On point

Am I vain?

This question came up when 2 very different things happened

After I got ready for the day, one of my children said "You can't wear that to the bus stop." "Why ?!" was my sharp response. He went on to say "It's not 'busstoppy'." "Who will see me in it? " I asked...but didn't push for a response as we needed to head to the bus stop and I'm sure you know that I didn't change.

While on the train, I looked at my dress - which I like - and noticed that it had some "pimples." Of course, that was evidence of the fabric and usage. As I alighted from the train, I wondered some more about what my son said and appreciated the fact that he cared enough to look at me and what I was wearing - something they have learned from their father. However, that's not to say that he had a valid point, if he even had a point. On second thoughts, I said to myself, maybe I should convert this to a "Friday" outfit - whatever that means. As I pondered on that thought, I wondered, "Am I vain* - in caring how others think I look?"

The answer to this question and its irrelevance came quickly - very quickly. As I walked into the office, the receptionist said to me, "I like your dress." At that moment it was obvious that "No" I am not vain and "Yes" it is important to care about I look...and to care a little about how others think I look after all I am God's ambassador. Talk about vindication.

Later that day, something totally different happened. I saw a lady who I saw last week...and get this she was in exactly the same outfit! Jewellery and all. What?! Why? were the two questions that popped in my head. I quickly reprimanded myself. After all, what was my business with that? Yes, what's my business? Was that a trace of being vain? Hmm...

I thought about it some more and decided that I'm definitely not vain - just observant. Guess what I learned from these 2 experiences?

1. Yes, you're right - I'm not vain.
2. It is so easy to be vain if you do not rein your thoughts and actions.

May God, by His Spirit, continue to keep us - I mean me - in check.

Reference:

* Vain - "having or showing an excessively high opinion of one's appearance, abilities, or worth." (Google)

How still is still?

At the end of each year, God gives me a Word to take me through the coming year.

2 years ago the Lord He gave me Psalm 46:10 -

God says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be praised in all the nations; I will be praised throughout the earth.” (NCV)

As if to be sure that I got the message, He sent me a water bottle with the verse on it through a Pastor and his wife. Later that year, a sister-friend came to me and said "I saw a notebook and thought about you..." I was happy to hear that someone thought about me and screamed when I opened the envelope...because this ==> is what I found in it. Obviously God was thinking about me as He always does - and repeated His Word to me.

Interestingly, the same Pastoral couple who gave me the water bottle gave my family a piece of Wall Art for Christmas. Do you want to guess what it said?

When I received it, I turned to Mrs. Pastor and recounted what God had said to me and how He has used them twice to reiterate it and how he used another person too.


Talk about reinforcement via repetition...


Then last year, He gave me this verse for 2018 is Exodus 14:14 
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (NIV)


Now it was evident that being "still" would be key to my #victory in 2018.


As this year has progressed - challenges and all - I've continued to remind myself that God has instructed me to "Stay/stand still."  According to Google, "Still" means "not moving or making a sound" (as an adjective) and "deep silence and calm" (as a noun).
 
In my opinion, I believe that I have done a really good job in being still but now and again I have asked myself "How still is still?" I noticed that I was really carefree ("free from anxiety or responsibility"*) and care-less (without a care) not careless ("not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm or errors"*) in my attitude due to my trust in God.


Now and again my husband would say to me "their strength is to sit still."** Even though I agreed with him, the question "How still is still?" was still top of my mind. As I pondered on this, the Holy Spirit reminded me that being still does not mean that I should be inactive. Actually what He said was that I must keep busy "sowing" from a place of strength not from a place a stress. Now that made sense to me because the deep calm and confidence that you will get a harvest comes after you have sowed...

 
As I was pondering on the best time to publish this piece, 2 interesting things happened:
First of all, I saw this Tweet...(italics, mine)
T.D. Jakes (@BishopJakes) tweeted at 9:22 AM on Sun, Mar 04, 2018: When you serve you see more. God magnifies Himself. We often misinterpret the scripture. If we're waiting on the Lord, it doesn't mean that we wait and do nothing.  https://t.co/jUe8MHGuqL #TPHOnline #PrinciplesOfService #SundayMorning (https://twitter.com/BishopJakes/status/970333568919658498?s=09)

And then the next week I had training in another office. When I went to get tea, I wanted a different mug - after all I'm unique. Then I saw this mug that was spot on. As I made my tea, a lady came in and said, "Oh I love that mug..." We chatted a bit about how being peaceful is powerful. I said to her I find that being still in a storm is a source of strength...for me it has been.

So I encourage you to cultivate the habit and attitude of stillness - especially in the busy-ness of the world. You'll be amazed at how energized you are to do what you need to in those moments. "Be still" 

References:

https://bible.com/bible/105/psa.46.10.NCV

https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.14.14.NIV
*Google

**Isaiah 30:7 - For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still. (KJV)