Paul Tripp's Take on Finding the Real Treasure

Ha! The above meme makes me wonder what we all miss in these days of technology - time with our grandkids, our kids, our friends, time reading something that might nourish our soul instead of clog our mind with other's opinions?  Now this meme of course is a modern day look at an old truth, but Paul Tripp in his Lenten devotional Journey to the Cross gives an even deeper, applicable look into Matthew 13.  It amplified its truth in a new way to me and I hope it will for you.  

He starts with this quote: 

The Christian life is a battle of treasure.  Whatever treasure captures your heart will control your life. 

So how does he relate that to the scripture story about the man who hunts for a treasure in a field, and then sells everything he owns to buy that field and treasure? 

He starts by helping us to see that each of us is a treasure seeker.  We hunt for treasure in relationships, careers, political parties, achievements, physical strength or beauty, positions of power to name a few.  But we never seem to find that "heart-satisfying pot of gold that we're looking for, at least not in the created world."  He directs our thoughts to realize that we can attach the desires of our heart and the hope of our lives to earthbound treasure or heavenward treasure.  But what so many don't realize is that this search for meaning, purpose and security is in reality a search for a savior and will never be satisfied by anything else!  He tells us, "We're all that man (in the parable). We're all traversing the fields of life, and we all have our heads down looking for something that will give us hope, something that will fix what is broken in and around us, something that will satisfy our hearts."

We are then confronted with the fact that we make sacrifices in this quest for treasure; businessmen who sacrifice time with their families to climb the ladder of success, teens that sacrifice their virtue to be popular, politicians who sacrifice their ethics to get elected. Have they found the thing that so satisfies that they don't even have the desire to search anymore?  He asks us to ask ourselves the question:  In what field and for what treasure are you making sacrifices?  

And then He supplies the best answer:  The only thing worth sacrificing everything for is the kingdom of heaven.  In His rule is the place where I am freed from my bondage to the created things that never fully satisfy.  

But then, we must all find that treasure in our own search.

The Real Treasure

We search for it endlessly -

The pot of gold that will satisfy

Our hopes, dreams and longings

That we testify...

Will finally break the bondage 

We have in our restless soul,

That will finally quench our thirst

As we all strive to be made whole.

We think it's in the pursuits 

We are confronted with on earth -

The success, achievements or circumstances

We think will fulfill our sense of worth.

And yet, the bible tells us 

That the man who found the treasure,

Sold ALL for that field 

In which he found the measure...

Of the only thing worth everything

That is not found upon this earth.

It may not even be realized 

Though we know of the virgin birth...

That brought a savior to this earth,

To save us from our desperation

To find what will bring us life

And finally the cessation...

Of our endless search - 

The treasure is freely given!  

All we must do is surrender our life

And to accept we are forgiven...

And then we find our treasure 

Not in this kingdom we see

But in the one we can start to live in

Even now - and for eternity! 

     - by Sherrill Schlimpert

Excerpts from Truthfilled by Ruth Chou Simmons

I love the honesty in the video that came with this study by Ruth Chou Simmons.  She confessed that instead of growing in the fruits of the spirit that she had learned about by being what she describes as "a good bible study gal", she realized that she made a regular practice of "freaking out."  She recognized that she was more like what James  1:6 describes as a person who is "tossed about by the winds," a person who spins out of control instead of trusting in the Lord as seasons of conflict and the pressures of this world inevitably come at us.

At this point, she decided it was time to take what she learned in bible study and begin to preach it to herself,  just like David models in the Psalms.  She decided she would find out how to do what the bible prescribes "to take our thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5), and to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God." (Rom. 12:2). She recognized the truth of Proverbs 23:7 that tells us, For as He thinks in his heart, so is he." She also recognized that she must change her thinking  in order to do what James commands as an antidote to being tossed about by the wind:  "to be doers, not just hearers of the Word."  She was determined to find out how to deal with her "woe is me" moments with more grace and the "endurance and patience" that Col. 1:10-11 speaks of.  

As she made this active choice, she realized that just as there are seasons of differing circumstances in our lives, some good, some not - that there are also seasons of growth and waiting - that this being able to take our thoughts captive and hold up to testing does not come in one single decision.  She was reminded what I Peter 1:4 tells us:  that we can rejoice though now we have had to suffer a little while in all kinds of trials that have come to prove the genuineness of our faith. 

She outlines the seasons of growth as the Winter of  RESTING in God's promises,                                                                                                 the Spring of REHEARSING truth and REPLACING lies,                                                                         the Summer of  RESPONDING in faith,                                                                                                       the Fall of REMEMBERING when blooming stops and                                                                                                                             weariness sets in

She clung to the model of David in Psalm 42 as he tells his own soul to PUT his hope in God, POUR out his soul and emotions, to THIRST for God as he PRAYED,  PRAISED and REMEMBERED what God has done for him in the past.  Though these word were familiar, to actually DO them required a new way of thinking, living and being.  

Ruth then sets out on this journey by using Colossians to lead her through these seasons of growth, starting with the command in Col. 3:1-2 to set her heart on the things above, not on earthly things.

Winter - the Season of Resting

Running on empty, she started her search for growth in a state of Winter, where her sense of hope felt trampled on like the hardened earth of this season, when she wasn't sure if she could survive the bitter cold, overwhelmed and frustrated by her to do lists.   She listened to God's call to lay down her fears and her frantic striving to fix and control and to wait, trust, weep and rest.  

She began to see that resting is not passive; it is an active choosing to trust in the God who is at work in the unseen, beneath the surface of the frozen ground. Like the hymn, she saw how she was "prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love." but was ready to learn the next verse: Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for they courts above." She began to rest in His promise to be her Guide, Comfort, Presence and Strength, to know that He is sufficient for our every need because as Augustine famously voiced our true condition: "Thou madest  us for Thyself and our heart is restless until it finds repose in Thee."

Spring - Rehearsing Truth and Replacing Lies with Truth

She began to see a new way of  thinking peek out from the long, dark days of being tossed in the winter winds, to peek out like a crocus in a new snowfall, knowing the wind and rain was not over, but clinging to the new roots, anticipating growth ahead as she grounded herself in what is right and true.  This was the time of watering and waiting, building muscle memory for new growth instead of withering to her default modes, to know that she would one day bloom into holiness in His sight IF she continued in her faith as is promised in Col. 1:21-23.  REHEARSING truth began to be her new default when storms came.  It didn't happen naturally.  Her muscle memory of reaching for her phone first, began to slowly be replaced by seeking Him FIRST, by practicing His presence and being immersed in His Word.  

She began to see herself as the blessed one that is like the tree Psalm 1 and Jer. 17:5  speak of, the one who doesn't reach first for the wicked and mocking which she saw in so many of the memes in the wasteland and elemental spirits of the world that she found as she spent so much time on Facebook and listening to talking heads on tv,  but whose delight is in the law of the Lord.  She began to see that she was meditating on the law of the Lord day and night and began to expect that she  really would yield its fruit in season and be one whose leaf does not wither in a time of drought. She began to see that she really was abiding and depending on Him as she rehearsed who she was becoming more and more alive in Christ that Col. 2: 13 -14 speaks of. She began to see that she was filled with Him as she began to depend on Him , and be emptied of anxiety, fear, discontent and worry.  

Summer - the season of responding in faith

And then, just as the days become longer in summer, so did her time and delight in the Word. She began to see how she had forced her fruit of service out of obligation and people-pleasing rather than discerning His will and purpose for her.  She began to see that she was walking in the Spirit and not gratifying the desire  of her flesh, but instead the fruit of the spirit of Gal. 5 began to be what she was reaping : growth in  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF-CONTROL!!!

She began to understand that setting her mind on things above was reiterated in Phil. 4:8 - that though she still listened to the news and checked in with friends on Facebook, what she dwelled on was whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, things of moral excellence and worthy of praise, that  dwelling on His Word began to be a way of life.  And she saw that fruit was not just  working at looking like a good church person, but of abiding in Him.  She began to see what Col. 3:23 meant when it says that whatever we do, work at it with all your heart as unto the Lord. And that fruit also began to appear in her marriage as the peace of Christ began to rule in her heart (Col. 3: 14) allowing her to bear the fruit of humility and submission more often in her marriage which encouraged more sacrificial loving and respectfulness from her husband.  (Col. 3:19-20)  And she began to take seriously (Col. 3:8) to watch what come from her lips, that speaking ill of others does not honor the Lord.  

Fall -  Remembering when blooming stops and weariness sets in

This is no bible study for those who have lofty ideas of becoming pharisetically holier thou.  No, the discussion of fall reminds us of the reality of the shifting seasons of our lives.  While we do find that becoming immersed in the Word and seeking to put God first in every thought really does bear the fruit that Col. 3:15 promises, that we can let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

But anyone that has done any gardening at all knows that they do not stay neat and tidy and nor do our lives.  Perfect rows become overgrown, vines and weeds threaten to take over.  Growth looks messy.  Growth takes work and resources of fertilizer and honest labor.  Growth makes weariness worth it.  But even disciplined pruning and a well kept garden has an end to the fruit bearing season.  If we forgetfully take credit for our own resourcefulness or ability to  produce beautiful by-products of faith, we will take on a burden we were never meant to carry.  Phil. 2:12-13 tells us that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you. The seasons of our fruitfulness are totally dependent on Him, not on what we hope to accomplish, or take credit for.  

Paul's final instructions to the Colossians in 4:2-6 tells them (and us) to continue steadfastly, to walk in wisdom...  Let your speech be gracious.  We will have fallow seasons where we must wait on the Lord and His timing and not force fruit, in others or ourselves.  With Him we can know that no season is wasted.  Even in the darkening seasons of fall and winter we can know with the Psalmist in Ps. 62 that truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him, that He will refresh the weary (Jer. 31:25), that we can come to Him when weak and heavy laden and He will give us rest. (Matt. 11:28)

And so, this book is one that I've just given snippets of its wisdom.  It truly is one that uses the Word throughout its pages to help us understand that we must, as Hebrew 10:23 commands: to let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.  For He who promised is faithful. 

In this beautiful book, illustrated creatively by the author, we are reminded that seasons of the heart are just that - seasons.  After a season of growth and productivity, we still become surprised by a season of painful waiting and unrest, back to a  season where  we must call upon reminders of God's provision when we are weary and spend.  But we must be resilient, just as our earth was created to be, to have seasons of rest, rehearsing, responding and remembering.   

                                                

A Condensed Version of Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Cycle of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen

                             Ever feel like your thoughts are like this t-shirt - spiraling from your mind into your shoulders and your stomach until it's a mess of tension like these ugly colors?  Of course you have!   It's the human condition. As a life coach both privately and as a volunteer for a local clearinghouse for people in need and as a Stephen Minister at our church for people in crisis, I see a lot of people whose countenance looks as volatile as that t-shirt  - with dark and scary thoughts that are swirling and sometimes ready to explode or draw them deeper into the spiral of depression or despair.  

Interestingly, as I read about brain research that I did much reading on during my years as an educator, I see that the word depression is almost always described as a spiral into darkness - which to me implies that it can become worse from the origin of where it started.  This causes me to think, although the source may not be able to be helped, maybe we can keep it from spiraling into a worse situation!!  Indeed, over the years, I've seen that to be true, in myself and the many people I've had the privilege of walking alongside in their crisis.

When I read the book Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen, I was so validated to see that she put into new words a very synopsis of what I've come to believe truly helps people.  I was also validated that what I see work in self- help books, is also further validated by the bible.  Indeed, I took a course once in healing prayer where the psychiatrist that taught the class shared that she had seen many people stabilized though talk therapy and medications but she saw the swiftest and most complete healing in those who also had a spiritual awakening in their search for mental health.  

I offer to you my summary of  Part One of this book, which also are validated by some of my favorite verses from God's Word that has proved to be ageless wisdom.  I hope they prove as meaningful to you as they have as I have watched them prove to be truth in myself and many others that I have been privileged to walk with along their journeys:

Summary of Part One, Get Out of Your Head:  Stopping the Cycle of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen

Chapter 1: Thinking About Thinking

The greatest spiritual battle of all generations is between our ears – it truly is a battle for our minds.

How we think shapes how we live. Our emotions lead to thoughts – which determine our actions – which affect our relationships.   But we do not have to be victims of our emotions that churn within us – God has promised a way for us to escape the downward spiral of negative thought. 

 Take every thought captive.  2 Cor. 10:2

 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12:2

Chapter 2:  What We Believe and Chapter 3:  Spiraling Out

Every lie we believe about ourselves can send us into a spiral of darkness and is rooted in what we believe about God.  We can still spiral even though we are doing the typical suggested methods of battling depression:  working out, being productive, even going to church. Our distorted reasoning, which is the result of toxic thinking, actually begins to make sense and we forget who we are. 

We have an enemy and he can beat us up, but the fears, doubts, restlessness and pain we experience are not who we are made to be.  Taking our thoughts captive is not about what happens to us; it’s about choosing to believe that God is with us, for us and loves us even when all hell comes against us.  Learning to capture your thoughts will inform and shape every aspect of your life and give you peace and joy that transcend your circumstances. 

 We are God’s workmanship created to do the works Christ Jesus prepared in advance for us. Eph. 2:10

 You have searched me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up.  You understand my thoughts from afar. (1,2, 3))… You hem me in behind and before. ( 5) Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence? (7) …Even there your hand will lead me (10)… For You did form my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (13) … Search me and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts.  - Psalm 139      

Chapter 4 and 5:  Breaking Free, When Thoughts are Captured

There may be seasons where we need help in the form of medicine or counseling.  You cannot think yourselves out of a chemical breakdown or mental illness. But neuroscience has proven we can change our neural pathways, some dug deep from a lifetime of toxic thoughts.  The heavy fog can be lifted, but it takes fighting back.  Spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting and meditating, spending time with God and learning who He is provide weapons to fight with. 

The first thing we must remember is that we  have a choice regarding where we focus our energy.  We are not subject to our behaviors, genes or circumstances.  The heroes of the faith (Heb. 11) were not subject to their own thoughts or feelings or circumstances; they worked to think about Christ.  They chose Him over than their own ability to work things out.  Jesus needs to be the axis around which all our thought spirals cycle.  We can interrupt our downward spin by looking at what we are obsessing about and interrupting those thoughts.  It might take counseling, it almost always takes community, is often helped by fasting and always takes prayer and meditation.  When we think new thoughts, we physically alter our brains.   Just like we do with children, we need to redirect our thoughts.  

When we’re spiraling in noise or distractedness, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through stillness.   When we’re spiraling in isolation, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through community.  Whether we’re spiraling in anxiety, cynicism, self-importance, victimhood or complacency, of because of truly dire circumstances, we have a choice to shift our minds to God.  We CAN mind our minds and fight this battle. 

Paul experienced a massive shift which totally changed his perceptions. No longer was he a slave to his circumstances and his emotions.  He tells us: 

Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  - I Cor. 10:3 

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  - Romans 8:5

We look at things as they are outwardly. -  I Cor. 10: 7 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the ruler, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Eph. 6:12 

As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Prov. 23:7

Chapter 6 and 7:  Making the Shift and Drawing the Battle Lines

Psychology Today reports that many researchers point out that the vast majority (70% of our thoughts) are negative.  Because of our assumptions and perceptions negative emotions surface:  frustration, anger, despondency, hopelessness, embarrassment, inadequacy, shame.  These are normal human reactions – part of the human condition. But, we need to make a choice about what to do with these thoughts by first acknowledging them and by being aware of our them.  Are you thinking in patterns such as worrying about things you cannot control, dwelling on how you’ve been wronged,  being obsessed with what you don’t have, or being self-critical?  Are you being patient with yourself if you’re experiencing grief? 

Worldly self-help, can be a stabilizer and should never be minimized,  but it can never cause us to see ourselves in our true identity as heirs of heaven, or give us the fruits of the spirit, or help us in humility to think less about ourselves.  Worldly self-help can offer a better version of yourself; Christ is after a whole new you.  

Taking every thought captive is not about what happens to us.  It’s about choosing to believe that God is with us, for us and loves us even when all hell comes against us.  Changing your thoughts may not change your circumstances, but capturing your thoughts with truth will inform and shape every aspect of your life and give you peace and joy that will transcend your circumstances. 

 Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.”  Jn. 16:33

 Submit yourselves to God, Resist the devil and He will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  James 4:  6,7,8

 As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Prov. 23:7

Chapter 8 Holding Space for Silence, Choosing to Be Still with God

Be still and know that I am God.  Ps. 26:10

Neuroscience assures us that our brain can be physiologically altered by prayer and meditation. (One source is:  7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change the Brain, Forbes, 2015)  Toxic  thoughts can be combatted with positive thoughts, as simple as getting our minds focused on a hobby, on playing a musical instrument, studying a subject, or some other positive activity, even housework. Studies have shown that changing our focus onto something that makes us relax changes our brain waves into alpha waves that decrease anxiety and depression.  A UCLA study shows that meditation can even preserve the brain as aging happens.  We CAN be people of kindness, patience, peace; we CAN be gentle and self-controlled even when this broken world jabs at us. 

 Whatever is true, noble and right, whatever is pure and lovely, whatever is excellence or worthy of   honor, think on those things.  Phil 4. 

 For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and  self-control.  Against those things there is no law.  Gal. 5.

While negative thoughts must not be suppressed; they must be confronted and processed; spending too much time attending to our fears and doubts causes our need for control when confronted with chaos to become our present reality.  If we let our worry spiral about our health, finances, our relationships or our pasts, we may come to see things as worse than they really are, or focus on what may never happen. 

 Connection with God is the foundation for every other God-given tool we have to fight with.  We need to walk by the Spirit, not be jerked around by our swirling, chaotic thoughts.  In other words, we urgently need time in the presence of God.  

Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.  Psalm 4:23

You were taught with regard to your former way of life,, to put off your old self...To be made new in the attitude of your minds.   Eph. 4:22,24

Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matt. 6:33

We CAN change our thought patterns.  It is normal to think in the pattern of “I have a negative emotion because…”  But we can reframe that situation by making a choice about how to act on that emotion:  “I feel this negative emotion because …SO I will…”  We can shift our thoughts to the truth that nothing can satisfy you like quieting yourself before God as lines from this poem says:            

The mind is a broken thing,
It runs, races, and paces, taking me places
That consume me, distract me, and tempt me to believe
I’ve got to strive to survive
Don’t show weakness, be tough; try to be enough. 
 
But “if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation. 
The old we can pass away from; behold the new has come.”
Your mind doesn’t have to be out of control.
Those thoughts and loops and cycles can take a toll.
 
You can interrupt and fight against lies,
The racing, pacing, list making, consuming ties
To arrows from the enemy that fly in the darkness of the night.
They are coming for you -  but you have the Word, life, the Light.
 
Wake up from the perspective that keeps you despairingly self-focused,
Your hope in tatters.
Instead fix your eyes to see what really matters.
 
It’s hard to grasp the vastness of His grace and rest in
His mercy that can pull us from the pit we find ourselves thrown in.
For if you really believe Him, you will kill any seed
That will take your mind from whatever is true and honorable
And lovely and pure indeed.
 Yes the mind is a broken thing
But God’s spirit dwells deeper
To free our hearts to sing.

 -    Adapted by Sherrill Schlimpert from a poem in Ch. 8

 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  (Matt. 11: 28-30)

Let your gentleness be known to all...Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4: 5, 6, 7

If you've stayed with me this whole blog, I pray that you will be seeking God with all your heart - and that He will give you the peace that passes understanding.  As I've said, it has been my privilege to share many of these verses with people that felt anything but peace, with circumstances often more horrible than I could ever imagine - but I've been blessed by seeing this peace truly come over those hearts that were troubled.  What a joy to behold.

Our CoVid Christmas - with excerpts from a Cup of Hope by Emilie Barnes

Well, that's definitely what I needed today, a Cup of Hope, because as I gave away all the goodies I'd been preparing all month to the prison ministry of our church, I felt pretty hopeless about my attitude.  Bah humbug -  yep, we have Covid in our house and will be quarantined through the first of the year. 

My husband is working through the insurance to cancel the beach house we had planned for a big extended family Christmas as we speak.  I've finally packaged up all the gooey butter cookies, Oreo cookie balls, almond bark candy, peppermint almond bark, to name a few of the Christmas confections that were destined for NC.   We'll probably be eating the Italian Vegetable soup I had frozen for the big crew til April!!  But the worst thing is...this is the second Christmas we won't get to be with grandkids.  

As I began to veg and spiral down into purposeless and pouting, I had that still small voice pop into my mind to remind  me of my lack of thankfulness.  After all, my husband only has had 2 days of Covid where he slept most of the day with a runny nose, and seems better already.  We really thought it was a cold, but decided to get tested just to be safe before we started our trip - which was supposed to have been today.  He's not fighting for his life, like my cousin in Colorado right now who is at the point of being intubated in a Colorado hospital.  And we aren't mourning, like my friends who lost their 60 year old full-of-life brother, and we aren't fighting pancreatic cancer like my sister-in-law. We are sitting here in a warm house with ordered groceries on the way and plenty of soup in the freezer!   Disappointed - yes - but how dare I forget to be thankful?  What I have is not the thankfulness that we're called on to have in all circumstances - what I have is a case of attitude and a quarantinitis.  

Like children waiting for Christmas to come, it's so easy to become irritable when we aren't getting our way.  Emilie Barnes talked about the discouragement that came upon her even as she wrote her book A Cup of Hope as she was fighting cancer with the fatigue, the baldness, the chemo.  But she didn't stay there - she wrote a book about how to hope in the face of horrible circumstances  - talk about something good being made from the bad!

It's normal at times like this that we forget who the Parent is as we tend to spiral down into wanting to throw a temper tantrum and stamp our foot that we aren't getting our way!!  However, if we can let the adult that calls herself a Christian take over, we may remember that we weren't promised a trouble free world; John 16:33 tells us:  In this world there will be trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.  

How bad does it have to get before we go to our Father to help us when we fall into bad circumstances?  Whether it's a skinned knee (my Christmas plight) or a terrible diagnosis, His words remind us:  All things work together for good to those who love the Lord. (Romans 8:28)  God reminded Job that He is God and operates on His own timing and plans.   And if we stop and go to His word we will be reminded what  Emilie Barnes tells us:  He has a bigger plan in mind that just giving us what we want.  (For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to give you a hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11. ) And yes, sometimes that future may be in heaven, but we don't get to pick when and how that trip will be.  Emilie also reminds us:  God does His best work when we run out of options. 

Emilie goes on to say that when circumstances come that try us, when we have to call upon Him for Hope, is the place where  He shapes us, teaches us (if we will learn), tests, and refines us.  He knows we're His children and He's always working to grow us up.  

And, unfortunately, we don't only forget to go to Him for an attitude adjustment.  We  often forget to go to Him until we're completely helpless.  I'm always amazed at the irony of  how newscasters talk about sending thoughts and prayers when catastrophes happen - but God is never mentioned in ordinary newscasts. I repeat:  How bad does it have to get before we go to Him?

Emilie ends one of her devotions with simple but profound advice when feelings of despair and discouragement cloud over our feelings of thankfulness and eat away at our hope.  She says, "As you wait on God's answers - (and yes, sometimes they will not be the answer we want), take care of yourself physically, stay in the Word, and maintain your important relationships."  

And so, maybe this Covid Christmas is giving me the best gift I can get - EVEN above getting to see the grandkids.  Maybe He knew I needed a time to sit and reflect instead of crazily packing the car with presents and stuff.   Maybe this time of reflecting on God's purposes is a gift to remind me of how to rely on Him when really big circumstances come my way.  What a gift to know that the peace that passes understanding is available to us.  How easy it is to forget the promise of Philippians 4:  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding , will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

I'm also reminded...the second best present I have to be thankful for is FACETIME, that will allow us to share in Christmas morning even though my loved ones are far away.  I'm actually having feelings of excitement to replace my doldrums as I type that!! 

 And so...I share an old poem that is time for me to revisit from Cream for My Coffee (which is still available if you'd like a copy, just let me know) - the book that I wrote in other times where I had some remembering to do...

Rejoice You Say?

"Rejoice always" (Phil. 4:4)

Is that what you say? 

You expect this?  Lord, how can you?

How can I face,

Live in this place

I find myself muddling through?

You say, don't look down

At the problems I've found.

Look past them to just see You.

But I'm not restored;

Help me now, Lord. 

I'm floundering in all that I do.

All I see looks so dark.

How do I embark

Upon this path before me?

I can't see Your face,

I can't feel Your grace;

I see through this mirror dimly.

Yet it's here in the valley 

Where my faith learn to rally,

And I begin to hear Your voice.

Though the way is steep,

My path You'll keep.

How I walk though, is my choice.

If I just spend an hour, 

Stop to smell Your flowers,

The way seems not quite so long.

For finding Your treasure 

Is not always through pleasure,

Though if I listen You'll give me a song.

Help me not to complain

When I'm cold in the rain,

Without which the flowers won't grow.

I must look beyond

That of which I'm not fond.

I know that to reap I must sow.

So while I find myself here

In this place that I fear,

Lord, help me to see Your face.

Help me comprehend

The blessings You send,

And to go slow and walk in Your peace.

For there's much that I miss 

When I get down like this,

So many ways You love me so.

Help me embrace

Any hardships I face -

And trust, and because of them, grow. 

 

Excerpts from Aging With Grace by Sharon W. Better & Susan Hunt

                                                             

Today I sit and wait.  Yesterday it was a sinus headache day.  I did what needed to be done and then I vegged like a useless potato.  As I age, I'm seeing that I don't push back against lagging energy like I used to.   Today is better - so far - I exercised - I got some soup going.  I don't have anything pressing today (although my calendar shows this is not going to be the case next week where it will pick up dramatically.)   But the  uselessness of yesterday began to  morph into today so that instead of thankfulness that I have a day of rest - a day I would have given my right arm for in the past years of full time work - I'm feeling kind of useless.   Too much work, not enough purpose - good grief - can I never be content?

So the next thing I did was turn to the Lord, asking - What do I do with this day?  Next, I listlessly read a devotional on my phone,  and then, wham, I get the impression to write.  Now if that's not the Holy Spirit, I don't know what is! I am not always blessed with such quick answers.  Maybe this is something that needs to be shared - so I will - but maybe it's just for me - to record the simple power of lifting my eyes to the heavens. 

The devotional I just read was about how Satan attacks women in unique ways. For those in the throes of motherhood, the endless tedium of being in 24-7 servanthood weighs heavily.  Hormonal changes and other physical weaknesses, emotional or relationship issues can often become the guage of our spiritual state.  Although I am now in the "easy" years of retirement - the lack of energy that comes and goes can be demoralizing.  

And yet from my recent study on Aging With Grace by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Hunt, I am reminded again to sit and wait whether it is overwhelm from too much busyness I am fighting or the feeling of purposeless that attacks on a low energy day.  The attacks can come from any state!  But in this book, Jeremiah 6:16 is quoted:  "Stand by the roads, and look.  Ask for the ancient paths where the good way is: and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." 

Wait - not just in a vacumn of withdrawing - but wait on the Lord.  James 4:8 tells us:  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Aging with Grace offers this bit of wisdom:  "God's grace is specific.  When it's time to suffer He gives suffering grace.  When it's timeto age, He gives aging grace.  When it's time to die, He gives dying grace."  I follow that wisdom inferring that when it's time to work, He gives working grace.  And when it's time to rest, He gives resting grace.  

So whether we are fighting the battles of motherhood, are in the throes of juggling a career and homelife, struggling physically, or just facing the diminishing physical abilities and energy of aging, the answer is the same:  find time to wait on the Lord.  Even for just a moment, find time to lift your eyes to Him. 

 One of the authors of the book was writing it when she encountered a physical setback where she fought days of fear and fatigue.  But as she continued to lift her eyes to the Lord on her unproductive days she was given the thought:  "This is not wasted time.  It is growing time, because my physical weakness and pain push me to trust Jesus more."  After all, Jesus gave these words both to Paul and to us:  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  (2 Cor. 12:9)

She then asks this question:  "How often do we miss God's treasures because we don't recognize the little things as the big things?"  You might think that urge to write this morning was just a random thought.  I can't explain how I am absolutely assured that it was the Spirit that popped that surprising, not-remotely-on-my-radar thought into my mind. But the waiting that precipitated it caused me to recognize the truth of this quote from Elizabeth Elliot shared in the book:  "The place in which you find yourself is the very place where God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him."  

Aging With Grace further shares this wisdom:  "As long as we live in this world , we are prone to look down.  But the rhythm of rest and daily worship (looking up)  recalibrates our minds and hearts in the present moment to remember our destiny and destination while "waiting for our blessed hope." (Titus 2:13)  Isaiah 40:31 echoes this thought:  "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength..."  The authors then remind us that waiting is an action word, and that "when we cling to Him (as we wait), a supernatural exchange slowly but surely happens, His strength becomes ours."  

One of the wise women who participated in the study on this book shared that she clung to this definition of hope that she was given along the way based on Habukkuk 3:19:  Hope is getting up, getting dressed and letting the Lord guide your steps that day - that the Lord will be your strength; He will give you hinds feet for high places.

The authors end with this thought on making the most of every day, even the hard ones:  "Flourishing at this time in my life is resting in Him, sitting with Him, and hearing Him speak to me from His Word, lifting others up in prayer, smiling at others for Him, giving a word of encouragement when He prompts and being still in Him."  

So I share this simple thought for the day that I needed - because it made my day.  I share it with the hope that it might make yours.  

Aging with Grace

The afternoon of life

Begins to take its toll

Slowing down is warranted

But we begin to feel less whole.

We're thankful we don't have to

Fight the daily race.

We appreciate the ability

To finally ease our pace.

And yet we begin to feel invisible

As if we no longer flourish.

Although we can turn to Him 

That's where we'll be nourished.

We can still abide in Him

Though our bodies age

We must guard against brittleness

As we reach this inevitable stage.

Gray hair is a crown of glory (Prov. 16:31)

A reward for righteous living.

Til the very end, we can find 

Reasons for thanksgiving.

Nowhere in the Word

Do we find the word retire

We do not lose heart

Though our bodies easily tire.

And so we travel heavenward

Day by sometimes painful day.

Knowing that always

By our side He'll stay.

If we but raise our eyes to Him

In Him we can abide

Though wasting away outwardly, (2 Cor. 4)

Every day He'll be our guide.

From Beast to Beauty

Last month I would not have seen the beauty of the mums that were newly planted at the entrance to our subdivision, but today, I was awed and transfixed by their gorgeous colors as I drove in.  I know that sounds "slightly overly" waxing poetic (if that's a thing), but you know what I mean:  when suddenly a sunset or a tree, or a morning full of birdsong stops you in your tracks and for me, my heart immediately turns to the Creator.  

Last month, I had a thyroid imbalance that turned my world to grey.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I can't even imagine what misery people with full grown lasting depression go through.  Mine I would describe as brain fog: couldn't make decisions, nothing tasted good, everything seemed too hard, I didn't feel like going places I usually love, I wanted to come home when I was anywhere.  My head was full of grumpy thoughts that I recognized as unnecessary and untrue but they kept popping into my brain nevertheless.  When I finally figured out what was going on, it only took two days to get me on-kilter but I told one friend that it scares me to be 25 miligrams of thyroid medication away from mental illness!!!  

A term popped out to me from the book I'm studying at church right now, Aging with Grace by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Grace.  In it they defined "aging with grace" as becoming an older woman that was life-giving instead of life-taking - in other words, not like the way I felt for the last month. But it was this sentence that stopped me short:  "The hope of glory is future, but there are very real implications right here and right now.  Our union with Christ results in a radical change from beast to beauty."

The challenge of this book is to not give up on ourselves as "too old to change" - that we can continue to grow in reflecting God's glory - in showing to others His mercy, graciousness, slowness to anger, steadfast love, faithfulness and forgiveness.  (Ex 34:6-7).  Our character, attitudes, and actions throughout our life may have been "beastly" at times along the way, but that doesn't mean we can't be still growing in inner beauty.  As 2 Cor 4 tells us:  Therefore we do not lost heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day... So we look to what is unseen, for the seen is only temporary." 

The authors aptly described the gladness we feel soley from temporal things - yes, even mums - as the beauty that the beast (the humanness within) us looks for from people, things and circumstances.  And as our bodies change as we age, so can our spirits if we just look to what we see.  After all, winter comes, the mums fade, and so do we. It seemly totally poetic a few weeks ago when at my 50th!!! class reunion I looked at the scrolling monitor of all the classmates that have passed on, then picked up a yearbook displayed nearby... the black and white pictures were actually fading.  "Just like us," I said half-joking at this truth!!!  The authors speak to this: "We must guard against our hearts becoming brittle and bitter as the disappointments of life (and aging) continue to come, by praying for grace to abide in Christ and bear the fruit of steadfast love and faithfulness to others."

Elizabeth  Elliot who lost two husbands after getting married later in life says this about those hard places that can make us life-takers instead of givers:  "This hard place you find yourself in is the very place where God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him; to spend time in prayer and to learn the depths of (His) love..." 

And so, today, I see the beauty of the fall splendor, but I don't just appreciate it in itself.   I use the moment of beauty to tame the beast inside by not just looking down at what this earth has to offer, but by looking up and praising.

Beauty Tames the Beast

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

We all get to an end

But something always bends

Unexpectedly.

Just a little change

Small, to say the least.

We all get a little scared

Never seem prepared

We lose beauty to the beast.

 Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

And ever just as sure

The sun will rise.  It’s pure…

 Truth that you were wrong

Though fear sometimes lasts long.

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

We can fight the beast...

That rises deep within

And steals all of our joy.

But He always comes.

His light warm as the sun

His comfort will employ.

 Though the wait is long

And darkness fills our day

He will restore the light

No matter what the plight

If we but watch and pray.

The beast within screams loud

All seems gone to grey 

Beauty is all lost

Our heart a holocaust

It seems it's gone to stay. 

But His song  old as rhyme

Rises deep within

And beauty tames the beast,

Wait upon the feast

We’re promised every time.

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

We must fight the dark within

With Him we conquer sin

Beauty tames the beast.

 

 

Images of Iceland

Now that is a title I never thought I'd write.  A trip to Iceland wasn't on my bucket list but it sure was on my Earth Science/Geology major husband 's. Seeing geothermal bubbly mudholes, geyers, waterfalls on a background that looked like we were on the moon was quite an experience.  But getting away to see more of God's creation is always beyond awe for me, and always causes me to want to capture my thoughts on paper.  Why is it I'm always moved to write when I'm on vacation?  Could it be I have a chance to empty my mind from the busyness of life - of appointments, laundry, email and cooking that even in retired life seem to overwhelm my thoughts?  Could it be on vacation I actually get still enough to look beyond the mundane to the beauty of the world around me?  That I actually have some thoughts worth capturing? 

This morning, on a misty day in Iceland where weather did not permit excursions, I am blessed with an empty day on a cruise ship.  Life could be worse! 

We started the day with a visual presentation of auroras in the ship's domed planetartium.  The accompanying narration included words of the photographer that made me take pause: " I'm awestruck gazing at  a celestial dome of kaliedoscopic color floating across the sky, with the red light becoming visible that is always there but the naked eye does not see."

                          

My mind went immediately to THE LIGHT, the Light that is always there but that we don't always see.  We do not take time to wait for it and seek it, as this photographer did over months of late night journeys in frigid temperatures to dark areas on the remotest places of the earth.  Do we take anything like that effort to see THE LIGHT?  I watch for it during Sunday morning services and during quiet times that I steal away for in the mornings. But do I take the time that it takes to really see?

Do we take thse measures to study, seek, wait and steal away to find the God we profess to believe in - the God who has promised to be with us always?  

And, do we really believe He will come again in glory?  He has said He will come in the clouds bringing down the New Earth. His coming will be arrayed therefore in the colors described in Revelations 21.  Those verses are clear, non-debatable promises, describing the colors of the auroras that may be giving us but a glimpse of the glory to come:  the gold of the streets shining like transparent glass, colors I don't even recognize - chalcedony, sardonyx, chrystite, jacinth, oprase - along with pearl, sapphire, emerald, camelion.  Could it be that the new city will come down in an aurora of light such as we've never seen before?  Revelation goes on to describe this city as "one that does not need the sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp." And it is a coincidence that the foundation of the city made of jasper, described separately as clear as crystal, is the predominant color of the auroras?  Are these but a glimpse of heaven?

We all may not get to see an aurora - we didn't, even on a trip to Iceland.  But do we see the other mysteries of the skies and earth, that cause us awe - the stars, the mighty pulse of the ocean, the majesty of waterfalls, the heights of unreachable mountain peaks, the amazing arrays of the dawn and sunsets as glimpses of heaven - gifts from the Creator of them all? The God we sing of on Sundays - is He really the God of all life?   Of our life?  Do we study, seek,  and wait and steal away to find the One we profess to believe in?

Do you?

Do We Believe?

Do we believe?

Or do we sit in a pew

And go through the motions 

As if we do?

Do we seek

The One who we sing of,

The One who guides us,

Who we profess to love?

Do we wait,

Knowing He works all to good

When suffering doesn't end

As we think it should?

Do we steal away 

To guard our heart, (Proverbs 4:23)

To be still and know (Psalm 46:10)

To come apart...

As He sought His Father?

He stole away

As recorded often

At the beginning of day.

Do we really believe

As we say we do?

Will we really be among

The chosen few?

He said He'll separate 

The chaff from wheat.

Will we earn a place

To sit at His feet?

Will He say He knew us?

Or did we just know OF Him

Without opening our hearts

To let Him in...

The place where the fruit of the spirit 

Can  grow.

Where patience and gentleness

Come from the flow.

Or are our hearts, those He spoke of

As the rocky ground (Mark 4)

Where anger and selfishness 

Are more often found?

Do we believe?

Do we live as we do?

Do we have ears to hear

What He wants us do?

Do we?