What Is THAT?!

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. Exodus 16:15

They didn't know what it was that God had given them. The word "manna" means "what is it?" 

Moses said, "THIS IS the bread GOD gave you."

I want to fully embrace the life God gave me, even when I don't understand what it is or why He gave it to me!

Many days, I don't want to embrace it, and I don't. For some reason, I would rather hew out cisterns of my own rather than drink from the Living Water*. And I'm not a good cistern-maker! Why would I sabotage the life that God gave me?

It's my desire to yield to the God Who loves me and understands me more than anyone. I want to live HIS plan. I want to let Him write my story and stop trying to steal the pen! My best life is HIS life--HIS way!


___
*For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13

Photo credit: Show Me Oz

Pay Attention

I'm raising a little man. For some mamas reading this, that's enough said. You understand the title of this article in relation to little boys.

"Pay attention!" It seems I say it to Little Man all day long! 😀 Recently, we had a "teachable moment" concerning this concept in regard to following instructions. Little Man says he pays attention, but the outcome of his behaviour fairly often betrays him. 😉

God brought to my mind the Scripture in Hebrews 2:1, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."

You see, Little Man said he knew what I said. He said he really was paying attention when I gave him bedtime preparation instructions. And you guessed it, when I checked in with him later, he had not "given heed" to what I had said--not even close to "earnest heed"! 😉

In the previous chapter, Hebrews 1:9, the writer of this amazing book of the Bible quoted David in Psalm 45:7, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Gladness of heart is a result of yieldedness to God. Therefore (this is one reason why), we ought to give the more earnest heed.

"The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." ~ Psalm 25:14. This speaks of intimacy. I want to know the secret of the Lord! He wants me to know Him and His ways. He doesn't want me to simply be a casual observer of His acts (Psalm 103:7).

In the same way I, as a parent, desire to have our Little Man in close fellowship with me. I want to teach him the ways of God that will give him a happy life.

I'm thankful to say that as I shared what "giving the more earnest heed" meant with Little Man, he paid attention. He even asked me to say the verse again after I had explained what it meant. And I gained a greater insight into how God, my Parent, feels when I "give the more earnest heed" to the things He is teaching me. He loves it when we (He and I) are in harmony, just as much as I love it when Little Man and I are in harmony.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander: I want to "give the more earnest heed" to the things God, my dear Father, is teaching me--past, present, and future lessons.

Question to Self: 

Am I paying serious attention to the things I already claim I have learned?

Selah.

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard." 

~ Hebrews 2:1

"You've just got to learn to pay HEED to things!" 

~ Marilla to Anne of Green Gables 😊

He Carries Me

Jesus understands.

"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Isaiah 63:9

"My beloved is mine and I am his..." Song of Solomon 2:16

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities..." Hebrews 4:15

Are you tired? Have an illness you can't seem to shake? Weary mama? Frustrated dad? Look long and hard at the picture above. You are that lamb in Jesus' care. He so tenderly cares for you.

He knew that we would wonder
How a God who made the sun to shine,
Who made the sound of thunder
And set each planet in the sky,
Could ever know just how it felt
To hurt and sometimes even cry,
To often feel rejected,
Then be left to wonder why.

And so He came to us, 
He took on flesh and became a man;

And so He came to us, 
So we could know He would understand

Our every joy and grief, our pain and relief, 
Every heartache we go through--

Yes, Jesus came to us, 

So we could know--He knew!

He's a God who can be touched 
With the feelings and the burdens that we bear;

He said, If you come to Me, 
I will give you rest and take your cares!

He's reaching out to you right now, 
And He is listening when you call;

Cast your cares upon him, 
For He wants to take them all!

That's why He came to us, 
He took on flesh and became a man;

That's why He came to us, 
So we could know He would understand

Our every joy and grief, our pain and relief, 
Every heartache we go through--

Yes, Jesus came to us, 
So we could know--He knew!

~ words and music by Wayne Goodine

Don't give up. Don't give in to the enemy's whispers that you'll always be hurting. Don't listen when he tells you Jesus doesn't care. I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Saviour cares!*

He carries me.

*Does Jesus Care, Frank E. Graeff, 1860-1919

Who or What?

Big difference.

When someone blows up at me, is my first reaction to defend myself or am I willing to step back and evaluate WHAT is right? How did I come across to that person (even if I didn't mean it)? If there is a possibility I left an impression other than what pleases God, will I take the high road and make an apology? If I wait for others to apologize to me, simply because I know I'm right, my relationships will suffer. Pride hurts relationships; humility builds them.

Do I console myself that I was "more right" than the other person? How does that communicate my care for them? Is that how Jesus would respond?

"When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." I Peter 2:23

There is only one RIGHTEOUS JUDGE: God. I can't judge a situation perfectly and neither can the other person. If I commit myself to HIS safekeeping, I will let Him be the judge of my situation. When I know the Righteous Judge is on my case, I don't need to defend myself. I can trust in any situation, He will set it all straight.

"He shall bring forth thy righteousness as a light and thy judgement as the noonday." Psalm 37:6

Because of this, I can "rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him" and "fret not {myself} in any wise to do evil." Psalm 37:7

I can "cease from anger and forsake wrath." Psalm 37:8

Family life and church life will be much less complicated if I will simply let God be the Judge.

I'm a Little Tea Pot

I have a confession: Hostessing, for some reason, is not my forte. I am nervous. I worry about being a hostess as a pastor's wife. When guests are coming over, I stress about having enough food. I worry that I'm forgetting something. I never think my house is clean enough, or decorated enough, or tidy enough, or... whatever. I feel pressured to get everything done in time for the guests to arrive. I worry about keeping the conversation going.

"But thanks be to God which always causeth us to triumph..." 
~ II Corinthians 2:14


"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  
~ Philippians 4:13


"...much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." 
~ Romans 5:10

There is so much more to my salvation than just hope of heaven. And I long to truly learn this principle in the practical sense in my life. Sure, I have a head knowledge. I can quote verses and tell you that as I yield to the Spirit of God living in me, I can do all things. I am well aware that, as Jesus said, "I can of mine own self do nothing..." (John 5:30).

But in my practical, nitty-gritty, everyday walk... well... I tend to tell myself "It's normal for Christians to struggle; we're human." Isn't that what most people believe? Isn't that what most people will tell you? You get a free pass to worry today; you're human.


Of course, my God is not a mean, churlish god who demands my perfect performance! He simply offers His perfect Holy Spirit, who already lives inside me, as available to live His Life through my imperfect fleshly body! How amazing is that! Of course, I have heard it all before. I have read it a thousand times. BUT, do I believe it? HE will live HIS perfect life through my imperfect fleshly body! Wow!

Imagine what that does for me! I can rest. I don't have to worry. I don't have to get mad. I don't have to perform as a perfect hostess. I'm the tea pot in HIS hands! The tea pot doesn't worry about whether her tea is perfect. The tea pot doesn't worry whether everyone is quite pleased with her! (And that really is the issue: worry="me focus"! But that's another blog for another day!) 

The tea pot is simply a tea pot. In the hostess' hands.
Just a happy little tea pot. That's me. In Jesus' hands.


(c) 2016 Dayna Spear Guenther

I'm a Little Tea Pot

I have a confession: Hostessing, for some reason, is not my forte. I am nervous. I worry about being a hostess as a pastor's wife. When guests are coming over, I stress about having enough food. I worry that I'm forgetting something. I never think my house is clean enough, or decorated enough, or tidy enough, or... whatever. I feel pressured to get everything done in time for the guests to arrive. I worry about keeping the conversation going.

"But thanks be to God which always causeth us to triumph..." 
~ II Corinthians 2:14


"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  
~ Philippians 4:13


"...much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." 
~ Romans 5:10

There is so much more to my salvation than just hope of heaven. And I long to truly learn this principle in the practical sense in my life. Sure, I have a head knowledge. I can quote verses and tell you that as I yield to the Spirit of God living in me, I can do all things. I am well aware that, as Jesus said, "I can of mine own self do nothing..." (John 5:30).

But in my practical, nitty-gritty, everyday walk... well... I tend to tell myself "It's normal for Christians to struggle; we're human." Isn't that what most people believe? Isn't that what most people will tell you? You get a free pass to worry today; you're human.


Of course, my God is not a mean, churlish god who demands my perfect performance! He simply offers His perfect Holy Spirit, who already lives inside me, as available to live His Life through my imperfect fleshly body!
How amazing is that! Of course, I have heard it all before. I have read it a thousand times. BUT, do I believe it? HE will live HIS perfect life through my imperfect fleshly body! Wow!

Imagine what that does for me! I can rest. I don't have to worry. I don't have to get mad. I don't have to perform as a perfect hostess. I'm the tea pot in HIS hands! The tea pot doesn't worry about whether her tea is perfect. The tea pot doesn't worry whether everyone is quite pleased with her! (And that really is the issue: worry="me focus"! But that's another blog for another day!) 

The tea pot is simply a tea pot. In the hostess' hands.
Just a happy little tea pot. That's me. In Jesus' hands.


(c) 2016 Dayna Spear Guenther

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