Thinketh maketh the woman

 

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Thinketh maketh the woman

Hephzibah is the perfect place to take ones thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.

Why?

 

Because several million times a day in response to a look, a word, an action, a thought will enter the stage of one’s mind and stop midway. The thought usually of the lying variety, will take a deep breath and begin a soliloquy that could bring tears to the eyes of the most hard hearted person.

“Oh that is not fair,” it wails.

Within a very short time hearing the distress call another thought enters the stage and then there are two whinging and moaning and complaining.

Before one knows it there are hundreds of thoughts giving the performance of their lives all over the stage of my mind. They are such drama queens. Each trying to outdo the other. Naughty un Christlike thoughts vying for attention and approval.

And the clamour! One surely cannot hear oneself think for the cacophony.

The solution is found in being alert and diligent. The second the thought starts moving towards the stage lasso it and drag it away. In its place start sending thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure lovely admirable excellent and praiseworthy.

It is especially important to take thoughts captive because what we think affects the way we feel and the way we feel affects the way we speak and act. Nipping thoughts in the bud that are likely to make me feel  grumpy offended disappointed or resentful is very important. If I entertain them next minute I could easily say something or do something that I will have to ask forgiveness for.

I do not mind having to ask forgiveness but I would prefer it if I did not need to.

Last but not least

 

Sunday, 23 September 2018

Last but not least

This weekend has been a time of lasts. Last speaking time. Last wander around  my favouritism market.

Last naan at my favouritist restaurant. Oh last naan nearly turned into a disaster. The restaurant was very busy. But kind dada directed me to a table and brought a menu. I decided just to eat naan bread and a thumbs up.

After a while I could not remember if I had ordered a butter naan or plain naan. So as dada went past I said, "Butter naan dada?". From his reaction I realised he thought I was saying,"Where on earth is my butter naan."

He shook his head but reappeared shortly with a butter naan. It was a little bit cold which was unusual. Then as I ate it I  thought it was a little bit burnt. When I turned it over it definitely was burnt. Maybe it was a reject and he had given it to me to shut me up.

I could not allow my last naan to be a bad experience so when he went past again I said," Dada naan khub kharap." (Big brother this naan is very bad.)
"Kharap?" he replied.
I nodded.

Soon he came back with a naan was so hot I had to eat it with my knife and fork. It was up to the usual high standard of naan par excellence.

Please do not mind but I have the air conditioning on

I was sitting in my room in the cool fridge like conditions feeling a little bit embarressed because I was using electicity to cool my room. What what William Carey say?

The cool was certainly delicious. I went outside the room to the hallway  and it was like an oven.

I quickly came back in and turned the air conditioning off. After being out in the hall my room seemed very cool.

Later  I found a button on the remote control which read Room temp. When  I pushed it nothing happened until I turned the air con back on.

There it was -  the staggering truth. It was 30 flaming degrees.

 I instantly stopped feeling bad about using the air con. Again I checked the room temperature and it was 31 degrees.

It was bed time so I turned the air con back on. After an hour I was still awake so I looked to see what the room temperature was. It was 26 degrees. Crazy. The room temperature had only dropped five degrees in an hour.

At some point in the night it started to rain so I turned off the air con. In the morning when I opened my window there was a lovely breeze coming in.

As I breakfasted, showered and dressed I realised another advantage of using the air con. The marble floor was very cold.

Now it is nearly 4pm and it is 28 degrees in the room. I have had to close the windows because my blood sucking friends were coming in.

I can feel my face glowing with perspiration.

I wonder how my visitors would like a burst of cold air?

I really do need to turn the air con back on and cool down else I will never get my house dress off and my salwar chemise back on for 6pm when I am going out.

Here I am

I know. I know. I've been very slow to blog this time.  To date though I have been very busy  trying to book a train ticket.  I tried Wednesday.  No  luck. Internet was down in tourist booking office. So we went back yesterday and success. I'm off to Berhampur tomorrow in a third class air con seat. I have to be at the train station by 715 am.

I also tasted success literally  yesterday when I ate a naan bread at my favourite restaurant of all time. I have been instructed by Olivia who shall remain partially anonymous to eat as much butter chicken for her as I can. So I will do my best. Probably won't have many opportunities to eat out though.
Here is chicken butter Masala  I ate with naan which is the closest thing I can find to bchicken .

Will you just grow up

I’ve been on a bender to grow up emotionally ever since I read Peter Scazzero’s book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, at the end of 2016. The bottom line of Pete’s book is, it is impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. We want to be Christlike but dare I suggest, at the root of Christlikeness is emotionally maturity.

I suspect it is not just me God is wanting to mature!!! I believe at this point in time God is calling us, his kids in the church, to grow up and relate to one another in a mature way. I believe it is our emotional immaturity that is letting us down. We are not revealing the multi faceted aspects of the wisdom of God, love, as we are called to do. One sure sign of maturity is the ability to not only speak the truth in love but also be able to hear the truth. By the love we have for each other, people will know who we follow.

It is not enough to repent of sin as it happens, we have to allow the truth of the Holy Spirit to replace the dodgy immature sinful old man ways we relate to each other. Being defensive, distancing ourselves emotionally from people, to name two of the dysfunctions the Holy Spirit and I are dismantling, are not viable options for the chick following after Jesus. Nor the rooster. I dare to expect that as I become more emotionally mature, I will need to repent less. Ohhh, that sounded scary when I said it out loud.

You can imagine my joy at finding a website that talks about the challenges of maturing emotionally. In essence this is what the psychological world calls emotional intelligence - the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. Check it out if you like. I have found the discussion there on relationships and self quite helpful and enlightening. www.thebookoflife.org.

How low can you go Chubby?

I have decided that being a follower of Jesus Christ is very similar to the game limbo stick. In limbo stick a pole is held parallel to the ground by two people. The players form a line and, in turn, they attempt to pass under the bar. After everyone in the line has had a turn, the bar is lowered an inch or two and the process repeats. When passing under the bar, players must bend backwards. No part of their bodies may touch the bar and no part other than their feet may touch the ground. The winner is the one who can pass under the bar the lowest. In the song Limbo Rock by Chubby Checker promoting the game, one of the phrases mentioned is “how low can you go.”

That to me is the catch cry of my walk with Jesus- how low can I go? How far am I prepared to die to self and pride and humble myself?

In Philippians 2:5  it is written

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

In this passage we see how far Jesus was prepared to go. He made himself nothing, became a servant and eventually died. I believe he was able to do so because he knew who he was and was secure in his identity as the beloved son of God. When people spat at him, mocked him, whipped him, accused him, Jesus did not back off. He humbled himself because he knew God approved of him and was on his side. Then gloriously God's resurrection power brought Jesus back to life. 

Every day we have many opportunities to fight back, pamper ourselves, get even, refuse to be treated that way, insist on our rights, stand up for ourselves, get recognition, take the best seat or the biggest piece of cake. But I believe all God may require of us is to humble ourselves and see how low we can go. The crazy thing is God seems to use humiliation to make us humble if we choose that option. 

This walk I am on is not about me but about God. I humble myself and die to what I want, and he brings life. Its a great deal really even though it involves me giving up everything I have and am and ever hope to be.

How low can I go? I'm not sure at the moment but ask me in another 30 years just before my feet slip off the mortal high-wire. 

It's not all about you

I have this natural inclination to think that the way people treat me or speak to me is a reflection of my worth. I know. I know. It’s not all about me but somehow it seems to be. An abrupt word, a silence, a funny look, someone not listening or interrupting has the potential to send me on a downward spiral of melancholy and hopelessness. Useless, useless echoes around me as I slide down the slippery slope on my tushy. It’s so undignified. You can imagine how topsy turvy my inner world is at times. It really is exhausting being me.

Of course in all fairness to God Almighty the Creator of the universe, the One-Who-Knows-Everything, my inside world is not nearly as chaotic as it used to be. Slowly but surely He is pulling down those old lying habits of thinking that tell me, I’m useless, worthless, of no earthly use. He is renewing my mind with the truth that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in His image, I am loved with an everlasting love and Jesus dying on the cross is evidence of his love for me.

The fact of the matter is that if people treated me according to my inestimable worth which is non-negotiable, because you cannot argue with the One-Who-Knows-Everything, they would be running out red carpet everywhere I needed to walk, bowing when they approached me, fanning me with ostrich feather fans when it was too hot and feeding me with delicacies. My life would be one long royal visit which possibly would grow a little tedious for those I live with.

Yes the truth is I have great value and if people do not speak to me or treat me like that it could be, in the madness of the minute, they have forgotten that not only I, but them also, have inestimable worth. Perhaps like me they are pieces of brokenness being lovingly put back together and restored by their Creator.  Other people’s behaviour is definitely no reflection of my worth.

However, the question does need to be asked… what would happen if I treated everyone I met like they are royalty, made in the image of the creator of the universe?