Tag Archive | heaven

The Gift or the Giver?

Dec19

What if on Christmas morning that gift that you’ve been longing for is under the tree? What would it be for you? The latest technology? The keys to a new car? That outfit you’ve been admiring in the store window?

What if, when you opened that gift, you said thank you to the giver, but then didn’t acknowledge him the rest of the day? What if, in the days and weeks to follow, whenever you talked to him, you just asked him for more stuff? You wouldn’t have much of a relationship with him, would you?

What if, instead of a gift under the tree, you found that person simply wanting to spend time with you? Would you be satisfied? Would it be enough simply to be with him? After all, you have let him into your life. You’ve told him you love him. If he never gives you the things that you want, but is always there by your side to listen, love and care for you, would that be enough?

I think that’s how I’ve been treating God lately. There are so many needs; not just my own. I have friends who have great concerns that I have promised to pray for. I have one nagging health issue that I really want to go away. So that’s what I’m asking for. But I’m not asking God to simply be with me, to enfold me in His arms and to keep me safe from the attacks of the enemy that would tell me God must not really love me if He keeps letting me experience this trial.

What do I really want, the Giver or the gifts He might give? Do I want heaven because of what it means to be there? No more tears, no more pain, streets of gold. Or do I long for heaven because it means perfect communion with God?

Today I am singing along: “All I want for Christmas is You.” Won’t you join me?

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photo credit: thedigestonline.com

Five Things That Make Me Think, “Really?”

May16

upside-down-eagle_1842013iThere are so many upside down and backwards things happening in America these days, I don’t know what bothers me more; the fact that sinners keep sinning, or the fact that I’m bothered by that. If I want things to run smoothly, I’m just going to have to wait for heaven. Meanwhile, I thought I’d just vent a little bit about those things that just make me shake my head.

1. “The pro-choice” movement  justifies their stance that a baby in utero is not human–unless it’s wanted by its mother. There’s a man in Florida right now accused of murder for tricking his girlfriend into taking the abortion pill (misoprostol) causing her to lose their 6-week-old fetus to miscarriage. Had she gone to a doctor or a Planned Parenthood location and gotten the same drug and taken it willingly and knowingly–with or without the father’s knowledge–it would have been deemed her choice. The father basically does the same thing–wants to get rid of the “contents of the uterus” that he helped put there–but because the mother wanted it, the father is accused of murder. That’s patently ridiculous.

2. The IRS is involved with health care. What in the world have they got to do with health care? And why are they being allowed to do the things they’re doing? Again, ridiculous to the point of incredulity.

3. The present administration thinks that it’s OK to invoke this sequestration thing to supposedly reduce spending while still spending into the billions if not trillions of dollars. I have no words for the futility of their thinking.

4. The president calls a former basketball player congratulating him on “coming out” yet sends not one official, in office, serving politician to the funeral for Margaret Thatcher. I’m sorry, Mr. President, but your priorities, in my opinion, are screwed up.

5. People turn a deaf ear to the hypocrisy of our leaders. And I’m not pointing fingers at just one political party. I used to be a very trusting person, but years of hearing rhetoric spouted has made me very suspicious of anything any politician says. It appears that anyone will say anything to get people to vote for them. Power corrupts. That is an age-old truth.

Oh, how I long for heaven. And how I pray for our country and our leaders. God have mercy on us all.

What would you add to this list? What are some times you think people are just downright crazy and blind to think the way they do? I’d love to hear your respectful opinions. No personal bashing or name calling allowed.

 

Once Upon a Time

Oct27

Last night, Morgan and I started watching the first season of the television show “Once Upon a Time.” The basic premise is that a black curse was cast upon all the inhabitants off a fairytale land wherein lived all the characters about which we grew up reading: Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin, Gepetto. Jiminy Cricket, etc. The main characters are Snow White and Prince Charming, who were the impetus for the curse from the evil queen in the first place. This curse threw everyone into this alternate, horrible world (ours), into a little town in Maine, where no one knows who they really are or remembers their past. If you ask them, it’s all kind of a blur.

There is one boy there, Henry, who knows that there is a curse, and he’s figured out who most everyone is. He was adopted as a newborn by the mayor of “Storybrooke,” who is actually the Evil Queen. It seems as though she knows who she is, but not entirely. In the fairytale world, Henry is the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming, because their daughter–Henry’s birth mother, Emma–was saved from the curse by being hidden in an enchanted tree. But I don’t think his adoptive mother knows that. It was foretold by the evil Rumplestiltskin that Emma would be the only one to break the curse. She would, on her 28th birthday, come back and save them.

Which is what is happening in the series.

What struck me about this show is the spiritual parallels it draws. Whether these are intentional by the creators and writers of the show, I don’t know; but they are obvious to me.

We live in a world under a curse

We have no hope here; our only hope lies in the place we were meant to be

The evil one is constantly trying to thwart our efforts to break his stronghold

We don’t really know who we are until we find our identity in Christ

As followers of Jesus, our job is to help people discover their true identities–children of the King

Figuring out what is true and what is not can be difficult sometimes

We can change the world and lift the curse

Good always wins

We haven’t yet learned why the Evil Queen (Regina, in the town of Storybrooke) hated Snow White so much. She said she took something from her that was very important, but they haven’t yet–as of episode 5 of the first season–revealed what that something is. Unless I missed it, which is entirely possible.

Hope is very important. Henry, when asked by his psychologist (the Jiminy Cricket character, whom he sees because Regina wants this whole “town under a curse and she’s the evil queen” thing to be counseled out of his brain) why it’s so important that his theory about the curse is true, said “because this can’t be all there is.”

You’re right, Henry: This isn’t all there is.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-3, New International Version.)

Thankful today for:

624. a retreat for the men in my  household

625. girl time

626. just the outer bands of a hurricane affecting us

627. sleeping in

628. a day with no agenda

629. pumpkin puree

Not Where I Belong

May18

Yesterday, as I was watching my Oakland A’s play the Texas Rangers on the MLB app on my Blu Ray player (I love technology), I randomly heard a snippet from the Building 429 song “Not Where I Belong.” The lyrics of the chorus go like this: “All I know is I’m not home yet. This is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus. This is not where I belong.” After getting over the shock of hearing such a blatantly Christian song at a baseball game, I thought about the words.

Why do we sometimes feel like such aliens here on earth? Well, it’s because we are. This world is not our home. 1 Peter 4:11 says, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” Our citizenship is in heaven.

I have a dear friend who has lived in Australia for the past nearly five years. She and her family are coming back this summer. While she has come to love the land down under, she is still a citizen of the United States. She has made many friends that she will be leaving behind, but she is coming back to many friends here who still love her. Will the re-entry be easy? I’m guessing not, because she was all there and is returning before she really wanted to. But her parents’ declining health has made it necessary. Will her heart be torn? Yes. She gave a big part of it to Australia, even though she was only a temporary resident. Was that a bad thing? No. She needed to be all in while God had her there. But we as believers are warned not to become so enamored of this world that we have a hard time thinking about going home.

The Bible speaks to this issue: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

We are on a mission here., and we are to represent Jesus as ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Our greatest desire should be to return home where we belong, and to bring as many people with us as we can. But I remember when I was younger, I didn’t want to die before I was able to experience certain things here on earth: getting my driver’s license, getting married, having children. But how those pale in comparison to being home with Jesus. While there is much beauty on earth, the beauty of heaven cannot be compared.

All I know is I’m not home yet. This is not where I belong.

Thankful today for:

285. cookie crunch frappiccinos from Starbucks. Yum

286. three more days of teaching this year

287. my little sister and nephew being able to join us in Seattle

288. the smell of bacon

289. insightful articles

290. being republished

291. an anticipated party

292. coupons

293. gift cards

294. a lessening pain

295. kitty breath

296. appreciation

The Golden Rule

Feb18

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3 NIV).

What would happen if everyone, and I mean everyone, followed the golden rule? Treat others the way you want to be treated. Can you imagine? It’s pretty unimaginable since we’re so used to not living that way.

The police and military would be unnecessary. I’m thinking there would be no national debt. Certainly no prisons or justice system. There would be no poor because everyone would give generously. Health would improve–both mental and physical. No greed, no crime, no selfishness.

Ahhhh, It would be heaven.

Oh yeah.

Heaven.

Thankful for:

33. nice weather for a family and friends bike ride

34. fresh made muffins

35. hot tubs