The Gift List: All the Things God Has Done

I'll make a list of God's gracious dealings, all the things God has done that need praising. Isaiah 63:7 (MSG)

Shortly after Christmas, one of the boys got an attitude because I wouldn't buy something for him at Target. It upset me that he just received all his heart's desire and still wasn't content.

How often has that been me? Given so many good things and still pouting about that one thing I don't have. Oh Lord, help my own discontent heart. It's in the remembering of all that has been given to me that I realize just how blessed I am. 

Some of God's gracious dealings to me: 

256. Compassion lavished. 

257. Love extravagant.  

258. The quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit.  

259.  Being thought of.  

260. Unexpected gifts from kind coworkers.  

261. Hope that keeps rising to the surface.  

262. Sweets baking in the oven.  

263. Jesus becoming my savior in all my troubles.  

264. Friendly neighbors.  

265. Smiling strangers.  

266. Praise songs sung by my seven year old.  

267. And scriptures hidden in the heart of my 11 year old son.  

268. Playing "dollhouse" with my baby girl.  

269. Time spent with my mother.  

270. A generous bonus at work.  

271. Groceries packed into the car.  

272. Good laughs with good friends.  

273. Letters in the mail from faraway friends.  

274. Knowing smiles.  

275. Lingering hugs.  

276. Hot cups of tea on chilly mornings.  

277. A sermon preached just for me.  

278.  "My soul longs and even faints for the courts of the Lord."

279. Grace and glory from above.  

280. No good thing being withheld when I seek God's face.  

When We Don't Recognize Our Savior: Thoughts On Looking Up

"And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him." Genesis 42:8

For the past few weeks, I've been turning this verse over and over again in my head. 

It's the story of Joseph. HIs brothers had come to Egypt to buy bread during the famine. They faced their brother, the same brother they'd thrown in a ditch and then sold to slave traders. The brother they'd grown up with. But they didn't recognize him. Maybe it was his accent. Perhaps, it was the attire he was wearing. I wonder if he had facial hair that made him unrecognizable. Either way, they didn't know him. But he knew them.

I find this so fascinating. The emotions he must have felt for his brothers while they felt nothing because they didn't know who we was at the time. 

Joseph was at the time his brother's savior. He had the provision they so desperately needed. But they didn't recognize him.

It's easy to dismiss this as minor: It had been many years. They may have even thought him to be dead. Plus, he was treating them like strangers when they came to him.  But this fact wouldn't have been mentioned twice if it was inconsequential. 

"And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him." Genesis 42:8

A few months back, I had been awakened earlier than usual by what felt like a hand on my shoulder rolling me over. Only thing, there was no hand on my shoulder and there was no one awake but me. This happened a few days in a row. A day or two after it stopped, I realized that it had been the Holy Spirit, gently waking me. But instead of recognizing Him, I determined that it was a bad night's sleep or nightmare that roused me awake. I missed my Savior because I didn't recognize Him.

How many times have we all done this? We don't recognize His provision because it didn't come in the manner we thought it would. We don't recognize His Word because it came from a person that we least expected. Sometimes we are face-to-face with our Savior, but we just don't recognize Him.

Those early morning wake-ups have led me to be more sensitive to how Jesus is moving in my life. I've found myself looking up more instead of looking down and around at my circumstances.

"Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground." Genesis 42:6

It could have been that Joseph's brothers missed the chance to recognize their brother because they were bowing down. A good look in the eyes may have changed everything.

Sometimes we are bowed down with our heads in devotionals and books and sermons or in ministry or volunteer work in the name of Jesus that we don't recognize our Savior right before us. 

My prayer lately has been: Jesus, I don't want to look at You and not recognize You. Help me to look at You face-to-face. Here's to looking up into the face of Jesus.

. 

Happiness Is A Road Trip...

Nothing like getting out of the city to make you appreciate the beauty of California. #roadtrippin

A photo posted by NONSuperwoman (@nonsuperwoman) on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:31pm PST

Well, a road trip with three kids is not actually happiness, but a change of venue is. Right after Christmas, we packed the kids up and made the six-hour drive from Southern California to Northern California to visit my mother and family.

The kids actually did great thanks to lengthy naps and the in-car DVD player. Lifesaver! The clear Northern California air and seeing my mother and cousins did my heart good. Nothing like belly laughs and hugs with people you love the most. I even got a chance to hook up with my bestest friend in the world who was visiting her family from the East Coast. 

My mother had some quality time with the kids while I took a quick drive to Berkeley to visit Body Time. I love everything about this little shop and have been wearing their signature fragrance China Rain since I was a teen. I picked up the Body Moisturizer, Olive Oil Soap, the Oatmeal Complexion Bar and some shaving soaps for my husband. They were out of the Sweet Almond Oil which is another favorite of mine.  

No trip to the Bay Area is complete without a trip to @bodytime1970 in Berkeley. #smellgoods

A photo posted by NONSuperwoman (@nonsuperwoman) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:53pm PST

Body Time was followed by at stop at Daiso for some $1.50 goodies and lunch at Smart Alecs on Telegraph Avenue and it was indeed a delicious alternative to fast food. On the way to the car, a cute little jewelry store caught my eye. My sister, cousin and I ended up spending way more time and money in there than we intended. 

The highlight of the trip was our visit to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa is we are all big fans of the Peanuts. My cousin joined us and brought his three kids. We started with lunch at the Warm Puppy Cafe which overlooks the ice skating rink (Charles Schulz's table at the cafe remains reserved until this day).

An entire wall of Peanuts cartoon strips. The kids are in Charlie Brown heaven. Field trip success!

A photo posted by NONSuperwoman (@nonsuperwoman) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:55pm PST

The kids had a ball at the museum. I wanted to read every single word in every single exhibit but with all the kids in tow, this wasn't possible. Next time though! I loved the replica of Shulz's office and the nursery wall her painted for one of his children which was transported from one of his early homes. The kids loved the Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the museum foyer and the outside maze in the shape of Snoopy's head. 

As I type this, it's back to work and school tomorrow, but our little getaway was just what the kids needed.

Why a Failed Vision Is Not Always a Bad Thing

Earlier this year, I'd chosen the word fulfill as my one word for 2014.

I'd had visions of God fulfilling some things in my life that had a tangible and concrete measurement. The things I was counting on fulfilling and being fulfilled were things I could clearly see outside of myself.

Of course, God had another plan in mind.

Turns out there were some things fulfilled within me instead. God has done and is doing a inner work in me that I could never have imagined for myself. Instead of giving me things, He has done a new thing in me. There was been a renewed hunger for His Word and His presence alone. I've enjoyed time spent just relishing in His presence: Quiet mornings in the Word. Late nights spent in worship and prayer. Building myself up on my most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

This year, God has ignited in me a love for my enemies. Instead of retaliating, I've learned to walk in love...no easy feat in my own strength. It's all been the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart. It's easy to spew out hateful words when you're wronged. Hard to bite your tongue when your toes are stepped on and you are continually wronged. 

Luke 6:35-36: But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

God promises to fulfill His promise that our reward will be great and that we will be children of the most High if we do good to them who aren't so good to us. I don't take lightly that this is being fulfilled in me.

And then there's the purging work that I hadn't anticipated. Jealousy in the hidden closets of my heart. Fear and anxiety lurking in dark corners. And unbelief rearing its ugly head when least expected. Crazy how God set it up that more time spent in His presence reveals all the sin and impurity in our lives. 

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”

God can't fulfill things on the outside until He completes a work on the inside. That stripping process, though not cute and often very uncomfortable, is quite necessary for progress.

2 Timothy 2:19 & 21, “The Lord knows those who are his, and those who claim they belong to him must turn away from all wickedness…If you keep yourselves pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master’s use for every good work.”

While, I had a vision for this year that didn't pan out exactly how I'd seen it in my head, God's vision has exceeded mine in ways I didn't quite expect. Thanking God for all the times this year that I faced those ugly things that rose to the surface and dealt with them head on. 2014 was indeed the year of God fulfilling a purge in me. It will be exciting to see what God fulfills in and through me in 2015.

Happy New Year to you!

currently: december 2014

Loving: the fact that this little guy is back on track after having his adenoids and tonsils removed right before Thanksgiving. The surgeon said they were humongous. Glad it's taken care of and it's over. We had a few rough days where the pain was bad, but he was a trooper indeed.

Reading: Catching up on Kim Cash Tate's blog. Her latest post #BlackStoriesMatter applies to more than just writing. My story matters. Your story matters.

Planning: a road trip up the Bay Area after Christmas to visit my mom and family. A visit to the Charles M. Schulz Museum is on our list. We go hard for The Peanuts in this household.

Thinking about: Christmas shopping. Items bought so far: 1. *sigh*

Looking forward to: Christmas break. Two glorious weeks of vacation!

Listening to: Lots of iTunes radio lately. I've ditched Pandora since iTunes offers 6 skips an hour.

Watching: Actually, just finished watching The Red Tent on Lifetime. Good TV still exists. Based on the book, the story is inspired by Dinah, a character in the Bible. People were up in arms that it didn't follow the Bible, but it's inspired by the story not a retelling of the story.

What's up with you? I'd love to hear.

Forgiven and Fruitful: Wednesday Night Bible Study Notes

Last week's Bible Study was good. Still turning over the message in my head. Sharing the goodness below.

One of the more obscure parables is the parable of the barren fig tree found in Luke 13:6-9 

Galileans had gone into the temple and killed Galileans whose blood was mixed in with the sacrificial blood. It was a horrible event. Jews believed bad things happening meant a wrong standing with God. It was against this backdrop that Jesus taught the parable of the fig tree.

God is the owner o f this vineyard. Jesus the vineyard manager.  God noticed the fig tree was not fruitful but Jesus asked for one more year to make it fruitful.

How does fruitfulness really take place  in our lives?

1.     Fruit is received. If you’re going to be fruitful, you have to start with God's work in us. God’s work didn’t end at the cross. It continues in our fruitfulness. This Holy Spirit makes us fruitful, not our works.

2.     Fruit is internal. Most think it’s fruit vs. bad. But it’s really fruit vs. good works like serving, witnessing, giving. We use the external things to measure fruit, but if we don’t have love these things don’t matter. If the Pharisees lived today, we’d be enamored of them. They memorized scripture, never missed a tithe, crossed the sea to win converts, prayed three times a day, but there was nothing on the inside of them. Good works are good but if they don’t come out of the foundation of Christ in us, they amount to nothing. People being changed through you, doesn’t mean you’re being changed.

3.     Fruit is passionate. In our spiritual walk, we have warring battles between the spirit and the natural. Good things can take more of our desire than Jesus. It’s not good vs. bad like we traditionally think, but good things vs. Jesus. If you want more fruit, fall more in love with Jesus. The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus instead of the good things. We can get so busy with good works that we forget Jesus

4.     Fruit is seasonal. The benefit of fruit being seasonal is that it’s cultivated by God instead of us trying to conjure it up. God puts us in circumstances where fruit will grow. Marriage cultivates the fruit of kindness. Parenthood cultivates the fruit of patience. We have to discern the season to see the potential for fruit bearing. Because its seasonal, fruit growth is gradual not immediate. Declaring that we have fruit is really pride. One day we will look up and see fruit we lacked after a season of hard times.

5.     Fruit unifies. Since we live by the spirit, let US walk by the spirit. We help each other grow. An unfruitful tree harms the rest of the vineyard. Fruitful trees help other trees grow because of cross pollination. Jesus brings the right people to help us grow. 

NaBloPoMo: It Is Finished

The final day of National Blog Posting Month is done. I'm doing a happy dance. Blogging every day is hard and takes forethought and planning. 

Good thing is I've not got a bunch of half finished drafts of blog posts still waiting to be finished thanks to my perfectionist ways. Seems I've discovered that if I can't get thoughts out perfectly, then I just abandoned the post. Hopefully, they'll see the light of day soon.

Thanks for reading this month!

God With Us: Saturday Night Church Sermon Notes

Tonight's message was by a preacher on staff, Nathan Bean. This was actually his last message as he, his wife and children are moving back to Australia. I've always enjoyed him, his ability to delivery the Word with clarity and his quirky sense of humor.

The subject was: God With Us

The greatest gift of all that's been given to us is Jesus. 

Matthew 1:18-25

We often use God “in case of an emergency.” We tend to live life on our own until we need God in a crunch. Emergency seasons lead us to pray, “God be with me.” In busy seasons, praying God be with me is put a shelf but we still want to know that God is near. It’s easy for us to live life without an awareness of God’s abiding presence when we live life by our own power.

We are about to embark on a busy season—Christmas (which is the season where we celebrate God being with us). The best thing about Christmas is not presents but presence—God’s presence. As kids, Christmas was all about presents, but as you mature we are more concerned about whose presence we are going to be in during the holidays.

1.   GOD with us 1 John 1, 14 God Himself took on flesh. He came near to broken humanity in the form of a frail baby. In the world, the higher the honor a person has, the more glory they get. But Jesus didn’t send someone else to come down. He took on the form of a servant. The lengths God went through to be with you and I. It should blow us away. God doesn’t sit back and wait for us to rescue ourselves; He gets involved in our lives.

2.     2. God WITH us. We can confront anything when we know He’s with us. God does not start on us like a project and leave us unfinished. He brings everything to completion in our lives. Matthew opens with God with us and ends with Jesus saying, “I am with you.” When we go through  the hard parts of life, we are not alone. John 14:27 says we are given God’s peace. He leads us with His peace. It’s not just the absence of conflict but the presence of God’s blessings that equals peace. His presence changes us. We change as we are close to Him.

3.     God with US. In the Old Testament, God presented Himself as a burning bush, cloud, earthquake, a pillar of fire, thunder and lightning. His presence was scary and made people want to hide themselves. But in the New Testament, there is no fear in a baby. You can come near to the baby in the manger. In biblical times, shepherds were lowly members of society. But this is who God called to Himself. 

From Gratitude to Greed

The news stories on the Black Friday have been breaking my heart. A local news story reported two women fighting over a Barbie in Walmart. In another Walmart, there was a fight over a TV.  Even Gawker ran a story about the best Black Friday fights of 2014. 

What is in the heart of people that makes them go from saying grace and giving gratitude over Thanksgiving dinner to grabbing merchandise off of store shelves? It's greed. And left to our own devices, greed will grow like a wild weed in our lives.

For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:21-2 (NIV)

Ahab, a king of Israel, is a perfect example of greed run amuck. Ahab had just about everything character. And he had wife who was even worse than he was. He was very rich. He had one entire palace inlaid with ivory. And he had another palace in Jezreel. One day as he looked out the window of his Jezreel palace he saw a vineyard that he thought would make a nice vegetable garden for himself. The only problem was it belonged to someone else, a man named Naboth.

"Ahab said to Naboth, 'Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth" (1 Kings 21:2-3).

Naboth refused to sell because he was obedient to what God told him to do with the land. When Israel first took possession of the land, every family received their plot of ground. The land could never be permanently sold and was to remain in that family's possession forever. But instead of respecting Naboth's reasons for not selling, Ahad threw a fit.

"Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers' He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat" (1 Kings 21:4).

Instead of focusing on everything he had, he wanted the one thing he didn't have. So his wife set out to make sure her husband's wants were satisfied. Jezebel came up with a plot to have Naboth murdered. And because she was queen, the plan went off without a hitch.

"When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard" (1 Kings 21:16).

Rampant greed led to the murder of an innocent man and the confiscation of his property. But God saw it. Elijah the prophet met Ahab when he went to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, and he pronounced God's punishment upon Ahab for what he and Jezebel had done. His grim prophecy predicted that dogs would lick up the couple's blood and that God would wipe out their descendants from the face of the earth—the worst imaginable curse for an Israelite. God already had a great deal against Ahab and Jezebel, but their greed-inspired brutality against Naboth was the last straw.

Left unchecked, greed will drive us to do crazy and even wicked things. I'm sure those people who went out shopping didn't expect to be fighting over TV and Barbies for heaven's sake. Contentment helps to keep our hearts in check. 

Every day, we have to keep our desires gated up lest we fall victim to greed. It's a continual challenge to change greed to gratitude.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.