We just had an incredible night in fellowship with friends and believers in Christ. This was a time of enjoying a meal together and talking about God and our life together as fellow believers. We discussed ways that being a follower of Christ would play out in our daily lives, ways we can love those that we come in contact with daily. There was no agenda that we set out to perform…no plan as to when we would end our time together. It was a time of encouragement and edification to each other. I know I was encouraged…I hope that others were encouraged as well.

Specifically, I was encouraged to love, no matter what differences are there, no matter what obstacles seem to be in place. Loving takes an intentional effort. It is not something that “just happens” without trying.

Sometimes loving is quite a difficult task to undertake. Sometimes people have issues (including me!) and sometimes those issues get in the way. Loving in these circumstances takes patience, but more than that, I believe it takes honesty. So often, we want to hide in our shells and not let anyone see what is inside (I’m talking to myself here) either for fear of rejection or because that is what we have experienced in church life. It is so easy to hide in the pews (or in our homes) and not let anyone see the depth of our lives.

Honesty is a character trait that I believe we should have the freedom to experience, whether it is being honest with ourselves or with those that surround us. This is why I am fortunate to have those relationships in a simple church setting, not that it is impossible to be dishonest in that setting, but when you are actively involved in the lives of those close to you, it is much harder to enter into that shell.

Most of the time, evenings like the one we experienced tonight leave me wanting more… more time with fellow Christians, more time talking about the goodness of God, more time loving, serving, living…as the body of Christ.

I pray that there will be more opportunities for me to do so.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

“Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 NIV

This is a verse that I have heard over the years, and when I heard it (because this is what I was taught), I believed it meant that if I trained my child in the ways of God, in the end he would not stray from those ways. As I have looked at it closer, the verse seems to say much more to me. One version of that scripture says:

“Train up a child in the way he should go[and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 AMP

In keeping with his individual gift or bent… this seems to indicate we should be directing our children to discover their gifts or bents in addition to encouraging them to seek God’s direction in using those gifts to glorify Him.

While this may not seem to surprising to some, it came as a new revelation to me. Sometimes as parents, we tend to have thoughts in our minds of what our children should become. We have thoughts of experiences, friends and social situations that fit our idea of what “our” children should be doing and what they should emulate. We have thoughts of college and acceptable vocations. What I am realizing , though, is that these children that we have been graciously given by God, are His and He will direct them in areas so that their gifts can be used to serve others.

Is it just me or is this knowledge freeing to others as well? To know that our job is to help our children discover their gift, encourage them in that gift and trust God to manage the rest, brings me such peace.

We went to a homeschool conference this past weekend and my son was asked what his “bent” was by another adult. It was encouraging to know that I was not surprised at his answer: music. He said without hesitation, “I like to play my guitar”. I know, as his mom, I must encourage him in that direction. The fact that he has incredible skill in this area is confirmation that this particular gift will be a continuing passion in his life.

As I was leaving my house today, I looked down to see the flag that we currently have in our front yard. It says “Peace on Earth”. It has a snow covered landscape with a church pictured in the center. I immediately began humming the tune to the song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.

Don’t ask me why that particular song came to mind…but I started singing it out loud, listening to the lyrics as I sang:

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.*

Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

Copyright 1955 by Jan-Lee Music. Copyright renewed 1983. All rights reserved.

I tried to remember when I first heard the song. Was it in my early days in the small Baptist church where my mother took me each Sunday (and Sunday night and Wednesday night…) Was it in Girl Scout Camp? In School? All I know is that I heard it a long time ago and I still remembered each word to that song.

It may sound silly, but today I heard it in a new way…as I sang each line of that song, I realized that it embodied what I want as a member of the body of Christ. I want to live at peace with all people that I come in contact with. I don’t want those words to be superficial. I want to live life with others each moment and each day with the love of Christ as the center.

I have to ask myself the question…Is this possible? Can I be a part of something that is only dreamed of? I believe the answer is “yes!” I believe that as followers of Christ, we can live at peace with one another and even more so, we can share the love of Christ in a very real and tangible way. How I long for that to be a reality in my life!

Has anyone ever had thoughts as crazy as these? If so, would you like to join me in recognizing that no matter what is happening in your life, you can come to the feet of Jesus confidently and know that He will put others in your path that will encourage, edify and motivate you to seek Him more and more each day.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall…” Ephesians 2:14-15

Well, I knew it would happen sooner or later…I have officially been tagged!

I used to like that game in school, it was the one game I knew how to play!

Although, I haven’t really made up my mind if I like it in the blogosphere… that is, until today. I pondered the reasons why I shouldn’t participate, but then I realized it is just one tool that is used to get to know each other a little bit better. I like the idea of creating a space where people can have an actual relationship…no, it’s not the same as face-to-face interaction, but isn’t it amazing that we can get to know each other at all? We can reach across the miles and have a honest to goodness relationship. What could be better?

This particular meme was not new to me, actually.

It started with Jollyblogger tagging my husband..then Steve tagged Phil Wyman…then, Phil tagged John Smulo and John tagged me. See how these things get started?

Thank you, John for bringing me into the loop. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s responses and am thrilled you tagged me.

So, here is my small attempt to answer these deep meaningful questions…

1) What’s the most fun work you’ve ever done, and why? (two sentences max)

• That would be what I am currently doing…homeschooling my 14 year old son. It is so rewarding (and fun!) to see your own child succeeding in areas that have been difficult for him in the past. And I wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of my husband!

2) Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did? (one sentence max)

• Being a mom to a toddler…this is such an incredible time, they are learning and doing so many new things. They remind me of the reality that God’s compassions “are new every morning” Lamentations 3:23

3) Name one thing you’ve always wanted to do but keep putting it off? (one sentence max)

• Start a jewelry business (which I am actually in the process of doing) But…this involves creating a website (that I keep putting off!)

4) What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why? (two sentences max)

• Creating a website (for obvious reasons) and strengthening my voice (for recording with my husband!)

5) If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn? (two more sentences, max)

• Mother Theresa (yes, I know she’s not alive!) I can only imagine that she was able to touch people’s lives in the most profound way. It would have been amazing to walk alongside her and see what she saw (with her compassionate eyes)

6) What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?

• A. Quiet, patient, giving

7) Now list three more words you wish described you…

• Currently with child

8) What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes– three sentences max)

• Loving my husband and son

• Creating and maintaining relationships that demonstrate Christ’s love

• Helping and loving those that seem “unlovable”

9) Write–and answer–one more question that YOU would ask someone (with answer in three sentences max)

• When someone is pondering a decision or direction, I might ask: What does God say in His word and through His spirit?

• Usually the answer is : “uh…let me get back to you on that one”

Alrighty…that wasn’t painful at all! It was actually very introspective. I haven’t thought of the answers to those types of questions in quite a while.

So, now, it’s your turn…

Go ahead, give it a whirl!

I tag:

Trish

Practicing His Presence

Amy

Monnie

Flutemom

or anyone else that is reading this and wants to play!

If you don’t have your own blog, you can answer the questions in the comments section.

Amy, since you are using your husband’s URL, maybe he’ll let you write a post on there. I’m just saying…

Over at Smulo Space, John Smulo wrote an interesting post entitled Lost and Found, in which he asked for input on the following:

I’d appreciate hearing some of your thoughts on this subject. When it comes to discerning God’s direction in your life, which of the following describes your thoughts best?

1. I wait till God shows me a sign.
2. I believe God has given me a brain. I use it.
3. I wait till I have a sense of God’s peace about something.
4. I talk to those who know me best and then follow their guidance.
5. I knock on “doors” and wait to see what opens.
6. I think through the spiritual gifts and natural abilities God has given me, and feel free to do anything consistent with this.
7. A combination of the above, including numbers…..
8. Other

There has been some great discussion there and others have offered input on which number or numbers best fits their thoughts on God’s direction for their lives.
This question really motivated me to think about what I would answer and I came to the conclusion that my answer wouldn’t fit very neatly into one of the categories listed:

Great questions, John and an interesting subject. I may sound really simplistic, but I think the point is to have an ongoing, moment by moment relationship with God. In doing so, you know His voice and He will speak to you in what direction to go. I’m not saying that I always live there, but shouldn’t that be the goal…to have a sincere relationship with God?
Thanks for this post!

As I said earlier, some really great discussion ensued and as I was making another comment, I realized that it was becoming way too long and was better written as a post for this blog.
The question was raised that maybe situations that arise do not fall so neatly into the category I’ve presented. Hebrews 11, 1 Corinthians 13 and the book of Job were used as situations where God did not speak clearly to people of great faith. I’d like to talk about each of those examples:

“All of these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” Hebrews 11:13

In my understanding of this passage, the focus is on the faith that they exhibited. By faith, they knew the direction to go in their lives because of God’s promises to them. They may have questioned the legitimacy of the experiences they were going through, but by faith they knew what to do.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1

In 1 Corinthians 13, it is stated:

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears” 1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Will there be times where we don’t fully have the knowledge required? I believe the answer is yes. Do we have all that we need in that moment as God reveals it to us? I believe the answer is also yes. I believe that sometimes we tend to think that we need the entire answer to a question or situation. I know that I have attempted to gain answers in that way in my life. But I have come to realize that God has given us all that we need for that moment…whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. The bottom line is that the end result can be attributed to what we choose to believe and follow according to the will of God.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t fully understand the book of Job. Job was characterized as a great man of God and suffered unimaginable things during the span of his life. But I believe the bottom line of the story of Job is that God was speaking to Job the entire time, and his desires came to pass after he saw God and submitted before Him. In the end, everything was restored to Job, his health and his wealth… and his family grew. I believe this reveals the character of God, one that desires to reveal truth to His children, not one that is in the business of hiding revelation or gifts from his children. In the New Testament, James writes about Job’s affliction:

“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” James 5:11

This is the only reference I could find to Job in the NT, which indicates the importance of focusing on the reality of God’s provision and guidance in our lives, not necessarily what he didn’t receive.

So, to anyone that reads this blog, I leave it open for dialogue. What are your thoughts on following God’s direction in your life?

(I sincerely hope that I have represented the thoughts of others accurately and if not, I am open to correction.)

Be very blessed today!