More than enough, too ...

“So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.  And they that had eaten were about four thousand”.  Mark 8:8-9 KJV

More than enough, too…

There are times (like today and maybe even yesterday) that I am filled to the brim with wonder. I am not particularly worried about anything. Well maybe I am concerned about this thing they call aging which seems to be producing these body ailments and more and more grey hairs that also seem to be blooming on my cranium overnight.  Ok, I am wondering.

I mean it really is ok getting to be 65.  Really it is. I am just in a state of wonder. When did this happen? I look back at events in my life and they all seem like they took place just yesterday. Has it really been six years since I moved here to the bay? Has it really been six years since I last had a full-time job?  I mean after all that is a tremendous blessing and proof that God is a “keeping” kind of force in my life.

Remembering that day that I sat in this same place and declared that for God I will live and for God I will die. I resolved to live and walk by faith – trusting in His holy word that says the He would supply all of my needs. (It’s funny how God will bring you to a place of absolute dependence upon Him - I'm just sayin'). If I told you how much money I really live on every month you would probably say that’s impossible. But here I am and here it is. I have yet to be hungry. I am sheltered and safe and it is still all about Jesus. This, too, makes me wonder. He is more than enough.

The bible says in Psalm 37:5 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”  Not that I am so righteous or even all that holy. But the Word of the Lord also says that if we would have the faith the size of a grain of a mustard seed what we see as impossible becomes possible.  That mountain with all of its clefts and jagged edges and slippery places becomes a small mole hill that is easily traversed because of God’s grace.  We don’t even have to have huge amounts of this thing called faith and God, with his ever abounding grace, comes through time after time after time. Isn't it a wonder?

Let’s not get it twisted. I don’t have a whole lot and if I allow what I do have to be measured against what  this world says is symbolic of success, the average Joe would say I have nothing. What you see as nothing is more than enough for me and that, my dear, fills me with wonder. 

As I meditate on the Word, I often look at the familiar stories and wonder why exactly are they written in the bible. What are we to really learn from that particular story?  There have been many interpretations of the Word of God, as we know. Some of these interpretations have totally missed the mark and have been slanted it to fit a person's particular earthly agenda. But when you really study the word and ask God to reveal the truth of why and how come that story is being told, the revelation is often amazing. God in His infinite love and wisdom reveals so much to us through these stories. God's Word does indeed breathe and it is alive. Though written numerous years ago it still reveals and instructs as though it were written just yesterday. Going back to the basics, I sometimes read the stories that we have heard time and time again and low and behold - fresh manna! Oh, how this fills me with wonder!

When is the last time you thought about the seven loaves of bread and a few fish that fed four thousand? Jesus had all of the people to sit down and wait for the miracle.  The bible didn’t say anything about the people complaining in the wait. Four thousand people sat down in the grass in groups and waited with great expectation to receive. And receive they did. Jesus blessed those few small fish and those seven loaves of bread and the increase came forth “pressed down, shaken together, running over.”  Everybody received more than enough. So it is with me and you and all of us. To this day I have no idea how it is that He is keeping me and to be honest I don’t need to know. He keeps me and this knowledge is more than enough, too.

#soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Another thought: And Jesus Said Come ...

Another thought: And Jesus Said Come ...: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and l...

And Jesus Said Come ...

Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest into your souls. For my yoke is wasy and my burden is light.                                                                     Matthew 11:28 KJV

It wasn’t until I reached my age of reason – so near 65 I can taste it – that I realized just how fast the world is spinning. We can reach destinations hundreds of miles away in a matter of hours. We can hear the voice of someone that is in another country just by punching in a few numbers into that mystery box we call a cell phone. The list goes on and on. We are moving at the speed of light and most times we don’t even leave the safety and comfort of our homes or offices.  We conduct business and make major money transactions through a computer screen. Information flies at us from every direction imaginable. Because of this age of technology, we spin. We spin faster and faster with each year and new “gotta have it” device.

We have become a nation of tired and burdened folk. We work day after day trying desperately to keep up and keep in step with what our culture now believes is necessary to find that most elusive happiness or success.  If we don’t make the grade, anger and total dissatisfaction step in. We are miserable and make everyone else around us most miserable. We have unrealistic expectations that define peace as having the latest gadget or gizmo. Life’s treadmill is our continual placement of one foot in front of the other and not moving anywhere. We are tired from all that running in place. True?

It is clear that the Lord is telling us that what we are struggling for is not found in the latest Apple Watch, or tablet, house, car or on Facebook. True happiness and success is not measured by what we have or what it is that we do. Having nice stuff is great and if God blessed you with something be grateful. The 11^th Chapter of Matthew, however, is asking us to keep it all in perspective. Things will never define who we are and whose we are.

Our burden continues to be our struggle to get and to show off. Jesus is speaking and telling us that it is time to fully submit to Him and He will take struggle out of life’s equation. Through our surrender, and only through our surrender, will we find rest, peace, happiness, success. If we are truly striving to be more like Christ we should know that His soul is a soul rested. Jesus knows what it means to let go of the worry of not having enough. We are to let go of the struggle and the burdens we face in this life and we will find the ultimate rest. We will have that peace and succes in our homes, on our jobs and in our ministries.

As I get older and with an ever growing desire to be more like Him I better understand His humility and His humanity. Doing life His way is so much easier for His burden is indeed light.

#soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Distractions

dis·trac·tion noun \di-ˈstrak-shən\

: something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention

: something that amuses or entertains you so that you do not think about problems, work, etc.

: a state in which you are very annoyed or upset

There are words that we use all of the time that seem to fit a situation or a circumstance and there are words that really hit the nail on the head when you look them up in a Webster’s. 

Such is this word – distraction. 

When I am having difficulty in praying and concentrating on the Word – distraction

When I seem to not feel the joy that I know I should have – distraction

When I am bothered by sounds (particularly folk’s conversations, too many questions) – distraction

Not seeing clearly God’s purpose for the rest of my life and when things used to be so clear – distraction

When I cannot see clearly through the fog of my own stinking thinking with teary eyes I know that I must be looking at things not in the spirit as the Lord would have me but I looking at things through the lens of negative worldly what have you - distraction.  My spirit self knows, without a doubt, that He has me in all things yet the enemy of my soul is going to try to distract me into believing the very opposite. Yes, these are nothing but distractions to keep me from fulfilling His divine plan. 

If there is anything that I truly hate in this life it has to be distractions.  Those moments that keep you awake at night or, better yet, throw you out of a fitful sleep to the edge of the bed to ponder and pray and commiserate over (something like “glass jars and marbles, etc.”) Distractions make me feel uneasy and restless – impatient for the move of God.  It is almost as though I were a bored kid that can’t wait for the test period to be over, not caring whether a passing or failing grade will be given…just wanting it over.

Distractions can be those moments of sheer boredom when all you really want to do is go outside and contemplate your belly button. 

#soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak