Rationalizing

He’s given you a task. The true reason is His. You might justify the task with a dozen different goals, and maybe they are warranted, but only He knows the absolute outcome.

The Lord told me to write. He put stories in my heart. He gave me the gift of gab.

I wrote books; fiction and non-fiction. I’m dyslexic which amounts to the worst speller and typist. I thought that if I could show my nieces and nephews that I could do it they would take the ability for granted.

I started a blog. I thought blogging was a means for me to share tidbits of advice with my nieces and nephews. Who else would care what I had to say? I thought by sharing my personal experiences, be they good judgement or foolishness, I would pass on some good sense to those I care most for. You know the ‘Learn from My Mistakes’ sagacity I garnered from my experiences and even more importantly from the guidance of others.

My nieces and nephews didn’t read them.

So, I stopped writing. How could I justify my voice if the audience didn’t want to listen?

But on my morning walk the Lord reminded me of the task He’s given me; to write. So, I’m writing. The rationalization for my prose must be; He told me to.

As Christians we are all commissioned to share the Good News (Matthew 28: 18-20). Today I am not writing as an Aunt but as a sister in Christ with hope that these words will somehow encourage you to preform the task He has given you despite the rationalization.

Have you heard the news?

On September 23^rd the celestial alignment John prophesied as a great sign in heaven will appear: …a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Revelations 12:1 (NKJV). Astrologers would tell you something about Virgo (the woman) being in Leo with Venus, Mercury and Mars (the 12 stars). John’s forewarning continues with a red dragon and the birth of child. Some theologians support the biblical warning with precursors from Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zachariah and a count of Jubilee years. Astrologers say Jupiter and the moon and the other stars are completing a phase begun 9 months ago (the length of a pregnancy). Though there are several opinions on how rare an occurrence this is both biblical and astrological interpreters call it rare. Okay I’m not an astrologer or a doom’s day evangelist but what if…? What if the Rapture will happen then? What if the Tribulation will begin with the last trumpet sounded during this year’s Feast of Trumpets? Selfishly I’m happy to be saved from any more floods, earthquakes, fires, diseases and violence. But then that also means I must face my maker in the courts of heaven. Yes, I am made righteous by the blood and grace of Jesus Christ. Still, Matthew 12:36 warns that I must account for every idle (careless) word spoken. Whoa –that’s a lot of words. But there is hope. The next verse says that there is acquittal too! Acquittal comes with repentance. Rapture comes with belief. Believe and repent. I know that I’ll be saved because the only unpardonable sin is rejecting Him. I stand strong in my faith and shout the good news that Jesus Christ is my Living Lord and Savior. Hallelujah! Throughout the bible there are declarations that the end is near. Alright, it also says that no one is to know the time. But we shall know the season. Autumn begins with an exceptional planetary display this year. Will I watch the show from the backyard? What if this is the season? I have to wonder – have I done all I was meant to do? Have I fulfilled His plan for my life? Perhaps I was born only to write the words you are now reading. Perhaps the end is here and the second coming is only a few days away. What if it is? Have you made the good confession? Let’s be gathered to heaven together. Believe and repent.

We prepared and we prayed.

All outdoor decor and plants were moved to the garage. There was no lumber so we removed fence pickets and used them to board the picture window. We filled every closable container with water. We put batteries in every candle and flashlight we had. The cupboard was full of food we could eat without cooking. We had a cooler of ice for food that required refrigeration. We had a battery operated NOAA radio and battery operated fans. We hunkered down in front of the TV and watched the news. Hurricane Harvey was forecast to hit as a Cat 1 or 2 with torrential rains. The wind came long before the rain. Well it was a breeze really. We watched the storm gain strength, the rain started and the breeze became a squall. As they declared Harvey a Cat 4 we lost power. As night approached we watched the destruction of our neighborhood begin. We saw sheets of rain tearing over rooftops, utility poles leaning and swaying, tree bowed until they broke or were pulled from the ground. Roof tiles, mail boxes, trash cans, broken tree limbs and branches joined the wind and the rain and became Harvey’s weapons. The night brought darkness. Inability to see made the sounds of breaking glass and buckling fences terrifying. No pitter-patter, the rain sounded like buckets of water continually hurling. At the peak of the storm the house creaked and groaned as the wind thrashed. All night and well into the next day Harvey brutalized the gulf coast. When he’d had his fill of us he moved on to assault and devastate others. Irma is now stomping a path of devastation as grand as Harvey ever attempted. She is hurtling toward people I know and love and areas I adore. If I could I would pluck you all out of harm’s way. Please prepare and evacuate but above all pray. I am.

Claim it!

I have my mother’s hands; Arthritic. For the last few years I have been watching my hands swell and twist a little more each day so that my middle and pinky fingers no longer bent and my index fingers were trying to move to the center of my hands. Unable to see a doctor, I searched out every healing verse the Bible had to offer and claimed them. I’ve claimed my healing. What does that mean exactly? It’s like going to lost and found – they have the sun glasses you left on the table two days ago. They’re yours – you claim them. In the late 1800 there was a land rush in Oklahoma. Participant sought out a track of land and claimed it! There are websites that locate unclaimed property so you can claim it. Christians are saved, healed, loved, protected, and blessed – but we must claim it. For years I’ve been saying I know it. But saying I know I have these gifts, these mercies, is not claiming them. Claiming means you have no doubt they are yours. Christians have no doubt that Jesus became the sacrificial lamb. We know he died to reconcile us to God; our atonement. Peter informs us that by His stripes we are healed. If only we believe. All of God’s promises are delivered with faith. Yes, faith too is delivered. But still we have doubts. Peter walked on water until he doubted, then he sank like a rock! He was with Jesus. He saw all the miracles being performed. But he hadn’t yet claimed those awesome powers. Like Peter, we think that all those passages, they are referring to someone else – not me. Yes me! Yes you, too. I’m nearly 60 but I’m new to this claiming act. But I put my mind to it. I not only believed – I insisted. Each day for the last month I awake and examine my hands. First the swelling stopped. Then the twisted digits straightened. Today I can move all of my fingers. And by move I mean make a real fist! Each day I awake believing I am being healed – and I am. Perhaps if my faith was greater I would have received total healing all at once. Perhaps if I could have afforded medical treatment I wouldn’t have sought and received it at all. I sought it, believed it, claimed it and received it. I hope you will too.

Detour or change of destination?

I thought I was on a roll. I thought I was on God’s ‘accelerated’ path. Within a year I’d published 3 books, started a blog and started three more books. I was just breezing along and then Bam! My hard drive fried. Well not mine but rather my computers. I have to admit I didn’t know how to react. I was like a deer staring into headlights. It was as if I’d lost my job all over again. My day revolved around my computer. I even enrolled in online studies. I was lost. How could I write without a computer? Was God telling me I shouldn’t write? Was He closing yet another door? I moped around the house. Oh I cooked and cleaned but internally I was moping. Then, I actually felt the Lord smile upon me as He asked “How would you advise your nieces and nephews to respond to a situation like this?” Well that gave me something to think about. I would advise them to pray about it. I’d advise them to be certain that their destination was really where the Lord wanted them to go. And if it was, I’d advise them to view this as a detour> A detour is not the end of the journey it’s just a chance to take in some different scenery and build a little character. And if they were headed to the wrong place they should ask God to give them a revelation about where they should be going instead. Taking your own advice is not easy but I did it. I prayed. I prayed. And then I prayed some more. Then I heard Robert Morris explain that the dream is not the destiny – it’s just the motivation to get you there. Well, I thought, that’s all well and good but my dream was writing. That night I dreamed about computers. Not surprising, ‘huh? The next morning I pulled a HP with a blown motherboard out of the closet and exchanged its hard drive for the Dell blown one! Well the operating systems are different, not all the drives are compatible and I’ve lost all the data for the books I was working on but I’m writing! I’m not sure that I appreciate the scenery but I am sure that it’s just a detour.

Built-in sonar!

That feeling you get when choosing between right and wrong – you know the one I’m talking about. Your stomach tightens a little. Your heart skips a little. Your conscience whispers, “I don’t know.” But you do! If you didn’t already know you wouldn’t have those feelings. Those feeling are a gift from God. They are the voice of God. That’s Him, living in you, guiding you. Don’t ignore Him. Listen to what He has to say. Stop and listen. Consider ALL of the consequences of the choice you are about to make. It is a choice. Those nudges are the result of a choice. John 2 tells us that the Spirit is in us, teaching us. You don’t need anyone else to tell you that what you are about to do is right or wrong. He’s told you. Believe Him. That feeling – that’s conviction. It’s wonderful! Imagine our own little built-in sonar beeping away as we approach life’s intersections. What’s that you say? “You wish you had listened.” “Thanks for telling me now that I’ve blown it!” Now that whisper has turned into a shout. Now your stomach is totally tied up in a knot. Now your heart is racing. Yep – I know that feeling too. That’s guilt. Watch out for that one. That leads straight to condemnation. It is not from God. Romans 8 tells us there is no condemnation for those in Christ. God doesn’t want you to feel guilty. He wanted you to know right from wrong – and now you do. Now that you recognize that you made the wrong choice change your course; stop that behavior, turn around – and forgive yourself. He’s already forgiven you. We all make mistakes. I don’t know about you – but I’ve learned more from my mistakes than any class I’ve ever attended. And the most important lesson I’ve ever learned is that I am not condemned. I am redeemed. There is only 1 unforgivable sin and if you believe in Him you haven’t committed it. Jesus Christ has paid for all of our wrong choices so that we are not now, nor ever forsaken (Hebrews 13).Conviction and condemnation are not the same. Respect the sacrifice Jesus made for you and accept God’s Grace. You are forgiven.

Happy Birthday America!

The 4t^h of July; the day the Declaration of Independence was signed in the year 1776. It was established to mark our deliverance from a state of bondage, like Passover (Exodus 13) and was to be a day remembered with reverential gratitude. Today we mark the day with fireworks, hotdogs, and picnics. Our school teachers taught us about the sacrifices that had been made for our freedom. We learned of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, The Civil War, World War I and special emphasis was always given to World War II. All of these wars were fought for freedom from tyranny. Religious freedom was assumed by all of us students a right earned of that victory. When we learned to recite The Declaration of Independence we were taught that all men were created equal and that we were endowed with certain unalienable rights including the rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The unalienable (it’s just a great word) rights were always the emphasis not the creation. Even I (who never had attended a church service) never doubted that there is a Creator. Separating church from state was seen as religious protection. The government was not allowed to regulate our religious practices. The seal on the Declaration of Independence says “REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBBEDIENCE TO GOD”. The seal even compares America’s struggle with that of the Israelites by depicting a pillar of cloud over a divided sea with Pharaoh on one side and the Israelites on the other. Separation was seen as keeping the state out of religion. The state couldn’t punish crimes of the soul. The church couldn’t punish crimes of property. When exactly did that change? Today the government regulates public displays of religion. No longer shall the Commandments be displayed beside the courthouses designed to defend their principles. Prayers and worship are not allowed at our schools. There are no Bibles in the school libraries. A government that was founded on biblical conventions now denounces the use of the Bible. A government that was constructed to support and advance religious freedom now seeks to remove and reduce it. Well I say Happy Birthday America! Let’s celebrate our freedoms serve the Lord (Joshua 24). God Bless America!

How do you do?

When I became unemployed I was no longer the person I thought I was. Silly, right? I looked in the mirror and saw nothing different. But now I had no answer to the “what do you do?” question. Or at least not what I considered an acceptable answer. It was that ‘acceptable’ notion that helped me realize how corrupted my ideals had become. When did I decide that “What do you do?” should replace “How do you do?”? As a young adult I’d asked it all the time. I can follow the change in my values with the change of the question. When I’d ask, “How do you do?” I received surprised looks; sneers and jeers and folks telling me I talked funny. So succumbing to peer pressure I changed the question to “How are you?”. I thought changing the focus from ‘do’ to ‘are’ was less committal, less personal. I was wrong, it made people even more uncomfortable. “How are you?”, if people thought I was being sincere, either made them feel worse than they really did or made them lie about it. But most of the time people thought it was an insincere question. So, not wanting to be thought insincere, cause more pain or hear lies, I started asking the more acceptable question: “What do you do?”. Most folks are comfortable with that. They either tell you what they do, what they used to do, or what they want to do. All answers provide good fodder for conversation but don’t really allow seeing the true state of the individual. And isn’t that our whole purpose? Hebrews 3 tells us we are here to encourage, exhort and edify one another? How can we do that effectively without first knowing ‘how’ a person is? Knowing ‘how’ about someone is more important than ‘what’. Don’t you agree? Does ‘what’ really matter as long as you ‘do’ to the best of your ability with joy and humility? I will no longer ask what you do. I want to know; “How do you do?”

It took R&R to recover from depression.

For years I didn’t think recovery was possible. I thought I would always have to take medication to control my moods. I went to counselors. Each week I completed a questionnaire detailing my mental state; had I lost my temper, had a panic attack, was I drained of energy. Based on my answers medication was prescribed. After a few months of treatment I stabilized and my medication did too. Then the unthinkable happened. I lost my job, my insurance and my ability to pay for any medical treatment or medications. The city offers medical treatment to the indigent but my military service disqualified me. A few months later my sister and I began an early morning bible study. Before my financial and social collapse (unemployment) I read The Bible daily. I knew the stories but had never personalized them. But this time, as we read, the language of the stories changed. These were not just historical occurrences, they were lessons. David (Psalm 42) and Elijah (1 Kings 19) were advising me how to heal. I needed R&R; rest and rejoice. Resting in Christ (Matthew 11) and rejoicing in the confidence of His grace (Philippians 4). Reading the Bible this time has allowed me to reclaim my mind. To take it back from the one whom only wants to kill, steal and destroy. This time asking for a clean heart (Psalm 51) and renewing my mind (Romans 8) were truly requested and received. Do you suffer from depression? I’m not advising you to stop taking your medication or no longer attend counseling sessions. But I am whole-heartedly advising you to add a daily dose of The Bible to your regiment. As you read, take His yoke and lighten your burden (Matthew 11) and ask Him for wisdom and healing. Discover the R&R as He has planned it for you (Jeremiah 29). I recovered – so can you.

crystallennon

Aunt Crys says:

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