Project Proverbs

Our church blogged through Proverbs last month. http://www.southpointe-church.org/#/southpointe-blog/proverbs. I was assigned several chapters. I’ll copy my journaling here:

PROVERBS 6

The really neat thing about this book is there are so many “proverbs” of truth on each page. Chapter 6, in itself, is divided up into 4 parts. When I first read over this chapter, my thought was “Hmmm… I wonder which portion is the one that will speak to me the most for the purpose of journaling this week? The first element on keeping our promises? Or, the second part on laziness? What about that third section where it talks about the wicked man. The guy full of pride who, in the end, finally receives his punishment? Or, what about the last segment on adultery? Now THERE’S an attention grabber!”

But as I actually studied, it dawned on me that there is a reoccurring truth shouting at us throughout the entire chapter… Overall, Proverbs 6 reminds me to be a woman of CONSISTENT, GENUINE, HONEST, RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIC, SINCERE INTEGRITY.

>>> "If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth.” (verses 1 and 2) Normally when we hear a message on this portion, an emphasis is made on borrowing money. But the truth is that every promise we make with another person is binding. Our follow-through will measure our level of integrity.

CONSISTENT, GENUINE, HONEST, RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIC, SINCERE INTEGRITY.

>>>Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies…” (verses 6 through 8) The popular emphasis here is usually on laziness and working hard for your living. But digging deeper, the underlying quality being highlighted is still consistent, sincere integrity. “Having no captain, overseer or ruler” I looked up ANT BEHAVIOR on a couple different encyclopedia sites. It was interesting to learn a little about their social structure. One site stated that “A family of ants employs queens, gardeners and bandits that have developed specialized tools and skills to get their respective jobs done. Within each species, division of labor varies depending on an individual's age and sex… Ants looking after the brood and working inside the nest tend to be younger, while those defending the nest and foraging outside are older. Like all the social species of the insect order Hymenoptera, female ants do all of the work; males just spread their genes around… ‘Males are little flying sperm missiles,’ said Alex Wild, an entomologist at the University of Arizona.” I had to add that last bit in because even though I’m off topic here, I found that piece of information absolutely hysterical and not much different that that of the human species. (Just joking.) =) Anyway… We are told to take a look at the industrious nature of this little bug and take note that even though there is not a boss to watch their every move, they continue to be industrious creatures. That’s integrity. Sincere, honest, authentic integrity. I recently read this on a relationships solutions blog: “Integrity is about honor and consistency. It's about what you do when no one is looking.” Good stuff.

CONSISTENT, GENUINE, HONEST, RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIC, SINCERE INTEGRITY.

>>> "He winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart.” (verses 13 and 14) I found that the amplified versions magnifies the text like this: “He winks with his eyes, he speaks by shuffling or tapping with his feet, he makes signs [to mislead and deceive] and teaches with his fingers. Willful and contrary in his heart…” I think for the most part, people can see through our religious facade to the person that we really are. Casting Crowns has a song that asks: “Are we happy plastic people. Under shiny plastic steeples. With walls around our weakness?” But according to Proverbs, this “stained-glass masquerade” can’t continue forever. Verse 15 tells us that this man who hides wickedness in his heart will be broken. The masquerade crushed. The hidden ugliness is eventually revealed. So what does God require? Perfection? Thankfully, no.

But He does ask for CONSISTENT, GENUINE, HONEST, RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIC, SINCERE INTEGRITY.

>>> “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” (verses 23 and 24) The rest of the chapter speaks on walking in purity. Plain and simple, if we are living our lives according to the Light of what God has to say through the Bible, we have the power to avoid the temptations that surround us. Walking in purity is not a religious act. It is not simply playing the part of a devoted wife or a faithful husband. Purity is being real. Honest. Sincerely working out -day by day- my life according to what God has to say on each issue, temptation, idea, philosophy, thought, question, and obstacle I face. Sincerity. No pretenses. The genuine “me”. That’s the “me” that matters. The “me” with no masks. No façade of religious behavior. Just me. Who I am when no one is watching.

CONSISTENT, GENUINE, HONEST, RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIC, SINCERE INTEGRITY. That’s Proverbs 6 in a nutshell. Or at least, that’s what I got out of it.

PROVERBS 13

This chapter is full of verses on the advantages of listening to wisdom and making wise choices. (4) “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing. But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich... (9) The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out... (10) By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom.... (13) He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. (14) The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. (15) Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard..."

This goes along with the Bible lesson I’m working on for our SouthPointe Kids preschool group. Once upon a time, there were a group of fishermen who were told by Jesus to cast their nets in a certain way. And though they were professionals, they obeyed Jesus’ counsel and received a BOATLOAD of reward. Their nets were jam-packed full of fish! =)

And so it is in our present-day lives. According to Proverbs, as I follow the wisdom that God has laid out for me in His Word, my soul will be rewarded with overwhelming richness. We all know that it’s not money that makes us happy. It’s the pleasure that sits in our very souls. It’s our soul’s satisfied longings. It’s the feeling of fulfillment of purpose. Proverbs is filled with wise advice. It will do me well to learn from it, live by it, and love it. For the health and enrichment of my soul.

PROVERBS 20

Do you ever find yourself almost mirroring the very thing that you hate? I know that’s a cliché, but it is true. We can become what we despise …if not dealt with or responded to properly.

There is one thing in particular that I seriously loathe. (Get ready... A secret ugliness from my heart is about to be revealed.) I hate hypercritical behavior, attitudes, and comments. I gew up in a fundamental, religious environment where people would pass judgment on individuals who did not attend a church with just “the right” name, read “the right” Bible translation, listen to “the right” kind of music, send their children to “the right” kind of schools, or dress “like a Christian”. This behavior hurt me deeply. And I saw it hurt many others by either turning them away from God completely or, on the flipside, by presenting them with a false sense of Christ-acceptance.

I’m grateful to Jesus for rescuing me from that. I’m still learning that I’m not required to jump through man-made religious hoops in order to be completely received by Him (or church leaders). And it is SO FREEING!  But herein lies my secret… The unattractive issue being exposed from the corners of my heart: The very thing I hate is the exact behavior I have gradually and covertly adopted. The slimy pit of self-righteousness that He pulled me out of is there once again, calling my name. I’ve got to stop this already! Because look at what I found in Proverbs this week… *** Proverbs 20:6-9 (NKJV) Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man? The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”? ***

I usually would think of this passage as a warning against self-righteous boasting. But what really hit me this week is the ugly thing that has burrowed its way into the secret places of my heart. An “I’m-angered-because-that-person-is-so-judgmental” reaction is an ugly attitude of superiority. The Amplified translation illustrates verse 6 like this: “Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness and goodness, but a faithful man who can find?” What benefit is it for a person to think they are good for being good? How righteous is it for me to think, “I am more right than the next guy, so I’m a better person”? Of course I wouldn’t say these things out loud! I wouldn’t boast this attitude publicly. But the self-righteous thoughts have made their way into the secret places of my heart. Maybe no one else has been able to see it. Maybe it’s not been as obvious as it is with the religious groups standing outside the abortion clinics and pride marches. Or maybe it IS just as obvious. Maybe it has accidentally trickled through my conversations, giving this unattractive secret sin away to. But it doesn’t matter, really. God has seen it. And I’m ashamed. And repentant.

PROVERBS 27

There are a couple of significant verses on friendship in this chapter, but I’d like to focus on verse 17: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

To begin with, I wondered about the word “countenance” and after doing some reading, it dawned on me that this word refers to the face. You can often see a person’s personality and intellectual level exhibited in their face. So according to this passage, as iron is sharpened by iron, we are filed, made smooth, bright, and wise by open and honest friendships.

We are each, in our varying walks of life, surrounded by an array of superficial friendships. And there is nothing wrong with that. The fair-weather friend who’s there to communicate with about our hobbies, jobs, favorite recipes, and children. But it is essential to our health and maturity that we surround ourselves, too, by good people who we can feel free to open our lives up to for honest, loving criticism. Imagine a man who has never allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to be sharpened by another. Until he is able to allow some sharpening, he will remain the same person with the same character with the same annoying faults and the same perspective on life.

God has blessed me by surrounding me with fantastic friends who have so much to offer! I could really use some sharpening from time to time. Well, daily to be honest! I hope that I allow my friends the freedom to be honest with me and to love me enough to sharpen me in the areas where my life, my character, my perspective and my personality might become a little dull.

“As iron sharpens iron.” Just like the rest of the beautiful book of Proverbs… A simple analogy exploding with truth.

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Keeping Centered

Proverbs 11:1-3 "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them."

Amplified Bible: “A FALSE balance and unrighteous dealings are extremely offensive and shamefully sinful to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight. When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness. The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.”

Titus 1:1-16 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—  if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.  For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,  whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.  One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”  This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,  not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.  To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

The book of Titus was written to the people of Crete who were known to be off balance on one side or the other. This is a glaring problem in the church today as well. Maybe it has been like this throughout all of history? Godly leadership is not an accreditation or based on an achievement, but on godly character qualities and being submitted to Jesus as is indicated in this passage. Imagine with me three circles...

The center circle is where we need to stand. That is the circle of Christ-centeredness. On the left is the circle of the self-indulgent. This is the circle where people stand and claim faith but live like “anything goes” and any belief, standard, or lifestyle is acceptable. On the right is the circle of the self-righteous. They are critical, judgmental, mean-spirited, off-balance… (picketers, etc) condemning PEOPLE instead of the sin. To be Christ-centered –standing in that central circle is almost like standing in the middle of a teeter-totter. It’s easy to let it sway to the left or to the right. It takes constant effort and a continual shaping of our muscle coordination to keep completely balanced. The problem is that when we sway completely to the left, we are in danger of thinking we are okay in our relationship with Jesus. And when we sway to the right, we are confident in our standing with Jesus as well. Dangerous. Very dangerous. And the world sees this. When we are not Christ-centered, it permeates in our conversation and displays itself in how we love others. On the right, people only see judgment. On the left, people only see a complete lack of conviction towards righteousness. One is not more wrong than the other. Both outer circles are wrong. Neither shows Jesus. But sometimes we are so blinded by ourselves that we can’t see how wrong we are in our little self-circles.

So back to godly leadership... according to God's Word, there is no accreditation basis or achievement requirement. We are simply asked to submit to Jesus, be balanced in our behavior and in our belief so that He can work. To keep us in shape, God has given us some health-maintenance requirements so to speak: (1.) be disciplined. Take time to consistently seek God through his word and communicate with Him. (2.) Be yielded. Surrender daily. Be a filled vessel. Know that if I am empty, the wrong things will dump into me, spilling into the lives of those around me. But on the other side of it, if I am filled with my own self-righteousness, there is no room for Jesus to spill out of me, touching others. It will be all me. Critical, mean, nasty me. (3.) Commit to faithfulness in [a] the Bible and [b] in loving others. This is like an exercise routine. A routine for life. A routine which will keep me in shape so that on that teeter-totter of Christ-centeredness, I won’t sway to the left or to the right. Christ-centeredness. True Christianity.

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by Derek Webb:

They’ll know us by the t-shirts that we wear

They’ll know us by the way we point and stare

At anyone whose sin looks worse than ours

Who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bare

They’ll know us by our picket lines and signs

They’ll know us by the pride we hide behind

Like anyone on earth is living right

And isn’t that why Jesus died

Not to make us think we’re right 

When love, love, love

Is what we should be known for

Love, love, love

It’s the how and it’s the why

We live and breathe and we die

They’ll know us by reasons we divide

And how we can’t seem to unify

Because we’ve gotta sing songs a certain style

Or we’ll walk right down that aisle

And just leave ‘em all behind

They’ll know us by the billboards that we make

Just turning God’s words to cheap clichés

Says “what part of murder don’t you understand?”

But we hate our fellow man

And point a finger at his grave

They’ll know us by the t-shirts that we wear

They’ll know us by the way we point and stare

Telling ‘em their sins are worse than ours

Thinking we can hide our scars

Beneath these t-shirts that we wear

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"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine."
- D. L. Moody

Like falling in love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUykOG0xhEk&feature=related

Give me rules

I will break them

Give me lines

I will cross them

I need more than a truth to believe

I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes

To sweep me off my feet

It ought to be

More like falling in love

Than something to believe in

More like losing my heart

Than giving my allegiance

Caught up, called out

Come take a look at me now

It’s like I’m falling, oh

It’s like I’m falling in love

Give me words

I’ll misuse them

Obligations

I’ll misplace them

‘Cause all religion ever made of me

Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet

It never set me free

It’s gotta be

…It’s like I’m falling in love, love, love

Deeper and deeper

It was love that made

Me a believer

In more than a name, a faith, a creed

Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me

~Jason Gray

Love For Real.

So I recently heard a message on Jesus and the Samaritan woman for possibly the hundredth time in my life. But this time, it was like I had never heard the clear, true message of true Christianity from John 4 before. Well, maybe I hadn’t.

It appears that there are about 6 types of Christians who must truly grieve the heart of Jesus, while also damaging His reputation:

1. The IN-YOUR-FACE guy (“You’re going to hell if you don’t repent!” He’s got bumper stickers all over his car shouting repentance and you’ll find him picketing gay pride events and abortion clinics.)

2. The GUILT-YOU-TO-CHURCH guy (“you need to be in church for your children’s sake.”)

3. The ARGUMENTATIVE guy. (He is driven to debate with you in order to prove to you that he is right. He uses Scripture and experience [and uses them well!] to show you the error of your ways. And mostly, to show you how right he is.)

4. The NOTCH-IN-HIS-BELT guy. (He is driven by an agenda. Wants to see sudden repentance so that a testimony can be built and you can be added to his list of conquests.)

5. The JESUS-SALESMAN guy. (He would see “leading a person to accept the Lord” on a first encounter as an expected course of “soul-winning”. Door-to-door knocking, street preaching, etc.)

6. The DON’T-WANT-TO-OFFEND-ANYONE guy. (This guy is almost as offensive as the 5 characters above.)



Rules of Engagement:

Taking a look at how Jesus communicated with the woman at the well in Samaria, it’s clear to see the perfect pattern of loving socialization we can learn from. (JOHN 4)

He was deliberate. He took advantage of divine appointment. He looked at the encounter with this woman as no mere happenstance but as an organic encounter. An opportunity to establish a relationship ON PURPOSE. He was real. There is a fine line between and organic encounter and an arranged agenda (being able to mark a project [or person] off your list).

Friendship first. Jesus didn’t confront her. He built a relationship with her. (He asked for a drink.) Gentleness is the opposite of abuse, ostracism, isolation, judgment… which is the style of today’s fundamentalist movement. This is too common. This judgment is not the real Jesus. But another Jesus.

To have a spiritual conversation with someone, I need to EARN the right. We need to understand that what can take a lifetime to make may only take a moment to break. Many of us were brought up with the motivation to grab people’s attention with a good object lesson and then ask them to repeat the sinner’s prayer. This is an all-too-common misunderstanding of the discipleship process. In most cases, the person who prays “the sinner’s prayer of repentance” in a one-time conversation is going to experience “buyers remorse”. Much like buying those cool knives that was demonstrated to cut through a penny. “Why do I need 30 knives anyway?... I’m not going to be cutting through any pennies!... Why did I just spend all that money on cutlery?!... I’m not REALLY interested in that kind of commitment!... It just seemed so cool at the time!” The emotional crave for Jesus will be gone in no time. A true bridge to God through Jesus was not really cultivated. That broken relationship was never truly and genuinely restored.

Making spiritual assessments. Trying to figure out where someone is. This is not judgment but an assessment (discerning) of where the person is on their spiritual journey. Are they seeking? Or think they are indifferent? (We must remember that indifference is still an actual part of some individual’s spiritual journey) Or maybe they are just figuring out what a relationship with God is going to take. A spiritual assessment will help as we come to understand what barriers might be keeping them from proceeding forward toward living missionally. (Examples of barriers: painful church experiences, addictions, lack of knowledge of our sinful nature or even lack of understanding God’s loving forgiveness,…)

Practice the process. Know that a relationship with Jesus is not a one-time decision, but it’s about their process. Their growth toward the end of their spiritual journey. Recognize it’s not a notch in your belt.

A key to this whole thing seems to be I Corinthians 3:1-8.We need to wrap our minds around the fact that we are simply God’s hands and feet. We are not the sinner’s savior. God doesn’t NEED us to save the world. We are the body of Christ given an opportunity to take part in loving people toward Him.

I wonder if there were God-believers in Jesus’ day who thought He wasn’t critical enough. He wasn’t judgmental enough. He didn’t scorn the sinner enough. Jesus rubbed elbows with people who lived unrighteous rather than “kicking them out of the family” or “removing them from communication”. Yes, I think there were those groups of people in that day. If I remember my Bible history accurately, these people were called Pharisees. I don’t know… just my thoughts. A little glimpse of the view from my personal little, finger-print covered window.

Perspective.

For much of my life I’ve been searching for the key to true Christianity. I knew it couldn’t be what I’d observed for so many years. I was sure there must be more to it. When I cringed by seeing loved-ones affected by judgment, I was called a liberal. When I was hurt by seeing pious rejection, I was called wishy-washy. When I wanted no part of self-righteous rebuke, I was accused of having loose morals. The teaching was to “see things from God’s pint of view”. An assignment I remember so well as a teenager (by a popular Christian leader) was to go to the mall and watch the people passing by. Look at their faces. Look at their clothing. Look at their mannerisms and make assessments about their situation in life. We were taught to judge. To see these people from “God’s point of view”.


Brandon Heath sings a song called “Give Me Your Eyes”. Here are some of the lyrics: “All those people going somewhere.

Why have I never cared?
Give me your eyes for just one second.
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing.
Give me your love for humanity.
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me your eyes so I can see…”

Man-o-man… what a stark contrast to the “fundamental”-group mindset.

Hope. Desire. Trees. And Riches.

Proverbs 13:6,12: Righteousness keeps him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthrows the sinner… Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. I think a reoccurring thread throughout out Proverbs is that, as I continue to please God in my journey, He will order things to fall into place for my good. I can SO identify with verse 12. How many times in my life have I thought I could see the light at the end of the tunnel but then it ends up being a dead-end instead? Talk about stomach-churning heart-break. I think back to being a teenager and having my heart broken over a boyfriend and realize that as an adult, that heart-sick feeling comes back again and again when it comes to other relationships, job situations, family struggles, and… well, just plain life circumstances. My prayer today is really just begging God to see my desire. For the most part, it’s not even something that can be put into words. But it’s there and He gets it. And so I’m pleading with Him for some kind of resolution. Some kind of fulfillment. My heart is sick over the feeling of hopelessness. The feeling that my desire is unheard and uncared for. When the desire comes, it is a tree of life. I look forward to that.

Verse 7: There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. This was confusing to me! I usually love to read the King James Version. I think it’s so beautiful. But I do struggle with the wording from time to time. =) I had to look it up in about 7 translations and then in a commentary. Matthew Henry’s commentary on this verse was: “Some who are really poor, trade and spend as if they were rich: this is sin, and will be shame, and it will end accordingly. Some that are really rich, would be thought to be poor: in this there is want of gratitude to God, want of justice and charity to others. There are many hypocrites, empty of grace, who will not be convinced of their poverty. There are many fearing Christians, who are spiritually rich, yet think themselves poor; by their doubts, and complaints, and griefs, they make themselves poor.” I can see that my perspective of my condition will lead me to success or failure. My outlook on my circumstances actually leads me to riches or poverty. Perspective has so much to do with it. I don’t mean that if I think it, it will happen. What I mean is that my situation is only as bad as I choose to view it. There, that makes more sense.

Honesty. Integrity. And a Crown.

I haven’t had the time to put this in writing until now, but on Monday as I read Proverbs 11, the truth that shone brightest to me is that God delights in honesty. Here I stand at a personal crossroads. And my crossroads is not a matter of decision-making. But rather, it’s a matter of the doors of my own desire being closed. The closed doors are breaking my heart. I want to use manipulation and tantrums to create my own way, but I know that if I can just manage to practice patient faith, God will open doors and windows in His own perfect time. Woven throughout the fabric of Proverbs 11, I’m seeing that honesty and integrity… right living… will lead to success. Manipulation and anger ultimately leads to failure.

Yesterday I dove into Proverbs 12…

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband –verse 4. I sure don’t feel virtuous. I left my children to go to back to work. Albeit against my will, I have disarranged God’s natural order of a mommy being home with her small children. So this is one, I guess, that I have to wrap my head around. My prayer this week has been: “God, teach me how to be virtuous in this time in history. When Proverbs was written, the picture of a virtuous woman was painted as the lady hanging clothes on the line while her children ran around playing in the field. After that, she scrubbed the floors, baked bread, and taught her children Hebrew. Teach me to make this relevant to now. My present day. My 2010.” A crown to my husband. Sounds like the writer’s term for a trophy wife. Lol. I get it though. I need to work on being the kind of woman my husband is happy to have around. What husband feels rewarded when he is forced to put up with a bitchy wife? There is another verse in this same book which teaches that a screeching, nagging woman should be put in the attic. Lol. I hope he wouldn’t rather put me in the attic, but not only that... I want him to be pleased. Excited. And proud to have me around.

Verse 16 states that A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covers shame. I thought this was so interesting. I read Matthew Henry’s commentary on it which explains that “It is kindness to ourselves to make light of injuries and affronts, instead of making the worst of them.” I love this. It annoys me to no end to hear someone talk about an incident, exaggerating the details to make themselves appear the martyr. Lol. It must annoy God too.

But on a more serious note, I wonder how my grumblings look to my Creator. He loved me even before I was conceived. He has been with me for every moment of 37 years. He knows about every situation in which my heart was broken. He knows about every little inconvenience that has come into my life. He knows about every single blessing that has shaped who I am. And I am sure that when I complain, He must be thinking, “Really? She thinks THAT is so bad?!” This morning, I was in a hurry and had no time for coffee. It felt like a terrible start to my morning. Even my facebook status was “I’m in a bad mood today” and I blamed it on my lack of coffee. God must be laughing or He may even be disgusted with me. Then I hear about the earthquake in Haiti and my heart breaks. How can I think I have any room to complain?

My destination is sure though my journey remains uncertain.

So, I’ve taken on a new challenge. After watching “Julie and Julia” on Saturday and then sitting in church on Sunday, a challenge was laid on my heart to begin a new venture. I’m at a crossroads in my life that leaves me in a combination of brokenness and confusion. I’m not entirely sure what is next but I have to believe that God’s in this thing and He has it all worked out ahead of time. I’m so nearsighted that I can’t possibly imagine what’s down His sleeve, but I know it must be in my best interest.

My personal challenge is to tackle God's Word's relevance to life with fresh eyes …the eyes of a brand-new, needy, thirsty, eager, 30-something wife and mother. And for personal growth and accountability, I’ll use this blog to journal my findings. For my sake alone. I don’t know if this will ever be read. I don’t know why anyone would want to read it. But it’s here. And it’s honest. It’s straightforward. Nothing flowery. No pretenses. I’m just on a mission to figure out this thing called life.

And so begins the view from my window. My somewhat skewed view. The musings of an ordinary heart on an ordinary journey toward an extraordinary end.