I teach music in an elementary school.  Several years ago, my handbell choir and my mallet band were invited to perform at a local theater, part of benefit concert concert for a local charity.  (Insert shameless brag here: you ought to see my 10 year olds play handbells – it’s impressive!  And my mallets – wow, they are really good!) Lots of local groups came to perform. We were really excited to participate, and we also also excited to be allowed to stay and watch the entire concert!

One of my students sat next to me during the concert.  He had a charming habit that I always remember: he would sit on the edge of his seat, so excited, with his hands raised to chest level and ready to go.  At first, I didn’t understand his stance (can’t he just sit still, relax, stay awhile?), but my little friend quickly explained: “Mrs. Spivey, I like to start the clap! I want to be the first one to start clapping, and the whole audience will follow me!”  It still makes me smile today, years later.  My student was quick to celebrate the success of others – what an incredible trait to learn so young! It’s a great example and lesson for us!

For my student, the concert was that: a concert.  It wasn’t a competition.  He was excited to be there and share his talents, and it didn’t take anything away from him at all that others were invited to share theirs as well.  His joy wasn’t diminished – in fact, it was the total opposite: he wanted to “start the clap”!

I love people who love to celebrate the gifts of others – they are a joy to be around, and super encouraging!  We have some great examples in the Word of people who were quick to celebrate. How about the dad in the story of the prodigal son?  When he saw his estranged son, look at his response:

“while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” Luke 15:20 ESV

He immediately had his servants prepare a party – he said to bring the best robe quickly and gave them a list of things to prepare for a celebration (Luke 15:22-24).  He “started the clap”!

The prodigal’s brother had a much different response.  He was upset at his father’s joy, and somehow got the idea that a celebration of his brother took something away from him.  His father had to explain, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad” (Luke 15:31b-32a).

Important to notice: the prodigal’s return didn’t take a single thing away from the brother  – nothing was reallocated, nothing was lost.  Actually, something was added: his brother, back in his life!  This was cause to celebrate, but the brother couldn’t because he made it all about himself.  Maybe you know someone who has adopted this attitude, centered around self.  Maybe you have been someone who has adopted this attitude, centered around self.  A friend gets a raise, gets a contract, gets an inheritance, gets a new car…. what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  Do you think, “Why them and not me?” or do you “start the clap”?

My student didn’t think that sharing the stage was taking anything away from us.  His joy wasn’t diminished because he wasn’t the only one invited.  He was happy to be there with everyone.  He did his best on stage, played an important part and did well with his group.   He then joined the audience and led them in “starting the clap”!  His joy was genuine and contagious.  He was ready to start the celebration! I love that!  If a 10 year old can do it, we can do it too!

The ability to value the gifts of others without allowing a root of jealousy to form – that’s a treasure. Romans 12:15 says to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep”.  Oddly enough, sometimes the weeping part is easier than the rejoicing part. I’m praying that you will find that, in this life, there is enough joy to go around.  I’m praying that you will be able to recognize that the blessings of God in someone else’s life do not take away or diminish yours at all.

I’m praying that you will be the one to “start the clap” 🙂

Jennifer ❤

I’ve been thinking, and well, let’s be upfront right away: we probably won’t like this.  I’m going to use the words “we” and you” and “me” often – not trying to offend anyone personally, just maybe trying to drive home the point that we have all probably contributed to the good and we have all probably been guilty of contributing to the bad.  Maybe just demonstrating that we can all easily become part of the same hypocrisy.

I’ve been thinking about being a “straight stick“. I’ve been thinking about how rare it is, really.

I’ve been thinking about Thomas Moore, Irish poet from the 1800s. Thomas Moore wrote, “For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.”  200 years later, it’s still as true as ever. (Thomas Moore, you nailed it).  Basically, Moore is making the point that our society first created a criminal, and then punished the criminal for being true to his/her upbringing.  Seems unfair, doesn’t it?  Yeah, it does. Let’s bring it home:

I’ve been thinking about “popular” movies, tv shows, music, things we allow to fill our minds and homes and time. Thinking about the foul language or obscene behaviors.  It might have been on our television or in a book we read or a joke we laughed at.  Some of the jokes were related to sexual perversion or immoral behavior, but it probably went over the kid’s head, so we let it pass. Some of the storylines were inappropriate, but we glossed over it because the movie was funny.  Some of the language was foul and offensive, but we ignored it because the action and special effects were unbelievable.

I’ve been thinking about all these accusations surrounding public officials and celebrities, accusations of sexual harassment and improprieties…. It’s constant, isn’t it?  Every day on the news, we are re-hashing yesterday’s accusations and introducing new ones.  I’m not defending it, and we feel the same way: it’s outrageous, it’s offensive, it’s wrong, shocking, sinful.   (You can fill-in-the-blank here, right?  This is specific enough).

I’ve been thinking about other people in the news, people whose choices we did not celebrate.  Tim Tebow – there was an article some time ago about how a romantic relationship came to an end because of his commitment to virginity and sexual purity (here).  I don’t know if it’s true, but I do know that this point wasn’t presented as anything positive or valuable.  We laughed at him because he made a stance on sex outside of marriage. Vice President Mike Pence – there was talk about how he honors his wife by refusing to be alone with another woman (here again).  Again, I don’t know if its true, but I do know that it was presented as a form of sexism, and there was even the suggestion that he made this choice because he can’t be trusted around women.  (What?) We attacked his character because he has made a commitment to a faithful marriage.

 

I’ve been thinking about how our society mocks morality and then is shocked by immorality. We laughed when the character on our favorite sitcom said it, we were horrified when one of our elected officials said it.  We ignored it in the movie and we were outraged when it happened in “real life”.  We spend so much time on “that which does not profit”(Jeremiah 2:11 KJV). Why are we surprised when the lines between entertainment and “real life” became blurry?

I’ve been thinking about James and how he says the Word of God is like a mirror.  Let’s read it together: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (James 1:23-24 NKJV). Maybe we have forgotten who we are?  Of course, when the Word presents a problem, it also present the solution: “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25 NKJV).

I’ve been thinking that maybe we should make a new commitment to purity and raise our standards in every area. Hey, I know the point is extreme – and watching that inappropriate movie didn’t give anyone permission to behave the way they did.  But – when the same behavior is celebrated in one arena and condemned in another, it does seem as if we created the criminal and then punished the criminal act.  Maybe we should avoid the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  Maybe we should try to be better than we have to be. Maybe we should keep our noses clean, even if it takes both sleeves.

I’ve been thinking about something Paul wrote to the Phillippians, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies” (Phil. 4:8-9 MSG).

Filling our minds with what is true, noble,  reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, the beautiful, things to praise…. Following this action with accepting the strength and grace we need from God to walk it out – that’s a treasure. 

Holiness isn’t easy.  Today, I’m praying that we’ll walk it out and that God will work each of us into His most excellent harmonies –

Jennifer 🙂 (p.s. next blog will be something easy, like my puppy 🙂 )

 

 

 

 

“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.” ~ D.L. Moody

When my three were little, my oldest could most definitely be the “straight stick”.  It would make my husband and I laugh, it would frustrate the other two; but every time one of them got into “trouble”, Tyler’s response was to get precious.  The minute a tantrum started in the grocery aisle, Tyler would catch my eye and give me his sweetest smile as if to say “see what I am not doing, mommy?” Mercifully, he’s grown out of this little habit (the siblings appreciate that fact, LOL), but we remember it and giggle sometimes!

Of course, what’s funny in a toddler can be pretty, well, un-funny in an adult.  We should be straight sticks all the time, not only when we see an opportunity to make ourselves look better in comparison to.  God desires our best – not our better than.  Let’s stay on this idea for a minute –

I have some people in my life who are “straight sticks”, and I love them.  I can always count on them to do the right thing, have the correct response, behave with grace and kindness, apply God’s wisdom to their everyday.  These “straight stick” folks do not “get precious” in response to the actions of others, they are consistently following Christ regardless of  the actions of others.

Paul says it this way,

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:12-13 NLT)

These “straight sticks” in my life do show the evidence of their salvation with deep reverence and fear. Their example is Jesus, and they are not looking to be better “in comparison to” other people.  They are daily walking in faithfulness and living the example Christ set before them. They are inspiration to me!  A salvation that is evident -shouldn’t that be the case for every believer?  We should be working hard to “show the results of our salvation” because “God is working in us”.

Let’s read a few more of Paul’s words – too good to miss here:

 Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life (Philippians 2:14-16 NLT)

It’s worth emphasizing: Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.  Be a straight stick! If you and I had a chance to visit, we might talk about the people who inspire us.  I imagine that our answers might be vastly different (unless my dad is your inspiration too? 😉 ), but I also imagine that all of our heroes have one trait in common: they are consistent, they are dependable: they are straight sticks.

It’s a good question, a personal question, a question to consider in our own lives: Are we “straight sticks” all the time? OR – are we only “straight sticks” when it is convenient or easy or doesn’t make us stand out too much from the crowd? I think sometimes about my own life and example – am I truly walking it out?  Would I be embarrassed if someone found out what my favorite tv show was or how I spend my afternoons?  When I see Christians outraged or feel outraged myself about some “hot button issue”, am I quick to remember that all sin is the same to God?  While we are outraged about whatever protest is happening on the news tonight, are we also outraged about what is on our DVR or in the Netflix cue (enough to change it?)? 

Not having to change your behavior in response to the behavior of others, being consistent in your walk and showing the “results of your salvation”?  That’s a daily discipline.  Understanding that the Lord desires your best and not your better than, and being the “straight stick” in a crooked world?  That’s a treasure – a treasure that will bless the heart of your Heavenly Father AND bless the people within your sphere of influence.

Praying that you have “straight stick ” people in your life to encourage you – and praying that you are a “straight stick” to others as well 🙂

Jennifer ❤

 

When I was little, I had a favorite book entitled “Fortunately, Unfortunately” by Remy Charlip.  The main character has a series of mishaps getting to a party: “Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party!  Unfortunately, the party was a thousand miles away.”  My favorite was when he jumped out of a plane, but discovered a hole in his parachute – “Fortunately, there was a haystack!  Unfortunately, there was a needle in the haystack.  Fortunately, he missed the needle!  Unfortunately he missed the haystack.”  Made me laugh every time!

Our own lives can be a series of “fortunately’s” and “unfortunately’s”, can’t they?  Good news follows bad news and vice versa – the key is to stay centered on Christ and faithful through all seasons. One way to stay centered is watching our words.

Numbers 13:26-33 is a very familiar passage to most of us, the spies scouting out the land of Canaan for Moses and reporting back.  It’s a fortunately/unfortunately situation!

Fortunately, the land was bountiful and plentiful! Unfortunately, the people were powerful. Fortunately, the land produces great fruit! Unfortunately, the cities were fortified. Fortunately the Lord was with them! Unfortunately, there were giants in the land.

The “unfortunately”s won the day, in spite of the fact that the land was already promised to them, in spite of the fact that one spy (Caleb) returned with great confidence in the Lord’s ability to help them conquer. Caleb told them, ” Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are able to overcome it” (Numbers 13: 30). Immediately following this proclamation of faith,  the other spies spread a “bad report about the land among the Israelites”.

Let’s take a look at the “bad report”:

“the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed.’We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!’ So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: ‘The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!’ ” (13:32 NLT)

Don’t miss what these spies just said: “we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

If these spies were doing their jobs, their presence would have gone completely unnoticed by the giants.  There would have been announcement, no conversation, no inquiry as to how the giants felt.  How did the spies know what the giants were thinking? The truth is, they had no idea what the giants were thinking.  When they created an imaginary dialog in their own heads, they lost the victory God intended. 

Fortunately, God is on your side!  Unfortunately, there are times when you convince yourself that you are “like a grasshopper”.  It’s those times when we feel insecure or insignificant or afraid that we begin to convince ourselves that the people around us feel the same way about us, and it goes downhill from there.

As recorded in the New Testament, Jesus teaches about the power of our words: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23 NKJV).  Just as easily as we can encourage ourselves with the right attitude/words, we can discourage ourselves with wrong attitude/words.

Keeping a good confession is key to keeping confidence in the Lord.  Take a hint from the “fortunately”s today: follow the Lord in obedience right away, with His help you are well able to overcome!

If you feel like a grasshopper, if you feel insignificant or alone, encourage yourself with the Word of God.  Nothing can separate you from His love and attention. Now that you know it, talk like it 🙂 Fortunately, God is on your side – and that’s a treasure! Praying you can encourage yourself today –

Jennifer ❤

 

 

I’m still in Isaiah 58 🙂 Want to visit this passage with me again?

Is not this the fast that I have chosen:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
    and break every yoke? (Is. 58:6 NKJV)

Such powerful words. In response, I prayed to my Father: “Lord, I do pray for bonds to be loosed, burdens to be eased, oppression to open to freedom, yokes broken…. I pray that You would show up and accomplish what we cannot accomplish without You on our side.  I pray that we would have the boldness to step out in faith and confidence, moving us forward to the very thing You are calling us toward…..”

your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard (58:8)

The phrase “your righteousness shall go before you” made my curiosity spark. That pronoun “your” wasn’t referring to the Lord, wasn’t referring to something belonging to Him.  That pronoun “your” was referring to me, to something belonging to me.  MY righteousness. My go-to is my old Strong’s Concordance when I want to dig, so here’s what I found there:

righteousness: Strong’s #6664: justice, rightness, what is right or just normal

(Let’s not skim over this phrase from the Strong’s: “what is right or just normal”.  You know, what is found in the Word of God is what is normal and right – we ought to get used to this prescribed way of right-living until it is our normal too!)

from Strong’s #6663: to be right, to make right, to cleanse, clear self, be or do justice, be or do rightly

Made me think: if it is MY righteousness that will clear the path before me, and if I believe my righteousness is rooted in the Lord…. As I do the next right thing, obeying the Lord, doing the best I can with the insight and knowledge I have, continuing to grow in Him – then the path is being cleared before me.  Seeking the Lord more fervently makes the path more clear. As I am doing what is right, I am believing the the Lord to cover my back (be my “rear guard” like 58:8 tells me). I am believing the Lord to come when I call.  I am believing the Lord to break yokes and free oppressive situations in my life and relieve heavy burdens.

That’s MY part: growing and going in righteousness.  The Lord’s part is ALL the other benefits there.  🙂

The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (58:11)

I returned to prayer, with a little more desire to see the Truth of the Word come alive in my life: “Lord, I pray to You because I am in desperate need of Your continual guidance.  When I am in drought, even now, I need to BE a spring of water. I don’t only need to HAVE a spring, I need to BE the spring, rushing waters of life coming from Your fullness in me.  Lord, You know where I am bound.  Lord, You know where I am oppressed.  Lord, You know where I am yoked up in something You didn’t ordain in my life.”

Thinking about unhealthy yokes and burdens, thinking about being entangled, bound in areas where I was not meant to be bound, it came to me: It is a wrong thought to expect the Lord to send blessing to an area He did not ordain.  The Lord’s blessing begins at obedience. The Lord will not yoke Himself to our mistakes or to our past.

If your burden is heavy, it may be that you are in a season of growth and the Lord is there with you. Continue practicing righteousness, trusting Him to be there when you call, trusting Him to have your back.  He will give you strength and He will give you peace. However, there’s another side: if your burden is heavy, it may be that you have taken on something that God did not ordain in your life.  If this is the case, have the boldness to step away from it, ask forgiveness if you need to, and draw on the Lord’s strength to turn back to the right path.

If our burden is heavy, it is time to evaluate the burden.  Ask yourself and be honest: did God tell you to carry this burden? Is God giving you grace for this hardship? Sometimes the load is heavy AND the Lord is gracious to you AND you know you are making progress.  A struggle can be good for us.  A struggle can help us grow.  The presence of a struggle does not mean the absence of the Lord.

However – sometimes the load is heavy and while the Lord is present (He’s always with you), He is not necessarily yoking Himself to the burden. Why not?  Perhaps you have taken on a burden that was not yours to carry.  Perhaps God did not ask you to labor under that thing, He did not assign those people to you, He did not ask you to accrue that debt or make that investment, He did not ask you to make those commitments….. ideas that were GOOD, but were not necessarily GOD.

Being able to evaluate your burden, and being able to either trust the Lord in it or let it go entirely – that’s not easy.  Being yoked with God is a treasure.  Praying you find that balance today –

Jennifer ❤

 

 

 

The benefits and “up sides” of serving the Lord are many. God is generous and kind to us. I love Isaiah 58 – I read it and think about it often. Read this piece of the passage – I emphasized a few important words not be missed:

 

The “then“s and the “and“s are the Lord’s part.  If I do this, then He will do that and that. There’s always an “and” with the Lord – He’s all about addition and growth and increase!

We don’t have to perform in order to be worthy of God’s love – He loves us already, just like we are.  However, just like showing up at work and doing your job daily is key to benefits like paychecks and health insurance, obedience to God is key to receiving spiritual benefits.

You know what stands out to me the most today?  There are way more “then“s and “and“s than there are “if“s.  If I do a few things, the Lord will do LOTS of things.  If I “take away the yoke from my midst” (that means if I will release the people around me from the pressure/oppression of meeting my demands, do my best to operate in graciousness and peace), if I take away “the pointing of the finger” (if I refuse to play the “blame game”), if I stop “speaking wickedness” (well, you know what that one means)…. If I “extend my soul to the hungry” and”satisfy the afflicted soul” (if I willingly and happily share with those in need)…. then what will the Lord do? Take a look at this amazing list:

• He will cause my light to shine in darkness
• He will guide me continually
• He will satisfy my soul when I am in need
• He will strengthen my bones
• He will cause my life to be like a well-watered garden, green and healthy and growing

Want some more “and”s?  Well, good news: there’s more!  Not just for you, but for those who are within your sphere of influence, those who come after you:

“Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” (Isaiah 58:12)

Simply beautiful.  If I operate in obedience, then my legacy will be one of peace and restoration, building foundations and restoring that which is broken…. The Lord will multiply our small actions into a ripple effect that continues on beyond us.

Please forgive me, Sir Isaac Newton: for my small action, the reaction was not opposite nor was it equal.  The Lord took my small effort of kindness and cheerful giving, and His reaction was abundant and multiplied, far beyond what I did.  You may have found the same to be true in your life, or maybe you’ll take this on as an experiment today and try it out: every time you take a step of obedience to the Lord, His reaction is so much better and sweeter and kinder than you could have reasonably expected.

Every single time you perform your “if”, the Lord will perform His “then” and His “and” on your behalf – and that, my friend, is a treasure every time 🙂

praying you find yourself on the sweet end of the deal today,

Jennifer ❤