a good Dad

My job comes with a lot of important titles: Oven Fairy, Coffee Hostess with the Mostess, Sizzler, Deli Girl, Smiley, and the list goes on. Today I realized that I have a title that beats all of those ... daughter of the Most High God!

This is what happened. I was making one of my last sandwiches of the day, egg salad on a wheat shorti. A coworker was standing next to me cleaning up my mess (that's the rest of the store's title: Cleaners of Jenny's Messes). As I finished smushing the egg salad onto the roll, using the plastic to push it around the bread so that the entire surface was covered, Debbie my cowoker laughed and took the plastic from me. She, a mother of five, said, "I'll throw out your dirty diaper for you." (Picture a sheet of plastic wrap covered in smears of various shades of yellow.) The customer whose sandwich I was making laughed and said, "No, don't remind me of those days!" They proceeded to bond over how much they enjoy their children being gone, out of their houses, gone far away from their responsibility.

My customer bragged about how he says to his kids, "Don't you bring your problems to me! You're on your own!" He and my coworker laughed, and I could only walk away marveling in my heart.

God is my Father... my Daddy. He will never leave me, nor forsake me. I am held in the palm His righteous right hand, and nothing can pluck me out of His grasp. He will never cast me out. He does not love me and accept me on account of how smart, successful, and independent I am, but on account of His own righteousness that He has imputed on me. Before the foundation of the world, He predestined me unto adoption as a daughter and saved me by His grace because of His great love with which He loved me.

He does not want me to grow up into a solitary independence, like so many earthly fathers desire of their children, but He will come again to get me and to bring me to a place that He has prepared for me, where we will be together throughout all eternity... and not just me, but every son and daughter that He has adopted throughout all the years of history.

The world says, "Daughter, you are twenty-two years old now. You are an adult. I have fulfilled my responsibilities toward you. Now leave me alone until it is time for me to claim my rights from you."

God says, "Wherever you go, I am there already. (Ps. 139) When you cry out to Me for help, I will hear you. I will shake the earth in my anger against your enemies. (Ps. 18)"

What a good God! What a good Dad!

More Idols

Whenever I read the account of how Rachel stole her father's idols and sat on them in a desperate attempt to hide them, I am tempted to ridicule her for her foolishness.

How could she hang on to those man-made deities when she knew the One True God?!?! It seems irrational...crazy even...trading in the glory of God for pitiful broken cisterns.

Yet, as we were shown by Gayline's blog, we all have our precious little idols, don't we? Those things that we cling to and long for when our taste for God's glory loses its savor. Just like Rachel, we pay homage to idols, different idols for every person, but ultimately one idol--SELF.

I was deeply moved by Gayline's willingness to share some of her idols in order that we might be encouraged and aided in our sanctification. Because we are all in different walks of life , I wanted to add the perspective of a young single.

Tuesday through Saturday
Routine (I know it is an idol when I get angry if something disrupts it--alarm clock goes off late, someone in the bathroom when I'm trying to get ready for work, traffic, get out of work late...)

Approval of Others (This is especially true at work. I know this is an idol when I find myself doing something because it will elevate me in my coworkers' eyes instead of doing all things "as unto the Lord." Many times it is a 'good work,' but my motivation is misplaced.)

Personal Appearance (Probably my most frequently served idol...the struggle is always there to want people's approval of my outward appearance rather than the meek and quiet spirit within. This is proven by the unbalanced emotional highs and lows that results from either compliments or put-downs about my appearance.

Sunday
Peace (This is an idol when I get angry if what I consider "peace" is disrupted--my sister puts on her music in the car, my sister doesn't "handle situations" for me so I can 'relax,' too many people on the roads make the commute to church longer and more stressful...

Personal Appearance (This is an idol when I am more worried over my appearance than whether my heart is worshiping the Lord or how I can serve others. Also, it can often lead to despair if I feel I don't look a certain way... moreso than my despair over my sin.)

Monday (My day off)
Rest (When I look forward to resting physically after a long week more than basking in extended time spent alone with the Lord.)

Personal Appearance (You had to know this idol would make an appearance. All of the already given reasons...plus a lot of free time to fixate on it make it an idol on my day off.


But for God's grace, truly, I would be consumed with my various idols and countless more. He is teaching me, through His Word and through the church, to relinquish my grasp on my idols and to make Him the Only God I serve.

(pt.4 Hearing the Word)

Ladies, I am presently caring for Mackenzie, my 14-month-old granddaughter. She is the cutest and the best 14-month-old granddaughter I have. She will be spending 24+ hours with us while her mommy and daddy take her sister for a medical test. She has been all pleasure, no trouble at all.

But I have been freshly reminded of what a lot of work childcare is!!!! The bending, the lifting, the clutter, the washing, the changing, the playing, the reading, all while getting the other household and family needs met. Thankfully at this stage I have reinforcements. Alina, Jonathan and David are eager to serve me when I need an extra set of hands.

As I sit to blog about rightly hearing the Word for mothers of young children, I want to be quick to say, I know how hard it is to juggle life with little ones. I know how tiring it is (I once had 4 under 6). I know how hard it is to get up early to read and pray, or to get out the door on a Sunday morning with a Bible, say nothing about being "fully" prepared for the Word.

Next week when we get together for our "Coffee Break" we'll be hearing helpful teaching from Diane Hunt on how to plan and prioritize our lives according to God's word. I hope you all can come. Because of that good teaching next week, I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that in this blog.

All I want to do is give you a few suggestions for how I cultivate a listening heart in the midst of a busy life. These are only suggestions. Much of these have to do with life with young children but much of it still applies to my life today.

1. When my children were young I had to get up before them. This would be tricky because the kids had a sense for when I was awake. It seemed the earlier I got up the earlier they got up. I was tempted to give up. But then we came up with the music system. The kids were told they had to stay in bed until they heard the music. When my time with the Lord was finished I turned on some worship music and would soon hear the pitter patter of little feet hopping out of their beds.

2. I would get to bed at a reasonable hour. I loved staying up late but I always struggled to get up before the kids when I stayed up too late. This meant I had to give up my caffeine habit after 2 in the afternoon.

3. I played a lot of worship music in the house and in the car. This kept my heart and mind in tune to the Word of God.

4. I ordered my life to include lots of fellowship with other women with children my kids' ages. This kept me from feeling isolated. How did this help my devotional life? When I felt isolated, I tended to distance myself from God and His Word. And we encouraged each other to keep in the Word.

5. Saturday evenings were usually quieter evenings. Baths, preparation for Sunday, family time, and then the kids were off to bed. The rest of the evening was spent with quiet music and reading. I loved it. I love quietness.

6. Sunday morning was not usually stressful because we were mostly prepared Saturday night. But once we got to church I was pretty much on my own. With my husband being a pastor, it was largely up to me to keep both eyes on the kids. And, I usually sat alone (that was when Tim's pastoral role was more formal which meant he sat up front most of the service). This required us to prepare the kids ahead of time. We used to practice having the kids sit still for family reading times. We would even have mini worship times. This helped a lot (it also taught the kids how to sit quietly at the doctors office or in other public contexts). Was I distracted during worship? Of course. But my heart was inclined towards hearing and I believe God honored that and always fed me something from the Word despite the distractions.

7. As mentioned above in #6, the inclination of the heart is what God responds to. Ladies, may I encourage you to spend time in Psalm 119 for a few days? Any Psalm will do, but this Psalm specifically speaks of the relevance of God's word to our lives. Every verse (all 176 of them) refers to the Word of God.

Let me leave you with these verses:

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
Psalm 119:129-133

"Hearing" the Word

Following the suggestion of a TFC sister, I have put up a number of verses in frequented areas of our apartment. I decided to go with passages that speak to our season of life as well as those that speak to everyday activities (i.e. morning, night, going out, etc.). Here's what I've chosen:

Psalm 62:5-8
Psalm 73:26
Psalm 92:1-2
Psalm 121
Psalm 139:1-6
Psalm 139:7-12
Isaiah 40:11
Isaiah 40:28-29
Lamentations 3:21-23
Matthew 11:28-30
1 Corinthians 15:58

What passages have you found that speak to your season in life or your everyday activities? Click comments to share them with us.

American Idols: (pt.3 Hearing the Word)

"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols." I John 5:20-21

Am I an idol worshiper? The commentators in the ESV study Bible write about this verse, "Keep yourselves from idols means keep yourselves from trusting, obeying, revering, and following - that is, in effect, worshiping - anyone or anything other than God Himself, and His Son Jesus Christ."

Hmm. Steve spoke on Sunday about the thorns of this world that choke the Word. Jesus describes the thorns as, "the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things". Desires for other things. Cares of the world. Deceitfulness of riches. Hmmmm again.

My husband grew up in Japan where practically every Japanese home had an idol shelf. Are Americans any different? We may not have our idols on display for all to see, but idols are nevertheless very much a threat to our single-hearted devotion to Christ and hunger for the Word.

When am I, an American woman saved by grace, an idolator? Sadly, I could make this a very long post if I was to reveal to you all the idols of my heart. I will limit my soul-bearing to the idols that have at times choked the Word from my heart.

Sunday
1. My agenda - (sleep, food, ministry) is more important to me than quieting my heart before worship
2. My appearance - when I have time to "fix myself up" rather than prepare my heart for the Word.
3. My ministry - when I have things I MUST do or people I MUST talk to before I talk to God.
4. My pride - when I hear the word and feel conviction but do not respond by seeking out a prayer-team member for help.
5. My rest - Sundays are tiring. For me it is the end of my week. I want my rest more than reflection.

Monday
1. My rest - Tim's day off - time to sleep in (resting one day of the week may not be idolatry)
2. My husband - always a temptation to invest more time with Tim than the Lord but I think I have this in balance.

Tues.
1. My control - after a day off, the idol of order screams at me to "catch up". I am tempted to give in and get things
done. Or when I do have quiet time my mind races to the things I need to do later.
2. My rest - notice a pattern here? Sadly this idol demands a 7 day worship service.
3. My exercise - when exercise is more important to me than the Word of God I know I'm idolizing it
4. My family - the needs are many. How can I meet them all if I don't begin to serve them NOW!!
5. My self - when I go about my day independent of God's Word guiding me, and seeking His help through prayer, I am idolizing myself. I am saying I am self-sufficient rather than relying on God's strength and wisdom.

Wed.
1. My pride - tonight is care group in my home. Too much to do before then, especially the housecleaning (can't let anybody see dust!!)

Thurs.
1. My self - stayed up to late on the computer after caregroup, I "need" to sleep in.

Thurs.pm
1. My pleasure - even though I've exercised my Christian liberty to watch a movie and a bit of television this week, I miss an opportunity to begin to read through the many binders of excellent notes from seminars I've attended. Though I know this will be pleasure it requires more effort than sitting back and watching more TV. I choose TV.

Fri.
1. My guilt - I approach God's word but am distracted by my unconfessed sin. I know there is unresolved relational differences like Steve described on Sunday. Why bother?

Sat.
1. My possessions - It's Saturday. A good yard sale day, - the early bird gets the worm!!! Gotta get ready to go get more stuff!!
2. My pride - It's Saturday. Time to get busy cleaning the house. Too much to do to seek after God.
3. My rest - stayed up late again last night - more television and computer use. Everyone else has today off, shouldn't I sleep in too?

Sat. pm
1. My agenda - again, too much to do to be still and prepare for the next day. Anger and impatience with the kids spills over into Sunday morning where more idol worship occurs again.

Well there you have it! Yuck. Not a pretty picture. Thankfully not all of the above is present everyday. But honestly, all of the above has been an idol that has kept me from hearing the Word of God at one time or another. Can anyone relate? If you can, I want to remind you of the difference between guilt and conviction (read yesterday's entry). I do not want to leave you in guilt and condemnation. I want to direct you to the joy of God's grace through the cross of Christ.

If you scroll back to the top of this entry, re-read the verse from 1 John 5. Before John tells us to keep ourselves from idols, John reminds us the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true!! And we are in Him who is true!!! I am in Him because Christ died to bring me to Him. If I do not read the Word one day or the next God will not love me less. God loves me based on the work of Christ for me. If I do not read the Word one day or the next He does not love me less but I may find my heart growing indifferent to His voice and I may love Him less.

"Lord, please keep me from the love of idols. By your grace and mercy poured out to me by Your Son on the cross, give me a greater hunger and thirst for You and You alone."