Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30


Sayings of Agur

1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:



“I am weary, God,

but I can prevail.

2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;

I do not have human understanding.

3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?

Whose hands have gathered up the wind?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is the name of his son?

Surely you know!

5 “Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6 Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;

do not refuse me before I die:

8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God.

10 “Do not slander servants to their master,

or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11 “There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers;

12 those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,

whose glances are so disdainful;

14 those whose teeth are swords

and whose jaws are set with knives

to devour the poor from the earth

and the needy from among humankind.

15 “The leech has two daughters.

‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,

four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

16 the grave, the barren womb,

land, which is never satisfied with water,

and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

17 “The eye that mocks a father,

that scorns an aged mother,

will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,

will be eaten by the vultures.

18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,

four that I do not understand:

19 the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a young woman.

20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

21 “Under three things the earth trembles,

under four it cannot bear up:

22 a servant who becomes king,

a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,

23 a contemptible woman who gets married,

and a servant who displaces her mistress.

24 “Four things on earth are small,

yet they are extremely wise:

25 Ants are creatures of little strength,

yet they store up their food in the summer;

26 hyraxes are creatures of little power,

yet they make their home in the crags;

27 locusts have no king,

yet they advance together in ranks;

28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,

yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,

four that move with stately bearing:

30 a lion, mighty among beasts,

who retreats before nothing;

31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,

and a king secure against revolt.

32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,

or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!

33 For as churning cream produces butter,

and as twisting the nose produces blood,

so stirring up anger produces strife.”


I am amazed at how I seem to connect to Agur. A man from so long ago and yet, I love what he says. I like the randomness of his thought patterns but the truth and simplicity of what he says. My favorite thing he says is:


7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;


do not refuse me before I die:


8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;


give me neither poverty nor riches,


but give me only my daily bread.


9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you


and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’


Or I may become poor and steal,


and so dishonor the name of my God.

It just makes such good sense. And as you know - I am a HUGE fan of common sense, even though at times I do not show it. I pulled this from my devotional from David Jeremiah today and thought it was worth sharing. Especially given the economy and the preparations for a new year.

Here's the link: http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/magazine.aspx?id=4402
Prov 30 is from yesterday though.

Born to Die

There is an old song that we used to sing at our Easter Cantata when I was a little girl. It was called Born to Die. Every Christmas, I think of it. The fact is that Christ's whole human existence was based on this plan. Without it - there would be no hope.

The fact is, it blows my mind. I don't understand that kind of sacrifice. Though I am grateful for it. Thank goodness Christmas is about so much more than just pretty lights and presents. I am so very thankful for a selfless love - the Greatest Gift.

We who have heard along with the shepherds, the call of the angels to come and see - we are so very blessed -


10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2

This....Means.....War.....

Okay - so, about 4 weeks ago I realized I was clenching my teeth. Apparently stressed and taking it out on my jaws. I got an abscess. Horrid little thing. Painful. Still, I did what I had to. Had a blessed Thanksgiving and come to find out that abscess is not going to get better and it is in a tooth that already had a root canal so they had to pull it. Absolutely nightmarish experience. I seriously urge you never to have a tooth pulled without being put under. It was so bad. And it hurt afterwards too...for days. But meanwhile the electricity has gone bad in my house (something needs to be replaced), the car broke down, I missed my jury duty and figured it out 2 days later at 8:00pm, and feared contempt of court, one kid got sick, the other got sick, I tripped over the dog and twisted my ankle and then got called today that another child had lice, was leaving to go pick him up from school and fell down a flight of stairs. My knee is as big as a grapefruit and I have bruises up one side and down the other. Then as I was washing all of the bed linens and such after shampooing 3 boys with Rid and combing through their hair with a lice comb, the electricity goes wonky again and I can't get the kids blankets  dry. So I have to use all kinds of crazy things to make sure they stay warm.

I kid you not.

It has been one of those months.

I am exhausted, mentally, and physically. The one thing I can be thankful for is that God has shown himself faithful through it all. My family is safe, warm and fed. I have everything that I need. We all have everything that we need. Praise God!

I will say though that I feel like I am under attack. There are moments where I would gladly pull my hair out to distract myself from the events that are going on. One. After. The. Other.

 I am so tempted to feel sorry for myself. There are many times when I just list the things in my head and can feel myself about to fall headlong into self pity.

But instead of doing that, I find that I am getting angry. It makes me so mad that all of this is going on. And I am pretty sure I know why. God has finally gotten my attention after a deficit of years and Satan is not happy.

So - this means war. My bruised and battered physical and emotional body is tired - my spiritual being will fight back. By putting on the full armour of God.

The Armor of God - Ephesians 6:



10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
 
Isn't that awesome? I have a defense in this time of extreme stress and conflict.
 
Philippians 2

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:


6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,


to the glory of God the Father.


12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

These passages are such a comfort to me. When I read them, everything in me seems to take a deep breath and relax. I love the Word of God. And Philippians 2 is the Christmas Story - in a nutshell. God became man - humbled himself to serve and save. If that does not give joy - I don't know what does.

So - I am not taking this lying down. I have put up my dukes and have a sure defense in this time of struggle.

It's actually not a bad place to be. Please pray for us. We need the strength that comes from our brothers and sisters lifting us up to our Father. Let's band together and fight the good fight.

1 Timothy 6:11-12
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Another Day

Well - I only woke up at 4:30AM this morning. That was actually not bad at all. It kind of makes me feel like I can be leisurely in my reading and functionality for the day. I like that. It happens so rarely.

Once again I was up and came down to read and was reminded about all of the things I love about being in precarious places. Sounds crazy. But it's true. There is an underlying excitement to see what God will do. Not being able to trace his hand but fully being able to trust his heart (as the old New Song ballad goes) is absolutely thrilling to see unfold. Of course I fall into my ol' doubting Thomas routine quite often. But I love the days that I find the internal fortitude God has placed in my reach and live by it. Amazing! Exciting!


Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one


who does not walk in step with the wicked


or stand in the way that sinners take


or sit in the company of mockers,


2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,


and who meditates on his law day and night.


3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,


which yields its fruit in season


and whose leaf does not wither—


whatever they do prospers.


4 Not so the wicked!


They are like chaff


that the wind blows away.


5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,


nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.


6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,


but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

I love the Psalms. I can pretty much read one chapter every day and find something to apply. And I love to apply. I am not philosophical, or logical - I am a common sense kind of girl. And Psalms just fits the bill.

So today - and every day - I know that God is watching over me - I long to be that person that is planted by the river of waters which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. And I believe that I can trust God to see that it is so.

Now this is a great way to start the day.
Blessings!

Assurance

I woke up at 3:30AM. Wide awake. Mind going full blast. Number crunching, going over the calendar, figuring how, what, when and why. I berated myself. I wished for a re-do. I talked to God. I asked him ridiculous questions, knowing all the while that his ways are higher than mine and there was no way to understand them. But I needed him to talk to me.

I threw on my Tennessee sweatshirt stumbled over the dogs (again) to get downstairs. And I went to my source. The Word.

I don't know where to go. I just want God to talk to me. So, I go to my devotional. I get it in my e-mail every day. I am thankful for this vehicle of e-mail. When I lack the intentionality to be able to search God's Word on my own. My e-mail devotional always seems to be able to put the finger on the spot. I love that about God. He manages to place what I need before me - in the form of a daily devotional sent through my e-mail - that can instantly give me what I need. A Word from God. Wow.

We are in a trial period. There is no doubt about that. The economy, and circumstances have brought us to a place where every day is walked by faith. We pray for God's protection and I am always reminded of my pastor, Alan, asking God in prayer to show us mercy and do not give us what we deserve, and I and agree wholeheartedly.  I read God's amazing gift in words to me - for this day. For this moment.

James 1:2-8

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways

And instantly, my reason for waking is evident. My need for God is filled and I am comforted. I have everything I need for this moment - even more than I asked for. My request for wisdom and to know what to do has been presented to the Lord. I can trust that he heard me - and that he will take care of my need when it comes time. Maybe not in the way I had hoped. But for now - and now is all I need - I am comforted. I can trust that my "now" will have always have the grace that God provides for that moment. It is extremely reassuring.

What is more - how good is God to a sleep deprived woman to send her an e-mail reassuring her that not only is he enough, he is building character and patience in her. Not only does he want her to come before him and ask - he will see that she is made more like him in the process.

I am rich beyond measure.
Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me - bless his name.

T'is the Season for Giving

I love gifts. So much fun to get a gift and to be able to use it. And it is almost every day this time of year! So much fun. God pointed something out to me today - bear with me as it unravels.

There are three things I am compelled to do, I do it whether I do it for you or just for me.

I sing. I write. I refurbish.

You may not hear me sing, I don't get to do it as much as I would like these days. That does not mean it won't happen. I am just in a season of not publicly singing - oh but I sing. The car. The shower. All around the house. At work. I get busted occasionally at work.

Over the course of the last couple of years I have come to love the ability to blog. Not only do I get to write - I get to PUBLISH it. Do I make money from my grand pen? Nope. But it is very fulfilling to me. I enjoy it immensley. And I have done it long before I started my blog. I have notebooks upon notebooks of my writing. When I go back and read them, I cry, I am embarrassed, I laugh - I am amazed - by God's goodness to me.

Since I have been married, I have started a new thing. I refurbish things. I take the old and make it newer. I will post some pictures of some of my projects. But I have a crawl space full of things I intend to "makeover". I have chairs - one of which I snagged from someone's garbage in Mountain Brook and carried a mile home - while 5 months pregnant with child. I love that chair. I do not think I could get rid of it now for anything. Everytime I look at it, I think - "How in the world did I do that 5 months pregnant?" I have two chairs in my living room my Mom picked up from someones garbage. She got three - we remade two.  I love those chairs. She and I re-upholstered them together. I love those chairs. They remind me of my sweet Mom and the gifts I have acquired from her.

All of this to say folks is when I woke up this morning, I was going over my day in my head and letting God know that this day was his and everything in it. I was telling him my heart and I came downstairs to do my reading.

Look at what I read:

Romans 12:3-8

Serve God with Spiritual Gifts



3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Here - Paul is relating God's desire for us to use our spiritual gifts to encourage and serve others. I think God wants us to do this with the other gifts he gives us as well. We should use them to serve others, to encourage others, to build others up. If you are sitting on the gifts - spiritiual - or physical - you are not fulfulling God's purpose for your life.

Find your gifts - use your gifts - give your gifts. You will be happier for it. The reason God gave the ultimate gift was for us to have life and have it more abundantly. The key is to use his liberal gifts for his glory!

John 10:9,10
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me,he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Merry Christmas!

For whom the Lord loves he chastens...

For several months now - there has been housecleaning going on in my spiritual life. I asked God to help me do right, to expose my sin and to make me like him. Every hidden thing has come to light. The things I could not confess out loud he helped me by exposing and I am so repentant. The consequences of my sin are hard. So hard. It is painful and it is weighty and I am having to look to God to help me moment by moment.

This morning in my reading Hebrews 12 encouraged and showed me something else I have asked for countless times. "Lord, show me you love me."

The Discipline of God

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

And though this present life is hard, I pray that God will remind me of his love for me. Through tears of sadness and frustration even, I had to thank God for answering my prayers. He is making me more like him, and he is chastening me - he loves me. What an amazing and wonderful thing to KNOW.

 
I can only be grateful.

Truly Grateful....

The other day I was doing my usual wrestling with my baggage. My "baggage" is everything I cannot let go of and gripe about consistently - if not out loud, certainly in my head. I think I was in the middle of "I have given up so much, and deserve better than...", when a picture of who I really am suddenly popped into my mind. It was not pretty. I saw my selfishness - displayed in many relationships, and my rebelliousness, unfortunately seen in every area of my life...I saw the times I was unkind and ungrateful and mean spirited. Apparently, I try to block these things out - because I was pretty shocked at the truly unlovely me.

It occured to me - I have so much more than I deserve. And I meant it - and still mean it. I deserve nothing - less than nothing, and yet God has blessed me with so much. I have a wonderful husband, who makes me laugh, he plays with our boys and he works hard to provide for us. My kids are amazing. They are so smart and such sweet boys. My Mom and Dad are the most precious folks in the world - willing to do so much and tirelessly so at their retirement age. My mother and father-in-law are much like my mother and father. The support and help they give is such a comfort, and our relationship is amazing. My entire family blesses me - both Andy's and mine - they constantly bring me joy. I love my church family - so blessed by them and their encouragement. We have a wonderful home in a great neighborhood, with amazing neighbors. The public schools my boys go to are full of precious people, and wonderful Christians striving to be salt and light in a world of things gone topsy turvy. I have been blessed with sweet friendships from unexpected places. What is more - this list goes on - and on.

How shameful of me to turn so inward that I cannot see the blessings that are all about me everyday. Apparently, it will be something I have to work hard to avoid. Which would be the consistent counting of my blessings -and remembering that very vivid, ugly picture God allowed me to see at the right time. It certainly brought me up short and nipped the complaining - for now. For a little while anyway, I have things in perspective.

Colossians 2:6-8
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Gathering Together

A couple of Sundays ago I went to church. I sat and cried and cried the entire time. My heart would wrench at every word my pastor would say at every note and sweet word in the songs we sang. I knew folks could see me. It was impossible to hide the incredible emotion that was flowing out of me that morning.

I did not want to go to church that morning. I did not because I knew I was overwhelmed with my life and I knew I would cry. It did not matter that I could remind myself of how blessed I was. It did not matter that I love my church and the family of God that is there every Sunday.

I simply had hit the wall of how much I could handle and apparently the tears are a way for me to release that pent up emotion I do my best to stamp down. But sometimes - it just will not stay inside.

Monday morning I got a message in my inbox on Facebook from a friend at church who had sat behind me. I asked her if I could print it and she said yes.

It goes like this:

Friend: I was aching to see you feeling so sad this morning. I hope everything will be OK, whatever it is.

Me: Oh sweet friend - thank you! I have been trying to rationalize my emotions all day. I would like to blame it on this extreme diet I am on (Dr supervised), or just being tired, or just the fact that life just seems to get faster and faster. I am trying so hard to count my blessings, but many times I just seem to fall back into being overwhelmed at this place we are in. We are so blessed though! So this just makes me more upset that I am being so goofy!

I know you know how it feels though. Thank you sweet friend. Your reaching out to me means more than you know!

Friend: I've been feeling pretty down lately, too. Every now and then the feeling rolls around and it's pretty strong. Getting up and going to church has been hard for me lately. This sense of being overwhelmed makes me feel like I don't have time for God or the church and I KNOW I need God to get through "this" but I literally don't see how I can physically do what is required of me. If it weren't for the kids, I'd miss more. We just keep pluggin' away, don't we, and God never leaves us... but it doesn't always feel that way. Yes, our blessings are all around us and I have to keep reminding myself of that as well.

Me: I am so glad to hear you say that. Andy does not understand my not wanting to come to church. But I have struggled mightily with coming. And for the same reason I keep waking up on Sundays and bringing the boys in - usually late. They need to be there....and so do I. I am so glad to hear I am not the only one - and so glad to know that you and I both continue to come in spite of it (another blessing - those children!).

Oh and I totally agree with not seeing how we can physically do what is required. But - yes - we will get up and get done what we can and what doesn't - we will not worry about! At least try not to worry about!

My heart feels lighter now. God is so good. Thank you again! So much!


The conversation went on a bit more - but the above portion was what I wanted to share. How many of us feel that church is just one more thing to do? That God is on our checklist and we do what he asks because it is a duty - when worship and time alone in the Word is a blessing and a gift. And yet - it just doesn't always feel that way.

Duty is not a bad thing. Sometimes it is all that keeps us going - and yet - I want desperately to remember the blessings that come from our gathering together each week to worship and fellowship. It is what keeps my head above water! I don't want to forget that - and I wanted to remind others as well. Come on in to the house of the Lord - you will be refreshed. Count on it.

Hebrews 10:24-25
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Perspective

Yesterday on my way home from work, I was listening to Magic 96.5. They are having a fundraiser for Children's Hospital.

There was a Mom on there. She was talking about how her child had obviously lost hope. I do not know what this child had. I hit the station after the introduction. She went on to say how she would watch him look out of the window and the interest in his eyes had gone. He no longer wanted to watch his cartoons. He no longer interacted with people. He was giving up. As I listened to the hysterical woman talk about her child, I was gripped with certain horror. This is no exxageration. I was horrified.

She had a talk with her child that went something like this - "Baby - you know the difference between living and dying don't you?" The little boy replied, "Yes Mama". She continued, "When you quit wanting to watch your cartoons and quit wanting to get out of the bed and play, you know you will probably die right?" The little boy answered, "Yes Mama." She beseeched her son, "You must keep on wanting to live, because I can't imagine this life without y-."

I changed the channel. My throat hurt. My eyes began to water and I began to cry the ugliest sounding cry I have ever heard.

Oh my goodness. Oh - my - goodness. How thankful I am that my children are healthy. How thankful I am that they are happy and that I am not sitting by their bedside begging them to find the will to live.

My heart is mush.

It puts things in perspective doesn't it?