The New Year is just around the corner. This is the time of year that many of us begin to make resolutions for the upcoming year. We thoughtfully review the previous 12 months and deliberate on what we can do to improve our lives in the year that is quickly coming upon us. One of the most common determinations made at this time of yearly contemplation is the decision to exercise and live a healthier lifestyle. In fact, according to the polls I have read, it seemed the resolution to engage in physical fitness activities was always within the top three in popularity. That is a good thing as there is well-documented proof of the many benefits this decision can bring to a life.
For example, everyone is well aware of the fact that exercise can help us reach and maintain a healthy body weight. It is also widely known that some reasonable time engaged in a physically active lifestyle can be a positive move towards keeping our bones strong and less prone to injury throughout life. Furthermore, research has shown that regular exercise can actually reverse the detrimental effects of stress and improve our mood by causing our brains to release chemicals that make us feel happier throughout the day. Prevention of diseases such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer has also been verified as a perk to consistently being on the move. Findings suggest it can also boost your energy level and then help you sleep better at night.
One of my favorite things about exercise is it works, even if I do it when I don’t feel like it. That’s right. Even if I am not particularly in the mood to take on the treadmill or hit the court for some basketball, if I put my hand to it, I will still reap the rewards of it. Now the dividends of my diligence most likely will not be immediately evident, but most certainly over time they will show themselves. That is a really good thing for me because if I waited until I felt like exercising my tennis shoes would be collecting dust in a locker somewhere.
Interestingly, this same principal carries over to our spiritual life as well. Exercising ourselves in the spiritual disciplines laid out in God’s Word will produce the promised results even if we have to do them in opposition to our feelings at times. Why is that? Because ours is a walk of faith, not feelings. Our emotions do not have any effect on the validity of God’s Word. How we feel at a particular moment does not add to or take from the power of Scripture. If some specific sentiment were required to come upon us before we could gain any ground in our walk with God it is doubtful we would make it much past the starting line.
Thankfully, Scripture in James chapter 1 tells us that it is the doers of the Word who will be blessed. It says nothing about the “feelers” of the Word being the recipient of God’s blessing. Doing involves only our will. Therefore, with our will in charge we can trod right over our mood of the moment and do the things that God has commanded us to do and still receive the rewards that accompany them. Additionally, most of the time, if we will take a step forward out of nothing but raw obedience and discipline, our emotions will eventually catch up and get on board; but even if they don’t, we have lost nothing and still come out the winner every single time. We are under no obligation to wait until we have some sort of emotional stirring to act on God’s Word. We don’t have to hold back until we feel like worshiping God before we sing. There is no requirement that we be covered with goose bumps from head to toe prior to seeking Him in prayer. Our hair doesn’t have to stand on end before we can be transformed by the power of His Word in our daily life. This is freedom. This is living in response to God’s never-changing Word as opposed to our ever-changing whims. This is the existence that God intended for us, an existence that empowers us to know Him on an ever-increasing level and to take that knowledge into a world suffering from the lack of it.
God’s Word works. Just do it!!!
(2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.
©LaDonna Neel – December 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Remember When
One day this week, I was at home in the middle of my usual routine when my phone rang. When I answered it, I heard the voice of my son on the other end. He wanted to come home. Now, I knew he had not seemed to be suffering from any particular illness when I had taken him to school a couple of hours earlier, but he was insistent that he was in distress and needed me to come pick him up right away. Upon further questioning, it became apparent that he had become the victim of an unexpected wardrobe malfunction. It seems the button had somehow come off the waistband of his pants. Although his shirt had plenty of length to cover this calamity, he refused to be comforted and had become so upset that he was almost to the point of meltdown. I offered to bring him new shorts, but that suggestion was countered with the fear that his classmates would notice the change and want to know what happened. So, being the soft touch that I am, I changed my clothes so as not to scare the other students with my interesting choice of home fashion and headed off to rescue my son from the perplexing situation he found himself in.
As I arrived at the school, I was met by a child who was obviously in panic. Now, to me, having been around the block a few times already in life, a button breakdown does not qualify as a code red situation, but to a pre-teen child surrounded by his peers it is nothing short of disastrous. Therefore, after assessing the situation, I decided that the adversity that had come upon him made him a candidate to receive mercy and so I took him home. I fed him lunch, let him watch TV for a time, and also took care of the wardrobe malfunction. Subsequent to all these acts of kindness, I took him back to school so he could finish out the day with dignity.
When school was over, my son returned home all in one piece. After he had eaten in 30 minutes what it would take me a week to consume, I asked him to please unload the dishwasher. An expression came over his face similar to what one would expect had I just asked him to sprint to the nearest coastline and fetch me some fresh whale for supper. Before he could say a word, I reminded him of the kindness I had shown him earlier in the day. To my surprise, his answer was, “What kindness?” I might have been really miffed if I could have stopped laughing long enough. Only a mere 3 hours since I delivered my offspring from what he felt was a time of great trial and tribulation and he had already misplaced that memory somewhere in his mind. Not until I gently reminded him of it did he recall the moment. He really didn’t have anything to say at that point and did a great job of unloading the dishwasher.
Luke chapter 17 tells the story of the 10 lepers who came to Jesus for healing. According to Jesus’ instructions to them, they were to go show themselves to the priest. Somewhere along that road leading to the temple they received the healing of their disease. Nine of them hurried on ahead, not looking back. However, one of them remembered the grace given to him and turned around to go back and acknowledge the One who had been so kind.
Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,” reminding us to remember and directing us to dwell upon the good things that God has accomplished in our behalf. Now remembering may not always be spontaneous and we shouldn’t be surprised if we actually have to make an intentional effort to pull those recollections to the forefront of our thinking. The writer of Psalm 77:11 must have been struggling with this same dilemma when he penned the determined declaration, “I WILL remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I WILL remember your miracles of long ago” (emphasis mine).
Why, some may ask, is it so important to keep in mind the work of God’s hand from times past? The reason is multifaceted. Remembering the works of God incites humility and causes us to realize who we are and who we are not. It reminds us that we are not self-reliant and that we are dependent upon One greater than ourselves. Recollection of God’s kindnesses strengthens our faith in God and our confidence in His unfailing love for us. Beyond that, when we retain a consciousness of God’s goodness in our lives, we tend to be more attentive to His commandments, thus avoiding corruption that results from a life lived contrary to His direction.
So whether it takes a note on the refrigerator or a string around our finger, remembering the goodness of God on a regular basis is something not to be forgotten.
At all times and in every place, make sure to stop and reflect on God’s grace.
From morning’s first light until the day finds its end, consider His mercies and remember when…..
© LaDonna Neel – October 2010
As I arrived at the school, I was met by a child who was obviously in panic. Now, to me, having been around the block a few times already in life, a button breakdown does not qualify as a code red situation, but to a pre-teen child surrounded by his peers it is nothing short of disastrous. Therefore, after assessing the situation, I decided that the adversity that had come upon him made him a candidate to receive mercy and so I took him home. I fed him lunch, let him watch TV for a time, and also took care of the wardrobe malfunction. Subsequent to all these acts of kindness, I took him back to school so he could finish out the day with dignity.
When school was over, my son returned home all in one piece. After he had eaten in 30 minutes what it would take me a week to consume, I asked him to please unload the dishwasher. An expression came over his face similar to what one would expect had I just asked him to sprint to the nearest coastline and fetch me some fresh whale for supper. Before he could say a word, I reminded him of the kindness I had shown him earlier in the day. To my surprise, his answer was, “What kindness?” I might have been really miffed if I could have stopped laughing long enough. Only a mere 3 hours since I delivered my offspring from what he felt was a time of great trial and tribulation and he had already misplaced that memory somewhere in his mind. Not until I gently reminded him of it did he recall the moment. He really didn’t have anything to say at that point and did a great job of unloading the dishwasher.
Luke chapter 17 tells the story of the 10 lepers who came to Jesus for healing. According to Jesus’ instructions to them, they were to go show themselves to the priest. Somewhere along that road leading to the temple they received the healing of their disease. Nine of them hurried on ahead, not looking back. However, one of them remembered the grace given to him and turned around to go back and acknowledge the One who had been so kind.
Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,” reminding us to remember and directing us to dwell upon the good things that God has accomplished in our behalf. Now remembering may not always be spontaneous and we shouldn’t be surprised if we actually have to make an intentional effort to pull those recollections to the forefront of our thinking. The writer of Psalm 77:11 must have been struggling with this same dilemma when he penned the determined declaration, “I WILL remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I WILL remember your miracles of long ago” (emphasis mine).
Why, some may ask, is it so important to keep in mind the work of God’s hand from times past? The reason is multifaceted. Remembering the works of God incites humility and causes us to realize who we are and who we are not. It reminds us that we are not self-reliant and that we are dependent upon One greater than ourselves. Recollection of God’s kindnesses strengthens our faith in God and our confidence in His unfailing love for us. Beyond that, when we retain a consciousness of God’s goodness in our lives, we tend to be more attentive to His commandments, thus avoiding corruption that results from a life lived contrary to His direction.
So whether it takes a note on the refrigerator or a string around our finger, remembering the goodness of God on a regular basis is something not to be forgotten.
At all times and in every place, make sure to stop and reflect on God’s grace.
From morning’s first light until the day finds its end, consider His mercies and remember when…..
© LaDonna Neel – October 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Deliverance By Design
That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman's estate. Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. "If it pleases the king," she said, "and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?" King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. Now write another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring--for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked." At once the royal secretaries were summoned--on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king's signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king. The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies. (Esther 8:1-11 NIV)
The book of Esther tells the story of a young Jewish girl whom God used to thwart a plan by the enemy to annihilate the Jews. She rose from obscurity to become the wife of King Xerxes and, guided by her uncle Mordecai, laid her life on the line to expose the man and the plan intent upon bringing destruction upon her people. However, even after Haman, the man responsible for the original edict of death, was exposed and executed, his decree signed with the king’s signet ring could not be undone according to the law of the land. Now, God could have intervened in a variety of different ways at this point. He could have sent a plague, an Angel of the Lord to destroy the opposition, a natural disaster, or any number of other calamities to deliver the Jews from this seemingly certain fate. That, however, was not His choice for this occasion. Instead God’s deliverance of choice was enablement.
The Scripture says that King Xerxes commissioned Queen Esther and Mordecai to write another edict in the king’s name in whatever way they felt would be in their best interest. So Mordecai drew up a document designed to counter the one authored by Haman and stop the slaughter of the Jews. This order granted the Jews in every city the right to form an army and protect themselves. It gave them permission under protection of the law to pound to powder any adversary that threatened them or their families. So what did the Jews do with that opportunity given to them? They saw God’s hand of deliverance in it and they jumped on the bandwagon.
What happened next was nothing short of amazing. It goes like this. “On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.” (Esther 9:1-2 NIV)
God empowered the Jews through Mordecai’s mandate, making provision for the taking down of the terrorists who were out to trounce them. This provision was just as much the work of God’s hand as if He would have sent in hundreds of wild animals to devour the disputants or carried them off in a whirlwind to lands unknown. It was God’s deliverance by God’s design.
It is often our predisposition and our preference that God’s deliverance will come with a mighty rushing wind and some mind-boggling cataclysmic event that defies natural law. He certainly has done those things and still does them. However, with this limited mindset, we run a great risk of being robbed of our God-appointed rescue because we are seeking solely the spectacular. There are times in the Scriptures that God singlehandedly defeated the forces of the enemy. For example, in 2 Chronicles 20, the Moabites and Ammonites attacked Judah and the Lord brought the victory by causing the opposition to oppose themselves and delivered Judah without them ever swinging a sword. Many times, though, God’s solution involves His ability paired with man’s obedience, one of those times being in the Scriptural account in Esther. We must be willing to take the course of deliverance that God in His wisdom provides. God’s strategy may seem to us at times mundane and a far cry from sensational, but obedience is key and we must understand that He often uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. He without a doubt can still rain fire down from heaven to deal with our difficulties if He chooses, but we must not make the mistake of putting Him in a box that demands such and thus limits His ability to work in our lives.
God is famous for using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and leave them scratching their heads in amazement; and when it really comes down to it, whether God causes water to gush from a rock to satisfy your thirst or provides you the resources to drill a well and put in a pump, all of God’s intervention into the human life is nothing short of miraculous.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. (Psalms 91:15 NIV)
©LaDonna Neel - September 2010
That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman's estate. Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. "If it pleases the king," she said, "and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?" King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. Now write another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring--for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked." At once the royal secretaries were summoned--on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king's signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king. The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies. (Esther 8:1-11 NIV)
The book of Esther tells the story of a young Jewish girl whom God used to thwart a plan by the enemy to annihilate the Jews. She rose from obscurity to become the wife of King Xerxes and, guided by her uncle Mordecai, laid her life on the line to expose the man and the plan intent upon bringing destruction upon her people. However, even after Haman, the man responsible for the original edict of death, was exposed and executed, his decree signed with the king’s signet ring could not be undone according to the law of the land. Now, God could have intervened in a variety of different ways at this point. He could have sent a plague, an Angel of the Lord to destroy the opposition, a natural disaster, or any number of other calamities to deliver the Jews from this seemingly certain fate. That, however, was not His choice for this occasion. Instead God’s deliverance of choice was enablement.
The Scripture says that King Xerxes commissioned Queen Esther and Mordecai to write another edict in the king’s name in whatever way they felt would be in their best interest. So Mordecai drew up a document designed to counter the one authored by Haman and stop the slaughter of the Jews. This order granted the Jews in every city the right to form an army and protect themselves. It gave them permission under protection of the law to pound to powder any adversary that threatened them or their families. So what did the Jews do with that opportunity given to them? They saw God’s hand of deliverance in it and they jumped on the bandwagon.
What happened next was nothing short of amazing. It goes like this. “On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.” (Esther 9:1-2 NIV)
God empowered the Jews through Mordecai’s mandate, making provision for the taking down of the terrorists who were out to trounce them. This provision was just as much the work of God’s hand as if He would have sent in hundreds of wild animals to devour the disputants or carried them off in a whirlwind to lands unknown. It was God’s deliverance by God’s design.
It is often our predisposition and our preference that God’s deliverance will come with a mighty rushing wind and some mind-boggling cataclysmic event that defies natural law. He certainly has done those things and still does them. However, with this limited mindset, we run a great risk of being robbed of our God-appointed rescue because we are seeking solely the spectacular. There are times in the Scriptures that God singlehandedly defeated the forces of the enemy. For example, in 2 Chronicles 20, the Moabites and Ammonites attacked Judah and the Lord brought the victory by causing the opposition to oppose themselves and delivered Judah without them ever swinging a sword. Many times, though, God’s solution involves His ability paired with man’s obedience, one of those times being in the Scriptural account in Esther. We must be willing to take the course of deliverance that God in His wisdom provides. God’s strategy may seem to us at times mundane and a far cry from sensational, but obedience is key and we must understand that He often uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. He without a doubt can still rain fire down from heaven to deal with our difficulties if He chooses, but we must not make the mistake of putting Him in a box that demands such and thus limits His ability to work in our lives.
God is famous for using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and leave them scratching their heads in amazement; and when it really comes down to it, whether God causes water to gush from a rock to satisfy your thirst or provides you the resources to drill a well and put in a pump, all of God’s intervention into the human life is nothing short of miraculous.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. (Psalms 91:15 NIV)
©LaDonna Neel - September 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Times of Tree-bulation
I work at home as a medical transcriptionist. This line of work requires that I have high-speed internet to download my voice files and upload my completed documents. Living in rural America as I do, high-speed internet is not that easy to come by. The major telecommunication companies that I contacted did not provide that kind of coverage for my area and one that I talked to implied that I am fortunate to even have phone service here. However, just when it seemed I was without hope in this situation, God provided the perfect solution through a local businessman who had the inspiration to venture into the world of wireless high-speed internet for my area. This has provided me with over 3 years of solid service, until last week that is when suddenly I began to experience serious loss of internet service. Now internet problems can very quickly become a frustrating situation for me as it can ultimately affect my ability to generate income. This dilemma went on for several days. I made several calls to the technicians, and under their guidance I tried a number of different troubleshooting maneuvers to try and resolve this issue, but nothing seemed to be working. Finally, a technician came to my house to see if he could save what was left of my hair. It didn’t take him too long to find the problem. The culprit ended up being a tree. You see, this system works on the premise of transmitting and receiving. A transmitter on a tower several miles from my house puts out a signal and a radio on my house picks it up and gives me the high-speed internet. There must be a clear line of sight from that tower to my radio in order for things to work properly. Three years ago, when this radio was installed, this tree was fairly small and in no way created a problem. However, over time that tree grew. I never noticed it growing, but nonetheless it was quietly creeping up and branching out until one day it began to interfere with the signal from the tower, causing me to lose my internet. Had I paid attention in the first place, I could have avoided the situation all together. God really taught me something from this experience.
Just as I cannot allow anything to grow up in between the transmitter tower and my radio, I must be alert and not permit something to sprout up and separate me and my Heavenly Father. As I thought about this, I realized it is not the objects that blow in suddenly that catch us off guard. Those are usually obvious and easy to catch. The things that prove the most problematic are those that start so small that they manage to slip in underneath the radar. These seemingly trivial things tend to sneak in, put down roots, and begin to inch their way up at a pace that evades our attention. This can continue unbeknownst to us until all of sudden one day we are faced with a major interruption of communication between us and our Creator. The longer this connection remains impaired, the greater the loss we are likely to incur. That being the case, it is imperative that we deal swiftly and soundly with such disruptions, doing whatever is necessary to restore that vital connection with our true Source. Once the obstruction has been eliminated, it is crucial that we make a concerted and consistent effort to ensure that the pathway remains clear. This is done through daily time in God’s Word and frequent interaction with Him throughout our daily lives in prayer and in our thought life. These preventative maneuvers will go a long way towards keeping small seedlings from becoming troublesome trees and will afford us the ability to live genuinely productive lives through a strong relationship with Christ, the One in whom we live, move, and have our being.
(John 15:5 MSG) "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing.”
©LaDonna Neel - June 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Keep on Playing
Music has always been a passion of mine. By the age of 5 my parents would find me sitting at that oversized upright piano of ours picking out the melody of songs that I had heard somewhere along the way. Desiring to foster my budding interest in music, they soon found me a piano teacher; and I spent the next several years learning to navigate this instrument that had captivated me at an early age. I gained knowledge about reading musical notes, counting time, key signatures, dynamics, and a host of other technicalities that make music what it is. Performance techniques were also something that my teacher attempted to impress upon me, one of those being if you make a mistake, don’t stop, just keep going. Get where you are supposed to be and finish the piece. I thought that was certainly easy for her to say because it seemed she never made any mistakes when she played. This task proved itself to be a quite a challenge. As I began to work on this issue, I found my first instinct when things went south was to just stop and give it up. I felt surely there was no way to salvage the remainder of the piece after what I had done. I could not focus on where I was supposed to be. All I could think of was the erroneous note, how everyone was staring at me, and how stupid I must appear. In my mind, I panicked, trying to decide what would be the most feasible method of dealing with this disastrous event, crying, faking an illness, or making a dash for the nearest parking lot. I cannot count how many times I said I would never do this again. It was just too hard to get past the embarrassment of making a mistake, regroup, and get back on track all in one small moment of time.
I have been playing for many years now. Through time and much practice, my musical skills have grown. However, even now, that guidance that I received as a music student remains near the forefront of my thoughts every time I play before an audience. Making a mistake continues to unnerve me and rattle my cage. There is still that initial moment of panic and then the immediate struggle to regain focus, and to this day I have times that I find myself wanting to crawl under the bench or make a break for the nearest exit. However, it has become much easier to quickly step past the immediate hysteria and with a little improvisation and patience pull back into line with the song and complete it successfully. I am not saying I don’t sweat bullets at times in the process, but I have found if I can regain my focus and keep moving, I can often finish the musical undertaking on a good note.
Just as blunders do happen in my musical adventures, they also seem to crop up in other areas of my life as well. I shouldn’t be surprised. Outside of Jesus Christ, no human has ever walked mistake-free and none ever will. Regardless, my heart is grieved when I discover that I have missed a beat. I can easily become distracted and find myself unable to find my place. Often Satan takes great pleasure in recalling that impropriety to the center stage of my mind, causing me to endure encore after encore of the unfortunate production, relentlessly reminding me of my less-than-perfect performance. So many times I have thought of calling it quits, thinking that this time I had really blown it with no possible hope of ever recovering.
It is at these moments that God gently reminds me that He is not taken by surprise when I get off key. In fact, He knows that I am but flesh and blood and apt to stumble at times; and instead of cancelling my contract and having me tossed off the stage, He directs me back to the correct measure and then tells me to “keep on playing.” Oh how wonderful the grace of our God.
Now, this does not give me license to be careless and casual about any endeavor but rather blesses me with the freedom to play my heart out, knowing that an incidental missed note will not bring down the curtain with one show-stopping thud. Over time I have finally begun to realize that my Father is just as interested in my success as I am and that when the last note is played He will be waiting for me as I step off the stage, waiting to celebrate with me the performance of a lifetime.
(Galatians 5:13 NIrV) My brothers and sisters, you were chosen to be free. But don't use your freedom as an excuse to live in sin. Instead, serve one another in love.
(1 John 1:9 NIrV) But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure.
©LaDonna Neel – September 2009
I have been playing for many years now. Through time and much practice, my musical skills have grown. However, even now, that guidance that I received as a music student remains near the forefront of my thoughts every time I play before an audience. Making a mistake continues to unnerve me and rattle my cage. There is still that initial moment of panic and then the immediate struggle to regain focus, and to this day I have times that I find myself wanting to crawl under the bench or make a break for the nearest exit. However, it has become much easier to quickly step past the immediate hysteria and with a little improvisation and patience pull back into line with the song and complete it successfully. I am not saying I don’t sweat bullets at times in the process, but I have found if I can regain my focus and keep moving, I can often finish the musical undertaking on a good note.
Just as blunders do happen in my musical adventures, they also seem to crop up in other areas of my life as well. I shouldn’t be surprised. Outside of Jesus Christ, no human has ever walked mistake-free and none ever will. Regardless, my heart is grieved when I discover that I have missed a beat. I can easily become distracted and find myself unable to find my place. Often Satan takes great pleasure in recalling that impropriety to the center stage of my mind, causing me to endure encore after encore of the unfortunate production, relentlessly reminding me of my less-than-perfect performance. So many times I have thought of calling it quits, thinking that this time I had really blown it with no possible hope of ever recovering.
It is at these moments that God gently reminds me that He is not taken by surprise when I get off key. In fact, He knows that I am but flesh and blood and apt to stumble at times; and instead of cancelling my contract and having me tossed off the stage, He directs me back to the correct measure and then tells me to “keep on playing.” Oh how wonderful the grace of our God.
Now, this does not give me license to be careless and casual about any endeavor but rather blesses me with the freedom to play my heart out, knowing that an incidental missed note will not bring down the curtain with one show-stopping thud. Over time I have finally begun to realize that my Father is just as interested in my success as I am and that when the last note is played He will be waiting for me as I step off the stage, waiting to celebrate with me the performance of a lifetime.
(Galatians 5:13 NIrV) My brothers and sisters, you were chosen to be free. But don't use your freedom as an excuse to live in sin. Instead, serve one another in love.
(1 John 1:9 NIrV) But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure.
©LaDonna Neel – September 2009
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Possum Returns
The Possum Returns
It began as a quiet morning. I was working at my computer while the rest of my family was going through their normal morning routine of getting ready for school and work. Everything was running smoothly until a sudden shriek was heard from the middle of the house. It seems my daughter had stepped out onto our enclosed back porch to find a possum catching some shuteye in a 2-seater patio chair. I speculate this possum had found his way in when someone failed to shut the door to the porch before dark the night before. He had dined on some cat food and then settled in for a nap out of the reach of the cold October wind. Upon arrival, my plan was to open the doors and with minimal effort disturb him enough that he would quickly find his way off my porch and back into the wild. Well, he wasn’t alarmed. Since my presence wasn’t enough to rattle him, I resorted to shaking the opposite end of the furniture he was in. I shook and I shook but that possum hung on tight. I finally was able to displace his back feet from the chair but he remained firmly attached to the seat cushion with his front claws, hanging on with great tenacity with his back end flopping up and down. Finally, I abandoned the shaking and took the broom and finished dislodging him totally from the chair. Instead of running out the open door, he ran down to the corner at the opposite end of the porch. I made a few somewhat feeble attempts to push at him with the broom, but he just looked annoyed and didn’t move. I went back into the house with the thought that he would surely leave at his leisure through the open door.
After going back in the house I was reminded of last fall when I had this same problem. A possum found his way onto the porch and several days later he had not availed himself to the open door but was quite comfortable filling himself with my cat food and sleeping out of the weather. He finally had to be disposed of in a forceful way. It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to put up with that again this year. Much to the amusement of my children who were laughing uncontrollably in the kitchen, I grabbed my broom and back out I went. I was determined that this critter was leaving my porch and he was leaving right now. After flinging a few miscellaneous items at him and gaining little ground, I took my broom and began to shove him towards the door. He was not too happy about it. He bit and hissed and contended bravely for his position. As I persisted, he eventually did take off running but missed the door once again and thought he could hide under the chairs. Not a chance. I jerked the chairs out the way and continued my eviction maneuvers. After a few times around the inside perimeter of the porch, the possum did finally surrender and scurried out the door and back into the wild. The porch looked like a war zone with displaced chairs and a scattering of miscellaneous “weapons of warfare” covering it. However, the possum was gone and would no longer be hanging around consuming my cat food and making unwanted deposits on my porch. Oh, how wonderful the feel of victory.
Once all the excitement had abated and the children had ceased their ridiculous giggling, I began to think about how much this possum was like the enemy of our soul. Satan, just like this possum, will not just eventually scamper out of our life if left to himself. He will stay just as long as we allow him to. He will steal from us and make a mess of our life. Our threats or half-hearted resistance will not intimidate him. He must be opposed with unwavering resolve, submitting ourselves to God and standing firm in our authority in the name of Jesus, decisively driving him out the door with the Word of God on our lips. Just like that possum, Satan can be intimidating and his appearance might tend to rattle our cage. Nonetheless, we must look past his initial threatening appearance and immediately take a violent stand against him, refusing to tolerate his invasion. We must stick to our guns and not be discouraged if after one swing of the sword he doesn’t immediately depart though. He is a persistent creature and we must be much more so if we truly desire to be rid of him. If we don’t resist, he certainly won’t retreat. Once he has fled, we must not in light of our success drowse off into complacency but be on guard because he will certainly be back at a more opportune time, hoping to catch us at ease and unaware. Scripture tells us that he is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is serious about his objective and we must be serious about our opposition. Because of the work of Christ on the cross, Satan is a defeated foe. However, he is diligently looking for those who don’t know that. Through the knowledge and understanding that comes from God’s Word, we can learn to recognize our enemy’s schemes and become equipped with the weapons necessary to enforce that victory over Satan that Jesus secured for us. It has now been several days since this possum was evicted from my porch. Still, I keep my eyes peeled for the likely return of him or one of his cohorts. Experience has taught me to deal swiftly and sternly with these critters and not put it off until another day. That being the case, I keep my broom close at hand, standing armed and ready to firmly let any possum know that he doesn’t live on this woman’s porch.
(James 4:7 NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ©LaDonna Neel – October 2009
It began as a quiet morning. I was working at my computer while the rest of my family was going through their normal morning routine of getting ready for school and work. Everything was running smoothly until a sudden shriek was heard from the middle of the house. It seems my daughter had stepped out onto our enclosed back porch to find a possum catching some shuteye in a 2-seater patio chair. I speculate this possum had found his way in when someone failed to shut the door to the porch before dark the night before. He had dined on some cat food and then settled in for a nap out of the reach of the cold October wind. Upon arrival, my plan was to open the doors and with minimal effort disturb him enough that he would quickly find his way off my porch and back into the wild. Well, he wasn’t alarmed. Since my presence wasn’t enough to rattle him, I resorted to shaking the opposite end of the furniture he was in. I shook and I shook but that possum hung on tight. I finally was able to displace his back feet from the chair but he remained firmly attached to the seat cushion with his front claws, hanging on with great tenacity with his back end flopping up and down. Finally, I abandoned the shaking and took the broom and finished dislodging him totally from the chair. Instead of running out the open door, he ran down to the corner at the opposite end of the porch. I made a few somewhat feeble attempts to push at him with the broom, but he just looked annoyed and didn’t move. I went back into the house with the thought that he would surely leave at his leisure through the open door.
After going back in the house I was reminded of last fall when I had this same problem. A possum found his way onto the porch and several days later he had not availed himself to the open door but was quite comfortable filling himself with my cat food and sleeping out of the weather. He finally had to be disposed of in a forceful way. It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to put up with that again this year. Much to the amusement of my children who were laughing uncontrollably in the kitchen, I grabbed my broom and back out I went. I was determined that this critter was leaving my porch and he was leaving right now. After flinging a few miscellaneous items at him and gaining little ground, I took my broom and began to shove him towards the door. He was not too happy about it. He bit and hissed and contended bravely for his position. As I persisted, he eventually did take off running but missed the door once again and thought he could hide under the chairs. Not a chance. I jerked the chairs out the way and continued my eviction maneuvers. After a few times around the inside perimeter of the porch, the possum did finally surrender and scurried out the door and back into the wild. The porch looked like a war zone with displaced chairs and a scattering of miscellaneous “weapons of warfare” covering it. However, the possum was gone and would no longer be hanging around consuming my cat food and making unwanted deposits on my porch. Oh, how wonderful the feel of victory.
Once all the excitement had abated and the children had ceased their ridiculous giggling, I began to think about how much this possum was like the enemy of our soul. Satan, just like this possum, will not just eventually scamper out of our life if left to himself. He will stay just as long as we allow him to. He will steal from us and make a mess of our life. Our threats or half-hearted resistance will not intimidate him. He must be opposed with unwavering resolve, submitting ourselves to God and standing firm in our authority in the name of Jesus, decisively driving him out the door with the Word of God on our lips. Just like that possum, Satan can be intimidating and his appearance might tend to rattle our cage. Nonetheless, we must look past his initial threatening appearance and immediately take a violent stand against him, refusing to tolerate his invasion. We must stick to our guns and not be discouraged if after one swing of the sword he doesn’t immediately depart though. He is a persistent creature and we must be much more so if we truly desire to be rid of him. If we don’t resist, he certainly won’t retreat. Once he has fled, we must not in light of our success drowse off into complacency but be on guard because he will certainly be back at a more opportune time, hoping to catch us at ease and unaware. Scripture tells us that he is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is serious about his objective and we must be serious about our opposition. Because of the work of Christ on the cross, Satan is a defeated foe. However, he is diligently looking for those who don’t know that. Through the knowledge and understanding that comes from God’s Word, we can learn to recognize our enemy’s schemes and become equipped with the weapons necessary to enforce that victory over Satan that Jesus secured for us. It has now been several days since this possum was evicted from my porch. Still, I keep my eyes peeled for the likely return of him or one of his cohorts. Experience has taught me to deal swiftly and sternly with these critters and not put it off until another day. That being the case, I keep my broom close at hand, standing armed and ready to firmly let any possum know that he doesn’t live on this woman’s porch.
(James 4:7 NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ©LaDonna Neel – October 2009
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sylvester Syndrome
Earlier last year, in preparation for our summer vacation, I purchased a set of Looney Tunes DVDs for us to watch in the van to help pass the long hours of driving that would go along with the trip. I would like to say I purchased them for the children, but in reality they were mostly for me. The crazy antics of Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, and Foghorn Leghorn still tickle my funny bone and make me laugh out loud. I also enjoy the mischievous merriment of Sylvester and Tweety. However, I have always been puzzled as to why that good-sized cat would exert so much energy chasing that tiny little speck of a bird. Tweety in no way would make a meal for Sylvester. In fact, I doubt he would even qualify as an appetizer. At my best estimate, Tweety’s head makes up by far the largest majority of his total body mass. There surely isn’t more than 10% of that bird that is edible. Nonetheless, Sylvester repeatedly endures such abuse as being mauled by Butch the bulldog, being flattened by speeding vehicles, and falling victim to the misfires of his own bird-catching schemes and contraptions. Regardless of how many times he gets blown up or falls off a cliff, he just continues his senseless struggle. That obstinate feline risks life and limb persistently pursuing a little yellow creature that when eaten for dinner might satisfy him for 15 minutes.
As silly as Sylvester’s pursuit of Tweety might seem, it is not uncommon for mankind to engage in this same type of enterprise. So many times we pour ourselves feverishly into endeavors that in the end will net us very short-lived satisfaction. We chase after possessions or relationships that ultimately never bring us the fulfillment they seem to boldly promise from a distance. Countless days, months, and even years of our lives are spent working diligently to lay hold of that one thing on earth which we are so sure will provide us with the contentment we so desperately hunger for. Unfortunately, so often we put out maximum effort only to find ourselves holding in our hand that which only minimally and momentarily quenches our thirst. It seems that we, as human beings, are easily susceptible to this “Sylvester syndrome;” and in fact, we can be infected with this condition and never even realize it until one day we actually catch Tweety and find he is truly 90% bone.
God speaks to us about this cat-astrophic condition in Isaiah 55:2, stating, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Only God understands what true bread is. Only God has knowledge of what will sufficiently satisfy that which He personally created. He not only knows the answer, but He himself is the answer. He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good (Psalm 107:9). Nothing but God will ever be able to fill the hunger that haunts the human heart. We may seek to quiet that inner rumble with everything that man can offer, but in the end we will always find ourselves leaving the table wanting more. This world simply has nothing on its menu that will settle the appetite for God in our soul. He alone is the bread of life. He is what our hearts desire. Best of all, He promises that if we passionately pursue Him, we will not come up empty-handed and we will find ourselves extravagantly and eternally satisfied, wanting nothing more except more of Him.
(Psalms 37:4) Find your delight in the LORD. Then he will give you everything your heart really wants.
©LaDonna Neel – January 2010
As silly as Sylvester’s pursuit of Tweety might seem, it is not uncommon for mankind to engage in this same type of enterprise. So many times we pour ourselves feverishly into endeavors that in the end will net us very short-lived satisfaction. We chase after possessions or relationships that ultimately never bring us the fulfillment they seem to boldly promise from a distance. Countless days, months, and even years of our lives are spent working diligently to lay hold of that one thing on earth which we are so sure will provide us with the contentment we so desperately hunger for. Unfortunately, so often we put out maximum effort only to find ourselves holding in our hand that which only minimally and momentarily quenches our thirst. It seems that we, as human beings, are easily susceptible to this “Sylvester syndrome;” and in fact, we can be infected with this condition and never even realize it until one day we actually catch Tweety and find he is truly 90% bone.
God speaks to us about this cat-astrophic condition in Isaiah 55:2, stating, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Only God understands what true bread is. Only God has knowledge of what will sufficiently satisfy that which He personally created. He not only knows the answer, but He himself is the answer. He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good (Psalm 107:9). Nothing but God will ever be able to fill the hunger that haunts the human heart. We may seek to quiet that inner rumble with everything that man can offer, but in the end we will always find ourselves leaving the table wanting more. This world simply has nothing on its menu that will settle the appetite for God in our soul. He alone is the bread of life. He is what our hearts desire. Best of all, He promises that if we passionately pursue Him, we will not come up empty-handed and we will find ourselves extravagantly and eternally satisfied, wanting nothing more except more of Him.
(Psalms 37:4) Find your delight in the LORD. Then he will give you everything your heart really wants.
©LaDonna Neel – January 2010
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