Manic Monday—Or Not

Need a change?

Manic Monday—Or Not

Ephesians 5:20 

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My boss loves Mondays—or so he claims. However, I know his secret. Saying he enjoys the dreaded first day of the week is his way of speaking positives into his life. I mean, really, we know the truth about Mondays, don’t we? Not many people seriously look forward to them.  But my boss manages to come in with a smile on his face as if Monday was the best day of the week. I wonder if he has ever had the kind of Monday that I just had?

I was enjoying the drive to work when all of a sudden my steering wheel began to shake. Not sure what was wrong, I made my way across the freeway to the shoulder.  Feeling a bit apprehensive about the rush hour traffic whizzing by, I managed to slip out of the car safely and look for the problem. Sure enough, I had a flat tire—but not just flat—it was demolished. Knowing the size of my trunk didn’t allow room for a spare tire, and the can of fix-a- flat wasn’t going to take care of the problem, I realized I was stranded. A little more apprehension passed through my veins as I wondered what to do and how long it was going to take. Not only did I have to be at work, but I had a doctor’s appointment as well.

I called my insurance company to get a tow—an unbelievable 20 minutes on the phone! It would be another hour before the tow truck would come. Desperately needing to use the facilities, I settled in for a long wait. But the tow truck didn’t come. Apparently the driver received the wrong directions and when he tried to turn around, the truck broke down. Somehow, I kept from panicking and managed to remain calm, even in my discomfort.

Just in the nick of time, a police officer showed up to help. He put in a call to the tow truck company and graciously took me to a rest room. On the way back to my car, another series of mishaps managed to postpone my rescue. When all was said and done, my Monday morning adventure had cost me $1000.00, a missed appointment and a three-hour delay to work. But it didn’t bother me. I was okay. Actually, I was in a good mood!

Are you wondering how?  Well, since realizing I was prone to self-pity and the victim mentality, I had been purposefully applying positive thinking to my life. It wasn’t easy for a pessimist like me, but over the past year I have made a conscious effort to take every thought captive and to renew my mind with God’s Truth. I refused to feel sorry for myself. I was not going to let my emotions rule over me. Instead, I thanked God for all that was good in my life. And when my Monday madness came, all my efforts paid off. I didn’t even have to think about it. I naturally found myself filled with gratitude, rather than anger and misery. As a result, my gratefulness influenced my attitude and I enjoyed a wonderful day. I could have easily had a manic Monday, but instead I chose to not. How about you? Do you tend to pout and wallow in self-pity, or do you choose to glorify God with an attitude of gratitude? You determine how you want to feel. What you choose makes all the difference in the world, and in your day!

We There Yet?

Chasing something you can't catch?

 

I am currently teaching a course at Colorado Christian University, which takes up all my free time. For the next few weeks, I will be posting devotionals when I get a chance. I should be back to my regular weekly posts sometime in May. Thank you to all who faithfully read my blog.

We There Yet?

Philippians 2:13

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Perched in the back seat of the car for hours on end, my brother and I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of our vacation destination. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” If I wasn’t saying it, he was—as if it would get us there any faster. It always seemed to take forever. I wonder what my poor parents were thinking about it all?

Reflecting on my own humanity, I found myself reminiscing about my impatience as a child. I often wanted things to happen quickly, and I did not like waiting for them! Not now, right now, was my motto—instant gratification in its purest form! More often than not, the answer to my question, “Are we there yet?”, was a resounding “No.” It didn’t take long for me to realize that even today, things haven’t changed much. I still ask the question a lot, and I still get No for an answer. The only difference is that I am asking God instead of my parents. Lord, am I there yet? Will I ever get there? When, Lord, when? I strive and strive to find the right answers—to be good enough—hoping it will lead me to that magical place of wholeness, as if that magical place actually existed.

I find myself still impatient about arriving at my destination. Each time God shows me another one of my shortcomings, I sigh and wonder when it will be fixed so I don’t have to be flawed anymore. Somewhere along the line, I developed the idea that I need to be perfect before I am good enough, and I will not get what I want until I get there. This false belief has kept me in bondage—turning me into a human doing rather than a human being. After years of fruitless searching for the right answers, I found myself frustrated and angry—and still unable to appreciate my humanity. What was wrong with me, I kept asking. Why can’t I get this?

It seemed like I waited forever for my answer, but it eventually came. Intrigued by the tale in Acts 15 of Paul’s vehement unforgiveness toward John Mark and the rift it caused between Paul and Barnabas—so much so that the good friends parted ways—I was finally able to accept the reality of my humanity. If Paul the apostle struggled with something as huge as unforgiveness and anger, then I am in good company. It would seem that spiritual growth and recovery are processes—something we never complete. Even as mature men of faith, Paul and Barnabas had to deal with sin and conflict. They, too, needed to examine their hearts and reconcile their differences. Like these mighty men of God, we are always faced with the need for healing, restoration and redemption.

That’s what sanctification is all about. There is no magical place—this side of heaven anyway. It’s about surrender and enjoying the journey here on Earth. The famous Scottish preacher, James Stewart, summed it up rather poignantly. “It is always upon human weakness and humiliation, not human strength and confidence, that God chooses to build His Kingdom; and that He can use us not merely in spite of our ordinariness and helplessness and disqualifying infirmities, but precisely because of them.” When we are able to embrace our humanity, we can then embrace His divine providence and grace in our lives. Praise God that we don’t have to figure it out. We can just be and not do. For in that stillness of being, God changes things!

The Fortune Cookie

Feeling a little overwhelmed?

The Fortune Cookie

Psalm 121:1–2 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

The weekend had been especially difficult. Grieving some losses that I recently went through, I found myself faced with the reality of my true self. Rarely is self-examination pleasant, and this time was no exception. To be honest, it was downright ugly. My emotions took a dive and I sunk into depression, wondering if my life would ever get straightened out. I did all of the things that I knew were right—prayed, read my Bible, journaled, cried out to the Lord. I even tried determination. I was going to believe God’s Word for me personally, and I was not going to let my feelings dictate my mood. I was going to have joy—even if it killed me. But there was a problem—it was killing me! Nothing worked. My gloom and doom had me deep in despair. I had fallen and couldn’t get up!

Praise God that Monday finally came. I love my job. I hoped that it would keep me preoccupied, and the dregs of my self-pity would dissipate. I went through the motions of getting ready, still feeling hopeless about myself. As I approached my cubicle at work, my eyes fell immediately on a single fortune cookie sitting on my desk. I looked around at the other desks to see if everyone had a cookie, but mine was the only one. How interesting. I wondered who had put it there. Anticipating the fortune inside, I picked it up and thought, “I could sure use some encouragement right now.” I broke open the cookie and to my amazement read exactly the words I needed to hear—“Your future will be happy and productive.” I knew immediately that my fortune cookie was a special love note from God. Tears welled up as I stared in awe. God really did care—and He cared enough to tell me in my favorite cookie. How cute is that?

That night, feeling better but not quite right yet, I decided to read a devotional from a book I had not looked at for months. Of all the 365 devotionals, the one for that day spoke right to my need—that we aren’t to base our value on our weaknesses, because our worth is not in what we do, but in what God has already done. It is okay to be weak; that’s only when God can be strong. My helplessness meant His power could reign. The next few days, every devotional I came across targeted that very subject. I was experiencing the grace of God—in exactly  the way I needed it most.

I am feeling great now. My attitude is hopeful and I have joy again. God had indeed heard my cries. When I fell and couldn’t get up, He was right there to help me. He gently reached out His hand—in the surprise of a simple fortune cookie—and kept holding on—through all the devotionals—until I was back up on both feet. What a God we serve! When we fall, He is there to help us up. How about you? Are you struggling with something that has you pinned to the ground? Do you know where your help comes from? It’s not from you. Don’t be afraid to cry out to the One who is mighty to save (Isaiah 63:1). He promised to lift you up, and He will (Isaiah 41:10). God will answer your prayers. You can count on it. It might not be in the form of a cookie, but it will be specially designed just for you!

 

 

 

The Harbor Principle

What are you using to navigate life?

The Harbor Principle

1 Corinthians 14:20

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

Along with the wisdom my friend gave me in last week’s devotional, Head’s Up!, he also gave me another bit of advice. I was familiar with it, but had never quite heard it described this way. He called it the Harbor Principle. It was the process he always used whenever making decisions. In this principle, the captain of a ship lines up three buoys of navigation. He needs all three—the Word, the prompting of the Holy Spirit and godly counsel—to guide him safely into the harbor. If any one of them is out of line, he must readjust his course or risk running aground.

As I contemplated my situation in light of this new idea, I checked to see if my buoys were all in order. I felt rather sure that the Holy Spirit was prompting me to take on both endeavors, so that meant one buoy was in place. When I checked how things balanced with God’s Word, I found Scriptures that supported different viewpoints—buoy number two wasn’t securely fastened. It was wobbling back and forth in the water, making it difficult to set a direct course. Hmmmm.

Feeling like, I too, was wobbling a bit; I tried to set my sights on the third buoy. My friend told me that godly counsel comes from godly people who can evaluate your circumstances objectively. I didn’t have to look very far to realize that my friend had just pointed out to me that the circumstances—mainly my time restraints—were not in my favor. Oh boy, I was really wobbling now! Buoy three was not lined up at all—and it had quite a list to it, too.

With that, I immediately knew I had to readjust my course if I was going to safely navigate my way into the harbor of God’s peace. When I removed the barnacles of self-inflicted deadlines, I noticed that all three buoys had drifted into place. The list had even straightened out!  Things were now aligned and I was able to set my sails straight for my destination.

Charting my course had not been easy.  The storm of fear and confusion continued tossing me about until I tightly furled my emotions and decided to take a practical approach. I was able to balance out my extreme thinking by applying the Harbor Principle. It reminded me that God’s wisdom comes to us in several ways. We must line ourselves up to God’s navigational buoys—the Word, the Holy Spirit and godly counsel—so that we can see our path clearly. His desire is for us to use what He has given us to make our own decisions. In other words, don’t be afraid to use plain old common sense. Being out of balance in any area of your life leaves an open door for the enemy to wreak havoc. Are you charting your course using the Harbor Principle? Have you allowed your emotions to steer you off course? If so, try lining up your buoys to navigate through the uncharted territory. God’s peace will always reign!

 

Heads Up!

Got your head on straight?

 Heads Up!

Proverbs 16:9

 The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord shows him what to do.

I have watched some people make some really dumb mistakes—all in the name of the Lord—and I was about to be one of them. God had placed two enticing projects on my plate; however, both were rather large entrees and I wasn’t sure they were going to fit on my plate along with the other few side dishes I had already selected from a smorgasbord of delights. I was feeling a tremendous amount of stress about getting them taken care of in time. The stress brought intense fear, which began to affect my sleep and then my mood. I was definitely not at peace. I tried to rationalize that I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that with God, all things are possible. After all, if God gave me these two missions, then He would work it out. So why couldn’t I let go and let God? Why was I so bound up with fear? Was it control? Did I need to surrender and let God make everything happen? The enemy had me thinking I should.

Feeling that I needed the support of prayer, I shared this experience with a mature Christian friend at work. Normally I would have talked with a girlfriend, so it amazes me now that the first person I asked happened to be a man—you know, the more logical, less emotional gender. His immediate reaction was “Wow, getting all that done in a couple months doesn’t sound feasible to me. Yes, we can do all things with God, but He is not the author of confusion or fears either.” He reminded me that God gave us a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7)—which means that we have the ability to think things through and make wise decisions. In other words, as my parents often said to me, “Use your head, Macki!”

So there I was, faced with a very logical, but rather unexpected answer. I could choose to ignore it for various reasons, or I could choose to reconsider the situation and add a little common sense to my method of madness! I mulled over some scriptural principles. Yes, nothing is impossible for God, but He also calls us to be good stewards—and that includes our time. If I were to do this, I would have to give up everything else—including exercise, relationships and time with Him—just to get it all done. That would make God a slave driver, and I knew that wasn’t true.

I debated what I knew about fear and confusion with the fact that God speaks to us through  peace. Well, I certainly didn’t have any peace about how I was going to accomplish these daunting tasks! Finally, I contemplated the feasibility—common sense, pure and simple. Was there a practical way for me to do this in the given amount of time? The answer was No! It truly wasn’t possible. So, where did I go wrong? I felt certain that God had given me these delightful selections to taste and enjoy, but now that idea wasn’t lining up with the rest of the biblical evidence. And then, like a ker-thunk on the head, it hit me. God never gave me the time restrictions. I had put that on myself! I thought I needed to have one of the projects ready for a conference I was attending in three months. But in reality, it wasn’t necessary. If God wanted these things done, He would do it in His time and in His way. As soon as I let my self-inflicted deadline go and surrendered to God’s plan, His peace flooded my soul. I became excited again about the journey and vision He had given me. I was no longer burdened with fear.

So there it was—the real lesson. When faced with a smorgasbord of opportunities, remember to use your head—good old fashioned common sense—before filling up your plate. Check to see if your eyes are bigger than your stomach—and make sure not to add any fattening a la carte items that will only leave you bloated with apprehension and worry!

Sludge

Got Sludge?

The following devotional was written by a good friend of mine, Lorraine Wadman. It was actually her devotional writing that inspired me to begin my own. I hope you enjoy it. It’s definately about something we all can relate to, I’m sure.

Sludge

James 5:16

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

 

Because of the toxicity, dumping used motor oil into the garbage is illegal. That’s really not something that everyone knows, or even cares to know. Nevertheless, for our protection, it’s against the law. So, why do I bring this up? When I purchased a house, I found that the previous owner had been changing his own motor oil and storing the old sludge in glass jars. There were about 20 of these jars stashed in the garage at the time I moved in. I called the city and asked how to properly discard the sludge, and was told to take it to a facility that could dispose of it in an environmentally safe manner. They warned me that it was a serious matter and completely illegal to get rid of oil in any other way! I wasn’t told where such a facility might be, and didn’t think to ask, so the oil sat in the garage. Every so often I would walk around my car, see the oil, and remind myself that I had to find out where to take it, but I got no further than mental reminders. So, the oil just took up space in the garage—for over 15 years!

When I decided to move and sell the house, I felt that the time had come for me to finally deal with the slimy sludge. I thought about the easy solutions first. I rationalized that I was too busy to take care of the muck, that it really wasn’t a big deal to dispose of it improperly, and that it wasn’t hurting anything to just leave it for someone else to take care of. Somehow, though, all that rationalization felt wrong—very familiar, but wrong, nonetheless. I realized that old oil had become a reminder to me that I had a number of un-confessed sins and bad habits stored up that I needed to dispose of properly. I had been rationalizing that some of the sins I held onto were really no big deal, weren’t hurting anyone, and that I was just too busy to spend the time and work necessary to get rid of them. But, what it really boiled down to was that I just didn’t want to face the sludge in my life, so I avoided it—for years. I think that’s called denial!

I decided to move past my excuses and deal with it. Funny thing is that it really didn’t take that much time or cause that much trouble to get rid of the old oil. I packed the jars in a box and took it to Jiffy Lube. It turns out that I could have taken it there years before, had I just stopped rationalizing and finding ways to avoid doing the work!

Do you find yourself doing something similar? What do you have sitting around that you know you really should dump? Have you been thinking up reasons to hold onto your sludge? Perhaps, like me, you rationalize yourself into denial when you should be dealing honestly with your sin. Whatever it is, don’t let the sludge build up. Take your sins to God and ask him to forgive you.  Confess them to a trusted brother or sister in Christ and pray together so that you may be healed. I’ll bet you’ll find it wasn’t that bad after all!

 

Sight to See

Where are you looking?

 

Sight to See

O Lord, where are you when darkness reigns?

Right beside you, my love, shining light into your pain.

But Lord, it’s black and I cannot see;

Hold my hand, sweet child, and stay close to me.

O Lord, the ache is more than I can bear;

Yes beloved, I know, my Son was there.

But why to me, O Lord, did these things You bestow?

‘Tis not why, you should ask, but how it is I can grow.

Yes, my Lord, on bended knee, I will simply trust in thee;

Yes, blessed love of mine, you are truly beginning to see.