These Feet Were Made for Giving

Haggai 1:1-11(ESV)

¹ In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ²"Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD." ³Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ⁴ "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? ⁵Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁶ You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
⁷"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁸Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. ⁹ You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. ¹⁰Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. ¹¹And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors."

I know I included the link to this Scripture and printed it out as well; I know it seems redundant.  That's because I am awed by just how important this is.  Both the Old and New Testaments talk about the firstfruits, the "tenth," God's portion and provision, but read this Scripture again.  If this passage doesn't make it clear that God deserves, demands, needs to get His first, no passage does.  God is so worthy.  God gives us whatever it is we have, and yet we will never know blessing if we do not put Him first.  Do you see -- "How can you spend so much money on home improvements or the latest home theater, and deny God His due?"  "How can you go to Shady Maple, or Texas Roadhouse, or Moshulu, or buy the finest steak when that money first belongs to God?"  "What is your clothing budget?  15%?  20%?  What is your tithe?"

I don't believe God begrudges us fun, or lavish gifts, or indulgences.  Pedicures make me very happy.  But if my pedicures are at God's expense, i.e. money that should have been placed in the offering on Sunday, there will be consequences.  Is God waiting to run me over with a bus the second I step out in my pink polish and flip-flops?  I don't think so, but what about the homeless mother that breaks my heart?  My eyes go right down to my pampered feet and I realize just how selfish I've been.  Or the unexpected bill that arrives in the mail?  My mind goes right to the portion I denied God.  Or the blessing I don't receive?  Yep, first thought?  My tiny little toes.

God is worthy.

A Year in the Life of a Homeschooler

With another school year under our belts, and books returned to “The Shelf” until I begin preparing for next year in another thirty days or so, I thought I could recap our year for you just a bit.

June 2010: “Yes, Ms. Arthur (our representative at the school district) I really want to work hard next year so I can graduate early – maybe even January!”

July 2010: “Wow, it’s July already? Mom, can I hang out at the pool today?”

August 2010: “Whaddya mean we’re starting school today?! Nobody else is doing school work in August!”

September 2010: “Can’t I just skip math? When am I ever gonna use this stuff anyway?”

October 2010: “Why do they always have to have PSAT’s in the morning?”

November 2010: “How many days do I get off for Thanksgiving?”

December 2010: “How many days do I get off for Christmas?”

January 2011:       CHRISTINE: “Can’t we just take one snow day?"

                                 ME:  "How about a one hour delay?"

February 2011: “Isn’t Valentine’s Day a holiday?”

March 2011: “How many days am I getting off for Spring Break?”

April 2011:       ME: “What are you doing?”

                           CHRISTINE: “Practicing my Greek alphabet.”

                            ME: “You take French.”

May 2011: “What’s a footnote?”

How Do Ya Like Me Now, Betty Crocker?

The fast food industry is an empire built on instant gratification.  Our society loves instant -- instant potatoes, instant auto tags.  When I was a kid we had jars of popcorn.  You had to get a pot, put in a little bit of oil, wait for it to heat to just the right temperature, put in the popcorn kernels, and wait until the very last pop.  If your oil was too hot or too cool?  Do over.  My kids would pass out if they had to wait for all that today!

We've even found incredible ways of improving on "instant."  As a kid, if I wanted to see The Wizard of Oz (Strike that, I never wanted to see The Wizard of Oz) -- but if I wanted to see Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, I had to wait until it came around on the Late Night Movie Show again, and hope I'd be allowed to stay up and watch it, or at least, Mom would be asleep and I could sneak it.  Then along came cable!  With channels that were nothing but movies, it increased our chances, like, tenfold!  Then, the end-all-to-beat-all, video.  Ooh, aah.  You could go to the video store (most were open 'till 11 on weekends!) and choose from a plethora of movies -- Drama, Action, Kids, Horror. Our video store in South Philadelphia even had two floors!  It was like Bass Super Stores for couch potatoes!

Then it happened.  The cable industry rebounded with "On Demand."  Then "Netflix."  Now Smart-phones make it possible to watch a movie anytime, anywhere -- instantly!

And yet...

It's still not as instant as the justification supplied us through the death of Christ on the cross.  The second -- the instant we turn our eyes to Jesus, we are His, He is ours -- and all that it brings with it.  Now that's "instant!"

Grace Upon Grace

Another word from Spurgeon:

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. (Psalm 91:14)

"Does the Lord say this to me? Yes, if I have known His name. Blessed be the Lord, I am no stranger to Him. I have tried Him, proved Him, and known Him, and therefore do I trust Him. I know His name as a sin-hating God, for by His Spirit's convincing power I have been taught that He will never wink at evil. But I also know Him as the sin-pardoning God in Christ Jesus, for He has forgiven me all trespasses. His name is faithfulness, and I know it, for He has never forsaken me though my troubles have multiplied upon me.

This knowledge is a gift of grace, and the Lord makes it to be the reason why He grants another grace-gift, namely, setting on high. This is grace upon grace. Observe that if we climb on high, the position may be dangerous; but if the Lord sets us there it is safe. He may raise us to great usefulness, to eminent experience, to success in service, to leadership among workers, to a father's place among the little ones. If He does not do this, He may set us on high by near fellowship, clear insight, holy triumph, and gracious anticipation of eternal glory. When God sets us on high, Satan himself cannot pull us down. Oh, that this may be our case all through this day!"

From Me:

I know "Grace Hill."  "Grace Heights!"  For God does not aim low!  Just when I think my heart will burst, when I think God has given me the victory -- God gives more grace!  The redemption from death is mercy untold -- everything else is grace to us!  The food on our tables, no matter how sparse or plain it may be -- grace.  Our health, no matter how poor or painful -- grace.  The money in our pockets, no matter how little or great -- grace.  The opportunity to worship and serve, to give glory to the King of Kings, to obey and suffer with Him -- grace.  The privilege to turn to Him for strength even in our deepest grief and darkest of hours -- grace.