Is There Rest for the Weary?

 Brandon Clements, pastor of Midtown Fellowship in Columbia, S.C., says there is. I love the analogy he uses in his post "Christian, Why You Are Exhausted," which he, in turn, borrowed from a book by Chip and Dan Heath.* They say  the mind (or will) is a rider on an elephant (the emotions). Are you having trouble controlling your elephant?  Read on! You'll find hope, and yes, rest! 

http://www.dearbiblebelt.com/why-you-are-exhausted/

Illustration from, Switch

*The book is Switch.

Just Ten Things (Everyday with God)

(And Book Giveaway!)

We're home from vacation, and I'm getting back to my usual morning routine.

I get up when my alarm clock, er, the dog, wakes me; Grab a cuppa and sit outside and soak in my vitamin D3 while my doggie does his stuff; pick up after said doggie (on a good day); and then, the best part?

Talk to God.

Most days I have my daily devotional with me and I read that first, and then talk to God (Some call this PRAYER. I try to keep the line open so it's a conversation.) One of my favorite ways to start that dialogue is by thanking God for at least ten things.

My journal is another vehicle for a good list of "just ten things" (to be thankful for). Have you tried thankfulness as a discipline in your life? It is such a good exercise for increasing your sense of well-being. If NOTHING else changes, no matter what you're going through, the exercise of gratitude in itself is a game-changer.

Below is my list of ten from this morning.(Some days I want to go on for 20 or more. It's amazing that when you choose to be grateful you begin to realize you have incredible blessings to be grateful for.) If you do this exercise often, you will slowly start to live with an attitude of gratitude. Take it from me: a reformed worrier.

Are you a pessimist? Counting your blessings should be a mandatory routine! Gratitude leads to praise, and the Bible tells us that "The Lord is present in the praises of His people." Think about that: the Lord is present in praise! (Psalm 22:3)

"Draw near to me," says God, "and I will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

Don't know about you, but I'll take that any day.

JUST TEN THINGS

1. This beautiful, not-too-hot morning, with a clear sky.

2. The yard work that's been done (yay). (The yard work that WILL get done, yet!)

3. My family, despite the work a family requires.

4. My puppy, Ruffles. (More work, but more joy.)

5. Our country, which is still a better place than so many other spots on the globe.

6. Our recent vacation to the Smokies, and the wonderful homes of dear friends.

7. Dear friends.

8. Our church and it's leadership; our small group.

9. The work the Lord continues to do in me.

10. Life, breath, and the honor and capacity to commune with my Creator God!

What's on your list, today?

Leave a comment and share your top two with me and I'll choose one commenter to win a free book. It'll be your choice of one of my books (autographed to you, if you like) or a different Christian fiction read of my choice that I'm sure you'll love.

Don't forget to leave your email in a form such as this: Linore (at) LinoreBurkard (dot) com, so I can get in touch with you if you win!

Comments accepted through August 7th!

Zoom Out
(reprinted from the CAN blog --Christian Authors' Network)

For many, 2009 has been a tough year. Very tough. I've watched friends lose their homes, battle horrible illnesses, lose a loved one in tragic accidents, have financial setbacks. My family has endured its share of hardships as well. But, I want to talk about zooming out this season, because this is a time when we tend to focus on hope and God's promise that came in the form of his Son.

When we're trying to find a place on a Google map, we zoom in and check out the nearby streets, so we know how many blocks to go before we have to turn left. But, with the focus so tuned in, we often have no clue where we are, relative to where we are going. We have to zoom way out to establish our location in the bigger locale--and once we see the freeways and neighborhoods printed on the map, we relax, knowing exactly where we are.

I propose that zooming out is the antidote to succumbing to despair when hard times overtake us. Some call it looking at the bigger picture. But I like this image of a map, because we can often recognize small landmarks around us--familiar stores and parks and such--but can't put them in perspective with the world at large. Those of us who know God's purpose for humanity and the hope He holds out to us have this magical "zoom" button at our fingertips. Anytime we want, we can just click on it and voila! We've pulled way back to a God's-eye view of our lives. The problem is--we often forget that little button is there.

What happens when we zoom out? We see things from God's perspective, from his sweeping view of time playing out over the ages. We understand a thousand years is only a day to the Lord, and as a watch in the night. Psalm 30:5 says "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Jesus is our promised morning star, the daystar that rises in our hearts. Why are we told this? Because the promise of the morning star is the promise of a new day dawning. God used a star to lead the way to the infant Christ And so, in this season, we need to remember the promise of this star, which is foretold to rise in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19). The Bible speaks of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). Do we ever really ponder this mysterious and precious gift--that Christ resides in our hearts--which is the promise of hope, a promise of glory.

So, as we weather more hard times to come--for there will surely be more--let's remember to zoom out. See things from God's view of time. Know that this "slight affliction" will pass and one day we will be with Christ and see him face-to-face. We are told to hang on to this hope, this anchor for our souls. May we be ever joyful in the midst of pain and sorrow, for the joy of the Lord IS our strength.

This article is reprinted from the CAN blog (Christian Authors Network).

E.M.Bounds: On Prayer

The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier
the forces against evil everywhere.

Prayer, in one phase of its operation, is a disinfectant and a preventive. It purifies the air;
it destroys the contagion of evil. Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence.

It is a voice which goes inot God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas,
as long as God's heart is alive to holy things.

God shapes the world by prayer.

E.M.Bounds (1835-1913)
Author of numerous books on prayer, here is one that is free online.

Deep Thanks

With Thanksgiving coming this week, it's the perfect time to remember the blessings of life.
We serve such an awesome God and He gives us so much.
One of my pastor's recent sermons was about deep thanks, and how a Christian living in the light of Christ's sacrifice could never be without cause for thanksgiving.

In a very real sense, our degree of thankfulness is a thermostat to how "in touch" we are with God's judgment, which necessarily entails sentencing. If we know the judgment (that we are guilty, in one way or another) and we know the sentence: eternal damnation--it makes us eternally grateful (yes, thankful) for Christ's sacrifice for us. We are spared the judgment, the sentence, the very wrath of God.

Instead of trying to say in this short piece what he put so well in a sermon, I give you a link to hear Rob Turner, a Senior Pastor at Apex Community ( "A Gathering of Churches") here.

Give the subject just a few minutes of deep thought--and you too, will find yourself in a spirit of deep thanks.
Warmest Blessings,

Linore

People Before Things

Who would have thought I'd find a lesson in my re-reading of Sense and Sensibility that actually dove-tails with themes the Lord has been keeping me focused on lately? Specifically, the importance of being a Mary in a Martha world. (If you scroll down, you'll see a few posts on this theme.)

In chapter six of S&S, just after we have been introduced to Lady Middleton, whose shortcoming is that despite being elegant and well-mannered, she is devoid of intelligent conversation, Austen says,

"Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the elegance of her table and of all her domestic arrangements, and from this kind of vanity was her greatest enjoyment in any of their parties."

Austen's point here is that Lady Middleton is wholly occupied, entertained, and concerned with the appearance and quality of her table--rather than the people surrounding it.
With her usual brilliance, JA recognizes that this is vanity.

We women love to rationalize our occupation with appearances, the beauty of our house, our cooking, as simply trying to do our best. We put pride in what we provide for our family, and in the way we take pains to decorate. This is natural and even necessary--to a degree.
Go beyond that degree, however, and it borders on nothing less than vanity.

There are times when I have been so worried about the appearance of my home that I have made the rest of the family miserable! Talk about getting priorities out of order--I get them completely backwards at times.

There's a magnet I've seen that sort of sums it up. It says: People Before Things.
It's also a good way to check my priorities from time to time. I ask myself, "Am I spending my time and effort more on people or on things? (the house, the shopping, myself, my goals, even my books)? Jesus' focus was always on people, not things. And he certainly has the right to expect us to put Him first--for he is not just "people", not just a person, but very God!

How about you? What makes it most difficult for you to put Him first, or to put "people before things" in your life?

What A Relief!

I love this statement:

"If the Lord is your Shepherd, that means that you belong to Him and you’re His responsibility. Whatever desperate, dire strait you may find yourself in, it is His job to care for you, so let Him be your Shepherd."
(Nancy Leigh DeMoss)


I don't know about you, but I often seem to get myself backed up into corners, where time is short, but my responsibilities are huge. I don't know whether it's because I have an ongoing, insatiable need for drama in my life that I manage to get myself into that same sort of "dire strait," (only with different circumstances) again and again. As an author, I try to divert that dramatic turn in my personality into stories in my books. But somehow I still seem to create circumstances where I have a great deal to do, or write, or organize, with little time to do it.
Oh, I had time enough--but somehow I frittered it away, with other 'worthy' endeavours, and now the thing I must do, is pressing on me.

Like a little lamb, I feel like I have wandered and got myself lost. What a relief to recall that I belong to the Good Shepherd, and that "it is his job to take care of me," and I can consciously choose to place myself into His care, and mercy, and grace.

I am consciously doing that today.

How about you?


"YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME." psalm 23:4

How’s Your Self-Respect, Lately?

“A kindhearted woman gains respect.” Pro.11:16a

Ever feel like you’re not getting the respect you deserve? Some moms feel this way routinely, but lots of people suffer the “lack of respect” syndrome, from comedian Rodney Dangerfield to the biggest celebrities, to YOU. Are you frantically trying to “be more,” “do more” “be better” to gain respect?

What do you do when it feels like you’re giving your life in service to others and not getting the respect you deserve?

Here’s a few suggestions: (from one who’s been there, done that. I’ve got five kids, a hubby, and a writing career, so I know the temptation to feel unrecognized.)

1. Remember that Jesus Christ, our role model, did not get the respect he deserved while on earth. If God himself in Christ endured disrespect, then we should not be surprised that we will face it too. In addition, if HE could take it willingly, so can we. This doesn't mean you should be a doormat, or let people walk all over you. The apostle Paul always stood up for his legal and civil rights. It just means that if your work and calling are not properly recognized, that is no reason to lose hope or abandon the tasks.

2. Give yourself the respect you deserve and stop looking to get it from others. Here’s a trick: Ask yourself how it would FEEL to be properly respected. Really try to imagine this FEELING. Then, go ahead and allow yourself to continue feeling it. When you give to yourself what you need, you will not waste precious time and energy seeking it elsewhere. God provides us with good reasons to be proud of our lives. Mothering, being a wife, a godly friend, a godly employee; using your God-given talents and gifts–all are reasons for self-respect. But how often do you stop and really soak it in when you do a job well? Take a minute every day, if possible, to RESPECT your jobs well done. Ironically, if you do this, and truly respect yourself first, the world will be more likely to follow your lead and respect you, too!

3. Be Kindhearted. Just as Proverbs 11:16 says, a “kindhearted woman gains respect.” So be kind to yourself as well as others. What does it mean to be kindhearted? It means your ACTIONS are kind. That you are a forgiving person. (It isn’t kind to hold a grudge.) It isn’t kind to put yourself down. If your heart is kind, then your mouth will SPEAK kind things. It’s not enough to mean well, either. Don’t say, “Well, I didn’t MEAN to hurt that person by what I said.” Determine to be kind-hearted, in word and deeds.

If you recognize a need to grow in kind-heartedness, ask God to help you. He is the “author and finisher of our faith.” He will help you grow in this area! Respect, from yourself, and from others, will follow. The knowledge that you are doing what God has called you to do, will be enough.

Dear Lord, Help me to find my self-respect in You, first and foremost. Teach me to receive the grace and kindheartedness that will open my heart to my own self-worth in your sight, as well as enable me to be kindhearted in my dealings with others. Grant me self-respect; and grant that I might grow in lovingkindness and good deeds, as you have foreordained for me. You are the Author and finisher of my faith. In Christ’s Name, I pray. Amen.

by Linore Rose Burkard. copyright 2008 Linore Rose Burkard. http://www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com