christian living

Connecting Our Words and Thoughts in Prayers

/ Bill Jones / 2 Comments

To-do list reminders on the back door

I use computer calendars (personal and work) to keep up with my schedule and to-do lists. However, Sharon and I have found another effective way to get specific reminders. As shown in the picture above, it’s the use of sticky notes on the back door glass.

Since tomorrow is garbage pickup, Sharon has put up the note that says “trash day”. In the morning, after I start the coffee and then head outside to feed the kittens, I should read it. If not, at some point during the morning, one of us will notice it and I’ll pull the container to the road. After that’s done, I can remove the note and put it on the counter to use again next week (may as well be frugal until the sticky wears off that one).

In case you wondered – “wasp nests” means I need to take the wasp spray out at some point because they have started several nests around the outside of the house. “Tablecloth” is a reminder to return our company’s trade show exhibit tablecloth back to the main office.

That location for the notes is effective because we both go out the door for various reasons several times a day. But, because it’s a well traveled route, it can also become routine. We can get to the point that we don’t notice the notes and what they say. We go on about our business and ignore the reminders. So, even with something right in front of our eyes, there still has to be an effort to pay attention.

That can apply in a Christian’s prayer life too. Even the wonderful example that Jesus gave His disciples of how to pray (usually referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”) can become routine. We can repeat it by rote enough that we don’t have to think about the words. I’ve caught myself at times repeating that prayer, or saying a different prayer, while thinking about something totally different – like, “what’s for lunch?” or “it’s time for another cup of coffee”.

It’s my belief that what we’re thinking about while praying is more important than the words we’re using. As I said, there isn’t always a connection between the words and the thoughts, but there certainly needs to be. Our thoughts and words should be focused on and to God the Father, guided by the Holy Spirit, and prayed in Jesus’ name. That takes our effort to pay attention.

Sometimes Sharon and I will be talking about our back door to-do list and realize we’ve stopped paying attention – one of us will say, “I don’t remember, let me check the door” and we’ll get re-focused.

At times, we need to follow that in our prayers – Stop and take a moment to re-focus on what our objective really is.

“After this manner pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom com, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Matt 6:9-13 KJV

Pondering My Garden (and King Nebuchadnezzar)

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments

The Guara – bobs up and down with the weight of bumblebees

Since gardening season is well underway, I thought I would post an article I had published in “Keys for Living Magazine” last summer. Hope you enjoy it:

I marveled at our backyard’s beauty. The phlox beamed beside the weathered picket fence. The hibiscus was nearly eight feet tall and was smothered in pink blooms. Long tendrils of the guara held out their flowers and danced as the bumblebees did touch and go landings. Cardinals and bluebirds were bright spots of color at the feeders.

Several years earlier the yard was just an expanse of pasture. Over time I built the garden’s structure and established the flower beds. The fence came first and defined the back of the yard. I think I actually applauded in satisfaction when the gate’s latch clicked in place and fit perfectly.

A working gate deserved more than a dirt path, so a walkway of red concrete pavers came next. The addition of a pump house with a barn style roof and weathervane on top added a rustic touch to the scene.

The bahia grass in the old pasture was so thick that my tiller just dragged me along as it bounced over the top. I’m sure it was comical to watch, but to me it was frustrating. With that obstacle, it became a struggle to transform sections into flower beds. Many exhausting sessions of hand work were required but the transformation did occur.

The histories of many of the plants also came to mind. The oak leaf hydrangea was 12 inches tall when planted. Now it covered an area twenty five feet across.

I bought the pagoda plant sight-unseen. What a surprise we had when it produced spectacular orange blooms over a foot tall that did look like a Chinese pagoda – with multiple stems and flowers in layers that decreased in circumference from the bottom to the top. And they were like butterfly magnets.

Pagoda Plant with Butterflies

Pagoda Plant with Butterflies

Standing there, remembering the years of work that had been involved, I could have shouted “Look at this great garden I have built!” Thankfully, I thought better of it and didn’t.

I thought of King Nebuchadnezzar who gazed at his city and said: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30 KJV) At that moment God showed him who had the power and majesty. The King spent the next seven years eating grass like an ox.

I didn’t mimic his words. Not from fear of having to eat grass, but from the realization that without God I could have done nothing. I praised Him for the beautiful flowers and birds He created. I thanked Him for the strength to build the fence. I thanked Him for the time, resources and opportunities He had provided.

That day I knew what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote that he had planted and Apollos had watered but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). Paul was writing of spiritual growth, but in my physical garden I understood that while I may have built and planted and watered, it was God alone Who, in His power and majesty, had completed it and made it beautiful!

Zucchini Blessings Return

/ Bill Jones / 9 Comments
Zucchini Plant

Zucchini Plant

You hear a lot of stories about how prolific zucchini is – you get more than you can keep up with. (Like the old joke in gardening circles – don’t leave your car window rolled down or someone will leave a bag of zucchini).

Several years ago I gave up on the plant. There wasn’t a problem with too many, it was very few.  I had problems with squash vine borers. I never could figure out how to prevent them from decimating the vines so I just quit.

But this year I tried them again and you can see from this one plant that the Lord has blessed us with a load of zucchini again.  We’re having them sauted and grilled, giving them away and Sharon’s making zucchini bread. It is a great blessing so if you need some let me know. I’m not sure where the squash vine borers are, but I’m thankful they haven’t found their way back yet.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Proverbs 3:5-10

Thank the Lord for plants full of zucchini!

Pursue Wisdom

/ Bill Jones / 29 Comments
English: The Wisdom of Solomon, by James Jacqu...

The Wisdom of Solomon

This is part of the ChristianWriters.com blog chain, with the June theme of “Pursuit”. Please check out the list to the right for other blogs during the month.

Sharon and I were checking out the furniture before the auction. As we walked through the aisles, she noticed a beautiful oak chest-of-drawers. She called me over to see it and let me know she loved it. Of course, since she loved it, I did too – so, we decided to bid on it and determined what our maximum bid could be.

About an hour into the auction, they took the chest to the front of the room. Sharon squeezed my arm and whispered, “There it is!”

The bidding started and we let a couple of rounds go by before we jumped in. The bids were lower and slower than we expected and were still much below our planned price. I made a bid that was countered by a slightly higher one. We looked at each other, and since we were still well within our limit, I raised the bid.

We waited excitedly as the seconds ticked by with no other response – then, really got excited when we heard “sold”. The chest was ours for half the cost we thought it would be!

We relaxed and settled back triumphantly to watch more of the auction. The helpers at the front picked up a chest and walked away with it. Then, two others picked up “our” chest and moved it to the center. The auctioneer started with “now, we have this beautiful oak chest – what am I bid?”

I stood up and started to shout, “Wait, we just bought that one!”, but quickly deduced the mistake was ours. We had not been paying attention through most of the auction, and now realized “our” oak chest had been in the waiting area where the items coming up next were set.

We hadn’t even noticed the chest that really was now ours. I had to go walk through the aisles of sold stuff and search for our number. I found a plain pine chest of drawers – probably worth what we paid for it, but we had no desire to take it home. We left it there on consignment to be sold at the next auction.

The results of the waylaid process were:

  • The pine chest sold at the next auction, but when they took the seller’s fee out, we lost money.
  • The oak chest sold for about twice what we said we could afford to pay for it, so our plan wasn’t realistic from the beginning.
  • We learned the lesson that we need to be sure what we’re bidding on before we jump in.

Our pursuit of the chest had gone astray, and it was obvious a pursuit of wisdom would have served us better.

“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore, get wisdom…” Proverbs 4:7 NKJV

We spend much of our lives pursuing knowledge – through school, workshops, reading, and training at work or elsewhere. That’s not a bad thing, because knowledge is necessary for what we need and want to do.

The Bible has several passages that emphasize the importance of knowledge. But, as critical as it is, knowledge isn’t an end in itself. As the verse above states, we should take knowledge and move beyond it to wisdom – wisdom is to be our principal pursuit.

It takes wisdom to understand that we need knowledge, and to determine what knowledge we need. It takes wisdom to understand how to use knowledge. A great example of that is Ephesians 4:15 where Paul encourages us to speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth is knowledge. Speaking it in love is wisdom.

It is wise to understand that having more wisdom would be helpful. (As I get older, I am getting wiser, if only because I can see how much more wisdom I need). Like King Solomon, who showed that God had already given him some wisdom – he had enough to know he needed to ask for more.

Where does wisdom come from? God does use situations (like auctions) to help us learn wisdom. But, the principal place for us to pursue wisdom is in God’s Word, for it is wisdom. Getting wisdom, as stated in the Proverbs verse above, is learning, understanding and obeying God’s Word.

The auction experience did make Sharon and me wiser (at a cost of money and embarrassment). But, a better way to pursue wisdom isn’t through experience. King David wrote in Psalm 119:98-100, that God, through His commandments, had made him wiser than his enemies. Meditating on God’s testimonies and obeying God’s precepts gave him more understanding than his teachers or his elders.

Then in that same passage, we are given instructions on how we should be guided, not just in our pursuit of wisdom, but in all our pursuits here on earth:

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” Psalms 119:105

Pursue wisdom by the light of God’s Word.