Sow It - Reap It

I am a true believer in the Scripture that says you reap what you sow.  Those two words, reap and sow, are not commonplace in today’s vernacular. There are far fewer people today who grew up in a farming community who immediately place a clear, concise mental image in their head when they hear or read those words.  Reaping is the act of gathering, or cutting down and then gathering, of the harvest.  Sowing is the act of throwing down the seed, or in modern times, having a machine seed the soil for you.  If you plant corn, you will get corn.  If you plant asparagus, you will get asparagus. You will harvest the product contained in the seeds you tossed out earlier. 

The author of Galatians noted this act in Chapter 6, verse 7 when he immediately saw the parallel between these two acts of farming and the walk of common man. 

"Don't be misled; remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows!"

If you want to judge a man, an American humorist once said, you should not look at him in the face but get behind him and see what he is looking at, what he is sowing.  Then you will see the true nature and life-purpose of this man.

Remember that if you plant garbage seeds, you will get garbage.  If you sow deceit, anger, jealousy, rage – that is what you will gather at harvest time.  Remember also, as the humorist said, that some people may be really good at throwing down the seed they want everyone to see, but their eyes and hearts are elsewhere.  So step behind someone and take a look at what they are looking at. What drives them?  What motivates them to act day to day?  Are they focused more upon themselves than on others? 

I heard this advice once and now give it to husbands and wives to be.  Ladies – watch how his father treats his wife.  That is your future.  Men – watch how her mother treats her husband. That is your future. 

Get behind once in a while; watch, learn and discover 1) the type of seed being tossed, 2) where it is planted (is it purposeful or thrown in a half-hazard manner) and 3) watch where their eyes are watching while they are sowing.   

Mirror Mirror

I have been receiving blessings by reading a book entitled 'Buddhist Boot Camp', by Timber Hawkeye.  He has some amazing insights on improving self-confidence, overcoming fears, and positive reinforcement.  I enjoy reading the wisdom writings on this author.  A quote from this author:

"A flower doesn't stop being beautiful just because somebody walks by without noticing it, nor does it cease to be fragrant..."

I love that image.  We are beautiful in God's eyes.  We are beautiful in the eyes of others as well.  I Peter 3:34 says, 

"Your beauty...should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight".

The next time you are concerned with how others may or may not perceive you - remember that God sees you.  You are not invisible to your Creator and that is your foundation for living a life free from the burden of worrying about your image and of what others think or feel about you.

May the Love of God surround you, His Grace astound you, and may your knowledge of this, ground you in Hope.

Transition

Do you have transition lenses on your glasses?  I had those years ago and I hear they have improved but the one thing that bothered me was they only transitioned where light was hitting them directly.  In the car sometimes only a portion of the lens would transition as the other part was in a shadow and away from direct contact with sun.  I’m not sure why I thought my glasses should simply KNOW that they should shade my entire lens…it was doing what it was ‘programmed’ to do.  It darkened when light hit it.  The glasses actually receive their ‘photochromic’ properties through the embedding of micro crystalline silver halides, typically silver chloride, in a glass substrate.  But silly me wanted the glasses to actually be smart and tell when I’m outside and thereby shade the ENTIRE lens – instantly, so I didn’t have to hold my glasses out the car window in to the direct sunlight until they changed uniformly.

Transitioning to a New Year is also awkward and seldom uniform in nature.  Only when the realization hits us that the transition has to be gradual, not sudden, can we possibly begin to understand what it means to transition to a New Year.  Hence the reasons many of those New Year’s Resolutions fail so miserably.  We somehow expected that the morning of January 1, or January 2, would somehow grant us a renewed interest in living and would empower us to change.

I remember counseling a young couple before they were to be married and they left me with the impression that something magical would happen as they walk back down the aisle after being proclaimed Mr and Mrs.  They were both disillusioned with this notion that everything will come together.  In fact, they refused to talk about certain topics because it would be “fine” once they were married.  Ah young love – ‘tis oh so blind, is it not?!

As we begin our transition to writing 2013 instead of 2012, may we also focus on HOW our own transition is going to look and feel.  Accepting today that it will not be a ‘hit you over the head’ transition will make it easier to enter in to.  There  won’t be this sudden “Trumpet Voluntary in G” moment and a ceremonial walking down of some aisle lined with loved ones and flowers that will change us forever.  Oh don’t get me wrong – I’m acutely aware that there ARE sudden moments when our lives are instantly transformed but even those moments put us in the position of having to transition to a new normal.  By entering in to the PROCESS of change, the PROCESS of transition, we can more easily see all the ways in which our actions, thoughts, minds and our spirits transform, over time, in to that which we dream.

According to Miriam-Webster Dictionary, the word ‘life’ is either a noun or an adjective.  But can we consider, for our own intrinsic interests, that ‘life’ is a verb?  It is action.  It is a ‘doing’ and not a ‘being’.  As we enter in to 2013, let us focus on our life in action – our life as something that evolves and is continually moving forward, collecting information and experiences, and processing them, thereby increasing the gift that is the “I” in all of us. It’s not going to happen overnight – this change for the better of which you seek.  Oh there will be bomb shell moments that force us over the cliff of change – usually of loss; but as I mentioned, those are the moments when we are still forced to learn how to transition.

A young man I know has just recently learned what it means to transition.  He understands, perhaps for the first time in his life, that the change he seeks is a process – it is a verb.  It is action and it does not, it will not, happen overnight.  There won’t be some magical  “you've-just-won-a-new-car” moment that will finally transport us to that perfection we seek.  It’s the “you've-won-a-new-car-and-now-you–have-to–pay-for-the taxes-license-plates-registration-and-then-learn-how-to-drive-it-and-maybe-in-six-months-you-may-figure-it-all-out-but-you'll-have-repairs-along-the-way”  moment.

As you transition in to 2013, remember that your life is a verb.  An action word. 

Bumper Sticker Moment

I love the Book of Proverbs.  This is the bumper-sticker section of the Bible.  When I regularly preached I developed a quarterly ‘bumper sticker Sunday’ whereby I would choose a Proverb speak extemporaneously on that verse.  Typically I would select the verse about thirty minutes before the service and without much preparation and no notes; I would deliver the morning message on that verse. Surprisingly, they were often the best received messages!

The Book of Proverbs (in Hebrew: מִשְלֵי Mish'ley)  derives its name from the 4^th Century Latin translation of Scripture, the Vulgate, as Proverbia.  They are generally considered the writings of Solomon, who was consider to be a wise man (remember the words of If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof?  “…they would ask me to advise them, like Solomon the Wise’).  There is also reference to Agur and Lemuel but it is generally accepted that those are other names for Solomon.  The book is included in what many scholars refer to as Wisdom Literature which includes Psalms, Job, and the Song of Solomon.

I find myself visiting www.biblos.com often as it has a large variety of translations and study guides.  Especially helpful to those of us who like to pick apart scripture down to each word, the translation history, and origin of the words (I’ve always wanted to go back to school and study Etymology in-depth!  I suppose a true sign of a word-geek!).

Gill’s Exposition on the Entire Bible shares Proverbs 15:22 as such:  

Without counsel purposes are disappointed,.... If a man determines and resolves upon a matter, and at once hastily and precipitately goes about it, without mature deliberation, without consulting with himself, and taking the advice of others in forming a scheme to bring about his designs, it generally comes to nothing.

In other words:  it is the wise man who seeks many counsels before acting.

I strongly believe in asking for counsel from people I trust when I have a decision to make.  I make many decisions on my own but when there is one that is particularly tough, or the consequences could be grand, I prefer to ask around and see what others have to say about it. The answers are as varied as the human race.  Some of it I discard but I do chew on all of it, taking in to account my own personal believes and values. 

My mother was a wise counselor.  That’s not to say she was never wrong.  None of us are right all the time but what was helpful was the way we talked about things.  We would both approach a situation from our already pre-conceived set of assumptions and then share them with each other.  We would try to see it from other perspectives and work it out to try and come to a conclusion that we agreed upon.  However, we recognized that the goal of seeking the opinions of others was not to persuade us or to make up our minds.  It was the process and time spent on mentally chewing upon each different thought and perspective that gave us the satisfaction.  Many times it can actually make the decision process harder but in the end I am always thankful that I had the counsel.  Sometimes I would go back to the counselors and let them know they were right and I chose wrong.  I would always share my final decision and the outcome so we could all add that experience to our collective mind and thereby call upon the experience should we encounter similar situations in the future.In that process of seeking counsel and coming to a decision, we encounter disappointment. 

G. Hutchinson Smyth reminds us that “there is one thing that can make all disappointments into blessings.  It is said that Croesus had some magic power about him by which he turned everything he touched to gold.  There is more than a magic power which the believer wields over the trying dispensations of life; there is a Divine power.  All things – disappointments included – work together for good to them that love God.” 

I Dare You To Step Out of Your Box

A story my high school English teacher, Mr Fleming, taught goes something like this:

I was walking through the forest and came upon the nest of a bird.  As I gazed in to the nest I noticed the eggs were blue. I have, therefore, concluded that all bird eggs are blue.  As I continued my journey down the pathway I noticed that some leaves were falling from a tree in to what appeared as a lake of bright orange and red gathering at the base of the large trunk. I have concluded, therefore, that all leaves fall straight down and gather at the trunk of the tree and can be recognized by their color of orange and red.  As I came to the edge of the woods I noticed a small house with white smoke drifting slowly from its chimney. I have concluded that all smoke from the stove in a house, will rise as slow, white smoke from the chimney.  The lady of the home invited me in to warm myself by the fire and as I got closer to the fire I could smell the heavy scent of pine coming from the flames.  I have concluded, therefore, that all fire has the strong scent of pine.  As she wrapped her tiny fingers around her cup of tea, the lady told me of her heritage as a Jewish woman from a small village in a far off land.  It is safe to conclude that I will always be able to recognize a person of Jewish perspective because they will have small fingers and will surely speak of this village.  When I left the company of this lady I was confronted by an angry bear standing on its back legs and before I could react, the bear had attacked and killed me. I have concluded that anyone who walks in the woods will die from a bear attack and that all bears are angry and will kill humans on site.  As I sit here in the afterlife I wish to convey the following to mankind:

• Any bird egg that is not blue surely is bad and must be destroyed.  Likewise, if you see a bird laying an egg that is not blue; it is also unnatural and must be destroyed.  Any person eating an egg that is not blue is also unworthy and unnatural and must be cast aside.
• If any leaf be found that is not orange and red in color, it must be destroyed for it has wandered from the path that nature intended.  Likewise, the tree that pushed it away from its trunk and caused it to wander so far away must be found and destroyed before other trees learn of this behavior and follow in its ways.  Surely mankind will not withstand the mutiny of so many based on the actions of a few.
• If any fire in the home produces anything other than a slow-drifting white smoke from its chimney, it must be immediately put out. Any food that was cooked must be destroyed and not eaten for it has been distorted by the radical smoke.  We must teach our children how to make fires that only produce this type of smoke and if they do not follow our ways it is important to not allow them access to fire for it will surely pollute the skies and the earth and all its inhabitants.
• If any fire lacks the scent of fresh pine it, too, must be put out.  For the fresh scent of pine is the only indicator that a flame is fresh, pure, and is truly of the makers’ design.  Anyone building a fire that does not send out the divine fresh scent of pine must be cast out among you, singled-out, and not be allowed to partake in the daily functions of humanity.  For surely they will teach our children, they will breed other sour fire starters, and thus pollute all that is good.
• In order for Jewish perspective to continue its purity of ancestry any person claiming to be Jewish but having long, thin fingers, is surely deceiving people and must be brought to trial and punished for providing false witness to the perspective.
• Finally, if mankind is to conquer the wood as well as he has conquered the prairie land and the sea he must make it his purpose in life to destroy all the bears lest the bears destroy him first.

As a pastor it is assumed that, when invited for dinner, I will be the one who says grace.  As a singer it is assumed that I will start the singing of Happy Birthday to anyone who may be celebrating the day of his or her birth, regardless of my personal relationship with that individual.  As a Christian it is assumed I will vote one particular way because I have weighed the candidates against my own perspective and one of them surely plays far different than my Christian perspective instructs. 

The narrowness of the minds of man will surely lead us to our doom.  How can we make educated decisions when we refuse to understand all points of few?  How can we say we hate our neighbor when we have much in common with our neighbor?  How can we say that all Muslims are taught to kill people of other perspectives when the very tenet of that perspective teaches the opposite?  Why must we be so strayed and so jaded by the acts of the few loud squeaky wheels instead of the truth?  Likewise, how can other countries believe that all Americans are inherently evil because of the works and thoughts of a few loud squeaky wheels?  How do you feel when a noisy crowd of a few burn the American flag and would kill you in a heartbeat because you are American when you actually had no part in one made them angry to begin with?  Do you think that the millions of faithful Muslim believers feel the exact same way a few angry, misguided Muslims do?  Do you believe the exact same thing the midnight television preacher does because he does it in the name of Christianity? 

The loud, squeaky wheel gets the grease and all the attention and will actually get farther in its work because we allow it.  It will grab our attention because we are so narrow in our vision that we fail to see the other wheels working together in perfect harmony.  Our vision is narrow and we see only what is in front of us at that particular moment and then we call that truth.

Jesus Christ came not to put blinders over our eyes but to remove them so we may see all that is God’s Creation and that we may have life in full abundance.  Regardless of whom you believe Christ was whether from the perspective of the Jewish, Muslim, or Christian perspective – all perspectives teach that as one of the many aspects of Christ’s work on this earth. 

Friends, I challenge you – no, I DARE you, to stop limiting your opinions and thoughts of your fellow humans based solely on your limited experience with such a small number of them lest you become as foolish as the man in the story. 

Grace and Peace of God our Father to each of you. 

Um...Yeah...I Can Work With This

I have shared my personal testimony only a few times over the past ten years.  I do not share it just for the sake of sharing; for it is painfully personal and a journey that I am still, after ten years, trying to reconcile.  But today I want to skip to the pivotal moment along that painful journey because I want to focus on that, not everything that led up to that.

I had been falsely accused of something and the repercussions were more than I imagined.  I had lost everything but my family.  My entire identity had been taken from me and in my absolute despair, in that moment in my life when I could not possibly go any lower – I had a vision.  I’m not a man of visions but this one was very clear to me.  I saw God sitting, leaning forward, his forehead resting in this right hand, and his head was shaking back and forth slowly.  This is what He said, “no no no…my dear son believe me this is not what I wanted for your life but I promise you, if you give me some time I will work with this”. 

The miracles that have happened since that time have been far too many to count.  The life I lead today is one that is free from any type of bondage be it spiritual, emotional or physical.  The pain of the event is something I am still processing through but the outcome – well, I’m here to say that God did, indeed, work with it and much has been achieved!

I know another man who sits in prison.  He, like thousands of others, claim he is innocent and the truth is – he is innocent.  But the laws of the land and the hearts of the wicked prevailed to the degree that he is now in prison and may very well be there for a very long time.  I talk with him often and his spirit remains strong.  He is a powerful witness to those around him, he leads worship in the prison, he writes, he is a wise counselor to many and the list goes on.  You see, God worked with it.

When you encounter something unexpected that has a negative impact on your life, can you work with it?  Can you allow God to work with it?  If your best friend, brother, sister, mother, father or lover betrayed you somehow and caused you pain would you be able to work with it?  Would the two of you be able to agree that time heals and that God CAN work in and through all things?  Would you just surrender and decide that there’s nothing that can be done, cut your losses and go? Moses led his people in to the middle of nowhere but God worked with it, didn’t he?  Daniel was stuck in the middle of the hungry lions, no escape, no light at the end of the tunnel, hardly a hope…but God worked with it, didn’t he? 

God doesn’t purposely send wicked your way.  It happens.  But God can work with anything if those who are in it will focus on Him. 

What did you do today to focus on Him while he is so intent on focusing on you?  While things are being put in to place to bless you and to make your life, yes, even you very soul – jump with joy…what are you doing in return?  Are you saying to God, “yes, you better work with this!” or are you saying, “Really, God?  Wow!  I didn’t know You saw that…thank You…I will continue to praise You and recognize You through all things and I will wait patiently on You while You work with this”.

They that wait upon the Lord SHALL renew their strength; they SHALL mount up with wings like the eagles; they SHALL run, and not be weary; and they SHALL walk, and not faint…Isaiah 50:31

Not Now, Lord - It's Too Scary

One of my business clients kicked my butt this morning.  Ok, she’s much more than a client.  She is one I have come to call a friend and I appreciate her authentic call to ministry.  She posted a blog entry today (assisted by her virtual assistant from www.orcvirtual.com, me) that moved me to action. 

First, I want to invite you to read her blog entry and then come back to mine.  Go ahead…I’ll be here when you get back….go….www.vgladding.blogspot.com

So what did you think?  As I mentioned, I was moved to action.  The Lord has been nudging me to do something all week long and I put it off.  I’ll be brutally honest as to why I up it off.  I was scared and did not want to confront the possible outcome.  Yes, I said it.  I was scared of something that may or may not have occurred as a result of my action.

Do I make the pot of coffee this morning knowing full well that something could go wrong?  The pot could break, coffee will spill everywhere, the cat gets burned by the hot water and I cut myself on the glass, and then run to the hospital for stitches.  Meanwhile the coffee pot is still on and the grounds are now all over the burner plate, filling the house with the ‘wonderful’ aroma of burnt coffee, and then someone hits me on the way back from the hospital and of course it starts to rain so we’re all wet…the list of possibilities is endless.  It’s just a lot safer for me to not make the coffee this morning.

So maybe that’s a little far-fetched; but I use it to make a point.  If fear of a possible negative outcome prevents you from doing the thing you KNOW you should be doing, then that fear is put there by someone other than God; someone who doesn’t want you to do it.  But listen to your hearts’ prompting.

My Dad has wonderful advice about situations where we need to act but are afraid to or our reaction is out of anger and may be made too quickly with dangerous consequences.  He says to write it down.  Put it away for a day or two.  Come back to it. Chew on it if you need to, edit it, add, delete etc.  Then you’ll know when you have found the right words to say.  That is great advice whether it is homework or a letter or mere thoughts to be spoken later.  Sometimes it takes a little searching to find what you need.  I think that’s why they made ‘save as draft’ an option in email programs!  Just don’t hit ‘send’ before you are actually ready!

I have iTunes on my computer.  Sometimes I want to listen to the radio portion and I want to hear classical chorale works.  There is a station for that but I can never find it on my initial scroll.  I always have to scroll down, then go back to the top and suddenly it appears half-way down the list.  I have to do a little searching before I can find what I want.  And so it is when it comes to finding the right words and way to do that which brings us a little fear.  We need to practice; we need to scroll through the options before we find the right one.

Those things that you KNOW you need to be doing and yet you are putting off…you know what I’m talking about, right?  God is bringing it to the forefront of your heart and mind just because you’re reading this and it bugs you just a little bit.  Do it.  

IF YOU ARE DISTRESED BY ANYTHING EXTERNAL, THE PAIN IS NOT DUE TO THE THING ITSELF, BUT TO YOUR ESTIMATE OF IT; AND THIS YOU HAVE THE POWER TO REVOKE AT ANY MOMENT...Marcus Aurelius. 

I Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind!

Thank you, Jesus, that we can trust you with our today and with our tomorrow and with our right here and right now.  Lord, when we feel our spirits tremble at the idea of some unknown looming threat or event, we can trust in your faithfulness.  Help us to embrace that trust so that we have no need to be afraid of uncertainty.  Help us to denounce this fear which is not from you.  Help us to turn this fear in to action...by first falling to our knees in prayer, and then following through with that which we know we must do, with the knowledge that you are always there to protect us even through the darkness when we cannot see the actual outcome.