Why are we SO quick to complain in DAILYness?

So, this morning, I awoke to a nice coat of ice and snow ALL over my car. Mid-March Madness, I guess. Anyway, I found myself grumbling as I scraped my car to go to work....and day dreaming about living on the West Coast where it's sunny & 70 all the time.... :-) ah, soon enough!

Then I got in my car and headed to work. Of course, with the snow, a 15 minute drive turned into a 45 minute drive due to accidents all over the place (it's not that much snow, people, drive...come on!) Mumbling and grumbling about bad drivers and snow and Fridays... I turned on my radio...and realized I could have been waking up to this:



Quake, Tsunami Hit Japan; Waves Moving Toward West Coast

 Really, people? Why do we complain so much??? It's like an automatic response to inconvenience...like complaining will make it go away...or make us feel better.

I'm ashamed of my own lack of gratefulness. Lately, it seems like everything is just on hold...every ounce of work and effort I put into life comes back around  to...WAIT...just hold on... and deep in my heart I know that is a good thing...that God is at work in me and at work on my behalf. BUT instead of trusting Him and resting and being grateful...I whine...

My mom used to read the book  "Wendy & the Whine" to me on a daily basis (at least it seemed like it ;-) Why? Well, like most little girls...there were moments in the day when I would let out the most ridiculous whines...ugh. Did the book cure me? Mostly. I was scared of  "The Whine." But as I'm admitting, I occasionally am still visited by Monster Whine!

Now, I'm reminded of a verse that God has been trying to instill in me for a year now...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV, ©2011)

Rejoice always,

pray continually,

give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

OR

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (AMP)

• Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);
• Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];
• Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Yeah...OUCH! So...what will we do about that verse? That's a TALL order...
Do we just ignore is and stay focused on Jer. 29:11?

What about what Jesus also said in John 14:15?
"If you love Me, you will obey what I command."

There's no wiggle room there...

So I guess, our response to 1 Thess. 5:16-18 should be:

1. Do NOT complain...ever

2. Instead, Pray persistently, in every situation!

3. AND...be GRATEFUL...for everything!! (even fleas)

**THIS is God's Will!!**

 Ok, got it...

now, help me, Jesus!!

I SO want to honor You!

Sometimes I talk too much...

I love this...there is something so rich and sweet about just knowing who we are ... not being so caught up in do, do, DOing! Lately, I've been quiet...ever feel like you just talk too much? I feel that way a lot...reallly! Some of you who know me best are laughing because you know this is true... I don't want to be known for the flourish of words that I speak...for self-centered soliloquies or famoous speeches...but by the still small Voice that speaks through me... may I learn to be still and patient before the Lord...to wait until He speaks...

That is my prayer for you as well...that you will know Him..the One who created you...and who loves you more deeply than you will ever even know yourself... that you will find a deep heart connection with Him and that He will satisfy your soul...

Jesus, come dwell in us richly...

More on Peacemaking & Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (New Living Translation)

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors;

God is making his appeal through us.

We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Definition of RECONCILE

1a : to restore to friendship or harmony b : settle, resolve     

  2: to make consistent or congruous

 

So, the way I'm beginning to see it...we are called to fight for peace...to fight for restoration of friendship and resolution between...God and man! That is our mission! We are ambassadors, peace MAKERS...

Our job is not pretty and it often comes at great consequence to our own comfort...are we doing it?

Peacemaking

Today I came across a blog that made me start thinking. You can read the blog here
The following are the thoughts/comments I made to that blog...

Well, those are deep questions. I'm not sure I am any closer to answers on them than you are, however, a thought popped into my head as I read your post...I hope I'm not hijacking...

Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God." (Matt. 5:5)

So, being a peacemaker is part of our identity...right??

Problem. I've always interpreted that to mean being a doormat... "giving up one's 'rights' to vindication"...because after all revenge is His, right?

Well, what does it mean to be a PEACE-maker? NLT says "God blesses those who work for peace..." What are wars about? Two opposing sides...that can't seem to come to an agreement... Often a third party joins the fight...in order to RESTORE peace...to reconcile differences for the greater good...

Three different concepts come to mind...

Pacificist= a person who believes in pacifism or is opposed to war or to violence of any kind.

Peacekeeper= a person who maintains or restores peace and amity; mediator

Peacemaker= a person, group, or nation that tries to make peace, especially by reconciling parties who disagree, quarrel, or fight.

Are soldiers peacemakers? Technically, yes.

Soldiers (in theory, at least) are people who fight for peace.

Ok...so this is not about war vs. peace...but it is.

In relationships, in reconciliation especially, things can begin to feel like war. One caustic statement produces a self-protecting and equally damaging response... et cetera, etc.

So...if we are to be peacemakers, if we are to spread this gospel of reconciliation...are we not people who are to fight for peace... we are to be people who intentionally enter into conflict for the sake of ending the conflict. Hm...how does that work?

Honestly, that answer still evades me somewhat...but a few things DO come to the surface...

One, we do not enter the conflict with the motive of self-promotion, if we do...we are sure to wreak havoc on our own souls and to leave a bloody trail.

Two, we must enter into the conflict from a stance of Love. That love that's patient, kind (which also means to be patient), not rude, always hoping for the best...

Three, We must seek to understand before seeking to be understood... MUCH easier said than done.

Finally, we must enter into the process of peacemaking and reconciliation with the understanding that reconciliation is a process that often takes place in a series of encounters...it requires a commitment until the resolution...peacemaking rarely makes an easy or immediate appearance.

All I know to do...is give it to You...

Tonight...my heart is full...
full of an awareness...
my reality is not reality
not everyone has lived a life as easy as mine...

human trafficking
27 million
...human beings...
ENSLAVED
property?
...no dignity...no sense of value
little girls...
women...
little boys...
men
people with souls...
people without hope...
people who need Jesus' love
people who need someone to get passionate about them!
forgotten and cast aside...
society?
...more concerned with the red carpet than what's "hidden" in the red light district...
http://www.projectrescue.com/

ADDICTION
...meth, pills, heroin...
broken, self-centered people...
whose stories are so long and intricate, the beginning is hard to decipher from the end
people who believe they have no choice anymore...
hurting, abandoned children...damaged by someone else's choices
burnt bridges... parents and loved ones at the end of their ropes...
...hopelessness...
people desparate for freedom...
yet it is as illusive as the high that they seek
people who need
...Jesus' love...
...the power of the cross...
...restoration...
VICTORY
http://www.teenchallenge.org/site/c.inKLKROuHqE/b.5492523/k.BD98/Home.htm

Jesus, tonight, I come into agreement with You. Healer of the Broken, You alone hold the keys to freedom from sin and wholeness from its destruction...I ask You to set captives free...to open the blind eyes and unlock the deaf ears... AWAKEN this generation from its slumber...from its foolishness...AWAKEN Your Bride to Her Purpose...to seek and to save those who are lost...to bind up the broken hearted...Father, stir up our hearts... RAISE UP men and women with the heart of William Wilburforce...let freedom ring... Raise up people with the anointing of Mother Theresa... Raise Up people with hearts to please YOU to glorify YOU...not the media, not the status quo, not the political agenda of a deprived generation...YOU and YOU ALONE! Holy Spirit...empower Your People to DO THE WORK OF END TIME HARVEST... May we become aware of our God-given authority...Establish Your Identity within Your People...that we may see the nations come to know Your Name!

Father...this is Your Heart...only You can accomplish this work through Your People...embolden us...cause us to see reality...YOUR REALITY... I roll over the burden...the weight of the needs I see...show me, how can I be part of the solution...?

I have a problem...

"Hello, my name is Rachel Leonard and I am addicted to books..."

"Hi, Rachel...." (imagine a chorus of people that sound like Eeyore)

(Ok, in case you're not laughing ... you should be!! The last year of has ruined my humor!)

No, seriously, people...I LOVE books! And I think that I have a problem. (That's good, they say that the first step is to admit you have a problem...I'm getting there :-) I like to buy books, borrow books from libraries, borrow books from friends...

I am also a chronic multi-book reader...meaning I am reading about 10 books right now...in fact, I was SO proud to have finished one the other day...guess, how long I was reading that one? Come on, give it a go... alright...it took me about a year (granted, I didn't start until about 8 months after receiving it as a gift because I was in denial over needing to read it...a great book on singleness!)

I realized the other day that the first thing I do when I move to a new community is find the public library...I have a library card on my key chain from 5 years ago (I interned in southeast KY for 2 months and spent all of my free-time at the library!)

So, um, right now I'm avoiding a mess in the basement...totally and completely MY mess...
I am trying to squeeze 26+ years of life into a tiny bedroom ...and it is becoming a little overwhelming! The other day I realized that I have moved 4 times since May 2009! And, well, I'm not done yet for this year!! However, I've decided I need to get my stuff in some decent organized order...even if it is only for six months or less.

One discovery that I have been making in the process of this mess...ehem, drumroll please!

Most of my belongings have great similarity... they all have hundreds of pages, tiny print and are bound together in various forms of colors and pictures...we like to call these things books! Oh...I just love them! Until, I have to pack and unpack them :-)

I asked myself a good rhetorical question today...

"Why do I love books so much?"
"Good question, Rachel."
(Yes, I did just talk to myself and respond...)

Well, I'm not sure of the answer. I do know that I usually like to read to understand something better....a people group, a world situation, God's Word, myself... or to just escape from life for a while... I literally have entire sections to my collection...Bibles, Hermeneutics (big word for studying scripture), Leadership, Missions, Church Growth, Counseling, Youth, Young Adults, Women's Issues, Addiction, Marriage, Dating, Literature, Christian Fiction...

Each section contains an insight...I like to read and I like to understand...and then I like to share! One of my dreams since I was a little girl has been to have a room in my house completely devoted to books, it will have shelves full of books...cozy couches, a fireplace and snuggly blankets...and to top it off a ladder that will slide down the wall (partly because I'm short and partly because Belle in Beauty & the Beast always made it look so fun!)

Welcome to the random mind of Rachel :-) So, to the answer the question...I'm not sure? haha...but I should probably get back to organizing all the books I already have...in my basement bedroom!

PS I found this awesome picture...another dream of mine to have a house where I can plant a tree in the middle and it will grow super tall right through the roof... what a GREAT combo ...well, at least in theory :-)

Beni Johnson - The Secret Place

This is what this next season is about for me...restoring the Secret Place. Today, I close the door on an intense season of giving and open a door to a season of resting and listening and re-learning the art of Practicing the Presence... this is what I've been missing...feeling God's Presence and hearing His Voice. It is my desire to know God intimately and to make Him known...that the nations would know of His GREAT LOVE! But, it starts right here... :-)