The Best Equation: Faith + Hope = Trust

Faith arises from the personal experience of Jesus as Lord

Hope is reliance on the promise of Jesus,

accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment.

Trust is the winsome wedding

of Faith and Hope.

-From Brennan Manning's RUTHLESS TRUST: The Ragamuffin's Path to God

Speech Pathology Magic Words

Attention all SLPs:

An actual quote out of my mouth today to a mother as I was conducting a diagnostic assessment on a child with a tongue tie...

"In this particular case,

talking with his tongue tied is about as effective

as tweezing your eyebrows with salad tongs."

Tell me no stories, I tell you no lies.

A Pressing Fear...

The more I read, I feel more convicted that I have feasted on spiritually good upbringing, good heredity and milk toast theology. The problem is that I question if this has been enough for me. Have I rested on my laurels being the "good girl" and never delved into when I stand before Him and my actions, thoughts, desires, evidence of belief, are on display what He will say to me and about me? Have I tried to strike a bargain with God, promising to keep a bunch of rules? I fear I'm a spiritual slug.

As I am reading C.S. Lewis "MERE CHRISTIANITY", I have been profoundly impacted by the truths that are so often glossed over. A few thoughts that I have run across:

Final Curtain Call:

"Some of us who seem quite nice people may, in fact, have made so little use of a good heredity and a good upbringing that we are really worse than those whom we regard as fiends. That is why Christians are told not to judge. We see only the results which a man's choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. ..... All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to good digestion, will fall off some of use; all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see everyone as he really was. There will be surprises."

PRIDE

"According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind... it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began...For Pride is a spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense....The first step is to realise that one is proud.... At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. It you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."

One more...

ONE BODY, MANY PARTS: Satan's Skew

"Things which are parts of a single organism may be very different from one another: things which are not, may be very alike. Six pennies are quite separate and very alike: my nose and my lungs are very different but they are only alive at all because they are parts of my body and share a common life.... If you forget that (someone) belongs to the same organism as yourself you will become an Individualist. If you forget that he is a different organ from you, you will want to suppress differences and make people all alike, you will become a Totalitarian. A Christian must not be either..."

"(We have a tendency to point out to each other) - which of these errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into the world in pairs - pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled."

I am so glad that I have taken the time to read this book as I see it becoming a foundational book from which to draw deeper into the knowledge and love of Christ. I highly recommend it if you have not read it. I have almost the whole book underlined and highlighted. :)

You might find that you, too, could be a spiritual slug, moving about so slowly in your spiritual growth and depending on your good upbringing and good "heredity" that we do not work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We take on everyone else's faith and don't ever go beyond what is specifically fed to us by a trusted pastor, a parent, a good friend who attends church or mate that reads the Sunday School lesson before church.

This should not be.

There will be surprises. Of this, I am sure.

Oh Lord, please come quickly.

Mercy and Grace

I am reading Henry Blackaby's book CHOSEN TO BE GOD'S PROPHET: LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF SAMUEL from his Biblical legacy series. I highly recommend it and though I am not even halfway through yet, it is just excellent. Perhaps it is just hitting me on some issues that I have been struggling with lately. I have marked up lots of passages so far but wanted to share one in particular.

"Many book have been written about grace, but preceding grace is mercy. God's nature, revealed to Moses, was - 'My name is mercy'." This is described in Exodus 34:6-7.
"Before God can give you what you do not deserve, He will have to withhold from your what you really deserve. God must first cancel your sin. When you cry out to God for mercy and plead with Him to extend His mercy to you, you do so because you have sinned grievously against a Holy God."

We all deserve everything but mercy. We do not have a full enough concept of our sin and how it disgraces the Lord God in front of the multitudes of saints. We think that what we do, we do in private. No so, says the Lord. That is really scary to think that all our sins will be exposed and we will have nowhere to run except to beg for the mercy of God. This is where we find our hiding place and safety. There can be no better place than in the arms of the Creator of the universe.

Crying out for mercy is the only hope we have. When is the last time you found yourself crying out for anything other than additional comforts for your life? When was the last time I did that? There is so much more that we need besides comfort and thankfully he is more concerned with our character rather than our comforts.

Father, we do cry out for an outpouring of your mercy and an overflowing of your grace. We are nothing without You.

Awaiting Restoration

Hi Friends ~

I know that the upkeep of this blog has been sporadic at best. I love the accessibility it gives me to each of you and you to me even when life gets in the way. I love my little space to be able to put words to my thoughts and feelings and know that it adds a degree of stability to them rather than allowing them to swirl around in my mind. Thanks for indulging me in this avenue of thought processing, creativity, and random musing that needs a place to land. Please forgive the inconsistency of it all.

Those of you that I speak to regularly know that this year has been a difficult year. I have struggled in many areas of life that are, at times, to difficult to speak of; at other times, too difficult not to speak of. Please know that I appreciate your listening ears and supportive statements. I know there are a handful of you that are praying and I sincerely appreciate your love at this time.

In all honesty, these ongoing situations have been some of the most painful in my life. Thankfully, this confirms that I have a very blessed life since given a different perspective through the looking glass, one might not agree with the severity of the circumstances and or the overall effect of them on a person. However, I don't always know how to deal with the pressing truths that appear to confirm themselves each day. I don't understand the apathy. I don't understand the unforgiveness. I don't understand the dissatisfaction. I don't understand the seeming dissolution of relationships I have held so dear. I don't.

BUT GOD... in His infinite mercy and love and wisdom, does.

He knows how to right the wrongs.

He knows how to clothe the naked.

He knows how to feed the hungry.

He knows how to provide for the needy.

He knows how to change hearts.

He knows how to humble the proud and bring strength to the weary.

He knows.

He knew back 2000 years ago as well.

He knew how to test the heart of Abraham with Isaac on the alter.

He knew how to providentially choose a wife for Isaac.

He knew how to reconcile Jacob and Esau.

He knew the future of Joseph and his 11 brothers -
Orchestrated Joseph's dream,
The brothers' jealousy,
Their discarding of family relationships,
Joseph's numerous trials and testings,
His unlikely rise to power,
His brothers's request for assistance meeting physical needs,
Their compassion toward their family,
The revelation of Joseph and the restoration of a family -
Brother to brother and father to son.

As my pastor said this morning, quoting from a sermon by R.C. Sproul called "The Cry of a Baby", that the Lord knows how to place the entirety of His promised people, the Israelites, and send it down the Nile in a papyrus basket. Again, orchestrating the cry of a baby at the exact time an Egyptian princess was bathing, arranging Miriam to be in the vicinity and with quickness of thought and foot, brought about another restoration of mother and son.

All of this for the eventual restoration of His Son to me and to you. He brought this restoration forth through extremely narrow channels of blessing and protection. This symphony, God's symphony, started thousands of years ago and at the end of the first act, reached a pinnacle never seen before the birth, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The Second Act has started and been building for the last 2000 years. I sense, in a very real way, His orchestration is in the midst of a crescendo as we prepare for the finale when His children, both past and present, will meet Him when He comes in the clouds. That moment will cast brilliant glory that overcomes every failed expectation, over-scrutinized argument, and fractured relationship or division that has ever occurred or existed. He will indeed be the King of the world, God Almighty and the Everlasting Father that has reigned and will reign forever and ever.

He provides for us in every way until the ultimate restoration between God - our Loving Father, Complete Provider, Reliable Comforter, Ultimate Restorer - and His children. Until then, "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed". (II Corinthians 4:8-9) We wait for the restoration of our souls and trust in the Lord's infinite mercy and kindness that He knows the best and allows these things to happen for our good and His glory.

May it be as He says and for however long He deems necessary. May I always stand in confidence that He is the Great I AM and trust that every note played and every chord orchestrated of my life is from the Omniscient Virtuoso. May I be willing to be played in any way the Master so desires with a faith so strong, the melody flows effortlessly.

Womanly Musings for Monday

"Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful." --- Jacquelin Bisset (English actress)

"Take the attitude of a student. Never be too big to ask questions.

Never know too much to learn something new."

---Og Mandino (American Author)

"There are no ugly women. Only lazy ones."

--- Helena Rubenstein (American Cosmetics Manufacturer)

"The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."

Proverbs 12:16

Blessings to you this week!

Random Late Musings

Ok, I love those musical cards. Love them. I just bought a couple because it makes me happy to open them and listen to them. If any of you have pull on this front, let me tell you exactly what I need. I would like a card of the friendship variety that plays the theme song from "Growing Pains". Love me some BJ Thomas. Also, since I am putting in my orders, I would also like some cards of the break-up variety with the song "I'm Movin' On". Love the Rascals and the whole Flatts family. That particular card, however, should only be sold to women as stated clearly in the manufacturer's contract. I have a few more specific orders but I can just wait to see what else they will come up with. I have great anticipation. I just got my Mom a thank you card with the dorky "What a Difference You've Made in my Life". I like the song, but let us come on into the new millennium. However, Ronnie Milsap is a favorite of mine as well. So see, even on the dorky cards, I am still a fan. What can I say?

New topic:

Ran across a great quote of the week:

ATTITUDE DETERMINES ENERGY!

I gotta remember that around Thursday afternoon... Maybe even Wednesday...

New topic:

I have great people around me and I am just thankful for that. I so appreciate the goodness of God in my life and don't acknowledge that enough. I tend to view God's goodness through the lens of my circumstances rather than my circumstances through the lens of God's goodness. I try to put God in my box shaped by unfaithfulness, inconsistency, and unbelief and you know what? He just doesn't fit in that tiny little insulting box I have created for Him. Who do I think that I am trying to put the God of all good things within my parameters? I disappoint myself with this presumption that He and I should be on the same page. Let me restate that: We should be on the same page - it just shouldn't be MY page. It should be on His page and I should indeed be there with Him.

I have got to let the things go that I so desperately want to hold onto. He is good and honestly does not need me helping me with anything. Look what happened to Sarah when she decided to help out Abraham by giving Hagar to him to bring a child into the world. We have never been the same since that day and are still reaping the consequences of that decision. Do you feel, like I do, that it all depends on you? I hate to admit that I am living a lie when those thoughts enter my mind. It clearly does not depend on me and Jehovah God has everything under control without any help from me. It exposes my lack of faith and lack of dependence on Him to operate on those premises.

Father, forgive my unbelief and my unfortunate faithlessness.

Please restore unto me the joy of my salvation and

the faith just the size of a mustard seed.

I do believe that you can orchestrate the planets to revolve in perfect harmony

and make the human body hum with life and

you can most definitely orchestrate my life to bring the most glory to You.

I humbly ask that You do that so that I may honor you with my very being.

Please use me in whatever way You deem necessary

to make the most impact for Your kingdom

on those in my sphere of influence.

Please clean up the ugly places in my heart and

cleanse me with the power of your precious blood shed for me.

I ask for Your grace during this time and know with everything in me

that You remain, as always, at my side, before and behind me.

May my life speak of how great You are at all times.

You are more worthy than anything I can bring to the table.

I pray to be a reflection of your love and faithfulness.

I love you, Father.