CRAVINGS

Have you ever woken up in the morning CRAVING something?  I spent the better part of the last two years CRAVING to wake up to the presence of my wife snuggled up next to me.  This may sound strange… but she had a certain distinct fragrance about her in the morning.  She didn’t like to be cold in bed, and except for the few warm nights we had in northern California, it wasn’t unusual for her to wear long sleeve, full length, flannel or cotton nightgowns.

So, I’m thinking that it was the organic combination of the fabric and her skin in close contact, under the covers throughout the night, that gave her a morning scent that tended to remind me of a warm bowl of oatmeal with a cube of butter, melting in the middle of a puddle of honey.  Sweet, warm, friendly and very cozy!

She also had a very sweet tooth when we first got together.  I can remember her laughingly requesting to have dessert first on many occasions during our initial few years of marriage, as we sat around the little Formica table in the kitchen of our first apartment.  During her pregnancy with our first child, she developed a CRAVING for Banana Splits.  We had a Baskin Robbins practically around the block from us (a long block albeit), so it was easy for us to take a walk a couple of times a week, up to Fourth Street and down to the Baskin Robbins where my brother had worked a few years previous to that time.

Somewhere through the years though, she mastered some real self-control and could easily make a candy bar or even a piece of cake last a week!  The only weakness that persisted was her love for ice cream!  I recall that I had a strong CRAVING for steak during those same early years of marriage.  Piper always said that it was because I needed more protein in my diet.  So, we ate a lot of steaks… not the most tender of cuts… but steak none-the-less!

Psalm 34:10 declares, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.” (KJV)  According to Strong’s and Thayer’s, the phrase, “they that seek “ means “to frequent a place, to follow as to pursue or search, to CRAVE, to seek after carefully or diligently, to demand, to investigate, to practice or to study.”  The Passion Translation says this with great emotion by stating, “but those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing.”

I had to stop in the middle of a task the other day and sincerely ask myself, that with Piper gone… WHO or WHAT am I craving after, seeking after, or pursuing?  WHO or WHAT am I frequenting, studying or practicing?

I’m pretty sure that I already knew the answer to that question… but what really got me to thinking, was if I was diligently seeking after, studying and/or pursuing the Lord with as much zeal, effort and ENJOYMENT as I did with Piper?  Am I waking up today, CRAVING to be in His presence as much as I CRAVED after Piper in the mornings with her calming, peaceful and satisfying scent of warm oatmeal?

I’ve come a long way since she was promoted to the Major Leagues in heaven.  The strong, almost over-whelming CRAVING that dominated my emotions is slowly becoming more of a longing now… But have I filled that huge void totally with Him as of yet?

To be perfectly honest… NO! …but I am consistently working toward that goal.  How about you?  WHO or WHAT do you CRAVE?

WHO or WHAT takes precedence in your daily thoughts?  WHO or WHAT should have first place?  Can you have more than one person or thing in that number one spot?  I personally believe that in marriage, you can.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us that “Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.” (God’s Word ©)

I can’t help but to think of the Lord when I think of Piper… or vise-versa!  The two of us, braided together in His love, made a fairly unbeatable force!  She introduced me to Him and together we grew in our knowledge and experience of Him by leaps and bounds.  I realized the other day that she went before me to begn her relationship with the Lord and brought me to Him at the start of our relationship… and now she’s doing it again, by going before me into heaven to prepare for my eventual trip home.  Pretty cool right?

So… for your homework tonight… I encourage you to think about the things that you CRAVE for… morning, noon and night.  Maybe there’s an adjustment that needs to be made and maybe not… only YOU can honestly answer that question.  Whatever YOUR answer is… look it over, check it out and then pray about whatever adjustments or fine-tuning needs to be made.  And then… Go For It!  But in doing so, remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day… these things can take some time, so, enjoy the process, enjoy each step and enjoy the ever-changing view along the way!

Have a great fresh, new week… and as you do, Keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

The Buck Stops Here!

Harry S. Truman, who served as the 33^rd president of the United States from 1945 to 1953, proudly displayed a plague on his desk that declared “The Buck Stops Here.”  It became a slogan for his presidency and was his final defense to the country when critics argued against his decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Japan and thereby bring a swift closure to World War Two.  As president of the United States, he made it known that he accepted PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for the way the country was governed.

In our modern society today, it would seem… at least to me… that we have begun to lose sight of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in our lives.  From my point of view, I am beginning to see more people claiming that they are victims of someone else’s wrong decisions rather than swallowing hard and accepting the fact that “The Buck Stops Here” with them!

In the Christian world, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY is the very foundation of our faith.  Sure, as a young believer new to the faith, we need to lean on others as we begin our journey, but there comes a point when we need to grow and develop our relationship with Jesus Christ to the point that we take responsibility for our own faith.*  That doesn’t mean that we stop going to church, listening to Christian teachers and stay in fellowship with other believers, but it does mean that we stand on our own two feet and be PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE to God and His Word in the daily events of our lives.

As ministers of the gospel, my wife and I spent some 35 plus years teaching, training and being examples to many generations of college students, youth, children and their parents in the various churches in which we served… But I have to say that I didn’t really fully understand the importance of personalizing my faith… of what I believed to be true and stood on as the foundation of my life… until faced with the biggest challenge of my life when Piper was surprisingly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Piper and I had been in leadership positions in the church since well before we were married.  We attended countless conventions, seminars and classes over the years that followed, that served to educate us in our leadership positions and deepen our beliefs… and we also attended one of the best Bible Colleges in the world… but when faced with the life-threatening needs of the most important person in my life… I knew that I had “TO KNOW” Whom I was believing in as well as EXACTLY where I stood when it came to the very foundations and tenets of MY personal faith.

I knew that even though I would have lots of help along the way, that there were going to be many long days and nights ahead, trips to the doctors, emergency room visits and dark nights sitting on the floor all alone except for the dog at my side… when I would need to personally KNOW where I stood in MY faith and thereby have the personal motivation, strength and unquestionable conviction to carry on.

Being confident in what I personally believed empowered me to EXPECT God and His Word to be faithful and true in what medical science and many people around us saw as a hopeless situation.  In my EXPECTANCY in God, I understood that I had to believe what God said over any negative or fearful reports that were spoken in front of us… or behind our backs!

I have come to learn that EXPECTANCY in our personal beliefs in the Gospel message, is the power and the substance of our individual faith during all the situations of our daily lives.**  Paul wrote in Romans 5:5 that,

“Our EXPECTATION (in God and His Word) is not a disappointing fantasy, because (through it) we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! (TPT)

He also defended his ministry to King Agrippa when held in custody in Caesarea by declaring, “I'm on trial now because I EXPECT God to keep the promise that he made to our ancestors.” (God’s Word ©) 

James the leader of the home church in Jerusalem wrote that doubt in God and His Word cancels any EXPECTATIONS that you might try to muster up in times of need.  He wrote, “A person who has doubts shouldn't EXPECT to receive anything from the Lord.” (God’s Word ©) 

Therefore… as far as I can see… the success or failure of our faith in our daily lives all depends on yours and my PERSONAL EXECTATIONS that we have in God and His Word working in us, for us and through us unto others.  After all… it is what Jesus told us to do when He said… “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (ie; needs) shall be added to you.” (EMTV)

So then… Where does the buck stop?  As my sweet wife used to remind me saying… “Remember Jim… we’re not victims but VICTORS!”

Have a terrific weekend, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING God’s best in your life!

 

*See: I Corinthians 13:11

**Hebrews 11:1

LOVE and GOLF

It’s not too surprising that after almost a week of severe thunderstorms, ridiculously strong winds, flash flooding, softball size hail and a tornado or two, that the golf course would be extra crowded with today’s beautiful weather, complete with deep blue skies, a slight breeze and a temperature forecasted to reach into the lows 80’s!  And they were a boisterous and happy group with lots of joking, loud music playing from most golf carts and many hearty “Good Morning’s” as Fiver and I walked past them on our way to the neighborhood park and pond.

From what I’ve observed over the few years that we lived here, the early morning golfers are normally the ones who LOVE the game and come out in just about any weather.  Today’s perfect atmosphere just added to their pleasure!  For these guys (As the far majority of the early group are men.  The gals tend to come out in the afternoon!), the game of golf is an important part of their lives… you could say that golf holds an important place within their lifestyle.

In my last blog post* I posed the observation that, in general, “CHRISTIANS DON’T EXPECT ENOUGH FROM GOD.”  For you see… as I have studied the Bible over the years, I’ve come to realize that the truth of the GOODNESS of God and His desire to be the “exceeding, abundantly above all”** provider in every aspect of our lives, is a trend that flows throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

Now, the next logical question for most of us would be, “How do I get this to happen in my life?”  Well, looking back on my early morning golfer’s example, in order for this to become a regular event in our lives… you and I have to make it to become a part of our lifestyle! 

I am not a golfer myself, but from what I see in the folks out on our neighborhood course as well as the many avid golfers that I’ve known personally over the years, these folks think about golf and their golf game all the time!  When they are not physically on the course, they’re talking about it, watching it on TV, listening to discussions about golf on sports talk radio or reading about it in magazines!

From what little I know about playing the game, the foundation of a good golfer all has to do with their form each and every time they swing the club and touch the ball… and believe me… I hear a lot of laughing, joking, verbal digs and even some cursing when someone doesn’t follow all the way through their swing.  We’ve almost been hit a few times from golfers slicing the ball off the course and onto the walking path next door!  We even find errant balls on a fairly regular basis on our front and back lawns… which aren’t located anywhere near the path that the balls should being heading!

I’ve discovered in my greatest times of need… and especially when Piper was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s… that the foundation for every believer’s faith needs to be based on the form of understanding that we have concerning how much God loves each of us.  The Father’s revelation to me back in 2008, in which He graphically detailed the depth of intimacy in which He loved Piper and I, is what kept me strong, kept my EXPECTATIONS on His being faithful to the promises His Word high and helped me to get up each and every day with a smile on my face, during and after the 12 years that followed.

I noticed this morning how Romans 5:5 connects the dots between the importance of our EXPECTATIONS and the LOVE of God in our daily lives.  Paul wrote,

“And our EXPECTATION (in God and His Word) is not a disappointing fantasy, because (through it) we can now experience the endless LOVE of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!”  (TPT - personalized) 

You see, the more we KNOW and EXPERIENCE the LOVE of God in our lives, the more our EXPETATIONS of His “exceeding, abundantly above all”** grows… and the cycle of the “endless love of God cascading into our hearts” continues and becomes entrenched in the daily style of our lives!” 

And like most golfers, before you know it, you’ll be talking about the LOVE of God and of your EXPECTATIONS of His Word working in your lives… all the time!  You’ll find that you want to know more about it from His Word, you’ll want to practice it and rejoice when you see it become a regular event in your daily experiences!  After a while you’ll simply find yourself in LOVE with God in His Word to such a level that you’ll EXPECT HIS BEST… all the time!

Just the way that God EXPECTS it to be in each of our lives!

Have a terrific weekend as we celebrate all the Moms in our families… past, present and to come!  For me… I pray a special Happy Mother’s Day to Piper, the mother of our four children as well as to my Mom and Piper's mom… who are all rejoicing in heaven with their Moms!

 

*http://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2022/05/currently-trending.html

**Ephesians 3:20 - KJV

Currently Trending!

When I quit my position as a traveling merchandising supervisor for Home Depot to take care of my wife full time, we had a plan for our income but yet knew that it would take some time for it to be fully implemented.  I already had jobs scheduled for my yard care business and as Piper was still mobile and mostly self-functioning, she could accompany me as I worked on my client’s properties.

In the months following, I also researched the various county, state and federal benefit programs that Piper might be eligible to apply for.  I spent countless hours reviewing government websites, speaking to representatives from the various agencies and collecting the required paperwork, documents and medical statements that we would need when applying for each set of benefits.  Once the specific time requirements were met for the diagnosis and she was legally declared fully disabled by a federal benefit approved doctor, we started with SSI and followed afterwards with additional state and county programs.

In the year that it took for the benefit funds to start flowing in our direction, Piper’s condition worsened, and I was not as free to work outside of the home as I had hoped and therefore, our financial reserves were rapidly dwindling.  But on the positive side… once the various benefits were approved and the checks were cut… they would be retroactive to the day that we had applied for each program.

So as the multitude of checks finally began arriving in the mail (for some reason, the agencies had to cut a separate check for each of the monthly or bi-monthly retroactive pay periods), I was quickly able to catch up on any finances that we had gotten behind on.  In knowing that this was going to occur… I had previously arranged with the owners of the cluster home in which we were living, to pay a reduced monthly rent with the understanding that we would pay off the outstanding balance when the checks manifested. 

We were very blessed as they worked with us during this time and the wife of the couple was a retired nurse and offered her services to Piper for anything we might need!  (Piper had this effect on many people when she got sick… most people just sort of fell in love with her!)

Well, within only a few weeks we were totally caught on all our expenditures, were out of debt and had a fair amount left over.  We found ourselves in a position that we had never been in before in our marriage!  Besides her monthly SSI benefit, I had applied for and taken a certification class for another program financed by the state, where the Sonoma County Agency on Aging would pay me to take care of Piper.  And as it turns out, even though the hourly amount wasn’t that terrific, because of the severity of Piper’s physical condition and the number of things that I needed to do for her, I was eligible for the maximum hours available and received a pretty decent bi-monthly paycheck.

This is where the unique situation arose.  All of the benefit programs were based on our monthly income and we were strictly limited to a specific balance in our bank accounts at the end of each month.  Any balance over the stipulated amount at the end of the month meant that we had to forfeit the previous month’s SSI payment.  Once everything was paid off or up-to-date, we really didn’t have many expenses except for rent, co-payments on prescriptions and daily living expenses for us and the dog!  Suddenly we had extra income with a “use it or lose it” connotation to it! 

So… what did I do?  Well… I got creative and among other things bought the laptop I’d always wanted, treated myself to a digital SLR camera, got a fancy new vacuum (also for myself since Piper was unable to do anything around the house… or for herself at the time), purchased some nice new clothing items for Piper and put myself on the Nutrisystem diet plan where they supply all the meals! 

With all the physical, mental and emotional upheavals that were going on with the attack on Piper’s health… it was actually kind of pleasure to not have to concern myself with financial needs including some of the ridiculously high co-pays for a couple of her meds.  It was nice to have the luxury to purchase some opulent items that were usually more in the dream stage of our lives rather than in reality!

…Now, I told you all of this to inform you of a similar trend that I’ve noticed as I read my Bible, and in particular within the writings of the New Testament authors… which would include Jesus Himself!  To put it bluntly, I would boldly set forth my observation that most Christians don’t expect enough of God!

Users of the various social media platforms will talk about what is “currently trending” online and when we take a detailed looked at our Bibles, it is also easy to note that THE GOODNESS OF GOD is also a “trending” subject throughout the platform of His written Word.  The more I delve into my Bible and look into the deeper, more explanative words used in the original languages, the more I am convinced that the peace of heart and mind that I felt when our physical needs were abundantly met during Piper’s time of critical need… is something that God clearly promises us for our daily lives and not just in times of need.

And while the Apostle Paul is well known for his use of multiple adjectives in describing the “exceeding, abundantly, above all” (Ephesians 3:20 KJV) of God, that same train of thought comes out with almost every writer in both the Old and New Testaments.  Many times, though, we lose the full detail of the picture that’s being painted due to the limitations of our English words. 

A good and simple example of this would be in Peter’s reference to Psalm 34:8 in his first letter that was directed to young believers, who had come from a non-Jewish background and were going through some tough times.  In I Peter 2:3 he encouraged his readers by declaring,

“Certainly you have tasted that the Lord is GOOD”  (God’s Word ©)

As we read this today, we’d probably all shake our heads up and down in agreement and say… maybe even with a little exuberance, “Yes… Amen!  God is good!”

But a deeper look into a good Greek and Hebrew dictionary will inform us that the word translated “Good” implies a whole lot more than just a positive feeling.  In its original usage in Psalm 34:8 the word implies the ideas of,

“beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, favor, loving, gladness, merriment, most pleasant, precious, sweet, wealth, welfare (including the health, happiness and fortune of those involved), well favored, rich, valuable in estimation, appropriate, becoming, and having good understanding.”

And that is just one word in one scripture!  I could fill up many pages of additional words and scriptures that connotate the same or similar adjectives that vividly describe the Goodness of God.

So… let me ask you… Are these adjectives of the GOODNESS of GOD the things that you picture when you read your Bibles… or when you go to our heavenly Father in prayer… or when you wake up with a cold… or when that unexpected bill shows up… or when a loved one needs help… or even when you wake up feeling bright, cheery and at peace?  According to what’s “currently trending” in the Word of God… It should be!

So… with all that in mind… How much MORE are you going to EXPECT from God?

I hope that you are having a fantastic week… and continue to EXPECT God’s best in your life!  …and stay tuned in for there’s more to come!