So, how are those resolutions coming along?

Here we are, 31 days into the new year. The end of January is upon us and February looms, with its promises of love.

As my studying of Ecclesiastes continues and I combine it with my life verses for this year, the correlation is plain to see. You know how so many of us make resolutions at the beginning of each new year and before much time has passed, so have our best-laid schemes to keep them? Ahh, we humans are so fallible, aren't we?

"Wilt thou be made whole?" was the question Jesus asked the impotent man and the response of "I have no man..." still has me pondering on so many aspects of this verse from John 5:6. For instance, yesterday while Steve and I were on our way for a day of fun, we were discussing what we'd learned from the "Armor of God" study that we just completed. As we talked about the pieces of armor we felt most in need of, I reflected that the one about the shoes was pertinent in my life. For you see, Priscilla Shirer had asked us to name one thing specifically to focus on as we geared up to grow more deeply in Christ.

Without going into details, my "battle" was sadly one that involves my church. No surprise here but it is not perfect. There are people and beliefs and misunderstandings that lead to silly skirmishes that nonetheless have the potential--not the power, oh no--to wreak havoc amongst the members there. As Steve and I talked about the impotent man rising up to walk, I remarked that his feet must have been pretty unsteady. Lying around for 38 years will do that. I compared this to my trial with a certain issue and find that, yep: no matter what my resolutions, my resolve, and my preparations, the battle is still raging and I am still so desperately in need of a Savior to fight for me. On my own, I am too wobbly and need Jesus to tell me what to do each step of the way.

And that's the kicker, folks. The battle is not mine. It's not the church incidents that go on. It's the spiritual forces in higher places that are warring with one another. Satan wants to use us to tear down The Church and he's quite successful--but only if we foolishly think that somehow we can win this war on our own. He wants to keep us off balance, tottering on the edge of madness, and he mostly wants us to have no joy--especially in the church.

So although my feet are often unsteady and as I continue to try to move forward in spite of the wickedness going on all around me, I will also continue to rely on the Lord's direction, His commands, and His Truths to keep me focused, on task, and viable in this fight. "I have no man" is true and there are many things I must do on my own.  Thankfully though, I do have a Savior!Though the skirmishes are still going to happen, the battle is not mine.

Let's pray!

Dear Father, as the end of January is upon me, my reflections show some progresses made but also some failures in my attempts to rise and walk. Lord? Sometimes it seems that for each step forward, there are two back but as long as I am still standing, still steadying, and still seeking You there will be success. Victory in Jesus is a surety and as my struggles continue, when seen from Your eyes and Your heart, along with a great dose of wisdom from Your Word, I am confident that I will win. Maybe I'll have some extra scratches and bruises, but we both know that I am a lover not a fighter. I'll leave that to You, Jesus. Use my weaknesses to illuminate Your strengths is my prayer today. Amen.

Paying the Piper

I've been struggling lately with my blog writing.  Not that I don't have much to share but...but maybe I share too much?  I've been studying the Book of Ecclesiastes these past few days and like Solomon, I wonder if it all just isn't vanity.  Sigh.  I watch my "likes" increase each week but...but my "unlikes" have not allowed my page to grow in readership as high as my hopes for it to have risen. .  Like the old adage of taking two steps forward to only fall three steps further behind, I am not seeing the growth of my works, or at least not according to my Facebook statistics.  This troubles me and in some ways makes me feel defeated.

So I've been pondering.  Maybe it's time to stop writing?  Maybe my popularity (such as it is) has waned and it's time to move on to other venues?  Maybe I should keep my thoughts and wanderings to myself and only share when I feel like 'this one' is a really good one?  Maybe no one out there is as messed up as I am and the world doesn't need Wandering Through The Bible--or, if they do, maybe not now.  After all, how many times have I read something written Lord knows when and it's been effective or struck some chord within me?  Maybe I should just let my words sit and hope that one day some soul who needs to read them will happen across them?  I mean, seriously, do I not get notes from folks who found a certain blog I wrote helpful to them--even though it may have been written months or even years ago?

I know I shouldn't care, shouldn't be bothered by this indifference I perceive by the world.  The devil sure tries to get me to be in constant flux with it!  I tell myself and my husband tells me that God will lead to my blog whom He chooses to.  Am I writing it for Him or for the world?  Whom am I to try to assist anyways when I myself am in need of so much wisdom?

So, today I came up with three thoughts and if you are one of the ones who actually is still reading my blog, please respond.  Ready?

1. Are my blogs helping?  Are they useful in your spiritual walk?  Do they compel you to study further things you have believed all of your life but now find yourself needing more clarity about?
2. Are my blogs healing?  Does my sharing of my pains, my downfalls, my finally being able to forgive so many for the hurts that have been caused in my life encourage you to let go of your haunts as well?
3. Lastly, are my blogs hindering you?  The fact that I post so often:  does this cause you to just click on "unfollow" or "unlike" so that they don't appear in your newsfeed?  Is my honesty and continuous learning that I feel so compelled to share getting on your nerves?  

I don't want to be a hindrance.  I don't want to be annoying you and the truth of the matter is that no one is making you read these antics of mine.  No one is standing with a weapon over your heads forcing you to see what mess ol' Stef has gotten herself into this time and read of how even though the Lord has delivered her from it before, she still needs a refresher course.  

All in all, I cannot stop writing.  It's in my blood and it must be purged often or I will just implode.  Nobody wants to see that happen.  So, I leave my writings in your hands.  If you like them, great.  If you don't or can only take me in small doses, that's cool too.  I'm really trying to be useful but I am not the teacher.  Jesus is and He is Whom I am continually learning from.  Sometimes the stuff He teaches me is just too good to keep to myself so...when that happens, Wandering Through The Bible will be here for you.  Most importantly though, God is here in you, the hope of glory, the only One Who can make your wrongs right.  Unfollow me if you must, but please stay on track with Christ.

Could you please pass the Stef?

Good morning!  I have a question for you.  What kind of person are you?  Do you brighten up the room when you walk in with your sunny disposition?  Do you have the knack for making others feel welcome with your outgoing personality?  Are you the prankster--always playing jokes to make those around you loosen up?  Or, are you the salt, the one who adds the flavor, the one who makes things tastier, more enjoyable, and adds just the right touch?  

Salt does that you know.  Imagine a nice bowl of popcorn but wait!  Someone forgot to put the seasoning on it!  This near-perfect food resembles something that tastes more like one imagines styrofoam would.  Obviously if salt wasn't added to pork, our Country Ham would just be...well, it would not be good.  I daresay Bojangles wouldn't sell as many biscuits!  Many like to add a sprinkle or two of salt to their vegetables, to bring out the natural flavor and enhance it with just a smidge of this delightful seasoning.  

It's one of the things I wonder about:  how would the world survive without salt?  It's so cheap to buy yet I cannot imagine my life without it.  What if the seasoning brokers decided to hold it hostage and would only allow purchases of it for much more than the price we pay now?  How much would you be willing to fork out for this flavoring that the doctors try to tell us we don't need so much of anyways?

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus told us:  

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

 Well, I don't know about you, but I surely don't want to be classified as such! Let's pray!

"Good for nothing" Lord?  May it not be!  No no:  instead, make me the one who adds that special something to the meals of this world.  You know, Lord, the kind who brings out what's already there, inside, yet maybe just needs a little prodding, a little shake of Stef, to make it better than before.  Make me, Lord, that condiment that folks don't want to be without.  'Please pass the Stef' they will say, Father, when there just seems to be a little something missing.  Use me, I ask, to not be trampled beneath folks as they search for other ways of making things go down easier but to be the first thing they reach for, that they take off of their shelves, as the world needs sometimes a little more seasoning to make the cares of this world easier to swallow.  

May it be so is my prayer this morning.  In the name of Jesus I ask it.  Amen.

PS
Even Jimmy Buffett is on the lookout for salt.  Remember his song "Margaritaville" about how he's looking for his lost shaker of it?  It's become such an iconic song that when that line is sung, the audience responds by crying  "Salt!  Salt!  Salt" after he croons it out.  They are searching.  Jimmy is still reminding us of his need for it.  Be the salt, friends.  Be the salt.