Musings from my garage...
Pieces of a beautiful, old buffet sit in my garage right now. We're moving in T minus 4 weeks (and 1 day, but who's counting?) and I've not packed one. single. thing. But I HAVE launched into a full restoration project. As I spend sweaty, gritty time in that hot garage (It's 100 degrees in Texas right now), and follow the process of wetting the towel, letting it lie on the piece to loosen the damaged veneer so I can scrape it off and reveal the beautiful original wood underneath, I feel a message from the Holy Spirit on my heart. The process is tedious. I have to soak the towel, which makes it heavy and hard to wring out, and place it on the piece. Then, my least favorite thing, I have to be patient while the water does its thing, which can take hours. The heavy wetness of the towel seeps under the cracked veneer, loosening the glue and allowing me to use a hammer and putty knife to lift and scrape the veneer off. Naturally, this isn't a full-proof process. The veneer chips and breaks, and not one piece has come off in tact or easily, but if I skipped that step, the piece would only be scarred and broken from the resistance of putty knife meeting years-old, unforgiving glue. The hammer-to-putty-knife procedure is long. Sometimes, in my zeal to rush the process I knick the wood underneath, causing more damage. Sometime during the tap-tap-tap, scrape-scrape-scrape monotony, I had a lightbulb moment. We're like that buffet. As time goes on and life happens, our veneer becomes scraped, chipped, and damaged. Some dings and scrapes add character, of course, but often they're unsightly and take away from the piece as a whole and from the Creator's original design. They reflect lack of care and damage. God, the Master Builder and Repairer, lays the Holy Spirit over us like the towel. He loosens our resistance and allows us to be available to the "putty knife and hammer." Removing the outer layer is often tedious, time-consuming, and painful, but it's necessary to reveal the beauty underneath. We can't rush the process or circumvent the steps because that only creates more problems and takes away from the beauty being revealed. So as we're in the tap-tap-tap, scrape-scrape-scrape seasons of life, may we yield to the heaviness of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to do His work on and in us. I'm going to cut to the chase, no fancy intro.
The past several months, I've been mostly silent on this blog because I've been 1) nearly drowning in life, 2) finding my feet in a new career and 3) learning how to create margin in my life (and the tricky art of when to say "no" when I have too much on my plate). I've been active on Facebook sharing quotes that resonate with me and pieces of my heart as the Lord leads, and I've watched the "following" there grow. I've had many new subscribers to this blog as well, which makes me kind of chuckle. I've had almost nothing to share here in so very long. Come to find out, I was in a time of stillness (relatively speaking since I'm a wife, mom to 6, and a full-time teacher) where the Lord was working through me, ever-s0-tenderly, teaching me the beauty of living out the Bible rather than talking or writing about it. I've started a new study of the book of Titus, and I have plans to create a workbook based upon what Paul shares in that book. It's chalk-full of punch-you-in-the-face {in love} gems about how to live a Godly life and what's expected of Christians as they share the Gospel and represent Jesus. It's been heavy reading, but really has me in a place of wanting to just hand it all over to God: the junk I carry, the positions I mistakenly take in His name, the judgments big and small that I hold over people, the blasé way that I handle Scripture, the indifference with which I often behold sharing the Gospel. This idea of "holiness" or of being "set apart" is crystalizing for me in a way it hasn't before. Also? The weight of sharing the Gospel accurately and effectively is square on my shoulders. I used to relish the idea of leading. Teaching or speaking on a stage put stars in my eyes. Now, after a season of darkness that literally brought me to my knees (see more about that HERE) I'm still walking forward gingerly, finding my footing with each step. It truly isn't--and can't be--about me. It has to be all centered on Him and His glory. Otherwise, I'm a fraud overstepping my purpose and circumventing the entire reason for teaching in the first place: to point toward Christ. This commission we've been given, this appointment to share Christ with everyone, it's serious business. We HAVE TO get it right. Gratefully, we have a God who fills in our weak points with His strength and truth, but the onus is on us to listen to Him, be in prayer, read regularly, and follow the Holy Spirit's prompting. We don't get to phone it in or "wing it." We give our very best, our A-Game, every single day. As we navigate the obstacle course of life, carrying the finest and rarest gem in our hands, we're charged with doing it well. My desire here in this space and in my everyday life is to follow Christ and encourage you to do the same.
*As a Lifeway Blogger, I received "The Disciple's Study Bible" from Lifeway in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Nothing gets me excited quite like a crisp, fresh, brand-spanking-new Bible. When I became a blogger with Lifeway Bloggers, I was giddy at the resources I get to choose from in exchange for an honest review. This most recent resource is no exception.
I selected this Christian Standard Bible because discipleship is a passion of mine. I not only want to sit at the feet of Jesus and soak in all He has to teach me, but I'm very aware that it's my job to disciple my children with Truth. While I firmly believe that we need only the Holy Spirit to uncover the beautiful Truths of Scripture, having a Bible designed to explain difficult concepts, take me back into the time and culture in which the original text was written, and provide cross-references of other books of the Bible for more in-depth study and clarification, makes my study time exponentially more effective and enriching. Reading the Bible, particularly for beginners, can be overwhelming. Bibles like The Disciple's Bible make the task manageable and enjoyable. The Introduction to each book provides back-story, the date the book was written, and the author (or suspected author) for each. This information makes it much easier to understand the relationship of the athor and the recipient(s) as well as how different books tie together. I can't underscore enough how much that foundational information helps me understand Scripture. It also helps me avoid taking Scripture out of context.
I've written two devotional workbooks and co-written two. The task of conveying Scripture clearly and accurately, without stepping outside of the original author's intention, is daunting. It's also weighty as the Bible tells us that teachers of the Word will be held to a higher standard. I do not want to be responsible for leading anyone astray!
If you're new to the Word or you're a seasoned veteran, I recommend this Bible. The one I received is a hardback book with a sleeve cover. It's also available in immitation leather (which I usually prefer, so it can lay open on its own and is easier to carry). This Bible is available on Lifeway.com. |
This space is reserved for Founder Mandy's perspectives and viewpoints of Scripture. Man is fallible, but God is not. It's strongly encouraged that you study the Scripture for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your understanding.
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