Proverbs 19:27

Does this sound kind of like you...

...reading bible scriptures or even attempting to read the bible in a year seems kind of boooorrring?  My church, Grace Community, recently gave out a calendar planner with daily scripture reading assignments  to read the bible in a year.  I decided to try the challenge even if don't complete the planner, besides the daily readings seemed small and easy to finish. 

Incidentally, I am practically an OCD (over-compulsive) and goal-oriented kind of person.  I have to make daily task checklists just to keep my head on straight and I have even started a "bucket list" for life goals.  I thought reading the whole bible in a year would be a neat thing to add to that list. So I added the scripture readings to my morning routine of working out on the treadmill.  As you might be able to tell, I don't have much of a "life"! Things are on "my" schedule for now. I am sure that if I am blessed to have kids (which is also on my bucket list), things will total change and I will only be "dreaming" of this lifestyle!

 

Turns out this scripture reading is not as easy as I thought.  Sure we can glance at the scriptures, quickly read them, and "check" them off our list.  Yet is that really "reading" the bible? Ah, for me it was.  So I have made it nearly half-way through Genesis, half-way through Matthew, and some of Psalms and Proverbs.  By the way, I have those sticky tabs to quickly find the books of the Bible, otherwise I would still be searching for Psalms and Proverbs! One by one I gleefully checked off the scriptures on my little planner….until……the other morning.

As usual, I tried to stay awake on the treadmill as I easily read through the Genesis and Matthew assignments.  Those were easy and most of them were stories I had heard before anyway. I was nearly done with the Proverbs assignment when the scripture just jumped out at me.  I felt as if God had been over my shoulder the whole time then shook me with this scripture:

²⁷ Stop listening to instructions, my child,
   and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Proverbs 19:27 (NIV version)

Wow! I had to look around to make sure it wasn’t a joke.  God basically told me to “pay attention” to what I was reading. I never knew that the Bible could really speak to us in such “plain” English. I had been ignoring all the little Proverb sayings which sounded like cheesy bookmark sayings to me until God woke me up that morning.  That’s exactly what I need from God sometimes – just tell me in plain English! Lol

Having checklists and bucket lists can be helpful, but if the task we are doing doesn’t mean anything, then what’s the point? Do you care more about the checkmark or the task itself? I still plan to complete the challenge but I won't fret if I don't get a "checkmark" for the day. The learning of the lesson is more important.

Satisfaction comes from enjoying and loving what we do.

The Simple Life or Simply No Choice?

Welcome to a Brand New Year!

My KY Christmas visit with my mom and family went really well.  I was so excited to be with my family and bring presents, especially to my little cousin Katy who got pink cowboy boots and a pink cowboy hat.  The other highlight was getting to finally meet Jacob, my cousin, Alonzo and his wife Lisa's new little boy. Seeing him open Christmas gifts from us for the first time was an overwhelming joy!!!

Yet the weather was cold and snowy, the roads icy, and I ended up being stuck for a while with my mom in the holler.  I am use to daily structure and plans from going to work, classes, exercising, and church that I have difficulty "being" on vacation or just "relaxing". I have to be doing or working at something.  Being stuck up in the holler with just one icy nasty road, I had to unwillingly comprise with just "being”…

• Being with my mom as she constantly watched her favorite channel, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), even though she has 2oo or more channels in the lineup.  Though we bickered like old ladies, I know I will cherish even those bickering fights.  
• Being cooped up like a chicken in a hen house, inside away from the coldness outside.  
• Being away from work.
• Being away from my chores at home. 
• Being away from cell phone service. By the way, no matter what fancy cell phone you have, most cell phones do not work in Eastern KY hollers! 
• Being away from choices...

I felt blessed remembering the countless opportunities and choices we have in Houston which was one of the main reasons I "chose" to live here.  We have abundant choices from phone carriers, malls, restaurants (too many to count which is why we were up there in the "fattest" cities for awhile), car dealerships, parks, schools, events….the list goes on and on.  We are also blessed to have choices in the basic necessities such as hospitals, cable, electric, water, gas, and trash.

As with last year's issue, my family's road, trash, and postal service were again halted for the month of December.  While the rest of the world went along with life, my family and others’ trash piled up, gas and bills went undelivered, and they risked their life each time they tried to venture out of the holler. Life was at a stand still.  I was reminded of the monopolies that the basic service companies have in Jackson and Hazard as well at the heartless attitudes of the employees of these services. The community and our families are at these companies' mercy.  What other choices do they have?

My vacation began to feel like “Survivor”.  The simple life in the country didn’t feel so “simple” but a “have to”.  You “just have to deal with it” attitude doesn’t change things at all.  Yet things seem to have to be this way because some businesses and political leaders refuse to listen or even care.  This makes life even more of a struggle than living in poverty.  You begin to feel hopeless and pointless.

I recall growing up with the attitude that “city people” or anyone who took better care of themselves was “proud” or thought they were better than us in Eastern KY.  Now I understand that pride was not the factor at all.  They simply “chose” to improve, to better their life, they believed in themselves.  They didn’t fold under and just comply.

Although I have grown up and moved away, I still find myself battling with that “have to deal with it” feeling that I am unworthy, that I don’t deserve better or don’t have a choice.  My heart yearns for my people of Eastern KY who struggle with the same battle inside their mind that I do.  Yet we comprise, quit, and mask our failure to fight with just calling it the “simple life” and this is the way of life.

Thankfully we do have Choices. We can choose to sit still being voiceless, mindless, and hopeless while others run and ruin our lives.  Or we can choose to continue to fight, even if the battle is within our own minds, for a better life that God has for us and our families. God gave us a choice.  Choose to believe and trust in Him or choose a "lifeless" Life. 

Which Life will you Choose?