How is my attitude?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

This verse was shared with me a few weeks ago, and it has been very convicting. Often, I have thought of my light as being my actions…the “good works” that I am doing. However, I have come to realize that my attitude is really what makes the lasting impact with my family, those around me and for the Lord.

Actions are a necessary means to service, but the light that shines through me as I work for the Lord is my attitude. Christ asked in the Sermon on the Mount: how are you to be salt in the world (bring others to taste the goodness of the Lord) if you have lost your flavor? In turn, how am I to be the light that brings others to Christ when my attitude is dark and negative?

A few years ago, I was keeping children in our home for a little extra income. One particularly challenging day, Matt called to check on me and give encouragement. I began to go down the list of kids (including my own!) and tell him about the bad day each was having. In a very humble voice, Matt so sweetly suggested that perhaps the problem was ME. (I can laugh now, but you know how that probably went over at the time.) After I prayed about it, I realized that as the person in charge of the home during the day, I was setting the tone. The only person I could change was ME. The type of day I was having was only determined by ME.

I have given myself many excuses: "I am not a pessimist…just a realist"; "I am just stating facts"; "I'm just in a difficult place right now"... I think I am beginning to own up to the fact that it really doesn’t matter, and if I need to explain myself, I am likely not shining in a way that “encourages others to love and good works”. (Hebrews 10:24) Only a change in my attitude will allow me to be the light that I have been called to be.

I recently read this quote from Charles Swindoll:

"The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church..a home. The remarkable thing is we have a CHOICE every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our ATTITUDES."

Wow, I have finally found the one thing of which I can be in charge!
AT

The Puzzle

Last week was an emotional rollercoaster. I am sure that we will have many of those on this journey, but the last 9 days have seemed especially difficult. Even now as I write I have that aching knot in my gut…you know the one that you get on the first day of school, or the one that you have before a speech, or when you are waiting on a phone call…well, I don’t know how else to describe it, but the underlying anxiety is real.

I have found myself saying, “If I just knew what God’s plan was, I would just relax.” God has been very clear about His call to missions and even His call to a specific people & country. The “tricky” part comes in getting to that place.

I woke up one morning last week to realize that I had a matted eye. After one look at my son, I realized that my issue was not just lack of sleep. We were all about to display a case of full blown pink eye. Thankfully, I had leftover drops from the last episode, so I began medicating everyone! This proved to be a good reason to have a quiet few days of reflection and prayer. I cancelled all of our plans and assigned the kids “puzzle duty”.

Each child was given a puzzle that was “age appropriate” yet challenging. I intended it to be something that would take the kids several hours and exercise their summer brains. It would also give me an opportunity to scrapbook & pray.

Everything started off as “I planned”. The kids set to task, and worked diligently the first 30 minutes. I stepped in a few times over the next 30 minutes to help each child complete their frame and give encouragement…..then it started…the whining!

“I don’t know where this piece goes. I can’t make this piece work. I can’t find the piece I need.”

Each time I heard a protest, I encouraged the child to, “not give up”, “keep working”, “find a new direction that will get you to the same place”.

WOW, did those words come back to hit me in the face! Why do I have to “know what God’s plan is” in-order to “relax”? He has been gracious to give me the picture of the “completed puzzle”. I do not know where each piece goes. I can’t force pieces to fit together. There are times when I need Him to hand me the next piece and encourage me to continue working, but ultimately the process I (we) am in is just as important as “arriving at the completed puzzle”.

God is working to strengthen my “summer brain” because the challenge of completing this “puzzle” is just scratching the surface of the challenges that He has set before me (us) in the next stage of life. I have been telling myself…."this is just a 100 piece puzzle.” It seems hard to my 5 year old capabilities, but it is growing me to be able to face the next puzzle…which is likely a 1,000 pieces!

Not giving up today!
AT

She's Five!

The baby girl turned 5 today! We spent the morning swimming at the Bird family pool and playing with friends. Thanks for a wonderful day everyone!

As you can see, Grace had a fun time. These are the types of pictures (wet, crazy hair & tired) that she'll kill us for posting in 10 years! :)

Well, she may be 5, but I guess at the end of the day she's still our baby..."lellow blankie", thumb & all!

No Words of My Own

God always has a funny way of brining things into our path that are exactly what we need to hear. The following is from our Kidmo 1st Grade Sunday School Lesson:

THEME: World changers expect God’s best
LEARN IT
God is at his best when life is at its worst.
Joseph always expected God to do something great, even when life was at its worst.
Review: Genesis 41:1-41
LINK IT
God sees our whole life. He sees the beginning and the end and everything in-between. God
knows what happens to you, good and bad. When Joseph was sitting in jail, life was at its
worst, but Joseph knew God was aware of his situation and would bring about something great.
LIVE IT
We cannot control the circumstances of our lives. Bad things are going to happen. Just
because something bad happens doesn’t mean God doesn’t care. It doesn’t mean God turned
and looked away. It means God wants to bring something great out of something bad.
COMPASS POINT
When life’s a mess expect God’s best.
MEMORY MAX
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

We are defiantly at a place right now where “life is a mess”, or so it would seem from our short sighted perspective. We feel we are at a very critical place, and we have no idea how God plans to pull everything together. We need wisdom in our words, so for now...I really have no words to say…

AT

"Word Of God Speak"
by MercyMe

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to seeYour majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and restIn Your holiness
Word of God speak


I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]


I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

The Neighbor’s Cat

Shortly after our neighbor’s moved next door this past fall, their inside cat got out and lost. We found him crying on our front porch and determined to get into our house. He was so sad & sweet. Grace & I had fun holding him and giving him a little comfort. Well, last night the poor thing was out and confused again!

It was a little after 3:00 am, and I awoke hearing a strange sound at the front door. My dad works a late shift, and with the storms last night, I thought maybe the garage door wasn’t working and he needed inside. However, when I looked through the peep hole, I didn’t see anyone. Just as I was trying to make my middle of the night brain work, I jumped with the sound of pawing again, and this time it was followed with meowing that was quite loud.

My natural love instinct for animals made me truly want to open the door and help the distressed animal, but I knew as sure as I did we would have a wet scared cat loose in the house. I had to simply leave him to wait at the door until morning.

As I got back in bed, a strange feeling came over me, and I felt God tell me that I was just like that cat. WHAT!...was my immediate reply. Am I meowing at the wrong door? No…I know we are at the exact place that God has called us to be. He has been very clear, and we have been obedient. I am at the right door.

However, just like the neighbor’s cat, the door that I am sitting at is not ready to be opened. It was better for the cat to sit and wait…just like God has seen fit for our family to wait.

I know that He still loves me and has a perfect plan. I had a great plan for the cat this morning…I guess there are nights when we just feel confussed & wet. The great thing is that we serve a God that is able to wrap us in His arms and sit on the porch with us!

Waiting in His Arms,
AT

Without Breath

As someone that has traveled to Central America many times, I understand the term “gringo”. I have been called this numerous times, and I am sure by my dumb actions and naivety of culture, I deserved it each time. This past Sunday, I heard a short story about the early visitors to Hawaii. They were given the name haole (pronounced HOW-lee). The word haol means "without breath, wind or spirit; a colorless, paste-white absence of spirit and feeling, an inability to appreciate the land and the dignity of its people.”

According to Hawaiian traditions, a person would sit outside the temple and breathe deeply blocking out the troubles of the world and focusing their mind on entering into the presence of their god. When they entered the temple, they would sit silently & still for an extended period of time “breathing in the spirit of their god.” Only after they felt they had made a connection did they offer up prayers. Then they would exit the temple and sit on its steps continuing to meditate on their “encounter”.

When the early Christian missionaries came to the islands, the Hawaiians were shocked by the lack of reverence & connection the foreigners had with their God. They would rush into their churches, sing loudly, offer up petitions and exit just as quickly. The Hawaiians did not understand this lack of respect & bond, thus the name “those without breath” was given to them.

Here is a quote from an article I read today as I researched Hawaiian culture and the importance of BREATH: “The Spirit of God broods over the waters of East and West, breathing new life in both directions. Known in Hebrew as ruach, in Greek as pneuma, in Latin as anima, in Sanskrit and Chinese as prima and ch’ i, or in Polynesian as mana, the sacred wind of God’s breath cannot be limited to the categories of thought most familiar to Western theology.”
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=810

This has challenged me to examine my own time spent with God. Am I a haole? Is my life so self-focused & rushed that I miss experiencing a new life-breathing connectedness with a Holy God?

I am reminded of one of the stories of Elijah. Elijah needed to hear a word from the Lord, so the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mountain and wait for the presence of the Lord to pass by. A powerful wind tore the mountains apart, rocks fell, there were earthquakes & fire, but none of those powerful movements contained the presence of the Lord. The Lord came to Elijah by a gentle whisper….a breath.

I am afraid that in my busyness I often lack breath. I have a short sighted view of my need for connection/relationship with a Holy God. It is my prayer today that I begin to take time to breath life into my time spent seeking God, worshiping Him and communicating with Him. In the near future, as I enter a new culture (although it will not be Hawaiian!), may it not be said of my relationship with God that I am a haole – one without breath!

AT

Trimming the Extra and Entering the Fire

When the piece is complete the Potter removes it from the wheel. This is done by sliding a piece of wire under to piece to “cut” it from the wheel. After drying on a shelf for a day or two, the Potter cuts away all of the excess clay from the bottom of the piece. At this time the Potter places His mark, or signature, on the piece to identify the piece as His creation. It is then placed on the shelf for sometimes weeks at a time to slowly dry and become what is called greenware. This means that the piece can be handled lightly but still needs to be fired to harden.

In reality we, as clay, can choose at anytime to remove ourselves from the Potter’s wheel.
We can decide that the road is too difficult and give up on His plan for us. In doing so, we will become nothing more than an old, dry, useless lump of clay. In addition, though we can not lose our relationship with the Potter and our eternity remains sealed, we will forfeit our fellowship with Him and never receive the Potter’s mark on our lives as a master creation.

After the vessel is thoroughly dry, it is placed into the kiln to be heated. For this firing, the bisque firing, the clay is heated to an uncomfortable 1700 degrees Fahrenheit over 24 hours. Again, the clay can decide at this point that it does not want to enter the fire. However, not going through the fire means only one thing. Without the fire the clay will rehydrate as soon as liquid of any kind is placed on or in it. It is not a useful vessel yet.

After being fired the first time, many vessels are done. Earthen ware flower pots at this point are complete. Most vessels, however, must be glazed and fired again, at a temperature of 2400 degrees Fahrenheit, in order to seal there porous surfaces. By doing this that are made able to serve either liquid or food.

The fires are not fun. They are not comfortable. But they are necessary in order to be useful in the Potter’s service. Some of you may be in the fire right now. You may see that you are about to enter into the fire. We do not choose when we enter the fire. Oh we may get ourselves into hot water from time to time due to our decisions, but only the Potter determines when a vessel enters into the holy fire. However, rest assured that unlike an earthly potter, our Potter does not place us into the fire and walk away.

Daniel 3:24-25 (New International Version)
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

Just like in the book of Daniel, He remains with us as we go through the firing.

MT