Day 363 JJ and SDG

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the letters “JJ” at the beginning of his scores and the letters “SDG” at the end. What did they mean?

JJ stood for the Latin Jesu Juva, which means “Help o Jesus.” So, at the beginning of creating his music, Bach was requesting divine help. SDG stood for the Latin Soli Deo Gloria, which means, “To God alone glory.” At the end of creating his music, Bach acknowledged and gave thanks to God.

Bach was an extremely gifted composer but even with his great talents, he had the habit of asking for Jesus’ help as he began his work and then gave thanks to God when he was finished. That's being really intentional about including God in all you do.

I think it would have been easy for a person with Bach’s giftedness to take God’s role in their work for granted—to begin to rely on himself and think that it was all on him in a job well done. If a person of Bach’s talent and giftedness made it a habit to ask for God’s help and to give God thanks, how much more should we do the same?

In the end, it's to our benefit to be reminded that we are dependent upon the Lord for everything. We really do need His help! We also benefit from giving thanks to God. It gives us needed perspective to understand that all we accomplish is from God’s gracious hand.

You started this year saying "Help o Jesus" and worked it through each day depending on him for effectiveness and safety. Your work in PNM was a masterpiece, music to God's ears. Take some time in the coming weeks to thank him for your learning and experiences this year, and listening for his leading in the coming challenges.

"To God alone glory!"

Day 359 I'm trying to...

 

THREE MORE DAYS!

 

Day 358 I have a Dream...

...Let us continue to strive to make justice a reality for all. - MLK

Day 357 Bulking Up

Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

You know that for muscles to get stronger, they first have to be weakened. The muscle fibers tear down and then build themselves back up in order to be stronger than they were before. Our spiritual lives often work the same way--to get stronger we must first get weaker.

The verse above encourages believers to not be discouraged by the setbacks of struggles and trouble. James says that difficulties will come “when you face trials.” He said when, not if. We don't have to smile our way through our struggles (that would be weird), James does challenge us to look at them as an opportunity for joy and growth. James is showing how God uses trials to help us build emotional and spiritual muscles in our lives: The experiences that bring distress and trial often make us stronger in the long run.

 We can turn struggle into times of reflection and learning, allowing them to teach us. It's through  struggle that we mature in our faith and are able to show our true colors. What we see as times of trial and challenge, God uses to help us develop character and the fruit of the Spirit.

Building godly character isn't usually easy, in fact, it usually involves struggle. It's just part of the Christian journey. But we have the promise and hope that Jesus walks with us the whole time. He doesn't leave us on our own to handle things by ourselves. He is walking with us, guiding us, strengthening us, and helping us build character and perseverance so we can stay strong.

Day 356 The Secret to Success is....

Day 355 Finding God in the Transition

Have I missed God in times of transition in my life? Probably. Okay, definitely.

One thing is sure about transitions, they don't let you stay in the same place. You can fight it all you want, but it will let you know, "I am here," and until you transition to the expected state you're, well, miserable.

Throughout Jesus' ministry, transitioning people from one state to another was his goal, whether it's in thought, deed, health, or words. But more often than not, people missed His transitions.

Jesus tells the rich young ruler, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." The rich young ruler's response? "...he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property."

He missed Jesus’ transition because he focused on his property instead of what Jesus was offering.


How we miss God in the transition?

• The Picture is not clear. Most of the time when we approach God, we want Him to give us a clear picture of what our lives should be. (Before I relocate, I need to know where I will work, how much I will make, and what my house will look like, etc.) There is nothing wrong with this expectation--except that God tells us to "Go to a land I will show you," and not a land I have shown you. "Follow me and I will make you fishers or men," not follow me because I have made you fishers of men. The picture becomes clearer as we follow.

• The Assignment is too daunting. It's interesting how the Bible describes the rich young ruler. He is first rich, he is then young, and he rules. To transition him, Jesus reaches to the very core of who he is: give it all up. Yes, he could have given it up, but would he have risked being poor and not rule at the expense of his reputation? The assignment to do such a thing was too daunting, so he settled when he was supposed to transition.

• The Timing is not right. Samuel Chand said, "When you are 100% sure, you are too late." We often approach life with an attitude of "it needs to feel right" before we can make that change. But is there a situation in our lives or in the Bible where the timing felt 100% right? It says, In His time, He makes all things beautiful--not our time. When people who wanted to follow Jesus needed more time to finish off their personal business, Jesus said that "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Do we miss God in our transitions because of lack of trust, lack of faith, or fear of the unknown? It's really not worth it to miss God in His transitions of our lives because of our own insecurities towards Him, not so much the situation. It's worth the risk to go for it with God and not be afraid of the transitions because God's transitions always leads to transformation.

Believe Him when He says, "I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plan to give you a hope and an expected end. " (Jeremiah 29:11)
 
 Look for God in the transition from a year in New Mexico. He's there, ready to lead you in to greater faith and ministry. Love, Mom

Day 354 TEN MORE DAYS!!! :)

Did you know that Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts says that after the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was captured and indicted for treason? Northerners wanted Davis to be executed, but one group petitioned for his release: former slaves from Davis’ cotton plantation! After a two-year imprisonment, Davis was freed and avoided a trial.

What a great example of grace and mercy on the part of Davis's former slaves. If we're looking at definitions, grace is receiving something beneficial that we don’t deserve, and mercy is not receiving negative consequence for what we do deserve. The freed slaves demonstrated the same kind of grace and mercy that God gives to us through Jesus--and the same that we we extend to others.

As Christians, we talk a lot about mercy and grace, but we show whether or not we really understand mercy and grace through our lives. When we extend God's mercy and grace, we forgive as he has forgiven us--and I can testify that's better and healthier for everyone!

Day 352 The Untouchables

One reason that religion is so dangerous and often so delusional is that if it does not transform people both in mind and at heart, it ends up giving self-centered people a very pious and untouchable way to be on top and in control. God becomes their defense system for their small self! Even Jesus found this to be true of his own scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the law.
                                                                                  -Richard Rohr

Day 351 Un-gifting

The poor have a treasure to offer precisely because they cannot gift us in return. By not paying us for what we have done for them, they call us to inner freedom, selflessness, generosity, and true care. 

Jesus says, "When you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you--and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again." Luke 14:13-14

The repayment in helping those who are poor, or sick, or lame--or in prison--is spiritual. It is the joy, peace, and love of God that we so much desire. This is what the poor give us, not only in the afterlife but already here and now.

Day 350 Find Me

Find Me in the midst of the maelstrom. Sometimes events whirl around you so quickly that they become a blur. Whisper My Name in recognition that I am still with you. Without skipping a beat in the activities that occupy you, you find strength and Peace through praying My Name. Later, when the happenings have run their course, you can talk with Me more fully.

Accept each day just as it comes to you. Don't waste your time and energy wishing for a different set of circumstances. Instead, trust Me enough to yield to My design and purposes. Remember that nothing can separate you from My loving Presence; you are Mine.

                                                                       - Jesus Calling

Day 349 Irresistible

How little people know who think that holiness is dull... When one meets the real thing, it’s irresistible!” - C.S. Lewis

Day 348 On a CS Lewis Run....

To have faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says.

There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him.

But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already.

Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you. 

                                                                                            Mere Christianity

Day 347 Pursehead

After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again.

                                                     -  CS Lewis

Day 346 imago dei

We human beings are a mystery to ourselves. We are rational and irrational, civilized and savage, capable of deep friendship and murderous hostility, free and in bondage, the pinnacle of creation and its greatest danger. We are Rembrandt and Hitler, Mozart and Stalin, Antigone and Lady Macbeth, Ruth and Jezebel. “What a work of art,” Shakespeare says of humanity. “We are dangerous,” says Arthur Miller in After the Fall. “We meet … not in some garden of wax fruit and painted leaves that lies East of Eden, but after, after the Fall, after many, many deaths.”

The Bible and Christian theology give expression to this mystery of the dignity and the danger of human beings in three related affirmations: we are created in the image of God; we are sinners who deny and distort our created being; and we are forgiven sinners, enabled by God’s grace to begin life anew in faith, to serve as Christ’s disciples in love, and to move in hope toward the promised fulfillment of life in the coming reign of God.
                                                                             -  Daniel Migliore

Day 345 Tear....

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

A surgeon wrote this story about an experience that changed his life.

I'm standing by the bed where a young woman lies after I finished operating on her face. Her mouth is twisted in palsy and clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be like this from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry-mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks. "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut." She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says. "It is kind of cute." All at once I know who he is. I understand, and lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a great man. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.

This husband was a great man. In the midst of what could have been a horrible experience for all, he rose above his shock: He accommodated his life and kiss to set his wife at ease.

As a Christian we are called to adjust our lives to serve our fellow human family. What is God calling you to do with your life? Are you willing to follow His call? Are you willing to make some adjustments to your lifestyle if necessary?

Day 344 Why

Sometimes I have a day when I ask God why. Then I get reminded that in our walk with Jesus, it's not about explaining the mysteries of life, it is about resting in the truth. The truth is this: We have a God who loves us so much he sent His Son to die for us. We live in a world that is plagued with problems and struggles that we aren't immune to and can't explain. In the hard times, we can cry out to our heavenly Father for comfort. He is with us, walking with us, carrying us through all of life’s struggles.

So we have a choice. Do we dwell on struggling to find the answers to the Why? Sometimes, yes we do, especially when we hurt. But we can eventually look to our Maker and place our trust in Him. We can't understand what God has prepared for us in this life or for eternity. Until then, He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and to be the great Comforter. So when we cry out Why, only He can quiet our souls. In Him we can find comfort, peace, and rest, even when we can’t find explanations.

 God doesn't want us to get caught up in trying to explain the mystery, but to focus on Him. We are called to look toward Him and know that He is with us and we cannot even imagine His purposes or His plan. Trusting in God doesn't mean we abandon our emotions and feelings; focusing on Him, reminds us that He is with us and we never go through our struggles alone.

Day 343 What God Says

Drama is choosing to react like a victim to the weaknesses of others or a particular situation.

Stand firm, and make a choice to not get tangled in the bondage of victimhood.You are free. You have been liberated. Do not believe the false assumptions of victimhood: believe what God says.

 

 

Day 342 Courage

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
                                                    - Alan Kohen

Day 341 Develop your Strengths

A school for animals included classes in swimming, climbing, flying and running. All the animals were required to take all of the classes. The duck was good in swimming and he was pretty fair in flying, but he was terrible in running. As a result, the duck was forced to drop his swimming class and stay after school so he could practice his running. He kept this up until he was only average in swimming but average was okay and that was acceptable and the others were no longer threatened by his swimming abilities. Everyone felt more comfortable, except the duck.

The eagle was somewhat of a problem student from the very beginning. In climbing, the eagle beat everyone to the top of the tree but did it in her own way. She flatly refused to climb the tree and had to be severely disciplined. She was so uncooperative in swimming classes that she finally had to be kicked out of the class.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but was obviously not up to speed in other areas. In fact, the rabbit almost broke its leg trying to fly by using its ears as wings. The rabbit had so much make-up work to do in swimming that it had a nervous breakdown and had to drop out.

Sadly, the turtle was a failure in almost everything. The turtle’s shell was considered to be the primary cause of this dismal performance, so it was removed. This helped the turtle’s running a bit, but unfortunately, it became the first casualty of the school when stepped on by the horse. By the end of the school year, there were no real successes. It seemed that all the animals were either average, sick, or dead.

God has given each one of us certain gifts and abilities, certain strengths and weaknesses. The question becomes which do we focus our efforts on, fixing our weaknesses or developing our strengths? Without doubt, there are some life skills that are important to become competent in – and if we find we are weak in those skills – we should make an effort to improve. Yet, as the parable teaches us – if we primarily focus on fixing our weaknesses – we may end up wasting the strengths God has given us to be used for His glory!

Today, I challenge you to spend some time working to develop your strengths! God has creatively designed you with those strengths. Thank God for them and use them!

Day 340 Quiet Strength

“With our whole heart, soul, mind, strength and fortitude; with our whole understanding, powers, effort, affection, and feeling; with every desire and wish, let us love the Lord our God who gives each of us our body, our soul, our life; who creates, redeems, and saves us by mercy alone; who does all good for us, the miserable and ungrateful. Let us desire nothing else, want nothing else, delight in nothing else, except our Creator, Redeemer and Savior who alone is good; who alone is holy. Let nothing hinder, separate, or come between us.”
                                                                             —St. Francis of Assisi

 Noise fill our lives. Radios or CDs blare. Televisions are on. iPods and other personal media players fill our ears. A quiet moment can be hard to come by. It seems like moments of silence and peace are near extinction sometimes, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that God wants to speak to you.

Quiet your heart in order to learn how to listen to God’s voice. Discovering ways to nurture the practice of silence in our lives is part of the necessary journey into really living as a Christ-follower. Finding quiet for even a moment or two gives us an opportunity to train our hearts, ears, and lives to hear a far sweeter voice. Silence teaches us to listen to the songs of God. The Holy Spirit sings a melody of transformation not condemnation. The Spirit sings a melody that speaks the words of eternal life to the seeking heart.

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it.”
                                                                        —A.W. Tozer

Day 339 Wreckless

The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18

Despite the amount of times I use it, it doesn’t take intelligence to be critical.

Words are always powerful and when words hurt, they hurt deeply. This verse says that using reckless words is like stabbing another person with a sword. Think about how to set good verbal and personal boundaries without being reckless.

Day 338 Red Dot vs Chaos

A great thing about walking into any Target store is that they all look the same. The aisles, the checkout stands, the greeting cards, home goods, and electronics departments all have a familiar look and set-up to them. It makes it really easy to navigate. They're consistent so you always know what to expect.

While sometimes I like to spice things up, I also appreciate it when some things basically stay the same. No matter where I travel in the US, all stop signs are red hexagons. So, even if I am coming from the other direction and can't see the word “stop,” I still know what's expected of the other driver coming my way. Anyone who drives knows the difference between a double yellow line and a dashed line. The common rules of the road help us drive safely.

You know that the roads in other countries are basically "everyone for yourself!" Lines don’t matter and there is no guarantee that even if you have a green light someone won’t come through the opposite red. It's chaos.

In our lives, there is one thing we can always rely on that will never change: the Word of God. There might be different versions, but all words point back to the same meaning. We can rely fully on a never-changing God. When things get crazy and unpredictable, when doubt starts to creep in, when we disagree, God’s Word is unchanging, and we can rely on it for truth and direction.

Hang on to God's Word and His promises--they stand forever.

Day 335 Run!

Day 334 Four Grizzly Bears

What are the Grizzly Bears in your life?

A friend was in northern wilderness of British Columbia hunting elk. He and his hunting buddy were positioned on a hill over looking hundreds of acres of range.

Suddenly in the distance they spotted four adult grizzly bears charging down a ridge toward them. Fear gripped their hearts. There was no point in running; there was no place to hide or to find safety.

The only hope was to stand their ground and do all they could hoping the bears would never reach them. They knew, even with high powered rifles the odds of dispatching four adult grizzlies was slim.

In the seconds it took to form a plan the bears disappeared into thicket just below them. They only had about a 20 meter window from the thicket to their position. The plan was to make as much noise, yelling and screaming to hopefully spook the bears. In the minutes that followed they could smell the stench of the bears.

After exhausting their vocal cords and every ounce of adrenaline they stopped and waited… The bears never came. They must have entered the thicket and proceeded down the creek bed to the valley below. My friend understood in a new way the dangers of the wilderness!

When I heard this story it occurred to me, “What are the Grizzlies in my life?” What are the deadly beasts I hope never reach me? What are the things that would destroy my life?

The list included some of the big destroyers: adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions. There are some more subtle ones like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy.

What are yours? The real question is what am I doing to make sure they never reach me?
 
There are many things to do, here is a few. First, identify the Grizzlies. They will be different or each person.
Second, don’t put yourself in harms way. People that play with fire get burned. Are your activities pushing you toward danger?
Third, draw on God’s wisdom by spending time in reading the Bible.
Forth, realize there is a real spiritual battle. 

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Bust resist him firm in your faith…the God of all grace… will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
I Peter 5:6-10

                                                              -- By John Woodward

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Day 333 Still Learning to Talk at 55

How to talk to your daughter about her body, Step One: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight.

If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that.
Here are some things you can say instead:
“You look so healthy!” is a great one.
Or how about, “You’re looking so strong.”
“I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.”
Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.
Don’t comment on other women’s bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness toward herself.

Don’t you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don’t go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don’t say “I’m not eating carbs right now.” Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes.

Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with!

Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move their furniture.
Teach your daughter how to cook kale.
Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.
Pass on your own mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size-zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world if she wants.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her beautiful body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.

Reminding, and sometimes telling you for the first time, Mom <3

Day 331 Facing Life

"Do you know why books are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You’d find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion.

"The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more ‘literary’ you are. That’s my definition anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.

"So now you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only the faces of the full moon, wax, faces without pores, hairless, expressionless."
                                                                     -- Professor Faber, Fahrenheit 451