911-What is your Emergency?

Ever had a day like the song the Bangles sang, “Manic Monday”?

Bangles © Manic Monday

Have to catch an early train

Got to be to work by nine

And if I had an air-o-plane

I still couldn't make it on time

'Cause it takes me so long

Just to figure out what I'm gonna wear

Blame it on the train

But the boss is already there

Ever been in a situation where you didn’t know who to call and 911 stuck in your mind? What if that day just became worse? Ever watch COPS or CSI television shows that have that frantic voice on the phone like this 911 call into the

Rowlett Police Department on June 6, 1996:

911 Operator #1 ...Rowlett 911...what is your emergency..

00:01:19 Darlie...somebody came here...they broke in...

00:03:27 911 Operator #1 ...ma'am...

00:05:11 Darlie...they just stabbed me and my children...

00:07:16 911 Operator #1 ...what...

00:08:05 Darlie...they just stabbed me and my kids...my little boys...

00:09:24 911 Operator #1 ...who...who did...

00:11:12 Darlie...my little boy is dying...

00:11:25 RADIO ...(unintelligible) clear...

00:13:07 911 Operator #1 ...hang on ...hang on... hang on

00:15:03 Darlie...hurry... (unintelligible)...

00:16:01 911 Operator #1 ...stand by for medical emergency

     This is to an extreme from a Manic Monday to a life and death situation. Prayerfully, it is with faith we have not experienced this type of setting. If you have, please accept my condolences. For those who have not experienced this type of event, I do believe each of us has experienced a 9-1-1 experience in our spiritual life.

     First, let’s set the stage. God does not make bad things happen. This is our adversary, which causes us to believe in a lie like Eve did in her state of confusion within the Garden of Eden. He encourages us to do make the right choice in our free will to obey Him. However, like a parent, He hurts when we choose the wrong choice.  Much of our situations are from our erroneous choices. An example would be: we smoked too long and we come down with lung cancer and this is an incorrect choice and the consequences of it are cancer.

The spiritual 911 can sometimes be a life event over an accident from another human being. Perhaps our child who is sick and we need assistance because the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong. Maybe, it is your spouse who has decided to leave in divorce. Either way we seek out help, like humpty dumpty, in trying put all the pieces of our hearts back together again.

     Like the disciples who were proficient fishermen, we are professionals in life. However, sometimes we fret because Jesus is sleeping in the boat (Luke 8:22-25) and the waves of life come crashing down upon us, and we grow scared and worry we will not make it through this storm. Jesus calmed those storms by commanding, “Peace be still”. David through his tragedies wrote, “Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131

     Sometimes we have to do the same thing. We have to go to the One that can calm those storms. Furthermore, we have to be still in the midst of our storm and not try to do it alone. However, because of human nature we tend to the hit panic when something hits us spiritually.

     Second, we have to have our minds programmed to the faith. Faith you might ask? Silly question I know when you are at the bottom of the barrel scrapping away trying to find a way out. Faith can do many things. It is how we approach it and why. We have to transform how we perceive and look at the situations. “I will let You transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

     How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight (Psalm 36:7-8).  Four times the phrase “shadow of your wings” appears in Psalms (Psalms 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 63:7). It can be difficult to think because He is not here tangibly that He knows and understands us because of how we feel. It is even harder to believe someone who explains everything is okay, and they are here physically with us. The key is to look and to believe and this is where our faith becomes the key.

     When you are in crises, and you don’t know where to turn; there is a 911 passage you can turn to. Remember, it is our adversary who likes to trick us into the here and now panic mode and not trusting. Are you ready to call 9-1-1? If not, then put a bookmark in your bible or print it out and put it on your fridge. This passage has helped me through my situations and I want to share it with.

     Remember to look for the whisper of God: Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12) Remember, to hide under the shadow of His wings let Him do the work while you rest. Here is your 9-1-1 passage:

Psalm 91-1

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Lessons From Optimistic Rats

What came first, our thoughts or our feelings? Granted scientists have figured out what came first when they researched the egg or the chicken. After an expenditure of millions of dollars, they found that the egg came first. However, this is more complex when we think about feelings, which fabricate thoughts or thoughts that are constructing feelings. Either way both affect how we view life.
     In Learned Optimism (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991)) Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., presents evidence on optimism and pessimism. In short, the book scientifically proves optimists are better in almost every aspect of life. Even when faced with hard times. Therefore, are optimists creating thoughts of illusion?

     Dr. Seligman conducted a study with rats. He had two groups that were placed in a tank of water with milk to make it cloudy. The first group of rats had to swim for a certain amount of time, but there was a hidden island under the water. They were able to find the island and were able to rest. The second group swam the same amount of time as the first and in the same conditions, except their tank had no island.

     On the second day Dr. Seligman did the same experiment. However, this time neither tank had an island. Each rat was tested separately and the times of how long they swam were calculated. The first group of rats, which had an island and then taken away in the second experiment, swam longer than the group of rats that didn’t have anything at all. Therefore, the difference between the two groups is that the first group had hope of an island for them to swim too.

     Dr. Seligman concluded in his study that pessimists respond with helplessness and give up. On the flip side, it is the optimists that persevere. Most of us learn to be optimists or pessimists in childhood and adolescence, and then, for good or bad, we carry this basic attitude with us throughout life. This is where we develop seeing the glass half full or empty.

     According to Dr. Susan Vaughn (2000), “studies suggest that reality is overrated. People who are the most closely in touch with reality are probably depressed. For example, in one study, depressed people were much more accurate than those who were not currently depressed at estimating the risks of all sorts of disasters befalling them, from plane crashes to their chances of being hit and killed by a bus when crossing the street on any given day. They saw the dangers of life head-on and estimated them accurately. Psychologists call it “depressive realism.”

     Here is my point. We don’t need rats to explain to us about hope or optimism. Christ came and developed that already for us. Can we turn our life around or is it too late? It is never too late. Christ meets you where you are in your life. Example is with “doubting” Tomas (John 20:24-31) and allowed Thomas to experience the feel. Just like the rats that felt the island they couldn’t see. Then when Christ is taken away, like the island, Thomas still believed and had hope.

     Is the sky dark in your eyes? Maybe you didn’t have a solid foundation growing up and still don’t feel a solid foundation to give you the hope that the glass is half full. It is a challenging aspect to create the illusion the glass is half full and not empty. When you are in pain you feel like being pessimistic and saying I am sick and there is nothing I can do about it. It’s everyone else’s problem. You lose hope and sight and allow the pain to interfere with something better.

     What can we learn from an optimistic rat? We don’t create an island. We believe in one. How? Paul expressed it best when he wrote, “Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. However, this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). We believe on Him who will continue to deliver us. That is the glass that is half full.

     I had to learn to grow from being a pessimist to an optimist. When I experienced God directing my steps and not me then it becomes optimistic. When I direct them, it is pessimistic. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble (Proverbs 4:12). No matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). When we are faced with obstacles like the disciples were, Jesus provided the optimistic hope by saying to them; this has to be done in prayer (Mark 9:29).

     There is a reason to be optimistic. In the end, Christ paid the debt and created optimism. Satan is the one which creates pessimism. Remember, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(Philippians 4:6) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Reference:
From Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism by Susan C. Vaughan, M.D. Copyright © 2000 Susan C. Vaughan. Excerpted by arrangement with Harcourt, Inc.

A Marinating Thought

The nose begins to twitch. The brain comes alive. The stomach begins to growl. The fingers move with motion in trying to find what the lovely aroma is all about. It reminds me of the movie Frankenstein, “it’s alive.“
     I remember waking up at my grandmother’s farm to a fresh smell of maple bacon cooking on her iron cast skillet. My grandmothers could cook the greatest prize winning pies. My Mama would fix the best lemon meringue pie, and my Granny would cook a great apple pie. Any smell would create an appetite that you could not just stop at once piece or slice. It left you craving for more. Not sure if I can equate that to a pregnant woman with her cravings to pickles and ice cream. That just sours my taste buds.
     It is interesting how smell can carry memories from being a young child into my adulthood. For me, it is similar to the smell of grilling over mesquite wood and the smoke permeates the clothes, the hair and the skin. Wonder if they can bottle up that smell like cologne? Not that I would wear it, but the smell is phenomenal.
     I enjoy cooking. The other day Tanya was sleeping and a craving of ham came over me. Sneaking into the kitchen, I began my magic touch. The secret to great food is to marinate. Meat can be tough. Marinating can help it to be tender and yet taste great.
     Like a witch and her brew, I began to pour in the orange juice, dr. pepper, molasses, brown sugar and secret spices into my marinating sauce for the ham. It takes time in putting this together. It takes time to marinating the ham in the juices. The end result was they could not stop eating. They loved my cooking. Go me!
     If anything is to be a sweet aroma, tender and provide a good taste it takes time in marinating. Life can be sweet or it can be bitter. It all depends in what you are marinating yourself in.
     Are you marinating into a life of drugs, alcohol and other addictive thoughts and behaviors that your life tastes bitter and the aroma is a stench that you’re always in disagreements with others? It does not have to be this way. There is a recipe book already made and it helps in changing lives.
     The recipe book is Christ, and he is the recipe to a successful life. The question is what happens when we marinate in Him? “Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercise it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored” (Romans 8:6, The Message).
     Marinating and meditating on Him changes life. The sweet aroma draws others around to partake in the beautiful feast of your soul. Think and marinate in these words and look at the peace you can have in your life without the other turmoil. It takes the right kind of spices to make a heart tender and sweet to others and memories to last a life time just like my grandmother's cooking!