DISTRACTION

Distract– from Webster’s Dictionary
archaic : insane, mad
a : to turn aside : divert <refused to be distracted from her purpose> b : to draw or direct (as one’s attention) to a different object or in different directions at the same time <was distracted by a sudden noise> 2 : to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives
Medical Definition of DISTRACTION
1a : diversion of the attention b : mental derangement

I sat down in front of my computer to write.  I needed to get my laundry done.  I needed to take out the trash. I needed to figure out what I was going to wear to work today.  I needed to check my bank account online and make sure nothing was happening that wasn’t supposed to.  I wanted to look at Facebook and check my emails to see if there was anything there that needed my attention. I wanted to look for jobs in case there was something better out there that I could qualify for.  I needed to give the dog a bath. I wanted to go downstairs to look at the weather on TV.  I still needed to get something to eat and take a shower before I left for work.
I went and sat out on the front porch to collect my thoughts and organize my day.  With everything I thought I wanted and needed to do, I was exhausted.  I didn’t have enough time to get it all done. I went back upstairs, turned off the computer and laid down for a nap.  There was always tomorrow to write.  I was too busy today.
How many times has this happened to you?  You set out to do one thing and two hundred others come up or come to mind.  Unless you are one of those who can “multitask,” pretty soon everything overwhelms you and you end up getting nothing done.
My wife is one of those who can multitask quite well.  She calls it multitasking, I call it watching a squirrel on crack.  She  can start cleaning in one room and walk into another, see something that needs to be done, start on that, walk into another room and do the same thing.  Soon she has six or seven things going (half done) and somehow can manage to finish them all sometime that day..  I usually leave the house or go upstairs just to get out of the “confusion.”
Usually, if I cant finish a project within an allotted amount of time, I don’t start.  I want to devote my full attention to something or not at all.  One thing at a time.  If I start a house cleaning project it is one room at a time, or one task like vacuuming. Once that is completed then it is on to the next. I suffer from OSAD (Organizational Simplicity Attention Disorder). If I start thinking about something else, its over.  Too many thoughts and I retreat to my nothing box. Once I start worrying about something, I give it my full attention and the original task never gets completed.
Matthew 6:25-34
[ Do Not Worry ] “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?
I find it interesting that one of the definitions of distract and distraction is insanity.  If you don’t keep to the project at hand, getting sidetracked and derailed with the least little thing, sooner or later it will make you feel like you cant get anything done.  Worrying about things is just a distraction, a supplant of the evil one to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives. It can make you goofy.

THE PACHYDERM IN THE VESTIBULE-revisited

He kind of snuck in when I wasn’t looking.
At first I didn’t even notice.
He was small, unassuming and quiet.
Most people ignored him when they came over
thinking he was ornamental.

But then he grew.
Fewer and fewer people came over
They were uncomfortable
with him in the room
I just worked around him as I passed by.

One day I had a hard time
getting out of my own house.
He seemed to block my way
So I went to the back door
And that seemed to work.

When he blocked
the entrance to the stairs
And I could no longer
get to my bed to sleep
I knew something had to be done.

I asked him to leave
but I could see that politeness
would not work.
I begged, then demanded and yet
he stood quietly in the vestibule.

Finally, in desperation,
I knocked down the wall
to the outside
When he saw the world outside
He went running to freedom.

The pachyderm is gone
But his memory lives on
I don’t miss him
He really messed up my house
Be watchful of the pachyderm

©  Simply Consider This, 2013.

This is a repost. Not something I would ordinarily do, but I thought some would enjoy seeing this who might have missed it the first go around.   Little things that we let into our lives can grow to be quite large if we let them.  Sometimes we are the last to see it and no one is willing to tell us that we have a problem.

MORE THAN A CASUAL MEETING

I want more than a casual meeting
More than a how-do-you-do
More than once or twice in a season
For this will never do

Not quite sure how it all starts
To get to where I want
But this one thing I do know
I have a willing heart

To be intimately familiar
With all you are and do
Only way, one could achieve that
Is with spending time with you

What is your favorite color
Why is the grass green
And why did you make
The weeping willow trees

To know what makes you laugh
To listen to your wisdom
Above all those who are wise
To understand the reason
Of why you gave your life

Yes, my desire is to know you
I understand what is required of me
To give all my life to Jesus
The One who set me free

My heart, Oh Lord
Desperately hungers after you
I need more than a casual meeting
I need more than a how-do-you-do
For when I’m in Your Presence
Nothing less, will ever do

 

©  Simply Consider This, 2013.

 

MILK AND HONEY

Our journey today begins in the book of Exodus when God told Moses that He was going to free the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh. God said that He was going to take them to the promised land.  A land flowing with milk and honey.
God did not instruct Moses to tell Pharaoh to free His people because they were slaves and slavery was wrong.  God had heard the cries of His people due to their oppression, but this was not the prime objective.  He wanted the Israelites freed so they could worship Him. This was what Moses told Pharaoh over and over when he presented his case.  “This is what the Lord says, ‘Let my people go, so they may worship me’.”   God desired, and still desires, the worship of His people.  So, after Moses bugged Pharaoh (he used real bugs), and a few other plagues were inflicted on Egypt for not listening to God, Pharaoh let God’s people go.
After three months, they arrived at Sinai where God gave them the law, they rebelled and built an idol, were forgiven after punishment and proceeded to Kadesh, where they were supposed to go into the promised land, but got scared off by the “giants.”  So they wandered around another forty years until they were ready to receive the promise (very abridged version).
When they were entering the promised land, God told them to destroy all the people in the land, not to make any treaties with any of the inhabitants, and definitely do not inter-marry.  Of course they didn’t listen, and they had nothing but trouble from then on.  God knew that if they did not eradicate all the inhabitants, soon they would be adopting their ways, accepting their cultural differences, and worshiping their gods. This brings us to the milk and honey.
I have often wondered why God would tell them that the promised land  was flowing with milk and honey.  They had milk and honey in Egypt.  Why would that be such an enticement for an oppressed people?  Cows and goats give more milk when they are well fed and bees make honey from the plants that they pollinate.  It stands to reason that if the promised land was a lush vegetative haven that there would be an abundance of milk and honey. That would be a sharp contrast to the deserts of Egypt where they had been enslaved for 400 years.  But was there more to the “milk and honey” than just provision?  Lets take a brief look at milk and honey.
Honey is sweet.  It contains nutrients which can combat illnesses.  A spoonful of local honey a day can help with allergies and the comb  can help with digestive disorders.  You can cook with it, use the wax for all sorts of things, and even use honey on your skin for irritations, according to the old timers.  It is all natural and God given with no artificial preservatives.  But if you get too much it can have an adverse reaction on your digestive tract and is strongly advised against for babies.  Honey, like any good thing, has its limitations.  It may be sweet, but must be used in moderation.
Milk has made a lot of changes over the years.  In the days of Moses, a cow or goat would have been milked, then the liquid strained for any substances like unprocessed grass or seed remnants. As they let the raw milk set, the cream floated to the top and was usually skimmed off to make butter or whipping cream.  Pasteurization is now required for milk to be sold in the U.S., which is basically a heating process to kill any contaminates.  This is done now to purify the milk.  Then there is the homogenization.
Homogenization is the blending of the milk fat into the rest until it is virtually undetectable.  I remember going to the dairy and buying milk in a glass, gallon jug.  It was always a treat to be the first one to peel the paper top off the jug and lick the cream from it.  It stuck to the roof of your mouth and was what could only be described as sweet.  Now, everything is blended together so much that you can’t tell if there really is any cream left in the milk at all. We buy milk in plastic jugs in varying degrees of milk fat content which is pasteurized and homogenized and sometimes even in the skim variety which tastes, to me, like white, colored water.
Now that you have had a brief lesson in milk and honey, lets get back to Israel. God knew that if the people were to intermingle with the local populace, their worship would turn from Him to other gods.  The only way for the Israelites to remain spiritually pure and true to Him would be to get rid of all remnants of  other gods and their worshipers.  God did not really want genocide but he knew that after 400 years of being around the Egyptians, it would be very easy for them to fall into worshiping false gods.  The milk and honey of the land would lead them to the watered down religion and the false security of plenty, and soon they would be worshiping the provision and not the provider.  They had already proved that with the manna and quail in the desert.
Lets put this into perspective for today.  First, I am in no way advocating genocide for non Christians.  That would go against everything that Jesus taught and would be utterly absurd.  But lets look at the facts.  We, as Christians, are being told that we are to accept and embrace any kind of lifestyle, or belief, that agrees with, or goes against,  all that we hold as truth.  Our government is embracing military advisers who firmly believe that Christians are a threat to our national security and should be deemed traitors to our government. (See  “”http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/04/28/Pentagon-Consults-Extremist-Who-Calls-Christians-Monsters-and-Enemies-of-the-Constitution-to-Develop-Religious-Tolerance-Policy )

Our society would rather that Christians are silent.  We are to keep our faith to ourselves and do not try to share the Gospel.  We are to be homogenized into the mainstream and accept all that is happening in society.  Christians are never to be outspoken about their faith or moral values if they go against the public opinion which is propagandized by the liberal media.  We are not even to be seen, much less heard.  Isn’t the fact that there is a church on every block (no matter how empty) enough for us?  All of our Christian “holidays” have been stripped of their original meaning in the mainstream.  Of course, these were homogenized into pagan holidays back in the 4th century.  Christmas=winter solstice/ Easter=bunnies and eggs honoring the sun god and moon goddess on the day of Ishtar.
Wake up, Christians.  We are being integrated or exterminated.  We must either stand for God or fall with Satan.  The milk and honey of American prosperity has lulled too many to sleep and it is time to honor God with our hearts and lives, not just with our lips.  A little Radical, yes. Extremist, maybe. Unrealistic. Psychotic.  Paranoid.  I think not.
Matthew 24 read and heed.

SHIPWRECKED

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? — from “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot 1976.

Day 35
My passengers are surprisingly calm.  We haven’t seen the sunshine for days. It  has been raining for over a month.  I’ve never seen anything like it. Just one more week and we can all get off this ride.  I know its going to be tough when we land.  We wont know anyone–there probably wont be anyone to know.  We will just have our family to rely on, and to be quite honest, they are getting pretty edgy.  At least I know that God is with us or we wouldn’t be here now.
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I got on the boat heading the opposite direction from where I knew I was supposed to go.  Everything was going good until the storm came up and then the crew started getting all superstitious about why they were getting pummeled by the storm.  I knew it was my fault they were in this fix, so I told them to throw me overboard.  I don’t think I’ll ever eat fish again.

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I new I was supposed to get on that boat.  Everything in me said, “Get there at all costs.”  Now this big storm comes up and the crew is terrified.  I knew that even if the ship collapsed, everyone on the ship would be safe, or at least live through it.  I kept telling them that, and when the ship did capsize, every one ended up on the shore.  A little worse for the wear, but alive and well.

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We all knew he was tired.  I mean, c’mon. The guy had been teaching and healing for days on end.  It seemed like he could go forever, but we all knew that sooner or later he would need some rest.  We were just headed across the lake.  A quick trip for us seasoned fishermen.  Then came the biggest storm we had seen in a long time.  It just seemed to come out of nowhere.  We were all sure we were going to drown, and we didn’t want him to drown in his sleep, so we tried to wake him up.  My goodness, he was tired.  I thought at that point he could sleep through anything.  Finally, he woke up and told the wind and waves to be still.  I don’t know what we were worried about with him in the boat.

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No matter what storms come against the boat you are in, God is still there to protect you and set your feet on solid ground.

THE RAGING STORMS INSIDE

 

There’s no place to hide
from the raging storm inside
Wondering what you have done
why life’s cruel pendulum swung
knocking feet out from under you
changing everything you once knew
The eyes with tears start to swell
pain of a broken heart tell
Jesus whispers in your ear
my dear child, I am here
catching every tear that falls
catching everyone and all
Never left alone are you
together we will walk this through
Every trial that comes your way
is not forever here to stay
Sorrow and pain being so real
thinking you could never heal
Convinced this path may never change
close to Me, my child remain
In this life there will be
sorrow, pain and suffering
Ever since the fall of man
changing God’s original plan
The here and now matters you see
I only ask you believe
My tender hand leading you though
step by step taking you
All fear that abides
deep within your heart inside
quickly disappears
as the Savior draws near
Peace He brings like never known
swiftly sent from the heavenly throne
Carried along by heaven’s best
come my child, into My rest
Comfort for your weary soul
strength and courage to be bold
Hope rebounds, spirit’s refreshed
surrounded by God’s presence
Pouring over you His love
gather strength from above
Pain and sorrow you now feel
soon my child will be healed
For I hold your tomorrows
passing is
this pain and sorrow.

©  Simply Consider This, 2013.

 

 

DREAMS AND VISIONS

Old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions.–Joel 28

When you are young, you usually have a vision of what you would like your life in the future to be like.  You are filled with hopes and dreams for the future and with enough hard work and perseverance you can accomplish those dreams and live the life you have envisioned. You have your whole life ahead of you and plenty of time to do whatever your heart desires.
Some pursue these visions with passion and accomplish all they set out to do with a singleness of purpose.  Others are undecided and seem to drift about from one thing to another, until they finally realize that they need to take action or never accomplish anything.  These are the ones who start late in life -  in their 30’s – and move toward the goal they have set, now that they have the realization of mortality.  Still young enough to have a vision and the drive to carry it out.
Then there are those who had hopes, dreams and visions when they were young but through life’s circumstances they were altered, restructured and finally forgotten, or laid aside, because they no longer have the energy to try anymore.  Past mistakes and hurts keep them from pursuing anything other than their own existence until the dreams are forgotten.
The dreams fade under daily life and the old  man sits retrospect, wishing he had made other choices along the way.  Feeling that he has nothing to look forward to, he spends his time looking back, trying to remember the good times and not dwell on the bad decisions, but they are always there to haunt his quiet moments. They are always there to ask him, “Why pursue dreams?  They are but a trick of the imagination.  Something to distract you from what is really important right now and time is not on your side, is it?”
So the old man says to himself, “Leave the dreams to the young men, while they still have time to carry them out.”  Never mind the years of experience he has which could be applied to see his dreams fulfilled.  Never mind that with God all things are possible.
In this age of financial turmoil and civil disobedience, many young people are beginning to, or already have lost the desire to dream and have taken on the old man’s perspective.  They have no vision for the future because the future doesn’t seem to hold anything for them.     The elderly feel that they can only reminisce about the simpler times and try to exist until they themselves expire and are forgotten.
I believe we may be nearing the time spoken of by the prophet Joel.  Young men WILL see visions and those whose eyes have grown dim with age WILL  dream dreams once more.  As long as the older generation is willing to share their dreams with the young, and the young are willing to listen to the voice of wisdom, dreams will come to fruition no matter the age of the dreamer.   God-given dreams are meant to be shared and completed.  The experience of age will dream and the energy of the youth will catch the vision of those dreams to carry them out.  Relationships need to be bonded in common goals.
As we go forward in the days ahead, get to know those around you, listen intently, discount no man’s (or woman’s) dream.  Their dreams and visions may need something that only you can offer.
Could that possibly be what God was talking about through the prophet Joel?.

©  Simply Consider This, 2013.