spiritual stuff

image credit

I have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions. 

The Type A part of me loves making lists.  I love thinking over the last year and listing accomplishments and hard times and vacations and milestones.  I love thinking of the new year and thinking what might be. 

But a few passages of Scripture have been ringing in my ears right past the echoing fireworks this morning.

From Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

and Proverbs 16:9

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

and to drive the point home further, James lays it down in James 4:13-16

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

I strongly believe one of the greatest tactics of Satan is distraction.  We don’t fulfill our purpose because we are distracted by something else–and probably not something evil.  Perhaps something good, even. 

Maybe that thing you have resolved to do seems good, but if it isn’t aligning with what God wants for you, what good is it?

James doesn’t suggest we don’t make plans.  However, many of us, myself included, are making plans on our own.  We don’t consult God on what His plans are for us for 2013.  Plans are fine but James is suggesting we hold them loosely and know that ultimately God is in control.

Given that, here are 5 ideas to remember when planning for 2013.

#1 Consult God in Your Planning

First and foremost, don’t try to conjure up your resolutions, goals or plans on your own.  God certainly cares about those resolutions you’re making and he has plans far greater and more wonderful than you could on your own.  Ask him to reveal what he can.

#2 Don’t Ignore the Small and Random

I have this nagging feeling that God isn’t going to lay out a detailed A to Z plan for you. 

What I see in Scripture is God telling people to do something today and sometimes, in this moment and a lot of times it’s downright random.  Something small, maybe something random but it’s probably a piece to a larger puzzle.  Don’t ignore the small and random.

You may not see the puzzle come together in 2013.  Small steps you take in 2013 may take longer to see impact but it could have impact not just for the year but for generations to come.

#3 Resolve to Consult Every Day

One resolution we can all add is to consult God every single day.  Sure, God might have given you a long-term dream, but ask him each day what he wants you to accomplish that day to bring your goal to fruition.

#4 Be Open to Changes

For us control freaks, changes to our plans and unchecked boxes are our worst nightmare.  Don’t be surprised though when God surprises you. Ultimately, as Proverbs says, the Lord’s plans prevail. 

Something will happen this year you’re not expecting.  It’s ok if all the checkboxes don’t get checked.  Sometimes goals don’t get completed in our ways or in our timing.

#5 Give God Glory in the Success (And Failures)

One thing James was clear about is that boasting about our plans is downright evil.  When we make goals, come at them with a posture of humility.  If we are consulting him, they’re not our plans anyway!

If we plan with God’s help and follow through, make plans now in your heart to give God glory for what He’s done.  In fact, go ahead and give God glory for what he’s going to do.  Even if your plans don’t seem successful by man’s standards, perhaps God wants you to pursue something just for the journey, not for the end goal.  Remember, his ways are not like ours!

Tsh over at SimpleMom has some great resources for you to think about 2013.  I wish us all a very blessed year and may God lead us all into the great things He has planned!

I realized as I was writing my post Friday sitting in our van on the way to Maryland that the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary was happening.  Time should have stood still and we all somehow should have been alerted to the evil being carried out and stopped it.

We continued this weekend to our destination and carried on with dinners and games and present exchanging.  We laughed and told stories and hugged and enjoyed each other.  We discussed gun control and mental health and yes, even cried over Friday’s events. 

I kept wanting time to stand still and let me grieve but life keeps going.

My grief pops up in the crevices.  I cried going to sleep after a long day traveling on Friday. We’d have the news on in between parties and I’d start thinking about the little kids and I’d nearly vomit.  This morning on the way to work I was wiping tears listening to a teacher talking about her students questions about it.  Back at work, I was at our quarterly meeting and sometimes I’d find myself staring off into space trying to wonder just how this was allowed to happen and what it might be like to experience it myself.

Life keeps going and I can’t stop it. 

We’re all grieving in the crevices of our lives.  Some of us, though, are experiencing nothing else but grief. My friend, and reader of this site, was directly impacted by one of the children’s deaths.  The grief wells up in me even as I type this.  They can’t grieve in the crevices because life for them has indeed stopped.  For those families, I especially grieve their loss and please know our hearts are with you even as life swirls around us.

I can’t help but think those of us with faith are questioning. I don’t have all the answers but I did have a glimpse of something that gave me the tiniest sliver of hope this morning.

I was listening to the radio and a teacher called in and requested a certain song because she’d had a bad day.  The radio host asked if it was related to Sandy Hook and she said yes.  When she got to her school yesterday all the kids wanted to know if she loved them like those teachers loved and protected those kids.  She said many of her students are from low-income families and just don’t have the reassurance at home others do.  One kid though piped up and said, “You love us like Jesus loves us.”  She was touched and said, “Yes, I would die for you just like Jesus died for you.” 

The gospel is being shared because of this.  Hope springs up that something good would come from something evil.

God just whispered and reminded me that he knows what it’s like to lose a son.  And not just from random violence, but an intentional plan to send him into a world with the intent for him to die.  But it was not in vain.  He was meant to save the world. 

God is in the business of redemption. 

I have to believe God only allows pain, evil and sin when he can redeem it.  He allowed sin in this world because he knew Jesus could redeem us.  He allows pain in our life when he knows we can be redeemed.  And I have to believe he allowed that evil at Sandy Hook because He can redeem. 

He can make good of evil.  He can take death and sin and use it for his good.  Those kids are safe in His arms, those parents and families are hurting but God is there to comfort and provide peace because he knows what it’s like to give up a child.  People are turning to God when they otherwise wouldn’t and hearing the gospel. 

Jesus didn’t stop his own death because he knew it would benefit all of us.  Perhaps he allowed their death to save another one of his children.  I shake on the insides when I go down that path but I have to believe God is still good and their deaths are not in vain.  I’d give anything to erase Friday but my hope lies in the belief that God will redeem if we allow Him.

I’m so thankful for the blogging world when there’s an event where we’re all affected. The writing and reading help me process.  Here are a few other posts that helped me.

Life continues, my writing here will continue but we all can agree that Sandy Hook’s impact and memory continues and will live in the crevices of not just our lives, but our hearts.

I was thinking back to childhood and trying to remember what giving—to missions, specifically—look liked.  Only two things would come to mind.

One, I remember seeing commercials about the poor, starving children in Africa.  They were a generic group of people parents called upon when you wouldn’t eat your dinner.  “There are starving kids in Africa and you can’t eat your food!” In order to help these kids, you had to dial an 800 number to give, much like you would to order just about anything else at that time. 

Two, I remember filling random jars, baskets and what nots at church full of change for the missionaries.  Missionaries were a faceless and likely nameless group of heroic people that traveled across the world to generic places far away.  We didn’t know who these people were but we were very happy they were going to help the poor starving African children who we rarely helped because we didn’t want to call the 800 number.

Fast forward some years and the landscape of giving to missions has radically changed.

Now, thanks to the Internet, I can rattle off names of organizations that are going into all parts of the world helping in all sorts of ways.  I know the names of many missionaries.  I know what they look like, I know their families, I know their stories.  I’ve seen faces and know names of people in need. I’ve seen videos of their houses and their communities.  I’ve even watched live feeds from all over the world from short-term missionaries.  I’ve read and listened to story after story of all sorts of peoples in all sorts of parts of the world with all sorts of needs. 

It’s overwhelming, to be honest.

But the good news is another key element has changed. 

While our information about missions has skyrocketed, the difficulty of giving has plummeted.  With just a few clicks of a button you can make a difference.  You don’t have to scramble to write down an 800 number, you don’t have to wonder where your money is going, you don’t have to take the time to make a phone call, you don’t have to talk to a stranger, you don’t have to wonder where your money went.  I don’t have to convince you that online giving is fantastic but isn’t it crazy to think about that just 10 or 15 years ago that wasn’t the norm?

The hard part now is deciding which link to click. I know, I get it.

As you decide this Christmas season, might I humbly suggest once again that you consider giving to Compassion?  If there is one organization that has given me a glimpse into the need across the world along with the solutions they’re providing, it is Compassion.   I love the work they do, I trust them and I know that all our clicking and giving will not be in vain.

Balance.

I’ve read more than one blog post about it.  We’re all trying to find balance in our life. 

Don’t work too much, but a little is ok.  Don’t eat too much ice cream, but a bowl is fine.  Don’t watch too much TV, but a little is good for you.  Don’t spend too much outside your home, but a coffee date every once in awhile is great.

While all of that is probably true, I realized that I’d transferred that over to my relationship with God.

When I was caring too much about TV, I must not care too much about God right now.

If I found myself thinking about fashion a lot, God must be on the back burner.

If I was reading too many novels, my quiet time must be lacking and I wasn’t meeting with God enough.

The balance for me was either-or.  God was on one side and everything else was on the other.

To be truly spiritual, the teeter totter would be full tilt towards God and I’d leave the rest of it behind.  Then. THEN, I’d be a great Christian.

I’ve been called balanced a time or two and frankly, it always bothered me. Shouldn’t I be a Jesus Freak?  Shouldn’t I leave it all behind?  I’m not ok with being “balanced”, I wanted the pedal to the medal for Jesus.  Forget balance!  I want to give it all to Him, leave the world behind!

But I think God’s been showing me a new way.

My Christianity ought to be more like the tallest, windiest, funnest (yes, funnest) slide on the playground.  He doesn’t want me to try to balance anything, He just wants to experience life to the fullest with Him.  Experience life from the top to the bottom with Him in all its twists and turns.

image credit

If I’m watching TV, I can appreciate the artistry of the actors, directors and producers and their Creator.  I can cry at the redemption of the character of the end because that’s what God did for me and whisper another thank you.

If I’m putting together an outfit, I can think of that bird or that fish it reminds me of and thank him heartily for providing and inspiring such a beautiful world to exist in.

If I’m reading novels, I can be scared of the villain and remember that Christ is our ultimate protector.  I can weep with joy when two characters finally marry and remember the gift of my own husband God gave me.

I think God’s showing me a glimpse of what this verse means:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

He’s not asking not to do anything unspiritual, He’s asking us to make everything spiritual.

He wants our everyday tasks and activities AND our spiritual life to be at full tilt, experiencing all of it through His lens.

Sure, there’s a call to stay away from sin and sure, there’s still an idea of balance in our lives–balancing our diets and our work life–but balancing God against the everyday?  Get off the teeter totter and head for the slide.

Last night was one of the biggest lottery drawings in history.  An individual had a chance to get a pay out of over 300 million dollars.  By the way, I cannot say that without accenting it like Dr. Evil’s meeellion dollars.

Having that much money scares me to death, to be honest.  Too many decisions and responsibility.  However, it could do a lot of good for my family and a lot of organizations I care about so I’ve been debating whether or not I should play. 

Historically, I’ve blanketed the lottery as gambling and therefore bad. I voted against the SC lottery in the 90’s. However, I then proceeded to benefit from it with the the SC Life scholarship in college.  It felt hypocritical in some way even though I didn’t ask for the scholarship as it is based on grades. 

As I’ve batted this around in my head, I thought I’d work it out here and perhaps we’d come out with some good discussion.

Reasons against the lottery:

• You gamble your money when you buy a ticket.  Gambling is bad.  Therefore, the lottery is bad.
• I know of people whose lives and families are terribly ruined by an addiction to gambling and I don’t want my money to support it.
• Contrary to popular belief, money usually makes things more complicated, not easier and it’s not the be-all end-all solution to people’s problems as they believe.  Have you seen the horror stories of people going into debt, descending into crime and even being stalked and killed after winning?  This is no good.

Reason for lottery:

• The state and its residents benefit from the money as I was with my college scholarship.  This is good. 
• Much benefit can be made for the winners of the lottery and those around them.  Scott said “Someone has to win, shouldn’t it be us who would do something good with it versus someone else?”  Good point, husband.
• Even though the lottery can cause addiction, we don’t quit drinking Mountain Dew, eating Taco Bell or taking cold medicine because it has the capacity to do the same. That logic doesn’t stick when you start applying it to other things.  Furthermore, 401K is basically gambling your money too and no one seems to have a problem with that.
• The Bible is wrought with decisions being made by chance.  People often casted lots to make decisions. 
• Contrary to the belief I’ve held for so long, the Bible never clearly talks about gambling as a sin.  Or, I haven’t found one since researching this.  Someone please direct me to one.

Given that logic, I still feel up in the air about it. While it can do a lot of harm, it also can do a lot of good. 

Let’s see if we can put a wider lens on the topic.  While the Bible does not condemn the lottery directly, it does give lots of information on how we should view work and money.  Let’s see how those might apply:

• Most want to win the lottery so they don’t have to work.  The Bible does not look favorably on lazy people.
• I know it sounds nice to retire permanently to a private island, but we cannot carry out the Great Commission living a life like that (darn it!).
• Coveting is a sin and often, we want to win the lottery to have what others have instead of being grateful for what we already have.
• Getting money often makes you more greedy and materialistic, not less.  Love of money is the root of all evil.  However, money itself isn’t the root of all evil.
• Proven: gambling can become an addiction.  We should not be slaves to anyone but the Lord.
• We are supposed to be good stewards of our money.  Is it wise to give money to a lottery where we often will have no direct benefit?  Wouldn’t it be wiser to make a direct, personal impact to either our own college savings or someone needy around us?  However, we are directed to take care of the poor and needy with our resources and winning could certainly help fund many good deeds.

Given all that, might I suggest it comes down to the heart?  Why is that you want to play and win?  Is it really to help others or is it rooted in greed, covetousness, laziness or addiction? Are you prepared to steward the money well? 

I truly believe God can use any single thing he wants to accomplish his desires and if He leads a Christian to play and win in order to accomplish good, then rock on.

The bottom line is we must check our intent and ultimately, live out the command to live by the Spirit in all things.  Did you pray about playing?  What did the Spirit lead you to do?

What does this mean for me?  I think I’ll be sitting the lotto out until I get clear direction to play. 

• I do have a very obsessive and addictive personality and I don’t need one more thing to battle. 
• As much as I say and have plans to help others, I can be quite greedy when it comes to money and I think getting that much would just fuel it. 
• I believe that much money would just add more stress to my life, not make it easier.  Just the thought of someone killing me for my money scares me away.  I’ve already been stolen from with what I have and it’s really not something I want to experience in any capacity in the future. 
• I would rather direct my money somewhere that I know is helpful rather than leaving it up to a group to decide where it might be helpful to me in the future.  If you don’t think $2 is a big deal, did you know $1 can give someone water for an entire year?

What insights do YOU have?  What did I miss?  Why do you play or not?  Let’s discuss!