Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #10, Part Five

Become Rooted and Balanced in God's STEM
Space
Time
Energy
Money

As I reflected back to the posts from April 25, 2013 and May 30, 2013, I was flooded with example after example of the deep rooted healing that has blossomed and brought balance into my life as a result of planting that desirable seed of healing.  Because Jeremiah 29:11 was the Scripture that represented that healing seed, I have also consistently witnessed the reinforcement that comes from believing that God does know the plans He has for me, and far better than I do.  Those plans have repeatedly provided me with the promise of a hope and a future.  This past year has been a real testimony to the healing that has come to me on so many levels.  In the June 20, 2012 post, I identified my clutter category as “situational.”  It was related to all the outside chores of owning my home and caring for the pool and major landscaping and yard work that came with it.  Here are some examples of the healing that resulted in my being rooted in God’s STEM: 

SPACE:  Healing has come as a result of my living space being greatly reduced.  I went from a 4 bedroom home to a 2 bedroom condo.  There is minimal indoor up keep, and even though I still have a pool, in addition to tennis courts and a golf course at my disposal, there are no outdoor chores involving me. I get to enjoy the amenities without the burden of being care taker.  There was a time when this space was needed, but no longer, and I have truly appreciated the simplicity of having less.

TIME:  With less space to care for, it has enabled me to enjoy so much more time in loving my family and friends.  We have all been blessed with longer periods of time to be together as we have been more available to nurture and care for one another.   In this mix I have also given myself permission to take more time to relax, watch a movie, take golf lessons, or even nap. 

ENERGY:  I have more energy because I am no longer overwhelmed by all the work that my living space required of me, especially after working my Home Touched Business all day.  I also have more energy because I recognized the boundaries that I needed to implement so that my time was spent in relationships that filled me with love rather than robbed me of love. 

MONEY:   First of all, there is no price tag that can be put on one’s health. Having said that, I am so grateful for the Home Touched Business that God has actually grown in this past year and has richly blessed, even in the midst of my “Get a ways” to Valpo.   Though I have had some very high medical expenses, I can tell you that God has provided me with every penny that I have ever needed.  My health has greatly improved over this past year, and I devote most of it to prayer and to the changes that God has brought to me as they relate to how I have used His STEM.  I am the best that I have been since being diagnosed 2 years ago with 2 rare cancers.  And get this.  In order to make my travels more comfortable, I was presented with the opportunity to buy a “like new” used SUV through one of my friends.  What a great buy and investment it has been. 

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the picture of how less clutter does bring greater healing when the clutter healing guidelines are applied.

“I am the Lord and I do not change.  That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.” Malachi 3:6.  When I reflect on these words that are the Scriptures for CHG #10, I am so thankful for what God has done for me.  In truth, left to our own ways, without God, we will destroy ourselves.  It is not God who destroys us.  He came to us in human form out of a desire to show His love for us, not to destroy us, but to save us from ourselves. Open the Life Recovery Bible to Malachi 3:6 and you see that this verse comes under the chapter heading:  A Call to Repentance.  Read on and you learn that God is pleading with people just like you and me who are in denial about how they are living.  They scorn God’s laws and they fail to obey Him.  God’s plea is simple, “Return to me and I will return to you.” 

I have said it so many times and in so many different ways, and I will continue to say it:

                                               Your Greatest Clutter is Spiritual

Without God you are doomed for destruction in this life and for eternity.  It is not my message.  It is God’s message.  He loves you and He wants a relationship with you in this life and for all of eternity. There is no more important message than this one.

 

God and His Word is the fulcrum for leveraging balance in our lives. Think about the shape of a fulcrum.  It’s like a triangle, and in the spiritual realm, that triangle is represented by the Trinity being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Here are some SW questions to ponder upon: 

What weight or load are you continuing to carry? 

What pressure or effort are you feeling or experiencing?

How is the life style of extreme living exhausting you of all of your resources and putting you out of balance. 

Who or what has been your fulcrum outside of God and His Word, and how has it been working for you?

Keep in mind:  The fulcrum does not stay in one place, it moves to where it is needed to give balance.  My life depends on God to be my fulcrum with all the highs and lows.  He is the Only One that can balance the weight and pressure of what I face.  He is the everyday example in my life that I constantly go to for support!  My balance is dependent upon me to ask God for His support in all I do.   I need to daily seek His face in every moment of every day. Since everything is His: His Space, His Time, His Energy, and His Money, I need to learn from Him on how to use it and balance it.

Let’s get rooted in believing the following: God owns it all!

We are not on this earth to be the focus.  We are on this earth because God is to be our focus.  He is the focal point, the fulcrum. We have confused all that God has given us as being the “why” for why we are here.  Consequently, we erroneously focus on wanting to accumulate more.  God has given to us what we have so that we can ultimately glorify Him.  He has told us to go out in the world and make disciples of all nations. How can we do that if the focus is us and not on Him?  Over thousands of years we have lost our focus on why we were even born. Make the decision that God and His Word are your fulcrum, your support, and your focal point, and then marvel at how your life gets balanced out.
 

This week I specifically pray for any of us who deal with the addictive patterns of extreme living.  I ask the Lord to please free us from our extreme thinking, feeling, and living that causes us to get so out of balance that we are like a rubber band that is being pulled at from both ends and is about to break.

We will be talking more about this need for balance when I introduce you to the next CHG.  It’s CHG #11 and it  says: Act by Responding verses Reacting.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #10, Part Four

Become Rooted and Balanced in God's STEM
Space
Time
Energy
Money

What has it been like for you as you have been approached by temptations, trials, and troubles?  Was it with an acknowledgement of God’s Joy, and a desire to endure them with patience?

Looking back over some of my own trying and specific trials, I’d have to say that initially my behavior was not very reflective of God’s Joy or His presence in my life, until I gained some new insight.  As I looked at CHG #10 in relationship to the personal trials that I was facing, I realized that if I wanted to grow deeper in my communion with God and others, then I needed to recognize that when my feelings get all stirred up, especially with irritation, impulsiveness, frustration, defensiveness, and anger, I need to acknowledge that those feelings as red flags for me.  In other words, they are a warning to stop!  They are not just a warning to slow down or move forward with caution.  If I ignore those red flag feelings, then I can become emotionally imbalanced and that effects how I handle the space, time, energy, and money that God has graciously given to me to use.  If I choose to not heed those red flags, I run the risk of not modeling the patience and love that conveys God’s Joy in my life.  I can become disrespectful for how I treat and use what is on loan to me, which includes everybody and everything.  When I react rather than respond, which is CHG #11, I have a tendency to cut others off. I speak louder and I become more argumentative, abrupt, and impatient. When I recognize those red flags and stop to think rather than react, I am better prepared to experience the balance that comes from being patient and a willingness to endure, which means that I will be called to bear, stand, suffer, tolerate, sustain, or undergo, the temptation, trial, or trouble I face.

In my past, I often equated joy with how happy I was.  What I have discovered, is that it is hard to be happy when you are sad or grieving.  But, I can be joyful when I am sad or grieving.  I can have Joy even when I do not feel happy.
What is Joy?
Joy = Rejoicing
Joy = Well being
Joy = The source or cause of my delight
Joy is what lives in me.  It comes from within me.

Who is Joy?
Joy = Christ

What is Happy?
Happy = Luck
Happy = Chance Happenings
Happy is what exists outside of me.  It comes from that which surrounds me.
 
It used to be that when I wanted to wish someone well, I would say, Good luck!”  Now I say, “Blessings!”  Life is not about some chance happening, it is purposeful, and blessings come from an intentional God, not some lucky charm.  So whatever you are going through, peace or storms, highs or lows, jubilation or sorrow, count it all joy, because your joy is not by chance happenings. Your joy is secure in Christ.  Philippians 4:4 says, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice!”

When it comes to the symbolism that represents CHG #10, think of a long stemmed red rose, and its roots reaching deep into the ground.  If you go back to the April 25, 2012 posting, you will see the rose diagram that I provided for you.  I talked about the STEM being the acronym for space, time, energy, and money.  This week, your SW is to think about yourself as that rose and to see how God uses its symbolism to speak to you about how you have grown in relationship to the seed you wanted to plant.  If you need some reminding about that seed, go to your notes or journaling for the May 30, 2012 posting.  Look at the SW and the one word you circled to be the seed you wanted to plant:  healing, hope, love, or truth. 

In addition, here is the Scripture that backs up CHG #10.  “I am the Lord and I do not change.  That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.” Malachi 3:6.  We have talked about how God is constant and He is our anchor.  We on the other hand are changing all the time. This week go to your Bible and look up Malachi 3:6 and reflect on the meaning that this Scripture has for you, and in the process, I pray you enjoy the journey and see the blessings. 

Red, White, and Blue Wisdom

As we celebrate the birthday of our country, I pray that you have a blessed and safe 4^th of July.  I was compelled to share some of our forefather’s quotes that were in a 4^th of July ad in the Fort Myers, FL News Press, sponsored by Hobby Lobby, Hemispheres, and Mardel Stores. They are so reflective of CHG #10.

George Washington – “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor.”

John Adams – “…Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people…”

James Madison – “Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.”

Thomas Jefferson – “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God?”

John Quincy Adams – “Is it not that in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior?”

God – “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #10, Part Three

Become Rooted and Balanced in God's STEM
Space
Time
Energy
Money

What did you learn from your SW when you Googled the words “scripture count it all joy?”  The first Scripture reference that came up for me was from the King James Bible.  The King James Bible was one of the earliest Old English translations of the Bible and it is a challenge to read and comprehend.  The second reference came from the New King James Version, which is much easier to follow and understand.  And as I have said before, The Life Recovery Bible, which uses the New Living Translation, is what The Holy Spirit has put on my heart to use when teaching the clutter healing model because of its easier read and appeal to one’s heart, especially if you are not accustomed to reading the Bible. 

The Scripture reference for counting it all joy comes from James1:2-3. 
♥ (King James Version)
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
♥ (New King James Version)
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience
♥ (New Living Translation)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Here is how I have highlighted and organized my thoughts as I have meditated on James 1:2-3 based on the above Bible translations:

1. As believers in Christ, which is what brethren or brothers and sisters are, we are to count all temptations, trials, or trouble as joy.  This thought is certainly not a worldly view, but it is most assuredly God’s view for how we are to live in this earthly world.  Having this kind of Godly perspective is what will help us to become rooted and balanced in God’s space, time, energy and money.
2. All temptations, trials, or trouble, are a testing of my faith.  We talked about this faith testing when I presented CHG #9.  Abraham was our example in learning how to focus and surrender control to God.
3. Why does my faith get tested?  Because it produces the patience to endure.
 
This coming week, your SW is twofold:
♥ Ask the Holy Spirit to help you face your temptations, trials, and troubles with Joy, as you learn to patiently endure.
♥ Consider the difference between Joy and happiness.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #10, Part Two

Become Rooted and Balanced in God's STEM
Space
Time
Energy
Money

First of all, I want to honor the man who has been most significant in my life.  Today is his 80th birthday, so I want to say, “Happy birthday, Daddy, and I pray that this upcoming year brings you a renewed strength and balance as you enter into a deeper relationship with our precious Heavenly Daddy.  Our Father loves you so very much and He created you to be His gift to the world. Thank you, Lord, for my earthly Daddy and the love he has blessed us with.”

This past week your SW was designed to help you get clear on what has been causing you to depend on your self-wavering decisions and actions rather than asking God for His unchanging and grounded constancy and supportive direction.  As you listened to the song, “Count it All Joy,” I asked you to identify in one sentence what the cause for a lack of joy could be in your life.

Every time I hear these words, “Count it all Joy,” I am taken back to the first and only time in my life when I felt like I had lost my joy.  I had actually verbalized this feeling to my mother-in-law, after being separated from my husband who was her son.  I will never forget how she responded, “Colleen, you will feel it again.”  For more than a year, I lingered on her response of hope as I waited and wanted to believe in what she had said, even though I had no idea of how that would happen.  But it did.  The process was a slow and gradual one, but it did take place.  It was the result of moving away from my wavering self dependence, and looking to the rock solid dependence of God, and more specifically, being open to God’s Son, Jesus, who I came into a relationship with over the next few months. 

It was my relationship with Jesus, and His Word, that brought that feeling of joy back into my life.  Up to that point, I did not comprehend that my feeling of joy had always been the result of God working in my life. I attributed joy to the people or circumstances that I wanted or that existed, but I discovered that joy has only one connection. Joy has no tie to people or circumstances that are welcomed or unwelcomed.  I discovered through God’s Holy Spirit that Jesus is my only source of Joy, and I had been unaware of this Truth.  Joy is not just a feeling.  Joy is Jesus and His presence in my life at all times, no matter what I am facing.  Now I am aware that my feeling of joy is because I know Joy! And because I now know this, it does not matter what I go through in this life, I can still feel Joy because I know Him. Jesus is the One I am rooted in and find my strength and balance in.

After posting last week’s blog, that introduced you to CHG #10, I read these words in my devotion the next day.  It focused on Joy, and the word Joy was capitalized, because Joy is a person.  Joy is a man and Joy is God.  Joy is Jesus.  And here is an example of the personal history and intimacy that we can have with Him.  This devotion that focused on my journey with Joy was on the anniversary date of my divorce.  Here is what God wanted me to hear in “Jesus Calling” for June 13th:  “I am creating something new in you: a bubbling spring of Joy that spills into others’ lives.  Do not mistake this Joy for your own or try to take credit for it in any way.  Instead, watch in delight as My Spirit flows through you to bless others.  Let yourself become a reservoir of the Spirit’s fruit.  Enjoy My Presence, which permeates you with Love, Joy, and Peace.”

This week your SW is to Google the words “scripture count it all joy.”  See what comes up for you and what you learn.  We will talk about it next week.  May you be blessed with Joy in this upcoming week.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #10, Part One

Become Rooted and Balanced in God's STEM
Space
Time
Energy
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As you examine CHG #10, let’s see what this CHG implies as being the basic cause of clutter when this guideline is not applied. 

♥My clutter builds up when I am not rooted or grounded in God being my support.
♥My clutter builds up when I am out of balance with God’s plan for me.
♥My clutter builds up when I do not see that my space, time, energy and money are on loan to me from God, and He is One Who owns it all.

Therefore, when I am rooted and balanced in God, and acknowledge that everything (space, time, energy, and money) belongs to Him, I lessen my clutter and this brings healing to me.

What does it mean to be rooted?  To be rooted means to be anchored, nourished, nurtured, settled, and supported.  Where can you find that support?  You can find it in Christ.  He is the One you can be rooted in.                  
                                                                               
What does it mean to be balanced?  To be balanced means that you are in a state of equilibrium and harmony.  Where can you find that equilibrium? You can find it in Christ.  He is the One Who you can be in balance with .

The Scripture to support CHG #10 is from the Book of Malachi.  The book is only three chapters long and it is the last book of the Old Testament.  Malachi was a prophet, and his name means. “My Messenger,” The message for us today in Malachi 3:6 is the same message as it was for people living thousands of years ago, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already completely destroyed.”

What do you think Malachi 3:6 implies as being the basic cause of our clutter when CHG #10 is not applied?

♥My clutter builds up when I think that I know more than God.
♥My clutter builds up when I act like I am the Creator and owner of all.
♥My clutter builds up when I go through life without believing what God says.

When we consistently choose to live according to our own self sufficiency, it will eventually lead us down a path of self destruction.  Today I hope you will choose to be rooted in God, Who is constant, Who has no beginning or end, Who is Sovereign, Who is the same today as He was yesterday, tomorrow, and for all of eternity.  The love, grace, and forgiveness that God has for us never changes, and we can always find security and balance in these promises, and every promise, He has ever made.  God has been, and always will be, a Promise Keeper.

This coming week your SW is designed to help you get clear on what has been causing you to depend on your self-wavering decisions and actions rather than asking for God’s unchanging and grounded constancy, and supportive direction.   As you listen to the following song, “Count it All Joy,” by BeBe and CeCe Winans, use it to help you identify, in one sentence, what is causing you to lack joy in the midst of what you are going through.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #9, Part Four

Focus and Surrender My Life to God’s Control

In you previous SW I suggested that you write down your definition for:

♥Focus
♥Surrender
♥Control
♥Faith
♥Obedience
♥Fear

As we look at these words with more depth, see how your SW answers from the CHG #9 Part Two, bring a deeper understanding to healing your own clutter.

♥What is focus?

Focus = Attention

Focus = Concentration

Focus = No distraction

Focus = Eye to eye contact

Without focus I get scattered in my thinking, my movements, my direction, and my behavior, and this causes me to become overwhelmed.  Abraham was focused.  He kept his eyes on Father God.  Isaac was focused.  He kept his eyes on father Abraham and Father God.  Christ was focused.  He always kept His eyes upward towards His heavenly Father.

Focus = Christ

The message from my devotional time today really summed up what I have just shared with you.  “When your focus is firmly on Me (Christ), My Peace displaces all your fears and worries. Let trust and thankfulness stand guard, turning back fear before it gains a foothold.”

♥What is Surrender?

Surrender = Letting go

Surrender = Releasing

Surrender = Obedience

Surrender = Discipline

Surrender = Submission

Surrender = Forgiveness

Surrender = Delivery/Deliverance

Surrender = Trust

Without surrender we will hold on to the pile up of “stuff,”  dis-ease, disobedience,  unforgiveness, slavery, and mistrust. Abraham surrendered his son.  Isaac surrendered to Abraham, his father.  God the Father surrendered His Son, Jesus.  And Jesus surrendered to His Father.

     

Surrender = Christ

♥What is control?

Control = Authority

Control = Strength

Control = Rule

Control = Guide

Without a transference of control from my hands to God’s, I will lack the supernatural strength, authority, ruling and guidance that only comes from Him.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus were in control because their focus was on God.  And because of this focus, they had learned to surrender their lives to His control.

Control = Christ

♥What is Faith?

 Faith = Confidence

 Faith = Belief

 Faith = Trust

Without Faith, a belief in Christ, I simply exist, but with Him, I live! When I reflect on faith and trust, I see them intricately intertwined with one another.  And when I sort through this intertwining, I recognize that faith is my belief system, my belief in Christ (the noun) and trust is that faith in action (the verb).

Faith = Christ

♥What is obedience?

Obedience = Surrender

Obedience = Willingness

Obedience = Outcome of listening

Here is what Christ said about obedience:

1. John 14:15 “If you love me obey my commandments.”

2. John 14:21 “Those who obey me are the ones who love my commandments.”

3. John 14:23 “All those who love me will do what I say.”

4. Matthew 5:17 “I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets.  No, I came to fulfill them.”

Do you see the one word that Christ consistently spoke as He talked about obeying the commandments?  It is the word - love!  Since God is Love, our relationship with Him is essential to bringing love and order into our lives.  Ongoing disobedience, more than anything else, will bring:

♥Desperation = Hopelessness

♥Devastation = Emptiness

♥Destruction = Destroyed

God = Love.  And choosing to love is a choice. Choosing God is a choice. Discipline and obedience come out of love.  Choosing to be disciplined and obedient is a choice. God and His love for us came first. God with His law for us came second. To surrender is to know true love. To surrender is to be obedient because I love.

God Spoke to Abraham and God Speaks to Us. 

When you choose to follow God, He will speak to you in very personal ways.  He will give you instruction, and you will make a decision to follow Him or ignore Him. When you love someone, you want to obey.

Disciple = Follower

Discipline = Instruction

Discipline = Self control

The word discipline comes from the word disciple.  The disciples were followers of Jesus. They listened to the instructions given by Jesus, and they became disciplined. The Disciples started out as 12 and became 11.  One of them, Judas, chose to ignore the love of God, who came to earth as the flesh and blood, Christ in his presence. We are also disciples learning discipline through the instructions of God’s Word and choosing what we will do.

Obedience = Christ

♥What is Fear?

Fear is the opposite of Faith

Fear = Intimidation

Fear = Timidity

Fear = Anxiety

Fear = Worry

Fear = Imaginary

Fear = Unreal

FEAR is:

False

Expectations

Appearing

Real

Who is Fear?

Fear = A spirit

Fear = The enemy

Fear = Satan

Fear = 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self discipline.”

    

God’s Word tells us that we are to fear the Lord, but this fear is not the spirit of fear.

Fear of the Lord = Respect of the Lord

Fear of the Lord = Awe of the Lord

Fear of the Lord = Proverbs 14:27 “Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain: it offers escape from the snares of death.”

Fear of the Lord = Proverbs 19:23 “Fear of the Lord gives life, security, protection from harm.” 

A life without the Lord will be restless and lacking in peace.  It will be a life that is ultimately  rooted in fear. 

As you review the four part postings to CHG #9, I make this prayer request as you apply the content to this CHG in your life.  Please help us Lord, to do what we do out of love and not out of our need to control.  Help us to have a heart that is willing to obey You, because of your love for us, and our love for You.  And then we pray that our love for one another will prove to the world that we are Your disciples.”  John 14:33