Let me be a little...

God spoke to me again today through the radio.  The Oak Ridge Boys were singing what I remember as an old Glen Campbell (author and performer) song, "Let Me Be A Little Kinder."  I think He meant it for me so I will try to be a little...when the situation fits.

Let me be a little kinder

Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me
Let me praise a little more

It's so easy to be nice and it costs nothing.  Lord, please help me remember that I can choose my responses and make the decision about how to react.  And, really, how hard is it to praise?!  Again, the cost is nothing but thought and brings such a great reward.

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me

I think it's human nature to be short with someone (no comments please!) when you're tired, stressed, etc. but those are the very times when God calls us to show His character, not ours.

Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver

Matthew 26:41 talks about the spirt being willing but the flesh being weak.  I would never suppose to argue with Jesus, but in my case it seems that the flesh (myself) wins out more than my spirit, which knows and tells me the right things to do.  Please, Lord, help me to listen to You and not to me.

Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be

There aren't many "cruise days" in life, so Lord, please help me make the most of all of them. 

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker

It's so easy to be proud about our accomplishments, children, work, _______________.  But all that is less than zero to our God.  Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that our righteousness is as filthy rags.  The picture of these filthy rags is (look away if you're squeamish) what was used on oozing, pus-y sores from lepers.  Yep, that's pretty much all my good stuff is worth!

Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me.

Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."  I think this says it all.  God means for us to think of others as better than ourselves.  Lord, please help me think of myself lots less often.  That will naturally make more room for others in my thoughts, which should lead to right actions and uplifting words.  How 'bout that?  We actuall CAN "let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5

Anunciation

Today, on the calendar is The Anunciation of the Lord - 9 months before we celebrate Christmas.  Of course, we know that Jesus was not born on December 25, but for the sake of our calendar that's when it's celebrated.  So since we celebrate Christmas on Dec 25, today we celebrate The Anunciation.  As a woman, this remembrance is really significant to me.  In some of my pregnancy thoughts (a long time ago!) I imagined what it would be like to be carrying God's Son, and that I was the only one who knew other than my fiance.  What a dilemna Mary lived with, and how dangerous!  And before she even knew what everything she was agreeing to meant, she was agreeing - and cheerfully!  Mary was not revered in her lifetime as being the Queen Mother (nod to the modern day royals) but she literally lived with her reward (Jesus), and will for eternity continue to live with Him.  I can't wait to meet her. 

Mary, how did it feel to raise God's Son?  Did he ever not behave perfectly?  I know he must have said yes, ma'am and no ma'am.  Did you wonder if you and Joseph could handle it?  Did you feel any support from the mom's group you belonged to?  How old was he when he walked and talked and was potty trained? 

Mary, this is your day to be honored.  Thank you for your sacrifice and for being the model of a servant.  Thanks for showing me how to mother.  I didn't always follow your awesome example but, being the mother of a boy, I often thought of you and wondered...WWMD?

SoGo

I love Southern Gospel!  I might have mentioned that before, hmmm?  My music choices are (1) John Denver and (2) Southern Gospel.  I love all the nuances of Southern Gospel lyrics: the lines that are a play on words and familiar phrases, the music that stays in my mind all day, and the references to our mighty God and salvation through Christ - always present in each song - also swirling through my mind all day.  That is one way to keep me thinking of Him, praising Him and calling to mind the power of Jesus when I need it.  Pretty smart of God to design that, huh?

Lately I've been singing The Perrys' "This Old Sinner Testifies" and the best lines are:

well He's a mountain mover,
He's a sea walker,
A lily in a desert dry
A rose in the wilderness,
Let me tell you who He is:
This old sinner testifies He is mine.

The best of that is "Let me tell you who He is" and I picture myself giving testimony to who He is.  The song puts emphasis on "who He is" just like you would if you were emphatically telling someone about Jesus.  I love it and it reminds me not only to tell who He is but to tell what He does and thank Him for it.  I saw them sing this in concert and they really do testify through this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUPoUK3ldl4&feature=related
I'm thanking Him for that song and the Perrys right now!  And, of course, for who He is!

Red Letter

God must like to speak to me through music.  Or maybe I like to listen to music and he uses that vehicle to speak to me because I most always have music on when I'm by myself.  (TV too, but that's for another day!)  This morning coming in to work I heard "Red Letter Day" on the radio; I listen to enLighten, Southern Gospel radio on XM.  God gave me a message and I know I heard these words, but when I went to "google" the lyrics, nothing like what I heard came up.  I heard Him tell me to pay attention to the red letters in His word.  Of course, the words of Jesus in the New Testament are in red in some Bibles, and I have one of those among the Bibles I own.  So, how true is it that God is the author and finisher of our faith?!!!!  He even re-writes songs as they're playing to give me the message I need. 

I commit to studying more of Jesus' words and trying to live by them.  I always did like color-coding my notes.  Thank you, God, for going ahead and highlighting the important parts of the textbook for me! 

Order of Things

I like order.  I like things to be in order.  I like to be organized.  I am a rule-y person.  I like things in their correct places.  I like to make lists and tick things off.  I've even been known to put something on a list that I've already done so I could mark it off!  I have a neat, organized office; I do not have a spotless house!  I think God likes to change up the order now and then, and I think He wants us to be receptive enough to Him to think outside our little "order of service."  For those of you not Baptist, that's the program for the worship service which can have NO deviation!  Yesterday, I got a new CD (thanks again, Eddie!).  This is a re-make of a recording I used to have on an album and cassette (yes, I'm old!), not available back in the day on CD.  But my friend burned it on a CD for me and now I can listen to some favorite gospel songs again.  But...the order of the songs is different than the way I'd always heard them.  You know what I mean - you know what's coming next and are anticipating the next song before the previous one's chords even finish.  I was walking yesterday when that thought occurred to me.  I was excited to have the music again, but my very next thought was, "now I'll have to learn a new order."  "Yes," God said, "a new order.  Do ya think you could let me do something unpredictable and unexpected in your life sometimes?"  Yes, please, Father - shake me up!

Instructions

Preparing for the scholarship tests, I had to write a set of instructions for the proctors.  I did this for both tests at one time - way last week (last week is a long time ago when you're old!).  This morning as I was in the shower - don't you get your revelations then? - I, all of a sudden, wondered if I had today's instruction sheet printed and in each proctor's box.  Thought about it all the way to the school, came in my office and printed another copy for each box, then went to the testing building - only to find out that I had, indeed, placed a set of instructions in each box.  Whew!  But as I thought about the panic I had been in to make sure everyone knew exactly what to do, God reminded me that I need instructions too.  So do you, yes you!  Where are we to get our instructions?  From His Word, of course and from all those He places in our lives and speaks through.  He uses our parents - if you remember that little commandment from "the top 10" about honoring your mother and father, this is what it's all about.  God does use them to give us our instructions; sometimes they seem/sound like marching orders, but that's beside the point.  God also uses others around us in authority positions: teacher, boss, pastor and friends, too.  But mainly His instructions come through THE MANUAL - His Word, the Bible.  When situations come up or questions about life, this is what we're to refer to.  Ideally, I will have read the instruction manual enough that He could bring scripture and lessons to mind to guide me.  I said, ideally - but I need lots of refreshing!  I commit to spending more time (some days that would be any time) re-reading the manual during Lent.  And I commit to making that a habit and continuing from now on.  Though the instructions don't change, God has a way of bringing you to the part that you'll need as you need it.  Ain't He good?!

Oatmeal

My husband eats oatmeal almost every morning of his life.  So he usually refills the container that stays out on the counter.  The other night I saw it empty and decided to go ahead and fill it up for him and God used it to remind me of something.  The container was completely empty and I thought it would hold all of the oatmeal in the new package.  So I poured it in and it looked like it would overflow.  Stop, shake, pour some more - stop, shake, tap, pour some more until it did all fit.  During all the tapping and shaking and knocking on the counter, God brought to mind Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over..."  How great is God to remind me of a promise when I'm doing regular old stuff?!  That just happened ;} to segue into this morning's Lenten devotion written by Angela Franks. 

In part: "Giving away one's life to Jesus in a whole-hearted embrace of His cross is the key to finding oneself, for only in self-giving love are we united with Christ.  Total self-expenditure is the path to our true profit.  And God wants us to profit.  In fact, He wants our happiness more than we want it ourselves.  Lent is a call to embrace true happiness by embracing the cross as the instrument of self-giving love." 

Now, we've heard from children about giving to get and God wanting us to prosper; but when I actually stop to ponder and reflect and look around, He really does do everything to make our lives abundant.  All we have to do is ask and take.  I know that my daddy would (and does!) do anything for me, but he can't do it for me if I don't let him know what I want and ask for it.  And though our Heavenly Father knows all our needs, He wants us to petition Him and let Him know what we want. 

Thank you, Lord, for calling to mind scripture right when I need it, like You promised You would!  Please help me to not just remember and memorize Your Word, but to use it.

Ash Wednesday

I've worked at a Catholic school for over 17 years now and have learned a lot about a lot of things formerly foreign to this Baptist.  Lots of traditions and rituals, most I like.  Most everyone knows about Ash Wednesday, but I don't think I did before I came to this job.  So for everyone else who was like me - here's a little education about Ash Wednesday. 

Ash Wednesday (today) begins the 40 day period of Lent - a reminder of the 40 day period that Jesus spent fasting and praying before the start of His ministry - a season of penance, relfection and fasting to prepare for Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.  (Some Protestant churches, BTW, do observe Lent - many more than used to.)


The name comes from the practice of placing ashes on the forehead in the sign of the cross - a sign of repentance.  This comes from the Biblical practice of repentance using dust and ashes (Job 42) and sackcloth and ashes (Jer 6, Daniel 9).  It's a very tactile reminder of "dust to dust, ashes to ashes" referring to what we came from and what we will one day return to, and  that life passes away.  Lent is a season of grief ending with the celebration of Easter.  Sorta like the light at the end of the tunnel.  Lent is also known as a time of sacrifice; giving up something for Jesus.  The custom used to be, and for some still is, to give up something you love for the 40 days of Lent.  But more recently as I've heard the Priests explain, it has come to mean giving up something in order to add something in your life to bring you closer to God - instead of giving up something just for the sake of giving up something.  Prayer, fasting and giving are encouraged.  So...giving up something and replacing it with something that puts the focus on God: I commit to that during Lent.  In fact, I commit to doing that from now on.  Hold me accountable, friends!

Where do the ashes come from?  Glad you asked!  They are made from the palms used in last year's Palm Sunday celebration.  Receiving ashes today in the service reminded me that this life is so temporary and that only what's done for Christ and His kingdom are lasting.  The Priest's homily included Jesus telling His followers about how they were to do their "good deeds" and that was in secret and not out in the open.  He said, "so don't show off!"  Great advice! 

In today's service one of the prayers was, "Let the signing with ashes today remind us of the passing nature of material things and help us give more attention to the things of the spirit, we pray."  Another: "At the beginning of this holy season, let us pray for the renewal of our hearts and the needs of all those around us."  Ok, Linda - stop looking at yourself and look within, then around.  Look within to remind yourself of The One who gave Himself for your selfish self!  Look around to see where you can do some good for someone else, but try to do it in secret!!