A Lick and a Promise

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;”

Psalm 84:10a NIV

The older I get the more I realize how valuable “a lick and a promise” can be when it comes to housework. In past years I have tried to have every thing in my house, garage and yard perfect, only to fail every single time! I now know that “a lick and a promise” can go a long way in keeping total disaster from overcoming my residence.

I remember standing outside my house shaking my rugs while watching other people as they sat on their porches, took walks, and rode bikes. I always went back into the house wondering how in the world they had time to enjoy life.

The real point today is that life was keeping me so busy with what I considered to be necessary that it robbed me of enjoying life. That is why I now think that flying the “lick and a promise” flag is a good idea. For me cleanliness is a must but perfection is always just out of my reach because there is always too much to be done. Many times family members undo my work faster than I can do it, I’m sure you know what I mean!

My husband and I live in a home that takes quite a bit of care and maintenance. Our home is nestled on a wooded lot and we have several porches and decks. I believe that God has given us this home and grounds to enjoy and use for his glory. I have become acutely aware that if I spend every waking moment making sure that there is no evidence that the birds have been around on the decks and porches, or that every single weed is pulled, and every leaf has been perfectly blown off the decks, then most likely I will never get around enjoying the blessing of the home that God has given us. So once again, the “lick and a promise” rule applies as I tackle the most obvious projects. By doing only a little of this and that everyday I have come to free up some free time for enjoying God, my family, my friends, the solitude of my home, my porch swing and some of the hobbies that I love.

It is also very much like that with the Lord. Making time for the Lord is important even if it’s just five minutes here and there. I used to think that if I didn’t have an hour I may as well not even attempt to spend time with the Lord. While I am an advocate of forming the habit of a daily purposeful “quiet time,” guess what? I have found that the “lick and a promise” rule is of value in my spiritual life as well. “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” The loose translation of those words is that it is indeed better to spend five minutes here and there with the Lord than to wait until I have everything in perfect order or until I manage to snag a large block of time. If I am not careful, life will end and I will have spent thousands of days elsewhere!

Just like my house, if I never pick up misplaced items, clean a bathroom, load the dishwasher, mop a floor, or dust and vacuum, eventually my earthly house will be in such disarray and so filthy that it will take major work to get it back into some reasonable shape. So I am learning to read a verse or two while I have my coffee, or read a short blog when I set down at my computer. All through the day I whisper prayers giving God my concerns and worship one phrase at a time. In addition I love to turn on praise and worship music while I work or drive in my car. Better is five minutes in his courts than hours spent elsewhere. In this very simple way I am able to keep my focus on God and maintain the order of my spiritual house.


Questions:

What is it that you like to do that you seldom find time to do?

Are you overdoing some things in your life and does that pattern prevent you from enjoying other things that would bring you pleasure?

Do you think that the “lick and a promise” policy might free up some of your busy day?

Could re-thinking your activities open up a window of time for daily connecting with God?


Prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You were busy to the point of exhaustion every day of your ministry. Yet not only did you commune with your Father all through each day, in addition, you would rise early or get in a boat and sail away from the crowds and your work, to spend time alone with your Father. Lord Jesus, impress upon my mind what is necessary and what is not necessary in my life. Help me to simplify my life in any way that I can. Help me to not only find time for you but also for rest and relaxation. Help me to enjoy my family and my friends. God, you have blessed me with so much. Help me to stop and smell all of the beautiful roses that you have placed in the garden of my life.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

The Orchard

"If a man remains in me and I in him,

he will bear much fruit,

apart from me you can donothing.”

John 15: 5b NIV

Today I had an amazing walk in the garden. Jesus wanted me to see that he had been planting some very special trees in my garden. He said, Paula come walk with me to the orchard. At first I was a little afraid when he mentioned the orchard because I had been doing my best to avoid all of the apple trees at all cost, if you know what I mean!

But the fact was God had some pretty special fruit trees for me to look at inside the orchard. For some reason I had never really noticed the orchard. The orchard was located deep in the garden. Most of the time Jesus and I had worked together on clearing the land, tilling the soil, removing the rocks and planting flowers and shrubs. This trip was special because Jesus was about to show me what he had been doing on his own time. He had been in the garden of my heart, all alone, planting the fruit trees!

When I got there I was totally amazed! There were wonderful fruit trees all symbolic of what God was planting in my life. The individual trees had not been planted in rows but had been purposefully planted close together so when they matured they would all grow together and form one magnificent tree. Some of the fruit trees were sill seedlings. Others had blossoms, others had a small amount of fruit and other trees had more fruit. One thing for sure, each tree was more beautiful than the next. All of the blossoms smelled fragrantly sweet and the fruit that I tasted from these fruit producing trees was delicious! The juicy, succulent fruit I was enjoying was fruit that I was not accustomed to eating.

Jesus then began to tell me the names of all the fruit trees. One tree had very sweet fruit. The name of that fruit was love. Another tree had some rather comical looking fruit named joy, and yet another tree had some graceful fruit hanging from its branches that he called peace. Still there were four more trees bearing blossoms. Those blossoms would be producing the fruit of, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. I was very sad and disappointed to see two more pitifully small trees that just had a few buds. Those trees would eventually be bearing fruit of gentleness and self-control. I could see that those trees were going to take a very long time to produce fruit.

To my amazement Jesus told me that the fruit growing on these trees could only be produced through the power of his Holy Spirit in my life and apart from him there would be no fruit at all. During my walk in the orchard I determined to try harder to partner with the Holy Spirit so that my orchard would bear much fruit. I desperately wanted all of my trees to produce an abundance of fruit because I was told that all of the harvested fruit would last forever and would bring glory to the one who planted the trees in the orchard. Lastly, Jesus reminded me that he has commanded me to bear fruit. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” John 15:16 NIV

Questions:

Which of your fruit trees do you think will have the most difficulty producing fruit?

Have you tried producing the fruit of the spirit using only your effort?

Have you experienced frustrating results?

Who produces the fruit of the Spirit?

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord I pray that my life will produce the fruit of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I pray that I will rely on the power of your Holy Spirit to produce his fruit in my life and that I will not attempt to grow the fruit in my own strength. I also pray that I will not seek the fruit or the harvest of the fruit. Help me Lord to seek only you.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Visit (in)courage and Read My Guest Post

On September 21st I was the guest writer at the (in)courage website. (in)courage is a part of DaySpring, the Christian subsidiary of Hallmark. This website features many regular Christian writers whose purpose in writing is to encourage others. I feel privileged and honored that the gals at (in)courage invited me to write a guest post on their website. If you would like leave a comment at the end of the post please do so. That way the gals at (in)courage will know that you visited their site and received encouragement!

My post is entitled “Graying With Grace"
You may read more by clicking on the (in)courage button bling on the right side of this page or use this link. http://www.incourage.me/ After you are on the (in)courage website click on the DAILY GUESTS tab located at the top of the page. Although my post is no longer the featured post but you may still locate it by clicking on "Previous Entries" found at the bottom of the page.

A Fragrant Offering

“Be imitators of God, therefore,

as dearly loved children and live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us

as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV

One of my favorite flowers are Old Fashioned Lilacs. This flower has become one of my favorites, not because it is the most beautiful flower in my garden but because it is one of the most fragrant! I also love a beautiful pink and white Star Gazer Lily for the same reason. Both of these flowers are indeed beautiful but beauty alone does not make them special. It is their fragrance that endears them to me.

God loves all of his children. Some of us bring him more pleasure than others. I must ask myself, how can I bring God pleasure? I believe it is through my influence more than anything else. In Ephesians Paul tells us that we are to be imitators of God. It is important that our life reflects God character. Some of those character traits are found in the fruits of the spirit. You and I need our life to reflect love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fragrant qualities are a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.

If my life is a billboard for hate and prejudice, then my influence is not love. If I am negative in all that I say and if I never smile, then my life does not reflect joy. If I am stressed to the limit and crabby because of my stress, if I am full of fear for the unknown, then my life does not reflect peace. If I am impatient with those who serve me and most importantly with my family, then my life does not reflect patience, kindness, and goodness. If my allegiance to God is in direct relationship to how well I feel I am being treated in life, then my life does not reflect faithfulness. If I am hard on others, then my life does not reflect God’s grace and gentleness. If I fly off the handle and indulge in things that are not good for me and speak every negative, sarcastic thought that pops into my head, then my life does not reflect self-control. When my selfishness is so prominent in my life that my actions and words reflect only my selfish interest, then my life is not a fragrant offering, in fact, it stinks! The only thing that I am offering up to God and others is stench instead of love. As a result, my influence is exactly opposite of God’s character. I find myself in the position of being a child of God that does not bring him pleasure. I may look good on the outside but there will be no fragrance coming from inside my life that will bring God glory.

If you are like me, sometimes you get it right and other times you fail. Thankfully, God is a God who knows how to take my failures and sin and cast them away forever. He always stands ready to help me improve and do better next time. God is not finished with any of us yet! I believe that the fragrant offering that I can offer God is the sacrifice of my selfishness. It is my desire to keep returning to my compassionate, merciful God who wants to help me in my time of need. There are many times as believers that we do get it right and God is pleasured when we do. Yet many times a day I am faced with choosing to have better behavior and attitudes. If I am to be a fragrant offering to God and others I must continue to learn to choose to respond as Jesus would.

Questions:

How did you do yesterday?

What did you get right?

Were you a fragrant offering or a stench to God and others?

Is it easier to be kind to strangers and friends than it is to your family?

Have you asked God for his forgiveness for yesterday?

Have you asked God for his help today?


Prayer:

Oh God!

I am so sick of my failures to be loving, patient, and joyful. I confess to you that my failure to respond with gentleness, kindness and goodness is at many times lacking. I am distraught that I often display my lack of faithfulness and self-control. I repent that there are many times that I am anything but gentle. Help me this day, this hour to be your sweet fragrance first of all to my husband, my children, and my friends. Help me also to be your fragrance at work, in the marketplace, on the road, and in all my dealings with those who provide services for me. Thank you God that you are not finished with me yet. God your fragrance of love for me is such a sweet perfume that I can smell it even in the midst of my failure. Thank you for that love.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

The Perfect Pearl

“…the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value,
he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Matthew 13:45-46 NIV

Today I am writing about shopping. If you are like me you love a sale! When I enter a store I head straight to the back to check out what is on the sale racks. Don’t you just love those “red dot” sales and what about those in store coupons? Not to mention the outlet malls! Why do I get so excited about getting a bargain? I think that it is because there is something so exhilarating about finding something of great value at a lesser price. I brag to my friends about my great find and I wear my purchase as a badge of honor! I am so happy that I dance the dance of joy in the dressing room!

Not only do I want a bargain when I go shopping but when it comes to clothes, I also want a perfect fit! In my case that is not easy. That dressing room experience is not always so pretty! I would like to know how in the world the same pair of petite pants can fit a person who is 5’1” and also a person who is 5’4”. And what about those of us who are not perfectly proportioned! We women are an assortment of fat arms, big butts, no necks, giraffe necks, midriff bulge, big thighs, wide shoulders, flat chests, big boobs, and the list goes on and on! Get real, I will go for a bargain but the bottom line is I will pay big bucks for the “perfect” fit!

I was reading in Matthew today about a merchant who was shopping for pearls. The only difference was that this merchant wasn’t looking for a bargain. He was willing to pay a very huge price for the perfect pearl. In this story we learn that the merchant did indeed, find such a pearl and he went away and sold everything he had and bought the priceless pearl. The pearl is symbolic of the kingdom of heaven. The truth found in this scripture tells us that heaven will be worth us selling everything that we own in order to purchase a seat in heaven.

Jesus is also the pearl of great value! When we find the One of great value we are blessed beyond all measure. The twist in this truth is that we do not have to sell all that we have to enter heaven. No, we simply accept the One who gives us access to heaven. Knowing this glorious news brings unspeakable joy to my heart!

Questions:

Do you see yourself being worth the sacrifice that Jesus made for you?

Do you see Jesus as being worth all you have?

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

You are that perfect One! Thank you for finding me and giving your life, all that you had so that I might find you. Even though you do not ask me to sell all that I own, you do ask me to give up all of my selfish, sinful behavior. Lord, I pray that every day I will be willing to give more of myself to you.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Your Room

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door
and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:6 NIV

I don’t know why Jesus had to tell those people to speak to him in private. Doesn’t it make perfect sense that if you are going to discuss private matters you would want to speak privately to God? Yet there are always those who take great delight in hearing their own voice! Public prayer is not the issue here because Jesus prayed publicly many times. The issue is the arrogance of praying loudly in front of others to bring attention and glory to you instead of God.

There is a time for public prayer and there is a time to pray in your room. For me I enjoy praying with other believers because I feel a sense of unity and support that is found in praying with other Christians. Even if I don’t pray a word out loud my heart can still connect with the hearts of others in the room and God is near. When a pastor or a leader is praying in church I too can silently affirm the words of the one who is speaking to God in behalf of all those present.

But if you really want to experience the “love connection” between you and God you need to get alone with God in your room. Now the room is just symbolic of any quiet place that is out of ear shot and eye shot of others. It can be in your room, in your car, on your porch, a place in nature where you are totally alone, or even in a church. It can be any place where you can be free of distractions and focus completely on God.

I find my attempt at this type of prayer solitude is often a challenge. You see, Satan often accompanies me to my prayer time no matter where I go. You may think that strange but really it is not. His sole intent is to keep our mind active in the affairs of our lives so that our prayer time is hindered. Satan understands that our power is found in our quiet moments of prayer, so he makes every effort to disrupt and interfere.

When I find that interference from Satan is present I simply say out loud, “Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave!” It works every time. The reason that I speak it out loud is because I don’t think Satan can know my thoughts. I believe that God guards our minds. When Satan confronted Jesus, Jesus always rebuked Satan audibly. So I choose to follow his example and do the same.

My time in solitude with Jesus is always special. The verse today says that God rewards what is done in secret, and he does.

Questions:

Have you learned the blessings of getting alone in “your room” to pray?

Have you come to realize that Satan wants to disrupt your prayer time?


Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Help me to be more intentional about the amount of time that I spend alone in “the room” praying. That place of total seclusion that is free from the distraction of people and my responsibilities. When I find that seclusion and pray I am truly at home in the garden of my heart. Thank you Lord that you reward those secluded times of prayer.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.