Salty Zebra

  As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12  Last month I wrote a post that will likely never see the light of day. You see, someone did great harm to one of my close loved ones, and to me by extension, and I was writing about the impact it had on me, the collateral damage I had become. But, of course, that initial hurt was done to someone other than me, and it is not my story to tell. The thing is, within that, I still have a story. I still have an injury. The trauma is real, but it is not mine to share, so how do I deal with it?   I guess I defaulted to my old ways of dealing with it initially and just stuffed it down. That does no one any good. Our verse today shares the incomprehensible blessing of God’s forgiveness for us and reminds me that He has called me to forgive as well. Forgiveness is crucial in relationships because whenever two or more humans get together, someone will mess up. But what role does...

  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12  I am a fiber artist, I have been most of my life, but it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that I began spinning. My Mom got me started by handing me a drop spindle, a very similar concept to what was used back when this verse was written, one evening when I was over to visit. She walked me through the basics of its use and once I got going I couldn’t stop.  I used a drop spindle for months and then “graduated” to a spinning wheel when my husband bought me one for Christmas that year (with my Mom’s help of course).  When you spin, you are lengthening the wool fibers and twisting them into a (typically) fine thread. The fibers have microscopic barbs on them that tangle with one another, keeping the thread, or single, intact. But if you pull too strongly on this thread, accidentally or on purpose, it will usually fall apart. While the fibers are...

  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1  Almost three years ago now, I was facing brain surgery. I had been diagnosed with a tumor blocking my 4 th ventricle and it needed to be removed right away. I read up on the type of tumor they thought I had (they were wrong), the location, the surgery. I tried to prepare without inducing too much fear, but one fear took shape in the back of my subconscious that survives today – the fear that my personality would be inextricably changed. I had heard horror stories from friends and family of their loved ones who, typically through traumatic brain injury, went from loving, kind, grace filled people to nasty, bitter abusive ones. I was terrified that would happen to me. At first, I thought I had been spared this outcome, but now I’m not so sure.   The first 25 years of our family, this verse was my job. In fact, when my health had brought me to a place where I literally couldn’t contribu...

  As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17  My son has been sharpening my knives for many years now. He meticulously slides the blades across the stone and gets the edges just right. But still, he reminds me frequently to “steel the blade” before I use it to cut. Chefs always do this on tv, and I’ll admit I have had thoughts that it was just done for drama – crisscrossing the knife and the steel back and forth, but there is real value in it! Using a honing steel does not sharpen your knife, it simply realigns the blade’s edge. You see, when you use a knife to cut, the thin edge bends microscopically, beyond what we can see with our eyes. But over time and use, these bends become more and more pronounced, making the knife dull. You might not realize it, but a dull knife is a dangerous one. It can slip or require more force to do it’s job, which can lead to injury. A sharp knife slides through food easily and is both a joy and a safety. But sharpen...

  Do not let truth and mercy leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and good understanding, in the sight of God and people.  This morning as I consider our SOAP verses for today, for some reason God is bringing our country’s immigration issues to mind. I wasn’t thinking about it before doing my study today, so that’s why I credit it to God. I see that the two sides of the issue are each focusing on one of the values discussed in verse 3: mercy and truth, but neither side seems to embrace both. In fact, it seems impossible to hold both equally in our hearts, but with God, all things are possible ( Philippians 4:13 ).   The right wing/conservative side of our country has been touting the importance of truth. They are citing the letter of the law, stating that by entering the country illegally, all illegal immigrants are law-breakers. While that is technically true, I would be quick to remind you that we a...

 New year, new study! I'm really looking forward to getting started on this one next week. Three weeks off is TOO LONG! Only God knows all that lays ahead of me this year, but at the very least I see my husband starting a new job (also next week) and my youngest son buying a house, making us officially empty nesters. Lord knows there will be health questions, there always are. There will probably be relationship issues and financial questions. Where do you go with all that? Do you let it take up space rent-free in your mind, distracting you from the present and stealing your joy? Or, do you take it to your Heavenly Father and lean on His wisdom and guidance?  That's  what I want to do this year, every year really.  In this study, we're seeking to be intentional about incorporating prayer and scripture together. Praying God's Word back to Him positions us uniquely to be assured of His perfect answers. If He says it, we can trust it! Each week we'll have a different f...

   Have you ever thought of Jesus as The Savior Who Comes Near? The study I've been walking through, and writing to you about for the last month focuses on just this.   The first day of this study, we looked at Isaiah 9:6 in which we have several names of God: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In this season of my life I think the name, "Mighty God" stands out to me the most. I am so glad that He is bigger, stronger, smarter, and basically mightier than anything that faces me or comes against me. I can lean into Him and trust Him completely. We looked at Mary and how while she may have felt unseen or unqualified going into her calling as the earthly mother of Jesus, God saw her and He qualified her for what was ahead. Sometimes God's plans aren't clear, or they are bigger than we can fathom. Like Mary, we can trust that God will be with us and equip us for whatever He calls us to. Joseph's quiet obedience  inspires...

  For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.   Titus 2:11-14  Change is hard, and we typically resist it. Many people who hear about Jesus see that life with Him will be different, and that change is intimidating. Being “godly” may not look like very much fun from the outside. Having to shift behaviors and patterns, to break addictions and make different choices is overwhelming. But here’s the good news, you don’t have to do any of that in order to come to Jesus, and He doesn’t expect any of that to be done in your own power!   Jesus created us. He knows us ...

  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  This Advent we’ve been studying the Savior who Comes Near. In today’s passage we have a beautiful picture of a promised future day when Jesus will very literally Come Near. A couple of days ago we looked at Matthew 24 and saw that at Jesus’ return all the nations of the world will mourn. While this will certainly be true as the reality of their choices become clear to unbelievers, for those who are found in Christ, the situation will be vastly different.  I’m a very visual person and things I see often stick in my head. This can be bad when I’ve allowed images I shouldn’t ...

  “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”   Revelation 22:12-13  Time is not a constant. While seconds and minutes and hours may be measurable, they feel different at different times and in different circumstances. Disney has made an artform of having time pass quickly as you’ll have experienced if you ever waited in one of their ride queues. It’s a totally different experience from standing in line at the grocery store or sitting in gridlocked traffic. When I’m waiting in bed in the morning, half awake, for my alarm to go off, time seems to fly. When I was nine and a half months pregnant and the baby hadn’t come yet, time seemed to stand still.   The season of Advent is, in itself, a season of waiting. We are waiting in anticipation of the celebration of Jesus’ birth as well as waiting for His impending return...

  “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.   Matthew 24:30-31  What are you putting off? What seems like you’ve got time and you can take care of that later? Sometimes it’s very true, in fact the longer we wait the less we think we actually need to do that thing. Sometimes putting things off puts them into perspective, but sometimes procrastination burns us. I remember one Christmas one of my then adult children put off buying their Christmas gifts too long and then when we came together to celebrate, they were empty handed. No one held it against them, at least I don’t think they did, but I know that child didn’t enjoy Christmas very much that year.   A sentiment I h...

  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”   John 14:1-3    You’re chatting with someone after church and you casually invite them over to join you for dinner. You don’t consider the ramifications, the state of your house, or what they might walk into. Really, you may not expect them to accept your invitation at all, but they do. And so you smile, wave, and say, “See you in a few!” Then you get behind the wheel of your car and drive like a bat out of hell to beat them there, so you have a few precious minutes for scurryfunging. What’s that you might ask? Scurryfunge is an old English word that means to rush around frantically cleaning or tidying a house when you realize guests are about t...

  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Do you reconcile your checkbook each month? You know, where you go through your records and you match them up to the bank’s? My husband has always been faithful and diligent in this responsibility, but I haven’t always been much of a help. For the vast majority of our relationship, the finances fell squarely into his “to do” list, not because he was hoarding them, but because I was completely unwilling to participate. I tried it for a bit when the kids were young, paying the bills and such, but I got scattered and overwhelmed and missed a few critical deadlines and then decided that finances were not my thing and passed it off to my husband entirely. When I started getting into points and miles about this time last year, however, the finances took on new meaning for...

  so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28  When I was a kid, we had a candy called Now and Later. They were a taffy candy that advertised their long-lasting flavor. You could enjoy them now, and still be enjoying them later. Turns out they are pretty long lasting because when I searched for them just now they’re still around, quite a few years later! These came to mind when I was reading our verse today about Jesus’ first and second coming.   I discussed last week how Jesus came the first time to pay the cost of our sins through His perfect sacrifice on the cross. This was necessary and important, a finished work in itself, but not everything that God has planned for Jesus to do. Jesus paid the cost for our sins and purchased our redemption on the cross. That’s the Now. Right now, our sins are forgiven when we confess them to Hi...