Proverbs 14:1- Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
A few definitions of the word "wise": sensible, enlightened, understanding, well-informed,cautious, watchful, discriminating
So, a sensible, discriminating woman is not a foolish woman. She is someone who recognizes the amazing gift that she is from God. This woman knows that when God created her, He declared her good. She acknowledges that it is through her that life is made possible, that she is the vessel through which new life emerges. Even if she chooses to never bear children, a woman is a vast resource of the goodness of God. Women have a knack for knowing things, sensing or just feeling things out. We often just know a thing without knowing why we know a thing. We just know!
We are so much more than our outer appearance or our dress size, ethnicity, or whose last name we carry. It is vitally important that we understand our creative power both physically and spiritually because we birth things all the time, oftentimes without even realizing it.
Every wise woman builds her house. To build is to create, to make something come into existence that didn't exist before. So, what are you building-a dilapidated shack, broken down place with holes in the roof, broken windows, and doors hanging off the hinges ? Or are you building something beautiful but functional that you are proud to call your home? We are creating all the time with our thoughts and our words.
A wise woman builds her house, can mean an actual literal house or it can mean the self. If you were to picture your self as a house, what shape are you in inwardly? How do you nurture your self? How do you build up your self? I'm speaking here of inner work, which is your foundation, the invisible part of you that sustains and supports you just like your skeletal system.
Ours is a society that puts a great deal of emphasis on outer things often to the total neglect of our inner selves. We are bombarded daily with messages that tie our self worth to how we look, what we eat, where we live, the cars we drive and so on. But I haven't seen any commercials about the need to nurture one's soul. So how do we build our own houses?
1. Take time out for yourself.
2. Take time to quiet yourself and be still. I read that so much comes to you when you are still.
3. Limit the amount of noise you are exposed to. Turn off phones, televisions, radios, gadgets in general and allow yourself to sit in silence.
4. Ask God to show you how best to do this in accordance with your circumstances.
5. Make a date with yourself to pamper yourself by doing nothing- no nail salons, hair stylist or shopping- just make yourself comfortable in a quiet place and relax.
6. Do not worry about the kids or what they're going to eat, or the sink full of dishes or the hundreds of other things you must get to(Matthew 6:25-34). Just take a few minutes out of your day to love on your soul. Remember, going to the mall doesn't count. Your soul does not need a new pair of shoes. Your soul needs your undivided attention,so be still.
Psalm 46:10- Be still and know that I am God...
The foolish woman,on the other hand, tears down her house with her own hands. This one is a no brainer. This woman doesn't need anyone else to destroy her stuff, she does it all by herself. She lacks good judgment, is senseless, reckless and just plain ole' stupid. Doesn't sound very nice but...
There are women who fit this category perfectly. I believe that if you don't know your worth or who you are, you move about in this world crippled and not fully aware of the gift that you are. Instead of building oneself up, you do the opposite becaue you don't see any good thing in yourself.I believe self hate is a phenomenon unique to human beings.I've yet to see a bird perched on a fence beating itself with its wings. No, the bird uses its wings to soar, to ride the wind. The bird uses what God has given it and lives!
Are you wise?
Peace.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
EL-SHADDAI
El Shaddai: Warm-Breasted One
I like that; conjures up images of love, comfort, warmth, security, provision. Could this be God?
These words create, in my mind, pictures of a God who cares about me and whose arms I would want to run to.
Breast- symbolic of nurturing, sustenance, pleasure and life.
Life? Yes, life.
God is not cold, distant, aloof and looking down on us with His nose turned distastefully up in the air.
God is warm and inviting and promises to answer even before we call and while we are yet speaking, He will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
Sounds like a caring and quite available God to me.
In the literal sense, a woman's breasts are the life force of a newborn baby. The human body has been designed by God so ingeniously that even prior to birth, the breast begin to fill with milk for the new life that is developing within. I can remember my own pregnancies and how painful it was sometimes as the milk supply seemed to greatly outweigh the demand. It seemed like I was storing up enough to feed a small army but thankfully my body "knew" to balance supply with demand, thus producing what was actually necessary and ultimately making both me and baby very happy-amen!
And it is also known that breast milk completely supplies everything a baby needs for the first few months of life. Again, sounds like God to me, nurturing us as a mother would a newborn babe, feeding us from Himself.
Is it then possible that God, the warm-breasted One also knows our vital needs and is more than able to give us what we need?
Yeah, bottle milk is o.k. but it is not the same as breast milk. We can substitute many things for the provision that comes from God alone but those things, whatever they may be are not the REAL THING.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention: Holy Spirit is called the Comforter(John 15:26).
Peace.
I like that; conjures up images of love, comfort, warmth, security, provision. Could this be God?
These words create, in my mind, pictures of a God who cares about me and whose arms I would want to run to.
Breast- symbolic of nurturing, sustenance, pleasure and life.
Life? Yes, life.
God is not cold, distant, aloof and looking down on us with His nose turned distastefully up in the air.
God is warm and inviting and promises to answer even before we call and while we are yet speaking, He will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
Sounds like a caring and quite available God to me.
In the literal sense, a woman's breasts are the life force of a newborn baby. The human body has been designed by God so ingeniously that even prior to birth, the breast begin to fill with milk for the new life that is developing within. I can remember my own pregnancies and how painful it was sometimes as the milk supply seemed to greatly outweigh the demand. It seemed like I was storing up enough to feed a small army but thankfully my body "knew" to balance supply with demand, thus producing what was actually necessary and ultimately making both me and baby very happy-amen!
And it is also known that breast milk completely supplies everything a baby needs for the first few months of life. Again, sounds like God to me, nurturing us as a mother would a newborn babe, feeding us from Himself.
Is it then possible that God, the warm-breasted One also knows our vital needs and is more than able to give us what we need?
Yeah, bottle milk is o.k. but it is not the same as breast milk. We can substitute many things for the provision that comes from God alone but those things, whatever they may be are not the REAL THING.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention: Holy Spirit is called the Comforter(John 15:26).
Peace.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
He Served Them
This little excerpt is written by Laurie Beth Jones, author of Jesus CEO. It's entitled, HE SERVED THEM:
Most religions teach that we are put here to serve God; yet, in Jesus, God is offering to serve us. Picture the shift in thinking. Old Testament mentality looked at humanity as being indebted to God, trying to find countless ways to please God. And then along comes Jesus, who says, "He who sees me sees the Father." He even goes to people and asks them, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The writer continues-Some people are shocked at the inference that God serves us. Yet Jesus did just that. He asked people how could he help them. This is scandalous!
Jesus served without a fight. He wasn't looking for anything in return. Many times after healing someone, he would tell that person to go their way quietly without making a big production to attract attention. Isn't God amazing? He doesn't go for all the fanfare and noise and attention like us. God is God and that's all. No need to prove anything. When you know who you are, you don't have to make a lot of noise, proclaiming your identity.
Jesus did all these things without a fight because he was coming from one power:LOVE.
To love is to serve. And God is love.
Well, after reading this, I was blown away because it challenged what I'd been taught about God. The God I grew up hearing about wasn't too nice and if you failed to walk a straight line, He'd get you (pop you upside the head or something). Let's just say, I was taught that you didn't mess around with Him because He could take you down with the blink of an eye. Although I heard countless times about how loving He was, those words meant little because the truth was that I was afraid of Him. I had to make sure I did everything right or else KABLAM!
Yet, the gospel is all about Jesus doing good- healing, comforting, blessing, partying with the chief sinners and feeding folks for free. Scandalous!
And this serving thing is not about looking for God to be Santa Claus or cause you to suddenly win the lotto. I believe it's more about God touching your life deeply, profoundly, bringing healing to those broken down places within you, mending your broken heart, drying your tears, fixing things in your life that you thought were unfixable(my own wording).
Jesus's touch, no doubt, turned people's lives completely upside down. They were never the same again. This is the kind of serving God does. He will serve you right on into a brand new life.
Peace
Most religions teach that we are put here to serve God; yet, in Jesus, God is offering to serve us. Picture the shift in thinking. Old Testament mentality looked at humanity as being indebted to God, trying to find countless ways to please God. And then along comes Jesus, who says, "He who sees me sees the Father." He even goes to people and asks them, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The writer continues-Some people are shocked at the inference that God serves us. Yet Jesus did just that. He asked people how could he help them. This is scandalous!
Jesus served without a fight. He wasn't looking for anything in return. Many times after healing someone, he would tell that person to go their way quietly without making a big production to attract attention. Isn't God amazing? He doesn't go for all the fanfare and noise and attention like us. God is God and that's all. No need to prove anything. When you know who you are, you don't have to make a lot of noise, proclaiming your identity.
Jesus did all these things without a fight because he was coming from one power:LOVE.
To love is to serve. And God is love.
Well, after reading this, I was blown away because it challenged what I'd been taught about God. The God I grew up hearing about wasn't too nice and if you failed to walk a straight line, He'd get you (pop you upside the head or something). Let's just say, I was taught that you didn't mess around with Him because He could take you down with the blink of an eye. Although I heard countless times about how loving He was, those words meant little because the truth was that I was afraid of Him. I had to make sure I did everything right or else KABLAM!
Yet, the gospel is all about Jesus doing good- healing, comforting, blessing, partying with the chief sinners and feeding folks for free. Scandalous!
And this serving thing is not about looking for God to be Santa Claus or cause you to suddenly win the lotto. I believe it's more about God touching your life deeply, profoundly, bringing healing to those broken down places within you, mending your broken heart, drying your tears, fixing things in your life that you thought were unfixable(my own wording).
Jesus's touch, no doubt, turned people's lives completely upside down. They were never the same again. This is the kind of serving God does. He will serve you right on into a brand new life.
Peace
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Creator really is Greater
I can't believe it's September already. I really, really enjoyed and relished in the beautiful, warm, ok- hot summer season. It was very restful and insightful, a time to sit back and just ponder some things. One such thing I've had the chance to ponder that blew my mind was ISAIAH 55-
" For My ways are not your ways, neither are your thoughts My thoughts, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Here, of course, God is speaking about himself and letting us in on a little secret. He ain't like us in His thought patterns or His methods, plans, actions or ways of doing things. Say What?
I got excited.
It is said that you don't see a thing as it is but you see it as you are. We all have our mental images of God based on our experiences. Some will say that God is love while others who have lived difficult lives may see God as indifferent or uncaring.
But, for me, this scripture in Isaiah says so much about God. His ways are not my ways. What is my way? Usually my way is a patterned way of how I approach life, behaviors which I've learned from my parents and others, which may or may not work. If we're honest we have to admit that we all have our way of doing things, our way of living this life and we find it very difficult to change our ways even when those ways cause us to continuously hit a brick wall.
OK, so His thoughts are not our thoughts, they are higher than ours. Wow- is this saying that God thinks on a higher plane or level than we do? I once heard someone say that in order for a person to figure out a level 1 problem, they'd have to ascend to level 2, above the problem to see its solution. We don't usually do this, instead we focus on the problem, examine it from all angles, talk about it to whomever will listen, cry, cuss or whatever, but rarely do we focus on how to change the thing. I think talking about it is so juicy because sometimes we really like the drama of our situations. Remember, what you focus on expands. So focusing on the problem does not help. It just makes it more overwhelmingly unbearable and creates more anxiety.
God's thoughts, on the other hand, are higher than ours because He sees and understands the bigger picture while our seeing is limited. Sometimes we cannot see past our own noses. We cannot fathom anything different when we can't see beyond our situations, problems or circumstances. But He can!
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways and thoughts higher than yours. Many times it helps if we can just step away from our problems and get another point of view.
As the rain descends from above and waters the earth, so does God rain upon us everything we need in order to live this life abundantly. Rain is free, don't cost you nothing. The question is how willing are you to soak in God's promises, God's ways, God's presence, God's words to you?
Our problem as a culture is that we've created God in our image. We believe God to be small and of little power and not all that interested in us. Not true!
God is HUGE, VAST, BEYOND what you or I could ever imagine or comprehend. God is not small and limited in what He can do in your life. It is time we stopped limiting God and take Him at His word. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20). God can do anything!
" For My ways are not your ways, neither are your thoughts My thoughts, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Here, of course, God is speaking about himself and letting us in on a little secret. He ain't like us in His thought patterns or His methods, plans, actions or ways of doing things. Say What?
I got excited.
It is said that you don't see a thing as it is but you see it as you are. We all have our mental images of God based on our experiences. Some will say that God is love while others who have lived difficult lives may see God as indifferent or uncaring.
But, for me, this scripture in Isaiah says so much about God. His ways are not my ways. What is my way? Usually my way is a patterned way of how I approach life, behaviors which I've learned from my parents and others, which may or may not work. If we're honest we have to admit that we all have our way of doing things, our way of living this life and we find it very difficult to change our ways even when those ways cause us to continuously hit a brick wall.
OK, so His thoughts are not our thoughts, they are higher than ours. Wow- is this saying that God thinks on a higher plane or level than we do? I once heard someone say that in order for a person to figure out a level 1 problem, they'd have to ascend to level 2, above the problem to see its solution. We don't usually do this, instead we focus on the problem, examine it from all angles, talk about it to whomever will listen, cry, cuss or whatever, but rarely do we focus on how to change the thing. I think talking about it is so juicy because sometimes we really like the drama of our situations. Remember, what you focus on expands. So focusing on the problem does not help. It just makes it more overwhelmingly unbearable and creates more anxiety.
God's thoughts, on the other hand, are higher than ours because He sees and understands the bigger picture while our seeing is limited. Sometimes we cannot see past our own noses. We cannot fathom anything different when we can't see beyond our situations, problems or circumstances. But He can!
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways and thoughts higher than yours. Many times it helps if we can just step away from our problems and get another point of view.
As the rain descends from above and waters the earth, so does God rain upon us everything we need in order to live this life abundantly. Rain is free, don't cost you nothing. The question is how willing are you to soak in God's promises, God's ways, God's presence, God's words to you?
Our problem as a culture is that we've created God in our image. We believe God to be small and of little power and not all that interested in us. Not true!
God is HUGE, VAST, BEYOND what you or I could ever imagine or comprehend. God is not small and limited in what He can do in your life. It is time we stopped limiting God and take Him at His word. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20). God can do anything!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)