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Flax Seed Musing…

August 21, 2009 by edgewatergrace

Flax Seed, that miracle fiber and newly discovered champion against Cancer and other chronic disorders…  You can put the oil in your dishes, grind the seeds and add them to breads and cakes, even make up teas to sip during your day.  It is the perfect fiber, created by God specifically for our health, and now missing from so many of our diets.  Where did we lose sight of this fabulous food?

As the Industrial Revolution came to an end, it was followed by the two World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam conflict.  This time period spanned about 150 years, but at the end of it, many of the cultural traditions were gone from our lives.  No longer did we compile our family recipes and home health teas, potions and poultices to suffice because the medical doctor was over a hundred miles away.  Now, a doctor could be had on pretty much every street corner for a price.

To make matters worse, our new lifestyles are not healthy.  All of the conveniences we take for granted today aren’t good for us.  Television, video games and online activities are actively engaged in destroying our health.  As life goes faster and faster, we buy the products produced on the markets, knowing our health is being slowly destroyed because we don’t make the time to do what is important.

Isn’t that just like us?  We eat a Wendy’s Double Cheeseburger, a large fry and a large drink at lunch every day when we should be eating a salad and taking a walk.  We sit continually in front of the television instead of getting up to rake the leaves or weed the gardens.  After a full day of work sitting in front of the computer, or driving a truck, or standing in one spot teaching, we are so worn out that is the only activity we engage in that day.  And every day after that.

We need to take action to change ourselves and get back to the simpler things in life.  Like flax seed and whole wheat products.  Lean meats, like chicken, fish and pork.  Skipping the fats and reaching for the fruit.  Only as we do this will we be living in the manner that our Creator God created us.  Perfectly fit for a perfect life in His love.

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Parts of the Body…

August 11, 2009 by edgewatergrace

I read with interest an article in my Discipleship study on the distinct parts we each play in our church body.    The emphasis of the lesson was how each part of the body has equal significance and importance within the body of Christ.

One of the quotes in the study was a comment by Martin Luther where he rants and raves over the importance of the pastor.  In our churches today we have definitely learned that lesson well.  So much emphasis is placed upon the pastor, that it appears that he is the entire body.  For instance, who visits the sick and in prison?  The pastor.  Who does the weekly outreach meetings?  The pastor.  The pastor runs many of the programs in the smaller churches.  One might ask – What happened to the other body parts?

The music director has been given an equally noticeable roll.  Whether pastors in their own right, or lay people serving the Lord in this capacity, they are often just as busy as the Pastor is when it comes to building up the church body.  I can remember serving for four years in this capacity, and the Pastor and I literally held that body of believers together.  I helped visit the sick, helped with outreach, created the bulletins and followup letters, and helped the Pastor set up revivals and other events because there was no one else to help.

Christ’ church is a living breathing body of believers pulled together from a multitude of experiences for a purpose.  No one person – and no one gift – is more important than any other gift.  Pastor’s and music directors get a lot of attention, but they are no more important than the person responsible for serving food or watching over the nursery.  When the church is active and alive, each person completing their own work for the good of the whole, then the Church can seriously impact the community where it survives.

We need to give our Pastors and Music Directors a break and begin to carry the load that Christ has appointed us.  When the Pastor sets the vision, we need to gather behind him and follow his leadership in whatever Christ has laid upon His heart.  If he feels God wants him to hold a revival, then the activity committee and the kitchen committee need to get on their knees and pray for wisdom and then joyfully plan some activities.  The worship team needs to pray and then begin to seek out a revival preacher.  The music director needs to set up some special music.  The nursery and children’s church need to be planned.  Even the cleanliness of the church becomes paramount to the success of the revival.

The church cannot function unless all of the gifts of the Spirit are present and accounted for.  This means the members of the body must be on scene and prepared for service.  Once that occurs, there is no limit to the powerful witness a church can have.  Without the sum of the parts, however, the church will stagnate and die on its own. 

We need each other.  That’s all there is to it.

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Curves of Life

July 28, 2009 by edgewatergrace

I was driving to work this morning, and had to take a detour.  This old, winding country road wraps itself between property lines, going every which way in a twirling dance through the country side.  There was a bridge over the intercoastal waterway, which meandered up and over the water and back down into a curve.  It started out in a slow saunter around to the right, but then all of a sudden, the curve sharpened.  I found myself grasping tighter on the wheel as I wrapped around the curve, focusing more stringently on what was up ahead.  I came out of that turn and the road returned to it’s slow saunter, this time to the left.

I was struck by the surprise represented by the sudden tightness.  The curve in the road at first appeared to be nothing, but then when I least expected it, the curve tightened, and I had to hold on for dear life.  I remember wondering what the yellow caution signs had said as I approached the curve and I realized I couldn’t remember.

How like our walk with Christ was this drive along that country road.  We saunter along, enjoying the scenery and the beauty that God has created for us, never suspecting a thing.  And then whammo – a big suprise happens that catches us off guard. We cling to Him in abject terror and we wonder what could have been different if we’d been paying attention to the yellow caution signs along the side of the road?

Whatever this day brings, be it rain or shine, I hope to pay more attention to the caution signs Jesus erects upon my pathway.  When he tells me to slow down – or even stop right where I am at – I hope to heed His words instantly.  When things begin to get a little rougher, instead of panicking, I will cling harder to His guiding hand. I will earnestly consult His word daily, knowing it contains the caution signs that will keep me safe on this pathway through life.

It is only as I let go of myself, and let God take control, that I will succeed through this day.  Hope your day is as beautiful as I now expect my own to be. 

Thanks, Lord, for that curve of knowledge, this morning.  🙂

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My Daddy’s Voice

July 25, 2009 by edgewatergrace

I listened to Cheryl Broderson’s comments on the Book of Corinthians on my way up to the City of Virginia Beach to get a manicure this morning. Cheryl is a member of Calvary Church Costa Mesa, and is on the radio locally each Saturday morning around 9 a.m.  If you’ve never heard her, you are missing an awesome blessing.

Anyway, this morning, she shared the story of her own Dad’s voice and how she came to recognize it over every other person’s voice. Her Dad would arrive home and sing out some lyrics to her.  It must have delighted her, because she learned a little melody she sang back to him as she ran to him and was swept up into his arms.  Well, she said her older brothers learned the technique, and would come home, and sing out the lyrics to her, and she’d come running out into the other room, absolutely delighted that He was home…but he wasn’t – it was her brothers! She shared the devestation she felt when she realized it wasn’t her daddy’s voice after all. It all brought home to me the tender memories of my own dad, who crossed over in 1991 to be with the Lord.   I was in tears when Cheryl finished her story.

You see, like Cheryl, my father used to sing my name. He didn’t sing a whole musical repoirtre like Cheryl’s Father, but he always sang my name. I would know that voice anywhere, because no one ever said my name the way my father did. He had a beatiful voice, and he made up his own little tune that just stretched out my name and made it turn from plain Mary into something quite lilting and beautiful. I came to trust that when I heard his voice, something beautiful and wonderful was getting ready to happen. Hugs, and kisses, and tickles and laughter and lots and lots of love.

When Jesus shared that his sheep would know His voice, I knew immediately what He was talking about. I knew I would recognize His voice also. And I did – first over 30 years ago, and though I haven’t always been consistent, He shared some more of His heart with me last year. Nothing could ever sound that beautiful to these ears, and I crave to hear His voice again as I go about my days…

Later, with glistening new nails done in antique bronze, I stopped off at the Bloom store to buy some groceries. Eating has become a large area of focus as I am trying to lose pounds and cholesterol and get rid of hypertension. I was browsing through the organic foods section, and to my right was a lady with a young toddler sitting in the basket, looking at some items. All of a sudden the little girl started dancing in her seat, and gurgling with happy delight. I wondered whatever had her so delighted. Then I turned, and saw her father approaching with what could only be her older brother in the other shopping cart. Mom said, “She’s dancing for you, honey” and the father said, “Yes, I see that” and bent down and cooed some sugary musical lyrics to her and gave her a big kiss. As they walked off, he was glancing down at her so devotedly, and she him, and I had to leave the store.  I missed picking up half my groceries – I was a basketcase.

All I could see was Christ in His perfect grace, looking devotedly down at me, and letting me know he had heard my heart when Cheryl reminded me so tenderly of that precious memory of my own father.  Tears come to my eyes each time I think of all this.  Thank you Cheryl for the memory and Jesus for your wonderful grace!!

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Foggy Morning

July 25, 2009 by edgewatergrace

Fog, dense, heavy and gray.  Blanketing everything, obliterating sights and sounds.

People scurrying, looking for the pathway, turning on their headlights, trying to find their way.

Suddenly up ahead, a looming shape.  You drive by here daily, yet don’t remember what it is.  As you sweep by, you realize it’s a small copse of trees, trees that you see every day, but you suddenly reflect on the fact that you’ve never really seen them.  In the brightness and beauty of a stunning morning, the tiny copse blends into the environment, and you overlook it.

But, the fog brings them out with clarity.  And the smallness of it suddenly assumes the shape of a looming monster, bearing down on you as you approach from the south.

Fog does that to you.  It covers up the pathway.  It makes minutae seem paramount and you loose sight of your focus.

But, fog also makes you lose sight of the larger picture, and forces you to focus on the smallest particles of import – those tiny things we would have missed had it not been for the fog.

Our God is a god who lives in the clouds, masking who he is, but ever present in our lives.  He opens our eyes, or clouds them over, either to reveal significant awareness to our blind eyes.  The small child with the hurting eyes.  The old man who needs a friend to speak with, and ease his loneliness.  The widow weeping tears over a gravestone when no one else is watching.  The mother burying her child, killed in a drunken spree of random violence.  She never planned for it to happen this way.

Fog is annoying.  It gets in our way and slows us down.  It makes us pay attention.  And suddenly we see the looming monster within us that is sin.  We notice the minute matters so important to someone else.  And God creates within us the perfect response.  And the fog goes away.

It has served its purpose.  It has made us see.  With God’s eyes.  What we would have missed.  On our own.

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