Month December 2019

Reset Button

At The End of My Yarn Leave a comment

Do you ever wish that life had a reset button? You know like when your computer starts not working right and you just turn it off and back on to reset it. There is usually a reset button on most electronics. It allows equipment to stop, recalibrate, and restore itself to working order again. Actually, we do have a reset button of sorts, but it doesn’t correct our situation; it corrects our perception of the situation.

Seattle SunriseI have a friend who is not a big fan of Christmas but loves New Year’s because it is the chance to start fresh. However, you don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day for a fresh start. Lamentations 3:21-23 says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” God’s mercies are new every morning, so we have the chance to start each day fresh. But, we don’t even have to wait for a new day. We can start new at any moment. All we have to do is stop and pray for God to refresh our spirits and renew our minds.

Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” When we renew our minds, we often gain a new perspective on the situation. It is often said that prayer doesn’t change God or the circumstances as much as it changes us. It is a change in perspective, the difference between seeing something as a crisis and seeing it as an opportunity.

In March of 2018, a line of storms hit my area, including a tornado that struck Jacksonville, Alabama and Jacksonville State University. The community could have wallowed in self-pity or hopelessness; instead they rallied around each other. My church, along with others, took it as an opportunity to share the love of God through feeding workers and those in our community without power. People from all over flooded the area, helping people clear the debris and meeting basic needs.

Reset ButtonWhen we are faced with challenges, we can sit and complain and wonder why me, or we can look to discover what God is trying to teach us in the moment. A slow car in front of us when we are running late could be keeping us from being involved in an accident or getting a speeding ticket. A power outage might give us a renewed sense of appreciation for what we do have. When we are having a bad day and nothing seems to be going right, we just have to take a moment and look for the blessings around us. It can reset our perspective and our attitude so that we can make the most of whatever situation we find ourselves. The reset button is always available; the trick is remembering to use it.

 

Advent: Fear Not

At The End of My Yarn Leave a comment

Advent Candles

Since the end of the year is approaching, I have begun looking at goals and schedules and trying to figure out what writing projects to work on next. I was also putting all the holiday events on my calendar and deadlines for current projects. The more I looked at it, the more anxious and stressed I felt. So, I walked away and looked at the Advent readings for this week, mostly from Luke chapters 1 and 2. Angels were appearing to people to give a pronouncement from God of good news, yet each time they prefaced it with the words “Fear Not.” Why would they be afraid of good news?

The truth is that the thrill of good news is often immediately followed by fear. A couple finds out they are pregnant after years of trying and they are elated, but then they start thinking about the responsibilities and potential problems associated with parenting. You hear back from a search committee that you got the job, and after a brief moment of celebration, worries that you won’t be able to handle the job rush in to steal your joy. You find out your first published book is a success but immediately begin to worry that you won’t be able to write another one. Why is that?

Luke 22:31 says, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” The enemy wants to destroy us. He will throw everything he has at us to get our focus off of God. Satan’s greatest desire is to make us unusable to God in any way possible, so we have to keep our guard up and recognize his tactics. Fear is a favorite tool of Satan, and he wields it like a weapon. However, I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

The most common way Satan uses fear is to make us doubt our ability to carry out a calling or command of God. For instance, you may feel called to teach a Bible study class but feel you don’t know enough or that people won’t want to listen to you. However, if God calls you, He will equip you.  In Hebrews 13:21, scripture says He will “make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” As a matter of fact, God often calls us to assignments that are out of our comfort zones because He wants the world to see Him and not us and to teach us to depend on Him and not any natural talents we may possess.

So, when God gives you an assignment, believe that He will equip you and will bring about what He has said. If He has ordained it, He will bring it to pass in His time and His way. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Wait upon the Lord, and He will work out the details and your schedule. As the angels said, “Fear not…”

Advent: Fear Not

Since the end of the year is approaching, I have begun looking at goals and schedules and trying to figure out what writing projects to work on next. I was also putting all the holiday events on my calendar and deadlines for current projects. The more I looked at it, the more anxious and stressed I felt. So, I walked away and looked at the Advent readings for this week, mostly from Luke chapters 1 and 2. Angels were appearing to people to give a pronouncement from God of good news, yet each time they prefaced it with the words “Fear Not.” Why would they be afraid of good news?

The truth is that the thrill of good news is often immediately followed by fear. A couple finds out they are pregnant after years of trying and they are elated, but then they start thinking about the responsibilities and potential problems associated with parenting. You hear back from a search committee that you got the job, and after a brief moment of celebration, worries that you won’t be able to handle the job rush in to steal your joy. You find out your first published book is a success but immediately begin to worry that you won’t be able to write another one. Why is that?

Luke 22:31 says, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” The enemy wants to destroy us. He will throw everything he has at us to get our focus off of God. Satan’s greatest desire is to make us unusable to God in any way possible, so we have to keep our guard up and recognize his tactics. Fear is a favorite tool of Satan, and he wields it like a weapon. However, I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

The most common way Satan uses fear is to make us doubt our ability to carry out a calling or command of God. For instance, you may feel called to teach a Bible study class but feel you don’t know enough or that people won’t want to listen to you. However, if God calls you, He will equip you.  In Hebrews 13:21, scripture says He will “make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” As a matter of fact, God often calls us to assignments that are out of our comfort zones because He wants the world to see Him and not us and to teach us to depend on Him and not any natural talents we may possess.

So, when God gives you an assignment, believe that He will equip you and will bring about what He has said. If He has ordained it, He will bring it to pass in His time and His way. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Wait upon the Lord, and He will work out the details and your schedule. As the angels said, “Fear not…”

Advent: The Discipline of Waiting

At The End of My Yarn Leave a comment

Advent Candles

Waiting…it seems to be a theme lately. At the moment, I am waiting on a FedEx delivery that should have been here on Monday and it is now Friday. I have a text saying it is out for delivery, but I got one saying the same thing yesterday, which was redYoung Manacted later saying it was rescheduled. Young Man is also waiting on this particular delivery since it contains his food and his food bowl is currently empty. He doesn’t like waiting any more than I do and has been very vocal about the situation. I can only imagine what it was like for Elizabeth and Zacharias who had been waiting their whole lives for a child, and the children of Israel who had been waiting for The Messiah for centuries. My wait time is substantially shorter, but some things really are worth the wait.

Growing up, my church didn’t participate in advent, so I don’t know much about it. However, this year I wanted to find out the purpose behind the practice, so I did a little research. One article discussed the discipline of waiting and why advent has been pushed aside by many Christians (Read Article). The gist of it is that we don’t like waiting, so we start talking about Christmas the day after Halloween and some people start even before Halloween is over. You have probably heard the expression “killing time,” which is what most people think waiting is: a waste of time. Yet, there is something to be learned in any situation, including waiting.  In a previous blog (Postponed) I talked about the benefits of looking forward to something, and while the wait for The Messiah is long past, the wait for His return is not and there is something to be gained from the waiting process. God often speaks more clearly in the waiting than He does in the answer to our prayers.

Advent is observed during the four weeks prior to Christmas with a candle being lit on each Sunday. The first candle, which is purple, represents hope. It is also called the prophecy candle in remembrance of the prophets, like Isaiah, who foretold of The Messiah’s coming. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” The Messiah was to be a light in the darkness, a beacon of hope. He still is today. Even now we wait for His return so that He can shed light in a world of darkness and renew all of creation. In the meantime, we can be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) by letting Christ shine through us while we wait for His return.

Even if you don’t have an advent wreath with candles to light, take a moment from the hectic bustle to remember what we are waiting for…The Messiah. Because of Him we have hope, hope for a better future. So, be a candle that shines the light of hope in a dark world this Christmas season and all year long.