"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world
to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty . . . That no flesh should glory in his presence."
(1 Corinthians 1:27, 29)
Have you ever heard of Nic Vujicic? I had never heard of him before seeing this amazing video on Marie's blog. It so reminds me of one of my most favorite Scripture verses (see quote above), and it also puts me to shame when I think of all the insignificant things (by comparison) that I have, in my past, found to complain about.
.
Here is a young man whose life, by the world's standards, does not seem to be worth much, and who would have every legitimate reason to complain and feel bitter, and yet he is filled with an undescribable joy, and a passion to lead others to Jesus. The Lord has enabled him to surmount seemingly impossible odds, and has opened the door to a worldwide ministry.
Nic travels the globe, carrying the message of God's love to hurting people through the sharing of his testimony and assurance of God's love for them and special purpose for their lives.
Look who is being used to encourage who. Is that awesome or what!
1/18/09
1/16/09
FITNESS FRIDAY: WARDROBE TWEAKING
What wardrobe? It's already been tweaked so many times for one reason or another there's not much left to work with for this assignment. Notwithstanding, I did manage to find a few items that were easy to part with. Like the dull olive sweater, frayed, stretched out, and not the least becoming; a couple of frumpy looking tee shirts; and that hand me down lavender hoodie declaring me a member of the Varsity Ski Team when, in fact, I have never even tried on a pair of skis, let alone made my way down a slope.
Now the "dress differently than you usually do," was a different matter. This is something I had been contemplating even before I saw the week's assignment. (Brenda must have been reading my mind when she thought it up, LOL.) How to do it, though, was a bit of a challenge given the current state of my wardrobe and the temporary austerity budget I am limited to. So some creative thinking was in order, and this is what I came up with.
I can change my look, at no extra expense, just by adding some of my forgotten accessories gathering dust in the closet somewhere. It's amazing what a strategically placed pin, a scarf, a string of pearls, a bling, can make. Normally I never think to add jewelry. I just put on some earrings and skip the rest. So this past Sunday I made an effort to plan ahead and dig out something nice to add to the outfit I was going to wear to church. When I looked in the mirror, a new person looked back at me. It was a great self-esteem booster.
Another change, which sadly I didn't get around to, would have been to give my hands a new look by doing my nails and polishing them. I always feel better when my hands look cared for, and yet it's something I never seem to get around to, no matter how good my intentions.
Longer term, I can tweak my attire by losing the pounds and inches I need to lose and being able to fit into my dress pants, skirts, and tuck in blouses once again. Even my jeans and tuck in shirts would feel good. It's been so long that when that day finally arrives, I think it will be the next best thing to going out and splurging on a whole new wardrobe.
1/9/09
FITNESS FRIDAY: THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL GOOD
This week whizzed by so fast, I can't believe it's Fitness Friday time again. Can you? Our assignment was to think about the habits and things in our lives that make us feel our best.
I feel good when I look good, I'm having a good hair day, and I have found time to do my nails and polish them. I also feel good when I can wear clothes that look nice on me rather than the frumpy looking ones that are all that fit right now.
I feel even better when I finish something I set out to do instead of procrastinating and having to add it to my to do list, yet again. And I feel best when I get up early enough so I don't have to rush through my devotions, which then messes up the whole rest of my day.
Yesterday I had an early morning doctor's appointment and had to leave my apartment when it was still dark. As I drove into the dawn, I thought about how much I love the stillness of twilight, those moments just before the sun rises and a sleeping world gets ready to face a new day. It is the time set apart for my appointment with the Lord, and yet too many times I miss it because I allow my flesh to gain the upper hand and talk me into going back to sleep for another hour or two.
My biggest battle is not the battle of the bulge, although I do want to lose the extra inches and pounds I've gained and keep them off for good this time. My biggest battle is the battle to gain mastery over my flesh. I'm thinking everything else will fall into place once that battle is won.
I decided to start the New Year by going back on Weight Watchers for a couple of weeks so as to rekindle my perspective of what a normal amount of food for a person my size. would be. This is something I seem to have totally lost sight of, and what a shocking eye opener it was to discover how much more I had been mindlessly packing away over the last several gluttonous months. No wonder I gained all that weight.
I was so hungry (because of poor meal planning choices) that by the end of day four, I had used up all my bonus points for the week--plus the extra points you can earn by exercising. Not only that, but the next day was a pizza and dessert party that I had been really looking forward to. What to do. Maybe just forget about the three days left and start over again next week? But that would just be repeating the same old cycle I've been repeating for over half a century now, which is why I didn't make any resolutions this year. So what then?
Well I'm happy to report that the Lord came to my rescue in an unexpected way. The pizza and dessert party got canceled and with it went my excuse for starting over next week. So I kept on keeping on, one day at a time, and by the grace of God, and by His grace alone, I made it through those last three days. And I have to say, the feeling of that victory was truly one of the very best feelings I've had in a long, long while.
1/7/09
VIEW FROM MY WINDOW
It rained hard all night last night, but Jack Frost was busy painting trees, and this is the view I woke up to this morning.
1/3/09
FITNESS FRIDAY: ADD AND SUBTRACT
"No temptation has seized you except what
is common to man. And God is faithful; he
will not let you be tempted beyond what
you can bear. But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out so that you
can stand up under it."
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
Okay, I know today is Saturday and I'm a day late with my post, but I only just discovered this group and needed some processing time before starting to write anything.
It was while out blog hopping on New Year's day that I popped over to Fitness Friday from Melody's blog, and thought it might be something fun to try since fitness has always been a bit of a challenge for me. I figured, given my past history, some accountability surely couldn't be a bad thing.
So now, the big question according to this week's assignment, is: What do I want to add to my life, and what do I want to subtract.
Well, the subtract part is easy. All those extra pounds I have gained back the last few months. Twenty of them, to be exact. I would also like to subtract slothfullness and procrastination and gluttony, and allowing myself to be ruled by my senses.
As for the adding, I would like to add regular exercise, a real challenge, because I'm not an exercise person at all. I would also like to add commitment, discipline, and becoming master of my flesh--rather than the other way around. I would like to add renewal of my mind with the Word, which means spending more time in it. I would like to add standing firm when Satan comes to call, and being able to truly believe it with all my heart (not just my head) when I confront him and say, "It is written."
I would like to be able to stand strong in the knowledge that what my physical eyes, ears, and intellect have to say may be fact, but truth supercedes fact. Facts are subject to change. Truth is what the Word has to say about them, and the Word never changes. Fact is, my flesh is weak, weak, weak. But the truth says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and that the Lord will never allow me to be subjected to more than what He equips me to handle.
is common to man. And God is faithful; he
will not let you be tempted beyond what
you can bear. But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out so that you
can stand up under it."
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
Okay, I know today is Saturday and I'm a day late with my post, but I only just discovered this group and needed some processing time before starting to write anything.
It was while out blog hopping on New Year's day that I popped over to Fitness Friday from Melody's blog, and thought it might be something fun to try since fitness has always been a bit of a challenge for me. I figured, given my past history, some accountability surely couldn't be a bad thing.
So now, the big question according to this week's assignment, is: What do I want to add to my life, and what do I want to subtract.
Well, the subtract part is easy. All those extra pounds I have gained back the last few months. Twenty of them, to be exact. I would also like to subtract slothfullness and procrastination and gluttony, and allowing myself to be ruled by my senses.
As for the adding, I would like to add regular exercise, a real challenge, because I'm not an exercise person at all. I would also like to add commitment, discipline, and becoming master of my flesh--rather than the other way around. I would like to add renewal of my mind with the Word, which means spending more time in it. I would like to add standing firm when Satan comes to call, and being able to truly believe it with all my heart (not just my head) when I confront him and say, "It is written."
I would like to be able to stand strong in the knowledge that what my physical eyes, ears, and intellect have to say may be fact, but truth supercedes fact. Facts are subject to change. Truth is what the Word has to say about them, and the Word never changes. Fact is, my flesh is weak, weak, weak. But the truth says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and that the Lord will never allow me to be subjected to more than what He equips me to handle.
1/2/09
MY WISH FOR YOU IN 2009
Just wanted to share this cute e-mail I got this morning--even though the monkey's bat has the wrong year on it. Guess it must have been a recycled forward, but it made me smile. Hope it gives you a chuckle too.
My Wish for You in 2009
May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words . . .
May 2009 be the best year of your life!!!
1/1/09
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
This morning I went blog hopping with no plans to post anything myself. Just thought I'd spend some quiet moments perusing what others had to say about the New Year. The more I read though, the more inspired I felt to put down some thoughts of my own.
I awaited the start of this new year with great anticipation, eager to start writing the story of my life on a brand new page of a brand new chapter. Kind of the same feeling I get when I buy a new notebook and open it up and see all those crisp blank pages just waiting for me to fill them up. I love the feel of new beginnings and fresh starts.
That said, I did not come into this year with a set list of resolutions. I do want to lose some weight, and be a little more disciplined and less prone to procrastination, but not in any rigid way that would invite failure. So Marie's post on A Year at Oak Cottage, spoke right to my heart, especially her comment about this not being a time for resolutions that only get broken one by one, but rather a time for aspirations and hope.
Yes, I am starting out with lots of hope and eager anticipation of what the Lord is about to do next in my life. But also with a measure of flexibility and open-mindedness, knowing that only He sees the entire picture and knows what is really in my best interests. This has been confirmed to me over and over as I look back on my life and see the places where His way was not my way but always turned out to be the best way.
Life being so full of the unexpected, I can truly appreciate Karen's preface to her 2009 To Do List on For Such a Time as Now: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1). That is a wise exhortation, and I now add "Lord willing" to anything I take for granted, even if I don't always speak the words aloud.
Finally, I would like to direct you over to Shasta's blog, Eccentric Ramblingz, where she has posted a most beautiful prayer. Though I was not the one who wrote it, it is my New Year's wish for you all too.
I awaited the start of this new year with great anticipation, eager to start writing the story of my life on a brand new page of a brand new chapter. Kind of the same feeling I get when I buy a new notebook and open it up and see all those crisp blank pages just waiting for me to fill them up. I love the feel of new beginnings and fresh starts.
That said, I did not come into this year with a set list of resolutions. I do want to lose some weight, and be a little more disciplined and less prone to procrastination, but not in any rigid way that would invite failure. So Marie's post on A Year at Oak Cottage, spoke right to my heart, especially her comment about this not being a time for resolutions that only get broken one by one, but rather a time for aspirations and hope.
Yes, I am starting out with lots of hope and eager anticipation of what the Lord is about to do next in my life. But also with a measure of flexibility and open-mindedness, knowing that only He sees the entire picture and knows what is really in my best interests. This has been confirmed to me over and over as I look back on my life and see the places where His way was not my way but always turned out to be the best way.
Life being so full of the unexpected, I can truly appreciate Karen's preface to her 2009 To Do List on For Such a Time as Now: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1). That is a wise exhortation, and I now add "Lord willing" to anything I take for granted, even if I don't always speak the words aloud.
Finally, I would like to direct you over to Shasta's blog, Eccentric Ramblingz, where she has posted a most beautiful prayer. Though I was not the one who wrote it, it is my New Year's wish for you all too.
12/23/08
LOVING THE UNLOVELY
"If you love those who love you, what
credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love
those who love them. And if you do good
to those who are good to you, what credit
is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that."
(Luke 6:32-33)
These verses kept popping into my mind as I read some of the posts of a fellow blogger who I know loves the Lord with all her heart, and this morning I woke up feeling strongly convicted that I needed to send her an e-mail of exhortation. An e-mail written in love, acknowledging that the words I was writing were intended just as much--if not more so--for me than for her. But instead of sitting down at my computer and impulsively dashing it off, as would be my normal way, I decided to let the thought percolate on the back burner of my mind for a while.
As I went about some other tasks, I prayed for guidance as to what exactly I should say, when suddenly the thought came to me that since this is an issue that I myself grapple with BIG TIME, maybe it's something I should be blogging about rather than bringing to someone else's attention, no matter how lovingly. So here I am writing this post, and suddenly drawing a total blank as to what to say next.
I know that God loves each and every one of us unconditionally, and that He sent Jesus to die for all of us so that there would be hope even for the most seemingly hopeless. I know that no one is beyond redemption, and that there is no sin so great, no life so base, that it cannot be forgiven. So then who am I to pick and choose, to look down on, to criticize, to judge?
Every one of us is a Divine Original, created for a special purpose that no one else can fulfill. If we find ourselves living a blessed life rather than a wretched one, it may be good to remember that it is not the result of our efforts, though it may seem so in the eyes of the world. It is only by the grace of God.
Instead of being so quick to condemn, I need to give thanks as I remind myself that there but for the grace of God go I. I need to open myself up to be His instrument so that He can extend that same grace, through me, to the hurting and unlovable folks He has put in my path. That is so contrary to how my natural eyes see things, or what my intellect would tell me, but then that's what faith is all about. We need to have the faith of a little child to be able to enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3).
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, about how God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and to bring to naught the things that are, so that no one can boast. There is a wonderful paraphrase of this in The Message translation that says it all.
"The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction. . . . This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It is written, 'I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head.' . . . Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb--preaching, of all things!--to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.
. . . Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. . . . Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of the 'brightest and the best' among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these 'nobodies' to expose the hollow pretensions of the 'somebodies'? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have--right thinking and right living, a clean slate, and a fresh start--comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, 'If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.'" (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 - The Message)
What else can I say, but Amen!
credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love
those who love them. And if you do good
to those who are good to you, what credit
is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that."
(Luke 6:32-33)
These verses kept popping into my mind as I read some of the posts of a fellow blogger who I know loves the Lord with all her heart, and this morning I woke up feeling strongly convicted that I needed to send her an e-mail of exhortation. An e-mail written in love, acknowledging that the words I was writing were intended just as much--if not more so--for me than for her. But instead of sitting down at my computer and impulsively dashing it off, as would be my normal way, I decided to let the thought percolate on the back burner of my mind for a while.
As I went about some other tasks, I prayed for guidance as to what exactly I should say, when suddenly the thought came to me that since this is an issue that I myself grapple with BIG TIME, maybe it's something I should be blogging about rather than bringing to someone else's attention, no matter how lovingly. So here I am writing this post, and suddenly drawing a total blank as to what to say next.
I know that God loves each and every one of us unconditionally, and that He sent Jesus to die for all of us so that there would be hope even for the most seemingly hopeless. I know that no one is beyond redemption, and that there is no sin so great, no life so base, that it cannot be forgiven. So then who am I to pick and choose, to look down on, to criticize, to judge?
Every one of us is a Divine Original, created for a special purpose that no one else can fulfill. If we find ourselves living a blessed life rather than a wretched one, it may be good to remember that it is not the result of our efforts, though it may seem so in the eyes of the world. It is only by the grace of God.
Instead of being so quick to condemn, I need to give thanks as I remind myself that there but for the grace of God go I. I need to open myself up to be His instrument so that He can extend that same grace, through me, to the hurting and unlovable folks He has put in my path. That is so contrary to how my natural eyes see things, or what my intellect would tell me, but then that's what faith is all about. We need to have the faith of a little child to be able to enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3).
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, about how God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and to bring to naught the things that are, so that no one can boast. There is a wonderful paraphrase of this in The Message translation that says it all.
"The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction. . . . This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It is written, 'I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head.' . . . Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb--preaching, of all things!--to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.
. . . Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. . . . Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of the 'brightest and the best' among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these 'nobodies' to expose the hollow pretensions of the 'somebodies'? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have--right thinking and right living, a clean slate, and a fresh start--comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, 'If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.'" (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 - The Message)
What else can I say, but Amen!
12/18/08
12/10/08
IT MUST RUN IN THE FAMILY
A week ago I made a delicious pumpkin cake to take to a book club breakfast. Even more delicious was the Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Cream Cheese frosting that tasted just like fudge. Well the recipe makes two cakes, so I froze one to use for company tomorrow evening. I'm not sure what my reasoning was, but I decided not to frost it until I took it out of the freezer to thaw. What a mistake! Well, almost.
Every day I dipped into the leftover container of frosting in the refrigerator and helped myself to a large spoonful, until this morning it suddenly dawned on me there might not be enough left to cover the entire cake. So I immediately took it out of the freezer to thaw, and was ever so relieved to find there was still enough for a thin layer over the top. Phew!
Visions of Christmas past when I had wrapped up several candy bars to give a friend for Christmas, but she didn't come when she was supposed to. After a couple of days, unable to contain myself, I unwrapped the gift and ate one of the bars, then rewrapped it, which would not have been so bad except that I continued this pattern until there were none left.
That, in turn, led me to thinking of the story about a favorite uncle who when he was a young boy (almost a century ago), lived in a small village in Hungary. He loved to eat. One day he discovered a large piece of salted meat his mother had hanging in the cellar for a special occasion. Every day he went down to the cellar with his little knife and cut off a slice or two, thinking his mother would never be the wiser. When the day of the celebration arrived and his mother went down to the cellar to retrieve the meat, she was quite shocked to see nothing but a very small piece remaining.
It must run in the family. LOL
Every day I dipped into the leftover container of frosting in the refrigerator and helped myself to a large spoonful, until this morning it suddenly dawned on me there might not be enough left to cover the entire cake. So I immediately took it out of the freezer to thaw, and was ever so relieved to find there was still enough for a thin layer over the top. Phew!
Visions of Christmas past when I had wrapped up several candy bars to give a friend for Christmas, but she didn't come when she was supposed to. After a couple of days, unable to contain myself, I unwrapped the gift and ate one of the bars, then rewrapped it, which would not have been so bad except that I continued this pattern until there were none left.
That, in turn, led me to thinking of the story about a favorite uncle who when he was a young boy (almost a century ago), lived in a small village in Hungary. He loved to eat. One day he discovered a large piece of salted meat his mother had hanging in the cellar for a special occasion. Every day he went down to the cellar with his little knife and cut off a slice or two, thinking his mother would never be the wiser. When the day of the celebration arrived and his mother went down to the cellar to retrieve the meat, she was quite shocked to see nothing but a very small piece remaining.
It must run in the family. LOL
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