SCRIPTURE MEMORY

2/6/11 ….was probably not written at the top of my 4^th grade homework sheet but that, in fact, was our assignment. Mrs. Munday (Alice M. Piper) would just tell us to learn Psalm 8 by heart so that we could recite it with the class----or Psalm 23, Psalm 24, or Psalm 121.

I assume today that learning by heart would be considered an idiom for memorizing. Yet, I think she had the right idea for if we learned something well enough that it became a part of our thought patterns, we then could be recite it quite easily without “contrived thinking.”

I really like that idea of learning by heart. Of course, I like everything that Mrs. Munday did. You might remember that she’s the one who held me in her lap when I cried over division. She took the “complex” elements of that arithmetic operation and separated them for me so that I could understand the inverse of multiplication.

Lately, I’ve wished she were close by so that I could ask her to help me move from the complex to the simple in scripture memory operations because I continue to struggle. For example, I still stumble over, Isaiah 41:10, which I received many times & in a variety of forms during my cancer journey. It’s a verse of trusting God and keeping fear at bay while being assured that He will continually give me all the strength I need and help me in any and every situation while holding me up in His righteousness

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I have certainly learned the meaning of this simple verse in my heart ---maybe that is more important than the recitation. If not, the simplified version, “Do NOT be dismayed, for I am your God…will continue to remind me daily of the “heart” of this verse---as it is reflected in the antique mirror that sits on my chest. This gift is from Michèle, my fellow MAC (cancer) sojourner, who understands that in the “new normal” things don’t always work as well as they once did, even scripture memory.

Are you thirsty?

2/5/11 This month hubby and I have decided not to “drink” any calories. That’s a “toughy” for me, so I’m grateful it’s a short month. I, unlike hubby, am not an artificial sweetener person. I like my cuppa with real sugar, and more than one lump is needed. I’m a sweet tea kinda gal. That other stuff just doesn’t cut it for me. It doesn’t satisfy. I have a taste for the real thing though I admit that cutting back on my sugar intake has probably been healthier for me. I have even tried the natural sweetener, Truvia,™ a few times but basically I’ve quit drinking much. That’s really not a good thing. Dehydration can appear pretty quickly, so I’ve been carrying around a big glass of water to ward off these symptoms. I don’t like that parched sensation. I long for that sip of “sweet tea” but drink good ole pure Memphis tap water instead.

Just last week, Dr. Crawford Loritts spoke of thirst in the Bible as being a picture of deep longing. He reminded us that though there are sometimes droughts in our soul, those droughts can be beneficial because they increase our longing for Him.

Water for our physical life is a matter of life and death. Spiritually it’s much the same. Psalm 42:1-2 gives us a picture of that truth. The deer in the verse pants longingly at the moving stream---he’s drinking from a living stream, not some dead stagnant pond. It’s where he gets his refreshment and satisfaction. We thirst with a longing and yearning from our inmost being. The cry of our soul thirsts for the living God. Nothing else will do.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Are you thirsty?

French Toast "Run"

2/4/11 Snow’s a-comin’ !!! Everytime snow is in the forecast, I, like many of you, have made a French toast “run.” (bread, milk and eggs) I have literally “run into” lots of folks doing the same thing. It’s like a battleground at Kroger for that last gallon of lactose free milk or a race as people jockey in line at the self-check out. It reminds me of the stories Larry would tell of his mom dragging him to the Clover Day sales at the old Goldsmith’s downtown at Main & Gayso. (Anyone have any idea why they were called “cloverday” sales?) He said that inevitably she would drag him to this big bin of lingerie where women would push, shove and grab for the seemingly last bra available.

Why are we like that? Pushing, shoving, grabbing, & running---unaware or worse, uncaring, of others around us. Why the panic? It’s not like we don’t have a grocery store or Walgreen’s on every corner or new sales and coupons at Macey’s every week. Is it indicative of our greed or is it a trust issue. Are we really going to starve if we miss a meal?

It’s not about us as Rick Warren reminds us in Purpose Driven Life. So why do we continue to act like it is---not just obnoxiously but even subtly? It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about the Lord and His purposes. His purposes for us. His purposes for others, through us, as we share and supply His love. (Philippians 4:10-14)

It’s about Him who daily supplies all our needs ---the One who provides a lot more than “French toast.” “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost……” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

2/5/11 No snow came, but this morning I used those "supplies" for making some good French toast!

Little Altars Everywhere……………

2/2/11 ………………is more than just a title of a novel I read in 1993. The sequel, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, came out 5 years later. I know these things not from memory, but because all of this info is noted in one of my book journals. At best, these notations are a hodgepodge sketch of what I’ve read. BTW, these books are not a spiritual read---but more like dysfunctional reality books that are set in Louisiana in the 60s.

It’s the word altar from that title that has captured me lately. It had me wondering if I had altars scattered throughout my life. “Mizbe'ah,” Hebrew for “altar,” means “to slay” though altars evoke thoughts of sacred places. A sacred place where I knelt (on the maroon cushioned pads at the altar of FUMC in Hoptown) as I took communion alongside Daddy. A religious rite of bowing down and worshipping the One who was slain for me. One worthy of my worship at that altar.

What are the altars in my life? From a previous entry, folks know that I have built altars of ease and convenience. What am I so-o-o worshipping that I’m giving up, or sacrificing, or in effect slaying other things for, in order to keep these altars in my life? Ask yourself that hard question. Some of these sacrifices are very costly. How many altars are you erecting in your life? . “Not so little” altars of affluence or materialism seem to be erected in the homes of many Americans.

Recently, during a conversation with a young man, I became aware of his lifestyle being one of sacrificing the eternal on the altar of the immediate. (pleasure & instant gratification) That, my friends, is a very dangerous altar. But before we begin to look down our noses at those damaging choices, we need to consider the number of times we, too, have sacrificed opportunities with eternal implications because we were kneeling at the altar of busyness. Have you ever sacrificed relationships on the altar of work?

In the past I have certainly sacrificed time with family on the “altar of books.” But God …..showed me how I, at times, had wisely balanced & combined the two by sharing that book loving part of me with my own children. There it was in writing at the bottom of the page containing “Little Altars…” a list of books I had read aloud in 1993 to Josh and Molly. Josh was a senior in high school and he still shared that time with me. To this day he and Molly both talk about The Education of Little Tree as one of their favorite books from our read-aloud times. Even when they were in elementary and junior high, they listened as I read aloud Good-by Mr. Chips (9) and The Yearling (12) each morning to their older brother, Buddy. Shared adventures, through books with one’s kids, bring balance and topple self-serving altars. It’s those “self-serving little altars” we need to topple.

Corey’s Cross.....

1/31/11 .....

is a red leaf pottery cross. It was a Christmas gift from my dear friend and prayer bud of many years, Wynellen. It has just become Corey’s cross these last few weeks, as it has served as my reminder to consistently pray for him. Lately, Corey, my precious son-in-law, has had a lot on his plate. Plus, he’s married to spontaneous, outgoing, fun-loving, lady of a 1000 projects, “my” Molly and is father of Owen, an energetic and extremely verbal 3-yr. old.

The cross rests on the desk by my prayer chair---though it has been known to move around, I try to keep it very visible. Sometimes I carry it with me as I walk around because it nestles right in my hand and even has a smoothed out place for my thumb.

Mostly I’ve been praying Philemon verses 4-7, that he might be refreshed in the Lord as his life has so often refreshed others. I don’t want him drained dry by always giving out and not taking time for refreshment himself. Following James 1:5 I’ve also inserted his name in the verse as I pray it---“that he (Corey) might seek wisdom from the Lord in all things.”

Corey’s cross reminds me to pray but…..sometimes I need reminders to keep me from drifting off even during those prayer times. Does your mind ever do that when praying?

At last week’s Spiritual Life Conference, Dr. Crawford Loritts emphasized that God’s people have “drifting” in their spiritual DNA. We "drift" from our purpose or goals, or "drift" from our good intentions, or “drift” from our commitments. Our mind can even drift right in the middle of our prayers----at least mine can.

So…..when that happens, I squeeze it a little harder and hold it---it’s like a little “discipline” wake-up call. I begin thanking God for that reminder of praying for Corey upon every remembrance of him (Philemon 4). Is there someone you can thank God for and pray a verse on his/her behalf?

Just do the next right thing…….

1/29/11 We have lots of these NIKE swooshes around our house to remind us to “Just Do It.” But I think there should be delineation to ”it.” Doing “it” in life can be very self-serving if we don’t define “it.”

Confession in Thursday’s blog (1/27/11) showed that my “it” is sometimes defined by ease and convenience. I’m still musing on that conviction.

The Hasslens’ recent Twitter entry shared, “Hardly anything worth doing is easy, until we get to heaven.” (John Piper) The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is quoted as saying "The time is always right to do what is right." II Corinthians 13:7, Paul states "Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right,...." Even a recent SGA sign outside the HHS cafeteria had a reminder for me, “It’s important to do the right thing even if it’s not convenient.”(There's that convicting term again.)

All of those comments, quotes, and signs just kept hammering at me. But God……………lead me to my blue blog folder.

That folder had a CA article notation for “just do the next right thing” that not only delineated “it” for me but also gave an antidote of encouragement---aka prayer. Dr. Scott Morris told of an encounter with Dr. John Nash, who without prompting, shared the following: "Every morning I pray for one thing. Courage. I pray for courage to do the next right thing in the eyes of God.”

When I choose to do “it” in the upcoming days in my own life, I hope this wisdom will stick with me!

All about EASE!

1/27/11 “Easing into my day” is right up there with one of my top favorite things. An alarm is an antithesis of ease, especially one that goes off at 4:24. As for most working women who set an alarm 5-6 days a week, ease seems to be a foreign term. Obviously I’m looking for ease in all the wrong places. So why do I keep seeking it? Should I even be looking?

Ease, to me, is lack of stress or frustration----things falling into place according to my schedule. Ease is CONVENIENCE in all caps!

According to my Bible marginalia, Schaeffer (probably Francis) said, and I paraphrase, “the 2 stumbling blocks in the western world to living a Christian life were that Americans had no higher philosophy of life than-- 1) the pursuit of ease, that brings personal peace, and 2) affluence.” Whoa, that’s pretty condemning. I don’t think of my self as one who seeks affluence but I have definitely spent a good bit of time and energy rearranging my life to accommodate ease whenever possible.

Do I even want a “religion of convenience?” I don’t. Yet sometimes my very actions belie this. Certainly God’s word has some stern admonitions for pursuit of ease and affluence. Just take a look at two facets of the life of the wicked as recorded in Psalm 73:12. Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. (NASB)

I think I’ll ease on down the road to ponder this awhile.

Nutritional Noshing

1/26/11 Kale is all the rage. The healthy chip. The most nutritional snack on the planet. Settling on the couch with my daily crossword, following my “snow day” sugar overload, I heard a "Today" show guest extolling the yumminess of Kale chips---all the crunch of a chip but obviously loaded with every vitamin and anti-oxidant known to man.

What’s a girl to do? Head to Easy Way, buy the kale, follow the easy recipe and voilà! The first 3 parts were easy but somehow the voilà never came. Hubby’s comment ranged from, “It tastes like fried air. “ to “ I feel like I just snorted volcanic ash.” Feeling guilty I ate a few more before dumping them in the trash.

Guilt was compounded as 2 days later Gina Neely showed this grand new “kale chip” recipe on “Down Home with the Neelys,” Food Network show (Pat even asked for more) Then, Monday’s “Recipe for Health” column in the Commercial Appeal also extolled the virtues of kale, giving a recipe calling for a special variety of kale, not the curly variety I had used.

Certainly there are things that are good for us, things we all need to be healthy. Yet, tastes/methods vary so what might benefit one does not exactly suit the “taste” of another. It’s that way in Bible study as well. I have friends who are reading through the Bible this year, one has actually cut her Bible into 4ths and is following a very strict calendar while the other is using a chronological Bible. Both are pleased with their chosen method. I, on the other hand, prefer this year to focus on only one book (Isaiah) through a “structured” setting that holds me accountable. Of course, I always have the option to springboard from something I read in a devotional or hear in a sermon. Again, it’s all about choices.

However as Larry and I choose our favorite Las Delicias chips, we are wondering what all the kale hype is about---we just don’t have a “taste” for that snack.

Choices???

1/25/11 Choices, mental or emotional? What made me choose the rich Bellagio hot chocolate (with whipped cream, no less) along with the cinnamon sugar sprinkled toast fingers made from Front Street’s Big Ono Bake Shop’s delicious butter rolls?
I chose them over the oatmeal, grapefruit and green tea.
In the 70s, Flip Wilson used to declare, “The devil made me do it!” It is a lot easier to “blame” others for our poor choices, even old Satan himself. Easier than taking responsibility for our own actions. I can even rationalize that the weather made me do it? Cold and snowy. Such conditions seem to call for something warm. Hm-m-m isn’t oatmeal with a “cuppa” green tea warm enough? Maybe it was my body’s craving for sugar, which admittedly is fairly prevalent lately. Regardless of the excuses, according to WW points or any other dietary programs, I made a poor choice.

So what do I do? Sticking my finger down my throat is not an appealing option to me. This choice has literally made me sick---too much sugar, maybe. It has just gotten me down. So, what’s next?

Do I metaphorically pick “myself up, dust myself off and start all over again?” Those lyrics, from an old song Mother used to sing, are about someone struggling to dance and seem most appropriate for one who dubs her life a “dance.”

Belt of Truth

1/24/11 Buckle up folks of faith---If we’re going to stand firm and hold our ground in the struggles of life we face, we need to put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6: 10-17) God’s word is a part of that body armor. Today, because it’s Monday, we’re going to “put on” the belt of truth. Ephesians 6:4a (w/different versions included to aid your meditation)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, (NIV)

So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist, (Message)

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor, (NLT)

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth KJV

THOTS (Trusting Him On This Scripture)---God’s Word is His revealed truth. Is that the truth referred to here? Is it the belt of truth that holds everything else together? How about truthfulness in my own life? Is “standing” an aspect of practicing the truth that I do know? Does my lifestyle reflect His truth? Is knowing and understanding God’s truth the best defense for fighting those battles in my mind? Is “truth,” in and of itself, all the protection one needs? I think not. I think we need action with knowledge, thus the imperative to “stand” with the belt of truth. What do you think?