Month: March 2015
JOY – You keep saying that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means
I heard an interesting fact recently. We can NEVER see ourselves. Not really. We can only see ourselves in reflections and photographs. We will never see ourselves as we truly are. When this fact was brought to my attention it caused me to think about it on a deeper level, and I came up with two observations.
Observation 1 – I can’t ever see myself truly, but I can see myself through the eyes of others. Sometimes how I think of myself and how I actually behave, are 2 different things. Others may view my sarcasm through eyes of hurt and pain. What I said, and what I meant were not received correctly. Others may see my directness as harshness and disdain. What I did and what I acted upon were not received correctly. I can stand back and observe how others see me and then begin to change others perspectives about me to honestly reflect who I am, to the core of my being.
Observation 2 – I can’t ever see myself truly, but I can see the entire world. I can view all of humanity. I can see every face, every tear, every smile, every hurt, and every triumph. I can observe everyone around me, but I can’t EVER observe myself. What does that then tell me about the true design of our world? This tells me that I should be about the business of caring about others, far above caring about myself. If all I can ever see are others, then why do I obsess over myself?
As a young girl I learned a song, and its stuck with me all of these years, but maybe just recently it’s struck home.
Jesus and Others and You. What a wonderful way to spell JOY.
Jesus and Others and You. In the life of each girl and each boy.
J is for Jesus for He has first place.
O is for Others we meet face to face.
Y is for You and whatever you do.
Put yourself last and spell JOY!
Simple isn’t it? I think we often wait for JOY to happen to us. We endeavor to spread joy in our lives by surrounding us with the things that we “think” will make us happy. Stuff, money, apps, technology, yada yada yada. And yet true JOY is not as illusive as people assume. It’s there, to be grasped easily, when we elevate God and others above ourselves. When we concern ourselves with the needs of others above our own. When we ponder what God wants in our lives beyond what we want. Such a simple thought…
Proverbs – A Reflection on Wisdom
A few days ago I was sitting in a bible study. Often, when I’m in any sort of teaching environment, I find myself distracted. I get distracted by someone clearing their throat, or sniffing, or maybe coughing. I get distracted by the piece of lint on the person next to me, or the fact that there’s a dryer sheet sticking out of the bottom of their pant leg. I’ll wonder if the person next to me is aware that the person across the room is trying to talk to them via osmosis, or a poor attempt at sign language. And, I’ll get distracted because mention of one thing sends me down the path of pondering a completely unrelated item.
And this is how we are where we are today. The bible study was on many things, not one of them was Proverbs. One small bible reference was taken from Proverbs though, and that got me thinking (I know – I do that a lot). There are 2 words in Proverbs. Pro AND Verbs. Pro means to “be in support of” and Verbs means “action.” So basically the book of Proverbs is all about “Being in support of ACTION.”
Action!!! Do you suppose that means going out and doing something? Does it mean serving others? Does it mean to study this book so that we may receive wisdom? Does it mean learning from others mistakes and successes? YES!! Yes, the book of Proverbs is about all of those things.
I walked out of that bible study with a desire to BE ALL ABOUT ACTION! I want to actively study God’s word. I want to increase my wisdom. I want to serve others. I want to inspire. I want to LIVE and LOVE and BE in the present. These next 2 months (I’m estimating here) are going to be all about my journey through Proverbs. So… do you want to join me too? Then let’s begin.
Proverbs 1:3 – 6, “The purpose [of Proverbs] is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.”
Proverbs was designed with a purpose. It was designed to teach all people to live disciplined and successful lives. I want to be successful for the Lord and to live a life that reflects his presence. How can I even begin to do that if I don’t approach what I DO and SAY within the bounds of biblical wisdom?
Let me end simply with this. Verse 7 of chapter 1 says, “… fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Let us not be fools in the ways we treat others and how we live our lives. We were given an amazing wisdom reference; I like to think of it as Wisdom for Dummies. So… what kind of wisdom would you like to mirror in your life?
There is More Than This World
You ARE altogether beautiful. There truly is no flaw in you. You know, I wrote this poem a number of years ago, but it’s necessary to remember that there truly is more than this world. The world will tell us that we’re not enough, that we’re not beautiful enough, or successful enough, or worldly enough. However, the world does not, should not, define you.
I see the hurt
on your face,
the way your heart
has fallen from grace.
I cannot change
what the past has done,
but only show you victory
through God’s Son.
The pain you endure
the harsh words and life,
the way that your footsteps
are filled with strife
These things all speak
to the battle you’re in,
but it is not yours to fight
but God’s to WIN!
The win only comes
when you arm your mind,
with weapons from God
that only He can provide!
It is NOT enough
to say you’re sad,
but to hold out your hand
and ask for your heavenly Dad…
to hold you up
when you cannot walk,
and open your mouth
when you cannot talk,
to make you need
the things you ignore,
and make you want
to open the door.
My prayers are with you
my loving friend
please know that this doesn’t
need to be the end.
Come to your knees
and ask for the rain
to fall upon you
and ERASE the pain!
Being STUCK isn’t always bad!
Here in Ohio, we get stuck in the snow, mud, or a pothole. But getting stuck can also apply to our lives on a more personal and introspective level. We get stuck in the world. We get stuck in places where we don’t want to be, OR we get stuck in situations we don’t want to be involved in.
We can choose to let our “stuck” situation define is. We can be bogged down with all the negativity and overwhelmed with the “what if’s.” What if I’d done something different? What if I’d made other decisions? What if I’d never let that person into my life? What if, what if, what if…
The thing is, what if’s are just robbing you of your stuck moment. I mean that! Sometimes being stuck is a gift. For example, take this leaf…
I took this picture last year. I was just walking along, and this leaf came into my view. What struck me about the leaf was that it was stuck. Stuck right there in the snow. It wasn’t able to move. It was bound by it’s circumstances, and until the snow disappeared or a wind was strong enough to blow it away, it would remain stuck. So what did the leaf choose to do? It chose to flourish. It chose to embrace it’s circumstances and make beautiful circles. Just spin in the wind, and let the “stuckness” of it’s existence become beautiful.
We are much the same way my friends. We can either choose to be wrapped up in the what if’s and never live our lives. OR, we can CHOOSE to understand that where we are today, where we are “stuck” today does not define us, but rather it can help us shine. When we are stuck we can CHOOSE to use the elements around us to make us even more beautiful. We can be unique, we can be ourselves, and we can be gorgeous. You may be stuck today, but tomorrow the wind may blow and you’ll be moved into a new path in your life. However, if you didn’t take the time to learn and grow from your “stuckness” today than you may have very well missed the lessons you could have learned!
Sherisdoodles 
