Oversight

Of late, I have either been a slow learner, or a bad listener… it has been one of those months. However, I did hear recently that some of the most important things to a Christian will be

1. Taking Time with God

and

2. Oversight… the ability to allow the Holy Spirit to correct other people, guide other people, and put other people in their place.

While the first item on the list may not need explanation, the second, I think, bears some elaborations.

An example of oversight:

Your sibling/friend says something offensive to you, which they had no right whatever to say. You have two options (or more, depending upon the situation). You can a) put them in their place, and give them a piece of your mind, or, b) have oversight. It is really connected to mercy and grace.

So the oversight scenario would most probably involve YOU overlooking your friend/sibling ’s offense, either by simply not reacting to it, or by forcefully ignoring it and allow both you and said person time to cool down.

Now, imagine if God were more like us… No, this is not intended as sacrilege, I am making a useful point…

You are driving down the street to your local convenience store because you want a candy bar. you buy the candy bar, and forget to ask a blessing over it before taking a huge, chocolaty bite. ZAP… you are suddenly fried by lightning because God wanted to remind you to ask a blessing…

OR

You are in on your knees before bed, saying your prayers, and your mind wanders to that bill you forgot to pay…and boom, your house is crushed by an asteroid.

Okay, so we all know that God doesn’t act this way, He isn’t spiteful, and He constantly exercises His gracefulness. We should too… aren’t we aspiring to be like Him? It’s not that hard, really, to say nothing when you want to scream at somebody, to back off instead of insisting… the list is endless.

What kind of advantage does this oversightful behavior reap? Quite Simply… Peace. Adding a little oversight to your day will result in less strife between yourself and others, which in turn, will lead to an increase of peace.

Courtney

Waiting is really potential doing!

This past weekend I have been blessed to experience an ALL gospel Bluegrass festival! We’ve been performing as a group for just over a year now, and I’ve been thinking back on all of the time spent practicing, praying, hoping, and WAITING…and I can completely understand how much the working and waiting was worth it! I remember as a thirteen year old who could barely pick a guitar or sing, that I would pray quite often that the Lord would allow me to sing and play beautifully, but WHOA,  HE gave much more than I ever thought to ask!

I remember in my eighth or ninth grade science book that I learned about Kinetic and Potential Energy…and how energy is always present in some form. I believe that the same principal could apply to Christians who are waiting on the Lord. When we are not DOING something, GOD is preparing us to DO something in the future. Waiting is good training, because in a state of waiting, we have to trust that the LORD has not forgotten us, we have to learn to listen to HIM, because there is usually nothing else to do…waiting forces us to do these essential things.

Just a thought, or two…

Courtney

Too Busy to Think?

Apparently, it is possible to be too busy to think…because I think, erm…feel like…I am! My sisters and I– our Bluegrass band– are preparing for several shows, among other things. I have been feeling so busy, I have BEEN so busy, that I feel like I have no time to really sit and WAIT on or LISTEN for what the Lord will show me. I haven’t stopped praying, reading in the scripture, etc… I have just been so horribly busy! It confirms again my belief that WAITING on the LORD is not just good, it is VITAL!

Please excused my jumbled and rambling thoughts, I am exhausted…but I thought I’d post a bit before hitting the hay.

Courtney

Yes…I know…It has been awhile!

Summer classes began this month. Among other things. My sisters and I are a bluegrass band, and we have been performing like crazy. I know–there is no good excuse for my lackadaisical writing schedule- Actually, there might be…but that is beside the point.

I will endeavor to make time in my ultra crazy schedule to write on the blog…I have been working on my historical fiction though, so this month has not been completely lacking in productivity on my part.

Also, I would like to announce the (crossing my fingers here!) RELEASE OF OUR NEW CD!! It is called THE PLACE WHERE BLUEGRASS GROWS and if all continues to go well, it will be AVAILABLE for SALE on the 15th of JUNE!! YES, Folks, THAT IS SUNDAY! At the very latest, our CD will be available on the 20th. Praise the LORD… He has guided our steps through this process!

And now, back to our regular programming…

Courtney

“Lord, to whom shall we go?”– or the perfect measure of dependence.

I’ve written today’s thoughts as a story…enjoy!

Courtney

“Lord, to whom shall we go?”

“Where has he gone?” the question rippled though the crowd. “The Teacher was here last I saw…but his boat is gone!” “He must have gone to Capernaum” some said. “Perhaps he has gone into the wilderness to pray again,” “Yes, he does pray so often…he must be very devout.” The crowd began to disperse, many finding boats of their own to cross the Sea. They must find this Rabbi who could feed thousands, and get all that he would offer them. They did not know of the miracle that had occured as they slept, how The Teacher and then his follower, had walked upon the rough waters of the Galilean Sea.

The Teacher was indeed on the other side of the Sea, and the crowd question him when they found him. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” The waves slapped the seashore rhythmically as Jesus andswered. “You do not seek me because of the miracles I have done…but because of the bread which I fed you.” He looked around at the milling crowd, most still waiting expectantly for the food they sought. “Do not work for food that spoils…work for food that remains into eternal life which the Son Of Man will give to you! On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.” Jesus searched their faces for understanding…He saw mostly confusion .

“What must we do to do the works of God?” One man called out, eager to change the subject to one more familiar. Jesus turned to the man with a smile. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he sent.” Another man raised his hand. “Teacher! Will you give us a sign to believe that you are this man?”  The man standing beside him, similar in height and look to the man who had just spoken also called out:”What will you do?  Our ancestors ate manna in the desert…it is written ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’.” The rugged galilean man– his words implying that the teacher must do something greater than feed the multitudes mere bread,  was smiling at the excellence of his own question when the Teacher spoke again. ” I tell you the truth,” He said, “It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.” The crowd gasped, looking back and forth at their neighbors as if to say, “Has He DARED to call God his FATHER?” and while the crowd still whispered to each other in shock, Jesus spoke again. “The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  The Teacher stood, an average Jew in both looks and demeanor, waiting for these people who followed him for food to understand TRUTH. Another man, possibly a farmer, with slightly tattered and dusty clothing spoke for the whole crowd when he said, “Teacher, from now on we want THIS bread!” Jesus smiled, looked at the searching people before him, and spoke words that he know many would not wish to hear.

” I AM that bread.”

The astonishment did not stay contained this time. The Teacher had made an enormous claim! Jesus had to shout above the chattering crowd to explain his words further: “He who comes to me shall never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty! ” The crowd began to grow agitated as Jesus further explained his purpose. Finally Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever drinks my flesh and eats my blood has eternal life…” Many people began to leave as he spoke these words, offended that this man would speak in such a graphic manner. Even many of his disciples, offended that The Son of God would suggest that he would defile his body in such a way, or that their beloved teacher would speak something so akin to heresy, left off following Jesus, and walked with him no more. To those who remained, including the twelve who were so close to Him, Jesus asked, “You do not want to leave me too, do you?” and Simon Peter, often so impetuous in his speach, said something wonderful for once: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”  On that day, I too believed. I too, like Peter, needed The Teachers words more than I could doubt their theology. I HAD to believe them, they caused life to spring forth within my bones! I began to see in The Teacher the fulfillment of Torah, the one who would offer himself for us. Later, I understood as I watched This Lamb become the last sacrifice, just how literal HIS words were. I write this as a witness to all that I saw:

 Lemuel bar Gideon, Rabbi of the Synagogue at Capernaum.

* Much of this was paraphrased from the NIV version of John chapter 6.

* While the words taken from the Bible are true and non-fiction, the context in which I have placed them is ficitionalized.

 

Just a thought…

“How can you believe, you who receive honor from one another, but do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?”

These are the words of Jesus, found towards the end of John chapter 5. I got to thinking about them last night as I read, and jotted this down:

Chasing diplomas, a spot on the employee of the month wall, national fame, etc. In short, we want honor, recognition, accolades. But, what if the kind of honor we’re chasing is the kind that won’t matter in the end. What if the honor we’re seeking, the prestige we want, can come only from serving in the Kingdom of God, and not in the Kingdom of this World? What if we’ve lost focus once again on what’s important, and what isn’t? It’s easy to do.

Can You Hear HIM?

Alright, I’ll admit it, I feel like a heel. I’ve let all of my faithful readers down (although I suspect that my readers generally consist only of my mother, mself, and ocassionally a relative or two…if any others are out there, make yourselves known before I start talking to myself more and spouting greek proverbs and mawdry –is that a word?– poetry!). How have I let you down– why, by not posting– of course. Unless I highly overrate my own writing, which could easily be the case as well.

As of late, having time to think once again and all, I have been pondering the question posed in the title: Can You, I, He, She, They, HEAR the Lord? Well, not really the ‘is it possible’ aspect as much as, are we willing to wait for Him to talk to us, are we willing to listen, or are we causing our own deafness so to speak, by focusing on the tools God has given us to use and forgetting why He gave them to us.

I speak mostly to myself here.

It is so easy to get caught up in the trapping of this world: the school, work, play, relationships. It is easy to feel the need to suceed in these areas, and to miss the bigger picture.

Aren’t we called to be the Sons of God, and didn’t He say to use the world and not be used of it? Aren’t we stewards– that is to say the managers, of HIS kingdom on earth– by His power of course–. And if we are managers, like He says, then these things…like Math finals, the Day Job, etc… are small things that we can accomlish through the Lord.

Paul encompasses the idea I am getting at when he writes: “(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)” 1Tim. 3:5

Basically,Paul is saying that, if we can’t be good stewards in the small things (LIKE MATH FINALS…DID I MENTION MATH FINALS?) there is NO way we can manage the KINGDOM of GOD!

But Paul also reminds us that, “[we] can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens [us]” Phil. 4:13

So, now that we have been reassured that there is a way to OVERCOME all of these THINGS we have to deal with on a daily basis– Like Greek Finals (You thought I was going to say Math finals huh? Well, those too)-. Now that these things require less fretting, since they are the “lesser” things Paul speaks about, and therefore not half so important as we supossed. Now that we can set these tasks aside a little oftener without guilt, we can get onto the “greater” things, like the KINGDOM of GOD.

Now, when we get to the point where we actually acknowledge we have a part in God’s Kingdom, we must ask, what is that part? AND NOW WE HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE. To discover the part God would have us fill in HIS Kingdom, we must be listening to Him…but hopefully, the realization that there is greater work THAN MATH FINALS for us to be doing has caused us to be willing (and By us I mean ME… who may be the sole reader of the blog) to set aside time to LISTEN for the Lord. Then my question will be answered: CAN–WILL– WE HEAR–LISTEN TO– HIM?

Courtney

“I Confer On You a Kingdom”

So, now that the time period in which I planned to write is long since gone, and all of my ever faithful readers have turned to new and frequently updated things to read–or quit reading all together? I hope not!– I have finally found time in which to post once more. Hopefully– I make no promises though– I shall be able to begin posting again with greater frequency.

Now, to my topic:

During the last supper, Jesus spoke to His disciples six words which I found fascinating: “I confer on you a kingdom.” Now, I had assumed that by CONFER, Jesus meant GIVE, however a quick dictionary search told me it had a somewhat deeper meaning: It meant to give somebody a characteristic or an idea.

When Jesus conferred on His people a kingdom, He gave it to them in abstract form. He gave them the ability to literally become the kingdom, to ” become sons” if you will. When they accepted that ability That is when the kingdom became real, the disciples became the tangible physical manifestation of God;s kingdom here on the earth.

Jesus said to them “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves… But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones…”

Courtney

“No Sir, I Ain’t Surprised, I Just Burnt My Eyebrows Off”

The above quote– which I have paraphrased from a Richard Peck childrens book that I REALLY enjoyed– Is fun (it is titled The Teacher’s Funeral or some such thing). That is the whole and complete reason for which I used it. However, having giving the quote the significant importance of being the title to my blog post, I may as well comlplete that honor by basing the post on it.

It was only a few years ago that my family rekindled its tradition of reading books together nightly. We were homeschooled and most of us were avid readers on our own, but there was something magic about hearing the words in real time, something vivid about a human voice conveying the emotions held within the page– which is directly linked to why I am an English major and Author in progress–. We started with the biographies of missionaries, moved on to A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, then we read it’s sequel, moved on to The Teachers Funeral, and shortly thereafter progressed to the Narnia series.

Now, a few years later, I am nearly finished with my freshman year in college, two years early. I know that my sucess in life stems from one thing: I can do all things through Christ who strenghthens me. My family taught me that too, while we read the Bible some nights.

Now, I do have a point for this post, but it will take several more posts to set the ground work– so for now here is the intro to a new topic: FATHERLESSNESS, FAMILY, and I don’t know what else.

Quotes from the G.K. Chesterton book “Heretics”

Spring Break is quickly approaching! Evidence of this can be seen in the general lack of hard homework assignments and abundance of barren hallways and classrooms at the university. I have, however, managed to put myself in a situation requiring continued homework efforts during the break– silly me– but my workload should be much less, and thusl I should be able to post some of my own thoughts, instead of relying on the classics. At anyrate, I’ll have to post one more quote: 

In one sense, at any rate, it is more valuable to read bad literature

than good literature.  Good literature may tell us the mind

of one man; but bad literature may tell us the mind of many men.

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel

tells us the truth about its author.  It does much more than that,

it tells us the truth about its readers; and, oddly enough,

it tells us this all the more the more cynical and immoral

be the motive of its manufacture.  The more dishonest a book

is as a book the more honest it is as a public document.

A sincere novel exhibits the simplicity of one particular man;

an insincere novel exhibits the simplicity of mankind.

The pedantic decisions and definable readjustments of man

may be found in scrolls and statute books and scriptures;

but men’s basic assumptions and everlasting energies are to be

found in penny dreadfuls and halfpenny novelettes.  Thus a man,

like many men of real culture in our day, might learn from good

literature nothing except the power to appreciate good literature.

But from bad literature he might learn to govern empires and look

over the map of mankind.