Lives Well Lived

     The span of our lifetimes,when all is said and done, is in actuality very brief. From the moment we begin to speak our first words until the day we draw our final breath our debut on the center stage of life is spotlighted and our audience is great. The question of the hour,  however, might be, “did we perform well?”

     Everything we do, every word we speak, every motion, every genuflection, all of it is purposeful and matters. There are others watching us that are very quick to pick up on our mis-speaks or errors in the script. It may sound petty and unfair on our parts to be watched so closely and judged so quickly for our errors but it happens. It’s in reality the mistakes that shape us and mold us into what we should be. But “oh” how great the joy in our hearts when we get it right and receive a standing ovation. 

     I believe it is the desire of each person who’s life graces this stage, to live life well!

Will we make mistakes? Most assuredly. Will we fall on our faces? Very likely. Will we receive affirmation for jobs well done? Hopefully. But, when things don’t go exactly as we planned our question again must be, ”did I perform well?” ”Did I live my life well?”

      You see, I believe we have a great audience, many others who are watching us, but in reality there is only one audience member who really matters. It says in Colossians 3:23 ”Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”. When it comes down to applause we really only need to hear the applause of one and hear ”well done” spoken over us. 

      Just very recently we lost one of our beloved ex-presidents, President George H W Bush. Yes, he was just a man but I'm one who believes strongly in giving credit where credit is due. Among his lifes credits are these. . . President Bush lived a life devoted to his country and his family. He served in the Navy and fought in the Pacific during World War II. He was a member of Congress, ambassador to the UN, Vice President and eventually became President of the Unitef States. He, I'm sure, had many many mis-steps in his life but all in all I think he had a ”life lived well”. When his spotlight grew dim and faded I think it could have been said of him ”well done George, well done”. 

     In this life there are always plenty of criticisms and judgements about our actions but we must never ever forget or overlook jobs well done or lives well lived. God is the principle audience member that really matters but I think we should always be accountable for our judgements towards others. Do we tear others down, heckling and jeering at them or do we encourage and strive to highlight their good choices? 

      Any time there is a life well lived we need to notice! We should give honor where honor is due. If the only audience member that matters is applauding then why not emulate Him. How about climbing out of our comfort zones and stand and applaud people like former President Bush. When my spotlight grows dim and fades I pray that I have given an amazing performance but most of all I pray that I have been a ”life well lived”.  

”Open The Doors; Open The Windows”

          The floods have come, the winds have tried to prevail, the heat has been intense as was the bitterness of the winters. Every season has brought its best adversity but the walls of my house are still standing. Oh, there have been beautiful days of bliss and peace in between but the days of trials and hardships still come! They seem relentless at times. The windows shutter and shake under the pressure of the winds of adversity but they hold fast. The doors are pounded by the elements but they still bear up. The roof well protects me even when the blizzards of hard days “blanket” me with layers of trouble. This house was built securely. This house was painstakingly fashioned to bear the weight of the forces that would knock at its doors. The windows have been set tightly to shield me from the ravages of time. The foundation is sure and sturdy. It bears the load of stress and pounding on a daily basis. This house is strong! This house is secure!

     But, what if I opened the door of my house when the rains were pounding in? What if the winds were sharp and strong and cutting and I opened my windows? The security of my serene and quiet scene on the interior would change drastically. My floors would get drenched and the winds would wreak havoc on my well placed furnishings and rearrange my perfectly contented interior. What would that mean for the structure of my house? NOTHING! The roomscape inside may take a temporary beating. But my house is still strong! I can always wipe up the floors and set my furnishings back in order as long as my house is strong! 

     “I was a stranger and you welcomed me”. I opened my door when you were standing outside in the pouring rain. Kindness knew no boundaries. Mercy and compassion overwhelmed any storm. 

     “Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm”. You were filled with fear and trembled at the unknown. I opened my windows and spoke encouragement and calm to your storm. I felt fearless to expose myself to the elements and gusts of distress and mistrust but I did so willingly. My fears were calmed by His voice of truth and trust. My house is secure! My house is strong! 

     My doors are placed so they allow entrance and exit and will always open to those who need shelter. My windows which are made to open and close, will remain so the air will be able to enter and breezes can flow through to freshen my dwelling. I will be able to look out and see the needs of others and speak words of help and hope. My house is built on a firm foundation. That foundation is my “assurance” and “insurance” where I dwell. My house is not a fortress to hide inside of but it is a welcoming place where I am protected and others are shown the love of the foundation that this house is built on. 

     Are your doors open? Are your windows open? “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1) Our houses, our beings were never meant to be fortresses to hide inside. Lord, make us dwellings of peace, hope, encouragement and help. In whom shall we fear? 

The Important Thing

Here’s my question of the hour. What if our fine, beautiful church buildings were by some fate of nature, torn to the ground and lay in ruins? What if you arrived for church some Sunday morning and the pews or chairs were buried Beneath a heap of wood and the only thing you could see on the ground was a roof and a broken steeple? Would you walk away and go home to your house and maybe cry a little? Would you immediately try to start looking elsewhere for another church to attend? What would you do?

I don’t hold on to too many things and consider them “Dear” because after all they are just things. When I arrived home from a trip last night, however, I found that the large tree just off of my back deck had blown completely over and was lying on top of the deck. My patio table and umbrella, my barbecue grill, and one of my favorite things, my little church birdfeeder were all lying underneath of that tree. The table and the grill and the umbrella all survived but my little church birdfeeder was in a million pieces. I know it sounds silly when I even write the words here but I cried uncontrollably about that little church feeder. I loved it! I loved watching the birds come to feast there each morning. It was really very charming. My husband and I even had a running joke about the “Cardinals” being the only birds who actually liked to go inside of the church. The other birds were content to stay outside of the building and sit on the sidelines and eat. That little church held many hours of enjoyment as it supported our love of nature. But here I am this morning crying over that church!

The church is not the building! The church that was torn apart in my previous scenario was not what was important! The people, the ones who gather at the building, are the most important part it’s never about stained glass windows or Coffee bars in the lobby, or platforms with tons of expensive sound equipment and instruments. It’s not the fancy pews or chairs that we sit on or how comfortable the carpet is to walk on. That is not the church! Here’s where the final scene from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” flashes into my brain. Even when everything was taken from The Who’s, they still gathered grasping hands and had a song in their hearts and sang it. So, if you stood there on some fateful Sunday morning and arrived to find your church building in ruins, the question still remains. Would you go home and cry and sulk and dwell on What you had lost or would there be a “coming together” like The Who’s down in Whoville? Would there be a song in your heart? Would it be a sad song or a song of praise and Thanksgiving?

My birds needed some seed and support. After all, they didn’t recognize that my cute little “folksy” Church feeder was anything but a place where they could come and be fed. So, I am off to lay out some seed in a tray. I will still bet the “Cardinals” come! 

“ROAD ENDS”

As I was walking down a backroad not long ago I came to the end of the road, literally. The pavement ended abruptly and there was a fence of sorts in front of tall overgrown weeds and wildflower growth. On the fence was a sign that read, “Road Ends”! As I stood there and gazed at that sign my mind began to conjure all sorts of thoughts. “What if this was my road of life? Would or could my life end this abruptly?”  The answer, of course was, it could, but as I stood there and gazed at that fence blocking any further exploration, It indeed made me think. Another thought that was practically “begging” and “pleading” to me was the tall grass and overgrown weeds and wildflowers on the other side of that fence. I really really wanted to wade right in there through the tall grass and see what lay behind this roadblock. For me the picture didn’t end! The wildflowers were calling out to me. Was there a stream or brook that was going unnoticed and I could put my toes into? Were there deer in the fields romping and playing? Or, my very favorite, were there wildflowers of every color to gather and take home for my dining table? The wildness of it all, the unknown, the adventure of new experiences were the lure for my curiosity of life. I wasn't ready for this road to end. I wasn’t ready to just stop and turn around and go in the direction I’d already been. That evoked a sadness in me that was hard to explain. I wanted more! I wanted to see what I hadn’t seen before. My zest for life and ALL it held were greater than what that sign was telling me.

Is that true for you in your life? Do you want more? Do you long to taste, touch and experience all the life that your Father in Heaven has in store for you? Do you still long to go down the entire road of life, no matter how it changes or no matter if someone is being that “Road Ends” sign for you and telling you that you can’t? The sign doesn’t have to be the end of your adventure. It doesn’t mean darkness and the end lies right on the other side of what looks to be a road block. I believe there is still hope and life beyond the “road ends” sign. Now, if you are suffering and have become physically unable to recover and you know God and have served him, that “Road Ends” sign could very well be your next adventure in Heaven and how Marvelous! But if you are of sound mind and able body then the roadblocks are not the end! You now have the opportunity to take off in a new direction that could take you down a path to the best days of your life. Your roadblock doesn’t have to mean “STOP”, but it very well could mean, pause, take a breath and ask God how to proceed. Your wildflower, love of nature, or babbling brook experience could be a breath away! Don’t allow what others tell you that you can’t do to be the things that rules the day. Roll up your sleeves and be that person that says, “I can” and won’t allow a little roadblock to keep you from going further on in this thing called life. For us, the road truly changes when our Heavenly Father calls us home but that’s only to start something wonderful and unimaginable. So, if the numbers of your days are still ticking on, step around that fence or roadblock and go where they say the “Road Ends” ! Because I’m thinking it doesn’t actually end at all! 

"I See You"

I am super happy every morning to be able to get up and usually straight away go out on my back deck and fill my bird feeders. The birds here in East Tennessee are hungry, let me just say, and have voracious appetites but they are also beautiful. Ive seen multitudes of blue jays, cardinals, red headed woodpeckers and finches. They're all so beautiful in their brightly colored suits and they are all vying for position at my feeders. The blue jays are the bully's of sorts as they are the largest so they make sure all the others wait their turns until they are quite full. When the jays leave the others then feel safe to come and eat. But the ones that melt my heart every time are the patient, sitting on the sidelines, little brown sparrows. They wait patiently until all the others have eaten and then get their fill and fly off to their next adventure. 

Sometimes in my life, if I can be honest here, it has felt like I am living out the brown sparrows life. The big guys, the ones with wealth and power just swoop in and rule the day so to speak. They get the best things, and have the pick of whatever they choose. The others are right there behind them to get or attain what the power players haven't gotten. And then, here I am, the brown sparrow, patiently waiting on the sidelines to get whats left over. 

In truth, as the Lord reveals to my heart, even though the other birds are bigger, more beautiful with their colorful suits, I "see" the brown sparrow and I make sure she has what she needs. She patiently waits, so I wait and watch and I make sure always that she receives what she has need of. 

So, God "sees" me! He "sees" you in whatever place or suit you find yourself in. The truth is that God sees us all and takes care of us accordingly. But if you are feeling a bit like I have at times, like a little brown sparrow, just know that God will also provide for you what you need when you need it. Sit back patiently on the sidelines if you must but you will have what you need when the time is right.

It says in Luke 12:7  "Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."

There are days when you may feel like a "plain Jane" or in this case, a brown sparrow, but take it from me and the Word of God, "He sees you"! 

“Breaths That Matter”

I have a wonderful memory that I hold tight to that occurred quite a few years ago. I was very privileged to meet a lady whose last name was “Short” and to be a part of a two woman team who shared Jesus with her. She was a middle aged woman whose husband was no longer around and she lived alone and as fate would seem to have had it, she had just been diagnosed with cancer. My friend and I were happy to sit with her talking for hours about Jesus and she was very hungry and ate up every word and scripture that we shared. As was the custom of the church that we were attending at that time, we called our new friend “ Sister Short”. As time waits for no one, Sister Shorts’ time on this earth was very brief after our encounter. I will always remember the day that she went to be with Jesus. I was sitting with her in her hospital room holding her hand and praying. It was the most dismal rainy and dark day outside so she asked if we could pull the window shade down in her room. As she lay in bed holding my hand, I heard her say, “I want to see Him!”. So I began to pray that she indeed would see the face of her Jesus. Mind you, I had my eyes completely closed as I prayed and it was pretty dark in that room as well as outside. Then, the most miraculous and wonderful thing happened. A bright light came and flooded the room. I could tell even though my eyes were closed that there was the brightest glow but somehow I couldn’t manage opening my eyes. The light lingered for just maybe 10 seconds and then I was able to open my eyes. It was still very dark in the room and I looked over at Sister Short and as you may have already guessed, she was gone! Gone home to be with her Jesus because with her last breath she asked to see Him. With her last breath she called out her request and as I complied as well with my lips, her breaths pleas were heard and honored. What a beautiful beautiful moment that was for her, and for me as well. 

What comes to mind right here is that the things that we say with our last breaths, “matter”. They matter as much as all of the things we say in our lifetime of breaths. Here’s the important  question that we must ask though, “Are our words sweet? Are they kind? Are our breaths being wasted in angry words? Are our words ones that remain and impact for good change?”

I’m not trying to condemn anyone who happens to read this but my desire is to pose the questions that we all may seek to “do it better”. After all, if we do not seek to change always for the better than the breath that fills our lungs may indeed have become polluted. Let’s always be willing at least to examine and filter out the polluted breath until it once more becomes sweet in the nostrils of our creator.

Another example, and I think our ultimate example, of the breaths that matter is the story of Jesus and his crucifixion. As the account in the book of Luke reads, Jesus was nailed to a cross between two thieves or robbers. One of the thieves was openly ridiculing Jesus while the other thief stated, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? (Speaking to the other thief) We are receiving the due reward for our sin, but this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong!” Then with his final breath ( the breath that mattered most in his case) he asked Jesus, “ remember me when you come into your kingdom?” And with one of Jesus’ final breaths he answered, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”! 

How beautiful again were the final words that were breathed here! They breathed “life” for that thief who was crying out for forgiveness. They whispered love beyond what was deserved. The words of the thief that were breathed were words of hope and anticipation for what was to come and they were answered and met with a resounding “ yes” from our Lord and Savior. 

I can still hear Sister Short saying, “ I want to see him” and when the light flooded into that hospital room she was met with a resounding “ Yes “ by her Lord and Savior. How amazingly beautiful and sweet was the very air in that room in those moments. It changed everything! 

When we were created in the beginning of time it says, “ the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and ‘breathed’ into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul”. (Gen 2:7) Gods very breath was breathed into us to bring about life and our breath is part of what sustains us in this life. No breath, no life! So, if breath is the very essence of life then the words and things that we breath in and out on a daily basis matter. Words are indeed life and death. They build up and give hope or they tear down and pollute. Initially we were dust, a bunch of dirty polluted molecules that didn’t matter but then God breathed his breath, his life into us to make something of the dust! Wow! So, it matters! It matters what we do with the life, the very breath that we’ve been given! With our first breaths, our last breaths and all the in between breaths, let’s speak LIFE! Let’s use the life giving flow that is vital and let’s be what Jesus was to the thief who cried out. Let’s breathe what matters. . . . HOPE! 

To Remain

We talk about the courage needed to leave a place, the strength to move out into uncharted territories. We admire those who take to change like a boat to water, dipping their oar in for the next new adventure. This is the stuff of revolutions and gold rushes. But sometimes it takes just as much strength to stay put as it does to go. It's not easy facing the same dishes piled up in the same sink, the routine work week, the interminable habits that of course you don't have but that the people around you use continually to sharpen your character.

Remaining takes commitment. It puts up with the mundane. It chooses to love even when the glow of newness has faded. Remaining knows the value of longevity, loyalty, and hard work that eventually pays off. To remain is to know your labor is not in vain. It's to live with hope.

If we were to wake up in the era of John the Apostle, we would witness an upheaval from within the church, new and vogue ideas about Jesus were circulating---ideas contrary to what had been taught from the beginning. We'd see people leaving the church for "higher enlightenment", attempting to pull others with them. 

In response to all the tumult, Johns plea was simple: Remain, Dwell, Abide. Don't leave the steadying truth that you know for the sparkle of new philosophies or the swell of cultural tides. Remain within Jesus and the fellowship of his Bride.

The practice of abiding is never more difficult than when we're surrounded by a host of other vines from which a lot of bubbly people are hanging--all happy in their flesh and darkness. You know, when everyone else's vine appears more thrilling than the one you're attached to. You look around and begin to believe the lies of the Enemy--that the way of Jesus is limiting and that his followers are outdated.

Suddenly you have this overwhelming pull to tie your branch up to that new belief system, the married man who's showing you attention, the higher paying job that will take you away from your children, the extra drink, the glance at pornography. We deceive ourselves into thinking new, interesting branches will offer more nourishment, so we spend our time hopping from vine to vine, looking for another place to dwell.

For a season I toyed with what it might look like to try to play in both places; a toe in the church and my heart in the world, but this is not what abiding means. Rather, such a lifestyle means a crack down the center of your being. Ultimately I couldn't live torn like that for reasons that have a whole lot to do with the mystery of abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us. Because of this truth the Lord never lets me break away, and I'm forever indebted to Him. Praise God for us in Him and He in us, the latter being the most powerful of the two. 

Perhaps you are in a similar position. You're wondering if the message of the gospel is really all it promises to be. The Christian walk you've known seems tired while the lust of the flesh appears to gallop across the fields with vigor and excitement. 

But, the annointing that the world boasts of is counterfeit and its fleeting. It's not the real thing which is why the Apostle John says, "Do not let anyone deceive you". There are deceivers out there and people get deceived. One of Johns greatest passions was to keep the fellowship of the community intact, reminding the church that the constancy in Christ far outweighs the temporal electricity of those who'd move on for more "enlightening" ideas.

As I grow older, the more my heart yearns for stability. Not stagnancy, mind you--rather Immutability (constancy; being fixed) I long for what will never change, all that's constant in Jesus, promises that never fail, fellowship that will carry on for as long as forever. In a world of ceaseless change and dissenting opinions, how grounding it is to know that we can know. Especially when social spheres, media, and culture timelessly seek to persuade us to question our faith, to doubt Gods truth, to adhere to His Word selectively. 

I can hear John calling out to his readers, "Dear little children, don't let the deceiving voices make you doubt what you know! You know His truth. You've confessed the Son and so you have the Father as well. Remain right where you are. This is your home. I know the voices are familiar, people who were once close to you. But don't forsake what you've heard from the beginning--the gospel that rung so true the moment you heard it, the moment it changed you."