She's Alive

There’s a picture circulating on Facebook with an older woman sitting in a lounge chair with a drink in her hand.  The caption says ‘Some days I look back on my life and I’m impressed I’m still alive’.

I represent that…a lot.  

And that old saying ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’?  Yeah, that one too.

I was told once the expression on my face while I sing catches people’s attention.  I can’t help it.  Example:  Amazing Grace is an awesome song but when I start verse three (through many dangers, toils and snares) the smile starts and keeps getting bigger.  If I don’t watch it, I’ll be laughing out loud.  Why?  I’m remembering some of the dumb things I’ve done and how God kept me through them.  

I wasn’t considered wild.  Matter of fact, some would have said I was fairly dull as a youth.  But, there are some who know better (no comments).  I tended to wade into situations where I might not have known everything that was going on.  There were several impulsive side trips on my way home that resulted in 13 point U-turns (in a small car) or coming home wet because I decided to go swimming.

I didn’t think a thing about taking my nieces and nephews to the lake alone.  I would have four kids on a raft in deep water.  I can hear the gasps.  I babysat five kids (18 months to 5; two families) and would drive uptown to the five and dime or walk to the country store about half a mile away.  Me and five little kids.

One time I topped a hill (flying) and two cars were in the middle of the road; the men talking.  Thank God there was an oilfield lease with gravel right there.  I jerked it hard to the left; the car spun around and started to roll.  I was tilted over Gwen’s (friend) head staring that gravel in the face.  I just said ‘Jesus’ and the car settled back down upright.  It blew out a tire and knocked the front out of alignment.  We were late but we made it to church.

One summer, I help my brother-in-law pulp wood.  We were working on a huge tree that was in a gulley and leaning towards the neighbors.  Larry got the cable up as high as he could and started cutting.  I was working the winch from inside the truck staying on the gas and brake to keep the cable tight and bring the tree our direction.  The truck was standing straight up on its back wheels by the time the tree came down (yes, on our side).  We called it a day after that.

‘Some days I look back on my life and I’m impressed I’m still alive’ is not just a saying to me.  I really represent that…a lot.  

The Hidden Talent

Mathew 25:14-30:  ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth…

There are as many reasons for hidden talents as there are people who’ve hidden them.  But, as with the story in the Bible, they all point back to ‘I was afraid’.

I have contemplated this passage many times over the years but would always shy away from bringing it out into the full light of the Holy Spirit.  I was sure I had hidden that one talent and like the man in the story, God was not pleased with me.  Sounds like fear to me.

One of the ways I have been dealing with the fear is by listening to good solid teaching on it. Keith Moore’s series, Free From All Fears, is excellent.  I learn a little more every time I listen to it.  This time, the Holy Spirit touched on the buried talent.  This time, I did not shy away when the He brought it up again.  Surprisingly, it did not play out like I thought it would.

For those who don’t know me, I can sing; get on the stage and belt it out sing.  I play the piano and strum guitar.  I write books (Vendetta & Ghostman) & songs (Get to Living).  I love to teach.  I have so many ideas rolling around in my head, it would make a whirligig dizzy.  So much so, that I have been taken to task over and over and over (ad infinitum) again for not doing something with them.  Hence the sense of the hidden talent.

I have stated before that I don’t care to be famous.  I want the famous people to know who I am.  I have a nephew, Cody Wayne, who is well on his way to being famous, kudos to him.  Still, that’s not my world.

This time when I faced it, the Holy Spirit told me what my talent was.  I do use the single word talent.  Yes, I can do all these other things and for my talent to be in use, I need to be able to.  That’s the kicker.  God has given me these abilities so I can use that talent and to my surprise, I have been.  I just never realized it because I did not recognize the talent. 

Verse 15 in the Amplified says that he gave ‘to each in proportion to his own personal ability’.  God is well aware of the talents He has given us and He has also given us the ability to use those talents; to gain more.  I know, it’s another one of those ‘duh’ statements.  Still, how many of us really believe in the given ability?

This revelation rocked my world.  Happy dance.  

The Challenge 2

It’s hard to believe today is the twenty-first day of 'The Challenge'.  It seems like I just wrote about it and now it’s over.

This is what I wrote in 'The Challenge' blog:

So, this is what I have decided.  I am going to find 21 scriptures that tell me how God sees me and starting June 15, I am going to speak them over myself several times a day; one for each of the 21 days.  If the experts are correct, at the end of the 21 days I should have a God image of myself firmly planted in me.

  

But things went a little differently than I planned.  When I started seeking out the scriptures I would use, these are the some of the ones the Holy Spirit directed me to.

1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:  Jude 1
2. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,  Ephesians 2:4
3. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:24

The re-occurring theme is my view of who God is, what He does.  It surprised me.  I asked why when the whole point was to get a God view of myself.  Answer:  until I have a correct view of God, I will never understand or receive His view of me.  This is one of those things I knew intellectually but had never really meditated on it until it became heart knowledge. 

Jude 1:  God sanctified me, preserved me and called me. 

• Sanctified:  He set me apart for His use.  He cleaned me up.  He did
• Preserved:  He keeps me in perfect or unaltered condition:  He maintains me unchanged.
• Called:  He claimed my time and life—call of duty.

Ephesians 2:4:  Everything He did for me was because He is rich in mercy and loves.

• Because He loved, He gave His most prized possession—His Son
• Because of His mercy, He had the plan set in motion before man was ever created (Revelation 13:8).

1 Thessalonians 5:24:  I can trust Him with my calling and getting it done.

• Faithful:  true to His word, reliable, trusted and/or believable.
• Will do:  deliberate action.

Am I different?  Yeah.  Did I see massive overnight change?  No.  But I do know if you set yourself to seek the face of God, change happens.

So, if you see me wobbling around, remember baby steps.