Less is much more.

Whenever I visit the homes of my grandchildren, I encourage each mom to line up projects for when my extra pair of hands might help facilitate. Last week while I was in Florida, Linnea was ready with her list. As she worked her way through it, I got to play with my grands.

Autumn with toysOne job that’s impossible to do with children around is to organize their toys, which means tossing out broken ones and those with missing parts. Since new toys come in with each birthday and Christmas, Linnea also looks forward to gathering bunches of still-nice toys for Good Will.

As she was getting ready to tackle the project this time, we reached under each bed, behind closet doors, and in every dark corner where we found stray cars, plastic princesses, and building blocks. When she finally went to work, the living room floor was piled high with colorful playthings, along with a variety of plastic bins with lids.

By the end of the day, the toy stash had been forced into submission and most of it put away for only occasional use. And the children would never miss all that had been removed.

MicahEvery so often it’s a good idea to do the same thing with our spiritual lives. Taking inventory of where we stand with the Lord motivates us to trim away anything that gets between us and him. We can also rearrange our priorities so the main thing becomes the main thing again.

Once in a while we have to look in those hidden places of our thinking for the clutter we’ve allowed to accumulate there, just as we had to hunt in all the hidden places for toys. Without making a close inspection now and then, our lives can become disheveled.

But we often shy away from this introspective process because it can be painful. Just like children resist parting with broken toys, we have trouble letting go of certain things too, like bad habits we’ve become comfortable with. Rather than route them out, it’s easier to make excuses for them much like children try to justify keeping bits and pieces of incomplete toys.

But once we’ve done the hard work of taking stock and putting our internal houses back in order, gains will always outweigh losses. That’s because the process has made room for the Lord to give us “new” and “better.”

In orderAs for my grandchildren, playing with a manageable amount of toys (all of which work right and are complete) makes play time less frustrating and lots more fun.

Less turns out to be much, much more.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)

A Mentor’s Prayer Life

Devotional-journal, 3In 2012, my California cousins gifted me with something precious from their mom, my Aunt Joyce. It was a green leather book with her name embossed on the front. At first I didn’t recognize it, but inside I saw my own writing, a birthday gift to my aunt on her 88th. It was a devotional journal, and after each day’s entry, there was space for written reflections. Aunt Joyce had recorded her thoughts and prayers, and in this gift I was given a glimpse of how a wise mentor talks to God.

In reading what she wrote, I was impacted by her honesty before her Lord and am wondering if you readers might be impacted, too. Below are quotes from her journal, plucked with care so as not to reveal her secrets but answering the question, “What does a mentor’s prayer life look like?”

  • Oh God, my trust is in you. I ask for deliverance from my feelings.
  • Lord, order my conduct, and take my burdens.
  • Remove my fear and anxiety. You said you would. I depend on that. Keep my mind stayed on Thee.
  • Rejoice exceedingly, Joyce!
  • God, if it’s not too late, I commit my cause to you. Help me do your way and will.
  • “…that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Wow! Me?
  • Lord, keep my attention on your side, not mine.
  • Lord, I need to be motivated by your love. I ask this by your Spirit. Thank you, right now.
  • Lord, open my eyes to see my enemy, which equals my captivity. Give me your equipment for fighting against captivity to sin. I want to conquer sin in my thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
  • I feel like I’m going through your refiner’s fire to purify my wickedness. I’ve had anger, stress, and frustration when I should have had hope!
  • Thank you for my Edward [husband of 62 years then]. I did not have sense enough myself to choose such quality.
  • God’s grace is like a sandwich. The top of the bun is what I deserve from Him. The filling is God’s grace. The bottom is what I receive from Him… life eternal.
  • I thank God for blessing received with no sorrow added.
  • I need someone greater, wiser, stronger and more powerful than I am. In Him I have everything.
  • Often God’s way up is down, but He’s there with us, too.
  • Aunt Joyce's prayers, 3I became a new being today, started all over – forgiven, cleansed, powered by Him through the Holy Spirit. Praise to the Almighty, over and over! I’m so grateful.
  • To know Him is to love Him. I love you, Lord, and want to know you more.
  • I’m starting to understand what grace is, and what my comfort can be.
  • Stress and suffering shows me so clearly how very much I need Him, how hopeless and helpless I am without Him. I surrender all, dear Jesus, to you.

One of Aunt Joyce’s favorite verses, written out in her journal, is: “The Lord will perfect what concerns me.” (Psalm 138:8)

Watch out!

The other day I bought a piece of glass that had a warning attached to it: “This glass may have sharp edges.”

???????????????????????????????The company wanted to make sure every person who purchased their product would be thoroughly informed, so it printed the warning in 19 languages. In other words, it was made as easy as possible for consumers to stay safe.

God has done the same thing with his warnings, not necessarily with 19 languages in one document, but definitely with words. In the Bible he repeats warnings over and over in an effort to persuade us, wanting us to avoid mishaps just like the glass company does.

For some people, listening is all the caution they need to stay out of trouble. God says, “Watch out!” and they do. Others consider themselves the one exception to every rule and plow past warning signs, assuming nothing untoward is going to happen. They figure the odds are in their favor. Still others believe that most warnings are exaggerations, and on that basis they can be disregarded.

But when God says “don’t” followed by “if you do,” it’s more than just a casual suggestion. He’s really saying, “Don’t hurt yourself by doing such and such. Your life will turn out better if you follow the water-tight counsel I’m giving you. Ignore it to your own peril.” Yet setting aside the “peril” part, we can be pros at the ignoring.

Whatever God says goes, and once he has told us to “Watch out,” if we haven’t, he usually lets us find out why we should have. But lest we think all his advice is “you’d better not,” he’s quick to include plenty of “how about this?”

Scripture includes far more positive promises than worrisome warnings. Instead of, “Don’t do this” God often says, “Do this…. and then watch my blessing flow!” So we can either “Watch out!” or just “Watch….” If we heed the warnings and claim the promises, it’s win-win.

As for that sheet of glass with its 19 warnings, I was so intent on studying the different languages that I cut myself on its sharp edges.

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)