Karen Moore's Blog, page 14

The Perfect Age

 

So, another birthday candle is soon to glow! Yipes! There’s a lot more of them than I ever imagine there should be. After all, I must be younger than that!

I guess age has always been a very conscious timeline in our lives. We imagine we’re too young, till we’re somewhat over 21, for anyone to take us seriously. Then we soak up our twenties trying to figure out who we are and what we’re all about, as we stumble along the road to discovery. We’re impulsive and impressionable, idealistic, and vulnerable.

At thirty we feel more confident about taking on the world and so we set about proving ourselves, creating a path of achievements and dreams.  However, we have limited experience with being on the planet, so we make a lot of unwise, if not foolish, choices and before we know it, we’re forty something and doing a U-turn. We weren’t concerned with how to live in the world back when we were protected by family.  Now we jump on to life’s roller coaster and put up our hands and embrace the ride.

At fifty, we are occupied with our accomplishments and success and as our parenting days end, we keep going forward, believing we have a pretty good handle on life.

By sixty, we’re grateful that the kids are through college and hopeful that our modest portfolio will sustain us through retirement. We like the idea of having a little time to ourselves. We’ve been too busy to notice changes in ourselves or the world, so a little quiet time is a welcome thought.

At seventy, we reassess this thing called life and note our gains and losses.  We develop a bucket list. We’re doers and we’d like to accomplish a few more great things before we’re too infirm of mind or body to do anything with ease. We turn our thoughts to legacy and what we might pass along to others.

At eighty, we’re nearly back to where we started. We’ll be enjoying the things we can do and accepting that most people won’t take us too seriously. Ah, those birthday candles…they’ve got stories to tell.

At ninety, if we get to cross that threshold, we hope that God is real. After all, He’s the keeper of the candles.

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God Works!

This blog may seem familiar to my readers of What a Great Word. I paired it with the Scripture that says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28, NIV

God works! 

Say it out loud! Say it with energy and enthusiasm, because each time you say it, you’ll understand the absolute genius of what God has done. If you take it to mean that God works within you to change your point of view about life and the things you do, you’d be correct. If you think it means God works on your behalf to be sure you have what you need on earth and in heaven, you’d be on the right track. If you take it to mean that God never rests, that He never sits idly by when life is moving around like so many bumper cars in a ring, you’d also be right. 

Perhaps you see that God works in your life in very specific ways. When things are going a bit haywire, He moves in to improve the situation, repair the damage, and bring peace to your soul. God works for you.

If you think of God as “The Works,” the One who is the all-together, embraceable answer, the One that gives you everything as though you were the only person He has to care for, you’d be right there too. God gives you the works to help you enjoy the greatest adventures of life. He won’t withhold anything from you, even when you don’t know to ask Him for what you need. He loves you and He wants you to receive the works from Him, everything that He has in His arsenal. He knows the reason you were born and the work you were called to do, and He wants you to discover that truth for yourself. 

Yes, God works for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. He does it out of love for you, and He does it because as God, He can do no less. The best part is, He does this even if you don’t notice or acknowledge His grace and mercy. God works tirelessly, endlessly, steadfastly, pouring His love on you, His dear child. If you ask about Him, draw near to Him and seek to know Him, He’ll give you the works…eternal love, grace, peace, forgiveness, and joy. He will never give up on you.

If anybody asks why you trust in God, you can simply say, “God works!”

 

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Just a Jesus Girl!

I’ve been a Jesus girl for some time. I prefer to define my faith this way because the word Christian suggests a wide range of definitions, some that resonate with me, and some that clearly don’t.

Jesus gave us great examples of how to walk with God and with our neighbors, too. His perspective was literally divine. We aren’t always tuned in to loving our neighbors, our enemies, or those family members who make us a little bit nuts. It appears though, that God wants us to get along, be forgiving, and lend a hand to one another whenever we can. He wants us to make a difference.

Some of us want Christianity, or maybe Christians, to have all the answers to the foolishness that exists in an upside-down world.  Of course, the kind of Christianity Jesus talked about does have the answers. It comes chock full of examples and how-to’s, and anything else we might need to get the job done. However, most of us still need a lot of training.

Jesus healed people and fed them. He inspired their hearts and minds and never once acted selfishly. He looked to God to guide Him and He never saw people as they were. He saw their potential, what they could be. He looked into their hearts and left them better than He had found them. If this sounds foreign, it’s because we struggle to imitate Him in the little things we do. We have become so used to trying to out-do our neighbors, that we’ve ceased to raise our neighbors up and bring encouragement and possibilities their way. 

Jesus issued a challenge when He left earth to go back to heaven. He said if we believed in Him, we would do even more than He did because He’d give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, what would it be like if Christians were observed by the world as being those people who made a difference everywhere they happened to be? What if they were seen sharing God’s love with those who are considered difficult or unlovable? What if they prayed for good health and expected people to be healed? What if being a Christian meant you opened your hands and your heart and changed the world simply by allowing God’s light to shine through? Imagine that!

We may not cause a fig tree to wither at our say so or be able to feed five thousand people with a few English muffins, but we could probably create our own list of minor miracles. All we have to do is truly follow the Leader.  As a Jesus girl, I believe anything is possible with God. As a Christian girl, I believe we’ve got some work to do to rise to the standard God wants from any of us. The Holy Spirit lives in the world today and He will give each of us ways to work for the benefit of others. Don’t be surprised if you find a coin in a fish’s mouth. Be the light you were always meant to be.

 

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Speak Tenderly in Prayer

Saint Augustine wrote: “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance. To seek God is the greatest adventure, and to find God is the greatest human achievement.”

I suspect most of us don’t think of God in tender terms, seeing Him as the ultimate version of romance, the greatest opportunity for adventure, and the fulfillment of all human achievement. After all, we don’t think at such lofty levels. We’re earthlings and we’re not always sure we want to embrace a supernatural being. Even if we’re glad God is somewhere near, we don’t want things to be too intimate. We don’t want to imagine that God knows everything about us. That would surely make us blush.

God has always known we couldn’t handle having Him be too close. Even when He met with Moses, He shielded Moses with His hand as He walked by. His power is simply too much for our finite selves. Yet, He does romance us. He answers our heartfelt prayers, comforts our washed-out spirits, and soothes the wounds the world inflicts upon us. He sees those things that vex our spirits and cause us to behave in ways that only make us uncomfortable to think about. The thing with romantics though is that they don’t give up. They keep finding little ways to bring unexpected gifts to lighten the load. They keep showing up when we are no longer sure they will. 

When we pray to the One who sees us heart-first, loves us unconditionally, and opens doors for us to discover more of His great love, we can hardly believe it. We surrender our heartaches and our mistakes and our reluctant spirits into His divine hands. We do it because we know we can trust Him to continue with us through all things. Sure, we have moments when we question His love. We don’t always understand or recognize divine romance. We are not always willing to see God’s hand at work in our lives, but a romantic never quits, and so God keeps wooing us.

Talk to the One who knows your heart better than even you do and reach out to Him in assurance that He will hold you up and bless you in every way possible. Does it mean you’ll never have setbacks or hard times in this life? What kind of adventure story would you have to tell if everything simply happened as you supposed it should? No, God speaks tenderly to you, offering you hope and possibility with your every breath, because His love is for now and for always. 

Don’t look out at the world to try to find hope. Don’t look inside yourself to try to find unconditional love. Look to the great Romantic and speak to Him tenderly in prayer.

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Of Grace and Poetry

I missed the chance to post something for Father’s Day this year since I have been locked out of my blog site for several weeks. (Yes, technology is a wonderful thing when it works.) Anyway, I’m finally back in and so I wanted to share another story about my rather unassuming and yet, awesome dad. As I was growing up, my dad would take occasions, perhaps a birthday, or, maybe just seeing a deer out in the cornfield, and he would be inspired to write a little poem. He even sent letters in rhyme and just seemed to enjoy the opportunity to turn his thoughts into quiet reflections and newsy notes.  I always thought this was a sweet gesture on dad’s part, but I never understood how much it really meant to him until he was more advanced in age. 

It happened when he was driving my husband and me around our small towns in upstate New York. Dad had lived there his whole life, so he was sharing one story after another. At one point, we were stopped by the river near an old bridge that crossed the Susquehanna. The bridge was no longer in use, but a new bridge had been built next to it. For some reason, the old bridge had never been taken down. My dad told us that when he was a young man and was just dating my mother, that she lived on one side of the bridge, and he lived on the other. My husband asked dad if he had used that old bridge to walk over and see my mother back then. Dad said, “No, I ran!” We couldn’t help smiling thinking of him running across the bridge to see the young girl who would become my mom. It was such a sweet picture. 

On that same trip, dad pointed out the places where some of my family members had once lived. One of those was his grandfather, whom I never met. He told us that at Christmastime, grandpa would gather all the kids in the hallway and make them wait while he put their Christmas gifts on the tree. Dad said he remembered waiting with great anticipation. Oh, they weren’t getting fancy gifts wrapped in sparkling papers, they were getting a gift that was far more personal. It turned out that grandpa wrote a poem for each child and put the child’s name at the top. They were always excited to see what grandpa would say in his poem about them. 

These two stories not only remind me how precious my dad really was, but how much he influenced my life simply by being a kind and generous man, who liked to communicate in poetry. I’ve been writing poems and stories and other things my entire life, and I’m pretty sure, he was my first inspiration. Families express love to one another in very different ways. I would say my dad was always willing to express his heart, even as he watched a bird pecking at the feeder off his porch or noticed the path of a butterfly drifting off toward the horizon. I loved the gifts he shared so often with love.

Happy Father’s Day, a little late, to all of you who bring love and joy and blessing to the children in your lives. 

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The Bible: It’s Greek to Me!

Actually, the Bible is composed of primarily Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, but let’s go on. Translations of the original texts have put the Bible into terms that are more understandable for today’s readers, but that doesn’t mean they actually understand it. In fact, many still find it confusing, difficult, and simply hard to get through. Chances are good that no matter what version of the Bible you read, there are places you find a bit tricky to define. For some, it’s so tricky, they close the book and put it on a shelf.

If I think back to the days when I first began to learn French, I would say that learning a few nouns and verbs wasn’t that difficult, but learning how to speak whole paragraphs was a different matter entirely. So, is it possible that what most of us need is an approach to learning to read the Bible, somewhat like that used to learn a new language? Many books exist on this topic, so you can find a lot of opinions on how to get more out of what you read, but the technique is not what really matters. The intent is what matters. If you have the goal of reading the Bible the same way you might read a great novel, you might put it down before you’re through. If you have the goal to get to know God better, than it won’t be long before you discover Him within the pages of the text. The fact is that if you’re looking for Him, you will find Him. He will guide your thoughts and even when you stumble over parts of it, He’ll reveal more and more of Himself to you through its pages. 

Some would say they are just too busy to read the Bible. It doesn’t seem relevant to them. If I keep a copy of L’Etranger on my bookshelf, it’s doubtful that I’ll ever get to understand who Meursault is. I have to open the book to discover his secrets and know who he is. In some ways, the Bible carries that same mystery. We can feel overwhelmed by it, unsure of what we’re reading, miss the ways that God tries to reveal Himself because we simply don’t get it. Bible readers aren’t smarter than others. They aren’t more adept at figuring things out, but they are curious. They want to know more about God and about Jesus and they’re willing to stick with it until it all makes sense to them.

So, today’s Bible readers simply have to know one thing. They have to start with a desire to connect with God, and to understand all they can about Him. Over time, they build a desire to be more of what He called them to be. I think the best place to start then is with the Gospels. You can stumble along with the disciples of Jesus, until like them, you figure out who the Christ really is. When you do, it will change your life and you’ll want to know more of the backstory. You’ll find it fascinating, courageous and uplifting. You’ll be glad you tried again to figure out the meaning of each and every word. You’ll discover that it’s a book you turn to over and over again because you see something new every time you enter into its pages.

Once you get into the Bible, you simply won’t want to quit, even if you have to turn every sentence inside out to understand it. By the way, this is one book that comes with a Guide. You might know Him as the Holy Spirit.

Happy reading!

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The Story God Gave You

It’s worth noting that God gave each of us a story. In fact, He gave each one of us a blockbuster. Best of all, He did not give us the same story. He varied the plot lines, changed the characters, and structured our tales with twists and turns we might never have imagined possible. After all, He’s a great storyteller.

So, what motivates Him to give us such diverse stories? According to the Psalms, God has always known us. In fact, He knew us before we were knit together in our mother’s womb. He knows the good, bad, and ugly of us. He’s equipped us to be more than we might imagine we could be. He did it all, so we’d share His stories with others and live in joy.

God can sometimes feel like a mystery writer. We don’t always understand what He is doing when our own plans fall through, or our lives take a downward spiral. That’s where prayer comes in. That’s where we learn to acknowledge Him and appreciate the effort He makes to give us a fulfilling life. With appreciation comes love, and with love comes the desire to talk about Him, the same way we talk about our friends and family.  He knows when we tell His stories, those who don’t yet know He’s there, have a better chance of discovering Him.

Your story may be very different from mine, but we have a lot of common plot lines.  No matter who we are or what we do for a living, we fall short of the glory of God. We fall flat on our faces when it comes to sin and loving our neighbors, and we need God’s guidance and faithfulness.

Some of us try to write God out of our story. We imagine we’re too intelligent to believe in a supernatural being.  Others of us are too angry to tell God’s story because we don’t like the way our lives are unfolding.  Even though God often encourages us to write a new chapter, we get stuck in our old story. 

The good news is we can change, and we do change. We can be the hero of our own tale and create a redeemed backstory. We can acknowledge the ways we’ve disappointed God and be grateful for the important part He’s given us to play. With time, we will enjoy each chapter of our lives a little bit more. Happily, we don’t have to read ahead to find out the ending. We don’t have to be perfect to be loved and forgiven. We don’t have to be anything more than what God designed us to be.  He’s already given us a blockbuster, brilliant story to tell.

God has some amazing things to add to your story today. Have fun sharing your tale.

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When Your Soul Dances

Back in the early 80’s, a guy named Teddy Pendergrass recorded a song that simply made your soul dance. He called it “The Gift of Life” and he sang his heart out to God in gratitude for the privilege of life, for the opportunity to simply be born, and be able to love and to give. Pendergrass thanked God for everything, from snow and ice to wind and rain, because he realized what a miracle it is to be able to live. He cherished the moments and the days that define life.

What about us? What would make our hearts soar and our souls dance just to think about it? What might we say is irreplaceable, something we simply couldn’t live without? No doubt we have a long list of loved ones and favorite things we might note, but how often do we pause and give God thanks that we get to exist in this life at all? How often do we stop to realize that we are not here by coincidence or happenstance, but we are here by design?  We are here because we have a purpose and every time we embrace that purpose, the soul within us dances. 

Do you remember a game you may have played as a kid that was some version of “hot and cold?” If you go close to a hidden object that everybody was trying to find, you were told you were getting hotter. If you walked in the wrong direction, you were given a signal to turn around. Something like that is happening all the time within your spirit because God put a measure of Himself inside your soul when you were born. When you move closer to Him and the work He called you to do in the world, you get a flush of joy, a rush of delight, because your soul is dancing. Your soul says, “Yes, you’re getting hotter.” 

If you’ve never felt that confirmation from the Holy Spirit about the work you do, you might ask why. You might wonder if you have walked the wrong way so that your spirit is simply growing colder. IF so, it’s time to turn around, turn back to the One who designed you and has a perfect plan for your life. You’ll know when you are getting warmer because things will fall into place like never before. God’s spirit will go before you and open doors and create paths you didn’t even know were there. You’ll be on the right path and your soul will be dancing.

Whatever you’re doing today, check in with your soul. If you’re not sure what’s happening, it might be time to turn up the music. God has always wanted you to dance.

Blessings to you as you unwrap the many gifts this life has to offer.

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The Light Still Shines in the Darkness

We recently celebrated Easter, the day that reminds us that the Light has overcome the darkness. From the very beginning, God has been trying to show us that He’s there. He took the darkness, that nebulous space without form, and He said, “Let there be light!” He turned the light on so that He could slowly bring the world into view. He set the masterpiece of His creation in the center of all things to perpetuate the light and share His goodness and love.

As spring comes and wakes up nature from its wintry sleep, we might echo along with the writer of Philippians to think about the good things. Think about those things that are true and beautiful and worthy of respect. Think about those things that bring light into the darkness.

You are still the light. Any time you do a good deed, offer a kind word, or give to a favorite charity, the light comes on. Any time you share some measure of love with those around you, you discover there’s more light available to you.

Prayer is a light. Prayer connects you directly with the very Source of all Light. It is eternal light, the kind that can never grow dim. Imagine each time you pray that you are stepping into a floodlight, the beams are so bright you can do nothing but close your eyes. However, even with your eyes closed the Light is stunning and it fills you with warmth and peace. All you have to do is step into it, connect to it, and that light is yours.

Sure, you can look at the dark side. You can read all the newsfeeds that like nothing better than to keep the darkness in front of you. Don’t be fooled though. Don’t think for a moment that the darkness prevails. It does not. It cannot, because at Easter the Light manifested itself in a way that defeated death and darkness. At Easter, we see the fulfillment of all God saw when He declared things to be good. Let’s rise up and keep that light shining forevermore.

 

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Facing the Truth

Humans are not necessarily truth-seekers. Some of us want our opinions to be supported by those we respect and love. We want to have confidence in the things we believe so we can make better choices. The problem is that discovering the truth is actually more difficult than it has ever been. Why? Because we can look up anything on the Internet, that vast network which just turned 40 years old, and look for those things that agree with our opinions. Nothing says we have to want an alternate view. We can say that grass is blue and the sky is green, send pictures of our findings out to the world, and convince some that this is the way things have always been. Grass has always been blue; the sky has always been green. Can’t you see that? After all, you’re allowed to have your truth, right?

So then, what can you do about discovering God’s truth? How can you know what to believe? If we time travel back to the days of Jesus, we might see that there were those who wondered at the guy who could wither a fig tree or get a coin out of a fish’s mouth. Of course, this was the same guy who could pierce their souls with one look and cause them to follow Him forever. This was the guy who knew the truth of them and chose them anyway. He knew they needed help facing reality.

In our current day, we might ask if Shakespeare can write a new book via Artificial Intelligence, that so mimics the great master no one can tell the difference, does that make the AI machine, a true Shakespeare? Would the great bard himself be fooled by the writing? Our own technology is both a boon and a barbarian when it comes to defining truth. With the advent of such handy tools, we might start thinking we can build the Tower of Babel after all. What can stop us? We can discover truth!  Or can we? 

Anything you can discover on the World Wide Web was put there by some other human being. The truth of it may be challenged and probably should be challenged. The thing is, God didn’t need amazing technology to get to you. He made it simple. He put a portion of His Spirit inside your body before you were even born and when you came to Earth, He knew every step you would take. If God knows you so well, wouldn’t it seem prudent to get to know Him a bit better for yourself? The better you know Him, the more you will desire real intelligence. Artificial Intelligence can’t hold a candle to the One who created the universe out of nothing at all. 

May God’s truth reign in your heart and mind today.

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