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: promp-TEA-tude

Promptitude is truly a word. An important word!
My childhood family valued promptitude. "Promptness is just good manners!" (Mother)

Thus, promptness has been important to me all my life. I wasn't always tolerant of others' timeliness, rather their lack there of!

As a real stickler for being "on time," it has always seemed polite to honor an appointment or engagement in a timely manner---which for me was usually a little early to said destination.  Even if I did not "go in" until the appointed time, I was prompt. Maybe to a fault. I even set kitchen clocks early so we would go out the door with a little "wiggle" room as other family members did not seem to share my obsession with promptitude! (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 1Corinthians 14:40)

But God....recently had me spill my cuppa promp-TEA-tude. And....my daughter was there to point that out! I had an excuse for my 1 minute tardiness, but as in the past, I have not "allowed" for excuses, I was pretty sure I shouldn't even open my mouth to share it.

It appears I needed to add a spoonful of grace to my cuppa promp-TEA-tude,  as well as to remember to serve it to others.

CHOOSE: TO RELINQUISH

Choosing to relinquish, for me, is choosing NOT to choose.
Today, it's choosing not to choose 4F.
4F can be a reference to the basics of evolution, which I would not choose to extrapolate here. 

But....in the spiritual realm, there are "4 Fs" I "try" not to choose.

• Fretting I tend to "stew" about way to much in my life---my family might use the indefinite pronoun "everything" to encapsulate all my fretting. But God....lists several "FRET NOTs" (or fret synonyms) in His word, at least 3 in Psalm 37 alone. "Fret not yourself;" (Psalm 37:8) God says in Proverbs 24:19, "Do NOT fret because of evildoers." (emphasis, mine) The nightly news tends to have me fretting daily at 5:30 pm.
• Fussing (My "F" word for anxiety) Anxious thoughts build. Worry grips. So hard for a world class worrier . There I said it---I exposed my besetting sin. But God....says, "Be anxious for nothing..." (Philippians 4:6, NASB)
• Fruitless I desire to be fruitful, not fruitless. To bear the fruit of the Spirit in my own life (Galatians 5:22-23) being fruitful even through suffering, (Genesis 48:15-21) as well as to bear fruit for His kingdom as I abide in Him. (John 15:4-5)
• Fear "FEAR NOT, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God: I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) (emphasis, mine) Enough said.

Therefore, today I choose to relinquish the 4 Fs in my life---or as my little Lucy sings, "Let it go; let it go!"

After all, that's what relinquishing is.....a "letting go and letting God."

CHOOSE: 4 FOR 4th FRIDAY

More marginalia quotes---four for this 4th Friday entry:

• Lament is faith seeking understanding. (C. Huffman)
• Lament happens when grief finds its voice--as one begins to move through the pain and not wallow in it. (C. Huffman)
• Lamenting can be difficult for "stoic southerners" who often seek to deny emotions and endure grief and suffering. (C. Huffman)
• If we need to lament our sin, how much more to rejoice at our pardon! (C. H. Spurgeon)

Trying not to lament or embrace fatalism while revisiting these laments, I chose to begin my day with a Magnum Almond bar for breakfast.

 At least it was a "mini!" That's to make sure I don't "lament" this choice later in the day. 

CHOOSE: TO LOOK UP

Morning scripture had me meditating on "looking up."

My voice shalt Thy hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up. (Psalm 5:3, KJV)

Then, that verse had me literally looking up all day!

At the kitchen table I looked up as two hummingbirds suddenly swooped in to the feeders. 

Outside I looked up to the top of the magnolia as an newly opened bloom caught  my eye. 

Others in my path were looking up as well---I noticed a toddler looking up to his mom for help in getting up after a fall. What a picture of us looking up for help getting upright when we "fall."

Leaving the Silver Caboose with Elnora, we both looked up at blue skies.  Look what we found!

A "great find" discovered----just by looking up!
A reminder that "looking up" is a good choice!

CHOOSE: TO WAX NOSTALGIC

Does waxing nostalgic occur more as one ages. Certainly more years = more memories. But...it seems that "medicare" folks, in their fascination with the past, tend to "go there" more often,  than others of the younger generations. Gen-Xers and Millennials tend not to waste time "going there" in a contemplative mode, as they are too busy "living."

It isn't regretting and complaining that "life ain't what it used to be." Waxing nostalgic is an emotional journey that remembers experiences and times that gave texture to one's life.
It's like inhaling a mixture of love and sadness---a wistfulness of sorts. Event photos, cards and letters seem to breathe sadness into words as one recalls and shares her past.

Just walking by these fragrant gardenias, given to me yesterday by my dear friend Janice H., had me choosing to wax nostalgic. First my thoughts went back to my childhood days with Mama Davenport, my spiritual mentor. Then, I remembered the big gardenia bush behind our MSU faculty housing on Central where we lived when Buddy was 5 and Josh was born. All those memories shared with hubby.
Not totally painful---but a sort of bittersweet  longing.  Not necessarily a longing to return, but to remember. How special it is when one with whom you share your life has shared some of those memories. Roots and continuity of a shared relationship are such a bond.
As it says in Job 12:12, "wisdom is with aged men and with long life is understanding." When people age together, there's such a strength that results from shared understanding. "Til death do you part" altar promise.

Maybe its okay to "go there," either alone or with with another who has shared that  adventure....but not to stay there. Continuous dwelling in the  past could border on a disorder but the occasional "look back" can refresh one's today.

A refreshing reminder to celebrate moments and keep stocking up memories for future times of choosing to wax nostalgic.

CHOOSE: Perspicasi-TEA

I NEED a BIG cuppa perspicasi-TEA this morning. Some days are like that lately.
Just fill my teapot with a blend of keen mental perception and understanding and serve my cuppa. I will drain it to the dregs.
Decisions need to be made that I don't want to face. Partly due to lack of financial understanding and partly because of fear. I seem to lack confidence in "deciding" best options in many areas. I shun the responsibility that goes with making decisions when the options and possible consequences aren't clear.
"What ifs" rule my thought life.

But God...........in His word reminded me, "if I lacked wisdom, to ask Him" (James 1:5) and because I have believed his commandments, I can ask Him to "teach me good judgment and knowledge." (Psalm 119:66)
So....I can quit stewing and fretting about $$, worrying about a friend's health procedure or family choices and renew my mind with scripture(Romans 12:2) by choosing to apply perspicasity found in His word.

CHOOSE: MAGNOLIA MONDAY

Magnolia Monday aka Quiet Time on the Patio sweetened with the scent of magnolia.

It's overcast. It's breezy. It's delightfully perfect for morning meditation.

Streams In the Desert (5/22) entry also spoke to my heart. Expounding on Psalm 37:5, with the Young's translation, "He worketh it" jumps out. In those words, "when we truly commit, or roll out of our hands into His; the burden of whatever kind it may be; a way of sorrow, of difficulty, of physical need or of anxiety for the conversion os some dear one." 

Once I have put it into His hands, even when I can't see results, I can trust that "He worketh."

Those words are a sweet aroma to my spirit as this magnolia is to my senses. 

So grateful I was able to choose this spot for my Monday morning meditation. 

CHOOSE: Positivi-TEA

Why does my mind tend to embrace negative thoughts these days?

Each morning during my "Tea with Thee" times I seek to serve myself a cuppa positive-tea. 

Lately, my brew has become more of a cuppa negative-TEA.

Maybe my problem is that I'm buying into the world's thinking---"you've got this," Dotsy.

But I don't. Apart from Him I have no good thing. As David said, in Psalm 16:2, "You are  my Lord, I have no good apart from you.

And with Him I have all good things. ".... they that seek the Lord lack no good thing."  (Psalm 34:10)

Now there's a cuppa positivi-TEA worth choosing to sip this morning.*


*By the time I finished my tea and typed this blog entry, I picked up the morning paper, I saw first hand the world's thinking.

"I've got this" must me a buzz phrase, of sorts. What an epitaph!
Seems that these days, positive thinking (about self) and self-confidence can morph into self-grandizement.
But....that kind of thinking can have consequences.

CHOOSE: A HEART OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Choose righteousness and when that seems impossible....
GO right to the heart of the matter----choose the One who is righteous.

...He will be called the LORD, our Righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)

Do I hear an AMEN!

CHOOSE: TEXAS FLORA AND FAUNA

Wednesday Walkabout in Texas (5/10)----from fishing pond/lake to trail with great blue herons and wood ducks and woods with milkweed and butterflies.
Right at the edge of the lake, a heron seems to rule the roost.

Recent Sunday School lesson reminded me that the monarch's migration from Mexico takes 4 generations of monarchs. 

Photographer posted this pix for subdivision newsletter. 

This weathered one that must be at the end of his stent. 

The only plant that sustains these beauties is the milkweed plant. Monarch (in pic below) draws sustenance from a Tropical Milkweed.

How does a monarch "know" it cannot survive without this plant? 

How does this new new 4th generation return 2,500 miles to Mexico each fall to the same tree for hibernation?

Grateful to have seen this picture of a monarch taken by a Summerfield neighbor in Allen, TX. 

Now I'm on the lookout to see it myself!

Texas Showy Pink Evening Primrose

Couldn't figure out why some passer-bys called these delicate, pink flowers buttercups---unless that's the Texas name.  Buttercups, in Tennessee, don't look anything like these beauties. These "sweet looking" dainty flowers opened at dusk (as I was taking my walk) but withered the next day. Remnants of yesterday's blooms were still evident.

WOW---showy rows of Indian Paintbrush just past the cow sanctuary.
What a "Walkabout" when I'm choosing to see God's handiwork in Texas.

CHOOSE: UPWARD SPIRAL

Noticing this downward spiral stair case inside the new Church Health Center at the Crosstown Concourse started me thinking.

In my thinking, spiraling usually has a downward connotation.
In one's thought life, is it just as easy for something to spiral upward?

I assume bad choices and stressors in life can have tremendous negative impact---a downward spiral of sorts. But....can there be a positive spiral, one with an upward motion?

Recent marginalia sent me on this pursuit of understanding positive and negative emotions. Are there benefits to both?

Negative emotions can help us survive. Positive emotions help us thrive.

If a downward spiral is a metaphor for deterioration (negative) then upward spiral must be a metaphor for growth. (positive) Yet, both have momentum. 

For sure, too much of any spiral can be dizzying. Upward spiral is directed towards a higher place. But what happens if a downward spiral in one's  thought life has them bottoming out emotionally? Physically? Spiritually?

Can a successful turnaround occur just by choosing the "thought" direction of one's spiral? 

According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s book, Confidence, an upward spiral focuses with confidence. Certain resources that accompany this confidence could be trust, accountability, knowledge, or any asset that helps a business, community or individual thrive.

If so, I choose today to think on and "thrive" with an upward spiral focus.

CHOOSE: TO SEE ANEW

WOW---I have walked this same path 3 days now and this is the first time I have seen this beauty!

I don't know the name but what a picture of a "seed-bearing" plant! It looks like it bears the seed in a "cup" and then the seed sprouts in its own cup. AMAZING!!

"God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth..." (Genesis 1:29)

He put this one right here in Texas. I just had to walk by it a couple of times before I noticed it!

God gave it.  I'll just have to search the name for myself unless some reader out there can supply this info. 

CHOOSE: A TEXAS MOTHER'S DAY

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. (Proverbs 31:28)

CHOOSE: TO SEE

Choose to see in nature.....scientific proof following God's truth about creation.

Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so.
The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12)

And it was so. 
And it is still so.
And it is still good.

God created the earth not to be empty but He formed it to be inhabited. (Isaiah 45:18) And what beauty He added to it for the inhabitants to enjoy!

And it is beautiful for me to behold as I choose to see His handiwork bear out His truth in nature.

And behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

CHOOSE: NEIGHBORING

"Community" verses continue to speak to my heart.

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.
(1 Corinthians 7:17)

Whatever situation my town/city and I are facing is not a random selection but is ordained by God.

My situation and assignment take place just east of the "mighty Mississippi" and extend to my immediate neighborhood.

He has placed me on "my" street for the last almost 39 years.

From one man He made all the nations, that should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed time in history and the boundaries of their lands/habitations. (Acts 17:26)

Choosing neighboring in my city and "my" dwelling place on "my" street, seems all the more important when I remember that He has placed me there----for His purpose.

CHOOSE: TO SEE GOD

See God in creation. I do.
Do you? (Romans 1:12)

The meaning of the universe is God going public for the glory of God. (John Piper)

I am the One who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hand I stretched out the heaven. ( Isaiah 45:12)


Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? And caused the dawn to know its place, (Job 38:12)


I choose to see God in nature because I am awed by His work of creation. Are you?

CHOOSE: A WORTHY READ

So many books---how does one distinguish a worthy read! No perfect answer there. (Ecclesiastes 12:12) However, many times I'll continue to read books by a favorite author. Though even that is no guarantee.

Lisa Wingate has yet to fail me in book choices---though I admit I have not read all 30 of her fiction titles.

Her newest book, Before We Were Yours, which is set in Memphis 1936, will be released next month. It has already received RAVE REVIEWS. "Alternately shocking and heart-wrenching, yet ultimately redemptive."

Ultimately the Bible is THE Worthy Read and the best choice for the ultimate non-fiction!

But.....if fiction is the choice of your day, you might consider Tending Roses or other Lisa Wingate books.

CHOOSE: PONDERING ON THE PATIO

Sanctuary---a sacred place of sorts. My patio is such a spot when neighbors aren't out, hubby's not home and extraneous noises are kept at bay. A place to think and ponder on "Meditation Monday."

This morning was such a time. (Psalm 5:3) A time when I pondered my saying, "I don't have time" as a sign I'm running on my own schedule and not God's. Think frantic, frustrated, and harried.
"There is always enough time to do the will of God." (E. Elliott, Discipline, p. 99)
Frustration is NOT the will of God, I know that. I just don't live like I know that.

Choosing to "ponder" on the patio has allowed me to put my time in His hands. How refreshing!

CHOOSE: A DANIEL-TYPE PRAYER

Frustrations were the "order of the day" yesterday, though I certainly didn't order it.
OOPS, I still had a choice in my response to all the snafus.
As Anne Graham Lotz reminds us in The Daniel Prayer, (p. 245) :
IF prayer is...

• one of the supreme boys of your life,
• the throbbing heartbeat of your relationship with God,
• the nearest will be this side of Heaven,
• our compass that helps keep us on the right path

....then why is it so hard?
Because prayer is a battle---a fight.

That's why, when I struggled yesterday to be clear minded and self-controlling, (1 Peter 4:7),
I used God's Word from Daniel 9:1-23.
I Chose a Daniel-type prayer.

CHOOSE: NATIONAL FOCUS FOR PRAYER

National Day of Prayer 2017! 

The focus across the nation has been on Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:1-23) especially from Daniel 9:19.

Lord, listen. Lord forgive! Lord, hear and act!   

Yet, as try to type this entry....here's what keeps happening over and over. Imagine that!!!

I choose to keep praying for our nation....and to keep trying to post!

CHOOSE: CONFESSION

Sensitivity has a way of showing one her sins. That's when Wednesday becomes a day of confession for me, aka "Weeping Wednesday." I desire to "confess, renounce and find mercy" (Proverbs 28:13) and forgiveness (1 John 1:9) as He purifies my heart. (James 4:8)

It's not like going into a confessional booth or opening up to a friend. It's just me before the Lord asking Him to "Search my heart." and show me my heart. (Psalm 139:23) Did He ever!
That's why it's a scary thing to do. It's hard to truly "see" the wickedness of one's own heart. A heart that He needs to "clean and restore."(Psalm 51:10) Confession and repentance are heart issues. Restoration is from God.

Forgive me, Lord, for my self-protective and self-promoting ways.

Glad I chose "Confession." It took away the guilt (Psalm 32:5) and as Mama Davenport always said, "confession is good for the soul."

CHOOSE: PATIENCE

Hard to choose patience when you're harboring Apple Store Angst!

But, choosing patience it is! It is a choice---even if It means  much is lost on my laptop, thereby making blogging on my phone a necessity--though it's very difficult!

My, my---I wrote the above entry around 10:20 this morning. After taking a visiting friend to lunch and the airport, I headed to the Apple Store---just like yesterday but this time I took a book for "the wait."

So....though my choice was made early, I didn't get my "affirmation from above" until I came home and picked up my devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest.

Patience--"the idea of an immensely strong rock withstanding all onslaughts." My day with seemingly "unsolvable" tech problems both local and with on-line tech support, seemed like a great onslaught.

I knew patience was the right choice to begin my day. But God...seemed to give me a "pat on the back" for choosing it.

CHOOSE: MEDITATION

Meditation Monday---Nothing more needed than my old favorite New American Standard Bible.
Plus, on page 14, it has the yellow highlight marks from Josh at age 2.
An open Bible with a 2 year-old in your lap is always a special time for meditation.

http://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2015/07/meditation-mine-or-thine-q-and-a.html
Today I was able to meditate on Isaiah 45:18-22 with two Prayer for Revival warriors.
Prayer overflows from the meditation on His word which always comes first!
What a time of praising the creator of heaven and earth knowing that He speaks truth and declares what's right. (Isaiah 45:19, NIV)
What a privilege to have prayer partners!