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?

The Gift of Belonging

What's more important than a Gift?

When I was growing up, I couldn’t wait for Christmas.  Each year seemed longer than the previous one as I looked forward to what Santa left behind under the tree.  The majority of the time I didn’t get the gift that I had written to Santa about but that didn’t matter.  At least he had left me something under the tree.

Growing up in poverty can cause Christmas to be a lot less fun when you see the nice gifts that other kids have, not to mention the stress that the parents have to endure. I was blessed to have gifts under the tree on many Christmas mornings.  However, we did have our share of quite a few Christmases where we debated about even decorating as we had no money for gifts or even a wonderful Christmas dinner.

As children, my aunts and uncle, who were a few years older than me, seldom had gifts under the tree.  Homemade Christmas decorations were made from paper, buttons, or whatever else they could find.  A scrawny pine tree that my uncle had dug up served as the centerpiece on a few occasions. Strangely, my Grandma somehow always managed to make delicious Christmas desserts, rolls, and breads from out of nothing. It was if she had magically whipped them up out of dirt.  I can remember a few times when I went with my aunts and uncle to the Salvation Army in South Jackson, KY.  A ministry would host a Christmas party in a big gymnasium where Santa would be there.  The children of Jackson would sometimes get coats, clothes, toys, and a bag filled with fruit and nuts.

As usual, our stressful times mainly came from school.  Every year at LBJ Elementary, our class had the option of picking names so that the students could give one another presents. What kid doesn’t want a present? Naturally almost all kids wanted to draw names. The name you picked was to remain a “secret” until the day of gift giving. 

Of course I always threw my name in the bucket to be picked even though my mom had warned me many times not to draw names.  Fearing her wrath, I waited until a few days before our class gift exchange to tell her the bad news.  A few times the gift I brought was wrapped in white freezer paper or aluminum foil with yellow freezer tape left over from one of our hog killings.  Once I even took a gift in a paper bag. Regardless, I still had to take a gift for the name I had drawn even if my mom made me give away a toy of my own.

Like me, my aunt was warned to never draw names.  My grandparents could barely afford food on the table, so buying some strange kid a gift was definitely out of the question. Yet my aunt could not contain her eagerness one year and she threw her name in the bucket anyway.  When names were drawn, she barely took notice of the name she held.  Besides, she was certain to get a gift. Unfortunately the day of gift exchange came all too quickly.  She had “forgotten” to bring a gift.  As the gifts were passed out to the children, my aunt excitedly opened hers. A doll.  Not exactly what she wanted but at least she got a chance to open a gift.  One child sat without a gift.  Tears ran down her face. She was the “forgotten” name that my aunt had picked.  Before the teacher could investigate names, my aunt gave the doll to the “forgotten” girl. My aunt cared less about some doll.  She was just happy being part of a group that opened presents.

The gift of giving is always an important lesson at Christmas, but the gift of belonging is even more important.  It’s not always the gift that we seek but the joy of unwrapping a gift of belonging.

No matter what gift you give or get this Christmas, share the gift of joy and love with others. Help them feel "belonged" even if they are strangers to you.

The precious gift at Christmas is knowing

that we belong in God's family.

Merry Christmas!