Yearly Archives: 2013

Summer, don’t go!

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Flip FlopsAlthough I wore flip-flops today, the comments of others made me realize I was pushing the season. In just a few days socks and shoes will be the norm, and my beloved flip-flops will have to go back into storage. It’s just one of the many mini-mournings of a summer person looking toward winter. Though the colored leaves have been stunning this year, in a short time they, too, will have put their summer fashions into storage.

Winter people are quick to mention the positives of their favorite season to us summer folk: the beauty of fresh snow, fires in the fireplace, soups on the stove, roasts in the oven, and 3 major holidays. We could argue over the seasons for quite a while and never come up with a clear winner.

But what does God think about our discussing which weather-season is best? Is he ok with that debate?

Actually, no.

So what does he want us to allow into our minds that comes out in conversation? What thoughts are above all others? Scripture tells us to put everything through a grid of 8 subjects. If we can honestly say a debate about the seasons falls under one of them, we can go for it. Here they are:

  1. Four SeasonsTruth
  2. Honor
  3. Righteousness
  4. Purity
  5. Beauty
  6. Excellence
  7. Worthiness
  8. Praiseworthiness

Could a discussion of favorite seasons fall under #5? Of course we couldn’t make a case for one season being more beautiful than another. Maybe a better leaning would be toward gratitude for seasonal variety or a discussion about the great creativity of the Almighty. We might even recognize him for the faithfulness he demonstrates in causing the 4 seasons to come and go with such flawless consistency.

The above list of 8 is given in one short Bible verse, Philippians 4:8. The Message translation gives us the same list in a slightly different way:

“You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Whining about the waning of summer and the gloom of packing away my flip-flops doesn’t fall under the list in either translation. Although debating which season is best probably isn’t sinful, it sure isn’t taking the conversational high road, and that includes conversation inside our heads.

Despite the fact that we live in a fallen world, God has surrounded us with unnumbered items from that list of 8. When I ignore those to yammer away about things that aren’t on the list, I’ve missed an opportunity to please God and do life his way.

WinterSo, as I slip my flip-flops into their storage bin (without complaining), I should tell God how lovely his summer season has been, that I’ve noticed his extra-vibrant fall colors, and that I’m looking forward to the beauties of the winter he sends, no matter what the weather report will say.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously.” (Matthew 6:33)

Precious Jewels

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When my sister and I were little girls, Mom often sang to us at bedtime before kneeling to pray. One of her songs was:

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Like the stars of the morning,
His brightness adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

BroachI loved the thought of precious jewels, having seen them (fake glass ones) on barrettes, broaches, and jewelry boxes. So one day I asked Mom what the song meant. What jewels?

“You!” she said. “The words are talking about Jesus gathering you and all the other children as precious jewels for his crown.”

It didn’t make much sense but sounded lovely. At a bare minimum it was a stepping stone of little-girl-faith. To be called “a jewel” or “a gem” meant I was precious to Jesus, high praise back then and still today.

To make the jewel idea visible, we think of jewelry given as gifts. Everybody appreciates that kind of thoughtfulness, even though most of us will never be given jeweled crowns. We have been given other things, though, bracelets, necklaces, rings.

Gift of EmeraldNate had been my gem supplier and took advantage of every opportunity to bless me with modest jeweled items. After his death, though, I didn’t expect anything more. Then came Emerald’s first birthday. After all her gifts had been opened, Birgitta handed me an emerald-colored gift bag and said, “Midge, this is for you.”

 

Birgitta's giftInside was a beautiful necklace with emerald-colored stones set on the branches of a silver tree.

Among other things, her accompanying note (written on green paper) said, “You love Emerald like she’s your own, and that means the world to me! I love you so much, and I’m so grateful for your love and support.” It was a gem-of-a-gift that caught me by surprise and made a big impact.

As I wear Birgitta’s beautiful necklace it challenges me to think about my own gift-giving. Though I can’t go out and buy jewels for everyone I know and love, God has given all of us a book full of gem-like gift ideas we can use. Here are 10 of them.

He suggests we give:

  • food to the hungry
  • good deeds to the needy
  • money to the church
  • grace for second chances
  • hours of servanthood
  • hope to those who have lost heart
  • clothes to the homeless
  • compassion to the wounded
  • encouragement to pastors
  • the gospel to those who haven’t heard

And if we work at giving these, just as Mom sang, we’ll all be gathered up as “bright gems for his crown.”

“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

To Do or Feel?

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Birgitta loves to read and always has. Because of that, she’s hoping her little Emerald will turn into a reader, too. Although she’s only 12 months, she already has her own bookshelf in our “library,” thanks to Louisa’s “bring-a-book” baby shower. (A Word or Two)

Emerald loves to handle her books and turns their stiff pages with expertise. She knows how to feel the “furry” or “nobby” pages and how to scratch open the peek-a-boo panels on pages with hidden surprises. Today while she was “reading,” though, I noticed something interesting.

Making a choiceThough she had handled a dozen books and was sitting amongst them, the one she kept returning to was a grown-up book she’d pulled from a different shelf. It was a dusty old reference book I’d used in my writing (before PCs and the internet) titled “20,000 WORDS SPELLED AND DIVIDED FOR QUICK REFERENCE.”

Trying to figure out what she liked about this bland book, I experimented with her.

Four different times I coaxed her into one of her toddler books, but each time she’d eventually brush it aside to hunt for “20,000 WORDS,” the book with no pictures or touchy-feely pages. Then she’d carefully finger it with intense concentration.

ConcentrationMaybe today, looking wasn’t as important as feeling.

It reminded me of the way God sometimes works behind the scenes on us. We think he wants us to look at a certain situation with an eye to fixing it, when really what he wants is for us to feel it, not with our hands but in our hearts.

For example, we might read about a family in chaos where the children are being neglected, and we immediately want to do something to right the wrongs. But it’s possible God doesn’t want us to jump in like that. Maybe he wants our hearts to feel such a potent ache that it drives us to prayer for the family rather than trying to fix things. Maybe he wants us behind the scenes requesting that he work wonders amidst the chaos.

So often we think we need to do something, when in reality praying is doing. It’s doing the most powerful, most effective thing possible. The fact that prayer is mostly done in secret and that no one knows about it except God, sometimes makes it more difficult to do. But may we never think that pouring our hearts out to God on someone else’s behalf isn’t as good as accomplishing something visible for them.

Feelin' itAs for Emerald, a few years from now she’ll be able to understand those 20,000 words and probably read them, too. When she does, I hope she’ll use them to talk to God in prayer.

“When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)