Laying It on the Line

Here I sit in the middle of the night at the computer workstation typing. My mind will not shut down. Maybe it was work today, or maybe it is the future. Changes are coming, big changes.

This is a presidential election year. I am wondering if we will have a good choice for which to cast our votes. Right now, I do not see one. That covers both the Democratic presumptive nominee and the Republican.

In ancient Egypt, they did not have to worry about voting. They got stuck with the fellow who had the greatest claim on the throne or the person who was the most willing to lay it all on the line by using every trick he knew to beat out his family members and other competitors for that position. It is often said that old age and treachery will beat youth and enthusiasm every time.

During one of those reigns, circumstances changed for a specific group of folks, who had been slaving away and living in what was called the land of Goshen. Yahweh heard their cries and sent them a deliverer. (Have you ever wondered what would happen in today's world if all the believers in the U.S. cried out for a godly leader? But that is a subject for a different blog. Sigh!)

Moses arrives on the scene by way of the scenic route. Nothing like a few years at his mother's knee learning about his ethnic heritage, in the lap of ancient luxury at the palace of the pharaoh, or even herding sheep in the land of Midian to help shape the character of a leader.

While herding those sheep (which are as cantankerous as any group of people that I know) a curious sight caused a detour in his path back to the palace. Nothing like a burning bush to catch your attention is there. At that bush, he had an encounter of the supernatural kind. I have often wondered if the the flame took the shape of a face, or if God just spoke to him from the bush, but that questions will have to wait for heaven.

God called a leader that day. A person specifically chosen by God and shaped by his experiences. However, before he could fulfill that calling, he had to confront his own demons and take a hard look at every aspect of his life. By the end of the encounter, Moses had laid it all on the line to become the leader of God's Chosen People.

The staff Moses carried was representative of everything in his life, all he had become and had to give. In his own hand, it was just a staff for him to lean on, bring wayward sheep back into line, and to fight off the predators using his own strength and knowledge. Moses had to make a choice to lay all he was, all he did, all he cared for down before his God, because it was only by the grace of God, the help of the Holy Ghost, and the love of God that he could become and continue to be all he was called to be. He left that bush and that encounter, changed in ways we will never understand completely until we can stand before the Father and ask about them.

We, too, must lay all of ourselves down and yield to our Father. We must know and accept that we can do nothing in our own strength, but that we can do all thing through Christ Jesus who is our strength. Yielding to His grace and love bring clarity of vision and allows us to fulfill the purpose to which we are called (and we are all called to a purpose that will touch eternity - again a subject for another time).

Taking a Stand

Here I go sounding like Andy Rooney, the 60 Minutes guy. Have you ever…? I ask myself and others this question quite frequently; like when I am driving through a neighborhood and see the street sign that says “SLOW CHILDREN PLAYING”. Have you ever wondered why anyone would like to advertise that their children are slow, or that they move very slowly? Are they proud of the fact their children are developmentally challenged or are they asking us to take careful aim with the automobile at those slow children to help cleanse the gene pool?

Another question I ask occasionally, is “Have you every wondered what body part is a yet?” I have seen news stories that tell you a bullet is in her yet. Even if they said the bullet is in her still, it is the same problem. What part of the body is her still?

Sentence structure and syntax are very important to communication. Why don’t we say what we mean in a way that is designed to communicate the true meaning of the statement? You could easily say that the bullet has not been removed from the victim at this time, or “PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY. CHILDREN AT PLAY”.

But this is very judgmental of me, and that is just one of my character flaws. Not only do I judge things, but I have a tendency to judge other people for how they look, what they say, and the way they act. This is not a very good trait, especially in light of the scriptural admonition to not judge others.

However, this issue goes deeper that judging others. It reaches in to the heart of loving others, which as believers, we are constrained to do. Yet, I ask myself the question “Have you ever tried to love someone with God’s love and not judge them when you are so opposed to what they are doing?”

I have a friend who is involved in something that I just absolutely do not like. She and I have had several discussions about this activity, but each time the discussions escalate into full fledged arguments. Not exactly a free and open exchange of ideas at that point, is it? I need help understanding how to let her be her and love her for who she is and to not judge her.

Yet I know she is not walking the right path. Because there are absolutes in this world and life, taking a stand matters. How do we make others know that the stand we take is not against them but against evil, no matter in what form it comes? How do I communicate my love for her and my hate for the sin in which she lives?

The wisdom I have learned over my life, tells me the key to this balancing act is to make sure that there is a strong relationship in place. If my friend does not know how much I love her and value her friendship, I can not speak honestly into her life. The same goes for her. Relationship is a two way street. Both parties must trust in the relationship and the love they have for each other to know that when something is pointed out honestly, it is not meant to hurt but to help. Those relationships take time, effort, working to know someone, and prayer. It is the same way our relationship with our Heavenly Father is developed.

I, also, believe that the basis of any relationship with another person is based in the relationship with God. Only he allows us to love well enough to take and stand and not be the judge, jury, and executioner.

Moving towards vs. Away

Some one sent me a set of pictures this week. It involved a guy walking along praying for protection and then getting hit with a small rock. He, of course, grumbled about that. In the next frame, Jesus told him he was on the job protecting him but apologized if any of the small stuff rocks got through. It was cute and on the surface seemed to have a good message. I did not think anything about that email at the time, but the more I meditate on it; the more I believe it to be untrue.

He is perfect. He can not fail in protecting us. Therefore, if we are hit by the slings and arrows of the enemy, it is not his failure. It must, in someway, be ours. He tells us in the Psalms, he is a strong tower and the righteous run to it and are safe. When problems are on the horizon, are we headed toward Him or away from Him? In the midst of problems, where we are located, can determine the outcome.

I know as a child, my tendency when something happened, or I did something wrong, was to avoid the parents. As I learned to trust them, I began to stop doing that and learned to just 'fess up. The punishment was always easier and sometimes, it was avoided completely, since a free and open discussion of the issues at hand could occur.

If we move away from our Heavenly Father or practice avoidance, we place ourselves in such a location, that He can not help up. Not because He is not able, but because we are not listening and looking for His help. He loves us with an everlasting love that has already forgiven anything we might do. He will always help us because of Whose we are not because of what we are.

He is not just sitting there waiting to bust us one for fouling up. He is not waiting to tell us "I told you so". He lives in your heart, goes where you go, and is always there to help. His joy is our strength. His life is our life as is evidenced by Paul's statement that in him we live and move and have our being. His faith is the faith we have been given. Open yourself up and trust him. Love never fails and He IS LOVE!

Importance of Voting

I am 55 years old. Way back in the dark ages, 18 year olds could not vote, but they could be sent to war via the draft process. This was the time of the Vietnam War or police action, since no declaration of war was issued by Congress. As a result of various protests and outcry, the law was changed to extend the right to 18 year olds to vote. It was contested by a couple of states in the US Supreme Court. Therefore, the Congress passed a new amendment to the Constitution which was ratified by the stated. The 26th Amendment went into effect on July 1, 1971.

I was in the first group of 18 year olds waiting at the courthouse the first morning 18 year olds could register to vote for the clerk's office to open. What a thrill. My voice, however small, was going to be heard. I won't tell you that I have voted in every election since, but I have tried to vote in all of them because voting is both a right and a privilege and a duty as a believer.

The older I get the more I realize the importance of voting, especially for our national and state leaders. I believe this is part of not just our rights but our freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Just look at the recent elections in Africa where the election commission refused to release the results of their vote. I believe that president was defeated in that election. However, he does not want to give up power. That country is now holding a run off election. Without paying attention to things like that in the US, we could be facing that kind of difficulty.

It has been said that the way for evil people to rule or win is for good people to do nothing. Don't do nothing. Even if you don't work in a campaign, do what is right for you, for us, for your country. REGISTER AND VOTE.

Who I am

I am nothing special, except that God sent Jesus, his son, to die for my sins. Yes! That makes me a Holy Roller, since I roll all my trouble on Jesus, or at least try to. Even though I am not special, I am loved with an everlasting love, blessed beyond measure, and called to fullfill a purpose bigger than myself.

I am Ann Elizabeth. Therefore I am named for Grace. Hence the title of the blog. Elizabeth means God has sworn an oath. Therefore, God has sworn His oath of grace with me. Celtic in heritage, since my forefathers and foremothers came from Scotland and Ireland (with a little English thrown in too). Add in the flower named rose for the thorny side and the multilayered personality.

In other words, I am a multifaceted conundrum who is ever changing, ever growing, and ever seeking to be more like the One who made me for his purposes.