin in others and not recognizing it in oneself.

One needs to let go of expectations of the world as well as their own excuses and use God's word as his/her only measuring stick.
When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12b, NIV)                  

But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you. (2 Corinthians 10:13 NASB)

Sometimes even the older ones need to look up to the younger ones---spiritual maturity knows no age.
Choose to measure up to God's BEST plan for your life, not someone elses, even your own.

"mo-TEA-ley" cuppa

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,...(Romans 8:28, KJV)

My jigsaw puzzle working friend, JoLynn, finds joy in looking at the mishmash of colors and motley/dissimilar shapes which have been dumped out of a 1,000 piece puzzle box. She knows that they are all part of a bigger picture----which she doesn't even choose to see ahead of time. She allows the pieces to "work together" to form the picture. (I recommend "Zuplez" 4/9/09 blog entry for a more complete explanation of her unique ability)

Scrabble expert friend, Ann, has a similar approach to all those tiles that tumble out of the maroon velvet bag. As she selects her "unseen" 7 tiles for her tray, she has an uncanny way of perceiving the longer words or the  higher scoring short ones. She takes what is dealt her and begins looking for only the tiles that are needed exchanges. I want to turn them all in for a fresh start. I can't "see" the possibilities. She sees multiple possibilities. Her technique is the winner. At least, I've never won against her.

Sadly, I often approach life seeing only the pieces, the broken pieces---a hodgepodge of events..... and not factoring in the Lord and His bigger picture for me until later. My desire is  to "pray my way out" of the "pieces and tiles" that are uncomfortable or hurtful. 

For many of us, daily events appear to pour out pieces of life that are stressful, troublesome, disappointing even. Yet, these troubles can be used by God to teach us important life lessons. Where we see stress, He sees opportunities. Unexpected crisis are a part of life---at least in the Liles household. But.....a crisis for any of us can be used, by the Lord, as a lesson for growth and betterment in our lives.

Intentional practice is needed to see problems as learning opportunities. Opportunities waiting to be solved in His timing. If one doesn't focus on seeing God's hand or begin quickly praying and asking to see God's hand, then problems can overwhelm and negatively consume one's thought life.

Look for the bigger picture. Exchange all those disjointed and disappointing mo-TEA-ley, miscellaneous pieces of life for His all encompassing peace. Remember to thank the Lord in everything and to ask Him to clearly show the life lessons He has in each piece. 

 

Each piece of one's life exchanged for His purpose = His peace. 

The Lord will bless His people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

A mo-TEA-ley cuppa needs to be sweetened with God's peace.

Life's ZUPLEZ

4/29/09 Puzzle Solutions
Jigsaw puzzles frustrate me---bringing words to mind like tense and failure. My friend, JoLynn, loves them. Probably words like calming and a welcoming challenge come to her mind.
We even approach the puzzles differently. I check out the picture on the box, turn over all the pieces and shake out all the gray dust from the box, sort those “right side up” pieces according to color, search for the straight edged ones and begin to put together the border. I always begin by focusing on the end product.
JoLynn, on the other hand doesn’t even look at the picture. I don’t know if that’s part of the intrigue or just her way of enjoying the journey of “jigsawing” and being delighted by the end result, whatever that may be. She looks at the shape of each piece---probably seeing patterns in all those knobs and holes---that look like innies and outies to me. Recently she even worked a puzzle with out a border---just knobs and holes---no uniform straight edge. That’s beyond my comprehension.

While I approach the puzzle with the idea to hurry and get it over with, hoping to find satisfaction in completion, she enjoys the journey along the way. She’s actually calm, almost tranquil as she enjoys the “means” to the end of her puzzle. She’s told me that her mind can be elsewhere, sorting our some of life’s urgencies while she’s assembling the puzzle---that’s really beyond me!

Our lives can seem like one big puzzle and we all approach them in our own way. However, watching her I’ve seen some truths, not only in her expertise with a jigsaw puzzle, but also in her approach to life. She knows the end to her life will be eternity with the Lord. This allows her, in both the game and her life’s walk, to enjoy the journey.
Just like she doesn’t try to force a piece of a puzzle where it doesn’t fit the total picture, she doesn’t force herself and her desires above the Lord or those she loves. JoLynn knows well that each puzzle piece only works perfectly in one spot---no matter how much you twist it and turn it. It will only truly “fit” where the puzzle creator intended it to be placed. On that puzzle board, she knows that and is content with the unseen, knowing there will be a beautiful picture that she will see when it is finished. In her life, it’s His plan not hers that she follows, one moment at a time---just like she follows the lead of those puzzle pieces one at a time, piece by piece. She doesn’t compartmentalize all the puzzle pieces and she doesn’t compartmentalize her secular life from her spiritual life--it all works together for good, because she loves the Lord and trusts Him for the unseen outcome---His masterpiece. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1)

Too often, we make life more complex than it needs to be. In all our busyness of trying to “get it right”, our way, we can become fragmented and frustrated. We wear ourselves out trying to force spirituality. It’s really just simple faith that we need. As we give it to Him, in trust, piece-by-piece, He creates the masterpiece---it’s His work! It’s when we try to take it out of His hands---forcing the pieces of our life to look like they all fit together for good---that we run into problems.
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)