Keepin' The Rhythm Of The Boot

 Psalm 136:24(MSG)
Rescued us from the trampling boot; His love never quits.



Keeping The Rhythm



Have you ever kept time to the music by tapping your boot?  I have.  In fact I inwardly nod my head or tap my hand on the side of my leg....or tap my toe to a song when I hear it.  It's pretty fun actually.  Well, this past week, I volunteered for the cool assignment to help a few children with their percussion solo for an upcoming presentation that will be given for our community.  My job is to direct their part and keep them from speeding up, or slowing down, or becoming confused with the other parts.  Sounds easy enough I thought to myself.  Yeap...I can do this...let's go.

In addition to their part, there are four other percussion parts and the choir singing four different harmonies with varied words and hand motions.  Sort of a "Row-Row-Row Your Boat" on steroids.  Are you getting the picture?  Ok, we're at the first practice and the first part comes in....then it's our turn and then each part is added consecutively to that.  I concentrated single mindedly on our part for the first few measures.  We were doing great...until, that is, the other eight parts all began their additions.  Suddenly, our "easy" part became more challenging.  As I listened to all the different melodies and flowing rhythm, my mind began to drift and float around with all of the sounds.  Before I knew what was happening, my brain had picked up the part next to me and I found my hands were completely joining in with their beat!  What?!  How in the world did I mess up this easy assignment?  I quickly recalibrated to our three beat rhythm and got us back on task, but there was a valuable lesson hidden just under the vibration of the drums.

Here's what I was thinking on the drive home.  My walk with the Lord is so much like that "small part" in the program we were practicing for today.  As I was concentrating and really focusing on our portion, I was able to keep on track.  However, when I started listening to the other instruments and looking around at all the kids singing and doing their motions, I quickly lost my rhythm. 

This experience is closely paralleled to what I have noticed in my walk with God over the years.  The times when I have found myself wandering around feeling distant from Him and somewhat out of step with His voice are the times when I have lost my focus on Him.  When I have unintentionally shifted my direction and priority on something other than Him, I quickly become out of step with the plan He has for my life.  It can happen so quickly too.  One day, I am firmly planted in His foot steps marching toward the sound of His voice alone.  The next day, I'm tripping and getting dangerously close to being "trampled by the boot"! 

So, here is the truly astounding part about this reflection.  Because His love never quits on me, He doesn't allow me to be trampled by that boot.  When I get out of step, in His great love for me, He scoops me up and holds my face in His hands, looking directly into my eyes, until I regain my eye contact with Him.  Awe.......what a relief to know that He loves me so much, I'm never out of His reach!!  That big boot that is stomping around is not going to squish me.....not today....not ever........!  Why not?  Cuz, His love never quits!!

How do I stay in beat with my Savior, so I won't even trip?  By allowing no other "gods" to distract me from a completely devoted focus on Him.  (Just finished that Bible study a few weeks ago by the way.  If you are looking for a good one to do alone or with a group, check out No Other Gods by Kelly Minter.  It's a faith clarifier for sure!  Now it's on to Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa Terkeurst.  I'll keep you 'posted'....ha..I love saying that.)   

Father,
Thank You for the great love you have for me!  Teach me to listen to You and to walk in step to Your voice this week.  Keep my mind clear and alert for anything or anyone that might distract me from Your mission!  
Amen   

His Love Never Quits

Psalm 136:1(MSG)
Thank God!  He deserves your thanks.  His love never quits.

Psalm 136 has found it's way into my heart and life right now, as I search for His strength to carry me through a new and challenging season in my life.  In every verse of this chapter, I am told that "His love never quits!"  In the NIV and ESV, it is "His love endures forever!"  The chapter reads like a love letter listing item by item ways that the Lord God has shown His love to His people.....seriously fascinating. 

As we continue our Bible study by Kelly Minter titled No Other Gods, I am reminded that one of the things we are constantly searching for in our lives is love and acceptance.  That sense of complete fulfillment can only come from God our Father.  If we purpose to look to someone or something to fill that void, it will only end in disappointment and possibly disaster, because we set up an idolatry scenario with this action.   

I am serving a God who truly does deserve all of my thanks!  I am worshipping the real God who offers me true love that NEVER QUITS!  Now that is something to be thankful for indeed!!  I am choosing to live in an attitude of gratitude toward the one who gives me life.  Over the next twenty~six days (verses), I will be reminded of all the different ways He has shown me His unfailing love!

God,

You truly are worthy of my thankful heart and words of unending praise.  Open my eyes to Your presence and love in my day today and help me to share that love with others.

Amen

Anxiety

Psalm 139:23(NIV)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Anxious thoughts.  I wish I could say I never have them, but unfortunately I do at times.  It is also true that if I don't purpose in those moments/hours/sometimes seasons, to give those swirling words in my head to the Lord, they take over and I am bombarded with worry.  I don't like admitting that.  I feel somehow less Godly to confess that I have hours....sometimes days filled with dread. 

It has always been this way.  Sometimes it is obvious that the source is from external situations and circumstances of which I have little control.  At other times, however, there may be no apparent reason for this unsettling apprehension.  When I can't pinpoint the cause of fear, it becomes even more frustrating to me.  When I do know the source of my stress, I tend to spend a great deal of time begging the Lord to lift the yoke or change my situation, but there are times when it remains.  Reading this verse tonight causes me to stop and wonder if the origin of my challenging seasons could sometimes be some sort of a test from the Lord.  There is definitely story after story throughout the Bible wherein the Lord tested people....hmmm.......

I guess the bigger question should be, "Would my anxiety level dissipate if I knew that it was the Lord testing me?"  Would I somehow be able to quell my fear with the knowledge that I am being scrutinized by Him?  Or, would the reverse be true and that knowledge would actually serve to make my anxious state worse?  And finally, is it possible to will myself out of the state of apprehension that I am wallowing in, no matter what the cause of it? 

No, I am certain this mere enlightenment would not change a thing within my troubled state.  To know the reason for experiencing a tornado doesn't change the damage that will be incurred from it.  You can understand every aspect of why a tornado is occurring, but it won't make it stop or go away.  The only course of action is to survive the storm by taking shelter!

How do I sustain my joyful spirit during these periods of crushing anxiety and storms of uncertainty?  The answer is found in the book that lies in front of me on my desk.  Yeap....the Bible.  Speaking His promises will change my anxious thoughts and  serve as a refuge in the hours of doubt and fear.  Will He remove the circumstances that are creating my anxiety?  Maybe and maybe not.  Will He nourish me and be with me in the midst of it?  Absolutely and unequivocally YES!! 

In her study entitled:  No Other Gods by Kelly Minter, she provides several Bible verses from both the Old and New testaments wherein God provides us with His words as it relates to many different fears.  Here is the list that she has provided:

Joshua 1:9                       Isaiah 8:11-13             John 6:20

Psalm 56:3                      Isaiah 44:8                  John 14:27
Psalm 56:4                      Isaiah 51:12                Acts 18:9
Psalm 91:5                      Jeremiah 1:8               1 Peter 3:14
Psalm 112:7                    Jeremiah 39:17           1 John 4:18
Psalm 118:6                    Matthew 17:7

Proverbs 3:24                Mark 5:36

Lord,

Thank you for providing Your promises for me to cling to in times of unsettled thoughts.  You created us and knew we would need that.  You truly thought of everything!  There must be someone else reading this right now who needs to feel You are with them.  Please give them the sense of Your loving hand on their shoulder and Your gentle whisper in their ear as You tell them how deep Your love is for them! Amen

Joshua 1:9(ESV)~"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Friend Or Foe?

Psalm 139:22(MSG)
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.  Your enemies are my enemies!


Some kind of northern mountain snake that I
 encountered on a hike...enemy of not?







Yesterday we had our first meeting of the "NOG"gin's.  This is the name that I've chosen to call our group.  I am doing a Bible study called, "No Other God's" by Kelly Minter.  The ladies and I are meeting every two weeks throughout the summer to go over our renderings and put our "heads together" for practical application.....hence the word "Noggin's". Get it?  Heads...noggins?  You better be laughing right now...

Anyway, here's what's been happening in this mind (and heart) of mine lately.  I spent most of the day Friday working with my "Southwestern Sister".  She has been assisting me with my organization on this computer.  You see.....I love to take pictures.  Anything or anyone will do.  Nature, people, weather, inanimate objects....you get the idea.  The reason I love photography so much is because it seems as though you can stop a moment in time.  Expressions and emotions captured and frozen for life on a little sheet of paper are fantabulous (not in the dictionary) to me!!  The only down side to this hobby is that it can fill up your computer really fast if you don't have a plan for storing all of these amazing shots.  Adding to that problem is my apparent inability to clear out the "clutter pictures" and other useless documents that have found their way onto my lap top.  I just keep adding more and more photos and never remove unwanted trash, all the while keeping an eye on my space as it fills dangerously close to capacity....hence the need for my sister's computer expertise! 

Cue...the slowing down of the computer.  I knew it was coming...you know the dreaded  "computer crash".  I should have heeded the warning signs.  Slower search times, longer transition to get from spot to spot after writing...you know them all.  But, I ignored every one of them.  I thought I would deal with it later....until, that is, I went to turn the computer on the other day....and I got nothing!  Absolutely nothing!  

I went straight to my computer source....my husband of course....and he said, "It looks like it's not getting any power."  I said in my most whiny voice, "But it's plugged in!!"  (See, I do know something about these little boxes.)  He said in his gravest of voices, "It's bad then...".  Uggghhhh....Not now!  What does "bad" mean anyway?  Does it mean that I have lost all of my pictures?!!  (Heart rate going up...sweat beginning to form on brow, as I envision all of those captured moments slipping from my grasp.)  Does that mean a new computer?  What?! 

I frantically started following the cord from the wall to the computer.  Connected tightly to the wall~check.  Securely inserted into the computer~check.  But, wait, isn't there a connection to the big black box "thingy" in the middle of the thick black strand that is shoved back behind my desk?  Could that be loose?  I began wildly pulling the cord up from the dark recesses of the wall.  There it was.  Nearly holding my breath I pulled it up for closer inspection.  Was it firmly secured into the box?  No!  It was loose!  It appeared to be half in and half out.  I shoved it in tight and ....tadah....presto....power!!  Yay!

What in the world does this have to do with today's verse you ask?  Here's what I'm thinking.  As I have been reflecting on the Word of God through this study, I have been reminded  that anything/anyone that steals my focus from God has the potential to become an idol in my life.  I need to guard against that.  Just like the power to my computer, if I'm not plugged in securely to Him, I will be useless to fulfill the plan that He has for my life!    Equally important, I must have room on my hard drive...errr.....I mean room in my heart for the important pictures....I mean important words from God.  I have to clear out the clutter from my spiritual life and view these "other God's" as "enemies"!  If they have the power to capture my attention more than my God, and if they crowd my heart and make it sluggish towards Him, then I don't want any part of those things.  Instead, I want to be clearly focused on God's grace and His direction on a moment by moment basis each day that I climb out of bed.

Praying today for an increased awareness of those "enemies" that attempt to steal my time and attention from God and the purposes that He has for me.