Sad Satisfations

I went out the other night to watch my hubby play. I do that periodically. I love watching him play and I like dancing. I really like spending that time with him. Inevitably though I end up shaking my head at what I see around me. It’s not that I ever really see anything new, rather what I see is incredibly sad. Now this isn’t going to be a piece on the evils of drink or dancing, I enjoy both on occasion.

It’s more about the screaming of souls. The silent voices that seem as clear to me as flashing neon lights flickering. ‘Look at me!’ they say. ‘I’m someone. I want to be loved, admired, wanted’.

We are looking for a particular package and if we can’t find it we can settle for whatever is available right now. Is it a sign of the fast food culture we live in that we fool ourselves into thinking that momentary gratification has value. The sad truth is that it usually doesn’t, not if we’re honest. It often leaves us feeling empty because we are then even more aware of what we don’t have.

It makes me sad for all the people who sell themselves short, who believe they don’t deserve the real thing, and for those who try to convince themselves that everything is fine and they don’t want a safe place to truly be themselves.  

Seeing that when I see my hubby in his work environment brings home extra strong just how blessed I am and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Thank you babe for loving me, rough bits, pointy edges and all.

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah 29:11 is a very well known bible verse and an oft quoted one.

‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord ‘plans

 to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope

 and a future.’

 

We take this verse; quote it, learn it and meditate on it with the knowledge that this is a promise of wealth. Or at least I have. The question is, is it? How often did I take into account the context of the verse?

This verse is found in a letter Jeremiah wrote to the Israelites who were exiled in Babylon. These people had been ripped out of the land they considered home and transplanted into another culture. Think about that for a moment. Some people thrive in circumstances like that, but many people I know don’t voluntarily leave the state they were born in, let alone country, so I can’t see how they would do if forcibly shifted and made to adapt to another culture.

These people were in exile, they had no choice. God put them there because they hadn’t listened to him in the first place and in this letter he tells them through Jeremiah that he doesn’t plan to harm them. I’m sure some, even many scoffed at that.

God tells the people to make Babylon their home, to seek peace and prosperity for the city for in that way they will prosper too (vs 7). This isn’t a promise to one person it is about a lifestyle for a community – have houses, gardens, food, children, weddings and seek the peace and prosperity of the city. This is not an insular thing, it is very external. It is an instruction to move forward, don’t get stuck in the past or isolate yourself. A pretty relevant lesson for today. It seems to prove we can live in the world, be a part of it, even influence it. Honestly how will anyone new be introduced to Christ if we become like the Pharisees and cut ourselves off.

Immediately after being told to increase and create a prosperous community comes a warning against false prophets.

 

Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do

not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not

listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying

lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:8-9

 

The phrasing seems to indicate these prophets were telling the people what they wanted to hear and it’s placement suggests to me that they may have been encouraging isolation, anger and bitterness. All things harmful to a community and individuals.

Verse ten is a reinforcement of God’s promise to deliver them from Babylon and this is the verse that directly preceeds the promise we know so well. To my mind then God seems to be saying ‘trust me I do not intend for you to be harmed by what happened, rather I would see you strengthened, prospered and with a hope for all the future holds.’

Sometimes we get offended and annoyed with God because we see things that happen as harmful simply because they don’t fit in with our plans. But if we are going to hold onto the promise of this verse we would probably do well to remember it in conjunction with

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those

who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4;13

 

Prosperity like abundance doesn’t necessarily have to mean money. I know people who have heaps of money but they don’t have the family life I do or, in many ways the happiness. I have a prosperity of spirit that they don’t. It’s good for me to remember that when I get caught up in longing for stuff.

This letter to the people doesn’t end at verse eleven:

 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I

will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you

seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares

the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity…

Jeremiah 29:12-14(a)

 

This is a rich and layered text. It had meaning then and has meaning now. It had specific meaning and general meaning. They turned their back on God so He stepped back from them and now He is telling them if they turn back to Him he will be there for them to find and return them to the promised land. It is also indicative of our relationship with God today, He wants a close relationship with us and so often we turn away, end up somewhere we weren’t expecting and wonder why God did it to us. We conveniently forget the choices we made that resulted in exile.

Maybe we have a tendency to take God for granted. We want the promises but don’t engage all we are into seeking God in the process. We want the blessings but we don’t want to invest anything of ourselves into getting them. We can’t earn salvation but remember faith without works is dead.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:17

We want the good stuff but we don’t want to actually have to do anything to get it. If we say we believe but don’t do anything about it, is our faith empty, superficial, something that is just part of the façade we show people? Will our faith stand up to exile. Is our faith active and alive or is it merely words?

The verse that means so much to us is found in a letter that goes for twenty verses. We like to pick two, one tenth of what is said, and focus on that. Consider this thought; that God is not as interested in prosperity as He is his people listening to and encouraging false prophets. We all like to hear certain things and avoid others. There is a part of us that likes to have our ears tickled but we are warned about that, in both testaments. Come on this is part of why these people were exiled in the first place. It is still a valid warning for us today.

Check with the bible, check with God and the Holy Spirit residing in you that what you are hearing is God’s word and not just what you want to hear. We hear the prosperity message crystal clear, but somehow the ‘obey me or live in exile’ part gets lost in transmission. Exile for us doesn’t mean being shipped off to another country but it could mean living outside God’s best for us and God’s best isn’t always what we think it’s going to be. God’s definition of prosperity isn’t necessarily what we want it to be. I don’t know about you but me, when I get to heaven I want to hear those words ‘well done good and faithful servant’, after all it’s not like I can take my big screen tv and DVD collection with me.

 

Stress

It's been busy and to be honest quiet stressful recently. Work issues, money issues, dream issues. You know how it goes, sometimes you just want things to go the way you want and then life happens. The other night though I found my destressor, rehearsals started. It's amazing for some the thought of getting up on a stage would be stress inducing but for me it has the opposite effect, quite simply performing and rehearsing is a cathartic process. I love it and I'm so glad to be doing it again. Now all I need to figure out is how to fit in my other passion - writing. you'll know when I manage that because I'll be updating this far more often.

To all of you out there I hope you are able to find something to help you de-stress.

Curve Balls

Life just happens, though it might be more apt to insert another four letter word at the start of that sentence. We got booted out of our old place, found a new one for quite a bit more money but that meant we couldn't save for a house of our own. We accepted that this was the right choice for us now and looked forward to living in a nice house and having enough money to finally pursue a little more actively our passions. That is to say we were planning to use our holidays filming and stuff.
Now we get another curve ball or two. My job was supposed to be expanded by now, but the second store hasn't opened yet. No stress really coz we're still both working, guess again, yesterday my hubby was fired because he's not a high pressure sales person. He doesn't believe in the hard sell to get people to buy what they really don't want, unfortanately this recession, or whatever it is we're in, means the company he works for used this to justify interveiwing someone else for his job before he knew he was out of a job. So much for company loyalty.
I shouldn't really complain because he's not the only one to lose his job because of the bottom line, he's bringing in money but it's not as much as before the recession so he's got to go. Not sure that's really his fault though. But then I am biased.
Here's the next thing, I just got my tax benefit and this has placed us in a frustrating position. Do we use this money as our safety net and wittle it away until he can get another job, or do we do what we originally planned and update our computers so we can pursue the filming, editing, etc things we want to?
When you believe you're doing what God wants and then the bottom falls out of it what are you supposed to think? That we must have been wrong? Or that this is how God plans to show his hand in using that which makes no sense to us mere humans? We've made our decision, what would you decide?

Classy Girl

With all the technology we have, camera, video camera, camera phones there are still things we don't manage to capture. Case in point, the other day having just picked hubby up from wk our youngest desperately wanted some attention from him, so she shouts 'Daddy, Daddy..' until he turns around in the drivers seat to look at her, only to find she has fingers shoved up each nostril and a big grin on her face.
The things we do for a little attention.

I'm Back!!!

Shifted but still unpacking.
Working, still finding my feet.
Eldest at school, need to find after school care.
Youngest in day care, I'm still adjusting.
Nearly have my own office.
I'm lovin' aircon and the dishwasher

Okay What's Been Going On

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've written anything. Then again a lot has been happening. I've steered away from using this place as somewhere to update about my life but I figure the two of you out there that read this might like a brief explanation.
Firstly out of nowhere I got offered a job working in a dvd store. People who know me think this is a great match, me and movies. Thing is I'm going in at ground level with the view to if it fits managing down the track. I didn't go looking for this I was all set to go full on into my writing but I have to wonder if God is doing another of those unexpected things, like using this to elp finance things for us. Also my hubby got a new job. Also somewhere people say is a perfect fit. Now this is amazing because in 11 years of marriage we've never come close to both working (potentially) full time. Just didn't happen, not for lack of trying though.
Then of course is Christmas.
So it's been a period of adjustments and I am trying to figure out how to fit everything in: my girls, my hubby, writing, acting, and working. Argghhhh!
Well take care and I'll talk to you early in the New Year and hopefully I will have figured at least some of it out.
May God Bless you mightily throughout this coming year.
Peace and joy to you all.