reality blog
Prepare Your Hope Pt. 1
This year our church has been given direction from God that we are to fast and pray that we would be prepared. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
I am breaking these seven prepare statements into 21 weekly devotionals. This is week 16.
Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).
Hope is not a wish. It is a confident assurance in a certain future. It is big picture thinking. Our hope is not in this present age. Our hope is not in this present kingdom. Our hope is not in this present culture. Our hope is in the sure and certain future Jesus has promised us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.JOHN 3:16,17
the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 PETER 3: 10-18
To think hope means to contemplate the coming of this future kingdom. It means to put away thoughts that get us stuck in this present time of trouble and turmoil.
WHAT DOES THINKING IN HOPE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
DIGGING DEEPER SATURDAY MAY 18TH 2024
SHARE MY WORLD WEEK OF MAY 13TH 2024
Well it has been a weeks folks. Lots has gone on and let’s just say I am glad to be coming the end of it and I am glad to be coming to SHARE MY WORLD for a bit of fun easy writing work. You can avail yourself of all the world sharers by clicking the capitalized link.
Now, here are this week’s questions and my answers.
1. Have you ever lied about your age? No. I never felt the need. Age has never really mattered to me and most of the things that required a “certain age” to do them I never did anyway.
2. Is there any time in your life you would like to relive? I think I would like to relive my young adulthood but only if I got to take the knowledge I have now back with me.
3. Do you own any antiques? My whole house is an antique. Built just at the turn of the last century The Vicarage has really begun to feel its age.
My family has lived here for the last forty five years and before that it was a parsonage for another local church and before that it was owned for years by one of the town’s photographers. Most everything in the house belonged to my parents or my grandparents before them…. So yes antiques are sort of the norm around here.
4. Would you like to know some of the history of places you’ve visited? I love history! I generally look to see if I can find at least a few historical facts of the places I visit. And I love to visit historical places. Here are a few of the places I have been.
Each of these photos has a story of my life attached to it and has a history all its own that has nothing to do with me.
Now for my Gratitude:
As we come to the Day of Pentecost (which is tomorrow). I am grateful that I serve a God of power who loves me and has my best interest at heart.
NOT BUSY
This was one of my meditations yesterday.
When I thought about it yesterday I thought this statement was only about the need to stop being busy and the need to slow down life.
Tonight I walked into the church feeling tired from the day and my friend Jody, who was practicing the keyboard asked me how my day had been…. My first reaction and what I said to him was, ” It was busy!”
I immediately felt guilty not because I thought it was untrue but because I thought I should think differently about today because of yesterday’s meditation. I am realizing it is going to take more than a “hot minute” to turn that ship around, because of what “I’m busy” really says.
I think that part of the issue is that “busy” has become a placeholder and shield to hide what I really think about the day. It’s easy and non committal to say “busy”. Everyone can agree with that and nod their head and still not understand one iota of how a person is doing. We’ve been taught to like it that way.
What I should have said instead was “brutal”….”difficult”….”gut-wrenching”… or “It made me want to cry”.
Sometimes when I say “I’m busy” what I really mean is “productive”….”Exciting”…”a battle I won but which exhausted me.”
I am beginning to see that “I’m busy” means nothing, says nothing. Everyone is busy and no one wants to talk about what is making us that way because that would cause us to take down the walls that we have built between ourselves and expose ourselves to a level of discomfort our society has taught us we need in order to protect ourselves.
Our church is doing this thing we call “DOING LIFE TOGETHER”. I am beginning to realize that there are catch phrases I use in my communication which actually cause me not to do life together with people. “I am busy” is one such.
WHAT ARE COME OF THE THINGS YOU SAY TO PUT OFF ACTUAL CONVERSATION WITH PEOPLE?
MY THOUGHTS ON SLOWING DOWN
I had a morning drive out towards Boston today and I had some time to think. Everyone around me was going so much faster than I was. I was still going over the speed limit but everyone else was passing me like I was standing still. It bothered me a little, to be honest. First because I felt like I was holding people up with my slower pace. Secondly, because I felt like I was being left behind. Thirdly, because I felt like our world has become addicted to rushing towards oblivion, and that makes me mad?….frustrated?….anxious?…. Sad?….Anyway it makes me feel not good. SOOOOO, today I am thinking about slowing down.
PREPARE YOUR WITNESS PT. 3
This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
These seven prepare statements will each be broken down into three brief devotionals. We are currently on devotional number 15.
Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example).
We are being called to build relationships within our wider community. The easiest way to build those relationships and share our example is according to our gifts. “Gifts” is what the Bible calls them. In today’s terms we would probably use the words “personality traits” instead of the word “gifts”. We are not talking about talents or abilities like guitar playing or being good at football. We certainly aren’t talking about Christmas presents or birthday presents. We are talking about our character traits.
We will build relationships easily when we build them while going with the grain of our character. Let’s talk about the 7 most prominent “gifts” or “personality/ character traits.”
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12: 6-8
Last week we talked about prophesying, serving and teaching. Let’s talk about the last four “gifts” today.
The Encourager’s personality- is focused on helping people reach their potential or achieve their personal goals. The encourager approaches life with a “can do” mentality. The encourager is an idea person who sees the steps between point A and point Z in a person’s life and he helps people to see what they can do to take those steps.
The Giver’s Personality– is focused on resourcing. The question the giver asks is “What do you need?” Not only does she try to find out what is needed, the giver is talented in finding the resources necessary and connecting those resources to the person who has the need
The Leader’s personality– is focused on building a team that will be able to accomplish the work ahead. They are good at laying plans and executing those plans, but he is not the ones who carry out the plans. Often the leader is not even the one who gets the credit. This type of leader prefers to work behind the senes as long as the ones he works with see him for who he really is. The first question he often asks is, “Who do we need to help us.” The leader is the organizational people mover of a community.
The Mercy Giver’s Personality- The mercy giver is the healer of a community. Her first question is generally “How can I make this better or more comfortable for the people involved?” These are the folks who, when you are in trouble, will bring you a casserole and watch your kids while you take a much needed nap. Often the mercy giver looks just like a servant on the outside, but she differs in that the servant is only concerned with “Did I do something help?” The Mercy giver is concerned with “Did what I do make the person feel better?”
DO YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANY OF THESE “GIFTS”?
You Know It’s Spring When…
THIS POST IS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO DAWN’S FESTIVAL OF SPRING 2024 WEEK#8. You can see all the festival contributions by clicking that link.
You know it is Spring when all the churches have their “All Church Spring Cleaning Gathering.”
Ours was today, and the congregation showed up!
We planted the front prayer garden.
We trimmed the bushes in the front and on the sides of the church.
We power washed the North side of the church and the back deck getting that ready for sealing.
We raked the playground.
We put in some base board.
We sanded the men’s bathroom getting it ready for painting.
We Spring cleaned the children’s closets.
It was a very productive Spring cleaning.
Digging Deeper Study 5-11-2024
THE TRANSITION WITH GRIEF TO THE NEXT IDENTITY
I started this blog yesterday. It was originally called “So Here It Is Thursday…”. I began by talking about how I felt so ashamed for not reaching my goal of writing on “Notes From the Vicarage” daily since my mother’s passing. I listed my excuses and then laid out four steps I was going to take to correct the issue I have been having with writing.
It was a pretty good blog about how to prioritize writing….or really anything important.
I didn’t get to post that blog because I had a coaching session with my life coach that began just before I could hit publish. Now having had the night to sit and think on it I am glad I didn’t publish it.
I do believe there are habits I need to develop and tweak to become more effective, for sure, but I realized as I was thinking about my writing problem that this is more than a habits issue. It’s a grief issue and an issue of transition.
Life has changed for me in a big way, and I am not intentionally clocking that most days. I was Mom’s primary caregiver for the last decade of her life. Her needs factored into everything I did, including ministering and writing.I didn’t choose it. Caregiving became part of how I identified myself as a human being. It became a part of my fingerprint.
…and now I realize I need to give myself a hot minute to figure out how everything in life works without Mom to consider. Before I didn’t write daily because I was busy helping Mom and ministering. Time was not on my side. Now, as I approach the computer I wonder “What do I have to write about?”
I know it is not true, but it feels like the interesting parts of my life are over. That right there, is the power of sneaky grief. I have seen it in others and now here it is manifesting on the inside of me. It is strange. It doesn’t feel like sadness. It’s not anger. It’s not denial. It’s certainly not acceptance. It feels like….hesitancy. It’s like that moment when I was a little child meeting someone new, and all I could do was hide behind my mother’s skirt and suck my thumb. But this time the person I am meeting is…me!
Notes From the Vicarage 