AGOG...........

Are you agog with the Spirit?

Or....do others see you as a greedy ole geezer or a grumpy old gal?

Hopefully others get a Glimpse of God as they see your life?

A

Glimpse

Of

God

As Paul urges us in Ephesians 4, "walk in a manner worthy of your calling, with all humility and gentleness with patience, bearing with one another, in love."

Such a lifestyle enables Christians to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond f peace.

Maybe others will walk away with a new life as they are now AGOG with the Spirit after a Glimpse of God in your life.  

CHOICES

Choose, Dotsy! It's your choice!

My "just in case" plans..........God's Plan A.

Pull up by my bootstraps mentality........God's strength.

Walk in my own way.............Walk worthy of the gospel message.

What does it look like when I make poor choices and depend on self rather than God? The visual answer is below.

I either run out of steam temporarily.....or I burn out completely.

Brother Buddy reminded me that I was embracing a little too much of "Mildred's" busyness/do it all for everyone persona. I tried to explain that I was being "other-oriented." He reminded me as I choose to be  God oriented, He will help me say no when necessary. 

The Lord will direct me to be "others-oriented" on His guided path. (Proverbs 3:5-6, a Bro Buddy fave) 

Where He guides, He provides---with time and strength. I think I just heard an "AMEN" from my brother!

WAITING.....WAITING....WAITING.........

Waiting is not Easy!  (Click to share with a young child.)

Sometimes a children's picture book can simply say it well. 

Many Mo Willems books resonate with me whether Elephant and Piggie, Pigeon or Knuffle Bunny books. Knuffle Bunny was such a favorite, that going "boneless" became a shared word in our household. If you've ever had an obstinate grandchild go boneless on you, you get the picture.

During this pandemic season, I have found myself waiting for my life to return to normal. I am now realizing that I need to learn to embrace these moments as normal. Day in and day out, I must celebrate each day as God guides.....even if I "feel" like I'm going nowhere.

I just need to "wait" for the Lord. As it reminds me in Psalms 27:14, I just need to be strong and take heart as I seek His direction. I've been losing heart lately & growing weary (Galatians 6:9) instead of considering Him. (Hebrews 12:3) I need to keep hoping for what I do not see instead. (Romans 8:25)

I need to celebrate life as it is as I wait.

CHURCH ATTIRE

Church attire has absolutely nothing to do with the clothes you wear when you attend Sunday services. It has everything to do with the spiritual clothes believers don.

The church is the "body of Christ" and as such the spiritual wardrobe is to be worn daily. (Colossians 3:12-17)

A recent sermon by son, Buddy brought this wardrobe to mind. Click link below to listen.

Wanted Worshippers:Church Clothes January 13, 2019 

So.....don't use this blog entry as an excuse to go shopping. Rather go to your closet for the clothes of your choice----just wear them with the right attitude, especially when you join others in worship.

WAITING: A TEST OF PATIENCE

What do we do while we're waiting is a question asked in Beckett's "Waiting for Godot?"

 

While Bernie and I were "waiting" for the 2nd act to begin......the word absurd came to my mind.
Yet, I was intrigued by the premise of this play. Silence was prevalent.
The pauses were long and l-o-n-g-e-r.
For an impatient-type gal it was an eye-opener. There was a depth of understanding that one could only glean through the silences.
Silence can tend to make extroverts uncomfortable. But....words are not always the answer.

Even scripture "speaks" to this conundrum, even speaking to the futility of many words.(Ecclesiastes 6:11) "....but he who restrains his lips is wise." (Proverbs 10:19) Is there no limit to "windy" words? (Job 16:3)
Often, too much empty prattle robs the true listeners of understanding especially in the quietness of a theater.

One can only imagine how much loquacious folks "miss" by filling every moment of silence with chatter. ( I know.....I'm typing to the choir here!)

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.

REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS! A time for reflecting is pretty common this time of year.

News commentators have already started looking back---almost ad nauseam in the "celebrity" realm.

Certainly as one reflects, there is a fine line between discernment and self-absorption.

For me, discernment can only come with an open Bible in my lap. 

Of course, also for me, it doesn't hurt to have a cup of tea (and maybe even a donut) to help me "stay in the Word" for more than a few minutes. Meditation takes perseverance, especially when encouragement and hope are desperately needed.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

Thanks be to God---who gives patience and encouragement (Romans 15:5) as we make our way in life....learning from one year, even the mistakes, and taking those life lessons from Him, into the next year.

"So long," 2015.......

PATIENT in affliction

7/21/12 Am I patient in affliction? Great question for each of us to ask ourselves on a soul searching Saturday.

For some Memphis business folks, the greatest “constant” affliction is their weekday commute in the “crazy” Memphis traffic. For parents at St. Jude, it’s enduring the day- in, day-out rounds of  chemo and radiation, as they “fight” for their child’s life. In these situations, both the “patient” and the parent/caregiver need patience in such an affliction. Others find affliction in the chair that confines them---the paralysis that holds them.

Not all afflictions are physically painful---though it often feels that way. Emotional afflictions of disappointment in a child’s rebellion, deep regret, fear,  rejection by a loved one, are all equally painful. Heartache.

For  Christians, Romans 12: 12 bookends the term, “patient in affliction”, with two other phrases. Fervent in prayer, the bookend that closes the verse, provides the earthly answer---prayers for ones own suffering supported by prayers of others for them. Intercessory prayer is powerful.

 “Joyful in hope is the first bookend and it is key! Hope for a better tomorrow. For some that’s possible this side of eternity.  For those whose “earthly affliction” is diagnosed as chronic or terminal, their daily hope is reliance on the rest, strength  and grace from the God of all comfort. This daily hope coupled with their eternal hope provides the patience needed in the affliction

Many have that patience in abundance.  Ohers do not.  Do you?

Hardhead, Bonehead, Numskull.....

1/27/12 ....any of those terms indicating an osteo diagnosis would be okay by me. The result desired, from my recent test, was bone in the forehead area---not anything tumorous. After a week of waiting, I just wanted to know the diagnosis.
Though I had prayed for, and requested prayer for, patience and calm as I awaited results, the silent phone was getting to me. So, after much prodding by Claudia and other friends, I called the doc just as his office was opening at 9am. I was instructed to leave a message.  More waiting ensued.
At 4:15 the phone rang. It was Dr. S's nurse. That voice was a good sign. Previous experience has taught me that when it's the doc who calls, the diagnosis can be pretty grim or at least unsettling. "Mrs. Liles, your skull scan showed ______ (fill in the blank with any of those "osteo" words) with an extra little boney knot on your forehead. Dr. S just wants to watch it---so he'll see you in 6 months." End of conversation.
Relief is such a great emotion.
Gratitude ensued---that's an even greater emotion for this numskull.

4-LETTER Words

1/7/11 Growing up in a home with a mother who could “drop” some bombshells of words, though never blasphemous, and a daddy whose vocabulary didn’t contain any 4-letter words, I clearly understood the difference. The flow of words from their mouths, whether LOUD & clear or soft and gentle, seemed to mirror their personalities. Mother, the verbal, was the more choleric/sanguine type and Daddy’s nature was more melancholy/phlegmatic combo. Establishing my own home as a parent, I knew that I wanted it to be free of 4-letter words—not that a “c---“ hasn’t been “dropped on occasion. In fact, the “S” word at our house was “shut-up” and was not allowed. We said “hush.”

Lately, I’ve realized that there is a 4-letter word in my own life.
If you can read Chinese, no need to read further---you’ve found me out.

It’s not a word I say out loud but a word that for me has all the negative connotations of an old-fashioned “cuss word” and I don’t like it. I don’t like it in my life’s vocabulary and yet it’s one God uses to teach me necessary life lessons. I know it’s a 4-letter word for me because my children see its manifestation in me through my impatience.

What’s the word you ask---WAIT until tomorrow’s blog and I’ll reveal it. Not really.

My struggle with waiting runs the gamut from the “rage” of everyday situations to the dramatic emotion of wanting to run ahead of God. IMPATIENCE is not pretty. Yet, we’ve all learned NOT to pray for patience because the life lessons that teach it are so difficult. So what now?

Internet friend, Carolyn O’s blog gave a worthy answer.

• Years ago I stopped praying for patience but instead now pray for the grace to wait on the Lord. That “re-arranged” prayer has radically changed my ability to wait. I now have HIS power and strength to wait for His perfect answers to my prayers and my cries for help. It has made all the difference in my ability to wait for His answers and to be able to see His hand at work throughout the process of bringing about His perfect will….. A HUGE difference! I used to say that “wait” is a four-letter word. Although wait still has only four letters in it, I’m learning to see that waiting is only tolerable through the power, strength, and grace of the Lord.

Patience with hope

8/12/09
Admittedly, this “patience” lesson has been tough for me. Tough because of the reality of impatience in my life along with my short-sightedness.
I need to address, at least mentally, the long term spiritual results of learning in the midst of a circumstance rather than just trying to short-cut it for the sake of relief.

Have I ever admitted that relief is probably at the top of my “favorite emotions” list? It is. It’s because the dread, suffering, etc. is over and “my” list is checked off or my ducks are back in a row----usually short-lived because another situation is probably lurking around the next corner. But RELIEF does feel good for the moment! I envision eternity as one long sigh of relief.

I am so pitiful that:
…..losing “anything” in my “black hole” of a purse, no matter how many pockets Vera Bradley sews in, feels like a major tragedy in the universe………..
…..Driving to work at least an hour ahead of actual check-in time and catching a red light has my blood pressure up and sometimes I try to hurry thru that yellow light…………
…..even a fax machine being busy or not responding as I try to reach Wage Works for the umpteenth time can feel like life or death.
Stress, Melt-down, Come apart--all inappropriate—all come to mind.
Silly, I know, but that’s the way this time compulsive person manifest a deeper issue than lack of patience. (Maybe "time-compulsive" is a euphemism for wretched.)
The world’s definition of patience according to Mr. Webster is calm endurance. God’s definition is more encompassing. I even have trouble with the world’s description, so I try to circumvent the problems or people who make patience difficult for me. That my friends is not God’s way.
What’s the long term goal of the situation/problem that is causing my reactions rather than a godly response? Learning to endure a trying time, or becoming capable of bearing delay might sound like the right answers but they are MY way----trying to meet MY need in MY strength. Maybe, just maybe they’ll offer ME relief. NOT! At least, not for long.

The long term goal is spiritual maturity---a display of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. How is that done?
Quit trying to practice patience in your own strength but open His word and “practice His Presence.”
Is that your final answer, Dotsy?
Yes, because it’s the right answer. It’s God’s answer.


Larry proofed and suggested I put my journal jottings at the end of the blog, not in the middle---just to reinforce the lessons the Lord has taught me in my patience journey, which has taken a lot of steps forward and backwards and is still in progress.
Journal Jottings----just to give you a peek at all the thoughts, some painful, about my life lessons and struggles with patience.
May 30, 1999 from a Sunday School class taught by Dick Winter.

Notes on DW’s CHART

1.Typical ways---circumventing, rationalizing and faking it
2. God’s answer—Examine God’s word, Phil. 2:1, James 1 :2-3, Embrace His plan, Psa. 27:4, Experience the exchanged life, Isa. 40:31, Lam. 3:25
3. Therefore…(sounds like, "but God"……with Him the response is…)

• Accept all people. (especially difficult ones)

• Give expectations to God and grace to others!

• Invest in others’ lives—(even those “irregular” ones)

God move me from #1 my reactions, my way to #3, His loving response, His way!
Galatians 5:3 By faith we eagerly await, though the Spirit, the righteousness for which we hope.
Long term goal----His righteousness.

(Streams in the Desert, July 26)
He hath made waiting beautiful and patience divine.
That’s definitely a divine viewpoint, not a world’s view.
I want to get beyond just tolerating or coping with a situation just to get by it or forestall/avoid confrontation. When I allow God to meet me where I am and to teach me, that’s “waiting with hope.” The situation or person may not change or go away but He will teach me His response in the middle of it.

There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to publically profess Him and then not use Him. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Streams in the Desert, 8-12)
USE HIM in this area of patience, Dotsy.
Exchange my weakness for His strength.