Anxious mind?

Listen to this quote and tell me, sounds like Old Testament or New?

There, the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.

It may have been a bad way to ask the question... it is old testament (Deuteronomy 28:65b-66), but it made me think that I sometimes feel like this.

It comes from a section near the end of Moses life when he is re-telling Israel about the blessings of obeying God's Law and the curses for disobeying. A few verses previous, he lays out the way to avoid the foreign captivity that brings about the above desperate mental situation: (58) "...carefully follow all the words of this law..." and "...revere this glorious and awesome name -- the Lord your God..."

I feel al little like I am a foreign captive of sin... longing and pining for the righteousness of Heaven, the eternal joy of worship unhindered by my own sin, the relief of being forever freed of the consequences of my bad choices and those of others.

Should it be this way? God has given us all things freely to enjoy... there are blessings to be had here... am I being too far-sighted?

Thanks for sharing this thought with me...

Daddy, what does "Maundy" mean?

Yesterday, as my family and I worshipped together, during the announcements both kids, almost in unison turned and asked nearly the same question.

I remember looking it up before, and I remember being surprised at its meaning, but I could not remember what it meant. Turns out the word maundy means command. According to Wikipedia,

The word Maundy is derived through Middle English, and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.

So we are commanded by Jesus word and example to love one another at the level of washing one anothers' feet: intimate, humble and self-deprecating.

I am praying you'll have a blessed and transformational Holy Week

A little Friday thought... ask for help

Today, I'm taking time off from work to seek wise advice from a friend. I am anxious that perhaps a decision I've made is unachievably ambitious and I am asking him to look at it with his "fresh eyes" (an expression I learned while working for a Japanese company) and give me his unvarnished opinion. To even have such a friend is priceless to me.

You've read that e mail about people coming into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime? I did not seek to meet this guy, we just happen to share membership at the same church. Yet his very nature is open and available. I wonder if I am that way?

I encourage you today. If you have a problem, ask for advice from a wise friend. If you don't, then build friendships with wise people or seek to be available for those in need. My favorite Book is peppered with quotables about how plans succeed when wise counsel is sought, when many counsellors are employed, and when the Wonderful Counsellor is besought (beseached?)

Thank you for being a friend to me... I trust I can be one to you as well.