Prying the Mirror Off the Wall

Don’t I beg you, only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding yourselves. The man who simply hears and does nothing about it is like a man catching the reflection of his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, it is true, but he goes on with whatever he was doing without the slightest recollection of what sort of person he saw in the mirror.

But the man who looks into the perfect mirror of God’s law, the law of liberty (or freedom), and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who sees and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness.  James 1:22-25, J.B. Phillips New Testament

source: _Dimitry

Back in Nashville, my friend Lee had the biggest mirror I'd ever seen in her dining area. It was an open dining area, across from the stairs, really with just one wall. That mirror covered most of the one wall. It was simply enormous.

Sometimes I was a little freaked out to watch myself eat in that mirror. Was that really what I looked like? What others were seeing as I stuffed my face? Ew.

There is a way I like to think that I am and a way I really am. I am a chronic mirror-checker: is that really me? Are my eyebrows that bushy? Am I really THAT big?

I wonder how I would behave in a house with mirrored walls. If I had to watch my every move, see my face when I discipline my children in anger. Watch myself be slothful as I choose the computer over exercise or housecleaning or parenting.

It scares me, the thought of Someone watching. He sees not only all those outside faces and words but the doubts and scary thoughts and depression and anger that dance around in my head. I, like the man James describes, can turn from my Bible and immediately forget faith, forget Him. Not seeing straight.

I don't want to live in fear of mirrors. Inner, outer, all over. I only want to be mirror myself, reflecting Him as He watches me. Break the mirrors from the wall and mosaic them to my body.

Can you see it? Glowing with Him?

Let's do it. Let's break the mirrors.

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31 Days of Reading Well: Day 9, Bibles and Devotionals

"He cared for them [the Israelites] with a true heart and led them with skillful hands." Psalm 78:72

The same skillful hands that led the Israelites lead me today. A wondrous thought! Am I as precious to Him as they? I know the answer - it's found in a Love Letter and nailed, scarred hands and feet.

I wonder if He is ever impatient, full of fire at our tactless lethargy. Has it really taken us more than two thousand years to spread His Gospel to all people?

Where the God of Jeremiah had righteous anger, where He literally saw blood - the spilt blood of Israel - He now sees just The Blood. Blood of His lamb. The only sacrifice that made Him breathe deeply and say, "Yes. That. Is. Enough." Thank You, Jesus.

Black as my sins were,
He said, "I will take them
Pound them to My feet
Push them to My skull
Anchor Me to the cross
For your communion
Your atonement
Your redemption
    - Your chance."

____

I share these thoughts from my journal yesterday to say this: read the Bible. It's the only Book that is different each time you read, enlightened by the Holy Spirit and circumstance.

It is a beautiful love story, the story of God's pursuit of you and the events He knit to make sure you would be with Him.

I use a MacArthur Study Bible that I love. It's been a long time since I had a study Bible, and I really enjoy having the notes and concordance right there to read. I've always admired John MacArthur. I don't always agree 100% with his commentary, but it does help enlighten many of the historical and etymological issues.

I've also been reading from the One Year Bible for Women. I guess the pinkness and lovely designs inside make it "for women." It's just your basic one-year Bible, but I think the length and mixture of each day's reading is good.

I am not a huge devotional reader, but I do pick up My Utmost for His Highest every once in a while. This is one area where I really do think I would like to have a Kindle or other e-reader, so I could read when I have a chance: waiting in a parking lot to get Libbie from preschool, waiting at doctor appointments, etc. I've heard such high praise of Jesus Calling that I would like to pick that one up someday soon.


Do you have a favorite Bible translation, study Bible, or devotional?



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Ten

We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 

2 Corinthians 4:8-10, HCSB

Past:
Nine Years, New News
That Day

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Can a Fool Be Wise?

Because:

• I'm tired
• I've been working on lots of freelance stuff
• I haven't slept a whole night in at least six months
• I don't have anything new to say

I'm "rerunning" this post from October 2009. Enjoy, and looking forward to hearing your comments.



I've always struggled with Job.

While I consider God's admonition in the last chapters of the book my second-favorite Scripture passage, I am never quite sure what to do with the rest of the lengthy chapters.

If you're not familiar with the biblical Book of Job, the short version is that Satan asks God for permission to afflict Job with many painful situations after God cites that Job is His most faithful servant on earth. So God allows it. Job's children are all killed, all his riches taken away, and his body inflicted with boils from head to toe. Wearily, he sits on his doorstep and scrapes at his boils with broken pottery.

That's when his three buddies come to visit. Over the course of many chapters, they try to convince him of all kinds of crazyness. Then in the end God swoops in, reprimands Job and his dumb friends, and then restores everything to Job. Of the friends, God says, "I am angry with you ... you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has" (42:7).

So here's what I've always battled with: is there any merit in the words of Job's friends throughout the Book of Job? Can we quote those passages out of context as Truth?

It seems to me that they do say some insightful things:

"See how happy the man is God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty" (5:17).

"We were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow" (8:9).

"It is impossible for God to do wrong and for the Almighty to act unjustly" (34:10).


Working in the world of Bible studies, I know we HAVE done exactly this, taken the friends' words for the wisdom they seem to be. But God Himself said the friends were fools? It's a strange dichotomy.

I believe that everything in Scripture is there for a reason. Certainly there are many truths that can be scraped from the falsehoods in this text. It's a life lesson not to let even your most trusted friends draw you away from what you know to be true. A perfect example of standing up for what you believe in and remaining pure in heart.

But still, I wonder. Can we quote the words of fools as good, as Truth?

What do you think?



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Appearance of Love

I wield my vacuum as a weapon, valiantly sucking away the crumbs and hair and dust that tells of our everyday existence. Creating a story that is not my own, one where I am tidy and my children are constantly bathed and my stove does not have dirty pots on it. All for the sake of someone I know doesn't truly care.

I still feel the urge. The need to hide what's there, what is true. The knowledge of what I need to fix in myself. The disgust with my body, my home, the ants dancing across the bathroom floor.

Do I do the same thing here, in my home on the Web? Show only what I think others can stomach; make myself look better, holier, thinner than I am?

I revel in the sacred moments but fail to reveal that they are too rare. I've not shared with many my Lenten sacrifices, because I would be forced to admit I have fully kept to neither.

I tell of my battle with depression, but not about the day where I couldn't stop crying and screamed at my babies and had to have a friend take them somewhere else.

I don't ever want to be too proud to be true. In love, I show you who I am. Run quickly, or stay around and have a cup of coffee and confess that you, too, screw up. I'll love you either way.

_______

I want to turn Romans 12 into a painting, something I can see in my house every day:

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
 ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”  says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:
   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (NIV).

Here is some of Matthew Henry's commentary on verses 9-16:

"True Christian love will make us take part in the sorrows and joys of each other. Labour as much as you can to agree in the same spiritual truths; and when you come short of that, yet agree in affection. Look upon worldly pomp and dignity with holy contempt. Do not mind it; be not in love with it. Be reconciled to the place God in his providence puts you in, whatever it be. Nothing is below us, but sin. We shall never find in our hearts to condescend to others, while we indulge conceit of ourselves; therefore that must be mortified."

True Love. Reconciled.

I seem to recall a fitting picture of those words.

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Alphabet Bible Crafts: A and B

On Libbie's birthday, October 27, she turned 2 and I decided it was high time we started some Bible learnin' around here. I have long admired Amanda's alphabet crafts at Impress Your Kids and thought that would be a good place to start. So we did A.

Libbie didn't even try to say the Bible verse and was mostly concerned with plastering stickers all over the picture.

It was frustrating to me, and I've gone back and forth on whether it was worth it to do any sort of "organized" craft just because it makes me feel like a better stay-at-home mom if I do. Is it profitable to her at all?

Then early in February, my sweet #sisterchicks and Hillary gave me some gifts for David, and Amanda included a big bucket of craft supplies for Libbie. My sister, the elementary school teacher, dug right in and showed Libbie how to string beads, use glitter glue, and dig a penny out of play-doh. Since then Libbie has been obsessively playing with the crafts any time I will let her (i.e., any time I don't mind picking up streamers and buttons off the floor).

Today I finally found the oomph to do letter B (4 months later, if you're keeping track).

"What letter is this Libbie?"
"14."
"What LETTER is it?"
"Uh ... B!"

I was so proud.

She was still mostly interested in gluing on buttons, but I kept repeating the verse to her all day long. And soon she was repeating it back. And to hear my sweet baby say her first Bible verse is a finer thing--and enough to make a mama tear up.

[there is a video embedded here if you can't see it in your reader. click through!]

"Believe in Jesus and you be saved!" Acts 16:31, New Libbie Version

I've decided crafts are now a good use of our time together.

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Ten Things I Really Love

Because it's Tuesday ... and I have nothing much to say ... and it's too late to start a grammar post.

1. Robin Jones Gunn's books

Amanda and I were chatting today about our shared love for Robin Jones Gunn. I've read several of her books this year--as well as the entire Glenbrooke and Sisterchicks series. The Glenbrooke books are some of my favorites, ever. She writes good stuff!

2. Pushing Daisies

I didn't watch this short-lived show when it was on TV, but I've recently watched both seasons. And man, it was a good show! Why on earth did they cancel it? If you have Netflix, you can watch all episodes online/on Wii/whatever right now! (We <3 Netflix in our house, too.)

3. This picture

Libbie at her first live baseball game Saturday.

4. Summer peaches. Mmmm.

5. Writing grammar/writing posts. I've always wanted to teach creative writing. This fulfills some need for me!

6. Doing Bible study with a group of girls. Ain't nothing like it. It's almost therapy! We recently did Beth Moore's Esther study and now we're working through Jennifer Rothschild's Me, Myself, and Lies. GREAT studies!

7. Weelicious.com. Great site with recipes for toddlers! I am trying to be a little more creative with my picky eater. The child will still not put a vegetable near her precious little mouth (unless it's tomato sauce ... and tomatoes have that fruit/veggie thing going on).

8. Tomatoes from the garden. OK, I don't eat them, technically. At least not raw. But that other adult member of my family does, and I have been making some into salsa and pico de gallo, which I will eat. (Despite the fact the tomatoes are still raw. Yeah, I'm weird.)

Sadly, the intense heat has killed a lot of our garden and our zucchini and yellow squash had some sort of blight. My basil's still producing, green peppers are working on it, and I have lots of jalapenos ... but that's about it.

9. Harry Potter. 

The weekend ABC Family marathon, the new movie coming out in November, Sporcle quizzes ... we've been feeling very Potter in the house lately. :) So, who's going to babysit on November 19? I don't care that I'll be 8 months pregnant, I'm GOING to see that movie!

10. Ellipses, apparently. This post is full of them. Perhaps I'm just feeling the "pregnant" pause right now. Heh.

Want to read some more interesting top ten lists? Go visit OhAmanda.com!

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Losing It: Week 5

I'm doing this Bible study on Esther. (The same one I had this personal dilemma about a year ago. And then went for two weeks, realized the group wasn't talking about it, just watching the video, and stopped going.) Tonight the Holy Spirit slapped me in the face while I was studying, and I knew I needed to share it with you.

I went out by myself tonight to go to CVS and found myself in the Krystal drive-through, coerced by a tummy that still felt hungry and the excuse, "I've already flopped today, why not?"

That is the worst excuse in the book. I am ashamed. And the milkshake I got wasn't even good--the ultimate punishment.

Chocolate slush still settling unhappily in my stomach, I sat down and started to read Beth Moore's words about Mordecai refusing to bow to Haman. She eventually got to both Mordecai and Joseph (the Genesis Joseph) being pursued by temptation day after day after day. And yet, Beth writes, "Each responded out of his mind-set rather than his mood."

The last few paragraphs of the day boiled in my heart until they spilled out on the page into a fervent prayer.

If I had agreed with Your lessons to not be gluttonous as I have agreed with You on not having premarital sex, not cursing, not getting drunk … wouldn't I follow through like I did on those? The temptation of food is stronger for me only because I have not fully agreed with You against gluttony. 

My heart is heavy with sin. I cannot piecemeal what I want from the Bible. But God is good, and He forgives. After I finished Esther, I just flipped open the Bible and read in Isaiah:

Your anger has turned away,
and You have had compassion on me.
Indeed, God is my salvation.
I will trust Him and not be afraid.
Because Yah, the LORD,
is my strength and my song,
He has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:1-2, HCSB

Amen and amen. I'm traveling into this week with a brand-new mindset. One that I want to be stronger than my mood.

How did you do this week? Link up your post at Giving Up on Perfect, and don't forget to visit Ashleigh at Heart and Home, too! If you have no clue what I'm talking about, read about the Losing It competition here.

I feel that I need to add, I don't think having a milkshake is a sin. It was this time for me, because I KNEW that I shouldn't. For you, it may be buying a fourth pair of black heels or spending 10 more minutes on Twitter. When you feel guilty about something like this, it's a good idea to step back and see if you're agreeing with God on this topic in your life.

This post includes Amazon affiliate links. Read more in my disclosure policy.
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Can the Words of Fools Have Merit? A Study in Job

I've always struggled with Job.

While I consider God's admonition in the last chapters of the book my second-favorite Scripture passage, I am never quite sure what to do with the rest of the lengthy chapters.

If you're not familiar with the biblical Book of Job, the short version is that Satan asks God for permission to afflict Job with many painful situations after God cites that Job is His most faithful servant on earth. So God allows it. Job's children are all killed, all his riches taken away, and his body inflicted with boils from head to toe. Wearily, he sits on his doorstep and scrapes at his boils with broken pottery.

That's when his three buddies come to visit. Over the course of many chapters, they try to convince him of all kinds of crazyness. Then in the end God swoops in, reprimands Job and his dumb friends, and then restores everything to Job. Of the friends, God says, "I am angry with you ... you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has" (42:7).

So here's what I've always battled with: is there any merit in the words of Job's friends throughout the Book of Job? Can we quote those passages out of context as Truth?

It seems to me that they do say some insightful things:

"See how happy the man is God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty" (5:17).

"We were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow" (8:9).

"It is impossible for God to do wrong and for the Almighty to act unjustly" (34:10).


Working in the world of Bible studies, I know we HAVE done exactly this, taken the friends' words for the wisdom they seem to be. But God Himself said the friends were fools? It's a strange dichotomy.

I believe that everything in Scripture is there for a reason. Certainly there are many truths that can be scraped from the falsehoods in this text. It's a life lesson not to let even your most trusted friends draw you away from what you know to be true. A perfect example of standing up for what you believe in and remaining pure in heart.

But still, I wonder. Can we quote the words of fools as good, as Truth?

What do you think?
_________

Paul and the Pursuit of Liberty

I had never considered before yesterday that maybe Paul thought he deserved to be persecuted.

He was, after all, a very well-known persecutor of the first Christians. Acts 8 tell us Saul (later called Paul) was "ravaging the church," "drag[ging] off men and women" and "put[ting] them in prison" (v. 3, HCSB).

Once Christ called him by name and Paul knew the truth of that Christianity he had so hated, how do you think he felt? I can't even imagine. The sorrow in his heart must have overflowed. The blackness of his heart revealed, he went on to make up for his past life by spreading the gospel as far as he could.

Although he asked Christ to remove his thorn of the flesh several times (2 Cor. 12:7-9), do you think maybe he was a little glad it hung around? He was only human.

Sometimes we revel in our guilt. Like the monks of old who found their joy in self-mutilation through flogging, sometimes we enjoy the guilt that binds us. It makes us feel holy. I think, "Hey, I deserve to feel bad about such-and-such a thing that happened 10 years ago. It was BAD."

And yet I think that this clinging to our guilt is embarrassing the Holy Spirit. He has to peek over my prideful shoulder and remind me, "Hey Jessie, I came to cleanse you from those sins. By clinging to them--any piece of them--you are not fully embracing the life you could have with Me."

Maybe I want to make Paul like me. I know he understood this point, because he wrote, "Christ has set us free to live a free life"! (Gal. 5:1, The Message). But Paul also struggled with feelings of self-importance and with doing what he knew was right, among other things. I think that probably, somewhere in his deep mind, he felt he deserved the imprisonment, shipwrecking, torture.

It's going to be a struggle for all of us. But guilt can weigh us down tremendously. In order to live the life of freedom God intended, we've got to get out from under those "yokes," and get under His. Because it's easy and light, unlike the ones we make for ourselves.

I don't have this clicked in my head any more than the next person, but I'm working on it. Beth Moore's study Breaking Free is a wonderful tool to get the knowledge to get rid of those burdensome guilty feelings and accept the yoke of Christ. The most important tool is implanting Scripture into your heart--the Truth. I hope you'll join me in memorizing these words of Hosea that speak of God's Truth for us:

I led them with human cords,
with ropes of kindness.
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;
I bent down to give them food.
Hosea 11:4

Things I Love Thursday: The Bible

Giveaway is over. The winner of this lovely Bible is #15, Hillary, The Other Mama! I have met her in real life at Blissdom and she is a total sweetheart and a HOOT. You need to be reading her blog. :) Congrats, Hillary!

I know that y'all know that I am a Christian. You might even have gathered that I am a Southern Baptist, which may or may not scare the living daylights out of you.

But although I am a Baptist by affiliation, you can rest assured knowing that being a follower of Christ is way more important to me than being a Baptist. I am sad to say that's not always the case with denominational leanings.

I believe in the basics. Love God. Love people. I try to do those things to the best of my ability. Sometimes I fail. A lot of times, really. But I "press on to reach the end of the race" (Phil. 3:14).

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. And especially over the last five years or so, I have come to love it, passionately.

I love the nuances that are found in the original languages. I love the prophecies that are all fulfilled through Christ. I love the hope, I love the future, and I love what my Jesus did to save me.

This year I picked up a One Year Bible for Women in the New Living Translation. I LOVE this translation. No, it is not as accurate to the original as some, but I feel like it makes the meaning of the Scripture very clear. It is, simply, very easy to read.

I'm so pleased to have a beautiful NLT Bible to give away as part of my Blog-A-Versary Party. It is a lovely personal-size Bible, bonded leather in "British tan" color.


This Bible features:
Dictionary/concordance
Full-color maps
Presentation pages
Ribbon marker
Gilded page edge
Durable binding
Words of Christ in red
Favorite passages index

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what you would use this Bible for. Personal study? To give to a friend?

For a second entry, leave me another comment telling me what your favorite Scripture verse is (write it out, so we can see it!).

US and Canada only, please. If you don't have an e-mail linked to your Blogger comment mechanism, please leave your e-mail addy for me in the comment so I can find you if you win! I will choose a winner on Sunday evening, July 19.

This post linked to Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.