Sculpting Without Clay

More fun with Jack. Here are some examples of extreme carving talent.

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This slideshow shows off more creative talents; but this time, the "clay" ain't pumpkins. It's hay.

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL

I love Autumn. The turning leaves. The cool mornings. This is the beginning of cocoa weather. :D Join me for a cup, while we focus on the beauty that our creative God has placed all around us. Fix your thoughts on His power, rather than The Devil's pull.

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Rather than Halloween, I celebrate Fall Festival. The fun without the fear, and without the gore. In celebration of Fall Festival 2009, I wanted to share two slideshows. This was my first attempt at putting video on the blog... Scary... :O

Several days and many attempts later, I am sad to reoprt that this blog and my panda do not play well together... :(

And before you ask, no I do not have a pet panda bear... and had I one, you may rest assured, I would never put to him the task of typing this blog. Even though, in truth, he would probably proove to be the better typist... :)

Panda is my antivirus program--one which I highly reccommend, by the way. It is apparently just as paranoid about my uploading things, as it is about my downloading things. Good news though... When I temporarily disabled Panda, the upload worked!... Twice!! :D Yaahoooo!!!

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The first slideshow is just a little furry fun.

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The second was made two years ago. It's a cool Christian take on Jack-o-lanterns.

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Whew! and Wow!

The title will make sense, shortly; I promise. :)

Words have power. Power to enlighten the mind. Power to touch the senses. Power to soothe the soul. Words that we use frequently tend to become bland from overuse... They lose some of their punch, because familiarity causes us ignore their real meaning. We sorta become mentally numb to their importance.

In an earlier post (September 27, 2009), I said:

The same mercy is offered to all...

Mercy and its companion word grace are two words that tend to become bland--especially for "maturing" Christians, who have moved beyond the need for milk (Hebrews 5:12--14).

While grace is similar to mercy in connotation--and by that I mean that they "feel" somewhat alike, as we absorb them from the printed page--the two words are not synonyms. If we were to place them on a family tree, Grace and Mercy would be sisters, yes. Identical twins? Never.

What does mercy mean to you? Is it kindness? Yes, in part. Is it forgiveness? Yes, in part.

Make no mistake. Mercy is not The Father ignoring the mud of our sins. He cannot ignore the mud, anymore than we can deny the mud. God is just; and His sense of justice demands that our sins--all of those splotches of unranked filth--be punished. Mercy is Jesus stepping up, on our behalf and taking the punishment that we have coming(Colossians 2:14).

The muck and the mire, the filth and the stench that we relish rolling in, all of it was poured over His head, as He hung on The Cross. It dripped from His chin. It oozed between His fingers. It filled His ears and coated His toes. Not one ounce or form of sin was spared Him. He bore it all, in fullest measure; and in doing so, He also took the full measure of our punishment (Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Mercy does not give us a punishment that we do deserve.

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As for grace, in this context it isn't a synonym for "poise". Nor is it a mealtime prayer. A long-time family tradition in our home paints an accurate picture of grace. We give "just cuz I love ya" gifts.

No holiday has to be at hand. No occasion needed. In fact, the very best ones are off-the cuff and never pre-planned. We simply keep an eye out for small gifts that would bring a smile. You know the sort of gifts that scream out who they were meant to belong to and simply beg you to insure that they wind up in the right hands...

We get them when we see them, and we give them when we get them. No waiting. All-occasion paper, plain-jane bows, hand-written notes. Hidden in plain sight, and left without announcement for the unsuspecting recipient to stumble upon.

The price tag is always small, but the pleasure is always huge; and the facial expressions are always absolutely priceless! :D

God likes to give His children "just cuz I love ya" gifts too. Hold your arms and your heart open, and you'll be thoroughly surprised by the sheer weight of the gifts--drawn straight from Heaven's boundless stores--that He wants to shower you with. When we are receiving from Heaven's bounty, we are standing in the flow of His Grace (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Picture yourself. Like a kid at Christmas. Before the unwrapping begins, the presents are passed out. That massive stack in front of you--it is meant for you. Every box, every bag, every package--even the funny-shaped one at the back that must've been so much fun to wrap--each one has a nametag on it that bears your name. Each package is suited especially to you.

He doesn't wanna wait for a holiday. He needs no occasion to excuse gift-giving... He likes to suprise us; and our priceless facial expressions no doubt make Him smile (Ephesians 3:20).

Grace gives us favor (or blessings) that we don't deserve or expect.

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Mercy says, "Whew!"

Grace says, "Wow!"

Heeding The Helper

As stated in my profile, I'm an author. With God's help, I heed The Holy Spirit's whisper, and the words flow. This blog is one example of that. Aside from the blog, there are poems, essays, and novels.

The first book I had a hand in was a book of Christian poetry called Walking in the Shadow of The Cross. That is a collection of forty poems, divided into three sections.

Praise

Family

Angles on Christ

Some of the vivid word-pictures from those poems are still stuck in my head--nine years after they came together to become a book. :D

Most recently, I am working on raising the funds to publish a Christian romance novel entitled A Gentle Strength. My idea of the back cover summary is shown below.

Michael Jansen grew up in a strong, Christian home. He was a happy, well-adjusted teen–until a dark secret from the past shattered his world. In one instant, everything that the boy thought he knew and could count on wavered and vanished. The world had shifted on its axis, and nothing fit anymore. This teen’s journey of discovery reveals the power of Christ–as our personal Savior, who wants to be involved in our daily choices. Michael has a lot to learn–about himself, about the nature of truth, about the importance of titles, and about the power of love. Michael learns that, sometimes, what we view as weakness is actually a gift from God–a gentle strength.

If you want to read more of the novel, or if you want a copy of the poetry book, please e-mail me at: jkay_90@yahoo.com. I will give you the contact information, so you can mail in your check or money order.

poetry--
Walking in the Shadow
of The Cross--$10

novel--
A Gentle Strength--$15

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By sharing these books with you, I am sharing my joy--a piece of my heart. Having joy does not mean that you are always happy... Read that sentence again.... Go ahead. I'll wait on you... :) Happiness is a temporary emotion based on easily changable circumstances. Joy is based on Jesus. It's a fruit of The Spirit, fruit that's watered by our love relationship with our unchanging Savior. So, even in the midst of unspeakable grief, we can have joy, becaucse our center will not be shifting (Hebrews 13:8).

One of the best ways to tap into joy is to find our God-given gift(s). We all have at least one. Using those gifts in ways that honor The One who gave them is the key to enjoying our jobs. Consider The Parable of the Talents. Now look at it again; and this time, make one substitution. Each time you see the word talent, don't think Money. Think God-given ability that's meant to bring glory to God, blessings to others and joy to me.

Notice the triple dividend. It's the priority order for creating lasing joy:

• Jesus
• Others
• You

May we have the courage to seek out and and share our talents, and may each of you be blessed by the work that brings me joy.

Our Porcine Pals (Pigs)

Sometimes, when I'm trying to focus on the words that should fill this space, my mind races; and I remind myself of that girl from The Cosby Show... Vanessa's friend... The one who talked a mile a minute... The one who always left Cliff shaking his head and saying, "I just listen for my name."... Yeah her... I remind me of her. :D

However, when I let God work, the racket is stilled; and the product is at least coherent.

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First, a note about my last post... I would be embarrassed to tell you how long it took to type that thing. :D I had a couple of other thoughts that ran in a similar vein. But for fear of being too long-winded, I found a decent stopping point, and I cut the thread...

I will not do that again.

Having those unfinished-but-not-quite-random thoughts bouncing around in my cranium almost drove me batty!

Monday, I said:

It is not our place to look down on those whose sins we can discern. Ridicule is not our right. Those actions would be judgemental, and would fall under the warning in Matthew 7:1.

Not only is that sort of judging unfair, it makes us look ridiculous...

Imagine two pigs. They share the same sty, wallow in the same mud, eat the same slop. On morning, after a particularly satisfying wallow, both pigs stand up and give a good snout-to-curlicued-tail shake--just cuz it feels sooo good :). Shaking done, they observe each other. Both are still dirty; the filth has merely shifted a bit. One has more mud on his back left leg than on his right front leg. For the second swine, the reverse is true. One pig can't find his tail for all the mud, while the other has mud on his head that's about to start dripping into his eyes. It's easy for one pig to see the other pig's dirt... Would it make sense for one to taunt the other about being dirty?

That would be silly. Mud is mud. Head mud is not somehow "cleaner" than foot mud. Yet, when we are judgemental--not discerning, but Matthew 7:1 judgmental--we are taunting the other pigs about being dirty. We all struggle with the mud of our sins. We struggle in different areas, but we all struggle.

I am so grateful that,through The Cross of Christ, we don't have to wallow. By the power of The Holy Spirit, we can overcome our piggy natures; and as we grow, we come to relish the mud less and less. (Romans 7:24--8:2)

Calling sin by its proper name simply means that we are not calling mud (and the droppings that it masks) clean. And we must be honest, lest we begin to believe our own lies and start rolling in old mud again.

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This next thought was hard to wrap my mind aroud, because--well, quite frankly--it seems hugely unfair. God does not rank sin. Oh, how we wish He would! We desperately want Him to rank the mud. Sure, I'm muddy; but I'm not as muddy as he is...

I neglect my kids, but I'm no child molester... I enjoy waching porn, but I'd never cheat on my spouse... I kept change I was not owed, but I'm no bank robber.

These kinds of comparisons comfort us, but God does not make those kinds of distinctions. If we break even the smallest portion of His Law we have broken all of it (James 2:10). If I steal a postage stamp, I am no less guilty than the murderer, who took 13 lives before he got caught.

What makes that hard truth easier to swallow? Mercy. All sin is equally bad, but all sin is also equally covered by The Blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 8:12, Psalm 103:12).

For some reason, that equality sometimes rankles us. Just as we don't want our sins to be equal, we don't want His forgiveness to be equal.

The forgiven bank robber should not be on the same footing as I am. I never robbed a bank!

Why do we do that? His covering the sins of the child molester, the killer, and the bank robber does not uncover my sins or cancel my forgiveness. The same mercy is offered to all, but forgivenss and healing are individualized and personal. It's that personal care that creates our unique testimonies.

Thank you Jesus, for Your personal care (Luke 12:6--7)!!

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In keeping with our Piggy theme, here's an aaaww moment, from my old email...

A Pig-Pup

photos by Coletta Johnson

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One last swine inspired smile:

Our Very Own Pig-Pup

We had a pet pig named Henrietta, when I was eleven. When she was a baby, she slept in the wood box next to our wood-burning stove; and we fed her with a baby bottle. Being raised with several dogs, Henrietta believed she was a dog. She barked. I kid you not; that pig barked like a dog, and I am not the only witness! :-) She even learned to fetch!!... But the icing on the cake came the day that a concerned neighbor knocked on our door, to alert Mom to the fact that our pig was chasing cars!

Tolerance

Tolerance

I am sometimes too blunt. I know this... But as a whole, we humans have become far too concerned about being politically correct. Tolerance has become a buzz word that excuses dissolving standards.

Tolerance. It's nice, really. It sorta looks like love. It sounds like kindness. It feels like peace. In truth, it is quicksand.

If we are not being tolerant, we are being judgmental. In the name of tolerance, we are asked to accept every faith as equal, every decision as right, every standard as valid. Nothing is black and white. Don't rock the boat. Don't ever risk offending.

God's standards have not changed. The Bible is the standard for truth; and holding up that standard does not make us close-minded; it makes us Christ-minded (1 Cor. 2:16 b)

It's true that The Bible says "Judge not..." Actually, it says:
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Matthew 7:1-2

However, when Jesus said that, He was not telling us to ignore sin or to count wrong as right, to avoid offending the sinner. When He rescued the adulteress, He never claimed she was innocent. He simply said that we are all just as guilty as she ever was. He was not dissolving the standard of right and wrong. He was pointing out that none of us meet the standard.

Calling sin a sin is not being judgmental. It's exercising discernment, honestly. Discernment is a gift from God, through The Holy Spirit.
...but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.–1 Cor. 2:10

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.--John 14:26

We are supposed to use discernment. It should color every facet of our lives--in choosing friends, in being a friend, at work, at school, as spouses, and as parents. Exercising discernment keeps us spiritually safe. Discernment works like a compass or radar, to help us find and stay in the center of God's Will. Lord, help me be like Peter, more concerned with honoring God than I am with pleasing men.

It is not our place to look down on those whose sins we can discern. Ridicule is not our right. Those actions would be judgemental, and would fall under the warning in Matthew 7:1.

May we have the courage to hold up the standard and stand up for the truth--not because we are right, but because He is Righteous. As we reach out to the lost, in love (1 John 4:19), May we never forget the power of the Truth upon which we stand (Romans 1:16)

Hang in there... :)

From my old e-mail... more rope.

Baby Steps

Baby Steps

*Okay, this is me getting my feet wet. This was Shelly's bright idea; so if I catch a cold, blame her. I am learning as I go, so bear with me. I was utterly thrilled when I was able to successfully post my profile picture!! Yeah! Happy Dance!! It worked. Shelly will recognize that photo. That was a good weekend, friend.

*I'm in the midst of a Beth Moore study that focuses on the life of the beloved apostle, John. That was another timely suggestion from Shelly... Is anyone else beginning to notice a pattern here? :D At the end of each day, Beth gives the start of a prayer and space for journaling about what God is revealing to you. One of the recent notes from the journaling that's still floating around in my brain is:

Love is a verb--an action verb. It's not about our emotions. It's about His faithfulness. Our love for others is not based how they react to us. Rather, it's based on what Christ has already done for us and what He wants to do through us! (1 John 4:19)

This study along with some other things God is working out brought to mind an old poem made new. There is dancing in my future. I am assured. And not only for me, but for all who will claim it.

*The abundance that He craves for us is not reserved only for the next life. Joy (John 17:13), peace (John 14:27), and abundance (John 10:10) are meant to be ours in this life too. May we have the courage to reach for the very best that God has for us, instead of settling for what the world calls "success".

*Finally, from my old e-mail, a few animal aaaww moments. I hope they add a smile to your day: