"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."
Immanuel Kant
At our church, Convergence, we have embarked on a Sunday study of the book of James. I love this little book. It is a treasure tucked near the end of the Bible and is one of my favorites. It's jam-packed with kernels of truth and every time I read it I discover something new.
Along with the Sunday messages, our mid-week small groups are discussing this great book. Last night we discussed this passage from the first chapter of James.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts it like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
I can think of few things more precious than wisdom.
Solomon, the great king of the Israelites, had pleased the Lord so greatly that the Lord appeared to him in a dream and offered him whatever he desired. Solomon knew the value of wisdom. It was the one thing he asked for. To this day we speak of the "wisdom of Solomon."
Wisdom should not be confused with knowledge. Many intelligent and brilliant people are greatly lacking in wisdom and their lives reflect that. I don't think wisdom is as simple as common sense. I beg to differ with Immanuel Kant. It's more than organized life. It's deeper than that. I like these definitions, from YourDictionary.com
- the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment; sagacity
- the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.
I especially like the second definition. I think this is closest to what James is talking about.
God's promise in this verse is so beautiful. He has promised that when we ask for wisdom, he will
-"give generously" not in little miserly portions, but abundantly
- "to all" that includes me and you
- "without finding fault" he doesn't look at my past record - wow!
There is just one caveat to this promise. I like the way The Message words this.
"Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open."
James 1: 6-8 (MSG)
At first blush that seems simple, but upon closer examination I realize I pray that way all the time. I "worry my prayers." I am a "wind-whipped wave." Yikes!
I need God's wisdom. Without it life is just too much. Marriage, children, work, finances, relationships, etc. It is all too much for me to figure out.
I need to make a change from a "wind-whipped wave" to a bold believer, asking for wisdom and believing I will receive it. My heavenly Father has promised he will grant it. He is Someone on whom I can depend.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Laughter. Prayer. Coffee. Grace.
Steve and I just celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. Well, celebrated is a misnomer. We wished each other a "happy anniversary", split a burger with the kids and talked about celebrating when he gets back from his trip to Dallas, but you get the point. We have been married for 29 years so just getting here is quite a feat.
In honor of this momentous event, I thought I would write a post about what it takes to make a marriage work. I figure that after all this time I qualify as a marriage expert. In fact, after I write this post I'm going to write a book. I can see it now. My book will get published. Gayle will read it and pass it along to Oprah. She will have me on her show (I better get cracking. This is her last season!) I will become world famous and travel internationally sharing my hard-earned wisdom with the masses.
But, alas, Steve will become bitterly jealous of my new-found fame and my children will resent my constant absences. My life will become a hollow shell and the paparazzi will hound me as I look to reinvent myself and fill the emptiness inside with a constant stream of plastic surgeries until even my children no longer recognize me.
Wow...that was scary! I think I'll just stick to writing my blog for the sake of my family and my sanity. I clearly can't handle fame.
If you were to pick two people who would be "Most Likely To Succeed" in the marriage department twenty-nine years ago, you would not have picked Steve and I. To say we were headstrong, selfish, self-absorbed, immature and unprepared would be an understatement. Steve's sister, Nadine, once commented on how much we fought when we were first married. Everything, from the toothpaste to the finances was fodder for an all out war.
I was 19 and he was 22. We were in love. We were at war.
So, why are we still together, all these years later, in love without the war?
I have spent some time thinking about it and these are my essentials, the things our marriage can't survive without.
LAUGHTER. I love to laugh. Not just a light little chuckle, but a deep, snorting makes-my-belly-hurt, brings-tears-to-my-eyes, I-think-I'm-gonna-pee-my-pants kind of laugh. Steve has told me that there's nothing he likes better than my smile. There have been many years when the smiles and the laughter have been scarce but it is essential. I'm sure you've heard it before but it is true - laughter has some serious health benefits.
It's good for our kids to see us laughing together and enjoying each other's company. We need to be careful, however that the laughter doesn't become teasing at someone else's expense. I have a hard time with this one. Sometimes mama "likes to be's bad."
PRAYER. This is the cornerstone of our marriage, our family and our life. When there are no answers. When words fail. When the pain is too deep. Pray.
I have prayed as though my life depends upon it because I know it does. There have also been times when I could not utter a prayer and the words wouldn't come. That was when I counted on others to pray for me. We are not alone in the body of Christ, so when you feel you can't pray, call someone who can (you can always call me!)
"The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing."
1 Cor. 12:25:26
COFFEE. You knew it would be in here, didn't you? When our oldest daughter Ashley was a little girl, she was asked what her parents fought about the most (now, that's a loaded question!) Her answer? Coffee! For years, Steve would make the coffee so strong only the Turkish would care to drink it - no offense to the Turkish, but I'm not too fond of the way they make their coffee! I begged him to pleeeeeez consider the fact that there was more than one coffee-drinker in the house and could he please compromise and make the coffee a wee bit easier to digest.
Well, either I've gotten used to stronger coffee or he's making it weaker now, but we seem to have come to a very nice agreement in the coffee-making department because we haven't had that argument for quite a few years.
What is really essential to me about coffee is how it represents slowing down and spending time together. If we don't make the time for each other we can drift apart and before you know it we are like strangers living under the same roof. It's hard. Our lives are busy and it takes a concerted effort to set aside that time to be alone, but it is important. I realized just recently that I make more effort to spend time with friends than I do to spend time with Steve. That needs to change.
GRACE. Where would I be without grace? God's overwhelming, unending daily grace in my life is a miracle to me. I have been raised on the words "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me," but I am only now really beginning to understand the full impact of those words.
More and more I realize that, as God's grace has been extended to me, I must freely extend his grace to others. Sometimes it's easier to extend that grace beyond the four walls of my home but those nearest and dearest to me are the ones that I can daily shower with the grace of God's love. This is the most precious gift I can give to my husband and the most precious one that he extends to me.
So, those are my four essentials - they are healthy for strengthening any relationship - laughter, prayer, coffee and grace with an extra measure of grace.
Oh yeah, there is one more thing - therapy - lots and lots of therapy. If you need it, go for it! We've all got issues!
In honor of this momentous event, I thought I would write a post about what it takes to make a marriage work. I figure that after all this time I qualify as a marriage expert. In fact, after I write this post I'm going to write a book. I can see it now. My book will get published. Gayle will read it and pass it along to Oprah. She will have me on her show (I better get cracking. This is her last season!) I will become world famous and travel internationally sharing my hard-earned wisdom with the masses.
But, alas, Steve will become bitterly jealous of my new-found fame and my children will resent my constant absences. My life will become a hollow shell and the paparazzi will hound me as I look to reinvent myself and fill the emptiness inside with a constant stream of plastic surgeries until even my children no longer recognize me.
Wow...that was scary! I think I'll just stick to writing my blog for the sake of my family and my sanity. I clearly can't handle fame.
If you were to pick two people who would be "Most Likely To Succeed" in the marriage department twenty-nine years ago, you would not have picked Steve and I. To say we were headstrong, selfish, self-absorbed, immature and unprepared would be an understatement. Steve's sister, Nadine, once commented on how much we fought when we were first married. Everything, from the toothpaste to the finances was fodder for an all out war.
I was 19 and he was 22. We were in love. We were at war.
So, why are we still together, all these years later, in love without the war?
I have spent some time thinking about it and these are my essentials, the things our marriage can't survive without.
LAUGHTER. I love to laugh. Not just a light little chuckle, but a deep, snorting makes-my-belly-hurt, brings-tears-to-my-eyes, I-think-I'm-gonna-pee-my-pants kind of laugh. Steve has told me that there's nothing he likes better than my smile. There have been many years when the smiles and the laughter have been scarce but it is essential. I'm sure you've heard it before but it is true - laughter has some serious health benefits.
It's good for our kids to see us laughing together and enjoying each other's company. We need to be careful, however that the laughter doesn't become teasing at someone else's expense. I have a hard time with this one. Sometimes mama "likes to be's bad."
PRAYER. This is the cornerstone of our marriage, our family and our life. When there are no answers. When words fail. When the pain is too deep. Pray.
I have prayed as though my life depends upon it because I know it does. There have also been times when I could not utter a prayer and the words wouldn't come. That was when I counted on others to pray for me. We are not alone in the body of Christ, so when you feel you can't pray, call someone who can (you can always call me!)
"The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing."
1 Cor. 12:25:26
COFFEE. You knew it would be in here, didn't you? When our oldest daughter Ashley was a little girl, she was asked what her parents fought about the most (now, that's a loaded question!) Her answer? Coffee! For years, Steve would make the coffee so strong only the Turkish would care to drink it - no offense to the Turkish, but I'm not too fond of the way they make their coffee! I begged him to pleeeeeez consider the fact that there was more than one coffee-drinker in the house and could he please compromise and make the coffee a wee bit easier to digest.
Well, either I've gotten used to stronger coffee or he's making it weaker now, but we seem to have come to a very nice agreement in the coffee-making department because we haven't had that argument for quite a few years.
What is really essential to me about coffee is how it represents slowing down and spending time together. If we don't make the time for each other we can drift apart and before you know it we are like strangers living under the same roof. It's hard. Our lives are busy and it takes a concerted effort to set aside that time to be alone, but it is important. I realized just recently that I make more effort to spend time with friends than I do to spend time with Steve. That needs to change.
GRACE. Where would I be without grace? God's overwhelming, unending daily grace in my life is a miracle to me. I have been raised on the words "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me," but I am only now really beginning to understand the full impact of those words.
More and more I realize that, as God's grace has been extended to me, I must freely extend his grace to others. Sometimes it's easier to extend that grace beyond the four walls of my home but those nearest and dearest to me are the ones that I can daily shower with the grace of God's love. This is the most precious gift I can give to my husband and the most precious one that he extends to me.
So, those are my four essentials - they are healthy for strengthening any relationship - laughter, prayer, coffee and grace with an extra measure of grace.
Oh yeah, there is one more thing - therapy - lots and lots of therapy. If you need it, go for it! We've all got issues!
Labels:
coffee first,
family,
grace,
love,
prayer
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Day of Rest
This has been a hard week. It has been exhausting - physically, emotionally, spiritually. I have an old injury that has decided to start acting up again. I thought I was improving, and now this! I wore earrings and now I have swollen glands, because I'm allergic to metals. I am paying a price for my vanity. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are issues, too personal to share, that are weighing me down and sapping my strength. So many loved ones are dealing with major life issues like me and I want to be there for them, to offer support and encouragement. But I feel like the well is dry.
I know it's been the same for many of you, and you feel like yelling, "Uncle! I give up!" But, we keep trudging on, doing our best to deal with all the pressures and trying to put a smile on our face.
But, you can only 'fake it' for so long. There comes a time when you have to recharge and refuel. Like a car, you can't keep it running without stopping for gas or changing the oil and maintaining the engine. Eventually, you will sputter to a stop, or the engine will seize (unfortunately, this I learned the hard way - don't ask).
So, how do we recharge and refuel? I know there are a couple practical ways that I do this. The first one is to daily be in the Word. When I read the Scriptures, God can speak to my heart and heal the broken places inside like no earthly person can. I'm not so good at the 'daily' thing, but I've found that when I discipline myself to do this and make it a priority, the stresses of life are not as overwhelming.
The second one is to give my worries to God, in prayer. I Thessalonians 5:17 says to "pray continually". I have to remind myself that prayer isn't just me spouting my frustrations to God, although He can handle it when I do. It is also waiting quietly for God to speak to my heart. It is two-sided. Like a conversation with a dear friend, I need to give Him time to speak, instead of dominating the conversation.
The third way to refuel is to allow ourselves a day of rest and dedicate it to God. I know, nowadays this seems impractical, and for many their jobs don't allow it. This is the hardest one for me. There is so much I could accomplish on Sunday (my chosen day of rest). I am behind the ball and I'm scrambling to get caught up. But God thought it important enough to set an example.
Exodus 20:8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work... For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
Why is it so hard for me to set aside that day? God wants to be with us! What an incredible thought. The God of the universe, who created the moon, the stars, the earth and everything in them, wants to spend time with me? The least I can do is carve some time out of my week to be in His presence.
If your Sabbath can't fall on a Sunday, or a Saturday, I encourage you to find time, somewhere in your week to sit in His presence and reflect on His goodness. He is waiting to spend time with you!
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
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