Multifaceted

Loose Ends

So, I am in a season of tying up loose ends. I'm going back in my files and finding posts I started, but never wrote. I'm really looking for articles I can actually submit for publication, but I'm also closing down a long season in my life while I do it.

I found this post that I never published. I wrote it on April 8 of this year, and so much has happened since then, but it still speaks of the ongoing revelation that God is bringing to my life. Rather than change it, I'm just writing this brief intro. It's no longer spring here, so it is very warm here now. That's really the only thing that's no longer "true." Hope you enjoy reading it!

Loose Ends Tied Up

(04/08/11) It's been awhile since I've written. My life has been full of organizing, decorating, loving on my kids, and enjoying the warm sunshine and the sound of playful laughter. It's cooler here this week, as a cold front has moved in. So instead of playing outside until naptime, my daughter and I read a couple of stories on the couch.

One of them, "Quick as a Cricket," inspired me to write this post today.

Quick as a Cricket

Here are the last few lines of the story:

I'm as tough as a rhino,

I'm as gentle as a lamb.

I'm as brave as a tiger,

I'm as shy as a shrimp,

I'm as tame as a poodle,

I'm as wild as a chimp.

I'm as lazy as a lizard,

I'm as busy as a bee,

Put it all together,

And you've got ME!

Embracing Yourself

I have been pondering for many months now the habit I have of labeling aspects of my personality as good and others as bad. It seems that the Holy Spirit keeps whispering to me, "When we made you, we pronounced you good."

This flies in the face of many teachings I've heard about the deceitful wickedness of man's heart. I know the verse. I'm sure you do, too.

It's found in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." I've heard many messages that hinge on this verse which leave me wondering if there is any hope for mankind.

I've been suspicious of my motives and those of others, and I've begun to label parts of myself as sanctified and parts of myself as fleshly...wicked...hopeless.

Unsanctified (Narcissus)

Lately, though, I've been hearing some other messages; messages that tell me I am sanctified, that I am perfect, that what Jesus did on the cross finished the work. These messages are coming from inside of me when I read Scripture, and when I'm alone with my God.

I was taught that Jesus' death on the cross just started the work, but when I read the Bible, especially Revelation, I am beginning to understand and see more clearly that His death finished the work.

I'm beginning to see myself from a whole new vantage point. I am less inclined to call myself names like Stupid, Bumbling, Loud, Overbearing, and Selfish. I have begun to recognize that I don't know everything and that I don't always know how to achieve every result I desire.

Both/And

I have begun to recognize that although being loud in the prayer chapel isn't maybe the best attribute, being loud on a busy street when you need to get your kids' attention is a very good thing. It has occurred to me that being bold and brassy may put some people off, but when I need something I am able to persevere until my needs are met. And finally, I have begun to recognize that taking care of myself is not the same as being selfish.

Is my heart deceitful? I don't know. I know that sometimes I'm deceived. I know that I have deceived others in the past. I know that I'm not always certain of the purity of my motives. But I have to say this about the matter...Jesus died for my sins, including the deceitfulness of my heart; He is the cure.

Is My Heart Deceitful?

Verse 10 of Jeremiah 17 says, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

And Luke 6:45 says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart..."

I don't always have control of my motives, but I always have control of what I do and what I say.

Embracing Yourself