Break Our Hearts

 

Break our hearts, O God, break our hearts,

Break our hearts, O God, break our hearts.

For the sin in our lives, break our hearts.

For the sin in our land, break our hearts.

We cry out, need your hand;

Come back to our land.

We confess: we've lived in sin.

Show your power once again.

 

(-Billy James Foote)

 

 

Are you paying attention to the news these days? Do you follow current events at all?  Or do you just go on about your life blissfully unaware of what's going on outside your little circle of family and friends?  The last scenario is unfortunately true for far too many people, I'm afraid. But unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware there’s a war going on in a faraway place called Ukraine.

 

I confess that it's more and more difficult for me to watch newscasts and read news reports these days.  I am more and more disillusioned and disgusted by what's going on in my country and around the world.  But is it not the wise thing to be aware of what's going on around us?  Else we might wake up one morning and find ourselves living in quite a different society than we thought.

 

Much like the frog in the frying pan. Or maybe it's a kettle. In any event, you've probably heard that story.  The boiling frog story is a story that describes a frog being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. I have no idea if that is accurate biologically, but it is perhaps a good metaphor for many in our society who are clueless as to what's going on, and will not realize how much our society has changed until it is too late.

It has never been my intent for this blog to be political. But I think these are issues which transcend politics. The world has become very small these days, and what affects them there can also have an effect on us here.

We're living in very troublesome times indeed.  History would be a great teacher for us, if we were willing to pay attention. But alas, "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." (George Santayana).

These days we aren't very interested in history, are we? We're more concerned with celebrity sightings and sports scores. But if we were to look to history, we might learn a thing or two. Certainly those who lived in Germany under Hitler....or in Cuba under Castro......or in the former Soviet Union (that one hits a little close to home, doesn’t it?).....might be able to teach us a thing or two. But unfortunately no one seems willing to listen. To learn from the past.  "That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history."  (Aldous Huxley)

Biblical history would teach us even more, if only we as a society were willing to learn.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."  (Proverbs 9:10 ESV)

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes."  (Proverbs 12:15a ESV)

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD."  (Psalm 33:12a ESV

We've come a long way from the nation our forefathers founded, a nation built on a foundation of God's word, on religious liberty, with a Constitution and Bill of Rights that protected our individual liberties.  Men and women gave their lives to protect these liberties, liberties most Americans seem to assume will be ours forever, but which are little by little being eroded away.

My heart breaks for my country and for our world. I am saddened and frustrated and angered by the selfishness I see in our political system. I am sickened by the greed and dishonesty I see in government and in society. I am heartbroken at what this country might be, if it survives, for my sons and my grandsons. And I am heartbroken and concerned for the people of Ukraine. And for how what is happening there might affect us here.

But as I think about all that is going on in the world, I really shouldn't be surprised, should I? After all, Scripture clearly says that "in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.  (2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV).

Now, as it has always been, the hope for our country.....for our world....is not politicians or governments.  The hope of the world is Jesus. So as I pray for our nation, for those in positions of authority, I pray that we might all turn our hearts more fully toward Him. I pray for the people of Ukraine. I pray that those in authority would make wise decisions. I pray for our own servicemen and women. 

And I pray that I might see the world as Jesus sees it. I pray that I might have a heart to love and serve others as He did. I pray that I might love Him more. Trust Him more. Be all that He desires me to be. And that, in being all He desires me to be, I might somehow make a difference.

As I pray all that, I pray as Daniel did....."How long?"  (Daniel 12:6 ESV).

 

O Lord Jesus, how long, how long
Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.

(- H. L. Turner)

 

Write It Down!

My mother was a list maker. And even though, as a child, I often rolled my eyes and made fun of her lists, I am a list maker, too.

Mother made lists on scrap pieces of paper and on the back of used envelopes. (Perhaps she was one of the original recyclers!) I remember that grocery lists were usually on those envelopes. But the list I remember most is the one in her purse, where there was always a very small spiral notebook filled with various lists.  That notebook had lists of things that needed to be purchased. A new spool of blue thread. Or a new lightbulb. New jeans for my brother. New handkerchiefs for my dad. All sorts of things like that.  

She also had lists of things she needed to remember to do.And she kept an ongoing Christmas gift list, scratching things off as they were purchased.

Even though I ridiculed those lists when I was younger, I now find them to be a necessary part of my life.

Certainly one reason for all my lists is that they help me remember. Perhaps it's a consequence of the busyness of life, or perhaps it's a function of getting older, and certainly it’s a consequence of my stroke, but I find it helpful to write things down so I don't forget.  

Life can get very busy. There's laundry to be done. A quick glance at the calendar shows a week full of appointments. There are phone calls that need to be made and bills to be paid. There are lessons to prepare. Always something that needs to be done.

Without my lists, I would surely forget something!

Lists help me remember.

Lists keep me organized.

Book stores are filled with books about the habits of successful people, and about time management, and about organization, and about priorities. The common thread in these books is list-making. If you were to read all these books (an impossible task), you would discover that, in some way, each of them would recommend making a list of your daily tasks. Further, once the list is made, the items on the list need to be prioritized.

That's true for the chief executive and for the secretary and for the homemaker and for the college student and for every other area of life. Making a list helps us stay organized. It helps us prioritize what needs doing, so that the most important things get done first.

We make lists to remember.  

We make lists to prioritize.  

And we make lists to help us focus.

This is particularly true when it comes to our prayer life. Because we are so busy, and because there are so many needs about which we need to be praying, it's easy to be overwhelmed and lose focus. Keeping a written prayer list is a way to overcome the distractions. It's a way to help us remember.

Life is busy. I am often distracted and forgetful and disorganized. My lists help me to stay on task. 

That's true in my household responsibilities. It is even more true in my prayer life.

Writing things down helps me focus.

And writing helps me remember. 

Just as there is satisfaction in checking of a completed task on the to-do list, there is joy and satisfaction in reading back over the answers to prayer. And that’s why I write it down. To remember.

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."  (Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV, emphasis mine)

Under Construction

It's almost impossible to take a road trip these days without encountering some road construction. Those orange barrels can be found nearly everywhere. On interstate highways. On country roads. In the center of town. We made a quick trip down to Columbia yesterday for lunch with my brother and SIL, and I lost track of the number of barrels and barricades. Orange barrels and traffic barricades are just a fact of life out on the highways and byways.

Construction is a fact of life.  And not only on the roads.

Every time I saw one of those orange barrels, I found myself remembering a kids' song from a few years back. Maybe you know it, too.

Kids under construction -  
Maybe the paint is still wet.  
Kids under construction -  
The Lord may not be finished yet.  

(Bill Gaither/Gary Paxton)

 

 

It's a fun song with a catchy tune, but it also contains a profound truth. The point of the song is that kids are just kids, still works in progress, and we should perhaps be a bit more patient with them when they mess up or when they make a bad decision. After all, they are still "under construction". We don't yet see the finished product when we look at a child.

 

But it is also true that all of us are still "under construction", for as long as we are in this life. We never reach the point where we have "arrived". We may gain great knowledge or skill in any number of subjects, but none of us will ever arrive at the point in this life where there is nothing left to learn and no room left for mental or spiritual growth. As long as we live, as long as we have breath, there's room for improvement. We are still "under construction".

 

And so we press on. Until the Lord is finished with us and in us and through us here. Until the day we are called home. 

 

Until then, we are still "under construction."

 

My heart can sing when I pause to remember

A heartache here is but a stepping stone

Along a path that's winding always upward;

This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then my heart will go on singing;

Until then with joy I'll carry on.

Until the day my eyes behold my Saviour;

Until the day God calls me home.

(words and music by Stuart Hamblen)



Navigating the Ocean of Information

 

"What a culture we live in. We are swimming in an ocean of information, and drowning in ignorance."

That is a powerful statement, isn't it? While I can't remember where I first came across that quote, it is absolutely true. We are bombarded daily with more information than we know what to do with.  There's social media.  And the twenty-four hour news cycle.  The phone beeps and buzzes and dings.  Tweets are flying back and forth.  Politicians never stop talking.  It goes on and on and on.

Yet even with all this information, are we any more knowledgeable?  How do we sort through all this information to know what is truth and what isn't?

The reality is that in spite of all the tweeting and the talking, everything we read or see or hear is not truth.  The one who talks the most or talks the loudest is not necessarily the one we should be listening to.

Albert Einstein is credited with having said, "What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular."

In our media-driven world, that's an important truth to remember.  As we are bombarded with information daily, much of it misinformation, how do we know who or what to pay attention to? How do we filter through all the information that comes our way? How do we prevent ourselves from drowning in ignorance?

The answer is discernment, defined as the ability to judge well.  Discernment is our "filter"; it is the ability to sift through all the information that comes our way and find the truth.  

The Bible has something to say on this subject.  Consider these examples:

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of  God.  For the Lord gives wisdom."  (Proverbs 2:2-6a NASB)

"Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments."  (Psalms 119:66 NASB)

If we are to stay afloat in this ocean of information that surrounds us, we must learn to discern truth from error.  We must think carefully about what we see and hear, and not be swayed by the voices of media and celebrity that would distract us.

If we are to discern truth from error, we must have the wisdom that only God can give.  

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."  (James 1:5-6 NASB)

We are bombarded with information daily. But whether the information is from politicians or from the media or from celebrities or from our friends, we need our senses fine-tuned to discern truth from error.  That kind of fine-tuning can only come from the Author of all truth.  We need His wisdom to navigate this ocean of information.  We need His wisdom to discern what is right and what is wrong.  We need His wisdom to know what to believe and what to ignore.

God has promised to give us that kind of wisdom when we ask Him.  Then, and only then, are we able to safely navigate the ocean of information that surrounds us.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ."  (Philippians 1:9-10 NASB, emphasis mine)

Practice Makes Perfect

You may have heard that phrase somewhere along the way.....practice makes perfect. Maybe from a piano teacher or a coach. Maybe from your parents. I'm quite certain that in my years as a piano teacher, I said it myself. Always with a smile on my face, I'm sure, as I uttered that mantra....practice makes perfect.....at the same time as I gave instruction to do it again.

Over the years I have come to believe that phrase is not entirely accurate. Practice doesn't make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. After all, if you continually practice something, whether a piano scale or a multiplication table or an athletic technique, incorrectly, the end result is that you have learned the wrong thing! 

It is perhaps more accurate to say that practice makes progress. For example, correctly practicing good eating habits will lead you to better health or to weight loss or to whatever your particular goal might be. Correctly practicing a musical instrument or a baseball or soccer kicks will lead to improvement in those areas. Regularly practicing spiritual disciplines of church attendance, Bible study, and prayer will lead to growth in those areas. Practice in each of these areas helps you progress toward a desired goal.

But what really is the point of practice anyway? Of those endless repetitions? Practice serves more than just filling time. Some might say that practice is done in order to get it right, whatever the "it" might be, whether in music or in math or in athletics or in any other endeavor. And I suppose that is true. But I think practice is more than that. The point is not that we always get it right.  It's so that we never get it wrong.

Let's apply that point to multiplication tables as an example. If you drill repeatedly (practice) on your 9 times table, for example, you will learn that 9x7=63. Once you have practiced that enough, you will always know that 9x7=63. Further, you will never think that 9x7=72, or any other number. Always and only 63. You won't have to stop and try to figure it out. Or count it out on your fingers. Or question whether or not it is true. If you have practiced enough, if you have learned this fact well, then you will always instinctively know it. You will always get it right.  

The same principle applies to musical scales or football plays or how to hold a baseball bat. Perfect practice makes perfect. But imperfect practice (practicing the wrong numbers or the wrong technique repeatedly) will lead to an incorrect result every time. However, when you correctly  practice repeatedly, you will always get the desired result because you are so well trained that you can't do it any other way.

Apply this principle to the spiritual realm. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to "charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith......by [this] some have made shipwreck of their faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-4, 19 ESV).

How do we hold to sound doctrine? How do we practice our doctrine in such a way as not to "make shipwreck of our faith"? Might I suggest that the place to begin is in the Word of God itself. In learning what God has to say rather than relying solely on what others say about Him. In reading the Word of God rather than relying on books about the Word of God.

In order to hold to sound doctrine, we must immerse ourselves in the Word of God. We must read it regularly and repeatedly. Not just once in a while. Not just once in a lifetime. But over and over. We must practice this spiritual discipline. It must become so ingrained in us that we will know with certainty when something we hear is contrary to the Word. So that our senses are finely tuned to what God has to say. So that we know it well. So that we can't get it wrong!

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."  (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)

Seasons

 

We've had some really interesting weather lately. It seems we have experienced nearly all the seasons since last weekend! Last Saturday our temperatures were in the 70s and we were ready to get out spring clothes and start thinking about summer. Then Sunday brought us a damp, cold, gloomy day. Since then, we have alternated between balmy sunshine with spring temperatures and bouts of cold, wind, and rain. Today is one of the “partly” days. Partly sunny or partly cloudy, depending on your point of view. Not cold, but not exactly warm either.

Seasons change. They come and go. Much like this photo, taken when we lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina. It’s a beautiful winter scene, but winter never lasts year round. Things change. It’s a part of life, and not only in a weather sense.

Consider the young man who was a star on his high school football team. Perhaps he went on to play college football. But now, some twenty or more years later, he just can't compete at the same level. He still loves the game, but his body won't cooperate any more. He's in a different season.

Perhaps as a child or adolescent or young adult, you were one of those people who could eat anything and everything, yet not gain an ounce. I was never one of those people! But even people who had that kind of metabolism when they were younger often find themselves in middle age with a "middle-age spread". It's a different season of life, and the body just doesn't respond as it once did.

Once upon a time I had a dress that I loved. To this day I still remember and love that dress, even though it's been more than twenty years since it was hanging in my closet. It had all my favorite colors in one dress, and I loved wearing it. Until I gained too much weight and it no longer fit. But I kept that dress. I kept hoping it would fit again. Eventually I realized that wasn't going to happen, and the dress found a new home in the bag of other no-longer-for-this-season items that were going to Goodwill. No matter how much I loved that dress, its season had come and gone.

Life is filled with seasons. Seasons for athletics. Or food. Or certain clothing. Seasons related to age. Infant to toddler to adolescent to teen. Young adult, then parent, then grandparent. The cycle of seasons takes you from young adult to becoming a parent, and the infant-toddler-adolescent-teen season progresses to your infant growing up and eventually becoming the parent of an infant, and on and on and on it goes.

These seasons of life involve growth and change. Physically. Mentally. And spiritually, as well.

Have you ever stopped to think about the seasons of your life? Not so much the seasons of physical life, although we can't really avoid thinking about that when we look in the mirror each day. The marks of our maturing are evident on our faces.

Spiritual maturity may not be quite so evident. But it is just as important. Perhaps more so. We don't want to stay in the same season forever, but rather our desire should be to continue moving forward, progressing on to ever increasing maturity in our spiritual lives.

If we give birth to a child who always remains a child, who always drinks milk from a bottle, who never learns to feed himself, then we realize there is a problem. And the same is true in the spiritual sense.  

An infant who remains an infant is not healthy. Neither is it healthy for us to remain infants in the spiritual sense. We need to move forward, from season to season, moving toward maturity.

Are you stuck in a season today?

One of the best ways to get unstuck is to spend time with the Lord. Talk to Him. Spend time in His Word. Ask Him to help you.

And He will.

"Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation."  (1 Peter 2:2 NASB)

The School Mistress. A Book Review.

 

“Had I known the ways in which Emerson Pass would test my character, I might not have had the mettle to step off the train that autumn day in 1910.” I was attracted to this book by its cover, but it was this opening sentence that drew me into Quinn Cooper’s story.

Quinn had left Boston to teach in a one-room school in Emerson Pass, Colorado. Following an accident on the way from the train station, Quinn finds herself unexpectedly in the home of her employer. She had wanted to make a good impression upon her arrival in town, “one of an independent, educated woman”, but here she was “in a library of an actual English Lord, looking like a complete fool as well as a damsel in distress.”

Meanwhile, her employer, Lord Barnes, had expected her to be ‘an old maid with a silver bun and a long nose with a wart.” And she certainly was not!

The School Mistress was a delightful read, fast-paced, and with interesting narrative. The characters are interesting and well-defined. In addition to Quinn Cooper and Lord Barnes, two of my favorite characters in lesser roles were Lizzie and Jasper.

Lizzie, Lord Barnes’ cook, was “a woman who wrapped you in a warm blanket, fed you with biscuits, and made all your secrets spill forth.” Jasper was the exact opposite, a British butler whose formality seemed a little out of place in early 20th century Colorado.

History, romance, and a murder form the backdrop for this book. There is whimsy, strong notes of faith and family, giving a clear view of what like was like in the yet-to-be-tamed West. This a heartwarming, if somewhat predictable, story with enough twists and turns to keep me engaged from beginning to end.

I give this one 4 stars.

Anticipation

We enjoyed some beautiful weather these last couple of days. Cold, but gloriously sunny. This morning, however, is another story. As I type, I can see the that gray gloom has returned. I’m hoping it doesn’t last all day. Which makes this a day for anticipation.

Anticipating the return of warmer weather. Anticipating sunshine. Anticipating Spring! 

As we look around our world, we often feel the weight of gloom. Politics, viruses, the threat of war, discontent, unemployment, inflation….the list could be quite lengthy. All these things could weigh heavily on us and lead to gloom and despair.

Just like the gloomy weather, these things can also be cause for anticipation. Anticipation of a better day coming. Because a better day is ahead. 

“This world is passing away…..” (1 John 2:17).

This world, with its stress and gloom, is not all there is. For those who belong to Christ, there is a far better day coming. Let’s focus our attention there. Let’s anticipate!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

The A List

There was a big football game on Sunday. Millions of people watched. I didn’t. In fact, as I said to one of my sons, it would be impossible for me to express how little I care about that particular game. Even so, the game was played. And while millions of people watched, there were thousands attending the game. And social media has alerted me to the fact that a number of those attending were celebrities. The so-called A List. 

I have an A List of a different sort. It has nothing to do with celebrities, but everything to do with priorities. Some time ago I compiled this A List of things I am praying for my sons and for their families.  These are my priorities for these dear ones who are so precious to me.

Their health is important to me, but it didn't make the list. Financial freedom is important, but not a priority. Many of the things the world might consider most important in life are not on this list.

I compiled this list with a different set of priorities than what the world might consider important. This list of mine is about the things I consider of most value in their lives.  

My A List, the list of things I consider most important as I pray for my children, is this:

• a passionate love for God and His Holy Word
• an awareness of God's grace
• to know the life and power of God's Word in a real and personal way
• to love others and treat them with kindness and respect
• to be reflections of God's glory
• to glorify God with their lives
• to follow hard after God

That's my A List.  What's on your list?

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  (Philippians 3:7-8 NASB)

A Valentine Love Story

For the last six weeks or so I have been on a blogging break. I didn't intend it that way. It just happened. But today - Valentine's Day - seems a good time to return to blogging with the annual retelling of my favorite love story.

Once upon a time a shy young woman was visiting a girlfriend she had met the previous summer when they both worked on the staff of a church camp. This young woman and the girlfriend made plans to attend the church "college and career" valentine party.  Also attending this party was a young man who had recently been discharged from the Air Force and had come back home.

I was that shy young woman, and the only thing I remember about that party was that young man. The young man is now my husband. I was told many months later that he went home that night and informed his dad he had met the woman he was going to marry. I confess it took me a little longer to come to that conclusion. Maybe a couple of weeks. It didn't take many weeks for me to realize this young man was my soulmate, the love of my life.

And now, more than 50 years later (we met in 1971), nothing has changed. Well, a few things have changed! We have grayer hair, and a few more pounds, and some wrinkles.....all those things that are part of the aging process. What has not changed is the absolute certainty that this man is one of the very best parts of my life! These days, when I think about Valentine's Day, I don't think about hearts and flowers and where we will go out to dinner, or even if we will. I think about that Valentine's Day in 1971, one of the most significant days in my life.

In an era when love is defined by Hallmark movies and ridiculous sitcoms where life's problems are easily resolved in less than 30 minutes, I am grateful to God that He knew exactly who would be best for me. I'm grateful beyond words that this one He placed in my life is so much more than I ever dreamed of!

Life hasn't always been easy. We have had to deal with some really hard stuff over the years. We've laughed together. We've cried together. We've prayed together. There has been some sickness and some health, some better and some worse. 

Yet through it all, life has been gloriously wonderful, and  I wouldn't want to do this journey called life with anyone else.