Being Consistent

On our family trip to Hawaii last year, our children were allowed to pick out souvenirs at a few places we visited. At one stop, my son chose a lucky cat {much like the picture above}. When the sun hits the cat, its paw waves up and down with a slight clicking sound.

Every morning, when I open the curtains in his room and the morning sunlight falls on his cat figure, the clicking and waving immediately begin and they continue until the sun moves and the cat is covered in shadow.

This daily routine and noise caused me to think about being consistent in aspects of life. Consistency is a trait that seems to be falling away. People have so many pulls on their attention and time that they have trouble being consistent, especially in areas where it matters.

I freely admit that this is a struggle for me at times. Consistency requires time, effort, and a conscious drive to do what we know we should do, not only what we feel like doing.

Bible reading

We know we should and yet…it’s difficult to consistently open God’s Word and read it. Why? Maybe we find it boring. Maybe we believe there’s nothing new to understand. Maybe we don’t make it a priority so it naturally gets squeezed out of our routine.

None of these are valid excuses. The old adage “You make time for what’s important to you” is very accurate here. If we love the Bible, if we hunger to know God better, we will certainly prioritize time reading the Bible. But we have to decide and commit to consistently be in the Word.

I prefer to read a physical copy for my daily devotions but if I know it’s going to be a crazy day, I listen to the Bible on my phone while doing my makeup, washing dishes, etc. However it works for you, do it!

Prayer

One of the hardest things for me is prayer. Not because it’s difficult but because I get so wrapped up in other things or worry that I just don’t think about it. Until I’m convicted that I’ve been trying to solve the problem on my own instead of laying it before God.

Having a consistent prayer life is important for every Christian. Not because it gives us a step up in bragging rights or eternal glory but because we are coming before our Creator and he hears us! Our worries, requests, hardships, questions, praise all matter to him and he welcomes us into fellowship with himself. We should be clamoring to spend time in prayer!

Consistently talking with our Lord strengthens our faith, teaches us to rely on him, and helps us grow in our Christian walk.

Discipline

Until you’ve told a child to stop a certain behavior several times in one morning, you might not realize what a struggle for consistency this is. It’s easy to think we’ve said no enough, we’ve sent them to their rooms enough, they’ve been punished enough. But if your children are still struggling with that sinful habit, we must keep being consistent in how we deal with it.

I’m not telling you how to discipline your kids here, although I certainly have thoughts on it. I’m telling you being consistent in dealing with sin is an important part of discipline in general. If we correct our children for throwing a fit up until the tenth time then let them go because we’re tired of dealing with it, they will always persist until that tenth time because they have learned you can be worn down and then they get what they want.

kindness

This shouldn’t need to be said but we are sinful people living with and among other sinful people and sometimes we snap! I have found being kind, compassionate, nice, etc. are not taken as the norm. In fact, in some situations, smiling and speaking kindly stand out as a rare thing. Think of moments where frustrations, tempers, and attitudes tend to run high. Now imagine being the person working in that environment, where everyday people are yelling, glaring, or upset with you but you can’t always solve the problem {I’m thinking of customer service and flight representatives, hotel staff, but I’m sure there are others}.

Most of these interactions will probably be the only time you’ll speak to the people in question, but if we choose to just be kind consistently, it will be easier to default to that attitude when we might be tempted to blow up. And of course this applies to family, coworkers, friends, and people we see on a regular basis.

Every morning, that clicking, waving cat greets me and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. But every morning I’m reminded why being consistent in my Christian life matters.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Week One in Proverbs

I’ve been reading a chapter of Proverbs a day for a week now and I have thoughts.

Let me begin by saying that no overview is ever going to be exhaustive. On several days, I read the previous chapters again because in reading chapter two, I was reminded of something from chapter one and chapter five started similarly to chapter four. I will be learning and noticing things from this book every time I read it. But here are a few observations from the first seven chapters.

• Chapter one opens with why we read Proverbs in the first place: to know, to perceive, to receive, to give, to hear, to attain, to understand. All these words are connected to words used for wisdom: wisdom & instruction, understanding, instruction of wisdom, prudence, increase learning, wise counsel, proverb, words of the wise.

• We also see the reverse of being wise — listening to the enticements of sinners {v10} and the consequences of that action {vv11-19}.

• Chapter two begins with the same call to wisdom with an “If…then…” statement that runs from verse 1-5.

• In 2:21-22 we see good and evil contrasted. We will see more of these contrasts in coming chapters!

• We are very familiar with 3:5-6. It is often memorized and quoted. But I loved connecting it with vv7-8. Part of trusting God and not leaning on our understanding {v5} is humility, meaning we shouldn’t consider ourselves wise {v7}. By acknowledging him and follow his path {v6} we gain strength and health {v8}.

• Again we see the contrast in good and evil {3:33-35}.

• Chapter four ends with a lengthy reminder that choosing wisdom over foolishness is a definite action. We can’t be passive in seeking wisdom, because wisdom will cover every aspect of life. Read 4:23-27 and note the actions mentioned for how we should seek wisdom and abandon evil.

• I had to chuckle at the repeated tone of, “Listen, my son, hear me, children” in so many of these chapters. what parent isn’t constantly reminding their children to pay attention! Listen! This is important! It’s very relatable. But also shows how much we need to actively seek after wisdom! We won’t stumble onto the right path any easier than children making good choices without prompting, reminders, and encouragements.

• I found 5:21 to be an encouragement in our present day when wickedness and sinful people seem to be winning. Have courage, Christian. God sees, God knows the ways of all people.

• We see two physical examples here that we can observe. First, the ant, diligently carrying food and storing it {vv6-8}. Second, the picture of fire and what happens when you carry it {vv27-29}. Just as it is impossible to not be burned, so is it impossible to sin — particularly in adultery — without physical consequences.

• Chapter seven is a sad picture of how easily and quickly sin can overtake us. Just like a harlot, sin looks appealing, maybe even like something we could get away with. But the end result is always a tragedy. It always leads to death.

This is just scratching the surface of what I learned and observed in my readings this week. There are certainly more points I could write out but these stood out to me.

If you haven’t been reading along, please consider joining! We are only one week in and it’s not too late to grab a Bible, open a Bible app, and start reading {or listening} to one chapter of Proverbs a day.

What are some of your takeaways from this week? I’d love to read in the comments!

Photo by Tomoko Uji on Unsplash

Stay Encouraged in Bible Study

I wrote previously on the similarities between Bible study and working a puzzle. But with more puzzling and more studying, I have continued to think about this. :) I realize people have different methods and habits when it comes to puzzling and Bible study. But here are some observations and tips I have found helpful, in both habits.

Beginning

Whenever we start a new puzzle, my kids are all excitement…until I insist on picking out the edge and corner pieces and turning every piece so the correct side shows. They quickly lose interest and disperse to other activities, leaving me to sort through 1000 pieces on my own.

When my son asked why we always begin a puzzle this way, I told him it makes the process of working the puzzle easier. Having the frame set before you tackle the actual picture of the puzzle is helpful because 1) you clearly see how large the puzzle will be, 2) you can begin to see where the inside parts of the puzzle will connect, 3) the picture starts to make sense.

A few times, my kids have started working the middle of the puzzle before the edges are put together and it is rough! The picture on the box gives us a reference of what we’re going for but without the borders, we have no overall vision for size or placement.

In a similar way, when we approach Bible study by choosing our favorite verse and reading it multiple times, we are bound to not understand it completely. We need the context of the surrounding verses, the chapter, the book. By skipping this crucial step that might not seem important, we are making it more difficult and frustrating to get to the meat of the passage and what it’s about.

Let’s consider the book of Ruth. I’ve seen on walls and wedding announcements and everything in between, “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” {Ruth 1:16b} Now, this is a lovely sentiment and one I agree with BUT Ruth is speaking these words to Naomi, her mother in law and not her future husband {she hadn’t met Boaz at this point in her life and had no idea what was coming. But she was demonstrating a loyalty to her deceased husband’s mother and to the Lord}.

Without looking at the context of the first chapter, we can easily be confused about who is actually talking to whom. And without studying the background and historical placement of this book, we don’t understand the cultural significance or why Ruth’s dedication to go with Naomi is so shocking. Those beginning study tips before diving into the “meat” of a passage will serve us well in the long run.

Middle

Once we have the puzzle edges outlined, my kids continue to be frustrated at my process: grouping colors. I do not like simply picking up two puzzle pieces and seeing if they fit, then moving on to two others, two others…. That is not helpful or efficient to me.

But if I look through all the pieces, study the picture on the box, and group pieces together that are a similar color or show a similar texture or image, I have a much smaller group of pieces to try and match. Suddenly, I have many small sections of the puzzle complete and ready to piece together.

When we apply this practice to Bible study, we see the importance of context. We cannot grab two random verses that we think should go together and make up a new interpretation. What is the whole chapter or book focusing on? What themes or key words do we see woven throughout the passage?

The whole of the Bible is one story. It is not a collection of interesting stories or sayings. It is the story of God’s redemptive plan and every part of the Bible tells us something about that plan and the God who holds this universe. When we try to grab a handful of pieces and make sense of the puzzle, it doesn’t work. When we focus on the verses that make sense to us and declare the rest unnecessary, we will never understand God’s complete message.

Again, we can go back to Ruth. On the surface, the book seems to be a straight forward Cinderella story of a widow who was loyal to her mother in law and it paid off by finding a kind husband. But that’s not the reason Ruth is in the Bible, and if that’s all we get from it, we are missing a lot!

Taking the time to read God’s instructions about leaving harvest in the fields for widows and poor {Lev. 19:9,10; Deut. 24:19}, the idea of a kinsman redeemer {Deut. 25:5-10}, how God sees those in need, etc. we begin to understand more than just a casual read through gives us.

I’ve also noticed that the more I look at the puzzle, the more quickly I recognize pieces I need. I notice the color or shape of the piece and I can grab from the pile of pieces and fit it into the larger puzzle more easily.

In Bible study, this looks like recognizing a theme or reference and plugging it into the greater picture of the Bible. As mentioned above, when Naomi tells Ruth to go and glean in a field because they have nothing, we can pull from our biblical knowledge and remember what God commanded the Israelites in Leviticus. When we reach the end of Ruth, we recognize the names Jesse and David and we can put together the significance of including the story of Ruth and Boaz in the Bible. The more we read the Bible, the more familiar we become with it.

Near End

You probably thought the next part would be to complete the puzzle. But as a puzzler, I’m here to tell you, unless you’re working a 100 piece children’s puzzle, there will come a time in every puzzle I like to call the near end. This can be the frustrating time in puzzling. You can almost see the whole picture! You have a smattering of pieces left! The end is in sight! And yet, it seems so far because all the pieces remaining could go anywhere. They have no distinctive coloring or marking to indicate where they belong.

And so you have to try every remaining piece in every location still blank. After a while, it seems like you’ve tried every piece from every angle and when will this puzzle be finished?! But you are so close and so you keep going, trying every piece again.

In Bible study, it’s not as obvious when we’re at the end…because we will never finish. There’s always going to be something else to learn from our Bible reading and study. But at times, we can feel like we are going in circles in our studying or standing still; we might feel like we don’t understand a passage or a chapter any better than when we first read it.

Just as in working a puzzle, we cannot be discouraged by what we see as an impossible problem. There are many difficult things in the Bible — topics and stories and instructions that we struggle with. That doesn’t mean we gloss over them or ignore them. We can pull out commentaries, dictionaries, and other translations and take the time needed to arrive at an answer.

The third chapter of Ruth has always been a head scratcher for me. Laying at the feet of someone winnowing grain? Checking with another man to redeem her? What is going on? The events of the Bible happened in the midst of cultural traditions and geographic locations that are very foreign to us. So commentaries and dictionaries and maps become a friend for us in unraveling some things that don’t make sense.

However, it is important that we don’t give up! When we read something in the Bible that has us confused or staring into space, we ask questions, we consult reliable commentaries, we press in. Of course, we won’t learn or understand everything in the Bible. Our finite minds can’t comprehend it all. But we do what we can to understand what God has revealed and pray for his guidance as we study.

End

And now we’re there! Every puzzle ends the same. That last piece. It’s never in the same place for every puzzle, but there is always one piece left that once placed, signals the end of this picture and time to start on new one. There is a great feeling of accomplishment and joy when you put that final piece. I usually let one of my kids do it but then, I run my hands over all those beautiful pieces.

Individually, the pieces don’t look like much. They certainly don’t look like they will become something beautiful. But placed and linked in the right place, all those single pieces make one cohesive picture.

As I said before, we never reach the end of Bible study the same way we finish a puzzle and mark it complete. There will always be something to learn and apply from studying God’s Word. However, we will finish a certain study we’re doing in the Bible, whether it’s going through a particular book or topic.

While we might not have all the answers, with careful study we can get a beautiful picture of God and his plan. I already mentioned how the Bible is one story — from Genesis to Revelation, it tells of how man fell, sin entered the world, and God provided salvation instead of punishment. That’s the beautiful, final picture of our puzzle that guides us as we study.

In Ruth, we see not only a picture of God’s care for one family. We see God providing the foundation for the salvation message. Ruth became part of the lineage of Jesus {Matt. 1:5}. The story of Boaz redeeming her is a picture of Jesus redeeming us. It is not an insignificant, inconsequential event in biblical history. It’s a picture of God’s mercy on mankind and his plan for salvation.

I hope this encourages you to not give up on those difficult puzzles {wink} but more important, to not give up on studying your Bible. Any time spent in God’s Word is never wasted.

Photo by Nathalia Segato on Unsplash

Making Sense of the Puzzle

We’ve been a puzzling family lately. By that I mean we’ve been working a lot of puzzles!

When my oldest was younger, she worked puzzles constantly. We started with 9 piece puzzles, moved to 24 then 48. She would ask for a new puzzle every time we went to the Dollar Store and work it as soon as we got home. I was always amazed that as a four year old, she could look at the pieces, observe the colors and patterns, and patiently work through it.

I showed her to put the edge together first and work from the outside in. She would try a piece, turn it all four ways, then pick up the next piece. We did puzzles more than we played games.

My son was completely different at that age. He loved the idea of a puzzle — of taking all those pieces and making one picture — but he hated the process of doing it. He didn’t like turning all the pieces face up before beginning, finding all the edge pieces before jumping into the ‘fun’ part of the actual picture, trying a piece and not having it fit. Even wood puzzles with the shapes cut out were never his favorite.

But recently our family interest in puzzles has picked up again. We bought some educational ones for school and have made family nights of working them by the fireplace, taken breaks during our school morning to put a few pieces together, and turned on movies to serve as a nice distraction for the kids while Tommy and I work through the difficult parts.

The thing about puzzles is that it takes time. There is prepping an area, sorting the pieces, getting everything face up and spread out. Then you find the corners and edges and just start trying to fit pieces together. It is daunting at first; the perfectly clear picture on the front of the box looks nothing like that jumble of shapes staring at you now. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to focus or what you’re doing. You may sit at the puzzle an hour and see very little progress. But if you want it completed, you have to keep coming back and working through the impossible sections and trying again.

This is the way Bible study is at times. We love the thought of knowing God’s Word, of having an answer for difficult questions, of growing closer to God. But when we sit down to read, we get discouraged. Maybe we’re confused about what the Bible is teaching or why certain passages matter.

However, just like working a puzzle, if we give up when it gets difficult, we’ll never get any farther. Our understanding of the Bible will only grow if we put in the time and effort to actually study it. This means reading it daily, praying for guidance and understanding, consulting commentaries or reference books when we’re stumped, and looking up words we don’t understand.

Psalm 119 is all about why God’s Word is so important to not only know but to apply to our lives and meditate on. It shouldn’t surprise us that the longest chapter in the Bible is about the richness of the Bible!! Consider these words:

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. {119:9-11}

My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word.

Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously.

I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.

I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! {119:28-31}

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.

Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness.

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. {119:35-37}

And those are just in the first 37 of 176 verses! Reading and studying the Bible is a necessary daily habit for all Christians. No matter how long you’ve been saved or how many times you attend church, you need to daily, personal practice of being in God’s Word for yourself.

Even when you don’t see the whole picture of the puzzle and the pieces of what God is doing don’t seem to fit, don’t get discouraged! Keep reading, keep studying, keep praying. It’s the most important way you can spend your time.

Photo by Hans Peter Gauster on Unsplash.

A Reminder to Pray

One of the lessons I learned last year was the importance of prayer.

Of course, I’ve always known prayer is important and vital for a Christian but there were so many days last year when all I could do was pray. I couldn’t control directly most of what bothered me about 2020 but I could bring my worries, frustrations, uncertainties, and requests before the Lord.

We so often relegate prayer to certain times; meals, before bed, when difficult things happen. And the rest of life, we just go on, doing what we need to, getting our schedule finished.

Going into 2021, I was thinking about habits and what it takes to form new ones. The internet is filled with advice on how to make new patterns a habit, how long to try before it really sets in, ways to make a habit stick, and so on. One of the more intriguing ideas I stumbled on was tying or stacking habits to things I’m familiar with doing.

The premise if that you find something you already do regularly — like putting makeup on — and attach or stack a new habit to it — like cleaning the bathroom sink. So every morning when you finish your makeup, you wipe down the sink and faucet before you go on with your day. You don’t try to think of ways to multitask these efforts; rather you give each their own time. But you keep the stacked on tasks small. Instead of cleaning the whole bathroom you just do one part. The goal is to make whatever you stacked on {in our case cleaning the sink} a natural habit.

And that was what I wanted in my prayer life. I wanted it to become a habit and part of my daily structure. But I also wanted it to be sincere. Prayer isn’t {or shouldn’t be} just something to check off a daily list. It’s talking with God. It’s seeking his wisdom and asking for his help. It’s praising him and confessing sins and verbally recognizing Who he is. And I didn’t want to confine it to after a certain task.

My answer came in an unexpected way. We live near a military airbase and jets fly directly over our house multiple times a day. There is no escaping or ignoring the sound of a jet soaring overhead. It is deafening inside, outside, basement, garage. And there was my answer. For the last several months, every time I hear a jet fly overhead, I pray.

I pray for whoever I know that pops in my head. I praise God for one of his attributes. I think through my day so far and confess any sins. I pray for missionaries. For my community. For our nation and leaders. For my family.

They aren’t long prayers. I don’t always close my eyes. But it’s amazing. Once I start praying, I just keep going. Unless a child needs me and starts screaming, I usually think of things to keep bringing before God. While I do dishes or fold laundry, I find myself praying.

And now, even on Sundays or cloudy days when the jets aren’t roaring above me, I suddenly will start praying. If no one is talking to me and I’m doing my household chores, I’ll just begin praying simple yet heartfelt prayers of need and thanks and praise.

Photo by Alexandra Mirghe from Unsplash