My Golden Spiritual Birthday

I don't normally try to toot my own horn, especially for a birthday. But today is special, not because I have done anything special, but because the Lord has. It has been 25 years ago today that the Lord saved me. A whole quarter of a century!

It was a stormy, Thursday night on August 25, 1983 and I had brought my dad to see my Pastor, Clayton Doss. I knew some of what the Bible said about being born again, enough to explain to my dad it was what he needed. But, it was me the Lord was working on that night. The more I sat and waited for my dad to finish talking with Pastor, the more despair I felt for my own soul. How could I know for sure? How could anyone know for certain they were going to heaven? Wasn't that presumptuous?

Ah...but the story goes back further than that, back to college days when a friend of mine asked me a very abrupt question, "Where would you go if you were to die tonight?" "Errr....heaven," I said, but my heart had no peace about that answer. In fact, that answer haunted me as I tried to justify my reasons for it. Well, that was the beginning of my journey to Bible salvation.

The next several months were a time of rededicating my life to religion. I faithfully went to church every morning, joined a Bible study and faith enrichment class and tried to read my Bible. Frustration soon set in as my religious busyness still did not alleviate my fear concerning my eternal destiny. Questions were not being answered satisfactorily even though I was seeking desperately for them.

An old friend invited me to attend church - a Bible believing Baptist church in Crookston, MN. Much to my shame now, I stared out the window for most of the service and tried hard not to listen. The preacher preached on sin - my sin and how if you weren't right with God, you were condemned to eternity in hell. Not something I wanted to hear! I even made a vow not to come back!

Several more months passed, the things I had heard at that church began to sink in, especially as I attended my own church and saw contradictions to the Bible. I began searching for answers again, this time from the Bible. Soon I found myself back at that Bible church again...somewhat enjoying it - my questions were being answered. Months passed, I quit college, met new friends, and even mustered up a viable salvation testimony and was baptized. I was soon discovering, though, just because you believe in Bible things, go to church, get baptized and join the church doesn't mean you are a Christian. It's not something you 'grow into'. I still had no peace and the fear of not making it to heaven was something that consumed my thoughts. On the outside I was a Christian, I conformed to what I thought Christians should be like and I did a good job at it. No one suspected I wasn't a true Christian. On the inside, I was miserable. No peace, lots of fear, and still chained to sin, I would sit through sermon after sermon, under a load of guilt that only pride could dismiss.

Finally, that stormy Thursday night in August, I admitted to God I was lost and needed Him. I couldn't wish myself into heaven, I couldn't work myself into heaven...there was nothing I could do. It was time to leave self and put Christ on the throne of my life. That night in tears and shame, I humbly turned from my sin, my self, my ways and my effort to the Saviour and He gloriously saved me!

Yes, this is a wonderful day to me, not because of my doing, but because He did it all! Those last words Jesus spoke when He died for my sins, "It is finished", say done! No more working, wishing, trying...to get to heaven. He has furnished the way. Simple faith and repentance (turning from sin to the Saviour) does what none of us can. It gives us a home in heaven. Thank you Lord!

Have a blessed day,

Lori

My Favorite Salvation Verse: Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast."

How to Read Your Music (pt 2)

The dictionary describes music as the "art of putting sounds together in beautiful, pleasing, or interesting arrangements". Yesterday, we saw how God, our Great Composer, is busy creating a perfect piece of music for us. If we follow what is written, all the notations, markings, and notes of our lives will correctly reflect His views, feelings and ideas, blending in perfect harmony with the One who created us. This is very important, especially if we are the instruments working off the 'Grand Staff' as in marriage with both a treble clef and a bass clef. Following Our Composer's written desires kept for us in the Bible, we may be assured we will play our piece with dexterity, thought and correct expression.

Much music is written in chords, which are three notes played together in harmony - what a picture of the husband and wife who put the Lord first in their marriage ("a three-fold chord is not quickly broken" - Ecclesiastes 4:12b). There will be many major chords played and even a few minor ones. Major chords sound out strong: the things a marriage is based on; the Word of God, salvation, a good New Testament Church to serve in. There may be a home to keep and children to bring up, happiness, joy, and blessings! Occasionally, there will be minor chords as well; times of sickness, pain, death and heartaches. But remember, these chords are triads - three notes played together at the same time. The Lord is with us all the way.

Sometimes in marriage we can hit a dissonant note causing our perfect melody line to become disturbing to those around us. Disagreements and arguments, while they may occur, need to come to a 'resolution' quickly ("let not the sun go down upon your wrath" - Ephesians 4:26b). A dissonant chord occurs when two notes are too close - competing for the melody line. A wise wife knows when to take a 'step down' in order to make things harmonious once again. Accidentals may occur occasionally in a piece of music as well. These are sharps and flats, those changes in pitch that are not a part of the key the music is written in. Sometimes we may get on the sharp side - not keeping our tongues under control. Or sometimes we take on a flat disposition - moving down half a step with a negative, critical spirit. The solution? Get back to God's original key signature with a 'natural' sign - which means we are not changed in pitch by a sharp or flat!

Rhythm is the pulse of the composition - the under girding. Our marriages need the stability that the Lord provides in His Word so we don't run ahead of His plan or lag too far behind the tempo he has set for our lives. Occasionally, we may feel life is a bit on the allegro side and long for a nice slow down - andante style. Remember, He knows just what we need in order to be a great piece of music.

Scales need to be practiced - how fun! Up and down, up and down. Will we ever get it right? There are things in marriage that we seem to go over and over again, hitting clunkers on the way up and again on the way down. Irritations, hurt feelings, angry words, can be overcome by relying on God's power to change us and not our spouse. Don't give up! Eventually, the clinkers will disappear, we'll gain speed and dexterity and the ups and downs of life's scales will seem much easier.

While sight-reading is important in the playing of music, it is "faith reading" that is important in the Christian life. We are not to walk by sight but by faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him as the Bible says. That may occasionally require us to follow on even though we've lost sight of the melody line in our lives.

God sometimes does a bit of transposing, changing from one key to the next, and sometimes there may be an inversion in the melody, where it is turned upside down. Sometimes we may feel stretched as he throws in a few augmented chords or sometimes we may be humbled and reduced in size as he adds a diminished chord here and there. And just as composers do when writing a beautiful sonata, the theme is just introduced at the beginning of our new lives together. As the years go on, the development phase takes place in which the harmony is unfolded and our love for each other deepens, further on the recapitulation stage occurs. That's the original theme repeated and broadened until the ending or the coda one day occurs. The music that the Lord has composed just for us will have been played expressly and beautifully, loudly and softly, lightly or vigorously, just as He had planned. The original melody line will be hummed by our children and others; that true "Melody of Love!"

Have a blessed day,

Lori

Beautiful Music Together!

Music is all around us: we hum a tune, whistle while we work, tap our feet as the parade goes by, and sing lullabies to our children. Music makes an exciting story even more thrilling, a sad one more somber and a happy one more exuberant! Without music, our world would seem very strange.

God has made our world full of musical sounds; birds, babbling brooks, rain, wind, and waves at the seashore all contribute to His symphony. Of course, not all we hear is music, a lot is just plain noise! Both music and noise are made up of sounds. But there is a difference. Sounds by themselves are not music. Someone has to pick and choose certain sounds to give us a pleasing tune to listen to. This composer, as he is called, is telling us his feelings by the melodies he chooses. He does this with the different counts he picks and by differing rhythms or playing fast or slow, loud or soft, in big rich sounds or in thin far away sounds. He is as a painter using his melodies as objects and scenes on a canvas. We learn to follow the melody as it grows from a simple tune to a great song or symphony.

What is the difference between music and noise? Music has meaning and reflects the composer's ideas and feelings. Music has melody, a string of notes that follow each other to make pleasing sounds. The first melody of a song may lead to another melody, or to the same melody played by a different instrument, faster or slower, louder or softer, perhaps even with new notes added to it. Music also has rhythm. There are many kinds of rhythms. But they are all regular and steady. They can be counted on.

Music is a composition of sounds that have regular vibrations, put together so they have rhythm, melody and meaning. In making music out of sounds, the composer plans them the way an architect plans a building so the finished work will be both strong and beautiful. He shapes his sounds together the way a sculptor shapes a statue. He fits them to each other the way a cabinetmaker fits the parts of a fine table. The composer arranges his sounds in a kind of order, the way a storyteller arranges his story, so that one part leads to the next and there will be a beginning, middle and an end. When the composer has done all these things to make sounds into a finished piece of music, we call it a composition!

There are many kinds of music. Some is written for soloists, some for instruments, some for duets and trios. In all these forms of music the composer chooses the sounds he thinks will best express his idea. Often he picks a theme or tune or melody and makes several variations of it.

The idea of music was spawned in the mind of God! Is it any wonder then, we can find many correlations to life and His idea of marriage as well? He is the Great Composer wishing to express His feelings, His ideas in and through a special composition. Not a duet written for two, for God's music is written for three. A Christian marriage is arranged around God and His desires for that couple. To have "perfect harmony" we must learn to trust Our Composer and reflect His feelings, the story He wants to tell through our lives. He has the Program Music already written, it is now just a matter of following the score. Some music is written for Treble Clef instruments (the high sounding ones) and some for Bass Clef instruments (the low sounding ones), but together in marriage they comprise the Grand Staff (both clefs written together) and are capable of putting forth a great amount of music - even an orchestra full!

Written music often has many markings and notations along with many complicated combinations of notes. We don't need to be overwhelmed with all these, though, because just as piano keyboards are divided into black and white keys to make it easier for the pianist to identify the right key for the desired sound - we have the Bible to make black and white sense out of all these different markings and notations so the desired sounds and melodies of our lives will be played as God desires. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at how to read our music.

Until then...

Have a blessed day,

Lori

Special Features Needed

Not too long ago I was looking for a replacement for my tired worn out sewing machine. I diligently read the listed features of each one I was interested in, noticing their strengths and weaknesses. Some had many different features on them: zigzag stitches, decorative stitches, stretch stitches, buttonholes and fancy embroidery stitches. Some could sew from one fabric to another without changing a thing and some seemed they could do anything from simple mending to practically cleaning my home! Each one had been specifically programmed to perform the functions the designer intended for them. I had a lot of thinking to do - what did I actually intend to do with my machine? What jobs would I require of it? What special features did I need?...What was I doing? I was checking out the qualities or features of the different machines, weighing their strengths and weaknesses. Each one had a particular strength or way it was to be used for best performance.

Hmmmm....Those of us who have children know perfectly well that they arrive programmed, if you will, toward doing wrong. They have a sinful nature. But the Lord intends to use each one with their own characteristics and features to do a particular, unique job that only they will be able to accomplish. It is our job to train them, to bring them up, and to encourage them. What will the Lord want them to do? Will they be prepared and ready or will they lack the 'special features' needed for His particular use?

Here's a list of some 'special features' I want to be sure my children obtain: attentiveness, obedience, diligence, contentment, neatness, reverence, forgiveness, gratefulness, faith, truthfulness, a sense of security, meekness, cautiousness and patience to name a few. These 'special features' will enable them to have good relationships with us as their parents, their teachers, and any employers they will one day be working for. They are vital for success in marriage and are the foundations upon which the maturing person will add another thirty or so important character traits later in life. Character provides the foundation a child needs in order to develop and maintain a good personal relationship with the Lord after salvation.

To develop character in our children, we need to know what we want to achieve. Then we can figure out how to accomplish those goals. Anyone can do it who keeps the goal in mind and follows through on a day-to-day basis. (That day-to-day thing is the hard part.)

The goal is to produce a disciplined life for the child ...do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, with the right attitude even when he or she doesn't want to. Children have to be taught to do what is right - and made to do it.

Perhaps, you see some character lacking in your own life as I have in mine. Raising children is a great way to improve our own missing or insufficient character traits.

Have a blessed day,

Lori

Priority Checkpoint

Discovering what is best for our own family is the way to keeping our home life on an even keel. Our parenting and homemaking goals will vary as widely as the paths we’ll need to take to reach those goals, but one way to get a sense of direction is to make a list. If...I’ve learned anything from my husband it is this little golden nugget: if it needs to be done, write it down! Early in this series I mentioned making a list of goals, those things we deem important in running our households. Sometimes it is helpful to get the big picture in view. Is your main objective to have a clean house or to raise children? Is it to be able to contact Martha Stewart for a spot on her show or is it to have a reasonably clean, welcoming atmosphere for your family. When you have a clear big picture, then you can get down to the nitty-gritty details. Ask yourself first what matters to you regarding your everyday expectations and make a second list in addition to your goal list.

This is a priority checkpoint. Be honest with yourself as you prioritize your activities. A meticulously clean floor may have to take a back seat to your child’s paper mache volcano project. If I write down each day’s events (that list thing again), I am assured of at least attempting to get first things done first. Sometimes we struggle unnecessarily so and spend our days in frustration and chaos instead of peace, harmony and satisfaction, knowing we did what was most needful. Help is only a prayer away, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (doesn’t hold back); and it shall be given him.” And one of my all time favorite verses in the Bible, Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Being a mom could be so much easier …if we’d only ask for help.

Here’s an excerpt from the book Celebrate Home written by Angie Peters, that I thought I’d share with you today:

Housework isn’t really that important…Oh, yes it is – to an extent! Chances are that domestic order somehow figured into the picture if not at the top, at least in your “top 10” goals penned earlier. Why is it so important?

You may want to make you home a clear contrast to the hectic, messy, and disorganized world beyond your driveway. You want clean floors (if for no other reason than because your toddler would just as soon eat off the floor as off of china plates.) And although your walls may sport a cute plaque with a homey rhyme about excusing messes while you rock your baby, you wonder how comfortable your guests would really feel if they were to crunch crumbs from last night’s dinner as they walked across the kitchen floor.

In addition, you may find it difficult to imagine that the ideal woman, whose portrait is painted in Proverbs and whose standard we strive toward, had a basin full of dirty pottery, overflowing garbage baskets, or less-than-fresh straw in her family’s bedding.

Although we do need to clean our homes, we need more urgently to rock our kids while they’re still rock-able, to tell stories to our kids while they want to listen, and to embrace the story of Martha and Mary: We must know that to forego enjoying the blessings of the Lord’s presence in our living rooms (in our case, enjoying His presence in the hearts of our beautiful kids, in the pleasures of our home, and in the lifestyle we’ve been called to lead) to wash dishes would be to settle for second best!

Key Verse to remember: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” - Matthew 6:33. Priority number one!

Have a blessed day,

Lori