The Real Value of Gold

I was packing my husband's lunch for the day.
There was a shiny gold candy in its wrapper on the counter.
At 4:30 in the morning.
It looked all sparkly in the light from over the sink.

I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp,
you should really see her blog http://aholyexperience.com/ ,
and the book is about eucharisteo and seeing God's blessings around you
and giving thanks.

So I look at the shiny gold wrapper
and I say that you Lord that you tell us Heaven
has streets of gold
even though I don't know why.
I'd never really been a girl who said, "Oooo, gold streets."
I'm more a country lane, cobblestone street kinda girl.
Little more farm and a little less flash.

But do you know what my heart heard
at 4:30 in the morning
that made me stand amazed?

"Because the world's treasures
are only good enough
for the dust of your feet."

If what the world calls valuable is
nothing more than building material--
gold, pearls, precious stones (Revelation 21:15-21),
what does He consider treasure?

What is truly valuable when it is seen in its true light?
What would He tell us to treasure?

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:1-3

"He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." Isaiah 33:6

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you,
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!
And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink;
do not worry about it.
For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out,
a treasure in Heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near
and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Luke 12:27-34

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us." II Corinthians 4:6-7


"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,
but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." I Timothy 6:17-19

I don't know about you, but I'd surely like to take hold of a life that is truly life.
Because this frantic dash that we call life often doesn't feel like truly living.

Thank you God for a tiny glimpse of your truth
brought in a shiny gold wrapper.
May we see the world rightly today
see the costly things of this world in the proper perspective--
brick, cobbles, timber, layers under our feeet--
and what feels so common, so ordinary,
as the treasure it is.

What I Love

Do you know what I love?

I love those moments when I realize

God has been listening to my conversations.

He's heard my words.

He has known my thoughts.

And He lets me know He's been listening...

So clearly I have to laugh out loud.

And then He sweetly points the way.

He always waits to speak...

until He knows I am honestly ready to listen.

Oh how I wish those moments, those moments when I am truly willing to listen,

were not so few.

Cut It Out

I was working in one of my flowerbeds yesterday pruning away some of the dead parts of the flowers that had left it looking like a spindly brown mess.

It reminded me of conversations I've had with my neighbor. I'm more of a perennial planter. She's an annual gal. She prefers the fullness I get from flowers but says she can't stand not to rip plants out when they finish blooming.

As I was snipping away I was very thankful that God doesn't share Mrs. Brenda's plant policy. We flower and flourish in our faith and then we go through some dry patches or wilt in the heat of trial. These fluctations leave us with some spindly patches of unproductive "dead wood" in our lives.

He patiently and tenderly cuts away at those things, sometimes even the parts that once were lovely, to leave us healthier, stronger, and ready to take on the winters that are to come.

When we shy away from the shears everyone notices. Our neglected spot are apparent to the passerby. And, the places that need tending are brittle. A little lopping and we look better, we feel better and we are extraordinarily more productive.

So I'm thankful for the pruning process. It has many times been hard, sometimes cost me things or relationships that I held very dear, but it is necessary.

And it sure beats ending up in the compost pile.

Food for Thought--The Real Voice

Right now at my house there are rumbles of thunder and one of our famous afternoon thunderstorms is brewing. It reminded me of something I read earlier in the week.

Psalm 29--Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;

the voice of the Lord is majestic.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;

the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord twists the oaks

and strips the forests bare.

And in His temple all cry, "Glory!"

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord is enthroned as King forever.

The Lord gives strength to His people;

the Lord blesses His people with peace.

How often we say we want to hear God speak to us when all we really want is a little confirmation of what we're thinking on our own. The voice of the Lord is so much more than a feel-good moment during a Sunday morning worship service or a certain passage you happen to flip to that 'speaks to you'.

The voice of the Lord is powerful. It thunders. It strikes like lightning to your very heart. It electrifies. It rattles us out of our comfort zone. You cannot remain unchanged by it. It is unmistakable.

Even when it whispers. (I Kings 19:11-19)

On television they're looking for The Voice. Let's remember that we already know where the voice is coming from, and keep an ear open for its distant rumblings.

P.S. Stay tuned next week. I've got something swirling around in my little head. Get ready to join the club!

Food for Thought Friday--A Little Reminder

I read over this passage when I was having my quiet time this morning. Kids are still in bed, Jon's off to work, it's just me, my Bible, and a cup of coffee. It's such a great group of verses I wanted to share them with you as you head off into the weekend. They remind us of who He is, that we have a purpose and a precise place, and of how He wants a relationship with each of us.

Acts 17:24-28 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.'"

The great God of heaven and earth created you for this exact place, for this precise moment. He is reaching out to you, longing for a relationship. He is not far.

I pray that you do know Him. That you seek Him.

Acts 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you,'' declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you..."

Answered Prayer

Well I said yesterday on the blog that I was praying for rain. I guess someone was listening because it rained yesterday afternoon when there was only a 50% chance (around here that usually means no chance) and AGAIN this afternoon when it wasn't really supposed to rain at all. Thank you, Lord!

Now let's pray for our friends Ruth and Debbie. Ruth is a faithful reader of the blog and a sweet friend. Her daughter Debbie also has a blog, The Early Bird, which you can access from my blog list. Ruth's husband Bill is in the hospital in ICU.

Bloomin' the Best We Can

I found this pretty surprise as I was going into the workshop (a.k.a. home of all that won't fit in the house) and it was tucked behind another plant, trying its hardest to peek around and get noticed. It was twice as big as any of the other rose blooms, seeming to say, "Winter's right around the corner and I'm giving it all I've got while I can." It's such a pretty red and has a yellow center. Giving it your all can lead to some amazing results.

That leads me into what I wanted to mention to you today. I came across something in a book that I was rereading yesterday morning while I ate breakfast. I hadn't noticed it the first time. (Rereading can also offer pretty, maybe I should say pleasant, surprises.) The issue was women and prayer. Here's the quote from Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy--"...why do we need to lift up our voice in prayer? Because it's not good for women to be silent. We need to get real life off our chests. Get whatever's bedeviling us out into the open, so that we can get on with it. We can't do that when we're stuck, and women do get stuck, in a kind of self-destructive holding pattern, when they're silent...women pray because we need to talk to Someone who's really listening."

It was so true and said in a way that made so much sense. We all know having a prayer life is important, but it always seems to be the greatest struggle. Why is that? Because, it has the potential to be our greatest strength! As women, we are constantly talking things through in our heads. This is what I want to say to...I should have said...I wish I could tell this person...I need to talk to him about... What a valuable resource we are missing out on!

All those things do not have to just rattle around in your brain (with most never seeing the light of day). To get what we so need, to do what we were created to do, we simply need to turn those thoughts into prayers. "Lord, this is what I want to say to (insert person), help me to choose my words correctly and give me the opportunity to speak. I pray that as I do, I would have the opportunity to demonstrate your love in my speech, my tone, and my actions." It can be as simple as "Lord, this is what was said to me. It makes me madder than I don't know what, and you're gonna have to help me sort this out."

We were designed to be talkers. We're just not talking to the right person! Your friends are willing to listen, your kids are forced to, and (bless his poor heart) your husband's trying, but they're the wrong ones. At least until we've gone to the right one first. If we would just do that, we would be amazed at the difference in our lives. I imagine 90% of the things we're just busting at the seams to tell someone would be let go of without uttering a word to anyone but Him. Think of the needless conflict we'd be spared. Prayer is meant to give God our heart, to lay it all out in honest conversation with Him and allow Him to heal us, to help us, to instruct us, so we can get on with the task of living...So maybe we should be like my sweet little rose, let's know our time is limited and put all our effort into having our full impact.

For today's post, I'm linking up with Rednesday. Be sure to visit all the other people too, and especially our sweet host at http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/