Greedy Thrift

"Many Christians dread the
thought of leaving this world,
because so many have stored up
their treasures on earth,
and not in heaven." -Randy Alcorn


Would it be safe to say all I have,
I have received?
I think so.


I came into this world with nothing but a cry...
Everything I have has been given to me.
But right now, I'm feeling the weight
of everything I own like it was on my own back.
And it's getting tiresome.


I've decided I will begin to
lighten the load.

No, we don't make a lot of money,
and it's not that I've spent thousands,
but I have shopped thrift
until thrift has become greed...










so I vow to turn that around.
And to become really really rich
In the things that matter!

So help me God!

Intimate Choice

My friend,

Will your desire for genuine intimacy,
Lead you to false intimacy?

There are two intimacies.
Both move us.

One is holy. The other is evil.


Be full of care.









We do have an enemy.

Which Trinity Will We Embrace?

I am working hard to
never minimize what the flesh,
the world, and the Devil can do...











Spiderman, struggling in black...



Their plan is to keep me as distracted
from my Father, as involved with sin, and
as careless about it all as possible.
They want my company now and into
eternity, where they will keep me close.


Which trinity will I embrace?

The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit?
or...
The world, the flesh and the devil...
Which trinity will I choose to be intimate with?

They're not opposites.
They are simply enemies.

I cannot belong to two opposing armies.
And when I try, I go insane.
Both will want to destroy me.

I'll choose the Trinity that Loves me.








There is no detached looking-on.
I am either in one camp or the other.
I am either embracing the Hell-bent trinity,
Or the Heavenly Trinity.
I even hate to set them side by side,
So far are they truly apart from each other.

But no, while on earth... they will be side by side.
So close it makes my hair stand on end.

Adam and Eve's choice
is still set before me today.
Choice is God's divine appointment.
With me.

Life is Holy

"We serve Life not because it is broken,

but because it is Holy. "

-Mother Teresa















Holy: Belonging to God.
Holy: God's idea.

So. Even though this is the way it seems
much of the time, Life is not all about
brokenness. There is a coming out.
A pushing through all the pains
that surround you,
or that pound you.
And there's a pushing into Holiness.
Making Life worth living.

Is that promising, or what!

Sometimes I feel like I'm having a baby again.
I'm pregnant with what is yet to come.
That My Father has a plan, yet to be
lived out by me.

I feel the pains.
They come and go.
Lately, they come more than go.

But the thought that a baby is coming!
Oh my... Life!
Holy Life!
I can almost feel it in my arms...






______________________________________

Still Wogging...

Who's Education?

“I never let schooling get in the way
of my education.” –Mark Twain




What I like are these two words...

"my education"


Mark Twain doesn't say...
the education my
teachers are trying to give me

or... the education my
parents are trying to give me

or... the education my
government is trying to give me

He says... MY education.

OK Rory... that's how it is...

We'll provide the paper,
the desk, the love, the pencils,
the quiet, the trashcan,
the light, the eraser, the time,
the maps, the support,
the dictionaries, the
encyclopedias, the peace,
and the fresh air,

oh, and the books.
The many many books...

then you can fly.....

OK?

















Love you...
mom and dad.

Turning on The Mind

"When the mind is turned on
to real learning,
the mind is open,
a love for learning is ignited,

and the student cannot help but
become a great thinker and leader.

Our duty as parents is to keep it
as simple as possible for the child
so as not to overburden them
yet provide them with enough to keep them
progressing forward in their pursuits."

-Donna Vail





















YOU CAN DO IT, SWEETIE!

The Hard Way

It's a battle.
It's a struggle.
It's a fight.
It hurts.
And I often wonder... is it worth it?

But how could I ask such a thing...
When God has dredged me out of the muddy swamp,









cleaned me up, and set me on A Rock?













How could I ask such a thing...
When He, through His own incomprehensible suffering
Made Eternal Life With Him possible for me?

When even Heaven's angels gape at what I have,
Wondering how it can all be possible?

When I have been selected and set apart
For incredible opportunity
Being a vessel of the One Holy God who says
He Is Love?

He is Love.
A Love that has bled for me.
A Love that has suffered torture and humiliation,
Abandonment to a long and Lonely death
And a Hellish time with none to rescue?

But the Way He leads hurts
As I read recently, Messy-Love it Is
I might add, a rather bloody Way as well.
And at times I want to retreat
Because I don't always feel that Love
I just feel the Mess.

And I get lonely.
And preoccupied with self.







And what I suffer.
And didn't get in life.
And am still not getting.








I have a lot to learn
about the Love of God.
About resting in Him.
About trusting Him.

Dear Heavenly Father...
Let me In to You.
I want to get closer,
need to get closer.
I'm knocking...
timid, tired,
but knocking.







_________________________________________


WOGing continues...

Weak? Wounded? What else is new?

"Give yourself fully to God.
He will use you to accomplish
great things on the condition
that you believe much more
in His love than in your own
weakness."

- Mother Teresa









So, I should leave my weaknesses alone
- after handing them over to God, that is.

Like, my weaknesses and my wounds
are not even my own to manage!

I strongly believe that to the degree
I allow God to work through me,

to that degree I will find healing for
those wounds upon which I've wasted
so much effort in trying to be rid of...

or to that degree I will find strength for
those weaknesses I've wasted so much
futile effort in trying to overcome.

Kinda like -
overcoming evil with good.

Without getting stuck
in the evil.

Just like Jesus said to do.

A DAILY WOG

"Let us resolve at once
that it will be the one
characteristic
of our life and worship,
a continual,
a humble,
a truthful,
Waiting On God."

-Andrew Murray

The Great Exchange!

I love the idea of Exchange...

Such a heartwarming,
encouraging,
motivating Christian principle...
That I can exchange the old for the new,
the defunct for the workable,


the woefully deficient...

...for the joyfully effective.


But when I first heard of this principle...
It was depicted as somewhat of a grand affair.
Yes!!! Out with the Old!!!
In with the New!!!
From self to Christ!
From death to Life!
From darkness to Light!

How grand the thought!

But something was missing.
Some evasive element -
Something was too









fast...


It was the very one thing
that if I could catch it,
would make all the difference for me.

Then I caught it...

The Bite-By-Bite bit that was missing -

that says one day at a time.









and if that's too hard,
one hour at a time.










and if that's
too hard,
well then,
one step at a time.












One step at a time,
allowing God to
Exchange in my life...

the bad for the good
the sour for the sweet
the negative for the positive
the unholy for the holy.

One step at a time.
One little bit at a time.
Handing me over to Him.


And when my Father looks upon me...










He is pleased, very pleased, at how I'm doing.
Not because I'm perfect...
but because I'm willing to be perfected.
It's a willing-heart thing.
Thank God, it's a willing-heart thing.

By Betty Scott Stam
Written when she was 10
Martyr for Christ, 1930's
China Inland Mission


I cannot live like Jesus
Example though He be
For He was strong and selfless
And I am tied to me.
I cannot live like Jesus
My soul is never free
My will is strong and stubborn
My love is weak and wee.
But I have asked my Jesus
To live His life in me
I cannot look like Jesus
More beautiful is He
In soul and eye and stature
Than sunrise on the sea.
Behold His warm, His tangible
His dear humanity.
Behold His white perfection
Of purest deity.
Yet Jesus Christ has promised
That we like Him shall be.

My Father's Ear

I know what I want...
I want to talk to God like I would my own dad.
Right there - up front and unafraid.
I want to say -

"Hey Dad! Look at this!!! What do you think?"
or -
"Oh Dad... I just don't know... what do you think?"
or then again,
"Gee Dad, they hurt me... what do I do?








I mean, the Bible calls Him the Wonderful Counselor!

Oh the privilege!


All I believe I need
is a keen awareness of my own,
total bankruptcy,
and how much I need Him.

That's when He scoots up to the edge of His Throne,
points His finger, and says -
"Ah, see that one over there, Angels?
The one who sees her poverty?


SILENCE!...









I want to hear and answer this precious one."


So, that's what I want.
I want my Father's ear...

Even King David Posted

Yes, he did.
King David had his own "site".

He posted an awful lot
and with awful honesty.

He posted in his log book...
He dictated his words...
And we get to read them today.









Pretty cool.
King David, a B-logger.

(Bible Logger)

Take It To Him

"Never hesitate to take
what you think
are small things to God;
after all, everything is small to God!"









But that which is a huge obstacle,
some insurmountable weight to you...














...He knows about. Yes, He knows more
about it than you do. He also knows
just what to do.
He is not surprised.
He is not frustrated.
He is not stumped.
He's not bewildered.
He's not wringing His hands...
He's not seeking counsel...

HE KNOWS ALL ABOUT IT.
And you can Trust Him with it.
You can Trust Him with it.













Joe sr with Joe jr

Cups...

There are clean cups and
there are less than clean cups.
I always peek to see if I have
a clean one if I want a good
cup of tea! We have open
cupboards for a while.


If I want my guest
to have a good cup of coffee,
I better grab a clean cup.










What one can put in a cup is endless.
Choices galore.










Cappuccino, espresso, cinnamon tea,
hot cocoa w/whipped cream, Earl Grey,
cafe latte, hot milk and honey.

Mmmmm... marshmallows on top.
Now that's irresistible.












But, finding a little mouse poop floating
on top of my drink ruins everything.
Or Lint.
Or hair.
Or, or, a bug!

Eeeeeeeeewww!!!









I wonder... what kind of cup am I?

Should the Lord walk by and look inside of me...
(and He does... very lovingly...)

What will He find?
A clean cup?
or a dirty cup?


He won't fill a dirty cup, you know.












What He gives requires a clean cup.
What He gives is very very clean.













"Be ye holy, for I am holy"

saith the Lord.

LOVER OF LIGHT

Walk in the Light,
Think in the Light,
Keep in the Light.

At any given moment,
You're either in Darkness -
Or you're in the Light...

At any given moment,
Make your Choice.

From the beginning,
It was all about Choice.
It's still all about Choice.

><>

INNER FACE

by Jocelyne Sade


Come to the place
Where there's no trace
Of the harried pace,
the pointless race,
the hardened face.

Come into His ways,
Where there's abundant Grace,
In the Light of His Face...


Where God is Always.
Always, Always,
Good.

Me? Brainwashed?

Oh - I wouldn't have it any other way!

Why, do you have ANY idea where my
thoughts take me at times? You may not,
but I do.







Aside from the immoral,
hateful or
revengeful
thoughts that come...
and thoughts of depression
or despair...









come the suggestions that I
cling to this world...

"Eat, drink and be merry!"
"Be the center of your world!"

as though I am all that matters.

Brainwashed?
I welcome it!
"Washed by the water of the Word..."
Bring it on... open the Flood Gates!


















That I might think like He thinks,
in every situation.

And that I might realize,
without Him, all is sheer vanity.

So, shower me with Your Word, Oh God...

And make You the center of my world.
You, Who loves me so!
knows me most!
and forgives me over and over and over...











My brother, Christian, and I in Long Beach, California.
-1960

Fear Not!!!

Fear destroys power.
Fear steals victory,
says "run and hide",
says "I can't", "I won't", "I mustn't!"
Fear talks too much.
Fear is a big fat bully.
Don't let it bully you.

Perfect Love casts out fear.

(Ha! What Love???
Fear surrounds me, and pounds me.
I'm as the woman caught in adultery.
And I can't even get up.
I'm tired.
I'm afraid.

Many mock and say -
Where is her God?
Where is her help?)

I'll show them.

Because
Perfect Love casts out fear.
God - I'm Waiting.
On You.

Just as I am.

Quotes Alot

I quote a lot because I read a lot.
And I question what I read.
And try it out.
And hope to learn.
And pass it on.

That's why I'm here.
It's good for me.
I hope you enjoy my place.
















.

Culture Problem? Not really...

"Children today are tyrants.
They contradict their parents,
gobble their food,
and tyrannize their teachers."












Except for my boys, of course!
Frank, Rory and Joseph -2007


That's what people say about
today's children. So, who said
the above quote?


Socrates!

2,427 years ago!
(420 b.c.)

So the teenage difficulties just really
end up being discipline problems within
the home. Problems with respect and
communication and methods of discipline.
Maybe we ought to blame the culture less,
and look at our own behavior as parents!

You? Forgiven???

Il faut des torrents de sang (A torrent of blood is needed)

pour effacer nos fautes (To erase our faults)

aux yeux des hommes, (In the eyes of man,)

une seule larme suffit à Dieu. (One single tear, satisfies God.)

François René de Chateaubriand

(This is the church where I met Jesus.
Tears and all. Forest Lawn Mortuary in
Cypress, California. A rather fitting place.)

Be Still... Jocelyne

"We Please Him most, not by frantically trying
to make ourselves good, but by throwing
ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections,
and believing that He understands everything and
loves us still." The Root of the Righteous: A.W.Tozer


Oh that I would Be Still...
and not be so worried and
troubled about so many things...
and gut-level-Know
that He is God,
and I am not.

I would then rest.
Working out my salvation
would mean learning to let go.
My yoke is easy... He says.
I am the Vine, He says.
Without Me you can do nothing,
He says.

And my tired soul knows
there is no where else to
satisfy my thirst because
He made me for Him.

You know what He says to me?
He says, "Be still, Jocelyne,
while I untie the knots.
Only I know how...












Trust Me. I know you and love you.
Completely.
Wanderings, Knots, Confusions,
seemingly Tragic Blunders and all.

I AM the Redeemer of ALL
that pertains to you.
Now be still, and trust Me."

So I get to be still.
and let go of my miserable perplexities.
I don't care that men think I am a fool.
Life IS tragic, and I intend to
give mine away to the only One
who can redeem it and bring forth fruit.
He is making my life de-vinely beautiful.
Deep inside, where it counts.


I am waking up.
I am coming into my own.
My own blessed bankruptcy.
At last...
At long last...

Truthbyter

The Rock of My Altar

Oft' there's no place to go.
About the stuff I don't know.
So up on the altar I throws it.
Minding He already knows it.

I breathe a sigh of relief -
Now so much less grief.
No more fussin' and fumin',
Trying to unravel confusion.

The more I give up, I believe,
The more easily I can breathe.
My life isn't my own -
Though some say I'm wrong.

Loved ones have said, "Get a grip!
Grab your life – write the script!"
But they recommend sin...
Mixing it in...not calling it Sin...

You know – "Leave that face!
Get out of that place!
Go on now, get a life!
Who needs that much strife!"

But some thing's amiss.
I may be a mrs -
But I also have honor
in being a Princess.

My Dad is Judge and King.
And knows each difficult thing
I deal with day to day.
I'm so not alone, so hey…

You get the grip and see.
How nothing in life is easy.
The devil offers disaster
When in your ear he'll plaster
"Quick - run to greener pasture!"
At lying, he is a master.

Go ahead, run to the field.
Now look down at your feet,
See... worms are there,
Thistles and weeds to despair
Seems like you musta brought'em,
Though left behind, you thought 'em.

So you get the grip
Don't call me a wimp
So what if I limp
Down here, I'm a temp…

Takes a lot of guts to stay
Facing ten devils a day
I'll keep laying them all
On the Rock of MyAltar

And though I may seem lost;
By troubles wildly tossed,
The Potter works His tender plan,
I, once a child, now, becoming man.


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