A Good Reminder

One of my favorites, Psalm 103:

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Skipping Thanksgiving

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The problem is, it's not even November yet. Christmas is still a couple of months away.

But from the looks of many stores in the area, you'd think that ole Saint Nick was about to scurry down the chimney. I saw Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper on display at Lowe's last week. Old Navy already has Christmas pajamas for sale. A local interior decorator store that I passed on my way home last night even has Christmas trees lit both inside and outside the store.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Scrooge. I love Christmas. But I do hate the fact that, in the rush to get as much money in the cash register as early as possible, retailers drag out the wreaths and twinkling lights before we even get Halloween out of the way.

And Thanksgiving? No longer a day to spend with family and friends, stuffing yourself with turkey and all the trimmings, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and falling asleep on the couch during a football game. No, Thanksgiving is now a speed bump on the road to holiday shopping.

Last night I was thinking about how similar my prayer life is at times, how often I rush through (or skip altogether) the thanksgiving part of prayers and go straight for the "gimme" part. Yet, the Bible places great importance on thanksgiving in and of itself.

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
(Psalm 95:1-5)

...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

O Lord, help me to be thankful for all that You have done and all that You are going to do in my life. Don't let me rush through thanksgiving, but take time to honor You in every circumstance. Amen.

Pigeonholed

It seems like every other week or so, I get an e-mail with a fun little personality quiz attached. Thanks to these oh-so-scientific quizzes, I know now what kind of dessert I would be, what sign of affection I most resemble, and where I rate on Dr. Phil's scale (though I can't say that I really care what Dr. Phil thinks of my personality).

When I'm taking these quizzes, I find myself debating over the answers. For example, most of them seem to have some question like, "What's your idea of an ideal date, watching sports or going for a romantic walk on the beach?" Well, I'd have to say both. It really depends on the sport (college football, yes--lacrosse, not so much) and the weather (walking on the beach in freezing rain is not my idea of a great date). So questions like that are rather unfair, in my opinion.

I don't really like to be pigeonholed. My personality is multi-faceted (note that that's different from having MULTIPLE personalities). I don't like to be pegged as one particular "type" and be expected to act that way all the time.

And yet, I do that to other people so often. "She's sensitive." "He's a jerk." "She's a whiner." "He's a cheapskate." I'm quick to peg others according to my (not always accurate) perception of them. Quick to accuse, to make snap judgments. Sometimes I make judgment calls before I even meet the person. Talk about unfair.

Part of our call to be merciful and tenderhearted towards one another includes not rushing to judgment, and also not expecting people to act the same at all times. It goes back to the Golden Rule--not just doing unto others what we'd want them to do to us, but also thinking of them as we would want to be thought of. How I need to remember that.

So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free. For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you. James 2:12-13

Verses on My Mind Today

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." James 1:2-4

Change

Variety, they say, is the spice of life, and I would have to agree. For the most part, I like change. Trying out a new restaurant, or taking a different route home from work, changes like that can add some interest to an otherwise ho-hum day.

But I have to admit, there are times when I'm not quite so comfortable with change. Like when close friends move away. Or when a loved one passes away. Or when a friendship ends. Sometimes change brings about a real sense of loss, and I long for the "good ol' days".

Change can be uncomfortable, painful even, but Jesus uses it for our good. In John 10, He refers to His followers as His sheep:

"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice...Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. Wherever they go, they will find green pastures." (John 10: 3b-4, 9)

Note two things here: first, Jesus leads us, which to me implies a continual leading--He takes us to more than just one place in our spiritual lives. Second, wherever we go, we will find green pastures.

If sheep grazed in the same pasture forever, eventually they would run out of grass. A shepherd had to herd them through different pastures in order to find fresh grass. In order for the sheep to survive and thrive, they had to experience a change of scenery from time to time.

Likewise, our Shepherd has to change our scenery from time to time as well. When we stay in one place too long, spiritually speaking, we become complacent, stagnant. We stop growing. Perhaps that's why Christ leads us out of the comfortable into unfamiliar territory in our spiritual walks so often.

Another reason for not staying in the same place is that we run the risk of no longer being dependent on our Shepherd. It's so easy to get to a point in our walk where we feel like we've got it all together, we've got all the right moves down pat, and we relax. Meanwhile, Satan, the devouring wolf that he is, is sneaking up on us. When Christ takes to a new place, especially a place that we don't want to go, we have to depend on Him. We are in unchartered territory, and we look to Him to guide us and protect us in a way that we don't when we feel comfortable with where we are.

Change is not something to be feared or avoided. Rather, it is often the threshhold to spiritual breakthrough and renewal.