Don't Ignore It

The other day we were driving around in Boston.  Not being familiar with the area, we had our GPS at work.  It was not built into the car like most are now, it was an older one with that annoying voice.  

As we drove,  you have to know that like others, we took a wrong turn somewhere.  The most annoying thing [besides her voice] is the route she chooses to take you to correct your mistake is often not the best route.  There is often a more direct route but sometimes she takes you out of the way which causes more confusion.

As we drove, I activated my ipad GPS which allows me to magnify the page to the point of actually reading street names.  We drove and drove looking for our location often seeing the same landmarks. it was obvious we did not know where we were going.    Finally, I asked my husband "We seem more lost, don't you hear the GPS."  He promptly responded "Yes, but I'm ignoring it." 

What good does it do for us to have clear instruction if we are going to ignore it?  

All I can say is: The Israelites ignored it and yes, we ignore it today.  We have clear instruction in God's Word yet because we don't like the route or because we have a better idea, we ignore it.  The irony in it all is that we are the ones that are lost and we still ignore it. 

Why is it that we feel like we have a better way?  Rather than to rely on God's instruction, we do things our way ignoring God!  

As described in Jeremiah, when we ignore God's instruction it will not go well for us.  The goal is  not to go backward and retrace the mistakes but to move forward and follow God's path.  

So next time you feel lost, search God's Word.  In searching God's Word you will get direction... don't ignore it.

But I gave them this command: "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.  Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.  But they did not listen or pay attention; Instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backwards and not forward.  From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again, I sent your my servants the prophets but they did not listen to me or pay attention.  Jeremiah 7:23-26

I Would Have Said No

This afternoon after working on the yard I went to buy us a chicken wrap for lunch.  As I drove, I started thinking and this thought came to mind...."I would have said No!*"

You see, it wasn't my decision for our middle son to go active duty.  I would have said no because our son is young and full of life and has so much yet to see.  I would have said no because his face is bright like sunshine and there is life in his laughter and we have not yet experienced all there is to see.  

I would have said no.  I would have said "I will not let you go and fight for a country whose greater majority feels like they are entitled and we owe them. I will not risk letting you go fight when the country I love is losing freedom to lawsuits.

When an entire organization has to change their uniform code to pacify someone from another culture whose religion calls him to wear a turban, he benefits from the freedom our country affords.  The issue is not the turban, the issue is that he joined the organization, the organization did not join him we have lost the freedom to enforce uniformity in an organization when we allow exceptions.

When the freedom to pray in a classroom has been banished even though our forefathers built this country on Christian principles, we have lost our freedom to choose.  We live in a country that operates on free enterprise but there are those who believe it is their right to violate that by smashing glass doors and taking what someone else has worked as long as they don't get caught.  

When a child in the class room will not stand and salute our flag and states ' I don't have to because of my religion' they exercise the freedom to choose and many are fighting to provide that.  Those who live in our country should honor our country and because many don't, I would have said no, the risk is too high. 

When law enforcement have to account for every decision and the bad guy gets the benefit of the doubt.  I would have said no! 

I would have said no, I will not let you go because I love you, and your'e our son and we strongly believe in and love our country but the cost is to high when our own are burning our flag and challenging authority and cursing the very freedom affording them to do that.

I would have said no!  I have seen the worst of the worst and they just don't care what the cost is as long as you don't mess with their "rights!"  I will not give our son!"

Yep, that was me!  Not gonna lie.

Working as He always does, God put this this thought on my mind.
"I would have said no too, but instead I gave my Son to a dying world, a world without hope.  I gave my son to an ungrateful world that worshiped idols and did not revere my name.  I gave my son despite the sin and the cursing and the denying of a living God."  He felt the pain and the sorrow of his inevitable fate but He went anyway....He is my Son and He gave his life for a dying world."

So I dried my tears and I thanked God for sending His Son to allow me the freedom to choose eternal life.  I pray that our son will be protected mentally, physically and spiritually because this is real.  We thank God for sending his Son, and we pray for ours but I would have said no!

And Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:  Father the time has come.  Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all the people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  John 17:1-3

*To clarify the statement, because he is our son, our hearts would have said no, but in reality we wholeheartedly support our son's decision.  He loves our country enough to fight for it and we love him enough to support that. Please keep him and all our military in your prayers. 

Give me Wisdom

The other day I served my last day of a two month assignment with a class.  I had come to like alot of these children so I thought I would give them a "last day treat."  I gave the girls a candy bracelet and gave the boys a little maze. 

I was clearing my desk of some things when I heard the yell of Mrs Baaaarrrrrrfield.  I immediately looked up and two little girls were having a discussion.  I had assigned another girl to pass out the bracelets.  Unbeknownst to me, they were all attached in separate wrappers and in tearing them apart, she broke one of the bracelets.  She continued to pass them out and one little girl got the broken one.

Allegedly, the one receiving the broken bracelet immediately switched the bracelet with the girl sitting next to her giving her the broken one.  It was that child that let out the yell.  I came to the rescue but I found that it was not an easy rescue. 

I asked both girls who the bracelet belong to.  One little girl said "it's mine-the broken one is hers!"  Of course the other girl said "No it's mine - hers is broken."  To top it off, she had already opened the package and was wearing the bracelet, the broken one lay unopened. 

I asked the girl passing them out which girl had received the broken one and sure enough, she said the one that was wearing the bracelet had taken it from the other girl.  What a dilemma.

I pulled that little girl out of class and asked her whose bracelet she was wearing....for heaven's sake it was candy!  Through tears she said "Mrs. Barfield this is my bracelet, she got the broken one."  I then brought the other girl out and she said "Mrs Barfield, she switched the bracelets, she took mine.  Hers was broken." 

Well once again I felt like a character in the Bible...Solomon.  God asked Solomon "Ask for whatever you want me to give you" [1 Kings 3:5] to which Solomon responded "give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish right from wrong." [v9]  

Oh to have the wisdom of Solomon.  In fact, the very first situation that tested his gift was a situation involving two women that were both claiming a baby belong to each of them.  Solomon's decision was to cut the baby in two and give each woman half.   One mother said "yes" do it but the real mother said that she would not do that to her child. Instead give the child to the other woman.  This is how he was able to determine who the real mother was. [v 16-28]

I did not have that option.  If I gave the bracelet to one, the other would suffer-If I gave it to the other, there would be hurt feelings. So......I did what my heart told me to do-take back both bracelets and neither gets the bracelets.

It was a painful decision as the little girl that was crying now cried harder.  The girl who originally had received the unbroken bracelet was unfazed. It was a difficult for me because at that moment I was crying out "GIVE ME WISDOM!"

I pulled the crying girl outside and told her that taking something that was not hers is wrong.  She stuck by her story "It was mine."  I will never know if I made the right decision so until the day God takes me home, I will continue to cry out "Give me Wisdom!"

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this so God said to him "Since you have asked for this and and not for long life or wealth for  yourself, nor have asked the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice.  I will do what you have asked I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you nor will there ever be."
1 Kings 3:11-12

Time to Dance

Earlier this week our class went on a field trip to the zoo.  The entire third grade went together. Our third grade and several hundred children from other schools.   I had 20 children and three chaperones.  We divided the children into three groups and I took seven.  One of our teachers had to stay back with the children that were not going.  As a result, she gave each of us three of her children.

I had three of her kids and four of mine.  Of course I took care of mine but was diligent of taking care of hers.  As we walked, one of her kids constantly lagged behind.  Each of us had to carry our own back packs which contained water and our lunches.  I cautioned him to keep up because I did not want to lose him.  This was the first time I had ever seen this child since he was not mine.

We stopped several times when I realized that his Texans lunch bag was the problem.  He did not have a back pack and the zipper of his lunch bag was broken.  I pulled out a plastic bag and put the lunch bag in it leaving the strap out where he could carry it.

Unfortunately, that did not last long.  Soon he was lagging behind again.  All the other children had their hands free and were able to point, touch window displays and hold on to rails, he was not. It required both of his arms to carry the lunch bag.   Finally I asked him to let me see the bag again.  I discovered that he was carrying the largest bottle of Gatorade I had ever seen.  He was also carrying water so I can imagine what a challenge it must have been for him to carry considering the weight.

I asked him to give me the lunch bag and asked if he wanted me to carry it in my back pack.  He responded "yes" and I saw quite the transformation in that child.  He was jumping, dancing, carefree and enjoying the day.

Yes,  my backpack was heavier but being an adult, I could carry the weight easier and to see this child enjoy his day it was worth it.  

It made me think of how big our God is.  He is big enough to carry our load regardless of how heavy it might be. We choose to carry our burdens because we think we are the only ones that know how to handle it. Instead, if we just turned over to God, we would be carefree and dancing knowing that God was handling it. 

Stop and think of  how much our burdens weight us down. Wouldn't it be easier if we just let God carry them for us?  Give your burdens to God....time to dance!


Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the will of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Cast your cares upon the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous fall. 
Psalms 55:22

Walk on by

Yesterday I sat in church and saw a woman take her grandchild by the arm and tell him to throw a drink out.  He had walked in with a bottled drink but she explained that this was God's house and it was to be respected.  I remember those conversations all to well.   After he threw the drink out, he walked in and she removed his cap from his head again explaining that it was a respect issue.  She later walked out to lead the children to class. 

As the choir began to sing, I saw that someone had dropped a bulletin insert on the floor.  I saw kids walk past it and not pick it up. I also saw adults come in to the church and not pick it up, they walked right past it.  I know they had to have seen it because at one point, it got curled up. 

This wretched paper got the better of me....I kept asking "Who is going to pick it up?"  It was not a small piece of paper it was about 5 X 7 so it was not difficult to miss.  I regret to say that this piece of paper really distracted me.   I wanted someone  to pick it up!  It was an eyesore.  Every time I looked up I saw that paper on the floor.   The straw that broke the camel's back was when the offertory ushers approached it, stepped on it, then walked on by.  Everyone just walked on by!

It took me to a place that I am ashamed to say I am guilty of.  How many times have you walked past the hungry, the dirty, the homeless, the penniless and not even given it a second thought? I've been in too big of a hurry, not had any change, been judgmental, or just plain "walked on by."

That piece of paper took me to a place I did not want to go.  How would Jesus see me or my actions when it comes to others less fortunate.  I left the paper for a moment as I joined in worship.

A few minutes later I looked up and must have missed who picked it up because suddenly it was gone.  Who picked it up?  My husband said it was the grandmother who scolded her grandson for not respecting God's house.   I should have known. 

The King will reply  "I tell yo the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.  Matthew 25:40

It's Not My Fault

Yesterday I got off work only to discover news that came out of left field.  I opened my email and read something to the affect of "You are $557.00 delinquent on your rent!"  Seeing as how only our kids live in apartments, I knew it was one of them...specifically the youngest one.

I can not tell you how upset I was to read this.   [I use that word mildly as irate was more the feeling].  The first thing I did was call my child and ask "What is going on?" Of course he did not know what the problem was since he "always" pays rent on time.

I told him that this presented a huge problem since it was an unplanned expense.  We don't like the planned expenses either but at least we're ready for those.  I proceeded to contact the apartment complex and was advised by the accounting manager that "way back in September" we under paid our utilities by two dollars and that initiated a late fee.  Of course since we were not aware of this balance, every month it carried over we were charged a "late fee" of $50.00 plus $5.00 a day.

As you can see, that created the problem.  If they would have only told us back in September that we had underpaid by $2.00 it would not have gotten so big, but the longer it went, the greater problem it became.  I spoke with our son and we discussed  how to resolve the matter.  That was going to require him contributing some funds from his account.  I heard all the arguments and discussions about "why he should not have to contribute" and "why did they wait so long to tell us" before he finally belted out "It's not my fault."  He finally resigned to contributing half of the amount to clear the account. 

The next morning as I drove to work with that on my mind,  those words rang out in my ears.  "It's not my fault!"  I suddenly became defensive and thought "Hey...It's not my fault either and I'm having to pay too!"

I was struck by those words...."It's not my fault."  I thought of Pilate when they brought Jesus before him and he quoted the words "I find no fault in him." [John 19:4] He was without sin and without fault yet he paid the price!

I agree that it was not fair to make my son contribute and possibly drain his account to pay for this but was it really fair for ME to absorb the entire expense?  I was humbled at the thought of Christ did for me.  I just couldn't let my son take the hit. I resigned to the idea that he was without fault and you guessed it, I paid the price in full!

Christ did not say "I'm not taking his place-it's not MY fault he's a sinner." No! He paid the price even though it was not His fault!

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one might dare die, but God shows His love for us while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-8

It's Packed!

I have been hosting a ladie's bible study in my home.  I am co-teaching with a friend that is also a great teacher. We alternated sessions and as luck would have it, I got the chapter "Overwhelmed."

No, I don't think it was luck, I believe God actually worked it out that way.  You see, like most of us, my scheduled is completely packed.  I love working with kids and teaching but it takes so much time! It's an eight hour day everyday. That extends into grading papers, doing research, and planning lessons for me. So much for being retired.

I always prepare my bible study lesson way in advance asking God to lead me through it. One day as I left for school, I saw house after house after house with trash cans out. Many of the cans were completely packed!  Some were overflowing.

It made me think how we are so much like that.  We put things on our schedules and don't stop when it's getting full. We don't even stop when it is full. We don't stop until it is completely packed or overflowing.

Then we become overwhelmed with all we have to do.  That "quiet time" reserved for God goes from one hour to thirty minutes to quoting a memorized bible verse and a quick prayer.  The time that belongs exclusively to God is compromised.

Our mornings keep starting earlier and our nights just get longer.  Do not "pack" your schedule so tight that you take all of God's time.  He desires to be with you. Before you pack your schedule too tightly, remember to put Him first.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place and there....He prayed. Mark 1:35