The Effort of Getting Dressed

"Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)

Recently I have been having a lot of trouble getting up on time. When I oversleep, it has a pretty negative effect on my entire day. Usually it means I will either not spend time in the Bible and in prayer -- or at least not quality time. If I do spend the time, then it means I'm late to work, which takes away time "doing school" with the kids. To my dismay, even at my seasoned age, I found myself in the habit over oversleeping and seemingly powerless to break the habit. I mentioned this struggle to a good friend when we were having coffee Monday. To my surprise, she was having the same problem. So, in keeping with true friendship, we agreed to help each other and are now making that 4:00 am "accountability call". I can't say I am enjoying dragging my weary bones out of bed that early again, but certainly I am enjoying the benefits of reestablishing that habit.

I've been studying Ephesians 4 this week. Today I spent some time just meditating on verse 24. The terminology Paul uses, "put on the new man", implies effort. When we put on clothes in the morning, we have to put at least a bit of effort into that process. It requires purposeful thought and physical action. We may not always enjoy the effort, and at times expend minimal effort, but we HAVE to put forth some effort, or settle for the alternative of not getting dressed at all (which is an unsettling thought!).

I have to admit, most days I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I am going to wear. I am a casual person unless the day's activities require otherwise. But, spiritually each day does require more than just casual dressing. I am called to be an ambassador of Christ each day, and the dress code is pretty specific. This "new man" is created in righteousness and holiness, just like God is righteous and holy. These are not character qualities that come naturally to the human race! In fact, if you read verse 22 of Ephesian 4, before we can think about putting on this new man, we have to "put off" the old man -- the one that is not righteous and holy; the one we were before we were in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17, says "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." This new man becomes part of our spiritual wardrobe the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Unfortunately, as long as we have this flesh to contend with, the old man is also still part of our wardrobe (see Romans 7:14-25). We are commanded, though, to reckon that old man as dead (Romans 6:11-13). So, part of my daily effort is to ignore that old, smelly outfit hanging in my spiritual closet and make the choice to put on the new duds each day. Thus, the 4:00 am wake-up call. That new man really is much more pleasant (for everyone) and definitely worth the effort!

Firstborn From the Dead Pics

The kids had the amazing opportunity to be part of the "Firstborn from the Dead" Saturday and Sunday. Pictures could not even begin to convey the power of this story of Christ's life, death and resurrection. Wow!

"Glory in the Highest" - Kiah was an angel (I'm of the opinion she still is!)

"Holy"

"Holy"

Saturday was a LONG day for the five "Boys Athletic Movement" boys -- and for me as the rehearsal stage mom. We were there from 10 am to 10:00 p.m. I was stage mom from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm. The boys were great all things considered. My patience only thinned toward the end... :o)

Before the show...

Small room - lots of fun!

A goofy moment.

Here is part of Judson's piece. Those little guys were SOOO cute! He was in another scene, too, but we didn't get that one on video. We did order the DVD...

Here's one of Mikiah's pieces. This is the garden scene before the crucifixion. The video does not convey the intensity of this scene. It was so cool! Mikiah was a "Pharitree"...

Excited about This Performance!

Mikiah and Judson are in this performance coming up Saturday and Sunday, May 23rd and 24th. What I have seen in the rehearsals is really amazing. If you enjoy watching shows, you will love this one. Hope to see you there!


Performance is 1 week away. Tickets are going fast.
Dramatic Truth School of the Arts Presents
LOCATION:
The Bell Center
MidAmerica Nazarene University
2030 E. College Way
Olathe, Kansas

SATURDAY, MAY 23 7:00 pm Evening Performance
SUNDAY, MAY 24 3:00 pm Matinee Performance
TICKET PRICES:
$10 Adults,
$5 Students under 18,
$5 Students over 18 with a current student ID.

Purity Ball

My little girl is not so little any more... Friday night, Jim and Mikiah attended a purity ball for fathers (or moms) and daughters. I had the great pleasure of being a server during the dinner. The event was absolutely lovely and very heart-warming! They shared some laughs and some special moments. One of those moments included a covenant spoken and signed by each:

Father:
I will protect you from unqualified young men.
I will be diligent to lovingly guard you from even the presence of temptation.
I will teach you God's principles concerning life and marriage.
I will pray for you, seek for you, and commmunicate with you concerning God's choice of your life's partner.

Daughter:
I will accept your protection and keep myself pure for my husband.
I acknowledge that I am capable of being deceived, and will immediately come to you should any tempatation present itself.
I will listen and learn and wait for God's best for my life.
I will seek first the Kingdom of God, look foward to entering a betrothing relationship, and wait for your blessing before entering into marriage.

They had a wonderful dinner, great speakers, quiet time together and a blast dancing. Below are some pics of the big date...

Enjoying some daddy time!





















There is only one beautiful girl I will let dance with my man.

Okay, Jim will kill me for putting this here, but the chicken dance is always a hoot (squawk?)

Josh took some pics before the ball.

This is my favorite.

A beautiful girl on a beautiful day.




















She is a nature lover...




















Waiting for Prince Charming (no hurry)!

The Assailant

He's sneaky, this assailant that relentlessly stalks me, looking for opportunities to initiate an attack. In the old days, I used to accept his periodic attacks as normal. I would sense his presence and wait in dread as I anticipated the hours, days and sometimes even weeks in which I would become battered under his relentless blows. Time and wisdom have given me the much-needed weapons for a counter-attack against this dark foe. Now, when I sense the heavy cloud of hopelessness, helplessness or sadness that surround his barrage of poison arrows to my soul, I am -- though at times weak or slow to respond -- prepared.

My weapon? I Corinthian 4:7-8, is among the many in my arsenal. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you."

Another favorite is found in Ephesians 6, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..."

And some artillery from Romans 8... "(vs 18)For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us... (vs 28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose... (vs 31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? ... (vs 35-39) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

POW! BAM! WHACK!!! There, that should put him back in his place... :o)

Judson's First T-Ball Game

Before the game...

Ready to "pitch".

Here's the wind-up...

... and the pitch!

Last-minute instructions in the batter's box.

Swing, batter, swing!

Rounding first.










Resting for a moment on base.

Can't wait for next week! :o)

Thoughts on Life, Death and Eternity

Proverbs 24:11-12 "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

If you have read many entries of my blog, you probably know that I often "preach" to those who go by the name "Christian". I want preface this particular blog by saying that I preach to myself first and foremost. It has been a while since I've had an entry. It's spring, which has proven to be as busy a time of year as the Christmas season -- if not more so! In my busyness, these verses should cause me to stop dead in my tracks and evaluate...

Do I do everything I can to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain? Well, of course, if I saw someone in danger of dying, I would absolutely do anything in my power to rescue them! Wouldn't you? I would have to have a pretty severed conscience to stand idly by and watch another human die!

Reality check... I do have a severed conscience. I do come across dying people every day when I step out of my home. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. That means anyone who has ever broken God's law is being "drawn unto death" and are "ready to be slain". Romans 3:23 clearly states that all have sinned, and I think the truth of this verse is pretty evident! Man's struggle with sin is obvious even to my six-year-old, who made this statement not too long ago, "Mom, I just don't understand it. I asked Jesus to come into my heart, but I still keep sinning...." (Romans 7!) From birth until physical death, we struggle with sin. It is, unfortunately, human nature ever since Adam and Eve exercised their free will to disobey God.

What about that death? Don't we all die anyway? The death referenced in Romans 6:23, is far worse than any physical death. It is a spiritual death. It is eternal separation from our Creator God. I'm talking about being apart from the One Being who loves us more than mere mortals can comprehend. I'm speaking of the difference between an eternity with purpose, power and peace and an eternity in the tormenting darkness of fiery hell. Yes, I believe in heaven and hell. The Bible references hell (Hades) even more often than it references heaven. They are both very real and both very eternal states of existence.

According to these verses in Proverbs, the One who keeps my soul from hell, the One in whom I have trusted and who I claim is Lord of my life, considers (discerns, understands), the fact that I do not deliver those that are drawn unto death. He not only considers it, he gives back to me according to my works. My eternal destiny is fixed. I have trusted in the blood of Jesus as the payment for the penalty I deserve for my own sins (death). However, there is still much to be gained or lost in my eternal existence. I Corinthians 3:11-15 says, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

So, I have to ask myself this question. In all my busyness, in all the works that I work every day, how much of that will withstand the test of eternity? How many of my efforts are geared toward rescuing my fellow man from spiritual death? Am I so self-focused that I am satisfied with knowing my soul is being safely kept? If I really believe the Bible is true, why doesn't this truth drive my actions? Consider, confess, change...