Foundations

In order to see glory and honor in the Kingdom of God I must first seek glory and honor for the Kingdom of God in my own heart. Meaning, I must worship and sit at the feet of Jesus. This is the one thing that is needed. That time with Him must be the sweetest thing, the highest priority. Then, after training, will come the fruit. He is the vine and we are the branches, without Him we can do nothing.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

Green or ripe?

I suppose I have lots of company in my frustration with how ineffective the church seems to be at spreading the gospel. I have to look at my own life as well, and I don't like what I see there either. Since we have the Holy Spirit in us we should be spreading the truth of Christ readily. My husband thinks I'm idealistic but I have this nagging feeling (not that I base my theology on feelings) that there is SO much more I should be doing, if I could just figure out what that is. The people I work with should see Jesus in me and be drawn to it. I should speak of Him more boldly. Stuff should be happening, but I don't see it.

Jesus said to pray for harvesters, that the fields were ripe. This meant that many want to know God, someone just has to point the way. Boy, I don't see that either. I get the hand in my face when I invite people to church. I get passionate "how can you believe that" arguments back when I speak of Him. Godly ministries are mocked. Am I in the wrong field? Where are all these ripe grains that are ready for plucking?! Apparently they're not in Seattle, or at least not in my immediate area.

Disneyland

A father tells his children he has a surprise for them - they're going to Disneyland! He anticipates joy and excitement peppered with disbelief. "Really?!" he thinks they'll say. "Can we go tomorrow?" But instead the response is full of apprehension. "Are YOU going to buy the plane tickets? How will we get from the airport to the hotel? Which hotel will we stay at? Will you be sure to feed me while we're there? Will my feet get sore from walking all day, and what about sunburn?" On and on the questions fly.

I think sometimes we do the same to our Heavenly Fathers heart. Scripture says the plans he has for us are to prosper us and not to harm us. Yet when the Father tells us he has an adventure for us we often respond with fear - fear of the unknown, fear of lack of control, fear of failure. But if we truly responded to Him with the heart of a child we would have little if any concerns and be overwhelmed with excitement, each day asking "Is it today? Do we get to go today?".

Oh to have this kind of wonder and trust - the heart of a child.

Matt 18:1-5

First shot at a blog

Due to a renewed job search and an interest in a church in LA called Mosaic (http://www.mosaic.org/) I've been evaluating where I might be the most effective as far as vocation. To that end I've been doing a few skill assesments along with some study on my natural strenghts and weaknesses.

One such evaluation, the Kiersy Temperament Test reveals I am an INFP (20% of the population). Being an INFP suggests that, at least by the book, I should have a strong natural ability in the written word. This would be news to both my high school and college English instructors. No matter WHAT I did I got a 'C'. I once had my friend, an English major and gifted writer, write a paper for me (well almost) just to see if I would still get a 'C'. I did. Explain that one. I should mention that even with the C in English I was an honor student. Anyway, I digress.

I actually do enjoy writing but find that I have little time to do it. Instead I spend way to much time composing 5 sentance emails that are barely read. So I figured a blog might be a good way to write more than five sentances and see if I can come up with anything worth reading. If not, I just press delete. No committment. I like that.

End entry one.