Saturday, March 28, 2009

What Did You Expect?


When you left home and sojourned on your adult pathway, what did you expect? As Christians, Jesus never promised us blue skies and a bowl of cherries for our life here on earth. With every ounce of his blood, body, and breath, He suffered to teach us how to suffer. I Peter 2:21 says "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

Did He whine about his lot in life? Did He blame somebody else? Did He refuse to do God's will because it was too painful? The answer to all these questions is a redundant and resounding "No".

Now examine your own answers to these questions. Where do you stand in being Christ-like in your sufferings? I know I have often whined about my life and tried to blame others. I know I am resistant to do God's will at times because it hurts my pride. What a puny Christian I am!

When He returns to call us home, I pray Jesus will look beyond my faults and see my need. We all need Him. Not one of us is an unblemished lamb. Sometimes we try to appear unblemished to those we wish to impress, but as we grow in our walk we must be more transparent and more touched by our frailties.

If it weren't for Christ, where would this poor soul be? I say "Amen" to the great "I am" giving me a purpose and a plan for my life"--and it's not to whine or blame. The Bible says His Name is Wonderful, Magnificent, Almighty, All-powerful,... You fill in your own favorite praise names for the "author and finisher of our faith".

My spiritual heartbeats begin to soar as I count His blessings and His forbearance in my life. He is my portion, my shield, my cornerstone, my husband, and my first love always. I hope Christ is all that and more to each of you today.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Prayer of Surrender


Have you had a really frustrating day with your computer where you were tempted to throw it from a second story window to the pavement? Today was that day for me.

For the last 3 days I have not been able to find my email or my bookmarks. Furthermore all the icons and fonts were extra large as if I were a visually challenged person. However, this evening I prayed earnestly that whatever God's will was for my life, I would accept it--even if I didn't understand. I surely did not understand what craziness was going on with my laptop.

Once more after putting my three sweet little doggies to bed, I decided to unplug power to my ISP modem, wait reverently for those 30 seconds, replug, and then reboot my laptop. All I can say is that God performed a miracle and gave me back tons of emails and file folders and bookmarks...and my sanity as well.

So, if you ever need prayer over your techie equipment, I will be there for you! I empathize emphatically. Just send me an email to drgreer@charter.net and I will respond.

My spiritual heartbeats can't wait to see what prayer God will answer next. Right now, I could sure use some help putting together a chain saw. I have a huge fallen limb from the snow storm in early March waiting to be converted to firewood.

Remember, dear ones, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:4-7) "Anything" includes laptops and messed up software, praise God.

End of Semester Blues?

Time to get all the help you can. I am still in business and do private 1-on-1 tutoring for Elementary through Adult learners. My subjects have now expanded into Anatomy and Physiology, Math, Statistics, Geometry, Chemistry, and Physics.

I also recommend that if you a.re finishing your 11th grade, this summer is the best time to take coaching from Academics Upward Tutoring

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Infinite Change of Passage


It was sunny and in the high 60’s when the plane took off from the burgeoning green of Florida. I had just been blessed with about four days of a Christian writers’ conference. As the plane approached and descended to the GSP airport, there was a whitewash of all landscape below lying under a half foot of snow. How opposite the weather can be in less than two hours of flying. Alas, change is inevitable in the landscape of our lives as well.

Can you remember back to your youth and the dreams you had? What did you want to be when you grew up? What did you say when your parents or extended family asked about your future? It is unlikely you said: “I want to be a light unto the world and salt unto the earth.”

After all is said and done, however, this job description becomes a universal tuning fork for those of us who believe in the spiritual heartbeats of a child of God. Each time I hear of one more soul entering eternity, the question of whether this person met God’s job description arises poignantly. This week one neighbor who suffered with cancer and also the sister of a dear Christian writer went to reside with Jesus. My mind grapples with this moment of transition; within a few heartbeats I reverently whisper, “You, child of God--how blessed you are to escape this sin-stained world.”

Whatever mirth, whatever pleasure, and whatever adrenaline rush we may experience in this life, it must pale tremendously to the one last heartbeat within our passage of leaving this world and entering God’s realm of infinite glory. It is the last mystery we must contemplate on ground zero.

Along with our future, we must also realize that we leave a legacy to those still trapped in earthly bodies. What will your legacy be? Will you be known for your spiritual fruit, your sense of humor, or your duty and honor to your country? Some of us may have flashbacks to some traumatic events that dramatically changed our life’s pathways forever. Did we learn God’s lessons in these or did we blindly put one boot in front of the other and trudge on aimlessly?

I hope and pray that at the end of your days, you can say “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 4:13)