by Alaina | Jul 25, 2021 | Sunday Scripture
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked?”
Genesis 3:11a
I aspire to keep a tidy home and, while I don’t aspire to minimalism in its purest sense, I do love the thought of being a minimalist. I have been in homes of people who are minimalists and there is definitely something freeing about not being encumbered by lots of “stuff.” I love seeing the surfaces uncluttered by paraphernalia. The openness is restful. I say this, but in my heart I still like having my stuff. I like knowing that I have a few extras of things on hand and not just what I absolutely need. I had plenty of toilet paper on hand at the outbreak of COVID19!
Somewhere along the line though, I took this to a little bit of an extreme. While acknowledging that I would never be a total minimalist I still started to act like I was. Let me explain—I would go through rooms decluttering and purging items, but not quite as ruthlessly as if I was all-in on the minimalism idea. I started feeling guilty that I had more things than a minimalist—even though being a minimalist wasn’t my goal!
This came to light when I was going through some of my grandmother’s jewelry. She didn’t need or want much jewelry so she gave a lot of pieces to me. I’m not talking pure gold and silver jewelry but costume jewelry—hardly worth anything monetarily, but a lot of the pieces could be considered vintage and are becoming current; they could be cute paired with the right outfit! That is the keyword—could. I might not wear them. I don’t wear much jewelry, but then again, I might. And they were grandma’s. . . I don’t want to be hampered by stuff and she was never sentimental. She would not want me to keep it if I didn’t really want it. I felt like I should get rid of some of the pieces, but I was afraid I might regret it.
There was a lot of energy going into the decision of whether to keep or get rid of some of the items that take up no more room than a Ziploc baggie. Finally it dawned on me—I didn’t have to get rid of it. It was okay to keep a few pieces that didn’t bring me joy if it made me feel lighter over the decision of keeping them than I did about getting rid of them just to be freed of “stuff.” It was almost like I heard someone whisper in my ear, “Who told you that you had to be a minimalist?” I realize this is a rather silly example, and a first world problem at best but it led to an important realization for me.
Where have we heard those words before, “Who told you?” In the third chapter Genesis in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve are hiding their nakedness and trying to hide from God, God asks them why they are hiding. They reply that it is because they are naked. God then asks who it was that told them they were naked. It was Satan who had lured them to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and it was through eating of the fruit that they discovered they were naked. Whose voice did they listen to?
Whose voice have you listened to saying you needed to be thinner, smarter, faster—or you needed to do this or that—fill in the blank! Many things in life are neutral and having stuff is neutral—neither good nor bad as long as we do not place undo worth in the things themselves. Taking care of our bodies is important and certain things we do need to do but we must be careful to discern whose voice we listen to. Yes we should always be reaching, stretching and learning and we should be praying and doing the things that God’s Word commands us to do. If we are doing what God wants us to do, does the other stuff really matter? In the grand scheme of things very little from this earth will matter and none of our stuff can we take with us when we leave this earth. It is not what we hear from this world that is important—it is what we learn from God’s Word that is most important. It is what God says that matters. We are to look to Him, lean on Him and trust Him.
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by Alaina | Jul 18, 2021 | Sunday Scripture
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel 36:27 NIV
I grew up attending that kind of little church in the middle of nowhere. You know the one . . . it’s the type of church that is in every book about a small town which no one really thinks exists. It was a great church but the congregation was very, very small! So small in fact that we would have one service in the morning and would combine with a sister church for a second service in the evening.
The church we went to in the evening was still small by most standards but seemed considerably larger to me than our “morning church”. I think this church would be a bit of a culture shock for anyone used to today’s contemporary services without hymnals, and where the services clipps along at a predetermined pace. Not at this church. We would grab hymnals and sing, not to a fancy worship band but to the sound of the piano, a guitar or two, a violin, a couple of mandolins, and perhaps a flute—whatever instrument anyone could play would sound forth from the front pews of the church!
After singing there was prayer—and this is not the staid prayer of many churches. No, this was a vast chorus of many different voices praying out loud until the prayer leader said amen. Sometimes there was no time for preaching as people would be at the altar praying as burdens were heavy. (This is when the service timeline might go off the rails.) Oftentimes we would be invited to testify—to share what God was doing in their lives. People would testify how money for a bill had miraculously appeared; about a medical threat could no longer be found; how this prayer or that prayer had been answered. One person would finish and another would pop up—not every week—some weeks were quiet with one or two people sharing and other weeks the preaching part of the service would be skipped entirely as everyone had so much praise to offer! You simply cannot cut people off who are praising God and sharing what He is doing in their life! On those occasions our Pastor would say he simply could not top that! I don’t know why churches don’t do this today.
There were some saintly elderly people in the congregation and they are the ones I remember and miss the most. We might be in the testifying part of the service, if they felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they didn’t hold back! They would stand and shout, “Glory to God!” One of the older gentlemen would run a lap or two around the church shouting, “Praise and Glory to God, well I say Hallelujah!” These people were filled with the Holy Spirit!
I know these things might sound a little odd when compared to most church services these days—and if you don’t currently attend church and this sounds a little fanatical, please don’t let this dissuade you—most churches are not like this. I share this to say let us not become so attached to our schedules and what is expected that we don’t leave room for the Holy Spirit to work.
This is not just for church and the church services. What other times in your life does the Holy Spirit prompt you to do something? Do you need to share a hard time that you went through with another Christian to encourage them? Do you need to step out and invite someone to church for the first time? These things can be scary and uncomfortable but sharing the faith is what Christian life is all about. It doesn’t have to be something big, but the next time you feel an overwhelming impulse to share something with someone and you don’t feel like the thought came from you—do it! You never know how it could change someone’s life and impact them for years to come!
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by Alaina | Jul 11, 2021 | Sunday Scripture
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, our Heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:14 NIV
A couple years ago I had this . . . situation. There was this individual, let’s just call this individual Sue, who I initially liked. Situations aligned and Sue was able to help me out with a project and in return I was able to teach her a new skill. It seemed like a godsend situation—until it didn’t. I saw a whole different side to Sue than I had previously seen, and I didn’t like it. I tried being patient. I had given her second chance after second chance. I tried to be loving yet firm. It didn’t matter, Sue’s actions didn’t change.
Eventually things got unbearable and we decided to go our separate ways—no hurt feelings. Except that mine were hurt. By all accounts, Sue had not treated me right: she knew it and I knew it. This was one of those times in life when we are wronged and have done nothing to deserve it. I told myself, my husband, and my mom that I had simply seen a different side to Sue’s personality and had no desire to continue the friendship we previously shared. And, no, I wasn’t bitter and, yes, I forgave her for the way she wronged me. But my actions spoke otherwise.
As I said, we went our separate ways but when I would see Sue, I staved off conversations with a quick wave and smile before turning and making a graceful exit. When it looked like she was going to come over and join a conversation, I would step closer to whoever I was talking to, making it look like we were in an engrossing conversation and we shouldn’t be bothered. It worked. I successfully avoided Sue in a friendly manner for months and had myself convinced that I was okay. I ignored the flood of angry emotions that boiled to the surface when she came to mind.
Ignoring or barely tolerating a person is not forgiveness. Forgiveness is being able to truly love that person again.
A few months later I was sitting in church, I don’t remember what the sermon was on, but a still small voice said in my ear, “What if you are the only Jesus they ever see?” I knew who the “they” was. Sue had been going through a long rough patch. Life hadn’t been easy for her, and I knew she had been struggling for a while. She kept waiting for the one thing that would change everything for her. Funny isn’t it? We wait for the “one thing” to happen that will change everything and we forget that it is the Creator Of All Things who is the only one who can change anything. What if I was the only example of Jesus that Sue had in her life at this time? Would I let my bitterness get in the way?
I believe the Holy Spirit was prompting me but I told myself I had just imagined it. (Never mind the fact that there was no way I would have come up with that thought regarding Sue on my own!) So now I was stuck. I was supposed to take action. I was supposed to reach out to her. I thought it would be weird to call or to text her out of the blue. It would be even weirder, not to mention awkward, to invite her over for dinner. (Oh the lies we tell ourselves!) Then I looked out my window and saw my blueberry bushes—they were brimming with big, juicy berries that desperately needed picking—and I got an idea! Blueberries are Sue’s absolute favorite food so I asked her if she wanted to come pick blueberries with me. She said yes. We moved on. I forgave.
Not too long after that she moved away. If I had ignored the Holy Spirit’s prompting or procrastinated for much longer, I would have deprived myself from being able to forgive Sue. Forgiving her wasn’t just about her. It had been about me too. I’m not sure she even realized the depth to which I felt she had hurt and wronged me. But I knew. And it had been festering. Typically, I am not slow to forgive—I have a short memory and often times can’t even remember why I was hurt or angry! This time though, it was a struggle. If I was or ever will be the only example of Jesus that someone sees, I sure do not want them thinking that Jesus is a bitter God who is slow to forgive. I want them to see the Jesus that I willingly serve, who is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, especially to me.
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by Alaina | Jul 4, 2021 | Grace Notes, Sunday Scripture
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm . . .
Deut. 5:15
Happy Independence Day! In America it is the 245th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when what was to become America first made her break with England. I love the 4th of July holiday. I know—I realize I love just about every holiday, but Independence Day is especially special to me.
Growing up I loved reading historical fiction and my favorite was always the historical fiction set at the time of the Revolutionary War. There is just something dashing and romantic about a nation coming into being, something about 13 little undeveloped colonies saying they believe in their freedom and independence so much that they were willing to sacrifice all they held dear, to take on the strongest nation in the world, for the chance—a slim chance—of having total freedom, both religious and financial.
We largely ignore how close to complete defeat we were for most of the Revolutionary War. We barely made it. There were many, many times when the colonists gained a victory not through their own strength, but rather through acts of God, when nature would cooperate at just the right time and just long enough for the colonists to escape, or just long enough to set up armaments before the British would realize what was happening.
There are so many things that should not have aligned but for divine intervention. God used those 56 men who were willing to sacrifice everything to birth this nation. They committed high treason. If they had been caught by the British, they were dead men. Still they willingly forged ahead, debating and negotiating among themselves for days on end, culminating in the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document that would go down in history as one of the most pivotal documents of all time. How intelligent and brave these men were!
This Independence Day, let’s pause and remember what these ordinary men, that God used in an extraordinary way, did and thank God for this great nation and for the blessings He has bestowed upon her. If America would like to remain a great nation, America must remember her great God, for there is no freedom but through Him.
by Alaina | Jun 27, 2021 | Sunday Scripture
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Philippians 4:12
Contentment- it is harder than learning patience! I fought against anything having to do with contentment for a while because in my mind contentment equaled complacency and I didn’t want to be complacent. As if. There was very little chance of this happening as my natural tendency is quite the opposite direction of complacency! I needed to learn the secret of being content.
There was a seemingly never ending stretch in my work life in which I was very unhappy. Like absolutely miserable. I was unhappy with the work I was doing, unhappy with the amount of money I was making, unhappy with the hours it was necessary for me to work. I thought if I just had a 9-5 job and didn’t have to work evenings anymore I would be so happy. I thought if I could make just a little more money every paycheck that would help out so much. I thought, I thought, I thought…. Now intellectually I knew that things would not make me happier. More money is always nice but all of my needs, and many of my wants, were met. So I knew that this stuff wouldn’t make me content, but I wanted it anyway.
Fast forward a few years and my situation has changed, I have a job that I love, I work hours that I like, and yes the money could still be more, but I have come to fully appreciate that it always can be more. I am happy in my day to day life while still wanting more eventually, but God has taught me, and I’m sure will continue to teach me, how desiring to grow and do more in life mustn’t steal the joy from our everyday life.
I was sitting in church a few weeks ago and our Pastor mentioned a verse that I have heard many times but this time I had a perspective shift. The verse is Philippians 4:12, Paul is writing and he says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Now I had always looked at this verse as Paul saying he had learned how to be content in having nothing after he had been used to living in plenty. But I don’t think that that is all this verse is saying. In fact if you take out that little section in the commas it would read, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want.” He had learned to be content living in plenty. He had learned. He wasn’t content because he had plenty. He still had to learn to be content while having plenty. This is the thing about plenty, the more you have, the more you realize you could have. The desire for more doesn’t turn off once we have more than we once did. It’s a job, a process, something we have to invite the Lord into our hearts to fix. Because the desire for more was planted within us by Him, we are filled with a desire for another world, and so often we try to fill that desire with things of this world. C.S Lewis said it well, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” The desire for more is a craving only He can satisfy.
This doesn’t mean we don’t ever desire more, but I think it means that even while desiring more we still are grateful for everything we have now. When we focus first on Him, our priorities will fall into place. He will fill up our hearts with contentment when we remember to focus on what, and Who, matters most.
by Alaina | Jun 20, 2021 | Sunday Scripture
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25
Today is Father’s Day. Two years ago on Father’s Day was the last time I would ever see my grandfather on this side of heaven. My mother called me two days later and told me the news—Grandpa was dead. He died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 92 ½, just a few days after being at the doctor and being told he had a clean bill of health. There isn’t much more we could have asked for . . . only a few more days would have been nice. Then a few more, and a few more, always just a few more. An infinite timeline is what we would have asked for. It was not to be.
I remember the impact of those words, “Grandpa died,” as they hit my ears. I remember being surprised at a small and sudden sense of relief—one of the days I had been dreading for years had arrived, and I was still alive! This was instantaneously followed by the realization that now I would have to live the reality of my grandfather’s death. Up until then I had lived in the “before”, before my world changed. We had been in the “while”—while grandpa was still alive. From now on we would live in the “after”; after I lost one of the people whom I loved most on this earth.
The thought crossed my mind that I didn’t want to love anyone ever again and thus spare myself the terrible pain I was then experiencing. The feeling of wanting to shut myself off passed pretty quickly but still there lingered the fact that my life as it had been, whole, with the people I dearly loved had started to be dismantled. My world had felt pretty much whole before his dying, and now there was a gaping hole. And I knew this was just the beginning, that one-by-one more and more of the people I love would leave this life and enter the next, leaving me behind. I had already lost a dear neighbor, and two uncles, and now Grandpa. Life wouldn’t be the same.
As I reflected that life would go on like this, with more and more people stepping out of this life and into the next, it occurred to me that maybe I was looking at it backwards. Perhaps the purpose of life is not to start whole and strive to keep as close to one piece as possible, but rather maybe life is about giving away as much of ourselves as possible, like Jesus did.
He came whole and unblemished to this world. He grew up, from a babe, to a child to a man. Then he started dismantling his life. He left his family and carpentry and started traveling around teaching. He gave himself to the masses: teaching, preaching, praying, healing, and helping people—ultimately sacrificing himself for us, to save our souls, as he died on that crude cross. Aren’t we supposes to be like that?
Maybe we are to be like the flowers of the field in more than one respect. Maybe besides trusting God to provide for our needs, we should live our lives like a dandelion. We arrive on earth bright and full with many little petals all fresh and pure. Then, with every person we love, that we welcome into our hearts, we are in essence tearing off a petal and giving it away. The goal is not to stay a bright flower but to end up the bald little dandelion head at the end of our lives; having loved, and been loved, and giving as much of ourselves to people as possible, to as many people as possible, so that they may come to know the love of Jesus that we bask in as Christians. God, who loved us so much that He gave His Son for us, what purer love can there be. Perhaps life isn’t at all about ending up whole at the end of our lives, but rather about ending up empty, having given away every part of ourselves that we could, knowing we have done all that we could for others and for Him.
