Growing Out of Our Infantile Ideas

Thinking about one my friends today and how I can minister to her. Her need is more than what I can do for her. I'm pondering how I can reach her with the truth of God's word and how it could revolutionize her way of thinking. Her thought patterns drag her down, and when they're expressed they tend to drag on those closest to her as well. Sad to say, she thinks a lot like a baby--wanting others to satisfy her hunger and her thirst.

God wants us to grow out of our infantile ideas. He wants us to grow into maturity, where our worldview doesn't revolve around ourselves, around what it takes to make us feel good. He wants us to move beyond requiring other people to satisfy our longings, to grow beyond viewing people around us as a means to our own end.

Craving for satisfaction leads to manipulation, and it's often difficult to know where ministry to my friend crosses the line into enabling her attempts at control. I know that enabling hinders her need to make a change in how she approaches relationships. I want to help her look beyond herself.

When we begin to understand God's sovereignty in our life, we also begin to see life in a different context. We begin to understand that we are not at the center, that God's glory is central to all our purposes. We yearn for his plan to unfold, not only in our own life, but in the lives of those with whom we have relationship. What they can do for us gets remodeled into what we can do for them.

As Susan Hunts puts it in Spiritual Mothering:

We see ourselves, our circumstances, and our relationships as a part of His divine plan. So our approach changes from "Come into my world and make me happy," to "Father, show me how to go into Your world and glorify You." The effect on a relationship is a switch from wanting you to serve me to a desire to serve God through the relationship.

I want her to experience the joy in viewing life in this way. I hope that you are experiencing this joy as well, dear one, as we keep looking Upward and Homeward.

Painting ~ Study Two Women's Heads, Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841-1919

Weekend Daybook

Outside My Window...

Brown grass in our yard. Green grass in our neighbor's. Ours is Bermuda. Theirs isn't. Their yard looks like spring is on its way, so I glance their way out my window.

Thinking...

Missing the contrast in seasons at our lifelong home in West Virginia. Spring is always so bright and lovely there.

Thankful...

That I'm becoming more accustomed to the severe weather threats here in the south. Also thankful that our builder reinforced our closet to make it a safe place.

Noticing the sound of...

My Beloved working on the stair rails. He has the lower section complete. Our daughter fell on the stairs with the baby while they were visiting. Realized we need rails on the wall as well.

Around the house...

New pillows--a quick way to add a fresh touch.

I hope to...

Get some blinds for my sewing room today. I love the brightness with the bare windows, but don't want my fabric to fade in the bright sunlight. It's too bright to sew of the morning with the sun on that side of the house, but that does motivate me to tend to other responsibilities first. Work before play, but all work and no play makes for a dull day.

Pondering...

My mother and I were talking about heaven yesterday and thinking about people we'd see once again. We were imagining those we know gathering at the gate to welcome us in. Mom commented that she is looking forward to welcoming my special needs sister when she arrives later. No more impediments up there.

 

In the Kitchen...

Today was a good day for chicken vegetable soup. Such a rainy day.

Brought a smile...

Our niece got a new little puppy. So cute, and she adores him.

The fruit of my hands...

I made another dress to be taken on a mission trip for little girls who have meager clothing. I decided to make one for them each time I make one for my someday Etsy shop. Theirs is simpler, basically what's currently being called a pillowcase dress since the concept originally used a pillowcase. Mine is fabric from my stash. It has room for growing so it can be worn for awhile.

Learning...

To add binding to neck and armhole edges on little girl dresses. Haven't mastered it yet, but I'm getting close. Perhaps the next dress.

Re-Reading...

A brief excerpt:

[The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians. 4:17-32] identifies seven tendencies of the sinful heart that are damaging to relationships, disruptive of God's purpose, and require persistent battling. Ask yourself if any of them are evident in your relationships.

~ The tendency toward self-indulgence  (v. 19-24)

     My behavior in the relationship is driven by what I want, not God's purpose.

~ The tendency toward deceit (v. 25)

     I will manipulate the truth to get what I want out of the relationship.

~ The tendency toward anger (v. 26-27)

     I want to control the relationship by venting my anger or by holding it over you to control you.

~ The tendency toward selfishness (v. 28)

     I want to protect what I have, rather than offer it to serve you.

~ The tendency toward unhelpful communication (v. 29-30)

     Rather than use my speech to make you feel better and put you in a better position, I speak to make myself feel better and ensure that I am in the top spot.

~ The tendency toward division (v. 31)

     I give in to the temptation to view you as an adversary, rather than a companion in the struggle of relationship.

The tendency toward an unforgiving spirit (v. 32)

     I want to make others pay for their wrongs against me.     

Painting ~ Charles Gibson Dana, 1867-1944

Willing for the Rescue

I was part of a discussion recently about the fullness of life that Jesus gives and why some people reject his offer. We might not know individual reasons, but several plausible explanations were given. Some gave personal testimony as to what had hindered them or someone they knew from coming to saving faith, thankful that God intervened and opened their eyes to His amazing grace.

But there are some who set themselves against God, who suppress the truth and are willfully ignorant, too often affecting our lives as well as their own. There are others who live in darkness because their deeds are evil, and these are those who bring fear and trepidation into the lives of other people.

But the ones that I feel most sorry for are those whose minds Satan has blinded, those who don't realize that they can't comprehend Jesus because the enemy of all things good has them distracted, unmindful, unperceptive, unaware. Deluded. Deceived. They have no clue that they need rescued.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 2:3).

But no one is too far beyond reach, if they are willing for the rescue. So we pray, praying that God will draw them to himself, for no one can come unless God draws them (John 4:44, John 6:65). He is willing for all to come to repentance and be rescued.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

I do hope you've accepted His amazing grace, dear one. I hope that if He is calling, that you are mindful of it. Be watchful. Be alert. You wouldn't want to miss what comes next. But, on the other hand, you may find later that you wish you had reached for the rescue. Come!

Painting~On Brighton Beach, Thomas Musgrove Joy (1812-1866)

Nobody Like Him

We are at the point in our Bible Study in Mark of Jesus' last week before His crucifixion. I've been drawn into the study more these past few weeks as it coincides with the weeks leading up to the rejoicing of Resurrection Sunday. The study reinforces in my mind and heart that Jesus is truly the Son of God and has authority over everyone and everything. You, me, my life, your life. Government and nations. Relationships. Life's choices. If we neglect that authority, it is to our detriment. If we embrace it, it is to our welfare, both now and forevermore.

For the past few years I've wanted to learn more and more about Jesus, so I've been choosing a book with Jesus as the central theme to bring Him into closer focus for the Lenten season. This year I've chosen The Incomparable Christ by John Stott. I had previously read another book with the same title by J. Oswald Sanders, and it was a favorite read for that year, drawing me closer to comprehending the impact of Jesus' death and resurrection. The book by Stott is somewhat more academic, viewing Jesus from four aspects:

(1) The Original Jesus--How does the New Testament bear witness to Him?
(2) The Ecclesiastical Jesus--How has the church portrayed Jesus down through the centuries?
(3) The Influential Jesus--What influence has Christ had in history?
(4) The Eternal Jesus--What should Jesus mean to us today?

As the author states,

My hope is that these studies in the Bible and church history will be able to justify the title, The Incredible Christ. There is nobody like him; there never has been, and there never will be.

I do hope you know that to be true, dear one. It is He who leads us Upward and Homeward. I hope to see you there someday.

Work is a Blessing

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

Work is a blessing. God has so arranged the world that work is necessary, and He gives us hands and strength to do it. The enjoyment of leisure would be nothing if we had only leisure. It is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest, just as it is the experiences of hunger and thirst that make food and drink such pleasures.

~ Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline: The Glad Surrender

Painting ~ Soap Girl 1865, Maude Humphrey 1868-1940

And Your Answer?

Doing homework for our upcoming Bible Study, and pondering a portion of Mark 8. Specifically verses 27-29 and the corresponding passage in Matthew 16:15-16, where Jesus probes into the buzz about town as to who He is. He asks His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They respond with some plausible explanations as to what they've heard. Then Jesus probes a bit further, makes His question more penetrating, more personal. "But who do you say that I am?"

That is the most important question any of us will ever hear or answer. Who do you say that Jesus is? Whatever answer we give is life-determining, the driving force of everything about us. Any way we answer reveals the direction our life is taking.

We all give some sort of answer, whether we believe He is who He says He is, or whether we don't believe it. Your answer, my answer, anyone's answer lies there in the heart and the mind. It's there. Believing leads down one path, unbelief leads down another.

It took the disciples some time to fully comprehend who He is. It takes most of us who believe a while to grasp the same truth. Peter spoke for the disciples when he replied to Jesus, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And that must be our answer, if we are to be found on the eternal, life-giving path.

It's interesting to me that in Matthew's account Jesus responds that "flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." A true understanding of who Jesus is comes to us from God Himself.

Oh, dear one, if you do not understand who Jesus is, ask God to reveal Him to you. He will open your heart and mind to understanding. He will not be hid from you.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." ~ Matthew 7:7-8

And when you hear the question, ponder carefully what your answer will be. Not all do.

Painting ~ Reading Woman 1833, Friedrich von Amerling  1803-1887

Wikimedia Commons public domain

Recommending ~ John Bunyan, The Journey of a Pilgrim

As I was recently re-reading The Pilgrim's Progress, we came across this documentary on Amazon Video. I had very little prior knowledge about John Bunyan's life except to know that he had written Pilgrim's Progress during his years in prison for preaching the gospel. Since its publication in 1678, the book has never been out of print and is outsold only by the Bible.

Part of the documentary is dramatization, and part was filmed at the John Bunyan Museum in Bedford, England. It follows Bunyan's call to faith and depicts the religious/political climate of the day. It tells how Pilgrim's Progress came to be written. I now have a far greater appreciation for not only his Pilgrim's Progress, but have also gained an interest in Bunyan's other writings, which I hope to read by and by.

From the Sewing Room ~ Little Girl Dresses

I've had more time to be in the sewing room this week. Showing one of the dresses I've made for my thinking-about-it Etsy shop in a few (several) months down the road. I enjoy working with fabric, the tactile feel of it, the combination of colors, and the design work. Each dress will be unique as I whittle away at my fabric stash. I'm mostly using 100% cotton that I've purchased from quilt fabric shops that I love to frequent. Each shop has a character of its own, and I like supporting small business owners.

As a start, I'm making a couple of dresses in each size for each basic style, probably focusing on sizes 3-10. I'm wanting to learn more about designing my own patterns, but for now this is a basic pattern for cutting the bodice. The directions with the pattern were too convoluted, anyway, so I just construct it more to what seems simpler to the way I think about it.

This particular dress is a size 8 classic style with gathered skirt, and I've embellished the front with a ruffle, some cotton lace, and matching buttons. The fabric is a Windham floral for the skirt and Andover mini floral tonal for the bodice. The bodice is lined with the same fabric and the skirt seams are serged, so all seams are enclosed.

The back closure is formed with self-fabric loops and buttons that match the front.

Something else I'm going to have to learn is how to take better pictures. I've signed up for a Crafty class on Product Photography, and hopefully, I'll learn how to do that before I launch. Or else I'll think about contacting a children's boutique shop here in the area and forget the photos and all the description that goes into selling on Etsy. I don't really want to put a lot of time into that aspect of it.

I hope you're enjoying doing something from your creative side, too. Being made in God's image in part means that we all have a touch of creativity simmering inside us. I don't have much, but I'm enjoying the modest measure that He endowed me with. Some of you can really shine, though! You inspire the rest of us toward new ideas. But as King Solomon once said, "There's nothing new under the sun." We all just tweak each others' ideas. So tweak on, dear one!

When God Confronts Me

As I was out with my sister to a medical appointment today, I began thinking about her life-long dependence on her family. My sister has been mentally impaired and has had a speech impairment since birth. Oxygen deprivation. She lives with our parents and depends on others of us to help her with certain things in life. Things that most of us take for granted, like driving ourselves to the doctor. Like choosing who our doctor will be. Like making our own appointments. Like deciding what day we would even prefer to go. But she cannot make these decisions or go anywhere unless we help her. I think that's why she walks twice a day in our little neighborhood where everyone knows her. She can go by herself, go when she wants to go, and greet the neighbors that she meets.

I often wonder where she would go outside the neighborhood if she could just up and go. Sometimes one of us will ask her to go shopping, maybe just to look at the pretty things and have lunch out, just to give her an opportunity to get out and about. Sometimes she mentions that she 'needs' something. Sometimes she hints that she 'still has her money'. But I've never heard her ask if anyone will take her anywhere.

She is dependent on those who love her. She is dependent on our care for her. Dependent on the God-given grace in our own lives to look beyond ourselves and see her needs.

And that's when God confronts me. To look beyond myself, where I too often focus.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, 

put on a heart of compassion, kindness, 

humility, gentleness and patience  

~ Colossians 3:12

Painting ~ Never Mind, Frederick Morgan 1827-1947