"But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. ... 1 Corinthians 9:27
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Gah. Lately this mega-introvert (me) has been ever-so-tempted to hole-up inside her sweet little Hobbit Cottage, toss her computer from her top-story window then sing, "Make The World Go Away."
All those angry, divided people out there! Oh, they are royally bugging me, even a few Christian bloggers who wrote non-thinking, untimely posts which would have devastated Newtown parents' hearts. And why I keep reading message boards, I'll never know, other than perhaps I don't want to become so irrelevant here in my blog because of never daring to touch my fingers to the pulse of this struggling 2012 world.
Love is messy. Real ministry to others' pain and God-ignorance is messy, too... just ask Jesus who died on a horrible cross for us so to prove His Father's great love.
So I must refuse to leap out of the Love Boat for calmer waters and a quiet, deserted isle--and instead--discipline myself to do what is right, even when it's oh-so-uncomfortable and people are stressed-out-mean-and-clueless and I'd rather be tucked into a recliner, watching Leave It To Beaver, eating pie.
My hope is to become fit, stand the test, be approved and not rejected as a counterfeit. And my oh my, that requires much discipline, a huge God and buckets and buckets of stick-with-it love.
And love does not hide away, voiceless, inside a tiny yellow house, even a God-given one. "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 Corinthians 13:1.
Amen.
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Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Colossians 3:12-13
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
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If you've written a blog post about the Newtown shootings, please reread it, this time as though a parent who lost a child there is reading it. You may be shocked at how different it comes off sounding.
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If you've written a blog post about the Newtown shootings, please reread it, this time as though a parent who lost a child there is reading it. You may be shocked at how different it comes off sounding.
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I so admire you. Really. You're a good person. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't write any words. Only an Irish tune, and a photo.
This country needs more Andy Griffith and less Jersey Shore and their ilk. Is violence becoming the new normal? Look at videos and games. In our township, a 22 yr. old man posing as an insurance agent was let in by one of three sisters living there....ages 84 to 90. Used a cattle brod to burn and shock them, beat them savagely, tied them up and destroyed the inside of their home. Found four hours later...one with a heart attack, another a broken shoulder and another with a brain bleed. Why? because he hated their faith. Two more homes were invaded yesterday with the occupants still there. Once walking to a sleeping child's bed. He fled when confronted by a resident in each case.
ReplyDeleteMay God have mercy on us all.
Wilma
I agree with you, we are called to share the love of Jesus with our communities, in hard times and in good times.
ReplyDeleteI actually have not looked around much for a while so haven't run into anything. I Just go to you and a few choice blogs and I am off unless I later watch something on Netflix , e-mail or check a recipe. Although you might write something that speaks to me of a weakness I have or gives me much soul searching I know I need it. Maybe I am ducking reality but I only have so much time and other people to interact with and commitments through out each week to help others. I ache for the parents and people of Newton and don't know how any one could think to hurt any of them further. Our tongues get us in so much trouble. We were at a community meeting tonight and a police officer told us there are so many good good people in the world and to never forget that. The bad ones get the attention and talk but the rest are going around doing good and no one may notice but they are still going to do it. Officers see so much worse things than we know of but they still have faith that there are more good people out there than bad. Sarah
ReplyDeleteI have no shame in doing the introvert thing. Soft, enveloping leather couch, cat on my lap, dog beside me and episodes of the old Dick Van Dyke Show running. I know some things were bad then, too. Some things have always been bad, very bad, via the hands of humans, throughout history. And, I agree, that there is a lot of good also done, but it usually does not get publicized. Also, Debra, when I seek comfort, simplicity, joy, I come to your blog. Thank you for writing.
ReplyDelete