A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

Are you ready to step out into the unknown?

The beginning of a new year--any new beginning, really--feels a bit like stepping off a cliff.

Who knows what awaits us "out there?"               

Every new situation brings a touch of uneasiness. Even if we think we've prepared for it, one question looms.

Will I be able to handle whatever comes?

All we know for sure is that ahead of us lie 365 days of the unknown. As surely as explorers scout new territory, you and I will travel through the unexplored and unpredictable. 

Sounds exciting, right?

Oh, I see you over there, the one shaking your head and saying, "Yeah, sure. You don't know my life."

Now cut that out!

Here's the truth. Sure, we may stay in the same place with the same people around us.

But . . . Things change. No human being is fixed and unchanging, like, say, a cardboard box. As long as we live and breathe, we prove what Grandma used to say, "As long as there's life, there's hope."

And we are alive, aren't we?

So let's start where we are and take stock. Otherwise it's way too easy to let the setbacks and inconveniences of life blot out the good of our ordinary days. 

Thinking it through helps us gain a perspective.

Take the time for a pause that helps us make sense of yesterday. To look back and reflect on where we've been. To replay the happy days and savor what was good. Time to let your heart be glad.

Let your heart be glad.

Ah, there's the rub

Even as Christians, some of us are afraid to feel good about anything in our lives. As in, If I let myself believe things are going well, it's a sure bet that  everything will fall apart.

I know people and maybe you do, too, who firmly believe they were born under a curse and refuse to think otherwise.

None of us fit neatly into a mold. God makes each of us one-of-a-kind. Our struggles, whatever they are, are just as unique.

Taking time to think, to read, maybe to talk with professionals, is never a waste of time. The better we understand ourselves the better we can cope with today. Or tomorrow. 

Sometimes looking back hurts

For some of us the past was hard, whether from circumstances or from what others inflicted on us, and we just want to forget.

Forgetting would seem the easy way but that's not what helps most. What's more useful is resolving not to waste the hard stuff of life. 

The one certain thing, whatever the situation, is that God knows and God loves us. 

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.    --Psalm 30:7

Scrape off the bandages you plastered over your wounds and take time to let yourself feel whatever emotions may surface.

Did you learn anything new about yourself? Most of us will . . . if we're honest.

Do a fair assessment

Perhaps now you'll understand that you displayed more inner strength than you realized you had at the time. Let yourself feel good about your hard-earned inner stamina and thank God for His transforming power within you.

You say there were times you blew it? Consider it proof you're an imperfect human being--like the rest of us. Beating up on yourself will just beat you down. 

If your self-inventory reminds you of an offense or a disagreement, pray for courage to humbly ask forgiveness. Truly, it's never too late. What matters is that we clear our conscience and leave the end result in God's hands.

Knowing for sure that Jesus died for all our sins enables us to forgive others in the same way.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.   --Colossians 3:13

As we grow, our faith grows

We'll need a humble, teachable heart. (A good thing to pray for.) Then what happens in our life will deepen our understanding of God because we'll look for--and see--His hand in everything.

What we know about the future is that it remains always unknown. Oh, we know two more things, the most important: We are loved and we will not walk through it alone.  

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.     --Zephaniah 3:17

So, my friends, let's step off into every tomorrow with excitement and with joy!

Lovingly,

Lenore

 

How to climb out of the "same old, same old" and never break a sweat

It's the time of year when the "experts" spell out how we can change and better ourselves.                                             

I take it all in and think, Yes! I even make lists and set goals.

But . . .

Before long I sink back into my comfortable ruts and life goes on.

Until . . .

I learned a simple, small way to make big changes

That January Sunday our pastor asked the ushers to hand out the index cards he'd given them earlier.

"It's time we all set priorities for the year ahead," he said. "But don't worry, I'll keep it simple.

"First number your cards, 1, 2, 3, no more. In 15 words or less write not what you hope will happen or what you want to happen, but what you will do to make this a better year. Use action words so you can remember. Got it? Okay, you have five minutes. Go!"

That's not enough time--or words! How am I supposed to figure this out so fast?

About minute four, I scribbled:

1. See the good
2. Speak the good
3. Do the good

(Yes, I know that's not proper grammar.)

When the timer beeped he said, "Stop! Take your card home and tape it at eye level where you can't help seeing it. Whenever you see that card, read your words aloud and ask God's help.

"Now let's pray. Lord, we cannot change on our own. Inspire each of us to put in action what you just planted in our minds. Make us faithful and bless our efforts, we pray. Amen."

Later that day I taped my card on "my side" of our bathroom wall mirror. End of story.

Or maybe not

Over the next weeks every time I looked in the mirror I read my nine short words again and prayed, "Lord, help me, please."

I didn't expect much, but God surprised me. I could not shake those words.

I heard them when another driver took the parking space I just spotted.

Would I fuss and fume or would I see the good? Thanks be, I was alive and had a car to drive. Another parking place would open up, why get bent out of shape?

Those nine words drummed in my mind with relationships, too, as when my husband brought home the "wrong" brand of detergent.

I could scold or I could see the good (he shopped.) I could speak the good ("Thanks, Hon. I really appreciate it,") and do the good by giving him a hug, because I value him and our marriage more than any product.

Those phrases even affected chance encounters, as when a clerk seemed snippy.

I could walk out angry, muttering my frustration. Or I could see the good, understanding the clerk might be preoccupied because of serious personal issues. I could do the good by smiling and speak the good by thanking her for her help.

Net gain: Liking myself better.

I left my card up all year and kept it handy because it reminded me how I wanted to live.

How will we make it through the year ahead?

Each of us will carry different burdens as we journey on and tough times may arise, but we are not alone. Jesus walks with us--and that says it all.

This year I want to remember words of strength like these.

• So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  --Isaiah 41:10
  
  
• Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  --1 Peter 5:7
  
  
• But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”   --2 Corinthians 12:9
  
  
• I can do everything through him who gives me strength. --Philippians 4:13
  
  
• (Jesus said) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  --John 14:2
  
  

Here's my New Year's wish for you, dear readers, from Romans 15:13:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Trusting, too,

Lenore

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God don't make no junk!

That's bad grammar, I know,

but the phrase imprinted itself on my mind ever since I attended an anti-stress workshop years ago. The leader began with those words and had us repeat it after him, again and again.

It's not a bad slogan for beginning a new year, especially after a year that featured lots of what someone labeled "stinkin' thinkin" on all sides.

Borrowing from that workshop leader, I say, "Enough, already!"

If we adopted that technique it would work like this

The leader would ask, Do you think it's hopeless because you lack some essential qualities to reach your goals? He had an answer: God don't make no junk!

Are you going through a rough patch in your marriage or in your job? Well, cheer up. God brought you and your spouse together and provided that job. And God don't make no junk!

Are you feeling in beyond your depth with being a mom or a dad? Never mind. God obviously considers you able to handle it or He wouldn't have made you a parent. Besides, God don't make no junk! Count on Him to supply wisdom as you need it and strength for each day. 

Do you struggle with health problems? Do you or one of your kids have physical or mental challenges and you worry about what comes next? Take heart, you'll be able to handle it, because God don't make no junk!

A look into what this means

I thought of that workshop when I watched this wonderful YouTube a friend sent. Every time I play it, I smile through a few tears.

And can you hear those words? God don't make no junk!

 

 

I suggest we adopt a new slogan for 2013, one we can pull up anytime we're feeling unsure about life or the future.  

God don't make no junk--and He don't make no mistakes, either.

You and I can walk unafraid, confident we'll be able to handle whatever comes.

For proof we can go deeper than that catch phrase and turn to Bible verses like this one, Psalm 29:11:

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his peoople with peace.

"His people" includes any of us who love the Lord, so this promise is for us, too.

Thanks for stopping by, my invisible friend. Hope you found something here that blesses your heart.

Love,

Lenore

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Living in the time between . . . .

 
Here we are in the time between the times.

Between the joy and wonder of Christmas into the unknown of the New Year. Ahead of us lie 364 days that hold . . . what? We cannot know. All we know for sure is yesterday, but that's behind us. Our next day, our next breath are yet to be.

You and I live in the now, always in the moment. Every moment of every day we get to choose whether we'll live with fear or with joy and anticipation.

It's easy to let fear get the upper hand because it drags us down without any effort on our part. And why wouldn't we be uneasy, considering all the warnings and threats and crime reports that drop on us morning, noon and night?

Except . . . we do not enter the unknown alone. God is already there. Remember Psalm 139? I love that Psalm. Over the years, like everyone else my husband and I have had some tough times sprinkled among the good. That's when I turn to Psalm 139, verses 1-18. Oh, I know all along that God is with us and of course, I pray. Yet the words of that beautiful Psalm reassure me and calm my fearful heart every time I read them.

When I find verses that "speak" to me I underline them or mark them in some way. But I needed a way to be able to locate them quickly. So a few years ago I started also writing where to find them on the blank pages at the back of my battered old Bible. My system is haphazard, but it works for me.

That's what jogged my memory with this verse, which is good advice for any day of any year.

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life . . .

Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Now you and I can prance into the unknown unafraid--and we will prance, won't we?  Long ago I ran across the words of Minnie L. Haskins, who tells us the best way to travel:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:  Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.  And he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.  That shall be to you  better than light, and safer than a known way.

Dear friends and gentle readers, thank you for taking time to stop by and read my words during this past year. May your New Year be filled with many blessings and great JOY!      
      

Love,

Lenore

Comments? Questions: What Bible verse(s) do you turn to?

 

Past, present, future...What do we do with it?

Once in awhile we all need a word to lift our hearts. Maybe we get stuck in the past...all the times we coulda', shoulda', woulda', but didn't. Maybe we feel overwhelmed with the present. And then there's the future, full of "what ifs?"

Take heart. Others have been here before us--and lived through it. Sometimes it's good to hear from them...

 

The Good Old Days were neither better nor worse than the ones we're living through right now.  

--Artie Shaw

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magic rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.      --Dale Carnegie

 

Two men looked out through prison bars, One saw mud, the other saw stars.

 

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider:

God has made the one as well as the other.   

  

Ecclesiastes 7:14

 

God has been so good to me! He never left me alone for a minute. 

--My grandmother at age 99

 

Jesus, please teach me to appreciate what I have

before time forces me to appreciate what I had.

--Susan L. Lenzkes

 

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  

--Psalm 118:24

 

Here's to making this day--and every day--a good day!

Blessings,

Lenore