CHOOSE: GRATITUDE

Daddy used to begin his day, "thanking the good Lord for everyday He gave Him."

That's not a bad idea as everyday is a gift from Him. 

I sip from my cuppa "graTEAtude" as a reminder.

Today is indeed God's gift.

Choose "Gratitude" as an expression of that and live it out for the rest of the day!

CHOOSE: TO LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

Words can come at us from every direction. A cacophony. Too loud to discern......
....But a picture can speak volumes enabling one's heart to "hear" with a quiet, yet distinct, voice.

In this instance, the Memphis representation of Jeremiah 29:7 by our pastor's wife, Lynn, spoke straight into my heart. It was her depiction of the verse which gave personal relevance to an already brewing conviction of my heart.

I desire to "work and pray" on behalf of "my" city, starting on "my" street, knowing that the Lord "...has determined the boundaries of my dwelling place." (Acts 17:26)

This "visual encounter" aided me in Choosing to Listen to My Heart."

CHOOSE: LEFTOVERS

If, by chance, hubby is reading this entry, he's probably thinking of last night's dinner because we eat leftovers a lot around here. I still seem to cook for 5 and there are only 2 of us. I grew up very aware of starving children across the globe and I don't like waste of any kind, especially food.

But God....was using books yesterday to teach me the importance of the wise use of leftovers.

We don't give God our leftovers, but when we give Him of our firstfruits there is always an abundance of blessing to pass on to others.

God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8, NRSV)

Claudia Parlow, former BSF teaching leader, would often share teaching tips with me. As I shared in all the pages of prep work I had written in order to teach a mere 30 minutes, she would comment, "Those leftovers are just for you, Dotsy."

When Jesus fed the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, they all ate and were satisfied but the disciples picked up the fragments (broken pieces) of leftovers. (Matthew 14:20)

As the story is told by John 6:12, we see that the disciples were instructed by the Lord to "Gather up the leftover fragments that none may be lost."

The disciples had done the work and the leftovers were reminders to them of the lesson the Lord had just for them. Lessons of trust and obedience coupled with service to others.

Claudia's lesson for me from that analogy was---"nothing is lost when I "feed others" the truth from God's word." It's just that the parts that I prepared and didn't use because of time constraints, were leftovers just for me. 12 pages, of my very own "bread," were my personal lessons from the Lord.

Claudia's teaching from the past has me remembering to Choose: Leftovers---as I don't want anything to be lost or wasted that I might pass on to others even long after I am gone, especially loved ones.

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.

CHOOSE: FELLOWSHIP

There's friendship and then there's fellowship---friend Ellen has taught me all about the "Dance of Fellowship." Her wisdom continues to give me glimpses into the various positions in the dances we choose throughout our lives.

Closed position. I know about that "dance." It's the position of believers leaning in on the Lord and allowing Him to lead in the "Dance of Life"---the unique dance He has for each of us. 

Circle Dances. A dance of unbroken faith held together by those who come around you---not offering first hand knowledge of your struggle but being there anyway. Encircling you with prayer and calling others to join in,

Line Dances. Those dances where believers line up in support because they all know this dance---every single step. It's the "struggling" dance available to those in fellowship on the same side of the suffering.

Whether we walk through life (started 27th year of walking in February '17)....

.....or dance together through our struggles, we've been there for each other. 

That's what the "dance of fellowship" is all about. 

It's easy to choose fellowship with Ellen.

CHOOSE: THE SHEPHERD'S LEADING

"Savior like a shepherd lead us...." would ring out many a Sunday in the sanctuary of Clarksville, TN's First Christian Church. I remember snickering when the word "bosom" would appear in the singing. As small as Mama Davenport was, she could give a BIG look to squelch any giggles.

I also remember the church was located on Madison. I remember the street name because I always walked there, with "Mama". She didn't drive and as far as I know, my grandfather's (Dang-Dang) feet never crossed the threshold of said church.

An early morning cuppa from my fave Mary Alice Hadley Country Collection''s
"lamb" reminds me of my gentle, godly grandmother, Mama Davenport.

Maybe that's why her tender voice would enthusiastically join with all the  worshippers, because she knew she needed the care of a Shepherd! 

I never knew a time when Mama Davenport did not choose to let her Shepherd lead her. (Psalm 23:3) My spiritual mentor, "Mama," showed me the importance of choosing the Shepherd's leading.

CHOOSE: HIS GUIDANCE

Hubby's high school chum, Norman Mitchell, introduced us (2009) to the "faith family's" definition for guidance. It certainly fit my cancer journey, which I had dubbed, "my dance."  Linguistically, it's use is probably metaphorical or maybe analogous, to my trusting the Lord to guide me during that time of the "unknown."
Each twist and turn seemed to be a new step in my "MAC Dance."

One lesson learned from that experience is that the dance of life never quits until heaven.
The dance might change steps and the music might go from lament and blues to doo-wop and gospel, but life, and all it's ruts and bumps as well as fun, frivolity and worship is always better when it's done with Him.

God, you and I definitely dance---and when You are doing the leading, it's a wonder to behold!

CHOOSE: TO BLESS IN ANY VERB TENSE

Choosing to bless is always a good choice---present, past or future tense.
God blesses me as I pray.
Many have blessed me with their faithful prayers.
I will bless others as I pray for them. A way of "praying it forward."

Starting the day by saying a prayer to bless others would be a worthy choice. 

Scripture prayers of blessing = a great choice to start one's early morning any day of the week.

• Lord, bless (choose name) and keep (___________)
• Lord, make Your face to shine upon (___________).
• Lord, be gracious to (___________).
• Lord, turn your face toward (___________).
• Lord, give Your peace to (___________)
• and put Your name on (___________) as you bless him/her. (Numbers 6: 24-26, paraphrased)

Conjugate the verb bless---infinitive, participle, gerund...........
.........then choose to bless others in any form.

CHOOSE: NOT TO CHOOSE!

Okay. maybe "choose not to choose" sounds like an oxymoron of sorts----but when it comes to choosing to believe all things you hear, exercise caution. Feelings can easily trump truth and many people spout off opinions or others, including celebrities, as if it's "gospel truth."

Somethings are just Hogwash!

Sign above the restrooms entrance at The Perfect Pig on FL 30A---
------it's a good place to go to wash off hogwash germs.

It's also common to hear sayings attributed to the Bible that are not part of God's word.

Money is the root of evil! Hogwash! Money can be used for good or evil. 

It's the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) Greed and power hungry come to my mind.

God helps those who help themselves is another such bit of "hogwash."

"Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD.' " (Jeremiah 17:5)

God helps those who depend on Him and call on Him and His strength in their weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12: 9-11)

The only "real truth" is God's truth. The rest is "Hogwash." 

Therefore, I choose NOT to choose---NOT to let "HOGWASH" distort truth!

CHOOSE: TO LISTEN

Have you got your ears on?

In Disney World, LOTS of people of all ages "have their ears on." Some people even buy ears for "munching." With all that munching and the great clamor around them, they probably can only "listen to themselves."

Does the "clamor" of life keep you from truly listening to the Lord. 

How easy it is to call on Him to listen to us! Our cries for mercy and relief. (Psalm 4:1, 28:2, & 54:2)

But.....do we respond with a listening ear? More than--- "in one ear and out the other."

Listening with the intent to obey. 

May we be more like Samuel. "Speak Lord your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10)

God speaks; man listens. (2 Samuel 7:25-28)
In Psalm 5:3, the psalmist waits expectantly to hear the from the Lord.

In the morning Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my request before you and wait expectantly.

That's what it's really like to have "your ears on" before the Lord. 

I'll take my pseudo ears with chocolate, please. Maybe each taste will sweeten the words I need to hear as I choose to listen to all, even the "hard truths," the Lord has for me.