PRESSED
My mother taught me how to properly iron a shirt or blouse. (For those of you who are not familiar with an iron - it is a hand held implement with a heated flat steel base used to smooth clothes and linen!)
First, you iron both sides of the collar, then you iron and crease the sleeves and then you iron the rest of the garment. Impressed? Well, don't be - because even though I do know how to iron - ironing has fallen on hard times in my home. I must confess that I buy things that need the smallest amount of maintenance possible - and even pass on things I like because of the amount of time I would need to invest to keep them looking nice.
When I cannot escape ironing, I do several things. I look for hanging threads and cut them off; I square up the seams and make sure everything is matched; and sometimes, I even poke small snags back into the reverse side of the material.
Recently when I was ironing, I was thinking how important it is to iron items once in a while because when I do, I bring them back to their most perfect state. This thought led me to think about how God sometimes has to PRESS me to get me back to alignment with Him and His perfect plan for my life.
Let me hasten to say that nobody likes to be PRESSED! In Psalm 38:2, David complained about how he felt when he said, "Thy hand has pressed down on me." When I studied the context of this verse, I learned that Psalm 38 is a "penitential" psalm because it acknowledges the writer's sins which lie behind the troubles he is experiencing.
I do know that sometimes when I am PRESSED, it is because of my own foolish choices. There is a line from an old Scotch-Irish prayer that fits here. "Lord, grant that I may always be right, for Thou knowest I am hard to turn." Did I mention that my ancestors were the quarrelsome and obstinate Scotch-Irish?
And then, sometimes when I am PRESSED, it is because of the sins of others over which I have absolutely no control. Whatever the cause, however, the physical and emotional distress is the same.
To be PRESSED means to undergo the continuous physical force of pressure in order to be flattened or shaped. Yuck! I can tell you right now that this is NOT a good place to be... but evidently a necessary one.
I could certainly make a substantial list of pressures that would make you feel sorry for me right here and right now. But, the truth is that when I am PRESSED back to my foundation, I eventually must turn my focus back to God alone and let Him trim my hanging threads, square up my seams and poke my snags back where they belong. This is ultimately exactly where my Heavenly Father wants me to be - looking up and walking in humility!
I find that waiting for things to resolve is often so very difficult - and I know you do as well. Psalm 38:15 goes on to remind each of us that as we wait on God to do His work in us, we share the heart of David when he wrote, "But for You, O Lord, do I wait; it is You (and You alone), O Lord, my God, who will answer."
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
I've been thinking about apples...
APPLEOLOGY
Appleology is - the study of - and observations about - apples!
During our last Phoenix Seminary spring break, Darryl and I enjoyed some time in Watsonville, California. Watsonville is a gardener's paradise. One of our favorite places is a plant nursery which we visit as often as we can. While there, we discovered a photo collage in the gift shop capturing the same scene in a local apple orchard over the course of all four seasons. At the top of the collage someone had added the term - appleology!
We were so excited that we purchased the collage and then afterward tried to figure out where to put it! You see, we have loved apples for years, especially since Darryl taught through the book of Ecclesiastes and began shaping his own unique version of "appleology" theology!
My love of apples began early. Growing up in Iowa we had an abundance of apple trees. As a child I remember hearing about settlers who moved westward across America, carrying apple seedling trees with them. During the 1800's, a pioneer apple planter named John Chapman distributed apples seeds and sprouts to settlers and he became known as Johnny Appleseed! He left behind a tasty legacy for future generations.
Over the years our appleology theology has grown. Here are three of our favorite observations:
1) Life is like a conveyor belt of apples with one apple arriving every 24 hours - extract as much enjoyment as you can by taking the biggest bite possible!
You may not know that there are thousands of varieties of apples. You are probably familiar with some of best known varieties - Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, McIntosh, Rome Beauty, to name just a few. Their color ranges from various shades of red -to green - to yellow. Whatever the color, they are juicy and delicious!
2) You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.
The apple is a pome - that is, a fruit with a more fleshy outer layer, a paperlike core, and more than one seed. The seeds - usually five - are enclosed in the core. Each seed has the potential of producing a tree that may live as long as 100 years - similar to a long human lifespan - and each tree can produce thousands of apples.
3) Even bad apples - the kind that cause us to cringe - can be embraced because they make us better people!
Since humans enjoy apples, it follows that pests would, too. So, once in a while, you might find a wormlike larva called an apple maggot in your apple. That's because the female fruit fly lays its eggs under the skin of apples. The apple maggots which hatch from these eggs burrow through the flesh of the apple, leaving rusty streaks in it. YUCK! We all have had the experience of biting into a juicy, delicious apple and seeing the path of a worm - or worse - seeing half of a worm!
Not all apples are the same - some are sweet, some are sour, some have worms. It is my choice to seek to EXTRACT as much enjoyment as I can from each moment, to remember that my life can IMPACT future generations tremendously and to choose to EMBRACE adversity as much as the good times! The truth is - each apple is what it is - a simple but graphic reminder that I am dust and my days on earth are precious and few. APPLEOLOGY!
Appleology is - the study of - and observations about - apples!
During our last Phoenix Seminary spring break, Darryl and I enjoyed some time in Watsonville, California. Watsonville is a gardener's paradise. One of our favorite places is a plant nursery which we visit as often as we can. While there, we discovered a photo collage in the gift shop capturing the same scene in a local apple orchard over the course of all four seasons. At the top of the collage someone had added the term - appleology!
We were so excited that we purchased the collage and then afterward tried to figure out where to put it! You see, we have loved apples for years, especially since Darryl taught through the book of Ecclesiastes and began shaping his own unique version of "appleology" theology!
My love of apples began early. Growing up in Iowa we had an abundance of apple trees. As a child I remember hearing about settlers who moved westward across America, carrying apple seedling trees with them. During the 1800's, a pioneer apple planter named John Chapman distributed apples seeds and sprouts to settlers and he became known as Johnny Appleseed! He left behind a tasty legacy for future generations.
Over the years our appleology theology has grown. Here are three of our favorite observations:
1) Life is like a conveyor belt of apples with one apple arriving every 24 hours - extract as much enjoyment as you can by taking the biggest bite possible!
You may not know that there are thousands of varieties of apples. You are probably familiar with some of best known varieties - Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, McIntosh, Rome Beauty, to name just a few. Their color ranges from various shades of red -to green - to yellow. Whatever the color, they are juicy and delicious!
2) You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.
The apple is a pome - that is, a fruit with a more fleshy outer layer, a paperlike core, and more than one seed. The seeds - usually five - are enclosed in the core. Each seed has the potential of producing a tree that may live as long as 100 years - similar to a long human lifespan - and each tree can produce thousands of apples.
3) Even bad apples - the kind that cause us to cringe - can be embraced because they make us better people!
Since humans enjoy apples, it follows that pests would, too. So, once in a while, you might find a wormlike larva called an apple maggot in your apple. That's because the female fruit fly lays its eggs under the skin of apples. The apple maggots which hatch from these eggs burrow through the flesh of the apple, leaving rusty streaks in it. YUCK! We all have had the experience of biting into a juicy, delicious apple and seeing the path of a worm - or worse - seeing half of a worm!
Not all apples are the same - some are sweet, some are sour, some have worms. It is my choice to seek to EXTRACT as much enjoyment as I can from each moment, to remember that my life can IMPACT future generations tremendously and to choose to EMBRACE adversity as much as the good times! The truth is - each apple is what it is - a simple but graphic reminder that I am dust and my days on earth are precious and few. APPLEOLOGY!
Monday, May 30, 2011
I've been thinking about love...
Animated by Love
In John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, Jesus says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jesus transforms the original concept of loving - from loving your neighbor as yourself - to loving just as Jesus loves. This implies a kind of love where someone is even willing to lay down their life for another. Dramatic yes, but not often required from us today. However, what is required is a selfless focus on another person that requires dying to ourselves and our need to be the narcissistic center of our universe.
Darryl mentioned the phrase, "animated by love" in his sermon yesterday. I wrote it down in my Bible in John 13 and this morning I woke up thinking about it once again. When God wakes me up early, it is usually a sign that a blog is percolating!
In thinking about the idea of love, I remember an illustration about excellent loving that I have recorded in my life goals. It goes like this:
Imagine each person I interact with wears a strip of litmus paper on their forehead, designed to reveal the presence of love or hate in me - and all the gradations in between. Now imagine watching that litmus paper - as I encourage or discourage, lift up or tear down, make an emotional deposit or withdrawal.
This kind of visual aid holds me accountable to myself for my attitudes and reminds me of my continual dependence on God to supply me with a never-ending stream of unconditional love from His reservoir.
To animate something is to give it life. What a beautiful picture is created in my mind when I think about my spirit filling up like a balloon with God's love - full of vigor and zest. BTW - When you blend vigor and zest (my favorite "Z" word) you get an intense effect of enhanced enjoyment!
So, in essence, both people are blessed by animated love - the giver and the receiver. The more love I pour out - the more rich, vigorous and zesty my life becomes. Imagine our world if everyone operated this way! We would all be stumbling over each other to love anyone in sight and the world would be a very different place!
John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
In John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, Jesus says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jesus transforms the original concept of loving - from loving your neighbor as yourself - to loving just as Jesus loves. This implies a kind of love where someone is even willing to lay down their life for another. Dramatic yes, but not often required from us today. However, what is required is a selfless focus on another person that requires dying to ourselves and our need to be the narcissistic center of our universe.
Darryl mentioned the phrase, "animated by love" in his sermon yesterday. I wrote it down in my Bible in John 13 and this morning I woke up thinking about it once again. When God wakes me up early, it is usually a sign that a blog is percolating!
In thinking about the idea of love, I remember an illustration about excellent loving that I have recorded in my life goals. It goes like this:
Imagine each person I interact with wears a strip of litmus paper on their forehead, designed to reveal the presence of love or hate in me - and all the gradations in between. Now imagine watching that litmus paper - as I encourage or discourage, lift up or tear down, make an emotional deposit or withdrawal.
This kind of visual aid holds me accountable to myself for my attitudes and reminds me of my continual dependence on God to supply me with a never-ending stream of unconditional love from His reservoir.
To animate something is to give it life. What a beautiful picture is created in my mind when I think about my spirit filling up like a balloon with God's love - full of vigor and zest. BTW - When you blend vigor and zest (my favorite "Z" word) you get an intense effect of enhanced enjoyment!
So, in essence, both people are blessed by animated love - the giver and the receiver. The more love I pour out - the more rich, vigorous and zesty my life becomes. Imagine our world if everyone operated this way! We would all be stumbling over each other to love anyone in sight and the world would be a very different place!
John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
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