It’s Not about ME chap 3

What is so important about God’s glory? When we see his glory we ask to see all of God. It is God’s priority. But why?? What is so important about God’s glory especially to us. Lucado states “God’s staff meetings, if he had them, would revolve around one question: How can we reveal my glory today?"

He hardened Pharoah’s heart to gain glory for himself. The heavens exist to declare his glory. Isaiah 43:7 states “everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for my glory” Psa 50:15 “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

Every act of heaven reveals God’s glory, why do we enjoy the sunsets, mountain ranges, snowfalls, thunderstorms. They reveal the glory of the Lord. Even Jesus says for this reason I have come to this hour. Father glorify your name.

Does this seem self-centered? Well, Lucado gives an illustration that will help you understand…here is my twist to it.

…………Imagine yourself on the Titanic. We know what happens from the movie. The ship is sinking, the life rafts are launched and row out from the ship to avoid being pulled under. In the movie, there is a lot of light to see by, but when the ship finally sinks the lights are out, there is not as much light out there as the movie shows. I am sure there were some star light but not much. Now imagine being one of those people stuck in the water neck deep, life vest deflating. It is freezing cold, you’ll be dead in just minutes from the cold. Then you hear the sound of the lifeboat captain. You can’t see him, want do you want him to do? Quietly move about the passengers in the water? No way, you want him to yell scream and call out Here I am, my boat will hold you all, I can save you. ………..

We are in the murky water of life with guilt, anger, and despair. Life is hard, bills to be paid, unending things that require our attention. “But God can rescue us. And only one message matters. His! We need to see God’s glory. He does not reveal his glory for his good. WE need to witness it for ours” pg 31 It’s Not about Me by Max Lucado

Everything exists to reveal his glory. What about you do you reveal his glory?

When the child becomes the parent

Two blogs in one night...I'm on a roll.

This new year has brought about a change in my life. My dad's health has not been great in the last 11 years. In the last year, he has really decrease in quality of life. I went in November to take them to the dr. It was not fun trying to get him into the car, out of the car, into the office, back into the car, back into the house. It was not difficult physically, but emotionally. At Christmas he didn't recognize anyone although he was good at faking it. After Christmas he came down with something and has not bounced back. It is no longer how we can take care of him, but how do we make sure Mom is taken care of. She has been the devoted wife of over 60 years, painsakingly taking care of him day in and day out without complaint in the last 10 years. It has aged her. Years ago, I would have done whatever I needed to do to make sure he didn't have to go into a nursing home. I am not sure how I feel about that now.

I am thankful my children have spent time with him. As restrictive as it has been, they have known who he is, I didn't have that opportunity with either of my grandfathers. Now I have to start navigating the passage of becoming the parent to the parent.

"It's Not about ME part 2"

Chapter 2

Let’s look at the life of Moses. He followed God’s directions, led the people out of Egypt, was used by God to perform miracles and yet when they made it to Sinai, they built the golden calf. So here is Moses pleading with God for mercy on their part. God grants his request, and promises to complete the journey, but Moses doesn’t stop there. He makes one more request. God, show me your Glory. (Ex 33:18) The threshold was crossed, he no longer sought the things of God, or favor from God, but God himself. Moses had been privy to all that God had done, he could have beamed them to the promised land. Do we cross that threshold and seek to be in the presence of God, to witness the glory of who God truly is? How many times do we say God bail me out of this, make my home happy, and provide this or that. Moses saw the glory of God, it change him. Not only did it change him, people noticed, his face still glowed when he came down from the mountain.

Now what exactly is the Glory of God? The Hebrew word for glory is “kowbode” meaning weight, splendor. The glory of God is the full weight of who God is. What is interesting is Moses not only saw the back of God, but what happened in the very next chapter, (Ex 34) God told Moses okay, come back in the morning, be ready to see me.
Exo 34:4-8
(4) So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone.
(5) The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
(6) The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
(7) keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
(8) And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

Verse 5 shows not only did Moses see God, but he stood in God’s presence and God proclaimed all that He was to Moses. That should be what we desire God himself, the full weight of who God is……Next time I’ll talk about some of those attributes.

It's not about ME!!

One of my most favorite book to read at the beginning of the year is by Max Lucado "It's not about ME". I have read it many times and taught a bible study out of it twice. I hope the next set of blog entries can be dedicated to my thoughts and truths that I have gleaned and continue to glean. It by no means a replacement for my Bible, but it has changed my perspective....

Did you know that Copernicus made an amazing discovery that changed the world? He discovered that the earth is not the center of the universe. God does that for us. He points us to His son Jesus and says Behold my Son.
"that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. " (ESV)(Eph 1:20-23)

If we are the center, then why did I have a cancerous tumor? Why has my Mom had to work so hard to care for Dad? Why was Obama elected? Why do I get depressed sometimes? Why do Vaughn and I occasionally disagree? Why don't I live in a great mansion?

The profound thinking this books reveals is God does not exist to make a big deal out of us. We exist to make a big deal out of HIM. It's not about you, it's not about me. IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM. We are to be like the moon.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2Co 3:18)
When I was a child the fall full moon would rise at night right outside my bedroom window. I would lay in bed with awe at this huge disk. It was so bright and close, and yet somehow it caused such joy. I didn't want to see it leave. We should be the same way in the lives of those whom we shine on. Only by beholding the Son.........

NO room for error

What a week this has been. Last week school was off to a great start. All the planning I had done had paid off. Then this week hit us. Tuesday morning the stomach flu train stopped at our house and it has yet to leave. Both kids were up at 1 a.m. tossing their cookies. So Mom duty started all night and the morning between the 2 of them wiping brows and faces. Trying to comfort them as much as possible. By the evening they were feeling much better. So Wed we did school. It was a slow start, but we did Tuesday's work and I thought there may be a chance to finish the lessons plans for the week. Usually, when the kids are sick, I painstakingly wash my hands, spray the Lysol any where they touch and try my best to keep the germs at bay. This was one tough bug, by Thursday morning, I was tossing cookies. I certainly don't wish this on anyone, I was really sick.

So here is Friday, library books are overdue, and we have only completed 2 days of school although they did do some workbooks yesterday. I don't want them to dislike learning so I will work to make it fun but the works got to be done.

The New Year

2008 has come and gone. Where did it go? I heard a preacher say it best..... as a child when Christmas comes around, it seems like 10 years between. When you become a young adult it doesn't seem so long but when you have kids, it seems like Christmas was just yesterday." The years continue to fly by. Where does it go?
As I contemplate 2009, I see a lot of planning ahead with hopes and dreams of great family vacations, wonderful learning experiences, and of course projects to finish, volleyball scheduling to do, and plenty of kid activities to attend. Hopefully this time next year, I can look back over the year and know the aging was not done in vain...

Mountain Visit

What a great time we had with family in the mountains. We traveled to Newland, New Year's Day with no problems at all. We checked in, dressed up and headed to Banner Elk to celebrate the union of Joseph and Jamie. It was a beautiful wedding. It brought back memories of my own. The reception was done by the ladies of the church and they truly did an awesome job from sewing the tablecloths, to providing a potluck meal buffet complete with all the holiday fare of ham, blackeyed peas, and collards for New Years. You would have thought someone catered it! We spent most of the evening enjoying the company of family.
Friday, we awoke to snow on the ground. The kids could hardly contain themselves. The grand ideas and plans expressed from the backseat of the car were classic kid talk, but oh so sweet and cute. We checked out of the Inn and headed to Linville Falls to hike a little. The ground was slick on the trail but the hike was exhilarating and quickly warmed us up. We then spent the rest of the afternoon in the company of cousins. What a great time to renew those relationships. Robin and Alex have a wonderful house which makes you feel right at home. It is an old farm home that Alex has completely renovated. They also live in the midst of a Christmas tree farm(which the kids played hide and seek in). Robin has finished her years of homeschooling and she blessed us with a bunch of books for us to use in the future. What a true blessing that was. We headed back down the mountain and arrived home late Friday night. Our weekend was filled with life and preparation for the new week with school and work. 2009, here we come!!!