A PIECE OF MY HEART...joyful noisemakers

If I could be alittle bit transparent today, I would like to admit to you that there is something that really gets under my skin. Don't judge me or hate me for it. The truth is I really, REALLY hate it when early in the morning there is some sort of loud noise outside of my bedroom window that awakens me way before it is time to be awoken!

Barking dogs, honking horns, car alarms going off, the screeching tires of the garbage truck, people walking by yelling...you get what I am talking about. Loud noises that rub us the wrong way at the wrong time of the day.

It occurred to me the other day that noises can happen anywhere. Especially the kind that rub us wrong, however, the one place that this should not happen is in church. I'm not talking about when someone drops a pan in the fellowship hall kitchen, the noises that I am talking about happens in the foyer, or the bathroom or even quietly in the pew.

Noises such as "Did you hear so and so about so and so?" "I hope that the worship leader sings at least ONE hymn today!" "I sure hope the pastor get done before the game starts!"

When the psalmist said to "make a joyful noise before the Lord", he did not mean this kind of noise. Hearing gossip, backbiting, and complaining is nothing but a loud noise to me that just rubs me the wrong way. At home, I can put a pillow over my head to drown out the early morning noise, wouldn't it be great if we could do the same thing when we hear such ridiculous noise in the House of God?

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2

Come into His presence with singing? Many times I think we stop short on this verse and we miss the part about coming to God with a song in our heart. This is not talking about style of music...it's not about it being contemporary music or hymns. Its not even talking about if the words are on the wall or not. Coming into His presence with singing is not about the music at all, it is about our attitude!

We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! But yet how many times do we allow our circumstances or the negativity of others to negate our attitude of praise? How often are we sour and complacent when we gather to praise God? When it comes to praising God, we must also use our emotions for the glory of God. Approaching Him with joy and gladness!

God is looking for some joyful noisemakers....what kind of a noisemaker are you?

And this has been a piece of my heart today!

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY...are you on the injured list?

Like many people I watched the annual Superbowl game. Even if your "team" didn't make it this far, you or someone in your house probably tuned in to see who would walk away with the Superbowl ring and trophy.

So much has happened for both of these teams in order to have made it this far. Much practice, a winning season and much endurance. You have to have alot of strength and endurance in order to be a good football team. But even with such things, no doubt along the way, each team has experienced some injuries. It would really stink to play all season and then right before the BIG game, become injured and be placed on the injury list. As disappointing as that would be, the truth is, injuries still happen. And when they do, all you can do is take the bench and allow time for the wounds to heal and then get back in the game.

Sitting on the bench does not make you any less part of the team.

Injury may keep a player out of the game for a period of time, but continuing with the strengthening and conditioning exercises is very important. Eventually the wounds will heal and the injured player will be moved from the "injury roster" to the "active roster". You see, the players were only hurt, they were not disconnected. They were still on the team and still just as important as before.

In my own life, I have come to realize that being a Christian is not much different than being a injured player on the team. Recently during a church service, the pastor asked the congregation to raise their hand if they had ever been hurt by someone at church. Hurt by a pastor, a deacon, a Sunday school teacher or another member and to my astonishment the result was almost 100% of hands raised, including the pastors hand. It resounded the fact to me that people will hurt us and we will hurt people. I guess you could say it is part of the game.

• But how do we recover from such injuries? 
• Do we sit on the bench? and for how long?
• Does it mean we are no longer part of the team?

To find the answer to this, I found myself drawn to the story of Hannah in the Bible:

“1 Now there was a certain man…and his name was Elkanah…2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh...4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.” (1 Samuel 1:1-7)

Hannah was persecuted by those that should have loved her and helped her. The one who should have encouraged her, instead falsely accused her and judged her. To make things worse for Hannah, all of this happened while she was trying to serve God. The words in verse 7 jumped off of the page to me ...

"therefore she wept and did not eat."

Hannah was injured. She was sitting on the bench. Instead of getting stronger, she got weak. I know this because anyone who does not "eat" will slowly become weak and they will lose their strength. Physical weakness not only comes from a lack of eating but so does spiritual weakness. We must have some protein (meat) in our diet in order to get strong. Without it, we may never recover from our injuries.

Unfortunately, once we get put on the injury list, we no longer remain part of the team. Part of that is because we cannot get past our hurt and we don't want to be part of the team any longer and another part is that the rest of the team looks over at us sitting on the bench and decides that they have no use for us. Either way, the concept of being a "team" is forgotten.

Anyone who has or will serve our great country in the armed services understands about the team mentality.

 "Never leave a fallen soldier behind."

In churches all over, we have some soldiers that are injured and sitting on the bench. It is imperative for the team, that we all recognize that being injured is part of the game, but it is only temporary. Strengthening and conditioning our hearts and spirits will not only put us back in the huddle with our teammates but it will put us back in the game.

Stay strong my friend, and get back in the game...your team needs you!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...becoming a polished Christian!

Today I spent time polishing some silver. I polished some yesterday as well. Yesterday, I polished silverware that was used in a recent dinner party, however, when it was time to replace the silverware, the unused pieces looked yellow and tarnished next to the newly polished ones. So today I had to spend some time polishing ALL of the pieces.

Before I began polishing, the polishing pad looked so fresh and new...

But just after a few strokes of the tarnished pieces, the pad began to take on a different look. A dirty, nasty look...



It is no secret that in life if we rub shoulders with the wrong people, it is only a matter of time before their nasty habits will rub off on us. We can start out like that clean polishing pad, with the best of intentions, but after just one or two rubs of the sinful nature of those we hang around, we can become soiled.

The Bible says that "Iron sharps iron" (Prov. 27:17) That indicates that in order to become strong, I need to associate with strong people. In order to be encouraged, I need to be around encourager's. In order to grow in the Lord spiritually, I need to stick close to those who are seeking God.

It is so easy, as a Christian, to become discouraged. When I look around and see people who clearly are not putting God first but yet seem to have it all together, it frustrates me. I guess it is the same thing that was happening in the book of Malachi. (Malachi 3:14-18) Some of the Jews became discouraged and discontented when they saw others prospering and having great lives while being prideful, wicked and arrogant people.

"Is God just?" -the Jews wondered. But as I read on, I see that there is another group of people in this story that do not murmur or question God about these seemingly injustices. Instead they got together as a group and remained faithful to God and trusted Him.

MALACHI 3:16 "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name."

Be encouraged today... God hears your cry! He sees your heart! And He is remembering all those who have been faithful to Him and those who have not. He knows who is prideful and who is not. He sees the injustices that have come against you. He is making note and remembering every act of malice against you and against Him.

In His eyes we are jewels. But it is important that we remain polished. Be alert and wise as to who you allow to rub up against you .... your choices may either polish you or soil you!

And this has been a piece of my heart today;

Outlook determines outcome

In Warren Wiersbe’s book "Be Mature," (a study of the book of James) it says:

"Outlook determines outcome, and attitude determines action."

God tells us to expect trials. It is not “if" you fall into various testings but “when" you fall into various testings. Jesus even warned His disciples, "In the world, you will have tribulation." (John 16:33) So why do we find ourselves so surprised when these trials and troubles come?

Most of the time we are caught off guard. Some people think that "it" will never happen to me. What is "it"? Cancer? Death? Divorce? No matter what name you label "it", some kind of trial or tribulation is bound to happen sooner or later.

Instead of being caught off guard, why not be prepared and start taking action NOW!

If the IRS notified you today that in 6 months there would be a tax lien placed on your home and you would have to take care of this immediately or risk losing your home, most likely you would begin to save some money now or put a plan into action of how you could pay this tax lien to save your house. If we can plan and take action to save our physical home, why do we not take the same preparations to save our spiritual homes?

My 1-2-3 preparation plan for such a time looks like this:     

1. PRAY. Begin praying now for those things that are ahead that you do not see. Pray for strength. For wisdom. For discernment. Don't wait until the trial hits to pray, pray now that WHEN it hits, that you will be prayed up and have trust and confidence in God to see you thru!

2. GIVE. It is easy to give money when you have plenty, but what about when you have little? Begin now, no matter what season you are in, to give. Not just monetarily, but of your talents and your time. If you are cheap in giving to God now, you will probably not be much better when trials and tribulations hit. Now is the sowing time. We will reap what we sow.

3. ATTITUDE. Your attitude is everything. If you are "woe is me", your attitude just may determine the outcome of your situation. Give praise in ALL things. Yes that means the good, the bad and the ugly. Instead of focusing on the "have nots", focus on God and trust in Him enough that He will provide a way of escape. Your outlook will certainly determine the outcome.

It is not everyday that we can look at troubled times as something beautiful, but even Warren Wiersbe points this very thing out in his study. The "stuff" that we go thru can be a time of growing and changing. A time of beauty. A time of His transforming us.

Beauty or disaster?
The outcome really just depends upon our outlook! Choose today to be prepared.

THANKFUL THURSDAY...day 26, how is it looking?

It is hard to believe that the end of January is already here. I have enjoyed seeing all of your grateful hearts this month as your TT host! It encourages me so much to see how God is working in all of your lifes.

As I look at the calendar I see that we are already 26 days into the new year. I wonder how you are doing with your new goals and aspirations? One thing that I always hated about making "resolutions" is that feeling of failure I often felt by the end of the first month when I realized that I had already failed at losing weight, or eating right or exercising more.

Often times, I think setting goals is much like taking a walk on the beach. Have you ever noticed that if you try to walk straight and then look back at your footprints in the sand that your steps will be anything but straight. However, if you would fix your attention on something straight ahead, your steps would probably point straight to that object you were aiming for.

Goals are crucial for all of us to have. The big goals. And the small goals. But if we stumble around without having a course to keep us inline, we will be like the steps on the beach. Goals with no purpose will most definetly leave us feeling like a failure. Even Jesus had goals, and His goals had purpose indeed. In fact, His primary goal was set way before time even began.

Can you imagine how things would be different for you and me today if Jesus did not set His eyes on His Fathers plan? Each step He took, each lesson He taught, each miracle He performed was leading Him (and others) to God's ultimate purpose...the power of the Cross!

I am so thankful that Jesus was goal-minded and that each of His steps were ordained by God. If you set some goals for the new year and find yourself not staying on track, ask God to help you to see His purpose and plan and then fix your attention on that plan.

PHILIPPIANS 3:13,14 "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Forget...reach...press on...receive! So how is day 26 looking for you? Keep on reaching, the prize awaits you!

We would love to hear what is on your grateful heart today, be sure to link up your post below in Mr. Linky. Next week Iris will be hosting TT, see you over there for the month of February!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...the serenity prayer

Have you read the "Serenity Prayer" lately?

For years this well known prayer has been around. Just this week I happened to come across an old copy that was tucked away in a box of old memories and pictures...

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

Such a short but profound poem. It suggests that in life, there are things that will be beyond our control. A person can eat healthy and exercise daily but they may still get sick. A person can work diligently at becoming a good steward, but still fall onto hard financial times. A person can work really hard at becoming a good friend, but yet struggle with having good relationships.

Face it, there are just some things in life that leave us struggling to understand why certain things happen. I have had lots of things happen in my own life that quite honestly, I just don't understand. The more I try to figure things out, the more I get confused. It is fair to say that even though some things cannot be understood, there is still a perfect purpose for it.

PROVERBS 3:5-6  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

DEAR LORD: Today I choose to apply the Serenity Prayer to my life...to accept the things that I cannot change and to seek Your help in changing the things that I can. As I lean upon Your understanding, may I see purpose even in those things that I cannot control. I put my complete trust in You, especially for these things I do not understand. AMEN

 

THANKFUL THURSDAY...go for the BOUNCE!

It's just the 3 of us now in the house, since the boys have all married and moved out you would think we would have less laundry around here. But that is not the case at all. Seems like the washer and dryer are going non-stop. I guess having a teen girl in the house has something to do with that! Ha-ha.

We can never have enough laundry soap. Not only that, but we need lots of Bounce too. Those little fabric sheets are wonderful. Have you ever noticed the difference they make? If you run out of them and try to dry a load of towels without it, you will notice the difference real quick. The static and electricity seems to rub off on everything else that your load of laundry comes in contact with.

I got thinking about that the other day when I was folding some towels. Isn't that how we are sometimes...we can rub off on other people wrong. We may not mean to, or maybe we have just had a bad day, or week and the vibes that we give off seem to be alittle electrifying. When our attitude is less than what it should be, it doesnt just affect us. Just like the laundry, the static from our spirit will affect all those around us, thus rubbing people the wrong way.

I guess what we all need in our lifes is alittle Bounce, not the dryer sheet kind, but the God kind. I find when I do not spend time with Him or in His Word, the bounce in my step is alittle less than what it could be.

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” Eph. 5:2

Without His sweet smelling savor, it is so easy for little things to creep in our heart and our spirit (like jealousy, bitterness, anger, resentment, discouragement, etc) and if we arent careful the static that comes with these things will not only affect us but it will affect those that we rub shoulders with.

What kind of static and electricity are you giving? I hope its the good kind. The sweet smelling kind. The kind that can bring hope, joy, peace, love and forgiveness to others. If not, you may need to get you some bounce in your walk, the spiritual kind that is!

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am so grateful for the freshness of God's Spirit. What an awesome outpouring of His Spirit when we come to Him with an open heart to receive all that He has for us. May we not only keep the laundry room stocked with dryer supplies but may we keep our hearts and spirits stocked with anticipation of His filling.

What are you grateful for today?

Please join us by linking up your TT post below! :)