Dancing With The Wind

The winds woke me up.  It was 3:30 a.m. and the gusts were approx. 55 mph.  I was safe and snug in the house, but outside the storm was raging.  Tropical Storm Debby was approaching.

By noon, the rains had let up, but the winds were still fierce.  I sat and watched the branches of the avocado tree through the window.  The branches would rise and fall with each gust.  They would float up as high as possible, and then dip down low.  The next thing you know they were being yanked sideways, back and forth.  Yet in all of their movement, they seemed to have almost a graceful quality.  Almost like an elegant dancer.  They seemed to go where their partner led them...up high, down low, then side to side.  The branches didn't move on their own...they gracefully followed where they were led to go.

I began to think about how those branches were formed.  They were made to bend and sway.  They were designed to have a 'give' to them.  If they were too stiff, they would break at the slightest storm.  The branches that were dead were easily broken.  They had no 'give' at all and snapped.

God formed us in a similar way.  He made us to be able to 'bend' in life's situations.  Many times we are advised to be flexible.  Don't expect too much, or depend too much on other people or circumstances.  We can be disappointed.  This is good advice.  Like the branches we need to relinquish our will.  Do you ever see a branch stubbornly refuse to move in a breeze?  No.  Lean and yield to each situation that God may place you in.  Let Him lead you.  Take His Hand and let your Partner guide you in every step of the Dance He has designed for you.  Without your knowledge, your dance will be poised and graceful.

Be careful that you aren't a dead branch.  If you don't have the Spirit of God flowing through you, you can become dead and brittle inside.  You will break under the slightest pressure.  Keep the Spirit alive through the Word and Fellowship with other believers.

Then dance...dance with the Wind...the Breath of God.

The Transformation

I had to do something.  The smell was really getting intense.....  Those three black bananas had to go!!

I hated to throw them away...one banana, fine...but THREE?  I would feel guilty...knowing they could be put to good use.  I checked the recipe...yep had all of the other ingredients.  Banana bread for tomorrow's breakfast!!
As the shortening, eggs and sugar were mixing, I began to peel the bananas.  They were so gross to the senses..  Gooey, smelly and ugly...yuck.  I added the bland flour, soda and salt with a little bit of flavoring.
Into the hot oven it went.  After a few minutes the strong smell of the rotton bananas began to change...ummmm!  To look at it, you couldn't tell that anything good was happening, it still looked like batter.  But your nose can tell you...something's different.  By the end of the hour, you're ready to climb into the oven to eat it, it smells so good!!  Then you see the change that those three rotten bananas have gone through...into a beautiful, golden loaf of bread.

I began to think about that transformation process...and how it related to life. 

Now work with me here...don't be offended and think I'm comparing you to a decaying piece of fruit!  But...there are a few similarities. 

We may not be considered a piece of fruit...but we are rotten.  To the core.  God's Word says that "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind."~Isaiah 64:6.  Inside, we are all like that black banana...full of sin and corruption.  Left on our own, we are disgusting.  To look at us...no one would want us, we would be considered an article for the garbage pail.

But then Someone picks us up.  Someone Who thinks that we are not destined for the trash heap.  As preparations are made, unbeknownst to us, He begins to take away our peeling.  It is not a pretty process.  Inside, what He finds is raw material.  Soft and moldable.  It has been neglected and left to rot, not knowing it's potential. He adds some other seemingly bland material to our lives.  Material or events that by themselves wouldn't mean a thing.  But when He mixes them together, something begins to take place.  A little flavoring of life is added to make the end result more appealing.

Then suddenly we are thrown into the fire of a hot oven.  Events take place that can't possibly be good for us.  It's so uncomfortable.  How can this be a positive thing? 

But then, a fragrance begins to slowly emerge.  The fragrance of change.  To look at us, no one could tell there has been a change, but something is definitely happening. 

We remain in the fire...and we begin to notice a difference in us.  We are growing. All of the events and circumstances that have happened to us have 'mixed together' to form us into something different.  We have a Master Chef that is keeping a watchful Eye on our oven.  He knows the exact moment that we should be removed from the heat.  Once we are, the results are amazing.  What was once a repulsive piece of produce is now a new creation.  Our Master Chef has made a new thing in us.  He has created a new heart in our innermost being. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"  Christ does the transforming.  In the same way that the bananas can hang on their hook for a month and 'wish and wish' to be changed...it can't happen.  For two reasons...one, bananas can't wish, and two...they can't change by themselves either.  It takes the Hand of the Master Chef to mold and mix and bring His new handiwork into being.  We just have to be willing to go through the peeling process and to go into the fire that is necessary, to grow.  We have to resign our 'will' and give it to the Father.

We will have to go through this transformation a number of times.  But know that each time, God has a plan and the end result will ultimately be for our good.

Surrender your life and see what the Lord can make of you.  It will be a pleasing sacrifice that He will turn into a beautiful reward.                             

Resting in the Father's Hand



Daddy and I (age 1)

 Remember the song, 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder"?  Here's a variation:

My mother used to tell me about a rather strange little habit I had when I was a toddler.  Apparently I used to love to lay my head in people's hands!  Yes, weird I know...  People would hold out their hand, and I would lay my head in it!  The above picture is an example.  It's a picture of my dad waking up to see me wheeling over to say "Good morning".  He put out his hand over the side of the bed, and I promptly placed my little head inside.  I guess I must have felt sheltered in knowing that I was safe and secure with his large hand holding me.

As I grew up, I moved away from my penchant for palms.  I forgot about my dependence on my daddy's hand.  I loved to be cradled in his arms if I was hurt or sad...but the older I got, the less I seemed to 'need' his secure hold.

Isn't that how it is with our Heavenly Father?  When we first come to know Him, we rest in His Hands, knowing that He is our Fortress and Protector.  Then we tend to grow away from Him...little by little..  New interests take over.  We get caught up with life, work or activities.  Our lives are filled with overtime and paychecks.  We may have a stack of bills and not enough money to pay them.  We worry and fret. Before we know it, we've forgotten how it felt to be held by our Father.  We've lost consciousness of how safe and secure we felt in our salvation.  Questions may begin to invade our brain..."Am I REALLY going to heaven when I die?" "Does God REALLY love me?"  "I don't see Him working in my life.  Maybe He has left me on my own."

Did God leave?  No.  He's still in the same place.  He hasn't moved an inch.  I once heard this analogy that made so much sense to me.  They said to light a candle.  The candle represents God.  Now turn and put your back to the candle.  Can you see it?  Look over your shoulder.  Is it still there?  It didn't go anywhere.  Who turned away from the Light?  We do.  God doesn't move...we are the ones who do the moving...away from Him.  He is just waiting for us to turn around so we can see Him.  He's just waiting for us to draw near to His Warmth, and place our head...our hearts into His open Palm...to give us a place to rest. 

Jesus tried to let us know how much He cared about our burdens.  Matthew 11:28 states, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  The Father speaks through 2 Corinthians 6:18 of His longing for us to turn to Him. "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters."  He wants to be the Daddy that we run to, when we are sad.

Place your heavy, tired head into the open Palm of the Father.  He will cradle you and relieve you of the weight of the world that is on your shoulders.  Rest in your Father's Hand.

The Practice

                        

prac·tice

   /ˈpræktɪs/ [prak-tis]

noun

1. habitual or customary performance
2. habit; custom
3. repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency

You've heard it said..."Practice, practice, practice".  "Practice makes perfect".  "Practice what you preach".  "Put your faith into practice".

The term 'practice' will never be just a routine word for me anymore.  It will always remind me of someone that gave the word 'practice' a whole new meaning. 

I am a member of First Baptist Church of Palmetto, FL.  We have been blessed to have an associate pastor by the name of Joe Choate for many, many years.  He has been an inspiration to countless people. 

Joe carried our church through a very difficult period of time.  For over three years we were without a senior pastor, and Joe stepped up to fulfill the job on a "temporary" basis.  He preached almost every Sunday, and led countless services and pastoral duties...all while dealing with recurring cancer.  He knew that God had given him that job, not because it was necessarily something he wanted to do...but because he was a faithful servant that obeyed. In the same way that Joe knew he could count on God to always be by his side, God knew He could count on Joe to step up and do what was needed.  They had a relationship with each other that was fed by prayer.  Joe could always talk to his Father...and his Father could speak to him.

When Joe's cancer came back for the second time, he told the congregation that he needed us to pray for him.  He needed the prayers and we needed the practice.  This became a recurring mantra of sorts around the church.  He often teased us about it, but there was an underlying truth to the banter.  He did need the prayers...and he knew we needed to practice at the art of praying.

Practice at praying??  How odd that may sound.  But when you think of it...he had a point.  The dictionary says that practicing is a habit or systematic exercise.  We exercise our muscles to make them stronger...we exercise or 'practice' our prayer life in order to strengthen it.

They say that it takes about 21 days, or about three weeks of doing something on a daily basis to become a habit.  What is a habit?  It is an acquired behavior pattern that because of repitition, becomes almost involuntary.  Why would Joe want us to practice at praying?  Because he knew we need prayer ln our lives.  We need to work on our own relationship with God on a daily basis, until we don't even have to think about it.  That way, our prayers don't always reach God's ears when we are in trouble.  It's more of a connection...of the heart.  A connection that we foster daily.  If we are in a relationship with someone, we have to have communication.  If we don't talk to our spouse or significant other every day, that intimacy will be disturbed...or shattered.  The same thing goes with our relationship with God.  Joe knew that.  He tried to encourage us to avoid that spiritual scenario.

On Sunday January 15th, Joe met his Heavenly Father face to face.  We thank God for his life and for all that he shared with us, here on earth.  We will miss him terribly.  Our love and prayers go out for his grieving family and friends, that God will envelop them with His Peace.  We pray for them, because they need the prayer....and we need the practice.

Practice makes perfect.

The Anniversary

                                       


Thirty three years ago today I asked a question that changed my life.

I had gone to visit my sister in South Carolina.  I was about to turn 19, and up to this moment, was a relatively happy young woman.  I was going to junior college, after having graduated from high school the summer before.  Living at home with my parents...my life seemed to be fine.

Then I went to South Carolina.  My sister and her fiancee' were getting ready to go to church, and asked me if I wanted to go along.  I liked church...hadn't gone on a regular basis for a few years, but I thought, sure, why not?

I looked up to my sister, Patti.  Still do.  She was such a happy person. Unlike myself, who was very introverted.  Painfully shy...I found it very hard to speak to people I didn't know.  We went to church, and I watched, as during the service they participated in the Lord's Supper.  I observed Patti, as she ate the bread that represented the Body of Christ.  She had a look of ultimate peace upon her face.  I quietly thought, "I want that.  I want peace.  It was if I knew there was something missing in my life.  I was happy...but I didn't have joy.  I wanted it.  So quietly, I prayed, "Can I have it?  Please God, take over my life and give me that peace."

At that moment, I knew something was different.  It was like I could not get enough of trying to know God on an intimate level.  I got my Bible out, that I had received when I was 8 years old.  I had tried to read it before, but didn't understand it.  The words made more sense now, but the translation was a bit difficult.  My grandfather gave me a Bible that was easier to understand.  I found a church in the area, and began to attend and learn.  Things started to make sense.  It seemed like the more I sought to learn about God, the more I knew Who He was. 

That was thirty three years ago.  The journey still continues.  I still have that same peace that I received that first day of January in 1979. Unbeknownst to me at the time, but it was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me.   It was not only the first day of a new year...it was the first day of the beginning of a new life for me...a rebirth.  That's not to say that I haven't gone through tough times.  I have gone through more than my share...but through it all, I knew that I wasn't alone.  I had Someone that held my hand through it all.  Someone who held me up when I couldn't go on under my own power.

And that shy, young girl who couldn't talk to people?  I was slowly transformed into a brave woman, who has no qualms about speaking, and at times even singing in front of a large crowd.  I couldn't do any of that changing on my own...it was a supernatural metamorphesis.  It was God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 states that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation.  The old has passed away and they are a new person.  It may sound like an impossible trick, but I have experienced that on a deep and personal level.  It's not a trick, it is true and very real.  And it began with a question. 
"Can I have that peace?"

The answer was a resounding, "YES!"  If you ask the same question, it is guaranteed you will get the same answer.  Luke 11:9 states "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."  Notice that there are no conditions.  It's not dependant upon how much money you have, or how good you are, or what religion you are affiliated with.  It says simply to ask.

Do you feel something missing in YOUR life?  The answer lies in a simple question.

The Treasure Chest

                                
The smell of cedar rose up from the open lid.  I drew a deep breath, inhaling the woody fragrance.  There were so many things inside!  My grandmother had taken me over to her cedar chest, to retrieve something.  She had her treasures stored in there for many years.  Things from her past, that meant something special to her heart.  The chest was a special place that she could go, to remember precious moments from days gone by. 

That memory has stayed with me for over 40 years. Although I've always wanted one, I have never purchased a cedar chest.  For some reason, the longing for one of my own has been strong for the last few months.  Steve asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year.  I told him.  He said, "Let's see what we can find."  We looked around, and God provided a beautiful secondhand one...for a VERY reasonable price.  I now have a place to store memories...and one day share them with my own granddaughters.

Now, I have to think of what to put in there!  What are my treasures?  The things that I'll put in there will not be expensive items.  There's a wooden box that holds two decks of cards.  It was my parents'.  The box reminds me of an ongoing card game that they played throughout their marriage.  The score sheet is still in the box.  They've both been gone for almost 20 years, and the box stays the same...a reminder of a strong bond that stood the test of time.  There are things that belonged to my children...a girl scout uniform, baby clothes/shoes and special school projects.

Treasures.  We all have them.  They reside in a special place in our heart.  They mean a lot to us, and we hold them close.  Jesus knew about treasures of the heart.  He thought it important enough to teach us about what's really valuable.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

The treasures that reside in our hearts.  It can be a lot of different things.  Valuables...Money...Esteem... Sometimes we can get confused as to what is really essential in life.  What we deem as necessary can lead to 'heart' disease.  It can possibly result in a type of 'heart' failure.  If we focus too closely on what we own, we can lose sight of heavenly wealth.  Jesus knew that this was a human tendency.  He knew that we can get caught up in our 'things', that aren't going to last.  We can place them in our hearts, and they can grow, like weeds, choking the life out of them.  He encourages us to store our treasures in heaven.  How can we do that?  By setting our sights on the things that He thought were important...the poor...The lonely...The forgotten.  For when we focus on 'the least of these'  we focus on Him.  These are the things that will endure for a lifetime...and beyond.

So while it's fine to store away some memories...don't forget to give your true treasures to Jesus!

That's What Christmas Is All About

                                                        
                                    

Like many people, one of my favorite Christmas traditions is watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas".  I've watched it practically every year since it's debut in 1965.  I think I only missed it about 3 or 4 times, since I was five years old.


Every year it's the same thing.  Charlie Brown looks into his empty mailbox, receives no respect from the actors he's trying to direct and is ridiculed for his choice in a Christmas tree.  He feels alone and depressed.  All around him is the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and he doesn't enjoy it at all.  What's it all about, anyway? 

Then his close friend Linus tells him.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
   And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
   And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
   And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
   And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
   Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  Luke 2: 8-14 

Christmas wasn't about decorations, presents or Christmas cards.  It wasn't about the music, the play or the Christmas Queen.  It was about the God in the manger.  The God that loved us enough to become one of us.  The God that wanted to transform our lives and one day give us the ultimate renewal.

We are like that tiny Charlie Brown Christmas tree...outwardly insignificant and worthless.  But as Linus said, "All it (we) needs is a little love."  God offers us that love.  To Him, we aren't worthless at all.  To Him, we are worth dying for.  That's why He came to us as a tiny baby, to one day die on the cross for us.  Once we accept that Love of God we are transformed, as that little tree, into something beautiful.  We don't do the changing...God does it.  He gives us an extreme makeover...from the inside out.  The beauty of the Presence of God in our heart shines forth outwardly.  We are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Reach out to accept the best Gift, this Christmas.  It doesn't cost a thing.  His name is Jesus.