Adventures with Atheists

How do I get myself into these things?  More like - how does God get me into these things?  Fascinating, I never thought I'd be chatting back and forth with a world full of very cranky and condescending Atheists.  Not even on my radar of things I'd have the potential to do - but, BRING IT ON!!!  That's one of the many adventures God has me jumping into recently.  Clearly, I am not the person to debate with most of these "high philosophical and scientific" thinkers.  But, I am the person that God tapped to extend His heart of love and encounter to them.

It is interesting - I ran across a Wall Street Journal Blog started as a result of an essay by Ricky Gervaise (British comic, writer, filmmaker and actor - Creator of "The Office", small role in "Night at the Museum" and starring role in "Ghost Town" with Greg Kinnear). This was long before the Golden Globes debacle. I do like SOME of  (amended - not all) his humor, by the way, even though he is quite irreverent at times.  In his essay, Ricky argued against the existence of God. It caused such a huge response that WSJ set up a blog for questions to Ricky about it.  I visited this blog and read through, then began conversing in writing with several of those regularly posting about the logical reasons why God could not possibly exist.  They were putting down anyone who disagreed with them in any way.  It was a veritable sneer fest.  Just where I, "Little Miss Joy Bucket" belong!  The funniest part to me is that they think I'm a man (I used my real name). Mr. December to you bud!

God has been really teaching me something here and all the while He's also given me an opportunity to reach out to people He loves very much along with Him. He's asked me to love these people and invite them to know Him and His love for them.  They have been a really good challenge. Most have been involed with Christianity and have had some type of bad experience with it (wounding). You can see how some have become so embittered.  Broke my heart really.  Overcoming evil with good - just keeps ringing along with people knowing us by our love.  I'm impressed with God's emphasis that his body needs to really love those who, for what ever reason, never really knew Him personally or don't know Him at all and who are even violently against Him.  Moving in the opposite spirit and not approaching with logic or argument, but with Him and love.  We're going to see amazing things living out God's love to people.  So many of His beloved are just waiting to come to Him.  I'm looking forward to seeing God glorified!

God prompted me to pray for Christopher Hitchens some years ago and I've prayed about him coming to know and love God.  Who knows but that Ricky Gervais and several other atheists are on God's list of Brits that will come to know His love!

I don't know what will happen with these people, only that God asked and I'm happy to go adventuring with Him in it!  Such a world full of hurting, lost people (even ultra intellegent ones)!

Interdependency

We had these mugs when I was growing up!

Wow, amazing how interdependent our world has become in just a couple of generations of humans!  I was thinking more about that today as I sat through a talk from a chemical supplier.  He was explaining how the whole "melamine in pet food" debacle came to be (he didn't bring up the infant formula and chocolate coin candies) and how it's affected nearly every industry world wide since.  I hadn't thought about that in some time, but the bottom line is that companies world wide have been and continue going to China for all sorts of products due to cost.  Pet food, baby formula and chocolate candy coins were just a few of the products that ended up killing pets and people a few years ago.   Problem is, the quality controls in China are almost non-existent and the corruption is rampant - makes for a bad combination.  Turns out melamine is a plentiful by-product of plastics production (as well as the component used to make Melmac - that kitchy 40's and 50's plastic dinnerware - see my mugs!).  Melamine is a cheap readily available component and while it makes for cute dinnerware it's not quite so benign when eaten (wonder if eating off of it did anything?).  Apparently, a component of melamine is nitrogen - and nitrogen is tested as an indicator of protein levels.  Melamine adulteration made the products look as though they had really great protein content at a very cheap price. Manufacturers jumped at it.  Sadly, the Chinese people themselves have been victimized by their less than scrupulous countrymen, as products like this are still sold in their country.

The ramifications of this are still spreading out.  We now see many industries (especially in the U.S.) digging in with heavy regulation and safeguards now to try to prevent this type of threat to the food chain and humans.  Melamine had even been found in feed given to animals raised for humans to eat.  This quick money scheme was just one wake up call displaying world vulnerabilities.

It got me to thinking again how very interdependent we are becoming.  Our world is smaller and smaller every day.  Bad choices made in China affect many all over the world directly.  Bad choices in one EU country affect all the others.  Bad choices in the U.S. affect markets everywhere.  We are becoming that smaller community faster than we realize.  Don't blink!

However, just as bad choices now rock our entire world overnight - good choices can too!!  That's the flip side of this deal.  I want to focus on the real opportunity here.  We are so interdependent that we can now affect the world (even as individuals) more quickly and amazingly than ever before!!!  Am I the only one who sees this?  I don't think I am. And, the one thing we have as the beloved in Christ is that we are empowered for good far beyond our ability to see.  God is moving in this time through His people to bring light, hope and transformation.  I am so glad to be placed in this time.  How many saint's of old looked with longing upon this time?!  I'm not saying we won't have struggles or challenges (this dark world will war with us), but God is in us!! How can we be anything but overjoyed?  Just looking at Him, who He is, His character and awe inspiring attributes and His heart for us and this world - His glory will stand blazing as a testimony!  I am only more and more encouraged.  My attitude for this year is one of "Over the top Optimism"!!  As my friend Laura said not long ago, "I'm obnoxiously hopeful!"  I'm so with you Laura!

Take Jesus' hand and learn to trust Him surely and mightily, and you can be "Obnoxiously Hopeful" in interdependency too!

Your Assignment.....

It's a new year!  I loved 2010, and am even more hopeful for 2011!

Can you imagine - being placed specifically in a place and time for a purpose only you can accomplish.  Being given gifts that only you possess in the combination that you do and support, permission, authorization and provision to use them fully. And, it's all up to you to say yes or no to the assignment? Seems like an sci-fi action spy movie or some sort of weird version of "The Amazing Race" until you realize I'm talking about YOU and ME and what we call our seemingly mundane every day lives!  What would life look like if we lived in light of our real calling?  I invite you to think about it, but don't just stop there - act!  Yes, act - now.  Don't wait - it's really simple and, you don't only have permission - you have authorization!  If you have trouble anywhere along the line - let me know, I'm happy to encourage you in this because seriously, I need you to be who you are!  And, not just me - the world's been waiting too.

So.....

EVALUATE: what it is that you are gifted with, the place you've been put, the people you've been given to interact with and love, the work you do, your sphere of influence,  what it is specifically that you've been put here for and what needs to stop and what needs to start.

AND DON'T STOP THERE!!

ACT:  now!  Live each moment in light of your evaluation!

God loves you and made every provision for you in order that you live into who He made you fully.  Determine to accept Him and His great calling for your life and - GO FOR IT!

Make Every Moment Count!

Make Every Moment Count - that's on my FB information page and wall.  It's something I believe in.  The fruitfulness of each moment.  We get to choose every moment what we will do, how we will think (we can live opposite to our stinkin thinkin) and respond.  I am learning more and more that in order to do the best with my moments, in addition to identifying the best (choice fruit), I need to purpose what not to do.  I know, I know - so, what do I mean?  We do things with our moments that do not make the best use of them and actually "discount" them (Gasp!!).  Yep, we all know it's true.  I am making it a goal of mine to make my moments count more and I have a sort of outline as to how I'm going to do it!  Wanna see? - keep reading. 

In order to make the best use of moments - I need to weed out those things that do not.  So, along with making my list of yes' I need to make my list of things I say no to.  We are only allotted so much time in our lives - we need to make good choices with it (the best choices)!

A short list of things I say yes to:
1.Enjoying and seeing God in every moment and circumstance and His priorities, promises and truths right there (learning all those better and living them out boldly!).
2. Loving people more and seeing and encouraging them in who they really are.
3. Being present with peace in my moments - enjoying the savor of life in the now and not trying to retrieve the past or forecast the future.
4. Walks in nature - I need connection with creation so badly at times, gonna do more of it.
5. Seeing all roadblocks and problems as the possibilities and opportunities they really are! Seeking to expose lies that I believe and operate from and allowing Jesus' truth to overcome and heal them.
6. Stay aware of the need to say yes and no to the right (best) things.

A short list of things I say no to:
1. Indulging fear. (this is an indulgence I've allowed for too long -it's off my show [whom shall I fear?]).
2. Annoyance and being aggravated - also off my show - I have no time for it and it is too wearing on me.

3. Defending - I don't need to do this.  Who I am and all I am speaks - God is my very great shield.  Those defending are those not convinced of the truth.

4. Good things that are not the best for me - this is huge on my list because I do lots of good things that need to stop.  Listening for God's leading and not my own.

5. Procrastinating - no moment is promised to me.  When I know I'm supposed to be at something - do it immediately at the right time, that's my goal. Procrastination will no longer be allowed to reign - power of moments is in seizing them. This life is a greater gift than I can comprehend - use the little vision I have for how big it is and live into it!

6. Hopelessness - I have no place in my life for this.  I have Christ - the antithesis of hopelessness, so this must go. I am obnoxiously hopeful and really can't worry how it may be viewed by anyone.

So, this is my plan - consciousness about it.  I plan to review these every day and live in them (moment by moment living this plan). 

I'll report back how it's going!  I'm extremely HOPEFUL!  :D

Inertia - an object in motion tends to stay in motion...

Before work every weekday and before other things on weekends, I usually try to spend a few hours sitting with Jesus every morning (weekdays this is after I've sent my hubby off to work with breakfast and his sandwich for lunch - a treat he says he looks forward to very much).  It's a great time of day - the sun hasn't come up yet and Jesus is always so wonderful with my coffee every morning.  Actually, He's wonderful even without my coffee!  Actually (for reals) He's better than wonderful.

I was talking about something today with Jesus.   Why is it that we are seldom moved to action by words? I believe I have a couple of quotes that relate to this on my FB area for quotes - " People’s minds are changed through observation and not through argument."  by Will Rogers and "We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action." by Frank Tibolt.

I love words - could you tell?  Unfortunately, with all I've learned over time through sermons, books, talks, classes - there are very few things I've actually put into practice that are helpful.  Why is that?  A friend was talking about this yesterday - he gave a talk about it and it got me to thinking. I have shelves and boatloads  of books and papers and notes - all really good things.  But, how many of them are things I've actually put into practice?  Hmmm... a very limited few.  And, usually, the ones I've done something with are ones I actually had to take a "hands on" portion of training or practicing along with - so I actually am using what I learned - because, instead of just reading or hearing about it, I actually had to do it for a period of time and then I kept on doing it and doing it and now I know how to do it and keep doing it. Amazing how that works!  Actually, it is scientific.




 
Newton's first law of motion:  An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Inertia is what is at work here.   In order to overcome an object at rest or in motion - energy (force) must be released.  That's why talks or learning where I had to actually practice or do the activity really paid off!
 
So, here's my thought (I could be wrong, but it seems to connect somehow) - if we know there are things we need to do that are good (let's just make sure they are the best - see my blog entry "When Good is Bad") - let's find a way to start practicing them and once we get into doing them they will become something we always do.  If we have trouble overcoming our inertia to start - maybe we can enlist the aid of friends to help start with us until we get going! Hopefully it won't take a car crash.

That's how this blog started (no, not a car crash)!  A friend started with "April is Action Month" and I took on the challenge and - viola!

The Gift of Life

Life - how precious.  Each moment is a gift - that's why they call it the present.

Here we stand.  At a crossroads.  We can worry, fret, weep, mourn, despair, doubt and see all things through the filter of lies and deception.  OR  We can trust, shout, laugh, rejoice, hope, believe and see all things through the eyes of the one who loved us enough to send His very best - for us. 

I got me some laughing to do.

Merry Christmas!

Pain and irritation - path to light and revelation

Have you ever had such a painful experience that you cried your eyes out about it, thinking you may never be able to stop? I've felt that way at times. I've also had my share, recently, of irritation. Thankfully, I'm learning how to see differently in the midst of it. I'm not saying I'm highly accomplished at this yet or that I am free of unusually intense aggravation at times (man it still hurts lots at times). But, I am practicing, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, and hope to walk with eyes that see hidden things all the time and whatever else God wants done with it.

So, when situations are tough and ugly and make you want to smack someone - what do you do? I'm learning that every single moment of pain and irritation is a treasure trove of opportunity. Maybe you're thinking I mean character building - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. While there is a component of that to it - it is not the main focus. The main focus is that people of God were never made to suffer pain and irritation in the way the world does. When we know our hope and life is in Christ - the more we learn the truth about that in relationship with Jesus - the less things of pain and irritation will faze us. Doesn't mean we won't be sad about things or righteously angry at times. But, we will see situations and circumstances very differently - especially from the world. We have "Kingdom Eyes". This means we see that opposite thing that God wants us to live into right in the midst of our pain and irritation. It's actually fail proof! If we use pain and irritation as an indicator (flashing neon sign here!), we can always detect right away what God wants us to have and has given us permission to walk in and practice. I love that!

So, when a situation is making me crazy - I can keep banging my head against a wall in frustration and irritation OR I can embrace that God has peace, joy and creative life giving right there for me! I want all of what God wants me to have - I don't want one drop to be missed! That's what God wants too - lucky me! :D