Ouch! Did I Write That?

I am trying desperately to get rid of things. I am trying to make my life more manageable. I didn't expect to be compromised with a bad neck and back so early into my adventures as a retired person. It's an aggravating experience because it magnifies my flaws. I should have done this decades ago. Somehow I have been too occupied with procrastination and/or attaching emotional significance to things to be able to see them for what they are... dust collectors.

Time brings change. I used to work for a Christian college and had a ministry where students came over for dinner and a night away from the dorms. I was the luckiest woman in the world to have these young folks over. Wait, I don't believe in luck. I was blessed. I am learning to be careful how I say things. I fail miserably but this is an easy goof to make and to fix. It wasn't luck but providence that brought these young people into my life. Anyway, besides watching ER and other favorite television programs there were lots of movies to see. I got into the habit of buying new release DVDs and having them on hand. For a while I had hundreds. I have culled the herd a few times, but the truth is I haven't watched one of the DVDs that I have hung onto in over a year. I vacillate between keeping them and getting rid of them. Having Netflix makes the decision even more difficult. Time has changed my perspective and my need for DVDs.

I really do cherish the time I had with the students. It is an amazing treat to see who they have become and how their walks with God have progressed. I appreciate that I am getting to see some of those student friends become husbands and wives, and moms and dads. It is rewarding to see the college romances bloom into marriages of commitment. I admire strong, resilient relationships founded in the principles and foundations of God's Word. It is a marvelous thing to behold.

While I was cleaning I found the outline of a talk I gave to the women of the college. The topic was "Healthy Relationships." Have you ever found something you penned years ago and upon seeing it for the first time in years, sat down to read it immediately? It's almost like receiving a letter from someone you haven't heard from in years....or like getting a collections notice. It can go either way. For me, it was a moment of conviction. God coming to collect on something I have put in writing and haven't lived up to myself. Some of these bullet points caught my eye:

-Why all this talk about healthy relationships? Galatians 5:13-26.

-God created us to be relational; first with Him and then with other people.

-Outside of Himself, relationships are the greatest tool God uses to sanctify and refine us.

-The 50/50 myth is a lie, You have 100% responsibility for your interaction with others.

Then I came to some notes I had written and reading them pierced my heart like shots fired from a high powered conviction gun. I told the young women that God must be their primary relationship. Knowing how easy it is to blow off 'devotions' when you're a busy college student I had written this down:

" Quit starving your soul. If you cannot spend 15 minutes a day with the One who loves you perfectly, how do you expect to have healthy relationships with sinful people?"

Ouch. I didn't make it to church or bible study this week. I haven't spent time in the Scriptures nor have I made prayer a priority. I hate it when I shoot myself with my own words. It proves I know better. So, if God can use the dust collectors in my house to convict me, what do you think He would accomplish with a diet of prayer and truth?

James 3:1 Let not many {of you} become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Be yourself- don't waste your blog...

So... I read an article on my friend, Carla's blog . I have written about her on my blog before and have recommended her before. In this particular post she talks about one blogger's vision for a directory of Christian bloggers to help promote accountability. Which, on the surface sounds all good and 'Christianly' but Carla has reservations. Then I read the comments for her article and Steve Camp of Camp onThis fame has responded. I have also recommended his blog a number of times. For those of you who don't want to click the links, this is a brief synopsis. Some guy wants to have a Christian bloggers directory for accountability purposes, Carla questions the need since accountability begins in the bloggers local church, and she fears it will set up a click of bloggers who are "in" and those who are "out." Steve drives the point home and signs his comment "Don't waste your blog..." That's the part that has me spinning....

Super Church a song for the Emergent-sy

In the early 70s I was in a youth choir at my church. Our youth pastor was a musician and his way of connecting with us as a group was through the choir and music. Somehow there was an affiliation between him and The Continental Singers, New Hope and Jeremiah People. He was worked with Moishe Rosen of Jews for Jesus too, I think. Are any of these names familiar to you? Though I remember the church fondly I was a profoundly lost and troubled young woman during my years there. That and time have muddled the memories quite a bit. Today I was digging through some old paperwork and one of the books to the musical we did. It's Getting Late For the Great Planet Earth, a folk rock oratorio by Cam Floria. Yes, that's right. Cam Floria put Hal Lindsey to music. There's a lot to laugh about and some to groan about but as I was looking through the songs and remembering, I found this little ditty and I only wish I could sing it for you. Just remember that this is circa 1972 and even th...

Bruised, Battered, Blessed

The hard times of life. The times when your are bruised and raw. When it hurts to breathe and each beat of your heart feels like it is sending glass shards through your soul. That's when it happens and you know. Your circumstances are horrible. You cannot imagine why everything has gone so horribly wrong all at once and in a nanosecond you are transported from the abject poverty of puny faith and hopelessness to knowing that you are safely tucked under God's wing. You know that all of your doubts to the contrary cannot keep you from His grace and mercy when He chooses to bestow it upon you. I have had some of the hardest months of my life thus far come crashing down on me like waves, forming a tsunami of circumstances. Circumstances way beyond of my control, threatening to take my feet out from under me. The last three days have been full of anguish for me. My sister called and through her sobs and heartbreak all I could understand were the words, "Daddy is dying....

rambling rosemarie

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