The B-I-B-L-E

The Good News Today Is...we have the good book. I'm not talking about the latest Nora Roberts mystery romance either, although I do like her books. The bible is here and is ours to read, peruse, study. I just read an interview with Eugene Peterson - the man who changed the way we look at the bible by writing The Message. As I struggle with making sure I understand biblical context and I do appropriate exegetical studying, Peterson suggests to forgo all that we have been taught and Eat This Book:A Conversation in Spiritual Reading. I have not read Peterson's book but in this interview he gives a brief overview of his thoughts. He suggests we read the bible using a technique called "lectio divina". This technique involves four steps that should be repeated over and over in any particular order until we absorb what we have read and we feel it's meaning. The basic concept is to listen, reflect, pray and obey. This is just another step in understanding what the bible has to offer us that is relevant in our world today. I'm not sure we should give up the intellectual study of the bible but I believe we should always listen, reflect, pray and obey. If we don't do that then we lose the purpose behind the scriptures. The bible isn't just another good read, it is the book of life.

Such Drama

The Good News Today Is....I get to be in a play. I've always enjoyed drama - and I mean that in a good way! "The Season of Lent involves the telling of the same old story that invites us to become participants in the drama. If we choose to act in this great Passion Play we shall find ourselves called to be experiments in vulnerability. We will have set in motion a course of events totally beyond our control." (Alan Jones, Passion for Pilgrimage). The good thing is that I don't have to try out for a part, I am perfect for a part in this play and already 100% accepted - there is no chance I might be rejected - my job is to choose to participate. Find your inner drama queen and join in the Passion today.

There is a Time for Everything

The Good News Today Is...we are in the season of Lent. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. I'm saddened to say that I never thought of that once all day yesterday. What was I thinking....I was wrapped up in the piles of work on my desk, in grocery shopping and cooking dinner, doing dishes..and yes watching American Idol. So I missed Ash Wednesday altogether. Today I am repentant and feeling like a fool. I only remembered it was lent when I read this article at ChristianityToday.com; Stations of the Cross - Without the Cross. It is a good read. It is a reminder that there is a time and a season for everything. A time to do good works and a time to quietly worship God and allow God to do the good works. We do need to be careful that during the season of Lent we don't get so wrapped up in programs that we forget the crucifixion. We are in a season of remembering Christ and what Christ did for us on the cross. I may have forgotten ash Wednesday, but I don't plan on forgetting the cross.

Ahhh...a Sigh of Relief!

The Good News Today Is....all the tax forms and Fafsa forms are complete. Three kids in college is a good way to get heartburn. The amount of paperwork due in an inordinate amount of time makes me prone to ulcers. But now I can take a deep breath...inhale...exhale...sigh! I'm done for a few months - at least until it's time to fill out everything for the student loans. This too shall pass. This morning I've been singing my heart out..."Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." It has been keeping me sane to be standing on the cornerstone - steady as I go.

Little Reminders

The Good News Today Is....we have little reminders in life....
for when we need them most.

Praise and Worship

The Good News Today Is...I learned the difference between being thankful and praising. Being thankful to God is a reaction to receiving something you wanted, praising God is being grateful at all times, whether you have received anything or not. I guess I had never really thought about it before until I read it somewhere else. Worship is showing a reverent love and devotion to God. So...now that I have the terms straight in my mind, I don't have to wait until Sunday morning service to praise and worship. Sometimes we get it in our minds that praise and worship are always through music and a church service, but we can praise and worship anywhere, anytime, anyhow. "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O, Lord is the kingdom; you are exalted as head overall." 1Ch 29. Sometimes I have to read that verse a couple of times over in order to take it all in; the awe of that statement. That is praiseworthy.

Be Careful What You Wish For

The Good News Today Is...God really does give you the desires of your heart...so guard your heart. For example, I realized that when I was younger and always struggling with my weight, I used to wish that eating would make me sick. Well - 20 years later and two surgeries later - I can't eat my favorite foods without getting violently ill. So this is an extreme and I'm sure this wasn't really what I had in mind, but ohhh did I desire it at one time. Now the desires of my heart are much more in tune with the will of God. As we mature we desire to know what plans God has for us and how we can be obedient to those plans. I loved this picture because I love to take long walks down quiet country roads and listen for the still small voice that I now delight in. The desires of my heart are now the result of the delight in the Lord, instead of my delight in the Lord coming from receiving the desires of my heart.

Time to Refresh

The Good News Today Is...I can take a couple of days off. When life is in our face, we need to take a couple of days off and go "out to a mountainside to pray". That's not really what I'm doing, but I will have a couple of days off from work after working hard to finish up year end accounting in the office. It just happens I will be going to keep my daughter company for a couple of days and the timing couldn't be better. I'm tired and I've been running around like a mad woman trying to get it all done on a schedule. A schedule that doesn't have enough hours in each day to accomplish everything that needs getting done. So for the next couple of days I will kick back and I have no schedule, no agenda...just a time of refreshing. We all need times of refreshing and then we can jump back into life and live it to it's fullest - being all that God intended we be.

Interviews

The Good News Today is...my daughter is interviewing for medical school. This is her dream, to become a doctor. Interviewing with medical school is like interviewing with God she thinks...they seem to have her fate in their hands. She is gifted in so many ways, but I can guarantee she will have the best bedside manner you can ever imagine. She has a way about her which allows the grace of God to shine through her. I see it all the time as she interacts with her private care families. They don't want to lose her to medical school - they want to keep her for themselves until they don't need private care anymore. I know she will excel wherever God puts her...of course I want that to be medical school because that is what she wants. For her though...I truly wish for God's plan to be worked out. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable great power for us who believe." Eph 1:18-19a. Love you - and wish you the best today.

Little Discoveries

The Good News Today Is....there are so many places we can go to read the word of God. I often read other Christian blogs and devotionals. I try to never write mine by taking parts of someone else's blog...so this time I'm just going to link right over to this devotional by Max Lucado. It's worth reading and thinking about. Max Lucado is a great author and an inspiration to thousands. I particularly liked this devotional and hope you do to. Discoveries of things in the bible that we read right over time and time again, but don't see until someone points them out to us, are like little treasures. This one is the treasure of getting a second chance.

Potentially Perfect

The Good News Today Is...God sees our potential. We have no idea what our true potential is, our job is to just keep trying and growing in God's grace. "'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.'" Jer 29:11 Take one step at a time and let God lead the way. You will blossom into the person God has made you to be.

Be My Valentine

The Good News Today Is..."Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Mat 5:8 Happy Valentines Day...share your heart with those you love.

I'm A Nut

Someone once said, "Every majestic oak tree was once a nut that stood its ground." A mature oak tree produces an average of 2,200 acorns a year. Some years a healthy oak can produce 10,000 acorns. Imagine one little nut creating between 2,200 - 10,000 more nuts every year. Just one nut can do miraculous things when God is doing the gardening. So, I say, let's all be little nuts for God!

Sounds Surprising

The Good News Today Is...someone e-mailed this video to me and I loved it. Hope you love it, too!

Ripples Wide and Far

The Good News Today Is...charity is still in vogue. The headline reads 7 Oxford Hills Employees Spared From Layoffs. When the school budget in small town Maine was stretched so thin that 7 employees were going to be laid off to make ends meet, the other school employees rallied and gave up some of their pay to ensure the seven could keep their jobs. That is the greatest thing I have heard of in a long while. The seven were valuable employees, from teachers to janitors, but they were going to be jobless. More than $70,000 was donated from the rest of the staff in an effort to help those seven keep their jobs. Of course it's not just about the seven, but the seven hundred (or more) they serve within the school system, and the thousands who read about this act of kindness. The ripple effect is incredible in this scenario. My prayer today is that this attitude and love is contagious - causing others to reach out and help those in need. I pray that the example set by these good people will have a wave like ripple effect, touching others, not only in monetary ways, but in ways beyond their imagination. Amen.

It's All Good

The Good News Today Is..."God saw all that he had made and it was very good." Gen 1:31 Today take a few moments to appreciate all that God has made - including you!

Love is in the Air

The Good News Today Is...there is love. I've also been told that if you try really hard, you can like almost everyone. The hardest thing for us to do is to look at others through the eyes of God and not as they appear outwardly. Just remember that God is particularly fond of all of his creation. "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1Jo4:7. Make it a point to take the time to really open your eyes and see them for what they are as a child of God, not as what they appear to be. And then....smile!

Extraordinary Theology

The Good News Today Is....we all get to develop our own theology. Some may think that theology is something we learn from a book, but recently I have had my idea of what theology is challenged. In the book Confessions of a Beginning Theologian theology is explained quite differently. "It's about learning to discern the extraordinary hand of God in the midst of ordinary time filled with people doing ordinary things." I was just commenting to a friend whose husband needs care in a hospital that is further from home than the usual hospitals. Twice this week myself and a family member have been randomly scheduled for meetings in the city where my friend is all alone sitting vigil at her husband's bedside. We have been able to go "help her sit" when typically we would not have been able to travel that distance to visit. God's hand is in this. While we were going about our ordinary day, we had an ordinary visit with a friend in an extraordinary way. Now that's not deep theology, but it's a beginning - a beginning of understanding a relationship with God. It's a good place to begin.

My List

The Good News Today Is...."It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Psa 18:32 Some days it takes all of our strength just to swing our feet out of bed and start a new day. Luckily we have help. Today my "to-do" list is longer than I am tall....I need all of the help I can get!

Gratitude Attitude

The Good News Today Is... I am grateful....for something. I recently met a woman who is trying to change "Hump Day" to "Gratitude Day." We understand that we always have a reason to be grateful for something, but we don't always take the time to actually be grateful for anything. So assigning Wednesday to be "Gratitude Day" instead of ...hurumph..."Hump Day" is a mission she is on. I love it! Having a particular day where you wake up and actually remember to be grateful is a great idea. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with all gratitude in your hearts to God." Col 3:16. I am grateful today that this woman thought of having a Gratitude Day!!!!

Keep on Learning

The Good News Today Is....I am off to learn. I am going to a seminar today and I will learn a lot of new things (hopefully). "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge." Pro 23:21. Ok..so I'm pretty sure this wasn't written for all of us that try to earn our CEU's so we can post them in our office...but they are words of wisdom. Be open to learning, and how each and every thing you learn should be applied to your life through the eyes of God. Our journey should be filled with learning and building knowledge that will help us apply The Good News.

Jobs are Scarce

The Good News Today Is...I still have a job. We are hearing more and more about people who are losing their jobs. It is a scary time we live in. I am the prime breadwinner in our family, so losing my job could be devastating. I know how much money we are supposed to have in savings yet mine is empty - 3 kids in college last year and that pretty much took care of our savings. Yet I know we will make it through these times....I just don't know how. My job is fairly secure - though it is in the housing industry so.....anything could happen. As more people lose their jobs across the country, the crime rate is rising. Desperation is taking people down roads they would never have dreamed walking down. This is a time for us to rally and help our brothers and sisters who lose their jobs. Sometimes we can help financially - sometimes it's just encouragement we can offer. It is always in the back of my mind that if not for the grace of God - there go I. "Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy."Psa 86:6. When times look bleak look to God for your answers.

Do Everything in Love

The Good News Today Is...we can "Do everything in love." 1Cr 16:14 Love is what gives us the strength we need to do everything - even the hard stuff. I was reading a fellow blogger this morning who is having difficulty with the aging and impending death of her father. We can walk with our loved ones through these difficult times, because our love will give us the strength to do that. When we concentrate on our love for others we will be amazed at what we can do. Obedience, discipline, care giving, servitude, patience....it's all possible when it's done in love.

The Road is Not Paved

The Good News Today Is....lambs have thick wool...."Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." Luk 10:3 Venturing out and spreading the Good News can require thick skin (or wool) sometimes. Do not be discouraged...but awake each day willing to do what it is that God is asking you to do that day. There may be bumps along the road but He will make a way!

The Best Dad

The Good News today Is... miracles still do happen. At least for one six year old who opened his birthday present and found his daddy-home from Iraq, inside the box. Gabriel was celebrating his birthday at school when prompted to open the BIG box. You can read the story here. I thought there were a couple of really extraordinary things about this article - other than Gabriel getting to see his dad who he hadn't seen in months. One was that this 23 year old dad would go to such lengths to surprise his son. I love the fact that there are young fathers out there that adore their children so much that even though they are tired and probably just wanted to get home and call it a day, still would take the time to plan a surprise for their son. He wins daddy of the year award in my book! The second thing that really grabbed me about this article was the fact that Gabriel understood that his daddy would have to leave again soon - "He works in the war." He works in the war.... that's how this child thinks. His dad obviously has been pretty humble about what he does. He serves this country. He is a servant of freedom. Wow - this dad gets even extra bonus points from me. I want to meet him, but of course I probably can't - so I'll keep him in my prayers. Thank-you Gabriel's dad! (Army Spc Casey Hurles).