Do Hard Things

I have to say, I am very excited about this book. Aimed at teenagers, it expresses that our society has kind of given the young generation an excuse to sit back and do nothing. 50 years ago, that would not have been acceptable, and while I am not one to live in the past, some things were better back then. Many of our younger generation today WANT to be challenged, and they want to be seen as more than just a generation of slackers. I am excited about that! We can challenge these young people and encourage them, for they will be the leaders of our world one day! So let's train them up to do hard things, face life's challenges head on and lead the world to Christ! I am starting this tonight, and I'll let you know how it goes!

Jesus For President

Ok, so it's been a while...a long while. And this post is probably going to be fairly brief.

We all face conflict at some point. For most of us, it is an everyday occurrence that defines daily life. In Claiborne's book, Jesus For President, he talks about how Christ dealt with conflict. While it was very enlightening, I can't say that it stuck with me. The book is put together in an almost journal-like fashion, which made it interesting to the eye, but for an ADD person like myself, it is distracting.

Some of the points that did stick with me: Jesus would never run for president. In many places in the Bible, kings, rulers and governments were referred to as evil. To prove that point further, the author describes how God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh and had this essentially Utopian society all set up and waiting for them. But what did they do? They begged for a king! God was not pleased because he had just freed them from tyranny, and here they were asking for it again. It took a brief look at the way of life that God had planned out for His people, and I have to say, it was a pretty sweet deal. And I now blame the Israelites for Obama. They wanted to be ruled, and they got it. I'm just sayin'. Another point that really got me was the passage where Jesus tells us to 'turn the other cheek'. I always misunderstood that verse. Instead of telling us to be doormats and take the constant beating of others, Claiborne points out that in Jewish custom, one could only strike another with the right hand. And Jesus specifically says, 'if a man strikes you on the left cheek, turn and offer him your right'. Well, for a man to strike someone in an inferior way, it would be a back hand, which is what Jesus is describing. But when you turn and offer him your right cheek, you are offering to let him strike you with his pen hand or fist, which you would only do to an equal. So, I'm not quite sure how that helps the situation, I'm sure that Christ had meaning for that, and it will come to me when He wants it to. I'm not sure I am the person to be telling anyone else how to handle conflict management. Can't teach what you haven't mastered.

Ok, so the two points above aside, I can't think of any part of that book that just jumped out at me. So, I'll just move on to something else. :)

The Most Excellent Way (con't)

Well, I have enjoyed my study on this book. Admittedly, towards the end, I found myself not wanting to sit and read, but to go and live it. So imagine my surprise and absolute delight when a prospective youth minister for our church came today to give his testimony and towards the end, he said he had a passion for God's greatest commandment and Jesus' new commandment. He wants to instill in our youth the importance of Godly love. If I was undecided before on whether or not God was truly calling me to work with our older youth, the college group, that was answered today. I have a new outlook on how to treat others, and feel so very blessed to have my eyes opened to see others moving in the same direction I am. Love is a powerful thing, and God's love is infinite. That means that God's power is infinite, and He freely shares that love with us, with no bounds. I have been asking to receive more of God's love and to have my heart opened to give more of it as well. It truly is an amazing feeling, and I look forward to experiencing life with this fresh approach.

The Most Excellent Way (con't)

I loved this quote from the book: "Perhaps this happens because we don't see the love of God as a practical solution to problems."

I think that one statements sums up where our society has headed over the last 2 generations. God is seen more as a mythical creature and this love He offers, some magical power that is only in story books. Admittedly, I had trouble getting through chapters 4-6. I would like to say I can fault that solely on not having anyone to bounce ideas off the last several days, but that is not true. There are many people in my life, crap, in the world, that I could sit down with and have an intelligent conversation with about the love of God. So, let's say I am in a funk. I am, however, beginning to put into practice what I am learning.

I feel like my emotions are blocking my mind. There is so much wonderful information here to absorb, and it's not sinking in as fast as it is traveling. I can say though, that I have had peace today. Not the schmoopy smile on your face, narcotics induced kinda peace, but instead, an absence of rage. Now let me tell you, that is saying something in my world. I have rage attacks far more often than I care to admit, even to myself. But I have taken the author's advice, and really looked at God's perfect definition of love:

^"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a


So I feel like the best place to start is at the beginning. I have not fooled myself into thinking that I am going to wake up tomorrow and have God's love all figured out and perfect in practice. So I made a goal for myself, for this week, to focus on patience. It has gotten easier. Sunday, the day I began my practice, was hardest. It was a hard day, although I do get to take a moment here and brag that my 7 year old baby committed his life to Christ and I am one proud mama! The rest of the day took it's toll on me. So day one, not so great. Day two, well, I do believe I spent a portion of the day practicing patience. But I found myself slipping back into the mindless action of rude impatience, particularly with my children. I am learning, now that I am aware of the standards, where my shortcomings lay. And then there was today! I like to think that today was peaceful, and I was more patient than I have been in a long time. I have not failed to see the connection between the two. There were trials, make no mistake, but I could honestly feel God in me, helping me to maintain my calm and work through patience. It is amazing what He will do for you when you do it all for Him. :)

Pray for me as I continue on a path of God's infinite love.

The Most Excellent Way (con't)

Last night, it was so easy to sit and really get comfortable, but hard to stay still! I always have my pen and paper handy, but since I get to bring Lynnie along with me on this particular journey, I hadn't been reading for long before I had an 'aha moment' and had to share it with her. Bless her, she has already had these same epiphanies, but she celebrates them with me as if it were something totally new.

So about my aha moment: Jerry brings several key points of the Bible together in chapter 3. In the first chapter, he likened loving God to the first 3 of Moses' 10 commandments. And it is a truly accurate statement to say that if you love God obediently, on purpose, that you can not help but to follow the first 3 commandments. If you love God, you will not put others before Him. If you love God, you will not use His name in vain. If you love God, you will not build up false idols to worship. In chapter 2, he discusses the new commandment that Jesus gave, and that is to love your brother as you love yourself. The remaining 7 commandments cover that nicely: if you love your brother, you won't lie, murder, covet, etc. I have always had problems with the verse (forgive me for being foggy on it's location) that tells us that if you keep all the laws, but fall short in one area, then you are guilty of all. Thanks to Jerry's insight on how the commandments Jesus gave apply, it finally dawned on me. It really doesn't matter whether I kill you or lie to you, either way, I have failed to love you, and that is God's will. Aha! That's how God sees all sin as equal! It is not that we are just failing to be honest, or that we envy. His point was that we aren't loving each other as He loved us, as He commands us to love!

I am quite thrilled with myself to have finally figured out what the Lord was telling us when He said all sin is equal in his eyes. And it truly makes a difference in how I see not only Scripture, but how I see my own actions. And love IS an action. The human emotion of love is not rational, but God's definition is inerrant. Every phrase he uses to define love takes a conscious effort on our part. We must be kind. We must be patient. We must be honest; we must not be rude. So, as Dr. Corbaley's book has helped me to realize, every day, in every action, we make the choice whether to love or not to love. And with practice, that action will become habit. It is a habit I strive to learn, and I am very thankful to have someone to help me in my struggles (that's you, Lynnie!). It is very spiritually and mentally fulfilling to have so many questions answered. I look forward yet again to delving deeper into my studies on God's Greatest Commandment.

Side note: I made it through chapter 3 last night, and Jerry did go further into explaining human love versus God's love, but I don't have my notes in front of me, and I do not want to muddle his fabulous commentary on those very human emotions. Humans are such silly creatures!

The Most Excellent Way

I started Jerry Corbaley's book, The Most Excellent Way, last night. There are times when you pick up a book, and then there are times when the books picks you. The latter is the case with this book.

It's not often that I choose to re-read selections of a book to get all the possible meanings from them. I have found myself making so many notes on this book, just so I am sure to not forget anything. Jerry's main theme is that 'without love, I am an annoying nobody who gains nothing.' God's greatest commandment to us was to love. Jerry's calling out Christians here, reminding us that to love Him with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds will take all our time. After reading that particular statement, I guffawed. Really?! ALL my time? Who expects that kind of commitment? But when you look at it from the aspect of Christ, who literally came all the way down here, just to be tortured to death to save us, spending all my time and energy loving Him should be the least I can do, right?

I am blessed during my reading and studying of this book that I have nearly unlimited access to Jerry's wife, my dear friend Lynn. I get to pick her brain, and thus his. We talked last night about what kind of love God wants from us. She referred to the definition of love found in 1 Cor. My response to that was that surely that is not enough. Jerry gives a simplified explanation of applying this love to God, and it just seems, well, too easy. But in practice, I think nothing is harder. And it's not just that we should love Him. If we are not decidedly in love with God, we are sinning against Him. And we should confess that shortcoming and seek forgiveness. Try praying to the creator of everything and apologizing for not loving Him enough. Talk about a humbling experience. Wow.

So, having only made it through the preface and chapter one last night, I look forward to continuing my study on this book. I am forever grateful that my dear Lynnie is my guide through this. Thank you. You and Jerry are in my prayers, as I know I am in yours. <3