Like a Full Moon

Driving to Bible study on Sunday night,  I witnessed the stunning beauty of the past week's full moon prior to its eclipse, I recalled this devotional I wrote after I witnessed a stunning full moon early one Friday morning during the time I was driving Mother each week day to radiation treatments. (This blog posting has been edited from an online devotional published in 2015.)

This photo, courtesy of the NASA public domain
files, is so reminiscent of the full moon I saw. It
was purported to be one of the full moons that was
closest in proximity to our world in the year of 2007.

            One cool morning in the predawn of the day as I drove to the school where I was teaching, the brilliance of the full moon loomed high in the northwestern sky. The lunar body gleamed strikingly luminous with its craters distinctly visible to the naked eye. 

            As a young child, I recalled my parents pointing out full moons. Dad delighted in telling me the moon was made of cheese. My little mind’s gears ground vigorously to process whether that was true or not. We always viewed those brilliantly bright orbs in a night sky.

            Interestingly, until that school term, I seldom left for school during the darkness of early morning. Yet the fall of 2007 found my mother requiring radiation for a large basal cell skin cancer on her face. With the permission and blessing of my principal, Bobby Simma, I left each afternoon, literally on the heels of my students’ departure, for the Bend to pick up my parents, and travel to Ponca City for Mother’s radiation treatment each weekday for over six weeks. Each morning, I arrived at my classroom well before dawn to prepare for the school day. Maybe the full moon remained indelible in my memory because I had seen so few full moons in the morning.

            As I drove slowly to the school trying to absorb the breath-taking beauty of the full moon, I began to draw comparisons between humans and the moon. People in  their  raw humanity are cold, dark, and scarred. However, when the light of the Son shines on us even our scars have an appearance of splendor for His glory. His light reflects so completely in our darkened, sinful lives transforming us into objects of worth and beauty. In turn, we can radiantly shine into the lives of those we encounter and brighten their paths as well.

           Just as the sun is the only reason for the moon’s illumination, Jesus clearly taught that He was the light, not a light but the only source for bringing light and forgiveness into the darkness of sin that is present in each person. He emphatically declared Himself in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

            After His light invades our beings, He challenges us to let our light shine so that those we meet will see the Holy Spirit’s works of goodness in our lives. Ultimately, the Heavenly Father will get glory for Himself.

            That leads to the question, “Are our actions and words so full of His light that those we encounter clearly see Him?” Or do we respond with negative, critical words and rude or unpleasant behavior that mirrors the darkness of the world around us or even worse alienates our unbelieving coworkers, relatives, or acquaintances from the Lord?

Lord, I seek to have a life, like the full moon, illuminated by the loving light of the Son reflecting the warmth of Your brilliance to those I encounter. Guard me from a deceptive drift to become as the dark side of the moon so cavernously bleak, permeated with gloom.  Whenever I inch toward that destructive chasm, pull me with Your loving-kindness back into the radiance of Your love and grace.

Peaceful Living in 2019

This was initially published online during 2016 at christiandevotions.us.

After hearing this sad account from a friend who worked with this poor man several years ago, I felt contention needed to be addressed so wrote this several years ago. What a difficult life, what a challenging relationship, and what an unpleasant home to return to each day!

Avoiding the Damage of Contention 

            It was a second marriage. She found fault in most things he did. He let her sleep in each morning since he was the only one that needed to get to a job. She complained about how noisy he was as he prepared for the day. He began pouring his cereal each night because she grumbled that the pinging sounds of the dry cereal on the bowl disturbed her sleep in the morning! After her death, people around him remarked how his countenance lifted and joy became apparent in his life again.

                                      
           Contention is the opposite of peacemaking. A contentious person finds fault with others’ actions, words, and decisions. Harsh criticism often accompanies contention. Nagging goes hand in hand with contention.
           No wonder King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs,* indicates the victim of contention would rather be "roughing it" in adverse conditions than in comfortable surroundings with a miserable, harassing contender. Even though the King of the Golden Age of Israel’s history identifies the contentious one as a female, a contentious spirit is by no means relegated to only women. In my lifetime, I have observed contentious men who found fault with anyone. Nevertheless, here is King Solomon’s terse statement on nagging from Proverbs 21:19:

                It is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious and vexing woman.

         Do we frequently find fault or disagree with those in our families? We should ask, "Will my comment improve the situation or am I just being picky?" Another question to curb contention is "Would I want my family members to make a similar statement to me?" If we would not want that statement directed at us, then we need to choose not to say it to our loved one.
         Affirmation and praise, sprinkled sparingly with constructive criticism, lay the foundation for a more harmonious place to live. Trusting, strong relationships flourish in a contention-reduced environment. 

Lord, cleanse me of faultfinding. When I am tempted to speak contentious words and Your spirit reminds me to hold my tongue, may I obey. I realize if I choose to obey Your prompting, I am taking a step to provide a home that is an inviting, safe place for those I hold dear. Make me aware of the lasting power of godly words of encouragement in my home. 

* The backstory that looms largest in the bio of King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, and eclipses his God-given wisdom is the astronomical number of women in his life – 700 wives and 300 concubines! It seems likely at least a few of those relationships might have been with a contentious woman. It wasn’t God’s plan, but Solomon’s human attempt to galvanize international alliances with other leaders of his era with these marriages.

Eating Without Receiving Nourishment

As I stored my Christmas CDs in
January, this cover reminded 
me of an unpublished devotional
 I had stashed in my digital files.
 I decided to pull it out and post 
it this week.

                                             Spiritual Eating Disorder

         Last month, I enjoyed playing, singing, and listening to Christmas music, one of my favorite ways to celebrate the season. One album I listen to each year is Christmas Portrait, a vintage collection over 30 years old. For decades, I have admired the crystal clear, mellow voice of Karen Carpenter, but following her tragic death precipitated by an eating disorder, I listen with a sadness in my heart. Such a talent, dying so young the result of an eating disorder– it seemed senseless.

A person with an eating disorder may consume large quantities of food but takes steps to prevent her body from utilizing and receiving nourishment from it. Physical maladies, serious illnesses, and even death can result. It is believed this behavioral disorder stems from desiring an idealistic body type based on unrealistic expectations of peers, family, and images in all types of media. Even though food enters the person’s mouth, nourishment is thwarted from happening. How many times do we do this in our spiritual lives? With our mouths, we express a desire to follow God’s ways. Participation in Bible studies or online groups makes us appear that we want to hear and obey God’s Word.     

 Some believe the need for some control plunges a person into an eating disorder. In our spiritual lives, our disobedience reveals we want to retain control so we communicate in inappropriate ways, whether profane, bad-mannered, or disrespectful. Is this how we revolt against God’s control by our disobedience?

In Ezekiel 33:31, God spoke to His prophet, these words- They come and sit in front of you as My people, and listen to the words you say. But they do not do them. With their mouth they speak of love, but their hearts are full of sinful desire. The Lord told his servant, Ezekiel, that people come, sit down in front of him, and hear what Ezekiel preaches. Sadly, God knew the people would not do what Ezekiel preached. Their mouths spoke of love, but their hearts were intent on sinfulness. The Lord sent Ezekiel to give the people the Word of God to nourish them spiritually. They acted like they were taking in Ezekiel’s message, but they refused to really absorb the truth from God so their lives could be impacted for good. This behavior rings loudly of a spiritual eating disorder.

Recently, a principle from God’s word on one of my Pinterest boards was reposted on someone’s board. What a surprise to see he had reposted my godly verse next to a board posting vulgar language! As James wrote in the New Testament, “This ought not be!” He was saying true believers can’t have it both ways.

Why do we shrink back from obeying God’s word? Aren’t we reading the Bible, but then purging our hearts and lives of its powerful message before God’s life-changing word can impact our thoughts, speech, and responses?  The pressure of what others think can cause us to dismiss God’s commands from our lives. The behavior popularized in our circle of friends or colleagues squeezes out what are often characterized as archaic standards that our Creator laid out in the Bible. Although we don’t want to acknowledge that our own desires clearly oppose God’s standards, we glibly do what we want and deliberately ignore His word.

This strategy may help with reading and obeying God’s word:

• First, ask God to show you one truth as you read the Bible.
• Then read the passage.
• Write down one truth that God‘s Spirit impresses upon you.
• Throughout the day, meditate or think on that truth.
• Consciously, obey that truth during your day.
• In the evening, write one or two sentences, explaining how you obeyed God’s truth during your day.

 Refuse to allow God’s word to be purged from your spirit. Instead get the most from your spiritual nourishment that you received that day. Then you will have strength for the day.

The Thank-You Card That Arrived Before the Gift Was Delivered

Most of these thoughts were first written down in the summer of 2017. Initially, I planned to submit it for publication but for some reason never did. For a worrier like me, the resolution, in bold and underscored, emerged as a watchword for 2019 for me.

            A former student and his fiancée, the daughter of a former teaching colleague, invited me to their wedding reception. Another former student hosted a kitchen shower with items chosen by the happy couple. Since I had missed the kitchen shower, I ordered a mixing bowl set for them the easiest way, online. The bride told me the former student who had hosted the party had told her new husband and her that I had gotten the mixing bowls for them since the bowls would arrived after the reception. No problem – the newlyweds weren’t in their house yet. The groom was enjoying eating the delicious cooking of his mother-in-law until they moved into their home so I wasn’t in a hurry to get the gift to them!

What a surprise when I received a gracious, handwritten thank-you card from them! They were grateful for a gift they had not received but anticipated getting. They believed the gift was coming because they felt I was truthful and reliable.

As I closed the thank-you card, I thought how seldom I am like this precious couple. Seldom do I thank God for what He is going to provide before I receive it from Him, even though I know how trustworthy He is.

The bride and groom knew my love for them and that my word was reliable. If they could trust me, a fallible human, how much more can we trust our heavenly Father who keeps His promises to us and gives us every good gift, assuring us of having all we need to perfectly live His plan for our lives. A thankful heart is the most fertile soil for receiving God’s abundancy of gifts.

One of my favorite verses continues to be the most profound instruction for the chronic worrier written by the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Christians at Philippi, Paul wrote these words from Philippians 4:6:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, 

with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

My focus has always been on the first two phrases because I have battled the sin of worry from the time I was saved at age 8. My predisposition to stress and fretting has nettled me most of my life.

Yet upon reading the thank-you note, I concentrated on the last part of Philippians 4:6. The prepositional phrase “with thanksgiving” sets the tone for prayer. The attitude of a petitioner coming before the Lord must be one full of gratitude to Him. Only with this foundational mindset should requests be presented to our Heavenly Father.

Maybe this year our resolution should be to approach the Lord in prayer with a thankful heart every time we ask for anything. After all, only He is reliable in giving us exactly what we need.

Note: Often when I write for publication, I do not use the names of people who inspire my writing. I decided to use photos to reveal the two students I mentioned. 
      The photo to the left is of Scott Brown, one of my third grade students in 1994 -1995, and Amy Mashburn Brown. Amy's connection to the Big Bend reaches back to her great-grandparents, Monty and Dessie Armstrong Martin. Scott and Amy are the couple mentioned above who sent the thank-you card before I had even delivered the gift!
      The photo to the right is Chelsea Pease Engle, a third grader in 1990-1991 in my classroom, our first year as Woodland School District. Chelsea was the Pampered Chef representative who hosted the shower for Amy and Scott and told them before my gift arrived so they knew the mixing bowl set was on the way. 
      So many of my former students, who I now consider friends, give me reason to be hopeful for our community's future.