Month: October 2011

RUBBISH

In Cambodia, we noticed they don’t use the words “garbage” or “trash” or “waste.”  They have RUBBISH cans.  We found humor in that and started using the word at every opportunity.  Today I ran across some real rubbish, some things that are most foul.  Out of curiosity, I wondered how many “God is” statements are in the Bible.  God is light.  God is love.  For some brainless reason, I opted to google it.  Here’s what popped up when I typed “God is…”

“God is Imaginary.  50 simple proofs to show that God doesn’t exist.”

“God is not a Christian.”

“God is dead.”

“God is for suckers!”

“God is an astronaut.”

“God is pretend.”

“God is impossible.”

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was completely caught off guard.  I felt a little queasy, then angry, and then I wanted to put my head down and cry.  I know there are people out there who don’t believe in God, who ridicule Christianity.  But to see those statements in print, to feel the vehemence behind some of them, was unsettling, to say the least.  HOW CAN THEY BE SO BLASPHEMOUS?!

And then a couple of things hit me.  First, as much as those offensive statements bothered me, how must God feel?  He offered His own Son for those very people.  Second, those statements must surely be the result of ignorance, or anger and bitterness.  That means we need to do a better job of spreading the Word and demonstrating God’s love.

I didn’t click on any of those links.  I can’t read that kind of stuff.  But I hope the reminder that Satan is active will spur me on to do my part to stand up for our Creator.

Prayer for Today:  Help me live in such a way that the world will see that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

God’s Golden Moments

August marked the beginning of our Year of Significant Numbers.  In that month, our youngest son, Carl, became a teenager.  Our oldest son, Gary, will turn 18 next month.  In January, our middle son, Dale, turns 16.  In May, Neal and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  And also in May, I will…  I…  Um.  I’ll turn forty.  I remember when my own mother turned forty.  I got married the month before, so as the mother-of-the-bride, my mom seemed, in my eyes, like a woman who had already arrived.  A woman whose job was done.  A woman who was old.  Which makes me wonder, are there 20-year-olds who see ME that way?

I thank God for the years He has given me as a wife and as a mother.  I have to smile (and roll my eyes) when I think back to when I was a newlywed who thought she had all the answers.  But even though I’ve learned a lot since then, I have so much more to learn.  A constant prayer of mine is for wisdom!  And  there are so many things I still want to do.  When Neal and I were first married, we came up with our 5-year plan.  One of my goals was to have written a book in that time.  ha!  I just started it this year.  The past forty years have simply flown by.  What will I do with the next forty?

“Swiftly we’re turning life’s daily pages; swiftly the hours are turning to years.  How are we using God’s golden moments?  Shall we reap glory?   Shall we reap tears?”

Prayer for Today:  May I live each day as if it were my last, choosing always the eternal over the temporary.