Why do I do this? May 15, 2012

Why do I do this?  Short cuts never work for me and yet I naturally gravitate toward them!  My most recent short cut was to skip the grocery store and pharmacy coupon trip and just run in one of the big box stores that has it all.  My short cut turned into a time waster….as usual.

The store did not carry several of the items I needed (but thousands of items I didn’t), was higher in price, and was over crowded.  Not to mention that my mind just gets boggled with so much coming at me – Information – or in this case, Product - Overload.

Then the waiting in line for check out…The last thing I placed in my basket were the popsicles my kids asked for and they were begining to get soft and melty by the time I finished checking out!  Why does a store this size have 50 check out stands and only 5 working at 3Pm on a Friday (yes that includes the self check outs)?

So – back to original question…..Why do I do this to myself?  I know these types of short cuts end up being time waster in the end.  I know that “the easy” way is not always the best way.  I know that I am going to end up ‘paying more’ at the checkout (where I also end up waiting).  So Why do I do this?

Well, if you have an answer, feel free to post it.  In the meantime, I am choosing to meditate on this verse:

Proverbs 16:9   The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps

Lord, help me to plan better so that I do not have to stress over shortcuts.  Then always remind me – no matter what my plans – it is You oh Lord who shall direct my steps.

 

THEY are wearing me down… May 2, 2012

I don’t mention it in my writing too often, but for 9 years of my adult life I worked as an Account Executive for one of the most recognized financial services companies in the world.  Recently, I have found that many of the social and business structure skills I learned there, can be useful in other areas of my life.  I have found myself recalling scenarios that I encountered there and using what I learned from them in my everyday life.

During the time I worked for this company, the business changed from paying employees flat salaries to paying lower salaries but higher performance based incentives. What that meant was, employees who sold the most products, AND the products which were most profitable, AND the products that lowered the risk level for the company – would earn the most income. These employees would not only make the most money, they were more likely to get raises, advance in the company, and receive base pay raises.

That seemed pretty reasonable to account executives who were willing to work hard and make changes to how they did their jobs in order to accommodate new or different products. HOWEVER, it did NOT seem reasonable to those Account Executives who were just skating by,  had their “way of doing things”, or relied on seniority alone to progress through the company ranks.

Needless to say, the THEY rule (I’ll explain later) was soon invoked.  Two of the 30+ Account Executives in the area (where I worked) complained to the District Manager that the collective THEY were not happy with the new changes and many of THEM were looking for other jobs.

Assuming that these two truly spoke for the majority, the pay changes were quickly under review and plans presented to phase them out as quickly as they had gone into effect. Imagine the surprise management experienced when almost 20 account executives individually drafted written concerns about the withdraw of the newly implemented incentive plans.  Management soon learned that the collective THEY did not speak for the majority.

What management learned here is the power of THEY – it has even been called “the Rule of THEY.”  People use the rule of THEY for a variety of reasons, but it is ALWAYS as a shield. For example, I might use “they” when I:

-want to disclose my personal feelings on an issue, but I don’t want you to know that I am the source

-want to repeat what someone else said but not reveal the identity of the person

-perceive that a feeling or idea is shared by multiple people, or a specific group, but have not personally affirmed it from each individual in that group

 

People most often use the rule of THEY when a complaint is involved:

-       “Well, people are saying that THEY really don’t like the new programs.”

-       “The feedback I am getting is that if THEY don’t get the new program THEY asked for THEY will take their business elsewhere.”

“They” can also be used to give more power to the complaint – to give it more support than it actually may have.  As in my work place, by using the rule of they, two people were able to rally for a change that would effecte more than 30 people (and that was just in the region where I worked).

“They” can be a very effective tool!  But, I didn’t write all of this to give you a tool in your arsenal of complainers warfare.  No, I was hoping I could get you to examine complaining in general.  And/Or to at least OWN your complaints when you truly have one.

Philippians 2:14-16 reminds us, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”

Now I have to be honest – there are times I have found myself being a complainer, usually about something insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  This verse cautions us against complaining, and goes so far as to tell us that we can ruin our testimony with others by voicing complaints.

In light of this scripture, I wonder how our complaints are viewed when we form them using the rule of they?  Is it any less a complaint if we phrase it, “they are complaining that…”  No, I think if we voice it – we own it.

And that brings me to those of us who hear others complaints.  Like the management team in my former work place learned, we have to be cautious from whom we hear complaints (especially those of us in positions of leadership).  Personally, I disavow all “they” statements – ‘they’ are too draining and just wear me down.  If an individual comes to me saying, “what THEY thought was….”  My first response is, “STOP!  Now, tell me who are THEY?”  If THEY can not be named, and the individual sharing the information is not willing to “own” the information, then I say, “Don’t tell me because I do not want to hear anonymous complaints.”

Of course there is much more to the hearing of complaints than we can go into here, but you can check out Matthew 18 and I Timothy 5 to learn more about how to handle complaints that others lay at your feet.

As one who has complained, and one who has heard complaints…here is my prayer:

Lord, help me to examine myself and my motives when I complain.  Give me your wisdom and discernment when others approach me with a complaint.  Help me to be blameless and harmless, a child of God without fault.

What Do I Know of Holy? April 24, 2012

I have often heard, and considered, this (title) song by the band Addison Road.  It speaks a truth that many of us do not dare to confess:  As often as we attempt to understand God and His ways – we know so little of who He truely is – and really of what holiness and righteousness is, or even means.

…tried to hear from heaven, but I talked the whole time….made You too small…never feared You at all…what do I know You…what do I know of Holy…

Isn’t that the way we are?  Do we pray to hear a Word from God – or do we pray with our lists and agendas?  Do we realize the great and awesome power of our God Almighty – or make Him equal with our human abilities, satan, or angels?  Do we have a healthy fear of The Lord?  The Proverbs tell us “fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  That fear can keep us moving in the right directions – keep us on the paths of righteousness – make us bow prostrate before Him.

What do we really know of Holiness?  Is holiness acting the right way, doing the right things, saying the right things?  Or is Holiness deeper….something that others might catch a glimpse of in us – but only God Himself knows if it is truely present in our lives.  Holiness is a heart matter.  Holiness is our deepest desire to be like Jesus himself – not because of what others might think of us, or because we want His blessings, but because Jesus Christ is actively transforming us to be more like Him.

Psalm139: 23-24 (KJV) say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”**

I know so little of Holy.

 

**In preparing for this post, I shared this verse with some friends on my social media site.  I asked for comments and discussion about what this verse means to you and hos He is accomplishing this in your life.  Many of my friends “liked” the verse, but no one shared their thoughts on it.  I hope you will share with me and our readers (here in our comments) some of the ways God is searching you, trying you, and leading you at this season in your life!  i look forward to hearing from you.

Low Hanging Fruit April 17, 2012

Mark 4: 3-8

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

When I worked in sales we started everyday by collecting the ‘low hanging fruit.’  Now, maybe you didn’t know this, but Jesus is not the only one who uses farming parables to teach a principal to others.  Yes, sales managers and trainers use them too.

When harvesting a vineyard or orchard, you are supposed to gather ripe fruit from the bottom up – the “low hanging fruit.”  The benefits of this method are many.  Low hanging fruit can be gathered with the least effort, making your harvest efforts quickly profitable.  You don’t end up knocking fruit to the ground or damaging it trying to reach past to fruit that is higher up or more challenging to reach.  If it is a fruit that gets heavier as it ripens, you could end up losing, not just the fruit, but a branch if you overlook it too many times.

So, in sales we were always reminded, collect the low hanging fruit first (meaning finish the easy deals first), so that we may then give our undivided attention to the more challenging deals – deals that we had to reach and aim high to attain.

Recently, I have been challenged by this idea as it applies to ministry.  You see, our family moved into our current ministry (here in the great in the Southwest) from a ministry in the heart of the Bible belt (Fort Worth, Texas).  Our ministry in Texas had a lot of low hanging fruit.

Now don’t misunderstand me, I know there are many people in the Bible belt who need to know Jesus as their Savior.  But, for the most part, the majority of people I encountered on a daily basis in Fort Worth had heard of Jesus, The Bible, or had attended church at some point in their lives.  They were fruit that had been planted in soil rich with The Gospel message.  They received water or fertilizer periodically through Christian relatives, neighbors, or coworkers, until The Lord had prepared them for the harvest.  Then, all that was required was to be open to the opportunity for harvest!  We could reach a lot of low hanging fruit.

But, God is no longer allowing us to farm that kind of field.  No, today, God is using our family to reach some fruit that, at times, just seems out of reach.  We have to reach and stretch and climb to get near it.  And them sometimes, we have to wait and watch it ripen before we can harvest it – and keep the pests from munching on it!

No, there is not much low hanging fruit here in the Southwest.  I guess I could let that discourage me; I have seen it discourage some ministers who have relocated here from more fertile fields.  But, I have always been kind of an overachiever anyway, so reaching for the ‘out of reach’ fruit doesn’t seem so out of the ordinary to me.

So in applying my farming parables, here is what I have learned:

- Harvest any low hanging fruit that is right in your face, but don’t count on it!

- Start climbing for the our of reach fruit, and wait if you need to, then only harvest when the time is right.

Next - start working the soil & planting again!

That brings me to the planting part of this discussion….The ground here can be hard!  For sure the soil here has not been prepared for planting as it has in other Gospel rich soils.  True farmers know they must begin by breaking up the hard and rocky soil.  We can not rely on the work of the farmers before us.  We can’t be disappointed when we learn that much of what may have been  planted by those coming before us had, in fact, never taken root, or had been choked out by weeds.  We must be willing to work the soil we are given from scratch!

We must plow the ground, sow the field, tend the sprouts, and then harvest the fruit as it ripens – in His time, not our own!  One thing I can say for sure, farming is hard work!  We can’t be lazy farmers.  And even though God alone gives the harvest, we must climb and stretch to reach that fruit that seems so high!  But……….the view……the view gets better the higher you climb up in the tree!

2 Cor 9:10 – NLT  For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Surprise! I’m back… April 12, 2012

Hard to believe it has been almost a year since I have blogged.  It was a nice sabbatical that allowed me time to get settled in our new town, new home, new schools, and new ministry.

God has been working on me to get back to work writing devotionally (and for fun)!  I am not sure where the next year of writing will take us, but I hope you will join me as I attempted to post weekly here at “Taste The Smell”.

If you followed my blog before, or have read through the archives, you might remember that you learn a lot about my every day life as a mom, wife, and ministry leader – sometime more that you wanted to know!  But, I try to keep it light hearted because I believe, even in our worst of times, God has a sense of humor.  Sometime I get on a soap box, sometime I am too harsh, sometimes too tolerant, sometime you will agree with me, and sometimes you won’t!  But, if you don’t like what I write, you can always post a comment, stop reading, or start writing your own blog ; )

I am looking forward to seeing where God will take us; I hope you will visit on a regular basis!

Check back next week for a new post that I am already writing!

“Truly Stupid” May 4, 2011

Other than my own family (who know that anything of note we do might end up in this blog), I rarely write (directly) about those I know.  It can be rather intimidating, embarrassing, or annoying to find yourself the subject of someone’s commentary.

So I apologize in advance to my dear friend if this writing offends you….

If you are old enough to read this – you surely know already that not everyone in your life believes the same way as you do.  Whether about politics, matters of faith, how to raise children, or which flavor of ice cream is best – chances are that at some point you will have a difference in opinion, or belief, with someone that you love.

I have such a difference with one of my dearest friends – not to mention we have lots of longevity in this friendship (I started to say dearest and oldest – but certainly we are both still very young – so saying “oldest” will not do at all!  – lol).  I am a Christian, she an atheist.  Over the years we have learned to have intellectually stimulating conversations about matters of faith with out offending one another or degrading one another’s beliefs (at least I think we don’t).  Something that I think most people can not accomplish.

Maybe we only achieve this because we know and love each other.  So I am writing this to all believers today to implore you:  Please – learn to speak with others about your beliefs with out emotion (I do not mean without passion), defensiveness, or insults.  Learn to speak intellectually about what you believe and with love toward non-believers just as Christ loved you.  Learn what questions nonbeliever might have about your faith and be ready to answer them.  Remember & apply 1 Peter 3:15

^…….(B) always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and^(C) respect

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if believers and non-believers could learn how to have a conversation with respect – with out calling names?  That is where the title of this post comes from.  I recently read a comment that implied that belief in God is “truly stupid.”  It went on to suggest that such belief  can be attributed to “lower IQ” ‘s.  Of course it pushed my buttons! (Funny thing – Later on <after I wrote this post>  I found out that the writer was indeed a believer who as being sarcastic – sarcasm does not always translate in writing!).

Focus for one moment on one of the most simplistic arguments for, or against, God:  Creation.

The Atheist view…..The scientific argument embraced by most atheist is that everything came into being through a Big Bang.  Explained by one scientist like this:  Science explains the big bang was not from nothing but from a singularity that was all the matter and energy in the universe compressed into a single point that then expanded rapidly.
The Believer view….God Created Everything.  And, if there was a Big Bang – He created that too!  If there was compressed matter that exploded into a rapidly expanding universe – Yeap, you guessed it – He created the matter and the energy that caused it to expand!

It does seem rather simple doesn’t it….But let me ask you this…Look around the place where you are sitting now…In your room, at the office, or maybe at a coffee shop that has free wireless (not naming any names…teehee):  What do you see that magically came into being?  Your computer?  Nope someone made that.  The chair your sitting on?  The meal that your eating, or the coffee your sipping?

Now what about the coffee bean, or the chicken that is on your grill?  What about the tree that is outside your window?  The earth that the tree grows out of?

You see, we can agree that a chair did not come from “nowhere.”  It is the natural (or I might say, super-natural) creation that stirs the argument.    A chair had to be conceptualized.  Someone had to think, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to not bend all the way down to the earth to rest our bottoms on it for a ‘seat’.”  Then someone had to take that concept and create a design that would support our weight, gather materials, and then construct the final product.

A chair is a relatively simple creation.  The universe is a highly complex one.  You see, it takes much more faith for me to believe that – our planet and its detailed working, the wonders of the human body, the massive operations that keep the universe in balance – that it all that just came into being on its own – than to believe in a divine Creator!  Is it “truly stupid”  or a well thought out and examined belief?  Is my IQ lower because I choose to believe? Is an atheist’s higher because you choose not to?  You see, an atheist can NOT say they do not believe – belief that there is NO GOD – is still a belief.

I could write many more thoughts on this topic, but I think I have gone on enough.  And, anyway, there are so many finer resources you could read -  So many other great minds who have studied both sides of the argument, I hope you will check them out.  If you are a believer, study them so that you may be ready as I Peter suggests.  If you are not, study them so that you can decide for yourself after being informed on both sides of the argument.

But ask yourself this first…I am I open to receiving whatever I learn?  An atheist was once asked, “If I could prove to you today the existence of God, would you accept Him?”  The response he gave was, “NO.”

If you want to research Christian Beliefs on an intellectual level here are some great sources.  Many HIGH IQ’s (lol) here….

Ravi Zacharias = www.rzim.org

Josh McDowell = www.josh.org

Lee Strobel = http://www.leestrobel.com

Mary Jo Sharp   = http://confidentchristianity.blogspot.com

Acts & Facts (Institute for Creation Research) = http://www.icr.org/aaf/

I Don’t Trust You April 25, 2011

I remember the day that I cried out these words to a Holy God.  Yes, this is a confession.  I actually said to The Lord, “I don’t trust You.”  Gutsy or stupid…not sure, but I do know that we are allowed to be honest before our God.  And the truth is, whatever you think or feel, God knows it anyway so you might as well fess up!

You see, I was feeling stuck – trapped in a situation that seemed to be going nowhere fast – or terribly slow depending on how you look at it.  I had done everything I was supposed to do, said everything I was supposed to say.  I was “keeping my chin up.”  I was confessing with my mouth that I knew it was “in God’s hands.”  I was submitting to the authority in the situation and doing everything they asked me to do – even if I didn’t agree with it.  But (in my eyes), God was not moving.

So after days of holding them in, I just cried my desperate tears.  I prayed (really loudly – kind of shouting actually) to The Lord all the doubts and fears that were inside of me.  I am not sure how long I sat there in the floor crying and praying…but even when I got up and did some of the things I HAD to do – I did them (still) through prayerful, heart-aching tears.

I started off by telling you that I was writing a confession.  So here goes the most truthful part:  I still don’t have the answer to this burden.  God still has not moved to change this area of my life.  I don’t know when, or if, He will.  I am still working on trusting Him in this area (I know it seems funny to say to God- I trust you for eternity, or to watch over my kids, or for my finances – but not some other area, but I guess we all have our hang-ups).

So, today I am committing this verse to memory…I hope it helps you in some way too

Proverbs 29:25 – “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”

Doing what’s proper, doing what’s Right April 18, 2011

Have you ever noticed that doing the proper thing is not always the same as doing the RIGHT thing?  As a matter of fact, I – many times- find the two to be at odd.  In our politically correct, non-offensive, tolerant society – many times we are so focused on being proper, doing the ap-proper-iate thing, that we forget to ask ourselves, “Is it the RIGHT  thing?”

It was time for the Passover.  King Hezekiah  had just reopened the Temple.  But, the people were not prepared – they had not been purified – to partake of the Passover.  The king knew the importance of the celebration.  King Hezekiah did what was right, not what was proper.  After praying for God’s blessing, the unclean people were allowed to share in the Passover meal.  The king, and The Lord, were more interested in the heart of the people, than the legalism of The Law.  (2 Chronicles 30)

It was the Sabbath.  Jesus was in the synagogue.  But, one of the men among the crowd had a deformity.  Challenging His critics – Jesus did what was RIGHT, not what was proper.   Jesus healed the man’s deformity.  He WORKED on the Sabbath.  King Jesus- The Lord, was more interested in healing the hearts of the people, than the legalism of His critics. (Mark 3)

During this Passion Week, as we consider ALL Jesus has done for us, I wonder if we are more worried about being proper that being RIGHT.  Certainly it was not PROPER for The King of kings and Lord of lords to be spat upon, beaten, ridiculed, and hung upon a cross.  But, because He did that – all who call upon the name of Jesus can be RIGHT before GOD.  Thank you Jesus!

Sweetwater March 31, 2011

Good Morning Readers!

I have not posted in awhile as we have had a lot going on in our family and in the life of our ministry.  My husband has accepted a Pastorate in Arizona, near Phoenix.  He will begin ministering there April 17th.  Sadly, that will separate our family for the time it takes for our home in Texas to sell.  When that occurs, the girls and I will be able to join him there.  I always say to myself, that you can endure ANYTHING if you know it is only for a set amount of time.  I know in my spirit that God will work it all out, but it is really hard to accept the reality of that separation.

We know that God’s will shall be done, and in His time, but pray with us for that the opposition will have no liberty here – that  Satan will be bound.  Already we are seeing the opposition in that just last night we had a conflict arise with our realtor ( whome we have built a very good friendship with our realtor, but we still have to keep business – business).  We really had to pray about how to deal with it so that we did not compromise our testimony by saying the wrong thing in frustration.

Anyway – Thank you for your prayers in this area – now let me share a Word with you… Today’s post comes from a ministry plan I am working on to minister to wo

men when we arrive at our new home church.  If you have ever been involved in ministering to ladies, you know it can be such a blessing – and a challenge at the same time (imagine that – we women a challenge!).   As I am working out the purpose and plan God has for this ministry I was led to write out this study.  I hope you enjoy it…

 

…we are to be ordinary women allowing God to use us in extraordinary ways…

Have you ever felt dry?…I mean really dry?

One thing I have learned already from my new friends in Arizona  is, ‘on a hot day, always remember to carry your water bottle!’  Just a few hours without the refreshment of liquid can parch your palette.  Should we go even a day without water in the desert, we start to dehydrate.  We could see our skin start to dry and crack, our eyes may cease to make tears, we could feel sick, grow weak, or become confused!

Are our physical symptoms any different than those we experience when we grow spiritually dry?  When we walk in the desert, away from God, soon, we start to crack.  Our spirit ceases to make tender tears and instead grows bitter and hard.  Rather than a physical illness or weakness,  our spiritual, and emotional, health begins to suffer.  Surely, we become confused and without direction.  When we are physically dry nothing refreshes like a cool drink of water.  When we are spiritually dry, God will always provide refreshment – if we seek it.

The Sweetwater message is two-fold: We are to constantly be refreshed in The Lord and also allow God to use us as a refreshment to others!  This message comes to us from Exodus 15:22-26.

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.

The longer we wander in the desert – away from God – the more likely we are to find bitterness and grumbling.  But when we surrender and cry out to The Lord, He can take an ordinary thing (like the limb of a tree – like you and me) and turn our bitterness into something sweet and refreshing for our benefit, and for the benefit of those around us (like finding a pool of water in the desert).

But there is more…God gave us guidelines to live by.  If we follow His lead, seek what is right, and keep his commands He will Heal us!

Ladies, let us be like this limb God used.  Let us be an ordinary thing that He can use to make refreshing Sweetwater!

I was eager to…but… February 17, 2011

^{Jude (verse 3)}

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

I am a planner – that always worked very well for me when I was employed  in the event management field.  I mean think about it: Artists are planning a world tour, so they have to know what city they are going to be in months, and even years, in advance.  When I worked at the convention center in New Orleans, we were reserving space as far as 15 years in advance for various conventions & events.  Now don’t get me wrong…I do not plan most things in my life that way, but the sooner I can know something is going to happen, the happier I am!

With that being said – have you ever noticed how being a planner doesn’t work so well in the spiritual realm?  Whether you are in ministry by vocation, a Sunday School teacher, a Christian example in your work place, or a grocery store evangelist….you just can’t pre-plan those divine appointments that God has reserved for you!

I find myself a little like Jude, when he writes verse three:  He has planned, and really wants to do, one thing – but the Holy Spirit said, ‘nope….write this instead.’  In the verse, what he is saying is, “When I set out to write you – I thought it would be a letter where I could encourage and exhort you in our mutual faith, salvation in Christ Jesus.  But instead, I have to write to you about defending (fighting for, contending for) your (our) faith!

If you read the rest of Jude, you will learn that there was good reason to be on the defensive.  There were grumblers, malcontents, and false teachers creeping into the church.  That is an important lesson- but for another day.  I am going to stop with the text above and focus on what it has to teach us.

What I learn from this scripture is to be open to how God wants to use you, even if it is not what you had planned, wanted to do, or felt excited about.  When we remain open to The Spirit, we may find it necessary to change our planned course of action so that God can use us in a special way.

When Jude did this, he was used to instruct a group of believer on how to deal with serious issues that were arising in their church.  When we remain open, we too could teach another believer an important lesson, change an eternity by sharing The Message of Hope, or just change someone’s day for the better.

Lord, help me be open to what You have planned for me to say, do, and even write today!  In the name of Jesus I pray this – Amen!