The Right Order Is Important

While I recite my memorized verses to Aolani, I get caught on the very last one. Every time.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ~ 1 Peter 5:10

I make either one of two mistakes. One, I forget and completely leave out the "after you have suffered a little while," so I quote, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." Or two, I misplace that same phrase and put it in the beginning, so I say, "After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." The second error just seems to flow naturally out of my mouth, and I always have to catch and correct myself.

So, I got to thinking. Since the wrong way seems more natural, Peter most likely had a definite reason for the order of the phrases in that verse. Surely he had a purpose if it requires more effort to say it like he wrote it.

Let me sum up the phrases, in my own layman terms, into three parts. First, God calls me. Second, I suffer [for a brief period of time comparative to eternity]. Third, He restores me.

The calling.

The suffering.

The restoring.

Okay, back to my two mistakes. I was either: A) skipping the suffering part. Yeah, wouldn't we all like to do that! Ha! B) suffer alone (playing the victim), then bring God in to call and restore me. But...

That is not how it works -- thank Jesus! We do not have to suffer alone. We do not have to suffer to somehow merit His calling.
Instead...

This is what we get: God freely calls us and beckons our hearts to come unto Him. Then, He walks with us, holds our hands, and never leaves us for one second while we endure suffering on this present earth. Finally, He brings complete restoration to us, in all fullness and wholeness. {The restoration having both a present and future fulfillment.}

Intentional? It looks to me like Peter knew what he was doing. With the Spirit.

Not Gone With The Wind!

I'm going to share a few of my resolutions for the new year. They are: not quantifiable, possibly unrealistic, and definitely revealing. Oh well.

I do want to set this up a little by making a confession.

I wrote these down months ago. Not to tackle in 2011, but right then. I pushed back the big day (you know, the day that you begin) a day, a week, a month, and now here I am. With my list. I feel like Scarlett O'Hara -- "I'll think about that tomorrow." I am not typically a procrastinator, but we all put off some things, right? I kept thinking about the day I die, which could be tomorrow. Wouldn't I rather die amidst the process rather than not having even started yet? I guess that thought still wasn't enough of a motivation because I still put the big day off. I was and am scared. I think because I know how bad I am going to stink at keeping any of them. But, the timing is too perfect, I need accountability, and I am tired of seeing the list every day!

Without further ado...

1. When I get frustrated, I must pause and verbally give thanks for one thing (pertaining to that situation)
2. If I ever resort to name-calling (not really the mature, loving, respectful way to fight!), I must speak a positive remark
3. Since Ricky and I tend to air some of our grievances during bathtime, I must begin and end each shower with a smile and a kiss
4. Although we are exhausted by the time we reach the bed, I would really like to pray together for just a few minutes before crashing
5. When Ricky returns from work, I want to give him the first 10 minutes upon arriving home to relax before bombarding him with the honey-do list

Impossible goals for this frail and broken soul, but I get to plunge the depths of grace for healing, covering, and help. Thank You, Jesus!

Lord, Is It I?

“‘One of you will betray me,’ Jesus said. They were shocked. Each of the disciples responded with the question, ‘Lord, is it I?’ (Matthew 26:20-2). Their inquiry reveals three important truths:

(1) The possibility of evil in our hearts. Everyone recognized it. When we hear of the moral collapse of another never say, ‘I couldn’t do that.’ The potential of every sin lies in our own heart. In the white light of God’s Word we’ve all yielded to temptation and responded to the appeal of the devil.

(2) Our ignorance of ourselves. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9). And finally…

(3) The wisdom of self-examination. Peter didn’t say, ‘I’ve never been too sure about Thomas; he’s skeptical.’ John didn’t say, ‘You know, I’ve never been too happy about that tax collector Matthew!’ Each person turned the question in on himself.

It wasn’t a morbid introspection. It was just a healthy look and an honest enquiry.

Maybe it’s time for each of us to look up into His face and ask –

‘Lord, is it I?’”

~ Bill Bathman, How’d You Hurt Your Hand?

Embrace The "Bad" -- Part 2

A few other notes on this topic (click here for Part 1):

1. Ricky and I were discussing this and about "blowing it" in certain situations when we do not react with grace or grow in maturity. He kept referring to this as failing a test. But maybe that is not the best way to look at it. With tests, there are grades -- passing or failing. I think the better description for these circumstances is opportunity. With opportunities, you either take advantage or miss out. But there are always a plethora of opportunities. Test makes you think of failing, but somehow we turn that action into a state of being and begin to view ourselves as failures. Opportunity instills hope -- for change, growth, and newness.
2. A number scale might help here. Although, it is an imperfect and possibly inaccurate way of looking at it. A qualitative view might be better, but my quantitative mind always chooses numbers over words! Anyway, let's put Christlikeness on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the perfect state of being only attainable once we are physically present with our Lord Jesus. So, 9 is the tops on this present earth. Let's put me at a 2-3. Now, if I die years from now and I am still at a 2-3, then I would be disappointed with myself. I would have missed out on every opportunity I have had to grow and mature (become Christlike) as I had not moved up on this scale one iota! May it not be so! I want to be at an 8-9 when I go from glory to glory. [Not to get me into Heaven, of course, because that is only accomplished by Christ's atoning sacrifice! Not by works.] I just want to take advantage of these opportunities to grow in grace. Don't you?! Either way -- whether I take advantage or not -- I thank You, Jesus, for grace in every opportunity!
3. I am reading Randy Alcorn's book on evil and suffering, called If God Is Good. A great, thorough guide on this topic. I thought that some of his words aptly apply to this subject.

We need to take a closer look at a verse I've mentioned, one of the most treasured (and also maligned) in Scripture: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

The context shows that the Holy Spirit’s main concern is conforming God’s children to the image of Christ. He brings challenging circumstances into our lives so we may develop Christlikeness.

Paul’s use of "we know" indicates that if you don’t know this, you know less than God intends you to; and when times of evil and suffering come, you’ll be ill-equipped to face them.

I believe that if God could not use something, in eternity, to contribute to the good of his child, then he will not permit it to happen. I know of no other way to interpret this passage, written in a context of profound evil and suffering. It does not say God causes some or most things to work for our good, but all things. And what does "all things" not include?

Romans 8:28 declares a cumulative and ultimate good, not an individual or immediate good...

We define our good in terms of what brings us health and happiness now; God defines it in terms of what makes us more like Jesus…

Whether suffering brings us to Christlikeness depends, to some degree, upon our willingness to submit to God and trust him and draw our strength from him. Suffering will come whether we allow it to make us Christlike or not -- but if we don't our suffering is wasted.

Join me in embracing these opportunities!

Embrace The "Bad" -- Part 1

How do you respond?

When things don't go your way. When someone offends you, hurts your feelings, ignores you, or frustrates you. When someone pulls out in front of you while driving 50 MPH. When your spouse still hasn't unloaded the dishwasher. When someone is 30 minutes late meeting you when you only have 45 minutes for lunch. When unrealistic expectations are held over your head. When you are rushed and knock down the entire display at the store. When you miss your doctor's appointment. When your baby won't stop screaming while you are on the phone. When you are in a car accident. When there is no explanation. When the unexpected occurs. When there is someone to blame. When there is no one to blame.

One of the most important lessons I learned from natural childbirth classes, as well as experience, was not to fight the contractions. When you feel one coming, do NOT tense up, squeeze your muscles, panic, or hold your breath. Instead, you should let it happen and focus on it. Feel it; embrace the contraction. Why? Because it simply is your uterus stretching and preparing to get the baby out. It is a muscle working out -- feel the burn! To the baby, a contraction feels like a massage. Back to the point. As your uterus stretches and pushes the baby further down, if you fight the contraction, you are holding that baby up there and refusing to let the uterus do its job. Uterus pushes baby down; you tense up and hold baby up. Baby didn't move and is no less closer to greeting the world. You just had a pointless contraction. For every one you resist, you'll have to have another one. Childbirth will take that much longer.

Now, Aidan, how in the world do these two thoughts combine? Here goes...

Things happen. People make choices that affect you -- often negatively. Free will. But, if everything went my way and everyone did what I wanted when I wanted, if I was in control, then my character would suffer. If life was peachy, then I would not develop patience, long suffering, gentleness, mercy, kindness, forbearance, forgiveness, self-control, compassion, unity, heroism, grace, determination, wisdom, etc. I would have no need of these traits, but I'd be at a loss. I'd be missing out and never know it.

When something doesn't go your way and you fight it by snapping or losing your cool, by not showing grace, it was pointless. You just had another chance to grow, but you blew it. You resisted the refining of your character. God is trying to develop the character of His Son in you. Don't tense up, but embrace the situation. Thankfully, there are many, many chances :)

Remember: What Satan means for evil, God intends it for good. When you fight it, you are giving in to Satan and his plans. When you embrace it, you are siding with God and saying 'Yes!' to Him and His plan.

I totally do not excel at this. What a challenging thought for myself! I want to embrace these occurrences. Join me in saying Yes!

Click here for Part 2.

Knowing Jesus

I love quotes – don’t you? Short, thought-provoking, and to-the-point.

So, on Wednesdays, I will share one or two that impacted me over the past week.

“[In Egypt], our theology is the theology of pain. It is not a theology of prosperity. We don’t know the theology of prosperity, but we know Jesus.” ~ Egyptian Believer

“The promises of the little kingdom [our agenda, our desires] will always fail. They will always leave me coming up short, because the spiritual oxygen that my heart needs to breathe can only be found in the Lord. Achievement, acceptance, appearance, and possessions may give you identity, meaning, and purpose for awhile. But they will enslave you in the process and disappoint you in the end.” ~ Paul David Tripp

Mosaic

• Fun[ny] news: Aolani giggled for the first last Sunday night. She has laughed only a few more times since then. I can't wait to record and post it :)


• Also last weekend, she "found" her hands and has been totally enthralled with them ever since! She is constantly clasping them and doing an in-depth study on this new discovery.

• My new brace arrived this week. I think it works, even though it hurts (pressure) to wear it too long. I think my foot is slowly starting to heal itself, as it now only turns out toward 11 o'clock.


• I thought she might be dairy sensitive, so I cut out dairy products from my diet. I think she's improved, but maybe it's because she is getting older. However, she is having baby diarrhea once a day still. It might be eggs, so I am going to try that...


• She is constantly getting comments on how long and luxurious her lashes are for a baby. I tried to get a good picture while she was napping in the sling on me, but the camera would not focus properly. Sorry; here's the shot anyhow.

• Storytime: The other afternoon I just had to go to the kitchen and grab a snack. So, I set her in the crib (wide-awake) for a few minutes. I was eating in the kitchen with the monitor turned on voice-activation (eliminates constant noises or small movements) in case she needed me. Out of nowhere, she had several massive eruptions out of her butt that awoke the monitor (so I could hear them all)! And, she didn't even make a peep. I went back in to find a happy, still-awake baby wiggling on top of a poopy crib sheet. "Let's just cover that up with a blanket until help gets home..."


• She has rubbed a bald spot on the back of her head (repeatedly looking to and fro trying to see and learn everything around her). I know this is common, but I still think it is funny and funny-looking!

• I am reading a book to her while she lies on the changing table called Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper. The entire book is in pdf for free online (click on the title). She really likes it, as do I ;)


• We put her crib toy (Sunny) up last weekend, and she really enjoys the colorful lights. She acts like she could care less about the classical music it plays.