Wednesday check in <3
Since life has been a bit of whirlwind for us the past two weeks…or decades…one of those…
I am doing my little burst of randoms and you can pick your favorite and go with it.
These are all based on tidbits of wisdom gleaned from various places this week so, in no particular order:
<3 I have not been loving the encroachment of decreased daylight hours. Waking up at the same time in the dark when last week the sun was already peeking over the horizon and having it set earlier and earlier is not my jam.
However, the rotation of the earth that brings about our seasons is a gift from God that I often overlook.
There are rhythms to life and God provides physical reminders to me that it is good to have the less structured, more active outside, freer to skip some duties to play seasons.
But there is also something valuable about routine and a schedule.
It is good to remember that like the weather, the changes of life are really beyond my control. It makes me feel small so I can see how big God is. And this is good for me.
<3 My good friend who writes amazing insight and encouragement at https://www.wordofgodtrain.me and http://thewarriorshe.com/category/podcast/ has been doing a memory verse challenge.
Today I did a drawing of how my brain maps out the meaning of 2 Corinthians 3:4-5.
Yes people, this is what my brain looks like when it is thinking.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
How do YOU memorize and ingrain God’s word in YOUR heart and mind?
I love to learn…please tell me…please.
<3 I read this thought in another devotion from the book I shared with you yesterday. She is talking about how much of our work that matters is really hidden.
The quote that hit me closest was from Philip Yancey.
Let me say that again…Philip Yancey.
The author you may recognize from multiple books that many, many people have read.
“For author Philip Yancey, writing is a very isolated occupation. ‘We write in desperate hope that the sometimes-tedious tasks of researching, composing, and polishing words will eventually become a virtual chain that links us to others.” Ordinary Graces by Lucinda Secrest McDowell
Yep.
Nailed it Mr. Yancey.
On a small scale level, I can relate so well to the concepts of isolated, sometimes-tedious and desperate hope…
and sealing the deal is her quote of another author that you all can apply to WHATEVER IT IS that God has called YOU to do for the Kingdom:
“The real reason we cannot quit is because of the friends, known and unknown to us, who have somehow come to expect that the bits and pieces of our personal lives…do indeed reveal the places where the One Who made us made an appearance {and} will shed light on the ways such appearances are taking place in their own.” Robert Benson, in a newsletter for the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference, December 2016.
<3 This morsel came from a little magazine called Simple Grace on August 20th. The writer is explaining how we can share in the joy of someone else when they are experiencing in abundance things we either lack or have had completely taken away.
You can apply to this to so many settings, I will go with the one where you were skipped over for a promotion and your best friend just got an advancement in title, perks and salary that exceeded his or her wildest dreams.
We want to and know we should want to be happy for that one…however…it makes the sting of our loss even greater.
And then we get to feel shallow and guilty on top of it.
The author used this passage to help us understand from God’s viewpoint what is going on here:
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. John the Baptizer referring to Jesus as the bridegroom John 3:29
The devotion went on to point out that all joy is really the Lord’s to begin with.
Is that a new concept for you? It was for me!
Your friend who received the promotion? His/her joy is being “borrowed” from God.
And you can glob on to that and borrow some for yourself.
I love how it is worded:
“All joy is of your Father. You can ‘borrow it’ and take of it by streaming it through your heart just as your phone streams off a server. There is never ever reason to be envious of another because they are also living on borrowed joy. Their joy is no different from your joy because it is all the [Joy of the Lord.] And this joy is always available to every open heart. It’s free – and freely given to all.” Simple Grace August 2018
The author acknowledges we need help with this at times and offers the counsel of praying simple prayers when we struggle to live this out. We are blessed to ask God to help us, through the Spirit, to have hearts and minds that are free from envy.
Then we can remind ourselves that the joy of the person who has received what we desired is a joy we too can partake of because it belongs to God alone.
As I pondered this, I realized that in the same way, we share in the sufferings of others knowing that again we only borrow what really belongs to the Lord and we do not become overburdened for it is He who bears them for us.
Well, I think that is enough to chew on for today and so I bid you a happy and productive and joy-filled Wednesday and I will see you tomorrow <3