Words from John

 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  This is my command: Love each other. John 15:1-17 NIV

Resiliency and Taking Care of Oneself

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

I am part of a new team at work for resiliency. Merriam Webster defines resiliency as 1: an ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformed and 2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change. Because of this assignment, I have been doing a lot of research and reading. I am learning about stress cycles. Personal monitoring of one’s own stress response. Making assurances for self-care. Sometimes, in this research if feels like I am being assaulted by buzz words.

Over the weekend, I heard a pearl of wisdom from a friend from high school “You picked the job you have because it came with a great benefits package. Take advantage of those benefits. Take your breaks, go to lunch, use your vacation.  Your company doesn’t expect you to be miserable.” Since Sunday, this has been running through my head on repeat. I wonder how I got to a place where I needed to hear someone say that out loud, “your company doesn’t expect you to be miserable”. Our leaders know that happy people do better work. And they expect us to recharge and renew so that we can be resilient – so that they can get the very best work from us. So why do we feel like the only way to show that we are “good” is to work all the time?

In looking for a quote similar to the pearl of wisdom above I found out that some countries have a national “Leave work on time day”. This initiative is supported by labor secretaries and coalitions for families, and by mental health boards the world over.  And yet, they have to have this day every year. We often need someone to tell us it’s good to have a life outside of our careers. Maybe you have a dynamic leader who not only encourages you to step away from work, but also models that good behavior. Maybe you have a loving spouse, who can tell when you have put in too many hours, and they preserve your personal schedule, or squeeze in time for something you love to do. Maybe you already prioritize your personal life as part of your work schedule. But maybe you are like millions of others who work until it is unenjoyable. Who feel like a break is a sign of weakness. Who fear that someone else will “get ahead” if they step away. Maybe, you have worked so hard to plan your course, they you have gotten out of step with God’s plans and hopes for you.

Prayer: God who knows the fears and dreams deep in our hearts, guide us toward resilience. Help us to rebound from the things that twist and bend us. Give us the courage and strength to take time for the things that bring us joy. Amen.   

Christi Moock   

My Personal Image of Jesus

“When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

When I was a child, my mother hung a picture of Jesus standing by a heavy wooden door with a little lamb cradled in his arms. I would sit on the back of the sofa so I could look Jesus in the eye, and talk to him. I told him everything and I had complete confidence that he heard me and understood how I felt. I had three brothers who often didn’t want to play with me and being a farm family, other children were not close. So I made Jesus my best friend. However, my father was hurt in a farm accident and we sold the farm and moved to Salida, Colorado. Here father healed and after four years we moved to a ranch in southeastern Colorado. It was twenty-five miles to town so at the age of 13, I again felt alone. My oldest brother started dating a Baptist girl who took him to church each Sunday. Mother insisted that he take his siblings, too. The Jesus I met at the Baptist church was very stern and had very strict rules to follow if one were to ever see heaven. Then graduation came and I was off to college. I left the Baptist Jesus behind and did not attend any church.  After college, I accepted a job at the hospital where I had trained as a Med Tech. There I met Noel who was serving a year long internship with the hospital chaplain. The Jesus Noel worshiped was like the Jesus I knew as a child, warm and loving. However, it took almost ten years for my image of Jesus to become a reality. That happened when I finally understood the role of the Holy Spirit. I believe that Jesus was born human but he always knew God had called him to be the person who would bring about God’s new covenant with mankind, i.e., he was to be the sacrificial lamb, without sin, who would offer himself to God for the sins of each of us. Yes, I see Jesus as the person who died so that when I die I will take a seat behind Him and enjoy his fellowship forever. I see Jesus as my traveling companion through life. Jesus is the father who kept me safe as a child and the mother who taught me the meaning of life and how to live it. I am his willing servant. 

Prayer: Thank you for giving us a “thirst” for you and setting us on our journey to claim the prize you made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We recognize that the prize of salvation and companionship was given at a great cost we cannot repay even if required of us. We know and willingly accept our responsibilities as your children. Help us to remain committed to this relationship throughout life. When we stray bring us back: for the only life we want is a life shared with you. Amen.

Noel and Jane DeKalb (reprinted from 2017)

Psalm 33

You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!

It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

Give thanks to the Lord with the harp.

Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument.

Sing to him a new song.

Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.

For the Lord’s decrees are just,

and everything he does is fair.

He promotes equity and justice;

the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.

By the Lord’s decree the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all the starry hosts.

He piles up the water of the sea;

he puts the oceans in storehouses.

Let the whole earth fear the Lord.

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.

For he spoke, and it came into existence.

He issued the decree, and it stood firm.

The Lord frustrates the decisions of the nations;

he nullifies the plans of the peoples.

The Lord’s decisions stand forever;

his plans abide throughout the ages.

How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.

The Lord watches from heaven;

he sees all people.

From the place where he lives he looks carefully

at all the earth’s inhabitants.

He is the one who forms every human heart,

and takes note of all their actions.

No king is delivered by his vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great might.

A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;

despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.

Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,

those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness

by saving their lives from death

and sustaining them during times of famine.

We wait for the Lord;

he is our deliverer and shield.

For our hearts rejoice in him,

for we trust in his holy name.

May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,

For we wait for you. Psalm 33 NET (New English Translation)

Words from the book of Romans

 

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. 

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:22-28 The Message

Restoration

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Recently I read in the paper about the restoration of a hotel in the Haymarket. A new owner had planned to literally gut the building. Everything was to be removed, from floor to ceiling, room by room, all the furniture gone, the carpets, the wiring, the plumbing, the TVs. Staying previously at this well known chain was comforting, all the rooms looked alike (like hotel rooms), the conference area looked like many others in the region, and the restaurant served OK meals conveniently to the residents. But now, a new hotel was promised. Something totally different. Everything will be new with new themes, new suites, and new colors. It is to be something Lincoln has never seen before. 

As I researched restoration in the Bible, I thought of the hotel. But our restoration in Christ is so much more. We are new creations—the old has passed away, and the new has come. We are all unique, special beings, here to serve our Savior with our own individual talents. What a great hope, joy, and purpose has come into our lives and our hearts. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for the opportunity to be a new creation, to be able to serve you and do your will in our lives. Be with us during this Lenten time as we prepare ourselves for your service. Amen

Nancy Hall (reprinted from 2017)

“It might not be perfect, but it’s better than it was”

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

I have often been called an optimist, sometimes even an “eternal optimist”. I believe that most clouds have a silver lining. My cup is nearly always half full. I like to look on the bright side. We all know someone who is a pessimist to a varying degree. For them, every cloud may look like a tornado on the verge of destruction. Their cup may be drained and cracked. And they may never have even heard of the bright side. 

Several years ago I worked with a nurse who used to say, “it might not be perfect, but it’s better than it was”. She used this phrase for an amazingly wide variety of situations. Patients who had surgery and didn’t get 100% recovery, but had improvement. Women who left abusive situations and struggled to make ends meet as single parents. Changes to a workflow or process that didn’t fix ALL the staff complaints but saved time for the end user. 

With our work and life schedules the last few years I have used this phrase to give myself some grace. Dusting the piano. Cleaning out closets. Vacuuming the carpet in the boat every time we take it out. Decorating for the holidays. Weeding the flower bed. The chores and tasks that take time, and that might matter more to the individual doing the work than they do to those experiencing it. Using the phrase “it might not be perfect, but it’s better than it was” has helped with these tasks. Did I get the noxious weeds out of the flower bed but not every single dead leaf? Did I vacuum just the high traffic spots in the boat instead of the whole thing? Did I pull out a piece of damaged clothing for recycling instead of hanging it up when I did the laundry? All of these qualify as “better than it was”. All of these were times where I took action to make it better and gave myself grace from perfection.

Prayer: Loving God, there are so many times when things are better but not perfect. Help us to appreciate the victories. If we spend our lives waiting for perfection or only recognizing those infrequent moments when we achieve it, we will be greatly disappointed. Thank you for giving us the grace to be human. Amen. 

Christi Moock