May 2, 2019

Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again -- Rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.  Remember, the Lord is coming soon.  Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

An now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  (Philippians 4:4-8)

Today I woke up with this chorus in my mind:

"The windows of heaven are open
The blessings are falling tonight
There's joy, joy, joy in my soul
Since Jesus made everything right.
I gave him my old tattered garments
He gave me a robe of pure white
I'm feasting on manna from heaven
And that's why I'm happy tonight!

May 1, 2019

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead he gave up his divine privileges, he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.  (Philippians 2:5-8)

"If I am to be a Christian, I must settle in my life once and for all that the law of my life is not my will, but Christ's will.  His will has to be supreme, and that means my will has to be crucified.  It is surprising what healing and growth can occur in human relationships when we reach the place where we can bow to others and above all bow to him."  (Dennis Kinlaw - "this day with the master")

That kind of attitude and living can only come about as we continually surrender to God, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Lord, keep me obedient to you in my thought life, my attitude, and my spirit!  Amen!

April 16, 2019

They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. (Acts 2:45)

I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own:  it is not for man to direct his steps.  (Jeremiah 19:23)

"Jeremiah recognized that the way of fulfillment for us is never in ourselves.  It comes from beyond...  The resources that we need to reach the goals God has for us are not in ourselves.  They are in the One who has the key to the life of Jesus, the Holy Spirit.  That is why we need to be sensitive to this heavenly Guest, who can lead, enlighten, cleanse, and fulfill our very being."  (Dennis Kinlaw, this day with the master, 2002).

"I am thine, O Lord, I have heard your voice, and it tells thy love to me.  But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee!"  (Fanny Crosby)

April 12, 2019

Father, I am so privileged to be your child.  You have led me down the path you have chosen for me for 69 years.  The only regrets are the times I took my eyes off you and placed them on my own desires.  I am so humbled and grateful that you have forgiven me.  I love that you are in control of my life.  Because of that, I have peace, and I choose JOY!  Amen!

April 4, 2019

"The greatest sacrifice is not that of physical death; the greatest offering is when we take our hands off our lives so Christ can live in us victoriously and joyously.  If our hearts are not clean, we will fight him or resent him.  When we let him have our whole heart, then we delight to do his will, and there is a sweetness in it.  That sweetness comes from precious fellowship with the One with scarred hands.  There is no earthly joy like this.  Don't miss it."
(Dennis Kinlaw - this day with the master)

Welcome, 2019!

I am still here!  I know I have not blogged in a long time, but every now and then I hope I will just stop by and give you an update, so you know I still exist.  

In 2018 I decided to post my college writings in my blog as a way to save them and delete the hard copies off my shelves.  I will forever be downsizing my library!  Books and notebooks take up space, and are heavy to move.  Now that most everything is electronic, I thought I would try to go that route a bit, and empty some shelves and file drawers.  But I kid you not...when I am into reading a book, I want the hard copy in my hand!  I'm not good with holding an electronic and marking my place.  Yeah, I'm still an old fashioned girl in many ways.  

We are in Michigan this winter.  Paul has been under various eye treatments and diabetic changes, so it has been necessary to stay close to his doctors.  His insurance frowns on us taking care of routine business out of state.  This is the year, however, that Paul will join me in the Medicare journey part of life, and I hope that frees us up to head south more often. 

Some day we hope to be living back in Southeast Tennessee...the area of the country where Paul took his first job out of college, and we basically raised our family there.  We absolutely loved the climate, having the change of seasons, but nothing drastic!  I'm sitting here in my office looking out at our snow fall from last weekend that hasn't faded a bit (10"), and trying to thaw out from the frigid temperatures of the last couple of days (negative degrees wind chills).  When winter comes in Michigan, it stays around a while.  Granted, there are some pretty sites out there...if I can stay inside and just look at it!  But having two dogs to walk, it can be bone chilling!  The last two days the dogs have had to use the indoor potty pad...Mamma wasn't going out or exposing them to the single digit or below zero temperatures!  

Paul still has both of his parents living here in Michigan.  His father turned 90 last week, and still going strong.  However, there is still a need for us to be close by to assist Paul's sister in the health care of their mother.  This is another reason for us to still be in Michigan.  In God's timing, He will lead us.

So here we are almost to the end of the first month of 2019.  I'm excited to see what God has in store for us in the year ahead!

Christian Ethics

Christian Ethics, taught by Martin Baldree at Lee College, Spring 1990.

How My Ethics Were Formed

A funny thing happened on my way through life---my ethics were formed.  Since I was born at an early age, and am now approaching 40, life has offered me several years and many situations through which my ethics were formed.  Life is a continual growing experience, and I am open to changes.  Therefore, my ethics may still be in the process of forming, but I believe the basic foundation has been laid.  I know who I am in Christ, and I know what I stand for.  In one simple word, I stand for Truth.

The foundation began when God gave me the privilege of being raised in a Christian home by parents who were solidly committed to their faith in Jesus Christ.  Each day in our home was started with the family gathering for Bible reading and prayer together.  I grew up very aware that I was accountable before God as well as to my parents.  My tender conscience has become the root to all of my ethical decisions.

Attending church whenever the doors were open was our family lifestyle.  Church became another area of accountability for me.  My entire social life revolved around the church community.  School dances and clubs had no appeal to me as they were not part of my world.  The Christian atmosphere in my home and my church and social world sheltered me from the norms and values of the world.  Perhaps this sheltering was not the best preparation for me to face the real world as an adult, but I still count it a privilege and a blessing to be raised in such an atmosphere.  It gave me the solid foundation I needed when I did start facing reality in the world, and decisions and choices had to be made.

My constant exposure to the Christian lifestyle, and my tender conscience, led me to a public altar at the age of eleven to confess my sins and accept Jesus as my own personal Savior.  What weighed heavily in my mind was the candy bar I had stolen several months earlier.  I confessed this not only to Jesus, but also to my parents.  My mother made me realize how important it was to make things right after confessing the wrong.  It is called restitution.  That has become one of my ethical codes.  If I choose to do wrong, then to be forgiven I must go back and make it right if I possibly can.  Knowing that has kept me from choosing to do wrong many times.  Apologizing and admitting guilt can be very difficult and humbling.

What is astounding to me is that the very world which shaped me and protected me as a child, the church world, is the one in which I was broken and crushed.  I came face to face with situations that made me evaluate life very closely.  There came a point where I had to make a choice.  Did I want to end life, which had become such a disappointment, or did I want to live life above the circumstances, walking on in faith as a child of God, totally dependent on Him and no longer focused on living to please mankind.  I chose life.  It was time to grow up, and live as Jesus would have me live. 

As long as I lived at home I was responsible to live according to my parents' rules.  When I married and moved to the south, I became a member of a church which based religious experience on rules.  Some were rules I had grown up with and felt comfortable with, but some were much stricter.  For several years I lived a life of fear that I would break someone's rules and displease them and God and be condemned to hell.  Where was the "freedom" in Christ I heard about in songs and scripture?  I found myself becoming very critical and bitter toward others.  My attitudes were certainly not Christ-like as I became disillusioned by Christianity as portrayed by church leaders.

After living a few years in the conservative Bible Belt, we were transferred to the Chicago area by my husband's company.  There we attended a very liberal church of our same denomination.  In the south I was too liberal for the church, and in the north I was too conservative for the church.  I upset the apple cart no matter where I was.  The frustration of trying to please church leaders left me in a constant state of emotional upheaval.  If I did 99 things right, and one thing that was not pleasing to someone, it was the one things that I was judged by.  My sensitivity to people made this an issue that would try to destroy me again and again.

I was sick of trying to please people.  I began to intensely hunger to live accountable to God alone and please Him, regardless of the opinion of man.  In January of 1987 I asked God to set me free from what others thought of me as long as I had His approval.  I found that when I pray a sincere prayer from the heart, God answers.  He does not usually answer in the way I expect Him to, but His ways are best.  My road to freedom has been a three year walk of faith, through the valley of failure, through the desert of depression, and on into the hill climbing of preparation for full time service to God.  Today I am a free woman---free to live for Jesus, free to please God, free to serve others in love (Galatians 5:13:  You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom in indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love.)

As a teenager I read the book and saw the movie "In His Steps".  The theme of the story is living as Christ would live.  In each decision the question should be asked, "What would Christ do?"  That is the question I ask myself when facing ethical decisions.  I am dependent upon His guidance.

The experiences I have come through have helped shaped my guidelines for living.  Perhaps they could be called my ethical guidelines.  In closing, I share them with you.

• Above all else, be honest.  Be honest with your feelings, your words, and your actions.  The conscience rests much easier when you know you have been honest, for deceit is destructive.
• Always part leaving the best impression you can, for it may be the last impression you leave.  Life is so uncertain.
• Give everything over to God:  the hurts, the anger, the frustration, the confusion, the "why's?".  The only safe and sane place for it is in God's control.  Otherwise, IT begins to control YOU, and guess who loses!
• Remember life is a moment by moment commitment.  Determine to whom and to what you are committed, and live it moment by moment.  God's will for you is not HERE or THERE, but it is simply that you be totally submitted, totally obedient to Him in each situation, each moment that comes your way.
• Continually practice the formula for JOY:  J (Jesus first) O (others second) Y (yourself last).