Measuring by God's Standards

I crocheted headbands for my close friends last Christmas. I made up the pattern myself. I measured a few heads and came to the conclusion that my headbands should be around 23-24 inches. I made my first headband and it came out ok. Ok, so I used it as my standard to make the next one. I made a total of 6 headbands, and I kept using the most recent headband as my standard for the next one. After I was all done, I laid them all out in a row and noticed that each one was just a tad longer than the one before! First of all, I hadn’t accounted for stretching. As you crochet, the yarn naturally stretches a bit, which made even my first headband a bit longer than I intended. If I had checked my measurements with a measuring tape each time, I would have noticed my error early and been able to make adjustments. Due to my lack of judgment, I had to unravel every headband and start from the beginning.

When we use each other as standards, we can get way off from God’s intended plan. We can always justify our attitudes and actions by finding someone who is a bit worse than we are. Cultural shifts can completely change our ideas of what is acceptable and normal. Over many years, we stray so far from what is true and right.

Every day, take the time to measure yourself against God’s true standards. Don’t compare yourself to your friends, relatives, and the rest of society. When you find you are a bit off, correct yourself right away. Stay true.

My Sister's Wisdom

As the eldest daughter in my family, I tend to take charge of situations. I’m the self-appointed fixer, even when I don’t know what I’m doing. I usually have answers to everything.

Yet when someone close to me becomes sick, I freeze up. My brain stops functioning. My mind is filled with questions but not answers or solutions. What should we do? How can I help? What is the best treatment option? Is what I’m saying comforting or insensitive? What if I say or do something that makes everything worse?

As I was voicing my questions to my sister, she said something profound. “You are not directing this! God is directing this! Your thoughts, words and choices are not going to make a huge impact on the outcome.”

My sister’s wisdom helped me gain perspective. God is in control. God is the Director of this play. I am just one of the actors. I just need to listen carefully to His instructions and follow His directions.

　

Solitude vs. Loneliness

I've been thinking about the difference between solitude and loneliness lately. Loneliness is a negative emotion. It is involuntary isolation from others. You can be in the midst of a crowd and still feel lonely, friendless. These feelings of alienation lead to sadness and melancholy.

Solitude, on the other hand, can be positive. I associate the word with a voluntary retreat from distractions. A time of quiet, a time to think and sort out. Solitude can be refreshing and rejuvenating.

Both loneliness and solitude are familiar to me. I can sense God in solitude, but not in loneliness. God is there during both times...but my feelings of alienation and  self-pity prevent me from perceiving Him in times of loneliness. Solitude clears the clutter, turns off the static, erases the distractions, and makes space to notice God.

Cancer

My Dad was diagnosed with cancer 2 days ago.

A few uncontrollable cells can bring his whole body down.

We all feel helpless. We turn to God as always. We ask God the usual questions: Why? Now what?

We pray that it hasn’t spread, that it is removable, treatable. We pray for peace, courage, wisdom.

I wish I could fix it. I wish I could tell my parents: It’s going to ok, everything is going to turn out fine, I’m going to take care of everything… I know what to do.

But I don’t. I don’t know what to do or what to say. I have gone from being a know-it-all, to being speechless.

　

Anyway

(Reportedly inscribed on the wall of Mother Teresa's home. The original version was written by Kent Keith.)

 Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

_______________________

I would like to be God's hands and feet...but my appendages are clumsy. My hands keep breaking things I touch, and my feet keep tripping. I get discouraged in my attempts to serve God. This poem reminds me that even Mother Theresa felt clumsy in her attempts to serve God, but she did it anyway.

Diving

"I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.” (1 Cor. 19-23 MSG)

These verses made me think about how I can be a part of this world yet remain godly. I thought about the ropes that tether divers to the surface. How divers go down into the murky depths and then pull on their ropes when they want to come up. As long as I'm tethered to God, I'm ok. I have to be aware of how long I can stay down without harm, and then tug on the rope when I want to be pulled up. No matter how fascinating the ocean floor is, I need to come up for air eventually.

Lord, let me be tethered to you at all times. Let me hear your voice whispering to me as I dive into this day. Help me to learn and experience all that you want me to. Pull me up to you when I'm in distress. If there are others under water that are not tethered to you, please help me to bring them to safety too.

Fractional Devotion

“In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us-- totally, unconditionally and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed by Him.” (by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for his Highest)

Is this level of surrender even humanly possible? The closest we come to this kind of sacrifice is for our children. Most parents give of themselves, without reservation, for the welfare of their kids. We don’t expect reciprocity. Yet if our kids even acknowledged our unconditional dedication, if they attempted to be devoted to us, we would be overjoyed.

Just as we know that our children are not capable of reciprocating our love for them, God, our Father, knows our attempts at sacrificial love will never measure up to His. I hope God is pleased when we acknowledge His unconditional love. I wonder if He is forgiving of our fractional devotion and partial surrender.

Wedding Planning

These days, a couple starts preparing for their wedding over a year in advance. So much work goes into planning for one day. The ceremony and reception are arranged to the last detail. I wonder how many couples realize that all these preparations make very little difference in a marriage. What seems supremely significant in the months before the wedding becomes completely insignificant in the decades to come.

I wonder if this life is just a preparation before our eternal life with God. If so, all our struggles, our concerns, our frustrations, everything that seems significant now, will become trivial in the afterlife.

Jesus said, “Don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matt. 6:31-34 NLT)

I’ve always interpreted these verses to mean ‘God will provide‘. Now I wonder if it means that all the things that we worry about are just insignificant details that won’t matter in the long run. Once we are home with God, I bet all our concerns from our earthly days will seem silly and superfluous.

Soul Nourishment

“It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work.” (from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers)

I could easily fill every waking hour with practical busy-work. There is always so much work to get done that it can fill up every nook and cranny of my day. So I have to be intentional about clearing time and reserving energy for my soul.

One of my favorite sayings is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Thus, I plan time for soul nourishment. Failing to exercise my inner core leads to soul atrophy.

I have to intentionally clear my schedule and make time for prayer, reading, writing, physical exercise, and time to connect with loved ones and to serve others. It’s much easier to schedule things that only involve myself since I can always wake up earlier, stay up later, or squeeze in time between busy-work. But connecting with my family and friends involves them to readjust their schedules as well.

Sometimes I try to multi-task. It is much more pleasant to help those I love than it is to serve strangers. Taking care of my family and friends helps me feel connected. However, it occasionally makes them feel like they are part of a service project. I think it’s because I voice my intentions ahead of time. I think people feel my actions are not motivated by love because I’m not spontaneous. Just because I plan to spend time and energy on someone doesn’t mean that I’m doing it out of a sense of obligation or duty.

Practical busy-work can take over my day like an invasive weed. I have to be deliberate about clearing space for soul nourishing activities. I wish I could pretend that this happens spontaneously, but it doesn’t. Yet I could be a little more subtle about my scheduling. I wish my soul could look more like a well-tended English garden, unstructured and informal, yet where each plant has its space to grow.

God's Blacklist

A few weeks ago, I had a post about my blacklist. This week as I read Psalm 15 in the Message translation, I was surprised to find instructions on how to stay off of God’s blacklist.

Psalm 15
God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?

"Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.

"Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.

"Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.

"You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this."

Here is what I got from this psalm: Stay true, do not deviate from God’s path. Be kind. Stand up for justice. Do not take advantage of others for personal benefit.

Inner Voice

Many of us are on a quest for self-discovery, for self-expression, to find our own truth. We try to listen to our inner voice, to march to our own personal rhythm.

After a few decades of searching, I discovered something. If I listened carefully, I could hear God’s voice beyond my own inner voice. God’s truth, His rhythm, is much stronger than my own. Self-expression pales in comparison to God-expression.

Lately, one of my favorite songs has been “Word of God Speak” by MercyMe. The lyrics are below:
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

To hear this song on YouTube, click the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

On-Call

God sticks his head out of heaven.
He looks around.
He's looking for someone not stupid—
one man, even, God-expectant,
just one God-ready woman. (Psalm 14:2 MSG)

God-expectant. God-ready. These phrases jumped out at me when I read this psalm. What would it look like if we were always God-expectant, God-ready?

When physicians are on-call, they stay ready to go in to work. They may attend a social gathering, but they abstain from drinking alcohol. They sleep lightly, always tuned in to their phones.

Every day, we are on-call for God. We must stay alert and sober. As we go about our daily tasks, we must stay tuned-in to God’s call.

Unlike most physicians, we are hoping to be called in for work. We wouldn’t think of phoning it in or using delay tactics… Would we?

It’s best if we can stay slightly detached from whatever we are doing in the meantime. God’s call takes precedence over everything else. We wait expectantly. We are dressed and ready.

Hurdle Jumping

Hurdling is an amazing sport. Whoever came up with the idea is either a genius or a masochist. To leap over barriers at intervals between running takes a lot of practice. It helps if you are naturally agile and have a good sense of balance. As you approach the hurdles, you have to adjust your stride. However, you must not hesitate or you lose your momentum.

Life is often compared to running a race or a marathon. I think it’s more similar to a long hurdle race. Obstacles appear at intervals, and we have to adjust our stride and jump over them. We get better at it, the more we practice.

Yet many of us are not prepared for the barriers. Can you imagine a runner who has trained for a long-distance race finding out she’s signed up for a hurdling race at the last minute? This is how I feel most of the time. I’m a runner (okay, maybe more of a jogger). I’ve trained to run long distances. I’ve developed some endurance. I’ve figured out a stride that works well for me. Then suddenly, out of no where comes a barrier. What!? I must be at the wrong event. I didn’t sign up for this! Can I run around it? What do you mean I have to jump over it? And there are more barriers coming up? This race is so unfair!

OR, maybe I just need a paradigm shift. I need to expect barriers at intervals. I need to develop speed, agility, and balance. I have to learn to adjust my stride as I approach the barriers. No fear. No hesitation. Hurdles are meant to be jumped over. And after you conquer one, you don’t slow down. There are many more to come.

Transcendent Truths

My son recently commented that my writing makes me look overly religious. He asked, “Don’t you think of anything other than God?”

I do. I think about my family, my chores, my friends, the fiber content of foods, politics, finances, how to get rid of dark, under-eye circles…

I just don’t desire to write about that stuff unless those thoughts lead me to transcendent truths.

Our human experiences can give us glimpses into truths that are beyond our earthly parameters, beyond our superficial consciousness. It’s like hiking through narrow trails and coming across a shimmering lake. We peek through trees at the end of each trail and discover God’s indwelling glory, His intrinsic presence, within us and surrounding us.

Thomas Aquinas, a 13^th century theologian said, “All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit.”

All truth is revealed by the Holy Spirit. Occasionally we are called to be scribes or translators, trip advisors who write reviews on our experiences.

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” (also by Aquinas)

Contemplation is akin to discovering a secret beach at the end of an unmarked, brush-filled trail. Revealing these insights, these encounters, allows others to share in your joy.

Lift with your Thighs

Every time I lift anything heavy, my husband admonishes me to lift with my thighs and not with my back. This proper lifting technique prevents back injury. This is a really unnatural posture for me. My natural inclination is to bend at my waist and lift the heavy object in whatever way I can. I have injured my back by lifting even small things this way.

We are frequently called to carry heavy burdens. Our natural posture is to draw from our own strength. This method leads to frustration, injury, exhaustion, and burn out. Even small concerns become straining.

God has placed His Spirit within us. We must engage this Spirit, this strength, to lift heavy loads. This might feel unnatural and awkward at first. Yet it enables us to handle hardships safely.

God has commissioned us to express His love by serving others. However, operating out of our own strength frequently puts us out of commision. Pay attention to your posture, your lifting technique. Lift with God’s strength within you, not with your own.

Spirit Transplant

In the Gospel of John, chapter 21, there is a conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter. Here is my condensed version of what happens: Peter declares that he loves Jesus. Jesus asks Peter to take care of his sheep and follow Him. Then, He adds that Peter will lose all control of his life.

I love Jesus... up to a point. I'm ok with taking care of others as long as they aren’t too difficult. I'm all for following Jesus as long as He's going somewhere nice. But to lose control of my life? I think I'll have to pass on that!

My love for Jesus is at the flesh level. It has not penetrated to the Spirit level.

I'm afraid I might need invasive surgery to treat this ailment.

"His (God's) powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 MSG)

God’s word will cut through layers of doubt, defensiveness, human agenda, and ego. He will lay open my soul and transplant His Spirit within me. I hope my body will not reject this new transplant but accept it as its own. Once my body learns to function with this new Spirit, I will no longer be diseased but whole and healed.

Corrupted Files

I was in the school library when one of the teachers came in with her laptop and mentioned that her files were corrupted. The other teachers huddled around trying to help. I moved out of their way. I could tell they were all concerned. All her work was on this computer.

I started thinking about how God is concerned about us and our corrupted files. I could imagine the Father, Son and Holy Spirit huddled around each of us, poring over how to save all the work they've put into us.

I remembered reading the following verse about the glory of the incorruptible God: "Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man." (Rom 1:22-23 NKJV)

God is indestructible, pure, immortal and unbribable. He made us in His image. Yet we cast Him in our corruptible image. We try to bribe Him with offerings. We expect Him to work within our time frames. We assign our mortal characterisitcs and limitations to Him.

Our attempts pollute and disgrace the incorruptible God. Meanwhile, God works on saving us from our corrupted files.

Power Failure

5 hrs and counting with no electricity. I’m thankful that it is 50 degrees outside and none of us have to be at work or school this morning. I miss my morning coffee. Can’t crank my brain on without it. Read my morning devotional by the window. Today’s readings were about total surrender. God has got a sense of humor!

When you are powerless, there is no choice but to surrender. You struggle for a bit till you realize there is nothing you can do about it. Then you wait. Wait for the source of all power to come through.

Meanwhile, I notice that there is still tension in my surrender. I do what I can to distract myself. I have a hard time being still. I’m agitated, anxious for a return to normalcy. Either I’m suffering from caffeine withdrawal, or I have not yet reached a state of total surrender.

Still groggy, I jot down the following steps to total surrender:
1. Accept that you are powerless
2. Acknowledge God is all powerful
3. Call on God for help
4. Wait.
5. Know that God is in control His plans will unfold on His time-table.
6. Ask God what He would like you to do in the mean time.

Controlled Burn

For his confirmation, my son received a lapel pin depicting the Holy Spirit as fire. I was captivated by this image and have been meditating on it for weeks now. How is the Holy Spirit similar to fire?

My home is in a rural farming community. We are allowed to burn yard waste and brush as long as it's monitored and controlled. Some of the farmers clear their fields by burning. Occasionally, the fire gets out of control, spreading into neighboring fields.

The Holy Spirit is uncontrollable, unmanageable, and unpredictable. We try to contain this fire, to make it work for us. We would like the Holy Spirit to burn certain areas of our life, renew certain fields before planting. We don't want the Spirit burning wildly into adjacent areas of our life that we are not ready to surrender. We want peace not chaos. Order not disorder. We prefer the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, not fire.

Applying what I've Learned

I am an anxiety-ridden worrywart who can come up with multiple worst case scenarios for any situation. I write about subjects that I'm familiar with. So I frequently write about anxiety, control, and surrender. A friend once emailed me back something I'd written on the subject of worry. I can't seem to implement my own insights.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees for not practicing what they preach: "They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior." (Matt 23:2-3 MSG)

St. Francis of Assisi said it another way: "Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words."

How can I live the Gospel rather than just write about it? For starters, how can I stop worrying?

As soon as I notice the first symptoms of anxiety, I need to ask God to take care of the situation.

Lord, I'm starting to get worked up over this problem. I'm handing it over into your capable hands. If you have a specific role for me to play as part of the solution, please clearly tell me what that is. I will wait peacefully and patiently until you work this out according to your will.

3D Glasses

The last time I was at the electronics store, I walked by a 3D TV. The image was fuzzy since I wasn't wearing the special 3D glasses. I thought to myself that this would not make a good family TV. You'd have to buy and keep track of so many glasses for every family member and guest to be able to watch TV at the same time. These glasses were not the cheap ones you get at the movie theater. Each pair cost close to a $100! I'll just stick to my 2-dimensional TV for now. At least I can see the picture clearly.

3D can be uncomfortably realistic. I've reached out and tried to touch things while watching 3D movies. I've even jumped back in my seat when an animal jumps towards me on the screen. Sometimes 3D movies make me queasy. Especially ones which are shot from airplanes. I end up feeling silly after most IMAX 3D movies.

As usual, this got me thinking about God. Faith is like a pair of 3D glasses, without which God seems fuzzy. Except, God is probably like 7D! Can't even fathom what that would look like. Faith in God can be uncomfortable too. Sometimes I get queasy and scared. Faith in an impalpable God feels risky and nonsensical. Sometimes I try to reach out and touch and end up feeling silly. I'm grasping at truths that are intangible.

Black-list

My husband recently made a list entitled, "Top ten things you can do to get on my blacklist". This made me think of making a similar list of my own.

Top 10 things that irritate me:
10. Tardiness
9. Know-it-alls
8. Arrogance
7. Manipulation
6. Greed
5. Self-absorption
4. Ostentation
3. People who take advantage of others
2. Waste
1. Inauthenticity, or insincerity

As I thought about what annoys me about others, I was compelled to make another list of things about myself that might irritate others. I tried to get some input from friends and relatives for this list, but most were reluctant to contribute for some odd reason. So here are some bad habits that I have that may irritate others... (in no particular order)

I can be bossy, judgmental, stubborn, inflexible, possessive, controlling, opinionated, and loud. I tend to interrupt people when they are talking, and I try to fix every uncomfortable situation.

When I look at the two lists, I see some commonality. Some of the things that irritate me are just different variations of my own weaknesses. Somehow, these negative characteristics, which seem subtle in me, appear magnified when I face them in others.

Passion

When we think of the word passion, we think of 'intense love' or 'heightened interest'. For example, "The couple was engaged in a passionate embrace," or "He is passionate about music." The original meaning of this word is quite different. Passion comes from the Latin passio which means suffering. Compassion means to 'suffer with'.

Is suffering synonymous with love?

The title of the movie, The Passion of Christ makes sense now. Christ was passionate about humanity. He suffered for this intense love.

When you are passionate about a person, an interest, or a cause, suffering is part of the package. If I love God passionately, then I should be willing to accept suffering. If I am passionate about my marriage, my family, my work, my writing, then I should expect to suffer for it. 

When we pray for God's compassion, we are asking that He will suffer alongside us. When we feel compassion for someone else, we must be willing to suffer with them. This is not the same as alleviating suffering. Compassion is not about fixing the situation.

What are your passions? What are you willing to suffer for?

Engage Your Spirit

I've always driven cars with automatic transmissions. I mostly shift between Park, Reverse, and Drive. I've never engaged D1 or D2 gears. I've heard these gears are meant for hills or something, but I've managed to get along without using them thus far.

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him. God is sheer being itself-- Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration." (John 4:23-24 MSG)

When I worship, I engage my mouth, my mind and occasionally my hands. How does one engage the spirit? Is spirit synonymous with mind, soul, and heart? Worship, as described in the above verses, seems different than the singing we usually associate with this word. It seems more an internal practice than public expression.

We might have managed to get along thus far in our faith just by using the superficial gears. Our adoration must be true, authentic, and sincere. We must engage our deep, deep core so our spirit may commune with The Spirit.

Shield-Bearer

Recently, a friend posed a question on her blog about descriptive names. "What is the name that truly expresses who and where you are right now?" (from Bo of the Bales, February 22, 2012)

The phrase that popped into my mind was "Shield-bearer".

The Old Testament describes a variety of peripheral assistants to warriors. They had armor bearers, banner carriers, trumpet players, etc. that were part of the army.

I would like to be God's shield-bearer. An assistant who carries the shield and keeps it clean and shiny till He needs it. I want to join God in battle, but I'd rather leave the fighting part to Him!

I've read that shields were super heavy. Thus strength, loyalty, and alertness would have been necessary characteristics for shield-bearers. I wonder if I would be able to bear such a burden with dedication.

Maybe I should aim for banner or flag-carrier instead? I bet those guys were easy targets for the enemy! Hmm... that doesn't sound too safe. Perhaps I could be a trumpet-player. I'm pretty good at blowing my own horn ;-)

Ignored

"Jesus ignored her.” (Matt 15:23 MSG)

How painful this verse is to me. Sometimes, I try to get Jesus’ attention. I pray, I sing, I call out in desperation, I read scripture, and wait for peace… and nothing.

This verse is from what I call the “Story of the Persistent Mother”. A Canaanite woman bugs Jesus to heal her daughter who is afflicted by an evil spirit. Jesus says he’s busy taking care of the chosen ones. The mom keeps bugging…and Jesus, impressed by her persistent faith, heals her daughter.

God can be unpredictable and confusing. Sometimes He is unclear, a capricious Spirit. Why does God withdraw his presence, His comfort? Even Jesus experienced this… once in the desert during his temptation (Matt 4:1-11), and then later during crucifixion. (Matt 27:46)

Is it a way of testing, assessment? It can’t mean that God disapproves… since Jesus experienced it. Also, many saints including Mother Teresa have described experiencing the “dark night of the soul”. Is it a time of training? A boot camp of sorts? Is it a time of weaning? It can’t be a weaning from God…maybe a weaning from constant affirmation from God?

My ideas of God are so mixed in with Christianity as a religion and Church. Humanity is flawed… and thus we, who make up the church, are flawed. God’s Truth is incomprehensible… but we try to make sense of it in our own way. I feel discombobulated by those who manipulate and exploit others in the name of Christ. I am torn inside… I feel disjointed from God because when I am disappointed in the church I feel like I’m being disloyal to God. This is why I feel spiritually dry some days. I’m still looking within myself to see how I’ve disappointed God. But maybe I haven’t? Maybe boot camp is not a punishment. Maybe the wilderness is a place to gain clarity…a time to understand Christ separate from Christianity.

Highlighter for God

"When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes-- the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father-- He will confirm everything about me. You too from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start." (John 15:26-27 MSG)

Confirm God. Highlight God!

Mother Teresa said she would like to be a pencil in God's hand. I think I'd like to be a Highlighter in God's hand. Yes, a fluorescent, yellow highlighter that God uses to mark whatever He thinks is important.

When I am studying, I like to underline the important parts, the parts that I need to remember and retain. As I go through my day, whenever I encounter something that sheds a bit more understanding into God, I pay attention to it.

When God nudges us to emphasize His word, we must do whatever it takes to bring attention to it. Tell every one, "Check this out!" Become a human highlighter, an arrow flag, that points to how God is working in your life and the lives of those around you.