Dead Serious Refining

My sister's friend's house burned down in the recent Texas' fires. The friend and her husband were very wealthy and very godly. Had they not been seasoned saints, the "oddity" of the fact that the house next door was unscathed, could have been more than vexing.

After combing through the ashes, the only things they found were 3 ceramic plates that had these words, "I Love You" on them.

Do you think there was any significance in that? They did. In the midst of the shock and sorrow of it all, they sense that their God is with them. In the midst of the shock and sorrow of it all, they sense they are to rebuild, but this time, a much simpler life.

I am awed by the seriousness with which the "refining fire" goes about accomplishing It's purposes in our lives.

Hold Fast

I often ask myself the question, Is this the abundant life? Is the life I'm living, abundant? In other words, is there validity to the claim that an abundant life can be found in Christ Jesus?

I was watching the movie, "Moneyball," in which the General Manager of the Minor League Baseball Team, the Oakland Athletics, and his Assistant were one of the first to commit their futures and the future of the team to an Abstract Truth. The Abstract Truth happened to be, Statistics Don't Lie, but that is beside the point.

After they did that, nothing seemed to verify that their Truth was true.  (They lost 8 games in a row). At that point, the Assistant Manager (the statistician) said, "The sample pool is too small to draw any conclusions from." In other words, hold the course - your Truth is true.

I think our days are similar. It takes a while for the sample pool of our days to grow in order for us to experience Christ's claims. My latter days are more peaceful and more serene and more joyful than my former days. We need Statisticians to remind us that our Truth is true and to hold fast till our sample days grow.

How Does Change Happen?

I come from a Charismatic background in which one of the tenets is that God heals us (changes us) through prayer, through the laying on of hands, and through fasting (an apophatic approach to God). Somewhere inside of me, the truth that God heals supernaturally slid from that (appropriate) position to the (not appropriate) position that that is the only legitimate way that change occurs and if you seek any other way, you have dishonored God, you've abdicated, you've failed.

So as a Counselor, I ponder a lot how change happens. After all, people are coming to me for guidance in, how does one change? I've concluded that God does heal supernaturally in the area of emotions just like He heals supernaturally our physical bodies. But just like physical healings are rare, so are emotional healings rare. But if my clients want to go the supernatural route, I encourage them to do that.

But if they don't want to go that route, I am grateful that God has given all of us the ability to change by changing our thoughts. We don't have to go to meetings and wait for The Spirit that seems to "move" on some and not on others. When we change our thoughts, we change our actions. When we change our actions, we change our habits. When we change our habits, we change our character. When we change our character, we change our destiny - a sure way of "salvation".

As the Charismatics would say,"Thank you, Jesus!"

Christ Came as a Firefighter

I'm watching a 9/11 documentary about the audio record left by the people in the Twin Towers. One of the audio records was from the only firefighter who made it to the point of impact on the 78th floor.

Of course, as we watch the arrows ascend up the building as he reports his progress on his radio in climbing the stairs, we are sick to our stomachs because we are all aware that he is racing to his death. At some moment, he bursts through a door and I can only imagine the relief the people on that floor felt as they watched someone emerge from "out there".


Like the firefighter, Christ rushes "up the stairs" to our side at our point of need. Like the firefighter, Christ suffers as a result of caring enough to intervene.  Like the firefighter, He dies with us. Unlike the firefighter, He invites us to live with him after death.


We are not alone. There is nothing wrong with us because we are in pain, because we have fear, because we are insecure. Christ rushes to our side from the Outside, from eternity, tells us we are not alone, tells us this is not the end of the story, tells us He cares,.

Totally Daunting

I have been wrestling my mind into "submission" and am still daunted by what it is I'm wrestling. The layers seem to never end and each layer struts with assurance that it's story is reality and there is no other story and therefore I'm doomed.

For instance, when I'm told that the daughter of a friend is getting married to her sweetheart, I feel flaming darts through my heart. If I gave thoughts to those darts,  my thoughts would say, "You were never loved like that. You were never adored like that."

The wrestling happens when I challenge that reality - I argue - I come up against my identity (the Unloved One) - I exhort myself and say, "Truth says that you can experience love two ways - you can be loved and/or you can love."

I remind myself that I can experience love, by being loving - something I have total control over.  Ahhh, but the wrestling, the grappling, the taking of the "thought" by the throat and saying, you are a lie at worst and a half truth at best. I will not be tormented by you. Totally daunting.

(And by the way, it works.)

Savoring - Giving Oneself Moments of Pleasure

One of the tenets of Intuitive Eating is learning to savor ones food - consciously being aware of the food's texture and color and taste as you eat it. This takes learning a new skill set and this new skill set takes time and it takes attention.

As I put down my books and allow myself to be aware of the tastes and textures of food, I am giving myself moments of pleasure, what food was suppose to be in addition to energy-gathering.

As I'm giving myself moments of pleasure by way of savoring my food, I am also aware that this same skill set can be used in other times of my life. I can enrich my life by savoring the cicadas' chatter, by savoring my granddaughter's glee, and by savoring my ability to walk without pain.

As I contemplate my future, I remind myself that my future can consist of a plethora a moments that are savor-able. What a wonderful future is mine - one I give myself and no one and nothing can take away from me!