Sadness and Joy

Roger's Grandmother died today. We have mixed feelings about it all. She has been doing very poorly for the past couple of years - living in a nursing home with alzheimers. She was almost 93 and more than ready for life here on earth to be over. It is a relief that she is free, but still sad for those of us still here.

Our only concern is that we don't know her relationship with Jesus. It really isn't our business, but we alway hope that she is now in Heaven with our Lord. Eli is happy that she is walking on streets of Gold. Won't that be amazing!

If you think about it, say a quick prayer as our family gathers and mourns. She was the center of so much and now she is gone.

Blessings

Martha and Mary Book Study - Day 6

Chapter 6 – Kitchen Service

Ecclesiastes 9:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”

I found this chapter to be the total opposite of the last chapter. This one reminds me that Jesus spent his entire ministry life helping people all the time. He loved people and showed compassion – even when He was tired. I know that I can’t say that I do that.

This is the balancing act that I struggle to follow and maybe this book will make it clearer. We are to find our strength and direction in the Living Room and still serve. Hmm?

I think that Weaver clears it up a little on page 85

“As we ‘abide’ in the intimate relationship with Christ. . . something incredible happens. We begin loving as we never loved before. . . We begin producing fruit. . . Fruit in our lives that tells the world who we are and what our God is like”

Ultimately, it seems that if we are connected to Christ and get to know Him in the way He wants us to, we won’t be able to keep from loving and serving people. Why? Because we will serve for the same reason He did, because we love them.

I am hoping that the next chapter will help to explain how we can find the balance between serving – even out of lover- and not staying connected to Him.

Dear Lord – so much to learn. Teach me to serve out of lover. That I will abide in you and produce fruit. Amen.

Almost done

I almost have Chapter 6 in the Mary book done - just busy with life here at home during Spring Break.

We have basically done a mini makeover for the kids rooms - mostly for the girl (I should have taken before and after pictures - maybe I will post after tomorrow!). She is going to have to live with her choices until she leaves for college in 3 1/2 years. Wow! That seems much closer than I think. I spent all day Monday removing the wallpaper border from both rooms. That was tons of fun and I am not putting any back up! I really don't want to live through that again.

Anyway, her room was full of blue things - sort of an ocean themed room. She decided on changing it to a bright pink and yellow. Two walls pink and two walls yellow. It actually turned out quite nice. I also discovered that I am about the slowest painter ever. My husband actually paint houses in the summer for extra stuff - and has been painting for about 20 years - truly! He painted all of the boys room in the time it took me to paint two walls. I guess that I helped because it was two walls he did not have to paint later.

We have now done our best on a shoestring budget to have more pink accessories. We made a trip to IKEA and came a way with a couple lamps - pink for the girl and blue for the boy.

He decided on a bold dark blue color for his room. He has his car posters up. You can definately tell the difference between the rooms now!

We are considering expanding her tiny closet. That is going to include taking out sheetrock and adding some walls. I think that is more of a summer project!

It was project week in the neighborhood as well. The neighbor next door and across the street painted rooms and even redid some flooring in a bathroom. We kept taking breaks to see the progress being made. So, overall a successful week off. I still have Friday too relax and maybe get to play the Wii?

Blessings

Martha and Mary Book Study - Day 5

Chapter 5 – Living Room Intimacy

Revelation 3:20

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

The last chapter was the cure to our busyness was to have intimacy with God. Weaver describes many people that have lived extreme lives to prove their spiritual devotion to God. This is what Weaver says on page 65-66.

“All we really need is Jesus. . . . The Father actually wants us close and is willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure it happens….We can spend so much of our lives getting ready to know God or backing away out of fear of displeasing God that we never get around to enjoying the Living Room Intimacy Jesus came to provide. . . . The way has been made. The price has been paid. All we need to do is come.”

That is what Jesus is asking Martha to do. He wants us to spend time with him because that is how you build relationships. I am not so good at that in real life, but I continue to find the time to pray and read the bible. I got better and this in college and have wavered back and forth since kids. Something to keep working on – building that relationship with Christ.

I really liked what she says on page 73

“The place Mary found at Jesus’ feet is the same place available to you and me. It’s a place where we can be comfortable, where we can kick off our shoes and let down our hair. It’s a place of transparency and vulnerability; a place where we are completely known yet completely loved. It is truly a place called home.”

This thought has been a comfort to me, yet a little scary. That someone who knows me the best loves me the most. Only a loving God could do such an amazing thing.

Dear Lord. Thank you for always accepting me. That you desire my company and will produce fruit in me by my abiding in you. Amen

Blessings.

Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 4

Chapter 4 – The Cure

Luke 10: 41-42

“You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed”

This chapter followed up the previous chapter in telling us the cure for my worry and distraction, which is ultimately finding that one thing that God wants you to do today and possible forever.

It reminded me of the movie “City Slickers” with Billy Crystal. The movie is about this guy that is in a rut in his job and family, nothing really excites him anymore. He ends up taking this western vacation with his guy friends – to “find his smile”. After some twists and turns in the movie, the rough cowboy says “ There is one thing that is important – what that is depends on you”. We each have to find our “one thing”. In the end he finds his smile and his desire to go on.

Weaver describes it like this on page 60.

“But service was never supposed to be our first priority. Work is not our first order of business – even working for the Lord. In fact, our own efforts are so far down the line when it comes to what God wants that they didn’t even register in Jesus’ conversation with Martha. . . . But regardless of our temperament , regardless of our emotional preference, we are all called to intimacy with God. The one thing Martha needed is the one thing that we need as well.”

So, this is like so many messages I have heard through church and listening to messages online. Even those serving in the church can lose focus and carry too much of a burden. God has called us to ultimately do one thing - sit at his feet and enjoy him. I can only do the "one thing" that God has gifted me with and called me to do. Sometimes I am not sure what that is, but I am learning to listen to that still small voice to here what today's "one thing" is.

Blessing today!

Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 3

Chapter 3- The Diagnosis

Luke 10:41
"Martha, Martha, " The Lord answered,
"you are worried and upset about many things"

This chapter is mainly about worry. Maybe it is the life I grew up with, but so much was out of my control that the only way I could stay sane was to live by my life verse Matt 6:34.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Jesus immediately sees past Martha's complaint and to the core of the problem. It wasn't really about her sister, but about her own worries above and beyond the dinner she was planning.

A couple of key points of the chapter on page 37 and 38

"When Jesus told us not to worry, he wasn't asking us to live in denial, a sugarcoated fairy tale. He wasn't telling us there's nothing to be concerned about. The truth is, we live surrounded by opportunities for fear, anxiety and worry.

Jesus knew this better than anybody.

So why did he tell us not to worry? Jesus knew that a life filled with fear has little room left for faith. And without faith, we can neither please God nor draw close to him for the comfort and guidance we need to face the cares and affairs of everyday life."

Weaver ends the chapter on page 46 with this challenge and statement.

"Come find love, Jesus invites us. Come find a love so perfect that it covers all your faults and pronounces you "not guilty." Come find a love that chases fear out the door! Come find everything you've ever longed for. Come find peace for your soul."

I say amen to this! Amen Jesus. Amen.

Blessings

Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 2

Chapter 2: “Lord, Don’t You Care?”

Luke 10:40

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to him and asked,
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!”

Weaver describes what she calls the “Three Deadly Ds of Destruction”

*Distraction
*Discouragement
*Doubt

These are the tools that Satan uses in this world to keep us from our relationship with God. Martha was distracted which led to discouragement and then doubt.

Here are a couple of paragraphs that hit home for me from pg 25-26

“Doubting God’s love doesn’t require tragedy. It can creep into the everyday just as insidiously, just as dangerously. It happens when our will is crossed, when our needs are ignored, or when we, like Martha, are stuck doing the dirty work while everyone else is having fun.

Now, such doubt in itself is not a sin. It’s simply a thought or feeling that springs up almost involuntarily. But when we let it lodge in our heart long enough, wedged tightly like a poppy seed between our teeth, that little doubt can become a big problem. For doubt, left unchecked, can fester into unbelief. And unbelief, my friend, is not only sin – it’s deep trouble. When we no longer believe in God’s goodness, when we no longer trust in his care, we end up running away from the very Love we need to live. “

This whole chapter for me was remembering once again who is in control of my life. It ultimately isn’t me. God made me. I belong to Him. All I need to do is trust that what He is doing in and around me is because He cares about me. That can be a challenge when prayers seemingly go unanswered or not in the way I think they should be answered.

Weaver ends the chapter by saying this on page 28-29

“The fact is, until we stop doubting God’s goodness, we can’t experience God’s love.

Martha spoke her secret fear aloud, and we can too. But, like Martha, we must stick around long enough to hear the sweet reassurance of his answer.

Don’t expect any explanations or apologies. After all, God is God. If righteous Job couldn’t force God to give an account for his actions, then we shouldn’t expect to always understand his mysterious ways.

But rest assured, God will answer. He longs to reveal his love to you. But you won’t find it by shaking your fist in his face. You won’t find it by barging into his presence and demanding to be treated fairly. You’ll find it by sitting at his feet and remembering who he is. “

So, when I am distracted, discouraged and doubtful, the best thing for me to do is not what the world would have me do. What I need to do is sit and talk with my God. My God who has my ultimate good in mind. I need to hear his reply and learn from him.

Dear Jesus: Help me today to sit at your feet and learn what is “better” for me. Help me to stop doubting your plan so that I can experience your love. Amen.

Blessings