Just before Shorty and I got married, we bought a "cute" little fixer upper. It was just over 1,000 square feet and had too many issues to recount here. Within the first six years of our marriage we added all four members of our Crew, and so we were six-- in just over 1,000 square feet. Because of our limited space, I regularly threw things away. And I taught the older three to throw and give things away as well. It was just necessary.
But a little over two years ago, we were able to buy a house that is just under 2,000 square feet. I've been able to stop playing the sort and throw away game. And I hadn't made any of the Crew throw much of anything away... until last week. Our youngest was only six when we moved, and she really doesn't remember the sometimes painful process of purging. I've told her that if she's going to keep something, she has to find it a home. But she is a collector (read that "pack rat") at heart, and her stuff has overflown its homes. We emptied every drawer and shelf. We sorted every piece of paper. We examined every item on the tops of her furniture. We pulled things out that had hidden under dressers. And we threw things away. There were several times during this process that Little Bit was nearly in tears. I could see on her face when I asked why she wanted to keep a particular item that she was wrestling with keeping it "just because". It was a rather traumatic experience for her.
You might be wondering why I put her through that process when I could have just given her another box or folder or whatever. The question was not nearly so much about space as about responsibility. The question was what was best for her. She is a bit flighty. Her attention span is somewhat short and easily interrupted. So keeping her stuff in homes was overwhelming for her. Also, she was placing her happiness and sense of security in her piles. So I made her purge.
Dear Christian, our Father loves us much more than I love my Little Bit. Not only does He want what is best for us, He KNOWS what is best for us. And He is faithful to remove things from us when they are not best. It is painful. It is hard. But it is for our good. Trust your Father. Let go of the "stuff" and embrace Him.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:5-11
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
Wasting Away
I grew up watching Disney movies. One of my favorites was "The Little Mermaid". Even the when I first watched it in the theater, I laughed when we met Ursula. If you haven't seen it, she is the antagonist, a very full-figured half-octopus. And she makes this statement, "And now, look at me - wasted away to practically nothing - banished, and exiled, and practically starving..." She looks anything but starving. This is one of the first things I think of when I hear "wasting away". The other is pictures I've seen from concentration camps in the Holocaust. Black and white photos where the subjects look like skeletons with sparse, wiry hair.
waste: verb 1. to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander
2. to fail or neglect to use
3. to destroy or consume gradually; wear away
4. to wear down or reduce in bodily substance, health, or strength; emaciate; enfeeble
5. to destroy, devastate, or ruin
~ Dictionary.com
I have seen a person's legs wither away because they cannot carry their owner. I have seen a woman's mind deteriorate to the point that she no longer recognizes the children she raised. I have seen cancer eat a vibrant man to a shadow of his former strength. I have seen people who, because of the sorrows of living, have lost themselves to one substance or another. And it makes me angry. And it makes me sad. It hurts that people I care for are, in one way or another, wasting away. We were created to live. We were created to fellowship with our Creator. We were created for joy! And yet here we are. Wasting away.
But God...
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Dear Friend, God the Son, Jesus Christ left heaven to suffer on earth. He lived perfectly in our place, and then died to bear God's wrath against our sins. He died to save us from the penalty and the effects of sin. Because one day those who have believed in Him for salvation will be raised to live forever in bodies that will no longer be subject to the waste of sin! In Him is life! In His presence is fullness of joy! This is hope.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
waste: verb 1. to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander
2. to fail or neglect to use
3. to destroy or consume gradually; wear away
4. to wear down or reduce in bodily substance, health, or strength; emaciate; enfeeble
5. to destroy, devastate, or ruin
~ Dictionary.com
I have seen a person's legs wither away because they cannot carry their owner. I have seen a woman's mind deteriorate to the point that she no longer recognizes the children she raised. I have seen cancer eat a vibrant man to a shadow of his former strength. I have seen people who, because of the sorrows of living, have lost themselves to one substance or another. And it makes me angry. And it makes me sad. It hurts that people I care for are, in one way or another, wasting away. We were created to live. We were created to fellowship with our Creator. We were created for joy! And yet here we are. Wasting away.
But God...
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Dear Friend, God the Son, Jesus Christ left heaven to suffer on earth. He lived perfectly in our place, and then died to bear God's wrath against our sins. He died to save us from the penalty and the effects of sin. Because one day those who have believed in Him for salvation will be raised to live forever in bodies that will no longer be subject to the waste of sin! In Him is life! In His presence is fullness of joy! This is hope.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Friday, July 3, 2015
Live or Die
When there is only one serving of leftovers which Shorty and I both enjoy, an argument ensues. Not the kind you would expect where we are fighting to have it for ourselves, but rather we are fighting to give it away. Recently this happened, and the Crew said, "Why do y'all do that?!?" I told them it was because we love each other. We each desire the joy of the other above our own.
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:22
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Ephesians 5:25
I read an article earlier this week dealing with this command to husbands, but I can't think of one command without the other. Both commands call us to give ourselves away. Both demand that we be willing to set the desires of the other above our own. Which brought me around to thinking about Christ. He left heaven. He had enjoyed perfect community with the Father and the Spirit from eternity past, but He left for my sake. He came to earth as a baby. He felt hunger, thirst, pain, fatigue. He bound Himself to time and space so that He could earn righteousness and pay the debt of sin for His people! That is why my brothers and sisters around the world are willing to die to share the gospel. That is why we strive and pray and struggle to live our lives according to the commands of Scripture, even when it is unpopular.
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Colossians 3:16-19
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:22
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Ephesians 5:25
I read an article earlier this week dealing with this command to husbands, but I can't think of one command without the other. Both commands call us to give ourselves away. Both demand that we be willing to set the desires of the other above our own. Which brought me around to thinking about Christ. He left heaven. He had enjoyed perfect community with the Father and the Spirit from eternity past, but He left for my sake. He came to earth as a baby. He felt hunger, thirst, pain, fatigue. He bound Himself to time and space so that He could earn righteousness and pay the debt of sin for His people! That is why my brothers and sisters around the world are willing to die to share the gospel. That is why we strive and pray and struggle to live our lives according to the commands of Scripture, even when it is unpopular.
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Colossians 3:16-19
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Summer
I love summer. I love our local library with its ever increasing summer programs. I love shimmering suffocating hot days that make you crave ice cream and popsicles and swimming pools. I love long hours of sunshine, and lazy afternoons. I even love staying up late and sleeping later. Except when I don't.
For the last few years it has been my goal to keep our summer schedule as close to our school schedule as possible. But every year, little by little, our routine shifts. I was thinking about it earlier this week and I realized that I'm trying to make summer into something else. Not that "summer" is set in stone, but there are certain activities and adjustments that naturally come with this season.
This week during my devotions, I read Exodus 3 where God introduces Himself to Moses. And when Moses asks God's name, He replies, "I am who I am." As I pondered that response, I was challenged to examine what I think about God. He has clearly revealed Himself to us in creation and through His Word, and yet I struggle with trying to make Him something He is not. I want Him to be a package with a neat little bow. Or I simply cannot believe that He is so unlike every human I know. But His statement to Moses, "I am who I am" reminds me that He is far too big for packages and bows. And He is indeed very unlike His sinful creatures. He is God.
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:13-14
For the last few years it has been my goal to keep our summer schedule as close to our school schedule as possible. But every year, little by little, our routine shifts. I was thinking about it earlier this week and I realized that I'm trying to make summer into something else. Not that "summer" is set in stone, but there are certain activities and adjustments that naturally come with this season.
This week during my devotions, I read Exodus 3 where God introduces Himself to Moses. And when Moses asks God's name, He replies, "I am who I am." As I pondered that response, I was challenged to examine what I think about God. He has clearly revealed Himself to us in creation and through His Word, and yet I struggle with trying to make Him something He is not. I want Him to be a package with a neat little bow. Or I simply cannot believe that He is so unlike every human I know. But His statement to Moses, "I am who I am" reminds me that He is far too big for packages and bows. And He is indeed very unlike His sinful creatures. He is God.
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:13-14
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