Route 66: Oh, The View is Worth It!

Sometimes life has a funny way of flipping on us. One day all seems to be going great and then it knocks us down cold with a sucker punch. If you have lived very long you know this to be true. Life is full of ups and downs or hills and valleys as some would say. If your life is anything like mine those hills and valleys seem to be happening in the same moment. I can't figure out if I going up or if I'm on my way down. Happiness in one aspect and sadness in another. And Sadness has a way of saying, "What do you have to be happy about anyway? Can't you see you're struggling here! You have no space for Happy in your life."

The thing is whether climbing up the side of a mountain slope or going down it is an equally difficult journey. Our legs ache and our lungs scream for air on the way up while we cringe at the thought that one miss step on a steep downward slope could send us tumbling all the way to the bottom. I'm not sure I really get the whole hiking thing but I do know that I appreciate the level path more than the rugged climb. Even if you are not a hiker, you can appreciate the picture of the trail opening onto a beautiful, lush meadow. Your breathing slows and your comfort level rises and you begin to think, "This was totally worth it!"

On my recent trek through Ecclesiastes I had to pause and think. In the midst of woe and meaningless whining about life, its struggles and its distractions we find Solomon encouraging us to find satisfaction in the simple things. He takes it down to the basic level each of us live at. Eat, drink and work. That's it. We can be content with what we have or we can strive, climb and worry our lives away to which Solomon would point out is "Meaningless."

Solomon also speaks to the things in life that come to us through no action on our part-the illness, the accident, the down sizing, the prodigal child- he tells us, "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other." And then he says," Remember that nothing is certain in this life. I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people." [7:14-14 NLT]

Solomon is pointing out there is no checklist or formula to living the perfect life. "Nothing is certain." No matter who we are, how closely we follow the Lord, or how much faith we possess S*** Happens. I'm sorry if I am offensive but lets be realistic. When life gets hard don't you think, "This STINKS!"?

Woe is universal. It strikes us all. It doesn't matter if we are righteous or wicked we will meet up with it eventually. There is no escape. But in the passage from Ecclesiastes it says, "...consider this: God has made the one as well as the other." And that's when we think,"Really, Lord. I'm doing the best I can and now this! There is no hope here." But when the disappointment subsides and we can begin to see clearly again that's when we can actually can start to realize that God is indeed in those dark days as well working to bring about things that could happen any other way. Blessings in disguise some would say.

One 'undercover' blessing came to me at very critical time in my life as they always do. My dad was dying. His body was ravaged with cancer brought on by his lifestyle choices. No amount of prayer was going to turn the tide on this one. Nor did I even think God was working here. After all, Dad had indicated the church would fall down if he ever entered it. So to protect the other parishioners he stayed clear of the building on Sundays. It seemed as though he had turned his back on God. The real truth is he felt unworthy but a few months before my dad's death came a new revelation.

On one of my last visits my dad was calling each of us aside and presenting us with a gift of a personal item he held dear throughout his life. His hunting knife, his hat, his rifle, his watch went to various siblings. They were just things he knew we would like or he just wanted us to have to remember him by. When he got to me he said, "Sis, I don't have anything in my box for you." I shrugged it off with, "That's OK, Dad," knowing his love was really enough. But then he went on to say he wanted me to know he had made his peace with God and he had finally trusted him with his life.

Oh, My God! [reverently, of course] You are truly a God of miracles! I cannot tell you the pleasure I found in hearing my dad's profession of faith. A long season of prayer was answered and a daughter's broken heart restored. And that's not all. When it came time for his passing God blessed me again by allowing me to be with Dad when he saw the light of heaven. He pointed it out to me but my eyes that were still anchored to this earth could not see it. He went on his way to an eternal life with Jesus. A beautiful thing, indeed.

You know, I think I beg to differ with our wise man, Solomon, on the point that nothing is certain in life. I believe you can know for certain what the future holds. For instance, I know for certain that God is with me whether I am in good times or bad. [Deuteronomy 31:6] I know that because of his presence I will survive the bad times. [Psalm 16] But not only that. I will be blessed through them. There will be joy in them. Perhaps not about what I wanted or expected but joy all the same. I will look back and realize it was not a meaningless exercise but a time when God's power and glory as well as his love and compassion were on display in my life. [Romans 8:18, 28] And I have no doubt God will continue involve himself all aspects, good and bad, of my life. That is something I can count on. His ways are certain.

At the end of this particular portion of Scripture in Ecclesiastes Solomon states, "It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes]." I believe he is talking about grasping the good and the bad that comes to our lives. Hold them in your heart. Look for God and his wisdom in each situation. Know that God is at work bringing not just a good but the best outcome. This is what brings that sense of ease even in the midst of turmoil. When we do this it is like that experience we talked about in the beginning, the stepping onto that peaceful meadow. Trusting that God is in control of all situations allows us to stand in awe of the beauty he is creating in and around us. When we do we will surely find ourselves breathing out, "Now, this is totally worth it."

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Route 66: InternalChange Ahead

A wife of noble character who can find? 

 Proverbs 31:1

Oh, the dreaded Proverbs 31 woman is in our sights today. Of course we would love to be God's ideal of a woman but in reality her description just makes most of us feel anxious, extremely tired and a bit hopeless.  Where does this woman get all her energy? Up before dawn working all day and well into the night, she completes her check list with a satisfied smile. She sews, she shops, she cooks, she farms, she sells, she spins, she gives, she protects, she interacts with the community, she speaks wisdom, she gives good advice, she keeps an orderly home and she is never idle. How could she be with that list!  And another thing.  Nothing seems too much. She does her job well. So well in fact that others take notice.

What is the secret to this woman's unending pool of motivation and energy? The love for her husband or children? The need to help her friends and neighbors?  The responsibility of being a contributing member of society? These things may play into it but will never sustain the energy it takes to be successful. We find the answer way down in verse 30- "a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Its not the checklist God is after here. It is the heart of the woman that determines her nobility not her ability to stay busy all the time carrying out prescribed tasks. Does she fear the Lord is the real indicator. Once that is in place the motivation and energy to make a difference in this world will follow.

In case you are a little confused how being afraid of God could provide the positive example we see in Proverbs 31 let me give another definition.

fear [verb] to hold in awe [noun] -respectful fear and wonder [verb] -to think or speculate curiously [adjective] -eager to know [adjective] -full of desire or enthusiasm.

There you have it. I believe that if we follow our English definitions this woman was full of wonder about the Lord. Her mind was on him. She examined him with a need to know more about him and she did it with eagerness and enthusiasm. Enthusiasm [noun] actually means 'absorbing interest' which means she was extremely interested in the Lord but not only that she was engrossed [adj] with him. Her mind and attention were fully and completely occupied with the God. How then could she not be affected by him in everything she did?

There is a story about two other women in the New Testament you may be familiar with.  Two sisters, Mary and Martha, look forward to a gathering where Jesus was to be the guest of honor. Martha became distracted with the preparations for the event. Oh, the plans she made but in the end she grew weary of doing everything herself while her sister seemed preoccupied with their visitor, I can't blame Martha. I know her pain and frustration of trying to pull everything together for a perfect party. But perhaps I, as well as Martha have missed the point on these occasions. Jesus' answer to Martha brings it back into perspective.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,  but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

Jesus was saying, "The important thing here is we are spending time together and nothing can replace that. And when all that is left of the banquet is a sink full of dirty dishes, you will still have the relationship we have built interacting with one another. That lasts for ever."

Jesus was supposed to be the focus of the get together not the preparations Martha was spending so much time and energy doing on her own. I believe our Proverbs 31 woman likely has that all figured out in her life. Her focus is the Lord and his influence is seen in all that she does and accomplishes. The same is true for us. Our lives should have Jesus at their center and everything else we are involved with will reflect his presence.  A shift in perspective can bring that ideal women well within your reach. Jesus first, then... The noble lady of Proverbs-that 'perfect' woman- simply put is one who fears the Lord.

Route 66: Drive-Thru vs Roadside Diner

OMGosh, it's been a long time since I have have had to sit down and write. As many of you know we have had a wedding in our family. Our youngest daughter married in June to a very generous and kind young man whom we feel very happy to welcome to the family. With all of the activity of preparations along with company of friends and family there just hasn't been time to settle my mind to putting 'thoughts to paper'. God finally used a tiny slip of paper found in a fortune cookie last week to remind me it was time to get back to writing. It said, "You are an adventurer traveling on the highway of life" so today I am ready to get back on the road to see what God has for me to see.


OK...we are now in the book of Proverbs with our travels along Route 66. I do love this book and its lists of instructions, knowledge and wisdom Solomon wished to pass along to his son.

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:for gaining wisdom and instruction;for understanding words of insight;..." Proverbs 1:1-2

We, too have the opportunity to benefit from the writings of Solomon as well as others from the Bible and since they are directly inspired by God himself we can gain more insight about him every time we read it.

Recently, I was a approached  by a woman from our summer Bible study and was complimented for my knowledge of the Scriptures. She had been encouraged by something I had said which in turn had made her think about God's word all week. (This was a happy dance moment for me because I love to promote God's word in women's lives.) She also admitted feeling a bit intimidated by me and the wisdom I possessed. The last thing I want to be intimidating so I  revealed to her and now, to you that this wisdom/knowledge thing has not always been prevalent in my life.

For most of my adulthood I have lived as a nominal Christian. I guest you can say I just snacked on God from time to time. I attended church services but did not read the Bible outside of filling a few blanks in a study booklet but about ten years ago, something changed. I joined a Bible study and decided to really take on studying the portion of Scripture put in front of me. As I worked through the passages, God revealed himself to me in such a way I never wanted to let go. It created a hunger for something substantial in regards to God. I wanted to know him more and I knew the way to do that was not by hearing what others had to say about him. I needed to discover him, his ways, his thoughts and his desires for myself through his word. Our relationship became personal as I was getting to know him first hand and loving every minute of it.


So, as they say,"The rest is history." I continue to seek his wisdom through his word and I get so filled up I have to share it with others. I am not wise outside of his influence.  I say all this because its attainable in everyone's life. I am no one special. Anyone who wants to have more knowledge about God  needs only to jump in and get started exploring the Scriptures for themselves. I guarentee you will never want to go back to mediocre life of just knowing what others tell you about him. You will want to get to know God for yourself in a way that makes him real and your relationship with him meaningful.

Am I perfect when it comes to daily studying the word? Hardly. I am like everyone else. I struggle to find time, I get distracted by life and its drama and sometimes I just can't seem to find the motivation. I have days, sometimes several in a row when I don't open the Word but I can always tell when I have been away too long. I start to get cranky and critical. I begin to feel shaky and weak. Sounds a bit like hunger and low blood sugar don't ya think. When I have these physical symptoms, that's when I know I need to sit down and have something to eat. So too, when these symptoms are spiritual. I need hardy portion of the Scriptures.

 In  the Old Testament there is in an exchange between God and Ezekiel as Ezekiel prepares for his mission. In The Message it reads like this--

 "He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel." As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey." Ezekiel 3:1-3

Love it! Eat my words. Linger over them for they are pleasant and they keep you coming back for more. These instructions are good advice to us, as well, especially when its been awhile since our last meal on the Word. Just the thing to put us back on track feeling strong and energized. So pull up a chair, settle in and begin to feast on the best thing you will every eat. And you sure can't beat the company.

 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." 

Revelation 3:20

Route 66: Eat Drink and Be Merry!

Once I finished with the genealogy in 1 Chronicles, I have a sense of being trapped with the "Life's Short, Talk Fast" Gilmore Girls and a quick version of David's life. It's almost as if we are cramming for an exam and just need to hit the high points as we review. So, just for fun I thought I would share with you a fun resource I have come across-- Cooking with the Bible.  This book contains menus and recipes for the foods mentioned in the stories we have been reading.  For instance, when Sarah found herself preparing a meal for unexpected guests we can look to Entertaining Angels Unawares for the menu and recipes.  And if you want to make Rebekah's "Tasty Dish" used to entice her husband to hand over the blessing to the wrong son then All for a Father's Blessing is the place to look.  We can even find recipes for date and raisin cakes found in the 1 Chronicles 16 celebration give baskets in Abigail Cooks to Appease.  There are many more recipes and menus to be had at this site as well as commentary on the individual stories.  It is great fun to look at and may even come in handy at your next gathering. Enjoy!

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."  Ecclesiastes 8:15

Route 66: The Chronicles

Recently, I watched an episode of The Waltons, the story of a family in Virginia during the 30s and 40s. It contains a fair amount of history of that time period mixed in the with the joys and struggles found in the everyday life of any family. This particular segment called 'The Family Tree' tells the story of one of the Walton's neighbors, a African American woman named Verdie and her search for her identity. She confessed that because she knew nothing of her history she felt as though she was just floating without the grounding factor of legacy. She wanted the roots family history brings.

Perhaps that is why God takes time again to remind us we come from somewhere.  Notice I say 'we' because this family tree listed in 1 Chronicles is ours. I think if we take time to realize this, too, is our history then perhaps it will have more meaning to us.  As Christians, this is our legacy, the place we come from. Our people.

 I think most of us of have some sense of our personal history. We can track our family tree at less a few generations back. It provides us a road map along with hopefully a few good stories about where we came from. My husband's own grandfather was a Swedish immigrant who came through Ellis Island with saxophone in hand. He settled in Boston and married into the family whose ancestor was General Pickering of the Revolutionary War. Somehow knowing these things gives me a feeling of longevity and belonging.

For Verdie of The Waltons, her search lead her to the knowledge her people we slaves of a once prominent family in the area who before that lived their lives on the African continent.They had names. They came from somewhere. She discovered her story and in turn, it grounded her soul.

For us, the same is true as we realize these accounts found in the Bible belong to us as much as they do to Israel. Our story has been one in the making since the beginning of time, back when our people, Adam and Eve, began their lives in the garden of Eden. They extend down through time to the birth of our Savior, Jesus and even beyond through the early church and even even revealing whats to come in our future.These stories are personal so as you read the lists of names recount the tales of those who came before because they are our great, great, great granddaddies, after all.

Route 66: Just Crossed the Border into 1 Kings

Whew!  I didn't think I'd make it after being stuck in 2 Samuel so long but here I am. David's reign has come to its end and he wants to put his successor in place. But would the real king please step forward. When all is said and done Solomon would find the crown firmly placed on his head and with David's marching orders in his ears to "Clean House!" he takes his position as leader of the country.

Then, in a life changing moment God appears to Solomon and says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” [3:5] Boy, is this ever a loaded proposition.  "Whatever you want..."  Our minds start to run over all the possibilities. I wonder if Solomon's did too before came upon the correct answer or had God already prepared his heart for this very moment. Whatever the case, when it came down to it he knew what he was going to need to fill his father's footsteps--

  “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” [3:6-9]

A discerning heart and a discerning mind. Out of all the things that can be asked of God these two things perhaps are the most useful.  Solomon knew he needed God's wisdom- His heart and His mind- to lead the people entrusted to his care. Good choice considering he could not successfully rule over God's people without God's ways.

Life whether moving through our own or leading others is a whole lot easier in general when lived according to God's heart and God's mind. Today, none of us every have to wonder what God's mind is about things. We have it written down for us in the Bible and more than one copy can be found in most of our homes as well as on the Internet. And if you "have hidden [his] word in [your] heart" (Psalm 119:11) and  "meditate on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8), you will have instant access to it anywhere you go.  The Holy Spirit will also reminds of what God has taught you and the ever important action of asking God for his wisdom also works. See, you are never far from a discerning heart and mind.

I can't leave you without mentioning a couple other verses I love about 'asking God'. Jeremiah 33:3 tells us to, "‘Call to [Ask] me and I [God] will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." and Matthew7:7  says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." In the Matthew passage its say,"everyone who poses a question, seeks an answer and knocks for the door of understanding to be opened will receive what they need so we should never hesitate. Yes, when God says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” it is a loaded proposition.  Depending on your request, it could be one whose answer will lead you to the best life possible- one that pursues God, his heart and his mind. Perhaps you should consider Solomon's choice.

Route 66: I Think I See the Tow Truck!

One last thought before, I leave 2 Samuel. Sometimes when you are stuck in a rut, you have to throw it in reverse to get out so that is just what I am doing. We're going to back up to chapter 23 where it says, "Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors." Don't ya love it! Exploits and mighty men. How exciting is that?
 
The story is about David hiding out in a cave and his thirst was getting the best of him. He says in his dehydration induced stupor,  “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”  Really? Risk your life for a drink of water?! How about a drink for a well on our side of the front? How about that? But off his mighty men go to serve their king.

This is a beautiful thing really, how diligent these men were to please David. There may have been a bit of adrenaline rush for these fellows who loved exploits but the outcome would be the same. David would be honored with their service. David would however "refuse to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD" as an offering because he was so totally overwhelmed by how these men could risk their lives for him.

At what level do you serve your King? As these mighty men ready at any moment to please the Lord? Or do you hold back looking for a way that wouldn't cost you quite so much? The choice is yours.  I kind of like the words mighty and exploits so I guess you know what I'll choose. I never want to turn down an opportunity for a great adventure! ;-D