As4Me Thinking through the process of finding wisdom.

One thing I’ve learned from the locals here in San Antonio is that summers are unbearably hot. Seems people here love to talk about their misery, and I cannot say how many times I’ve heard about last summer’s heat wave (I think 12 weeks straight over a hundred degrees, with high humidity, of course).

At Ironwood Camp in the Mojave desert, new counselors who come are often shocked at the heat. The counselors’ attitudes can make a significant difference in the attitude of the campers, so they have strict instructions not to draw attention to the heat. They are not allowed to use the word hot.

Why ever not, do you think? Not because of draconian leadership, but because the camp directors know that when a counselor shrugs off the weather and decides to have a good time with the campers, the campers are more likely to shrug off the weather and have a good time. Even something as simple as saying “It’s really hot out here” can begin to change the atmosphere from excitement to misery.

I have noticed this influence with my own children. My commenting on the weather seems to result in more complaining and whining from them. I can simply say, “Wow, it is hot out here” and my children start crying and whining the minute we leave the house. I began to realize that what felt like an innocent comment on the weather really was complaining itself.

So I’ve been experimenting. I explained to the children that the heat and humidity is the reason they see so many butterflies here. And the heat and the humidity is the reason for the particular ecosystem God created here. People enjoy the flowers and birds, not remembering that without the weather, those flowers and birds would be different. I’ve told them how silly this inconsistency is. Yes, it’s hot, I’ve told them. We do what we can to minimize the heat, like wearing hats, putting a blanket on Laurel’s car seat, and using car windshield shades. But I have also told them I’ve decided not to use the word hot when referring to the weather. I’ve been giving thanks for the heat and humidity (and not merely a cooler summer this year, or the blessing of an air conditioner). It has been good, not only helping my attitude, but also my children’s.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Philippians 2:14-15

Notice one result from obeying verse 14: a good testimony among unbelievers. Isn’t it amazing that something as simple as not complaining can be so powerful? Makes sense. Do we have a good God, or don’t we? When we complain, we’re telling the world that God isn’t good, nor is He powerful. Some testimony that is.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line^[a] has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world. Psalm 19:1-3

The unbelief that results in complaining is a battle we all fight against, and I know that complaining isn’t going to go away simply by eliminating the word hot. Here is the question I’ve been thinking about, and one  I want to ask my children today: What does the heat say about God’s character? I don’t think they’ll understand, but I want them to see this verse and understand that God’s creation reveals something about who he is.

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What We’re Working On This Week

David— still getting to the bottom of how he thinks, getting him to talk about the SS lesson is a challenge, teasing his sisters (knowing when to stop, how to discern the right time to tease, etc.), still wanting to discover what he’s thinking about salvation.

Bethel— working through the stress of new environment (she’s like her mommy and doesn’t like surprises), working on some lapses in whining and obedience, being slow to anger

Laurel— working on whining and obedience, being slow to anger.

One of the advantages of living in a small space is that we have lots of opportunities to practice love, giving preference to one another, treating others like we want to be treated, and so on. When every child has his own room and lots of space, it’s easy to think everyone gets along when in reality, they’re just living separate lives. Keeping them busy also makes a difference in their attitudes.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, we’ll be in permanent housing soon and I’ll have my candy thermometer again. It’s time for a candy making day!

One of the military spouse I was talking with last weekend commented “I love being in a new place. There are few commitments and you don’t know anyone, so you tend to slow down and see things you might normally miss.” I thought that was a great perspective. I was interested to notice how that one positive comment encouraged me so.

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For several months, I’ve been thinking on a portion of Psalm 48. Every so often, I’ll go back and look at it. It’s a curious perspective, and I’ve been wondering about how it fits in my life. There’s a strong correlation to Psalm 78, so I’ve been particularly interested in how it fits me as a mother teaching my children about God.

The writer is talking about Zion, or Jerusalem, and what it tells us about our great God. I’ve been fascinated with the physical evidence of God’s blessing and how it can be a tool for showing children that God’s provision in the past (“as we have heard”) also carries into the present (“so we have seen”). Watch:

As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the LORD of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will establish it forever.  Selah

⁹ We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
¹⁰ According to Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
¹¹ Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.

¹² Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
¹³ Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.
¹⁴ For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.^[a]

For the writer of this Psalm, Jerusalem was evidence of God’s faithful leading. The writer tells us parents to pay attention so that we can show our children what God has done for us.

For me this week, I’ve been attempting to put this idea into practice by verbalizing my thankfulness for God’s physical provisions. I’ve been asking our children what they are thankful for on a regular basis. I’ve been showing them how much God has given us. And even when God doesn’t give us what we want, we can still thank him for what he has given us.

Yesterday, Bethel wanted a parking place close to the front. Laurel wanted a parking place in the shade. David suggested that God might give us both things. But in fact, we had a sunny parking spot not very close to the front. Sometimes God does this. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to walk, though. And it’s a wonderful thing that the commissary is air-conditioned! When we are grieved with what we don’t have, we can’t see what we do have. In a sense, being thankful for everything is an act of faith.  It’s an amazing thing when God takes something unpleasant and makes it good. The challenge is to be thankful when it still looks unpleasant.

When we finally move into our house, you can be sure that we’ll be walking around and counting the windows and doors. For now, we’re counting other things.

How is Scripture changing you this week?

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She’s patient with her children when they are slow to learn what she wants them to learn. She keeps teaching them what is right, confident that God will be faithful to bring the fruit of repentance in their lives in His time. She doesn’t react to their sin in anger, and she’s genuinely joyful as she goes about her day, managing her household. Her life reflects a desire to serve her husband and children, even when it means putting her own interests aside for a time. She has a sense of peace with who she is, and she’s not worried that she doesn’t look like any other supermom.

Let’s ask her the secret of her success. What do you think she will say?

What’s my secret? I’m not sure what you mean. Oh…….. you mean the secret of the love, joy, and peace? There’s more, too! Longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. I couldn’t be a good mother without those things, but it’s not my secret. It’s the Holy Spirit working in my life.

We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be superwoman. It’s not magic, but it is hard work. It’s called walking in the spirit, and it’s something that every child of God who has the Holy Spirit inside her has access to. I used to think that was something unattainable, something mystical that I had to wait for until God gave it to me. I’m learning that this is not the case.

Compare these two passages from Paul. They are what we call parallel passages– Paul is telling two different groups of people the same thing. But he doesn’t use exactly the same words. Looking at the different ways Paul uses to explain something can help us understand him better. Look for the main difference that you see:

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God. [That's from Ephesians 5:18-21.]

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. [That's from Colossians 3:16-17]

See the command in the Ephesians passage: be filled in the spirit. That’s a little ambiguous, perhaps. We don’t know how to do that. But the second passage gives us a little more insight– Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. That makes more sense to me. Why? Because God is very clear that the tool the Holy Spirit uses is the word of God (remember– it’s the sword of the spirit).

So. Does that mean that I need to be spending five hours a day reading my Bible? Perhaps. But look back at the passages. How much scripture isn’t really the issue there. It’s the essence of wisdom– how scripture changes us, how the Holy Spirit controls us. And make no mistake: walking in the spirit is a habit. A spirit-enabled habit to be sure, but a habit nonetheless.

I don’t always walk in the spirit. It usually starts in the morning, when I drag my feet. when I spend more time than I should on the computer before the day gets rolling. When I leave dishes in the sink, or a bed unmade. I know I’m not walking in the spirit when I find myself irritable with my children, and when I worry about what the future holds. One wrong choice begets another.

But… one right action begets another, too. Getting up on time because it is right makes it easier for me to spend some time with God and get ready for my day. When I’m not distracted by the computer, I’m far more likely to sit down with my children and read the Bible to them during breakfast. I’m not as likely to “take a break” if I determine to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. Sometimes I have to leave the house to walk in the spirit, and sometimes I have to stay home. Sometimes I collapse with exhaustion by noon. Often I have to ask forgiveness many times before noon. Walking in the spirit is hard work!

Pray for me, that I will walk in the spirit today.

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