A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

To raise your quality of life, start with these five words

In this ever-churning world, how do we stay calm?

Years ago, during one of our weekly family trips to our public library, I picked up a book with an enticing title: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie.

Once I started reading it, his use of one phrase grabbed hold of me:  

"Live in day-tight compartments."

Five unremarkable words, yet they kept playing in my mind. Later I realized they echo Psalm 118:24, which I learned as a child: 

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

I had repeated those beautiful words many times, but for whatever reason, they had not yet "sunk in."  

This time, they did and changed the way I looked at life.

Life sometimes seems like too much to handle 

Those five words hit me because they so neatly summed up what I needed to do. At the time, I was a busy young wife and mom who seldom sat down and never, ever got through my To Do list.

Don't get me wrong. Our life brimmed with joy and hard work and the blessed sound of four little girls giggling. I loved my husband and our kids with all my heart.

I had everything to be thankful for--and I truly was--but I often felt overwhelmed. 

In quiet moments that nuisance inner voice whispered, "Are you sure you have what it takes? What about all you have to  do tomorrow? And next week? And what will you do when all these girls become teenagers?"  

Outwardly, I smiled. Inwardly, I low-level simmered with self-doubt.  

Finding a new perspective

"Live in day-tight compartments" showed me a better way to think.

Carnegie used the analogy of an ocean liner, in which the captain shuts off any leaking compartments to keep the vessel afloat.

The rest of us can live that way, too, he says over and over.  

Here's how. We close the door on yesterday and its failures, as deliberately as we shut the door to a room. Then--just for today--we block out our "what ifs" and fears and worries about the future.

That leaves this day, the one we actually are living in, the one the Lord has given us. From this 24 hours we determine to squeeze out every drop of joy and satisfaction.

What about problems and troubles? Carnegie promises any of us can deal with anything for one day. What sinks us is wondering how we will get through tomorrow and the day after that.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he spoke truth. It sounded too simple, but then, great truths often are.

Jesus said it first

Remember the Sermon on the Mount? In Matthew, chapters 5-7, Jesus addressed the crowds. His words come loaded with wisdom for living, like: 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."   Matthew 6:34   NIV

Jesus taught this centuries before Carnegie's "day-tight compartments." His words imply we are to leave our "woulda, coulda, shouldas" in the past, as well, simply because they are history.  

As for our nameless fears about the future, they don't belong in this day, either.  Deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

Substitute prayer for worry  

Prayer is simply talking to God, openly sharing what's on our hearts, giving him the whole load of it. The goods, the bads and yes, sometimes the uglies of it.

For many of us, prayer weaves through every part of our lives.  

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7  ESV

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7  ESV

I learned a lot from books but oh, so much more from spending time in the Bible and participating in good Bible studies. I discovered treasures like Philippians 4:5-7, which I copied onto a sticky note and posted it on my bathroom mirror. Here, it's from the J. B. Phillips paraphrase:

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus. 

Trust-worthy words that can change your life

If you're looking for words with power to change your life and give you peace, turn to the Bible.

Skeptics and naysayers have challenged and ridiculed and argued about it on all sides, yet the Bible endures over the centuries. What's more, no one has found any errors in it. In fact, recent findings by today's archaeologists simply back up the dates and facts as given.  

Perhaps you've tried to read it, but didn't or couldn't understand.

Try again. Ask God to open your understanding, then start with the Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of John. Take your time, but stick with reading it--and I promise, it will get easier.

If you have a smart phone or computer you can download the Bible through one of the many Holy Bible apps that offer the NIV or ESV translations, as well as others. Then you will hear the text, word-for-word all through the Bible, read by excellent narrators.  

What next? Live out biblical truths as best you can and trust the Holy Spirit to gently change you from the inside out so that you will feel peace and calm within. Find a church where the Bible is front-and-center and held up as God's Truth, without error and reliable, and where you feel the joy as people of faith come together. 

Will you still have questions and struggles? Probably, either ongoing or from time to time, because life goes on and none of us is perfect. Will they swamp your "boat?"

Never. You'll keep growing and you will notice less stress within.   

Self-help vs. faith-on-the-grow

Carnegie and countless other writers teach principles and techniques. They tell us we have control over our thoughts and attitudes, not vice versa.  

The trouble is, each one maintains that WE can change ourselves if we just try hard enough.  

The truth is, we all need help and inner change is an inside job.

The Bible tells us again and again that when we trust in Jesus, his Holy Spirit in our hearts gently changes us from the inside out. Changes us for real.  

Jesus said in John 10:10b:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  NIV

Consider the Bible a storehouse filled with good words for living. Words that can transform your life because they testify of God's grace in Jesus Christ, the Savior.

By now I've lived long enough to know this goes way beyond theory. This is truth. Take these words to heart, my friend, and be at peace.

God bless you,

Lenore

What we can learn from the oyster

This may sound a bit outlandish, but hang in there and read on. I promise there's a logical connection.

Did you ever notice how quickly we pick up on it when someone criticizes us or seems to judge us negatively?

Praise may inhabit the same sentences, but we miss that.

In one effortless leap, we pounce on the negative and camp out. 

The thought lingers like pesky grains of beach sand that refuse to rub off or wash off.  

I wonder what she meant by that?   

How can he expect me to ...?    

Who does she think she is?

We brush the offender away, but it returns in the middle of the night, unbidden.

Always, we choose what to do with it

We can keep it, nurse it and turn it into a pet. 

We can blow it up until it blots out the rest of our otherwise good life.

If we take either path, this thing will grow into hardness of heart and that becomes as unyielding as a chunk of granite.

Before long we develop a worrisome habit and find intentional slights and hurts lurking in every conversation. It doesn't matter whether anyone else agrees. We know what that speaker meant.  

Good advice from a wise friend for how to handle times like this

A Bible teacher once laid out some strategies about this topic to our group.

• Hold your perception up to the light and examine it as objectively as you can. Discard what you know is false.
  
• Pluck out any truth you find and weigh its worth. If you need to, swallow hard and face it. 
  
• Consider carefully before you speak up, knowing you have no power to change another person's mind.
  
• State the facts calmly, without heat. Without argument.
  
• Apologize when you know you need to, even if it doesn't feel comfortable. Do it for your own clear conscience and your peace of mind.
  
• Decide to leave your wounded pride at the cross--and don't pick it up again.
  
• Pray for a heart of love toward the one(s) who hurt you.

Let's learn from the oyster

Oysters that take in pieces of grit may form pearls of incredible luster over time.  Similarly, irritating experiences can produce something beautiful in us.

If we let them.

All it takes is letting go of our pain and leaving it behind at the cross. (Yes, I know that's hard.)

Listen to what Jesus told his followers in John 10:10:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

The full life. Peace of mind and heart. Joy down deep, where it lasts and where it matters.

Speaking of Jesus ... 

It's not that long since Christians all over the world celebrated Easter. Why do we mark this wonderful event every year? Here's why, in a nutshell:

Jesus came. He lived and died, really died. Three days later He burst out of his grave, fully alive, and in his human body He walked and talked to many people. He ate with His friends. By His life and death Jesus made peace between us and God. He came to make us new and set us free from the power of sin in our lives. That's what Easter is all about--and Jesus came for all people.

And that's why we can be at peace, with no need to take offense when someone else sounds critical of us. It doesn't matter and our self-esteem need not be diminished one bit. We have all we need in Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.   John 3:16-17  ESV

That's why we Christians rejoice over Easter.

That's why we can forgive others when they unintentionally--or even intentionally--speak thoughtless words that hurt us. In Jesus we can let it go and pay no attention..

Life is too precious to waste on hurt feelings. Let's "grow pearls" instead.

Learning, too,

Lenore

Why we still need Easter, even now

The very idea of Easter offends many people 

 

 

As for Easter and the Resurrection, forget it. 

True, many prominent figures in our Nation and around the world loudly proclaim they have no use--and no need--for God.

They say, "It's an outdated concept. Today we have science and besides, we don't need it. We're perfectly able to manage our own lives."

It's a popular theme, that we're beyond such simplistic thinking. Too intelligent, too educated, too advanced to think Christianity has any more relevance to our Century than Grimm's fairy tales.

Even some church-goers say, "I don't take Easter literally. To me it's more of a nice metaphor for new life in Christ."

Consider the evidence 

t's true that faith is a matter of, well, faith. Not logic. Not scientific proof.

That does not mean there is no backup. Historians lived in that day, too, and archaeology findings prove the accuracy of their accounts. 

Josephus, for example, recorded the facts surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and afterward. His writings are remarkably similar to Gospel accounts such as Matthew 26:47 to 28:10.

Those historical accounts note that despite heavy guard, Christ's body did vanish from the tomb. They also record that during the following weeks many people saw the flesh-and-blood Jesus alive. 

That's what the four Gospels say, too

Each one ends with the risen Jesus appearing to his followers, not as some sort of spirit being, but in a physical body.

The Apostle Paul also wrote about that in his Epistles, as in 1 Corinthians 15. 

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive ...

Most of whom are still alive ... Real people of that time saw the real risen Jesus and heard him speak.

There's only one logical conclusion, even if you believe only the historical accounts: 

Unlike every other human being who has lived and died since the beginning of time, Jesus Christ did not stay dead.

Jesus was no ordinary human

He was God come to earth in human form. Our minds cannot even comprehend that, let alone explain it.

Jesus Christ was born and died to set things right between us and God. To pay the penalty of our sin. To overcome the power of death and the devil. Remember John 3:16?

[Jesus said] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

"The world"--that includes you and me and every other person who will ever live.

Easter--Resurrection Sunday--is our Freedom Day. Because Jesus lives, you and I can live, too, eternally.

What we believe about Easter matters, all 365 days of the year

Without the resurrection, Christianity shrinks into just another code of ethics, another set of rules.

Or it becomes no more than a warm fuzzy sentiment, such as, "I'll hold good thoughts for you," or "I'll ask the Universe to send good things your way."  

It's just as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19:

"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins ... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." 

The Bible makes it clear that it didn't end there. In John 14:15-16 Jesus made a promise: 

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." 

That promise is for us, too.

The Holy Spirit changes us, from the inside out

When we believe in Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection it takes away the pressure to try to change on our own. Change comes through the quiet work of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus, within our hearts and minds.

This is what Easter and the resurrection mean to those of us who trust in Jesus and call ourselves Christians. 

Let skeptics doubt and denounce, it makes no difference. The Truth still stands. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.                                                        --Hebrews 13:8

A blessed Easter to you and may you know the calm, sweet peace and comfort of Jesus every day!

Lenore

*Cartoon by the late Johnny Hart

LEAVE YOUR MARK ON TOMORROW--AND YES, YOU CAN!

The question is, "Are you ready to let God use you in someone's life?"

If you wonder how, let me tell you a true story. "Kyle" grew up with parents who loved him, but never went to church. Not even at Christmas.

No bedtime prayers.

No, "Thank you, Lord, for this food," not even at Thanksgiving.

The only time Kyle ever heard the words, "God," or "Jesus Christ," was when somebody opened a bill or banged their fingers in a door.

He walked by a church on his way to school, but he didn't know what people did there. 

Then a family with a boy his age rented the house next door

Kyle and Jimmy played together every chance they got.  

After school let out, Jimmy asked Kyle, "Hey, want to come along to VBS? It's fun!"

Kyle's mom said, "I suppose it's okay, but I don't know why you'd want to."

Dad objected but Mom threw in the clincher. "Oh, what harm can it do? Besides, it gives me a break." 

The next Monday, off they went. When Kyle learned that "VBS" meant Vacation Bible School he wondered what he got himself into. School?  In summer?

In no time he loved it. Besides, these smiling grownups seemed to love kids and there were lots of homemade cookies. Kyle didn't want VBS to end.

A couple weeks later Jimmy's dad took another job and the family moved away. 

When Kyle turned 16 he got his driver's license

One Saturday Kyle asked to use the car next day, so he could go to church. His dad said, "Church?  Why on earth would you do that?"  

"I remember that VBS with Jimmy. The people are nice over there and I like Pastor Matthew. I still remember the stories they told us and I want to find out more."

"Well, I guess if you want to give up a Sunday morning, go ahead. Once will be enough."

But it wasn't.

Some of the "cookie ladies" recognized Kyle and hugged him. Pastor Matthew remembered Kyle from VBS and invited him to come around any time. Before long Kyle considered Pastor Matthew his friend because he listened. Every question Kyle came up with, he answered, then said, "Got any more? Bring 'em on."

The more Kyle knew of Jesus, the more he wanted to know

Soon he asked to be baptized and later he was confirmed.  

Then Kyle told his parents, "I know what I want to do with my life. I want to study to become a pastor."

"But Son, why? You could be anything!"

Kyle persisted and finally they said, "Son, if you're determined to go ahead with this foolishness, you're on your own."

He said, "Then I guess it's up to God and me. We'll do it together. Somehow. Some way."

Kyle related that conversation to Pastor Matthew and a few others who asked, "Got any college plans?"

Soon a member started a scholarship fund and Kyle was the first recipient.

Studying hard and loving it

Hebrew and Greek taxed Kyle to the limit. Five nights a week he stocked shelves in a warehouse and learned to get by on four or five hours of sleep.

Yet he had never been happier or more at peace.

At last he was ready to graduate. His parents came and also attended the worship service where Kyle would be ordained as a pastor.

That was their first--and only--time inside a church.

Five years later Pastor Kyle came to serve our congregation

One Sunday he shared his story, how as a child what touched his heart was one week of hearing the Good News of Jesus who loved children.

Pastor Kyle smiled at his faith family and said, "I also remembered all those nice, smiling grownups at Vacation Bible School who genuinely seemed to like kids, even kids like me.

"It's no stretch to say I wouldn't be here if not for that VBS. And by the way, my parents now are baptized believers in Jesus."

When the first call went out for VBS volunteers the list filled up instantly. 

Most of us could manage to be nice and to smile

Really, that's the main requirement. Kids need to feel loved before they can hear the Gospel.

At our church we have VBS volunteers from eighth grade up to age 80-plus, all working together.

• Yes, some children will be there because their parents like free baby-sitting.
  
• That's okay with us because for some kids it may be the only time they'll hear that Jesus loves them. 

Even if that's all the VBS kids remember, it's all worthwhile. The rest is up to God. 

Lovingly,

Lenore

 

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Do we have habits or do our habits have us?

I have well, unhelpful habits I've been trying to shed for years. How about you?  

Oh, I make good resolutions and they last a week or so.  Then I slip back into my old routines, a.k.a., my old, comfortable habits.

That ones I just said I wanted to break.

Take one minor example from my list. I don't consider myself a particularly messy person but, well, stuff accumulates around me. 

When our last child left home I expected our kitchen table and counters  finally would stay clear. I envisioned living in a somewhat model home, with boring housework only a distant memory. My workspace would be a streamlined marvel of organization. 

Imagine my shock to find things still piling up.

It's as one friend explained with her, "Law of the Flat Surface:" Any flat surface automatically attracts clutter, which will automatically attract more of the same.

Does that ever happen in your home?                                    

It's worse when you're a writer

We writers clip articles from newspapers and magazines. We scribble notes to ourselves on whatever's handy, like paper napkins, to be sure we don't lose an idea.

Here's the problem. Somebody needs to sort those clipped-together piles and categorize and file. Technology helps, but 'ya still gotta do it.

Guess who.

At least once a month I vow I will never let it get ahead of me again.

At least once a month I fail.

I tell myself life and people get in the way and always take precedence. That sounds all noble and good, but it's not. It's my usual, comfortable excuse.

You see the problem here

The fact is this is who I am. Human. Humans are like this.

Aren't we?

It can feel overwhelming when we count up all the ways we miss the mark and let people down, even the ones we love.

Let ourselves down.

The Apostle Paul's spoke of that, too, in Romans 7:19-20:

For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Sin? Oh, yes, that which keeps us from doing what God would have us do. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:48:

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Perfect? If you're anything like me, you can't even live up to your own standards, let alone the standards of a perfect God.

So, my friends, if salvation depends on us, we have no hope.

That's why we call the Gospels the Good News

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. They penned the story of Jesus' life, from before birth to after He died on the cross and rose again.

This verse is what many call, "the Gospel in a nutshell."

(Jesus said) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  --John 3:16.

Even if we understand nothing else, these words tell the story of salvation.

It's that simple--and that glorious. If we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin we need not live in fear of God's wrath over our failures. Jesus  paid with His death on the cross for our sins.

Even those bad habits we have yet to overcome.

Lovingly,

Lenore