“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV

“The two most important days in life are the day you born and the day you discover the reason why.” – Mark Twain

I believe God’s purpose is love. “For God so loved the world that he gave…” “Love never fails.”  “The one who fears is not perfected in love.” “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” But how God achieves or demonstrates his love is unique to each character in the Bible and unique to each of us. He created us, after all!

What is your purpose? Mine is to love and teach my children, grandchildren, employees and community. How do I achieve this? Through work, goal-setting, education, story-telling, saving, experiences and more. When my granddaughters were little, horses were one way I showed love. They learned to care for the horses by grooming, feeding, riding and praising the horses. They achieved many things with the horses but my purpose was to love and demonstrate love to them and teach love for God’s creation. I pray that when I’m gone, they’ll continue their purpose no matter they’re achievements.

One thing that is sure is we have a purpose no matter our stage in life, no matter our age, looks, disability or intelligence. When dust accumulates on the awards and trophies, our children have grown, health is fading, looks are gone, money is scarce, memory is faltering, purpose is still there. God helps us to continue until we’re with him in Paradise.

Musings

We get confused about purpose vs. achievement and sometimes we get off track with busyness. My purpose in writing this little devotion is to demonstrate God’s love for you. I achieve this by writing, researching, praying, sharing and paying for the blog service. If I fail, my purpose is still the same. I may need to find other ways to share God’s love but the purpose remains. Jesus’ purpose is to seek and save—the ultimate love. It still is. So is mine. So is yours. Our trophies, achievements and treasures are all laid down some day and we exchange it for a crown but our love will remain. Purpose.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for our achievements but especially thank you for our unique purpose. Thank you that you teach and encourage us in our purpose. Our achievements will differ according to our stage in life but our love for you and our purpose remains. Our purpose and yours is love.

Amen.

Where’s our focus?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV

“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” John Wooden, basketball coach

I received the most wonderful Christmas present from my sweetheart. A little chihuahua mix with the most loving soul. I missed having a lap dog since the Maltese I had died from heart failure over a year ago. I missed having a little dog that loves to go on road trips, walks and watches TV with me. There’s a lovely Queensland, Red Heeler to some of you, that is a wonderful dog but a lap dog she ain’t! This little boy came to me via an elderly woman who was placed in assisted living. She knows her little pup is loved and deeply cared for. He’s never alone.

Except… The temperature where I live dropped to below zero with windchills in the minus 30’s and snow over a foot deep. Did my little dog, Benny (named by the previous owner), relish doing his “business” outside? Nope! Chasing after him, scolding and new dog euphoria turned to despair until praise entered my mind. shoveled a sheltered place with grass, placed treats in my pocket. Eureka! Business was done with making over him as if he had cured cancer. No one saw my despair as I cleaned dog messes. No one saw my joy when Benny got the picture. Time to focus on excellence, praise and whatever is true.

People need praise too. Training our minds to concentrate on what is excellent or praiseworthy is twisting ourselves into pretzels and knotholes because this is not natural—it’s supernatural! To do this with annoying, unkind, judgmental people is supernatural too. This comes from training our minds, agreeing with God and practice, practice, practice. It’s giving people space to change. Has anyone given this to you? Did it help get you on the right track? Transformation. God working through us and others.

Musings

Sometimes we withhold praise because of the scarcity mentality. If I praise someone and I get nothing in return or worse, criticized, there’s less for me. But not true in God’s world. In fact the more we practice this, the larger our hearts and lives grow and become rich. We let go of twisting ourselves into pretzels or dragging ourselves through knotholes. We get closer to others, ourselves and God. We get closer to how much God loves us. Transformation. Again.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for your love. Thank you for the ability to see and embrace what is lovely, noble, true, praiseworthy. “As a man thinks, so is he” is a valuable truth no matter our circumstances and protects us from the Evil One. Help us to focus on your son, the picture of all that is lovely, noble, true and praiseworthy and let’s celebrate our transformation into his image.

Amen.

Yes because you are beloved.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1

What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” ― Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer

Our father has taken care of our significance. We don’t need to look to things or people to affirm our significance. Sometimes we receive affirmation from others, which is wonderful, but we don’t depend on others’ approval. We are beloved of God, which means greatly loved. This is difficult to grasp at best and impossible to comprehend at worst. But it’s true. God is not a liar. Jesus loved us so much that he died for us and gave us the Holy Spirit. When we truly know we are beloved, not just feel, which is incredible, we are able to influence.

 We are able to persuade.

 We are able to give space for others to change.

We are patient, or as Corinthians says, “long suffering.”

We are free to serve.

We are free to lead with courage.

We are secure.

We are content.

We don’t force ourselves or others.

We don’t threaten.

We are significant because we are his beloved.

We are able to influence others to know God’s son because God transforms us into his image.

We use our failures, mishaps, griefs and troubles to build community and share in God’s grace.

Musings

God painted such strong and sure images of who we are in Christ to demonstrate our worth and power. We are salt and light. We are overcomers. We are victorious. We are the mirror of his son. We are greatly loved. May we take this deep into our hearts and know and feel his great love, especially in the new year.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you that we are wonderfully made. Thank you for the great love you have for us demonstrated in your son. Help us to really “take in” how much we are loved by you. Help us to share, gently and with respect, the love you have for others. If we are to overcome, build your kingdom and look forward to “home,” it starts and ends with love.

Amen

Whatever your goals, age, career, position in life, you’ll always be a beginner at something. Even Jesus started as a baby. So, cherish your New Year’s goals and remember it’s okay to be a beginner. Happy and blessed New Year!

Beginners

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 NLT

“Change is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” — Robin Sharma

Why, oh why do we feel shame if we are a beginner? Babies learning to walk don’t feel shame, some bumps and bruises along the way, and they fall down many times before they run. Learning to ride a bicycle was daunting in my childhood years, yet I persisted and soared through forests, bumpy dirt roads and grassy vacant lots. Then I tackled ice-skating. Ouch! I had no embarrassment or shame in learning to play a game, the computer, driving. I did as I got older and someone saw me struggling. The focus was taken off the activity and onto me. When did it become shameful to become a beginner? I made many mistakes as a widow. I’ve never been a widow before. When I became a manager, I made mistakes. I’d never managed before. Quitting destructive behaviors. I’d never done that before. In fact, destructive behaviors are quite easy to pick up. Well, except when I started smoking and had to smoke a pack till I was nauseous, dizzy and green.

We are all new at something for the rest of our lives. Old? Yep. You’ve never been old before. Married? Yep. Never done that before. And if you’re remarried, you’ve never been married to that particular person before. New job? Yep. New people and skills to sharpen our education. Grace, loads and loads of it, is needed in all beginning situations.  We’re all beginners at something.

What to do?

Musings

Show up!!!  Take a class, ask a friend or mentor for help, read a book, do an online search, ask God for wisdom and courage. You’ll still fumble at first. But every day you show up, you’re making progress. Sometimes slowly and sometimes quickly. Drop the embarrassment and if someone teases you, you can bet they’re new at something too. Say a quick prayer for the outlier and put you focus on Him. The One who does all and is all. Struggle. We all have messy beginnings and middles.

Prayer

Father, I was new when I became a part of your family with failures, sins and regrets. You welcomed me any way. Being new at anything in this world is humbling, scary, requires patience, discipline and trust. Hold back my shame in being a beginner. Help me to accept that we all,l from infants to the very old, are learning new things. Help me to be kind and understanding with beginners in my life. “Unless we become like children…”

Amen.

Because of the extraordinary greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 2 Corinthians 12:7 NASB

“If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.”
― C.S. Lewis

There are many thoughts on what Paul’s thorn was. I’m too busy working with my thorn to contemplate another’s. My thorn is insecurity. There’s no denying it. Yes, some of it came from childhood experiences. In the third grade, I was a notorious tiny chatter box and captivated with the fellow students and all their experiences and talents. The teacher was not impressed at all! She taped my mouth shut in front of the class with some pretty painful tape, called my parents.  Parents agreed with the punishment. No denying this experience and others formed some pretty horrific ideas of who I am. What thorn did the teacher possess?

What does my insecurity do? It allows me to blame, drink too much, take things personally, avoid responsibility (after all, I’m no good at anything) and on and on. But there’s something to be learned from Paul’s statement about who sent me my thorn. It’s a messenger of Satan to torment me. Not my parents. Not my teacher. They were complicit, perhaps. Why? To keep me from exalting myself. Other translations use the words becoming conceited. Paul goes on to exclaim there is Power in weakness. God’s power.  Some things take God and community. That takes a boatload of trust. We all have a thorn.

Have I got rid of my insecurity? No. Have I prayed about? Yes. Over and over and over. Have I sought counseling from pastors and secular counselors? Yes. Have I read over and over who I am in Christ? Yes. And more. It’s better. There’s improvement. I take responsibility. Risks are taken but there are symptoms that still plague me and only God’s Power removes them and not instantly.

Musings

The wounds from others are there, haunting, painful, sticky. However, we can take these wounds to our Father and let him guide us and heal us. It’s a lifetime of work, endurance and trust. That obnoxious and persistent thorn! Wounds need to be acknowledged. Pain gets our attention. Patience truly is a virtue. Trust is critical. The results amazing!

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for your power. We don’t have to battle our weaknesses alone and in fact, your power is revealed in our weaknesses. Help us to share our weaknesses with those that are struggling and share in the victories too. A famous quote, “We can do what I cannot,” is, thankfully, true.

Amen.

“The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Thank you and may blessings multiply to you and yours! You have been such a gift to me on my journey home.

This past year has been tumultuous at best! There have been many losses and challenges personally, professionally and in our country. We keep going. We keep believing. We keep loving. We are beloved by God and he never, ever leaves us or forsakes us.

Again, blessings today and every day. Merry Christmas!

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Life is a Test

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV

“A true test of character isn’t how you are on your best days but how you act on your worst days.” Unknown

Talk about a real let down for me when I read the above. I am a horrible test-taker! Anxiety, images of past failures and throw in a touch of ADD and my stomach churns, hands shake and doom sets in. In God’s world, it is a pass or fail. I believe and receive Christ or I don’t. No make-up tests. No extra credit. No dog ate my homework. No three strikes rule.

However, once we believe, the real testing begins. Faith is tested to help us become more like Jesus. Whether knowingly or not, when we believe in Christ, the Enemy ravages us with everything he’s got. He’s really ticked! The Enemy may come in so many disguises including “Angel of Light,” that discourage us. It’s a test.

Driving home from work in a blizzard. Was I joyful? No. It was white knuckling, reciting the Lord’s Prayer and sometimes I prayed like Peter, “Lord, save me!” But I didn’t fail the test.

God says to test him too, which is mentioned only once in the Bible. “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10

Musings

Count it all joy. We can because of what Christ and the Holy Spirit do for us. Even when we’ve succumbed to an addiction, cursed our Father—so many grave disappointments, we come back just a little bit better, a little more steadfast in our faith and trust. We pass the test.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you that your son took the test for us with flying colors. No matter the challenges, joys and heartaches, with Jesus we pass the test here and in heaven later. No matter the outcomes here on Earth, we pass in heaven with joy. Help us to share this with others. Help us to live this truth. Help us to celebrate we are not failures.

Amen.

It’s Only Information

Prolonging the Pain

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

“It’s only information. Don’t make their problem yours.”

Hooray! It’s the holidays! Time for celebrating, laughing, singing and oh those wonderful family gatherings. Or not. Everybody’s drinking. You’re not. Politics are being slung around the table. You’re holding your tongue. Gossip abounds. Your past mistakes are the main event with knowing stares and nods. Your beautiful and appetizing banquet is criticized without mercy by “that one.” People are messy, cruel and totally unconscious of who they are. Unconscious.

Pause. Breathe. Remember, it’s only information. It’s information about the other and not you. It’s a warning sign and not about you. It’s dysfunctional to the max. It’s not you. Don’t twist into a pretzel. Don’t get defensive. If someone called you a chair, you’d think they’re nuts and move on. If someone called you any name, they’re in their own reality and not yours. We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are. Hold on to your precious soul. Easy? No. If it was, everyone would be doing it, including your accuser. When you’ve done everything you can to stand, keep standing in your integrity.

Pause. Breathe. Remember you’re beloved. If you must, gently make an exit. Take a walk. Quick prayer. Have a snot-running cry.  Phone a dear mentor or friend. Again, you’re loved by the Creator of all things. There’s a time to work on toxicity. Not now. Maybe after the holidays with prayer and reflection. But not now.

Don’t letenvy, controlling, judging, bullying, comparing, complaining, whining, aggressiveness, shame, guilt become yours. Don’t let it ruin a lovely holiday—your holiday. That setting boundaries thing. Stick to what is the next right thing and do that. Hide in the kitchen and do the dishes. Hold the baby. Play a game, pet the dog, but for Heaven’s sake, don’t throw away your confidence in Him! Shake the dust and move on.

And if you do lose it, I have horribly, give it to your Father. The next right thing will come.

The next day, you’ll feel empowered. You’ll feel grateful. You will have removed a big chunk of the log in your own eye. You’ll have more confidence in your intimate relationship with God. You’re building trust.

Musings

Falling down the rabbit hole. We all are so vulnerable to this, especially during the holidays or extreme stress. It seems all our hard work, prayer and faith are gone in one instant because of a troubling person or situation. Not true! It’s information and with the help of the Father, victory. It gets easier.

Prayer

Dear Father,

At this time of year with festivities, gifts, and yes, pressure, we forget we are perfectly loved by you. We forget that we have the perfect journey with you and so do those who hurt us. Please keep us in perfect peace during the holidays and every day with tremendous thanks. Help us to remember that even a tiny sparrow is noticed by you.

Amen