Have you ever had one of those days, when little things happen, irritating things that slow you down, take you away from your tasks, get in your way?
I've had one of those seasons.
In my last post, I detailed some of those things. Since then, my 22-year-old son, so frustrated with his love life, his inability so far to get a job, in an impulsive fit, tried to commit suicide by drinking a couple of bottles of wine and taking a bunch of Tylenols. He came very close to succeeding. He was online with someone, had mentioned what he had done, and when he stopped responding, the person online (in Chicago, IL) called our local EMS. When they found Boone, he was already jaundiced, which they said meant he was from 30 minutes to 2 hours away from death. Thank God for that online angel.
Now this isn't a little thing, but I feel guilty for complaining. I mean, Boone's alive! But the event -- his nearness to death, how close we came to losing him -- dealt me an emotional blow I'm not recovering from very quickly. And then I feel guilty because I'm so focused on how that has affected me. (I would focus on how it's affected Boone, but he won't let me.)
I can look at this spate of "bad luck" in several ways. First, I can just consider it bad luck. Just a matter of living life, of having children who are just now becoming adults and on their own to make their own mistakes, of living in a rough economy. But the sheer number of negative events makes me doubt that they are a result of normal bad luck.
Mike pointed out that all this stuff started happening right after I began tithing ten percent of the grocery budget to my church. I had asked Mike if he thought we could tithe our income, but he didn't feel we were able, so I'm just tithing what I have in my control. It's my way of saying, "I trust you, God. You have given us what we have; I can show my faith in you by giving back a tenth."
If there is some connection to the time that I began tithing, it could be from one of two possibilities.
It could be that Satan is attacking us because of my renewed faith, trying to separate me from my Lord. Or it could be as a friend put it, that God is winnowing us. However, I believe the Bible's promises, that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and God will not test us more than we can bear.
All this is just making me more of a clinger! Either way, it's been an interesting time. I wonder what next?
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Daniel
I've been reading the book of Daniel. It occurred to me that, though it didn't happen through conquest, we conservative constitutionalists are in a similar situation as Daniel. Stuck in exile in a land we don't recognize, a land with alien values. . . our liberties curtailed.
In the last month or so, I've been discouraged enough to just not write in my blog. I wouldn't even look at it or at anyone else's blog. I felt originally that God wanted me to start this blog. I already had a "home" blog that I could write about little things, my dogs, my cats and cooking. . . But I felt led to create a blog about the big things: God and America, and how we relate. I felt some great purpose to this little blog.
But I saw no evidence that anyone -- other than a friend or two, in which case, I was preaching to the choir -- was reading my blog. So what's the use? Thus began my discouragement. And yes, I reminded myself that we can't always know the results of God's commands; we must only do them. But that didn't help me come back.
This discouragement is tied together with the feeling that I get when I call and write our senators' and representative's offices and get a polite acknowledgment, or worse, a response that explains to me why they choose to vote contrarily. The anxiety, the urgency within me, the need to do something, anything! is hardening to a husk of what it was. What's the use?
In the prospect of long-term exile, Daniel and his friends behaved in a way to glorify God. Their home, homeland, capital city was shattered. They had been, in essence, kidnapped, and taken to Babylon to serve the king. I wonder how much time and effort they spent in trying to get away. Or did they from the start give it all up to God?
When my Christian friends shrug and say, "These are the last days," and their attitude is to basically roll with it, accept it, I get really irritated. We can't just bend over and take it! This is not the time to withdraw and wait on the Lord! That's abdicating our responsibility.
First, Daniel and company made sure that they were able to continue to glorify God through maintaining dietary standards -- not with a protest fast, but with a suggestion of a scientific experiment. In order to get this far, they had to treat their jailers, the chief of eunuchs and the steward over him, as people, not as evil enemies. I'm sure that if God had not brought Daniel into the favor of the chief of eunuchs, whatever he suggested would have been dismissed out of hand. But the chief explained to Daniel the reason for the food they were having to eat. And Daniel could come back with this suggestion that they compare the results of the two diets after ten days. And in case you don't know the story, Daniel's diet of vegetables and water kept him and friends much healthier than those who'd been eating the king's delicacies and drinking the wine.
Their training was to last for three years, but even before that time was up, Daniel had his first big break in being able to tell the king his dream and interpret it. It was into their second year there.
Hmm, we've been in exile only a few months. We have to see ourselves as being in it for the long run. Even if we are able to put politicians with integrity (boy, is that an oxymoron!) into office in 2010, we will still be fighting an overall attitude of relativism and a lack of understanding of the Constitution.
And Daniel lasted as wise man, counselor for the king, through King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, the short reign of his son, Belshazzar, the reign of Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Persian. (This is where I am in the book of Daniel.)
What struck me is that through Daniel's behavior, all these kings knew God to be the "living God, steadfast forever." They didn't necessarily give up their own gods, but they recognized God and His power.
Let this be a wake up call. We've been called bitter clingers; let us now cling even more tightly to God. The anxiety is counter-productive. At the same time, let us not relax and give up our responsibility as citizens. That's part of the problem and why we are in this mess.
When I told a liberal (progressive) friend that I was planning to go to Washington, DC, to protest on the 4th of July, she said, "It's good that you're finally getting involved."
I said, "Thank you," but I was miffed. What do you mean finally getting involved? I've been involved all along. I've been doing the things we're supposed to do -- informing myself and voting. But . . . that wasn't everything we needed to be doing, I realize now. I think we have abdicated our responsibility as citizens, assuming if we voted correctly, then these politicians will keep the country running. It's like those parents who send their children to school with the idea that now they don't have to do much in the training of their kids. While protesting should not have to be a normal part of an involved citizen's life, when the citizen has allowed things to get out of hand, protesting is perhaps the last option.
We should have been training our children about the steadfastness of the Constitution, about our founding fathers and their vision, and making sure that our educational system doesn't allow the insidious changes, revisionist history, etc. to make inroads into our children's minds. In my defense, I didn't know about these things. But responsible citizenry requires much more thorough education than we got in K-12 and even through college.
We should have been keeping an eye on our representatives, both state and federal, following what they were voting on and how they voted, and expressing our educated opinion at every turn. If we had, they would not have been able to vote themselves an automatic pay increase every year, for example.
The US that Obama envisions and the results, which we envision, cannot be more alien to us than Babylon to Daniel. We must find a way to work within the framework we are given, so that when it's all said and done, God will be glorified.
In the last month or so, I've been discouraged enough to just not write in my blog. I wouldn't even look at it or at anyone else's blog. I felt originally that God wanted me to start this blog. I already had a "home" blog that I could write about little things, my dogs, my cats and cooking. . . But I felt led to create a blog about the big things: God and America, and how we relate. I felt some great purpose to this little blog.
But I saw no evidence that anyone -- other than a friend or two, in which case, I was preaching to the choir -- was reading my blog. So what's the use? Thus began my discouragement. And yes, I reminded myself that we can't always know the results of God's commands; we must only do them. But that didn't help me come back.
This discouragement is tied together with the feeling that I get when I call and write our senators' and representative's offices and get a polite acknowledgment, or worse, a response that explains to me why they choose to vote contrarily. The anxiety, the urgency within me, the need to do something, anything! is hardening to a husk of what it was. What's the use?
In the prospect of long-term exile, Daniel and his friends behaved in a way to glorify God. Their home, homeland, capital city was shattered. They had been, in essence, kidnapped, and taken to Babylon to serve the king. I wonder how much time and effort they spent in trying to get away. Or did they from the start give it all up to God?
When my Christian friends shrug and say, "These are the last days," and their attitude is to basically roll with it, accept it, I get really irritated. We can't just bend over and take it! This is not the time to withdraw and wait on the Lord! That's abdicating our responsibility.
First, Daniel and company made sure that they were able to continue to glorify God through maintaining dietary standards -- not with a protest fast, but with a suggestion of a scientific experiment. In order to get this far, they had to treat their jailers, the chief of eunuchs and the steward over him, as people, not as evil enemies. I'm sure that if God had not brought Daniel into the favor of the chief of eunuchs, whatever he suggested would have been dismissed out of hand. But the chief explained to Daniel the reason for the food they were having to eat. And Daniel could come back with this suggestion that they compare the results of the two diets after ten days. And in case you don't know the story, Daniel's diet of vegetables and water kept him and friends much healthier than those who'd been eating the king's delicacies and drinking the wine.
Their training was to last for three years, but even before that time was up, Daniel had his first big break in being able to tell the king his dream and interpret it. It was into their second year there.
Hmm, we've been in exile only a few months. We have to see ourselves as being in it for the long run. Even if we are able to put politicians with integrity (boy, is that an oxymoron!) into office in 2010, we will still be fighting an overall attitude of relativism and a lack of understanding of the Constitution.
And Daniel lasted as wise man, counselor for the king, through King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, the short reign of his son, Belshazzar, the reign of Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Persian. (This is where I am in the book of Daniel.)
What struck me is that through Daniel's behavior, all these kings knew God to be the "living God, steadfast forever." They didn't necessarily give up their own gods, but they recognized God and His power.
Let this be a wake up call. We've been called bitter clingers; let us now cling even more tightly to God. The anxiety is counter-productive. At the same time, let us not relax and give up our responsibility as citizens. That's part of the problem and why we are in this mess.
When I told a liberal (progressive) friend that I was planning to go to Washington, DC, to protest on the 4th of July, she said, "It's good that you're finally getting involved."
I said, "Thank you," but I was miffed. What do you mean finally getting involved? I've been involved all along. I've been doing the things we're supposed to do -- informing myself and voting. But . . . that wasn't everything we needed to be doing, I realize now. I think we have abdicated our responsibility as citizens, assuming if we voted correctly, then these politicians will keep the country running. It's like those parents who send their children to school with the idea that now they don't have to do much in the training of their kids. While protesting should not have to be a normal part of an involved citizen's life, when the citizen has allowed things to get out of hand, protesting is perhaps the last option.
We should have been training our children about the steadfastness of the Constitution, about our founding fathers and their vision, and making sure that our educational system doesn't allow the insidious changes, revisionist history, etc. to make inroads into our children's minds. In my defense, I didn't know about these things. But responsible citizenry requires much more thorough education than we got in K-12 and even through college.
We should have been keeping an eye on our representatives, both state and federal, following what they were voting on and how they voted, and expressing our educated opinion at every turn. If we had, they would not have been able to vote themselves an automatic pay increase every year, for example.
The US that Obama envisions and the results, which we envision, cannot be more alien to us than Babylon to Daniel. We must find a way to work within the framework we are given, so that when it's all said and done, God will be glorified.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Dollar Bill
I gave each of my four Citizenship students a dollar bill and instructed them to look at it carefully. We discussed whose portrait was on it. Then I began to explain the symbolism of the Great Seal, shown in two circles on the reverse side of the dollar bill, the pyramid, the eye, the eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch, etc.
They looked closely. Haoying and Liyuan are an elderly Chinese couple (in their 70s, I believe, but very healthy and active). Then there's Fitsum, a young man from Ethiopia, and Victoria, from El Salvador. I felt a special closeness with Fitsum and Victoria ever since the day they were my only students to attend, and somehow, we got into a discussion about God. Fitsum asked if I believed in God, and I told him honestly. Anyway, I'd assumed he was Muslim, but come to find out, he's Orthodox Christian. And rather than being Catholic, Victoria is evangelical. It was a wonderful discussion in which we three discovered the similarities of our beliefs.
But now Haoying and Liyuan, who came from Shanghai, were in class, so I didn't linger on the symbolism about God. I just mentioned that the eye above the pyramid meant God, or God's guidance.
It was Haoying who noticed the "In God We Trust." So they wanted to know what "trust" meant. I didn't do a very good job explaining it. Haoying asked, "Does everyone American believe God?" I said, "No, but many people do." And our laws come from that belief, I wanted to add, but didn't. She fingered the phrase on the dollar bill, then said, very quietly, "There are people in China don't believe God. Believe nothing. From children, they think no god. But here, people believe. In God we trust."
I was taken aback. They came from Communist China. And Communism has a heritage of denying God and religion. I'd assumed Haoying and Liyuan were like the people she spoke of. But maybe not! There wasn't time or opportunity to ask Haoying about it, but I will be more ready for the chance to have a great discussion with her about God.
And then today, Newsweek has come out with an article about the death of Christianity in the US! It may be true that the numbers are falling to the wayside from true belief, but perhaps the people those numbers represent did not truly believe even before. Perhaps they just attended church as a cultural thing. Now, it seems to me that the people who remain or have returned to the church are stronger than ever in their belief. We're clinging even more tightly!
They looked closely. Haoying and Liyuan are an elderly Chinese couple (in their 70s, I believe, but very healthy and active). Then there's Fitsum, a young man from Ethiopia, and Victoria, from El Salvador. I felt a special closeness with Fitsum and Victoria ever since the day they were my only students to attend, and somehow, we got into a discussion about God. Fitsum asked if I believed in God, and I told him honestly. Anyway, I'd assumed he was Muslim, but come to find out, he's Orthodox Christian. And rather than being Catholic, Victoria is evangelical. It was a wonderful discussion in which we three discovered the similarities of our beliefs.
But now Haoying and Liyuan, who came from Shanghai, were in class, so I didn't linger on the symbolism about God. I just mentioned that the eye above the pyramid meant God, or God's guidance.
It was Haoying who noticed the "In God We Trust." So they wanted to know what "trust" meant. I didn't do a very good job explaining it. Haoying asked, "Does everyone American believe God?" I said, "No, but many people do." And our laws come from that belief, I wanted to add, but didn't. She fingered the phrase on the dollar bill, then said, very quietly, "There are people in China don't believe God. Believe nothing. From children, they think no god. But here, people believe. In God we trust."
I was taken aback. They came from Communist China. And Communism has a heritage of denying God and religion. I'd assumed Haoying and Liyuan were like the people she spoke of. But maybe not! There wasn't time or opportunity to ask Haoying about it, but I will be more ready for the chance to have a great discussion with her about God.
And then today, Newsweek has come out with an article about the death of Christianity in the US! It may be true that the numbers are falling to the wayside from true belief, but perhaps the people those numbers represent did not truly believe even before. Perhaps they just attended church as a cultural thing. Now, it seems to me that the people who remain or have returned to the church are stronger than ever in their belief. We're clinging even more tightly!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Here's the Good
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. . ." Romans 8:28
The election of Barak Obama has been a good thing for me. It was when I realized my own need to get to know other like-minded people. It drove me to find a church to become a member of. Further developments, the appointment of Tim Geitner, the stimulus "crap sandwich," the misrepresentations, over and over, of Obama, and the most recent budget, have made me further realize my need to learn, to research about our country. These things have driven me back to God's sheltering wing.
It has been a good thing for many people. I see people around me awakening to our part in the world, as the body of Christ.
Thank you, God.
The election of Barak Obama has been a good thing for me. It was when I realized my own need to get to know other like-minded people. It drove me to find a church to become a member of. Further developments, the appointment of Tim Geitner, the stimulus "crap sandwich," the misrepresentations, over and over, of Obama, and the most recent budget, have made me further realize my need to learn, to research about our country. These things have driven me back to God's sheltering wing.
It has been a good thing for many people. I see people around me awakening to our part in the world, as the body of Christ.
Thank you, God.
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