Don't Worry, Be Happy!

 

Picture by Caprice Miller and Rodgers Miller

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” – Matthew 6:25-27

What a fun site to see at the breakfast table.   The story goes that Caprice’s husband, Rodgers, created this little face and realized just how picture worthy it was before consuming it.  Experts say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It just helps to start the day off right with nourishment to help you accomplish those tasks at hand.  It’s also very helpful to begin the day on a positive note too, so why not an oatmeal happy face?   A full tummy and a happy heart – that sounds like a recipe for a great start to a beautiful day.  It sounds simple enough, but is it really? 

As an admitted emotional eater, I know that when I encounter stressful moments during the day, I start reaching for something to eat.  In addition, these stressful times can be viewed as overwhelming and all consuming.  After a while of reaching for the wrong things and allowing stress to become consuming I noticed a few things.  The wardrobe began to shrink, the body became sluggish and the issues of life began to overtake me.     Once a person begins down this road of stress controlled living, it is virtually impossible to find an exit until you hit the proverbial wall.  How can we avoid that though?

It’s important to remember that the enemy’s goal is to make sure that our eyes are always taken off of God – the source of all of our needs.  And one of Satan's favorite tools of choice is creating chaos and doubt in our lives.  When we are caught up in this scenario of chaos and doubt it creates worry and stress that clearly don’t belong in our life.  It doesn’t take long to realize that our eyes are indeed taken off of the very one who can give us peace in the midst of these life circumstances.  But there is good news.  Realizing that your eyes have been diverted is half the battle.  God is always there and waiting for you to turn your attention to Him again.  Now that you know the enemy’s game, you have the opportunity to fight back.   Call on the One who brings peace and order to the chaos, doubt and stress in life.

It is truly amazing the love that God has for us.   Jesus reminds us of this when He calls attention to the birds and how God takes care of them.  We are so much more valuable to Him than these.  It is so easy for our focus to be drawn away from this truth and believe we are all on our own.   But the reality is that God is concerned about every detail of our life.  When we read the words He has for us, we are reminded of that.  Psalm 139:1-18 is a great example of how much He cares.  (Go ahead, read it.)  When we lift our eyes from the chaos and stress around us we recognize the blessings we’ve been given.   Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God…”  It’s in these still moments we can hear His whisper in our hearts and see things differently.  Don’t let the chaos and stresses of life drown out the very source of peace for you.  And a great way to begin may just be with a “happy face bowl of oatmeal” while reading what God has to say to your heart from His Word.  It’s nourishment for the body and soul so you will have the tools you need to gain perspective and overcome whatever may come your way.

Jewels Of Freedom

Picture by Caprice Miller

“The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.  The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”  - Exodus 12: 35-36

Pretty!  Many a girl would appreciate an array of colorful bracelets like this.  Something in us just seems naturally drawn to colorful, sparkly things.  And if we can wear those things, even better! 

Something about this picture made me think of the Israelites though.  Colorful, sparkly things would not be something that you would think they would have among their possessions when they were finally allowed to leave Egypt.  And yet,  we read in Exodus 25 that these types of things are what was brought before God to construct God’s dwelling place among them in the desert – the Tabernacle.   How did they come up with all of that gold, silver, colorful thread and precious stones?

It is fascinating the way God orchestrates things.  If we didn’t already know the rest of the story of how the Israelites were finally released from slavery, then we might think this prospect would be pretty hopeless.  The pharaoh was not budging no matter what plague was thrown at him.  In fact, he made life even more miserable for the Israelite slaves.  But Moses carried on.  You might imagine the conversations going on at that point.  “Moses needs to leave!  Compared to what we’re  enduring now, we were living just fine before Moses stuck his nose into things.  Just leave it alone or Pharaoh will just make it worse.”  Things had been pretty much “status quo” until Moses decided to obey God and be the man to lead them out of the slavery they had been in for 400 years.  Sure they had prayed for so long to be freed, but perhaps they didn’t expect the “birth into freedom” to be so painful on them.   

In very similar ways, we have probably experienced similar circumstances in our lives.  Chances are we have not gone through 400 years of slavery, but there may have been very real circumstances that we have prayed and possibly even begged God to release us from.   Perhaps it’s an addiction or a harmful relationship, no matter the circumstance, it has you in its grip and won’t let go.   In order to experience freedom there may be changes in our lives that must occur.  Many times those changes not only affect us as individuals, but also others around us.  This could cause conflict in addition to what we may be trying to gain freedom from.  And because of this additional conflict, too many times we decide just to stay where we are instead of pushing through to the other side.  But if we continue to follow God’s guidance and finally experience that freedom, we can look back on the experience and discover something.  If we had avoided the pain of the “birth into freedom” we would have missed the lessons offered to us along the way.  Lessons that helped us grow in our faith in God to carry us through and courage to face whatever may come our way next.   Ultimately, if we are following God’s guidance, His glory will be shown through our victory and freedom. 

Back to the Israelites.   When the time FINALLY came that Pharaoh said “JUST GET OUT!  But bless me before you go.”  (Paraphrase of Exodus 12:32)  God directed the hearts of the Egyptians in a way that they were more than ready for them to go.  In fact, they were so ready that they gave the Israelites gold, silver, precious stones, clothes, whatever they asked for and more just so they would leave quickly.   At first we may think this is great for them – they are leaving with all sorts of riches!  But in pondering how I would feel in the shoes of the Israelites at the moment, I’m not sure I would want to have anything to ever remind me of my slavery.  I would just want to leave as quickly as possible and never look back.  Besides, what were they going to do with it?  They were going to be in a desert where there wasn’t exactly a lot of commerce going on.   But God had other things in mind.  These items given from the very ones who had been their captors ended up being the materials God directed them to use for building His dwelling place so that He could be with them.   

The things we gain freedom from in our lives are also probably the very things we don’t want to ever revisit.  But know that God brings beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and uses the circumstances in our lives to draw us closer to Him.   As we are drawn closer to Him, we can’t help but also shine with the light of His love that DWELLS IN US – a light that shines brighter than jewels.  And as with things that shine like a jewel, it draws in others - others who need freedom for themselves.  The lessons you were taught through your own experience can now be used to help someone else begin their own “birth to freedom”.    

True freedom begins with accepting God’s gift to us – Jesus.  God sacrificed His Son, Jesus, so that we could always be with Him.  Take your first step into freedom,  Just pray this simple prayer and make it your own:  “Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and that I have messed up from time to time. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that God raised Him from the dead. I choose to follow You, Jesus, and I confess that You are my savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. I love You. Amen.”  Now, tell somebody so they can celebrate with you!

 

 

 

Fight The Giant

Picture by Caprice Miller

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.””  -   I Samuel 17:37

Imagine coming face-to-face with this angry guy in the wilderness.  There are some things just better left alone.  This is probably one of them.  This is not the time to try to do an unnatural intervention and try to reason with this creature.  “So, tell me….Paul is it?  Tell me Paul Polar, what is the real source of your anger?  I want to help you.”  Yeah, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, just leave him to his territory and get the heck out of Alaska!  But as soon as we do that, we may realize that this is not just and angry polar bear, it’s a HUNGRY polar bear too.  And now it’s an angry, hungry polar bear chasing you!  Who knew something so big could run so fast?  The next thing you know, you are literally running for your life and all you had been doing in the first place was taking in the beauty of the world around you at the time.  You never meant to disturb Paul the Polar Bear.    But sometimes these things happen.  We are just going about our business and suddenly we are confronted with the angry, hungry issues of life that seem determined to take us down. 

Back in the day of David, that is sort of what was happening to the Israelite army.  They were going about their business of fighting the Philistine army and then suddenly there was this nine foot bear…..I mean man named Goliath that was fighting for the Philistines and he was very angry and hungry for Israelite flesh.   The Bible tells us that for 40 days this giant would have a shift in the morning and in the evening when he would do nothing but taunt and insult the Israelites trying to get someone to come and fight him.  But no one had the courage to do so.  And that’s when our man, David, comes into the picture.  He was dropping in to bring his brothers some food from dad, Jesse, so he could check things out and bring word back to dad about how it was all going.  However, his brothers who were fighting in the Israelite army thought of him as a mere nuisance of a boy – the kid brother they didn’t want around to cramp their style.  That’s when he couldn’t help but notice this bad tempered, bad mannered giant who was continuing to hurl insults at them.  We can imagine what David must have been thinking.  This Israelite army was supposed to be tough.  Why are they just letting this guy go on like this with his insults?  As he went about asking questions of the guys, he found out there was even a reward for the one who would step up and take care of the giant.  As David assessed the situation, he went to King Saul and volunteered.  When the king questioned how this “boy” could think he could go up against this giant and win, David assured him that he was more than capable. You see, David may have been young in age, but he was a warrior at heart.   As he tended his father’s sheep, he would have to fight lions and bears to protect them.  In his mind, this wasn’t that different. He wasn’t going to let a lion or bear attack his sheep and he surely wasn’t about to let this giant continue to insult his people.  As we read on in I Samuel 17, David picks out five stones and heads toward the giant.  Goliath seems insulted that, again….a “mere boy”, would be sent to fight him.  But David responds to his insults and threats by saying ““You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (I Samuel 17:45)  And then David puts a stone in the sling and lets it fly right into the forehead of Goliath.  And the problem of the angry giant is gone. 

It can be really debilitating when we encounter the “Goliaths of life”.  They usually come in the form of health, financial or relational issues.  And they always seem so frightening and insurmountable. It is just easier to try to ignore them hoping they will go away rather than facing them head on and reclaiming your territory in life.  Sometimes we need help in seeing this though.  That’s what David did.  He came into a situation that the Israelite army had already been experiencing for 40 days.  They were at a loss of what to do.  The mental warfare had taken its toll and they were buying into the thought that this giant could not be defeated.  But someone else had a fresh perspective.   There are times when we need that too.  We need another to come in and remind us that these circumstances come into our lives with “sword and spear and javelin” but we can come at them in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!  Just being aware of this brings courage to the surface like never before.  Truly understanding that the “stones” we have to fight with are actually God’s power in our lives should give us the courage and hope to not only face the Goliaths of our lives, but take them on knowing they will be defeated in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!  Have courage today in the face of the giants of your life.  Know that as a Christ follower, His power is within you.  Take the giants on in the name of the LORD ALMIGHTY!

Are You Running Wild?

Picture by Caprice Miller

“²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, ²³ for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.” – Acts 17:22-23

 Meet the “Mustangs Of Las Colinas”.  This is a much admired sculpting piece in the middle of a business district of Irving, Texas.  It’s a great place to sit on a beautiful spring day and have lunch or to walk around and view in the evening under the Texas stars.  As you view the sculpture you can almost imagine them running across rivers and the open plains.  You wonder what causes them to run so wild and aimlessly.  Did something spook one of them and then the rest just followed along?  When they finally get tired and stop they may look at each other and think “What was that all about?  We were having a perfectly great time grazing and Sam gets spooked again and we all have to run!  That ain’t right.  Next time he can go by himself.”  Or maybe they don’t think at all about the fact that they just follow the leader and don’t ask questions.  Many people seem to have this same mentality.  And yet they think of themselves as “free thinkers” not realizing they are missing the true freedom that could be theirs. 

This is what Paul discovered when he visited Athens.  The Bible tells us that he was really distressed by the idols he saw everywhere – even one “To an Unknown God” just in case they missed one.  It must have made Paul even more distressed to realize this city was so full of such intelligent minds that were so close to the truth, and yet so far from it also.  Their concept of “free thinking” had actually entangled them in the confusion of deception that closed their minds to the truth of God and the true freedom He has given us through Jesus Christ.  Instead of running toward the freedom found in God, they were running wild and aimlessly wherever the newest concept of the most recent idol took them.  And when that would lead to a dead end, disappointment or ruin, they would simply move on to the next idol, it seems.  Perhaps the thought was that surely one of these idols would lead to the utopia being searched for.   How many times do so many of us do the same thing? 

While we don’t see many “idols” today as they had in those days of Athens, we certainly do have idols.  They still cause us to chase after the utopia we so long for.  These idols come in the form of obtaining the best material possessions, being part of the current status crowd, and sacrificing ourselves by doing whatever is required to acquire these things and find favor with that current status crowd.  Basically, an “idol” is something that becomes the deception keeping our focus turned away from the truth and freedom found in a relationship with God through Christ. 

As we see in the Bible, Paul was able to help many in Athens understand that the truth was not in an idol “To an Unknown god”, but through a relationship with God, the creator of the universe.  Many determined to stop running wild and aimlessly toward nothing and open their minds and hearts to the truth of God instead.   These people in turn began sharing with others to help them stop running also.  This is such a similar cycle that happens still today.  When we have spent a life running wild and aimlessly, it is such a wonderful, life-changing experience to run into the loving arms of Jesus and stop running.  We can’t help but share the experience with others so they can stop running too.  And if we must run, let’s determine to run with purpose and in the direction God has for us.  If we have had this life-changing experience in our lives we are to help others know the truth and love of God also.  Run with that purpose. 

No Regrets

Picture by Caprice Miller

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”  says the Teacher.  “Utterly meaningless!   Everything is meaningless.” – Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NIV)

This is Caprice’s cat, Laverne.  Like most cats, she seems as though she could be a little intense.  She could possibly be one of the subjects of the “Sad Cat Diary” videos.  The author has given sad cats of the world a voice that seems to be lonely and depressed.  Their very existence seems to be escaping the capture of the “authorities” or manipulating the “authorities” into giving them what they want by various means including “singing the song of it people”.   The funniest part is that you can actually see where the narrator gets the material.  Those that know cats can identify.  They seem so depressed sometimes.  They author of Ecclesiastes could remind us of this manner of speech too.  What a way to open a book – “Meaningless!  Meaningless!”.  You wonder why this book is in the Bible in the first place, at first glance.  But then that is when we should stop and take a look at the author and why he says these things in the first place.  If we do, we would find someone with what seems to be everything except what fills a void.  It’s a common issue even today.  But there is an answer to the problem if we continue to read.

Solomon was the king of Jerusalem and son of King David.  Solomon became the wealthiest man in the world.  He had numerous houses, a huge stable of horses and hundreds of wives.  Every time a country wanted to find favor with him, apparently, giving him a wife and horses would be part of the deal.  Seems a bit impractical, but that is how things were done “back in the day”.  Needless to say, the man had seemingly everything a person could possibly want – enormous wealth, power and possessions.  And yet, he still found it all “meaningless”. 

From what is heard of many people around the world who seem to “have it all”, this is a common issue.  Those of us on the outside looking in could not imagine how those with such wealth could be so empty.  But so many seem to be when we get an opportunity to look inside their lives.  You would think that at some point someone would look at a common denominator and try to figure out why this issue of having everything you could want leads to a life of emptiness and a lack of fulfillment.  But because of all the distractions this life affords, it is difficult to slow down enough and take notice of the cautionary signs that are offered.  Signs that say, “You can have an even better life.  Ask how.” 

As we read the rest of Ecclesiastes, we realize that it isn’t the wealth that caused the emptiness of Solomon.  It was how he used it.  He had so many God-given gifts and he was given amazing wisdom.  Yet, in the end he looked back on his life and realized he had disobeyed God’s directives.  He tells us “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— Ecclesiastes 12:1 (NIV)  Solomon, with all his wealth, wives, horses, power and wisdom had serious regrets in the end.  Why?  It seems he forgot what the source of it was in the first place.  In the end he explains, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:  Fear God and keep his commandment, for this is the duty of all mankind.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV) These are wise words to heed. 

It is great to be wise enough at a young age to remember these words and always be mindful of where the blessings we receive come from.  But even if we are like Solomon and find ourselves past our youth with regrets of not fearing God and keeping His commandments, it isn’t too late.  There are lessons to be learned from regrets in life.  Allow God to help you understand them so that they become a lesson that others can learn from.  Solomon did this in his writings.  He learned from his regrets and left us the lessons so we could avoid the same pitfalls.  Let’s take the time to thank God for the opportunity to learn and to teach others how to avoid those pitfalls of life as we point the way to Him. 

The Best Life

Picture by Caprice Miller

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!   All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”  - 1 Corinthians 9: 24-25

It is such a great feeling to WIN!  All the hard work you put in prior to the competition paid off.  Now you get to stand in the winner’s circle and bask in the glow of the spot light as people cheer for your accomplishments.  In that moment, you can’t imagine anything better.  Even over the next few days you might think you should pinch yourself to make sure you aren’t dreaming.  But soon, the glow of the spot light fades, the training for the next challenge begins and instead of questions such as “How does this win feel?” you hear “So, what will you do to stay on top and do your really think you can do it?”  Or “So, when are you going to retire?”

The ebbs and flows of competition are a lot like life.  There are times when we really do feel like we are in a challenge to win or lose.   But most of us are just trying to stay in the game and not really worrying about winning the ultimate prize.  That’s really a sad existence when you think about it – “just trying to stay in the game.”  Doing life this way really has no purpose about it except survival.  There are too many of us who feel like we are doing just that – trying to survive from one day to the next.  There is barely a moment to take in your immediate surroundings much less contemplate the manner in which you are doing life.  But what if there was something more?

As human beings, we have an innate desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  That is because we have been wired to have a relationship with our creator, the God of the Universe.  We have the opportunity to live a life with Him as our coach.  Imagine that!  The one who tells us that He has a plan for us in Jeremiah 29:11 could actually coach our lives, if we allow Him to.  If we’re honest with ourselves, stepping out on our own is just a normal way of life usually.  If we have ever stopped to ask God’s direction first, we probably felt surprised when it actually gave us peace and really did work for His glory and our benefit.  Why is it that we don’t take time to do this more?   It’s interesting to consider what life would be like if we actually sought God’s plan for our lives before stepping out on our own.  It would probably save us so much time, heartache, frustration, etc. 

We have to remember that this life we live is a competition in a sense.  We have but one to live and we have choices to make for it to be the best we can live.   It’s not a sprint we are in, but a marathon.  We are competing for the ultimate prize of an eternity with God in Heaven.  We should take the time to ask for His direction first so we don’t waist our energy on the trails that lead to self-destruction.  This manner of living life could be an encouragement to others who may be attempting to run life as a sprint instead of a marathon themselves.   Run your marathon for His glory.  It will be of great benefit as you live the best life He has given you.   

Light Tank WIth Power

Picture by Caprice Miller

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. “– Ephesians 6:10-11

At first glance you might think this was just a picture of some scrap metal and wonder, “What’s Caprice doing at a junk yard?”  But then at closer inspection you realize there is something more to this picture story.  This is obviously a tank that saw action long ago.   From a little research, it seems this tank is what could be referred to as a “light tank” model.  It was introduced prior to WWII.  It was used for its speed and was able to exploit breakthroughs of enemy lines created by larger tanks.   Variations are still used today, as you might imagine.  It is one of many valuable pieces of armor used in our armed forces to protect our freedom.   

This is obviously a very physical example of some very powerful armor that can withstand a lot of enemy combat.  There are times in life that we have probably wished we could have armor like this to protect us from our enemies.  Sometimes that enemy is so elusive you might think nothing can protect you from it.  You can’t even see it, but it just continues to attack.  That’s what the Bible talks about when it says in the next verse of this scripture

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  - Ephesians 6:12 

You may recognize this enemy.  It comes in the form of fear, self-doubt, anger, or that little nagging voice in your mind that keeps telling you of your unworthiness.  These are just a few of the weapons of this unseen enemy. In addition to this ammunition, he creates a sense of separation within us.  This separation is just a lie that makes us feel as though we are the only ones experiencing these things and no one else could ever understand.   But if we can’t see it, then how do we fight against it? 

It’s important to remember what a mighty arsenal we have available at our fingertips.  It is hard for us to imagine the truly “ALMIGHTY POWER” that our God has.  As a believer, this power is available to us.  As we ask God to remind us of this truth, He will also bring to mind some pieces of armor He gives us as we read further into this passage. 

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God .¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.^{” –} Ephesians 6:13-18

When you really break down the tactics of this unseen enemy, you realize that they are just so common.  One of the secrets seems to be separation though.  God designed us to be in relationship.  Relationship with Him and also those around us who encourage us and spur us on to be the person God created us to be.  When we begin to believe we are the only ones experiencing these mental grenades of self-doubt, fear and more, we tend to cut off those relationships that help us remember truth instead of the lies. 

Don’t try to stand alone.   Believe and remember before ever stepping foot out of bed that you have the power of the ALMIGHTY GOD at your fingertips.  Take this scripture to heart and stand firm in the face of this unseen enemy and mentally put on each piece of God’s armor for you.  Don’t separate yourself from a relationship with God or those He has placed around you.  Like the “light tank”, with His power we will be able to exploit what God has already broken through. 

Remember, “….Be strong in the Lord and His mighty power.”