Which is Bigger?

Then [Samuel] brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD,

and the family of the Matrites was chosen.  And finally Saul son of Kish

was chosen from among them.  But when they had looked for him,

he had disappeared!  So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?”

And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.”

~1 Samuel 10:21-22 (NLT)

Saul, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else (1 Sam. 9:2, 10:23), did not exactly have an auspicious official start to his kingship.  Hiding amongst the baggage?!  And this was after God had confirmed His call on Saul’s life through the fulfillment of the signs the prophet Samuel had outlined to Saul (1 Samuel 10:2-9). 

And how often we do the same.  Granted, I can’t speak for your situation, but I can say I have a pretty hefty pile of baggage I like to hide behind.  There are things I’d like to do, things I believe I’m meant to be doing and I know I’m meant to be doing, but oh, there are so many reasons for me not to be doing them.

Motherhood?  Yes, well, that sounds great but I’m approaching 40 and am getting a little old for such things, wouldn’t you say?  The medical profession certainly does a good job of wigging me out in part . . .  O_o

Writing full-time?  Yes, well, that would be lovely but maybe I’m to keep my day job (my tent making, if you will).  Plus I’m not terribly disciplined in how I use my free time and perhaps this is just meant to be a side project or a hobby.  That is, if I’m in God’s will and/or doing it with right motives in any way, shape or form.

Teaching kids?  Yes, I’m currently doing that, but again with the discipline thing.  And there are so many things I really can’t teach them about well because I’ve messed up so much myself. 

I could paraphrase Saul’s plea (for he does sound almost bewilderedly desperate) to Saul in 1 Samuel 9:2 to fit myself quite nicely:  “But I’m only the middle child from a prairie farm family, I am small, and the least important of them all!  Why are you talking like this to me?”

Why?

I think I can almost hear God chuckle (but with mercy and grace – He’s God, after all).  Here is why:  Because God doesn’t look at us and see us merely as we currently are.  He sees us, crouching behind all our excuses, as He has called us out to be. Think about Saul’s successor – David.  He didn’t focus on the fact he was the youngest and the smallest in his family.  He kept his focus on the bigness of his God.  And what about Saul?  Why was he so focused on doing his own thing, often under the guise of ‘it’s what the people want’?  The following verse is telling:

And Samuel told [Saul],” Although you may think little of yourself,

are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?  The LORD has

anointed you king of Israel.”

~1 Samuel 15:17 (NLT)

I’m not trying to reduce Saul’s choices to a neat and tidy pop psychology analysis.  But his view of his self certainly did not help.  And his focus, it would seem, was not on the bigness of his God, but on pleasing the people and his own inadequacies. 

So you and I have a choice.  Do we focus on our own inadequacies or on the bigness of the God who has called us?  Do we kick down the piles of baggage, the excuses we’re hiding behind and step out into the wild, bold, amazing plans God has for our lives?  Or do we stay crouched down and hidden? 

I don’t know about you, but my legs are cramping.  And I’m tired of my current view.  So c’mon – lets go for it with God.  It’s going to be wild, it’s going to be great, and it’s going to be full of Him!

In Case the Cat Was Still in the Bag

Many of you who know me know I really enjoy the writings of Jon Acuff, author of Stuff Christians Like (the blog and the book) and the upcoming (and highly recommended) Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job.

So today I thought I'd share a recent post from Jon's blog where he compiled -- based on readers' votes -- the top 10 posts from Stuff Christians Like.  Feel free to click on the link and take an often funny (and sometimes serious) look at this journey we're all on.  I'm tickled to point out my two favourite posts made the top two spots!

Enjoy!

Content (But Not Complacent)

In what was perhaps not the wisest of moves, I went to sleep last night struggling a bit with remembrances of missed opportunities and wonderings as to whether or not certain ships truly have sailed away for good.  I know, I know – I’ve been trying to put such things to rest for a while now, but my brain is not an Etch-a-Sketch.  I cannot give it a really good shake and have all those things disappear, never to be heard from again. And it feels a tad more difficult ‘to let bygones be bygones’ when I get caught up in thinking I’m surrounded by people whose lives are moving forward whereas I keep tripping over the same stones time and again.  But I’m not privy to all their struggles and questions and fights, so who am I to say I’m alone in these struggles?  I know, even though I lose sight of it sometimes, I am not alone.

So I’ve been fighting a little bit of the blues this morning.  But as I’ve seen my husband off to work and taken care of a few non-writing things, I have (however slowly and repeatedly) cast my cares on the One who cares for me.  The Message expresses it beautifully:

So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs.

God’s strong hand is on you;

he’ll promote you at the right time.

Live carefree before God;

he is most careful with you.

~1 Peter 5:6-7

And as I give my head a shake, take a deep breath, and make the conscious decision (and effort) to keep moving forward, I rejoice in the One who made it all possible for me to have another fresh day with another fresh start. 

Oh, and a little ‘banjo music’ (my husband grows tired of it . . .) courtesy of “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons doesn’t hurt either.  ツ

Empty Tomb, Thankful Heart

This is how much God loved the world:

He gave his Son, his one and only Son.

 And this is why:

so that no one need be destroyed;

by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son

 merely to point an accusing finger,

telling the world how bad it was.

He came to help, to put the world right again.

~John 3: 16-17 (The Message)

A Bit of Whimsy

“For everything there is a season,

A time for every activity under heaven.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)

Awhile ago a friend and I were sharing what music we were currently listening to and I, in all innocence, asked her if she had heard the song Fireflies by Owl City as I had (and still do) enjoy it.  To put it mildly, she had heard it a few too many times thanks to The Disney Channel repeatedly playing an ad using that very tune.  (She either wanted to punch someone in the teeth or the throat should she hear the song again.  O_o)

I was listening to the song again on my way home today after a busy day at work and thinking about how life can get so busy and hectic.  We’re running here and there, trying to sort through a million different things and figure out what’s a priority and what isn’t while wondering if we’re doing what really matters, what really counts in the light of eternity.  It can be easy to get bogged down with weighty issues and thoughts.  And I’m not saying any of that is bad.  No, it’s a good thing for me to make sure my priorities are in order, that I’m not being distracted from those things which do matter the most in the long run by what is ultimately frivolous fluff. 

But as my husband can attest to, sometimes I do need a bit of whimsy, something fun and fluffy to keep me from becoming too serious, too worried about this, that and the other. And I agree.  Everything has its season – work, rest, contemplation . . . and even some whimsical songs.  

Do Not Adjust Your Sets

Blog entry in progress . . . check back this evening . . .

Bits of the Picture

The clock is ticking, the cursor is blinking in my Word document, and I’m sorting through a few things (or trying to) as I sip at a cup of herbal tea.  So far, nothing has gelled into a cohesive entry.  And I don’t blame the lack of caffeine, as I normally don’t have my first cup until I start my office job after lunch.

No, it’s something simpler.

Today I decided for the first time in about a week and a half (not including weekends) to not get up early to write.  I didn’t prime the pump, as it were, and I’m sort of regretting it.  I don’t 100% regret it, mind you, as having a good night’s sleep was great (I’m still working on the getting to bed earlier bit) and I got a good number of things done this morning.  Brought the car in for an oil change, got some groceries, started some laundry, that sort of thing. 

But I do regret my later rising a bit.  Did I choose ‘happiness now’ over ‘happiness later’?  I would say so, yes.  At the same time, I’m sorting through some things I have been learning the past little while in church.  Things such as not pursuing happiness over pursuing truth, rekindling a hunger and desire for God and godly things, ways in which others and myself are intelligent (‘It’s not how intelligent are you,’ my notes read, ‘but how are you intelligent?’).  As such, I’m wondering for perhaps for the bazillionith time if I’m in God’s will or if I’m merely trying to get Him to bless my will.  But, thankfully, even with such questions bouncing around I’m not doing what I would normally do, which would be nothing or close to nothing while waiting for a TBD sign from the heavens as to what to do next.

Because I do know some things which I should never quit doing, thanks to the pastors and teachers I get to learn from on a regular basis – things such as seeking God, worshipping Him and talking to Him, reading my Bible, serving others.

And as Steven Furtick wrote in his April 14/11 blog entry, it’s often in the midst of doing those things we find the other answers we are looking for.  After all, Jesus called His disciples while they were busy in their ‘everyday’ tasks.  God came to talk to Gideon while he was threshing wheat, Elisha was plowing a field when Elijah found and began to disciple him. 

So who knows when God will reveal the next step to you and to me?