by Hope Venetta | May 9, 2015 | Maximized Hope
In my last post, some conversation was generated about my comment concerning wandering in a spiritual desert.
“For those of us who desire to follow God, but do it on our own terms, we are in for a lot of desert wandering, wondering where He is.”
While walking through the periodic desert phases of life, I used to wonder why things seemed so hard. Why I didn’t feel connected to God even though I wanted to be with Him. Why it felt like I had to make things work out on my own.
I have a strong independent streak. Maybe it is because I am a firstborn. That may have something to do with it, but I am certain that having a physically and emotionally absent father is the main reason. I had to “grow up quickly” and help my mother by taking on extra responsibilities at a young age. Today, even though I have the desire to go with God, in those dry times I sometimes find that I am not really looking for Him. Why? Because deep down I don’t believe that He has the time, energy, resources, or desire to care for me. As a child I created habits that allowed me to thrive despite my social and economic disadvantages. Unfortunately, depending on God was not one of those habits.
I came to know Christ in my early 20’s. By that time, the character traits I cultivated as child to help me navigate life, I had turned into idols. Intelligence, resourcefulness, perseverance, and self reliance, just to name a few. Idols? Yes idols. Any virtue or useful thing can be perverted into an idol if we look to those things first without acknowledging that the Giver of all good things has blessed us with them. Pastor and author, Timothy Keller, has a very thought provoking book on the subject called Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. I invite you to check it out.
I am so thankful for the word of God that reminds me of my place as God’s child in Matthew 7:7-11 and also reminds me that I can reach out to call Him “Abba” in Romans 8:14-16.
What about you? What has prompted your desert wanderings? How did you find your way out? What keeps you out in the desert? Share a bit in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you.
In my next post I’ll be talking about the kinds of things that kept me in the desert after I identified and surrendered my idols. But in the meantime, I’d like to encourage you with Proverbs 3:5-6.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
As always, using God’s Word as our plumb line for living.
Until next time,
Hope
by Hope Venetta | Apr 30, 2015 | Maximized Hope
Have you ever started something new and not been sure how it would all turn out? I hear ya. That is what this new adventure of writing a blog is all about. In my first post I mentioned that I heard a calling from God to share His wisdom by sharing what He has taught me through life’s ups and downs. The door opened to start a blog, so I walked through it. And so…I’ve got this new blog.
Have you ever had a preconceived notion of how God’s plan is supposed to work out? Good. I’m glad I’m not by myself. How about expectations of perfection from the very first step? Yay! You are my kind of people! As I looked at my expectations, my ideas for having a blog with instant and meteoric popularity were pretty grandiose. I’m so glad that I can objectively look at my motivations and quickly submit those thoughts to Christ as 2 Cor 10:5 teaches. This journey is about Jesus and the work He wants to do in my life and hopefully in the lives of others.
This is new ground for me. To not only get marching orders from God, but to also make the conscious choice to walk daily with Him as opposed to running ahead thinking He will bless everything I touch even if I don’t include Him in the decision making process. Ever been there? Exactly. I was blessed to come across a wonderful article on ambition from The High Calling. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do great things. We have many biblical role models for doing great things. That is not the point. The point is pride. My pride has the potential to be wrapped up in a polished and slick facade that gives the appearance of the utmost professionalism. The respect and adoration of others being prized above all. My temptation is to want you to stop by and see that I am a talented writer with a beautiful website. For you to be amazed by my beautiful and creative writing. For you to be touched by my insights and understanding. And, if I am being honest, for you to share what you have seen here in your own networks, thereby growing my popularity and lead to book deals, speaking engagements, etc. That is if I am really being honest about my motivations from time to time.
Well, God wants to know if I will share His wisdom even if there are no crowds. Even if this blog serves as a public diary with no readers beyond my friends and family.
There are some logistical realities that make it unrealistic for me being able to have a blog with all the bells and whistles right from the beginning. Ordinarily that would have kept me back, waiting for the perfect hour and situation before I took action on what God put in my heart. And in that process lose some of the intensity of what He put inside me. Like letting a delicious meal get cold.
This step of faith is my attempt to follow God on His terms and not mine. I would much rather present my offering with clean simplicity. Naked and humbly so that the message isn’t lost in the midst of the bells and whistles. More importantly, so that no one confuses the power of the message with the attractiveness the vehicle. For those of us who desire to follow God, but do it on our own terms, we are in for a lot of desert wandering, wondering where He is. But God is gracious, and can put an end to our wanderings if we take our eyes off of ourselves and keep them on Christ. So, here is my blog, naked and unadorned with bits of wisdom learned from my failings and shortcomings that He has redeemed. I hope it blesses you. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and join me on the journey of using God’s Word as our plumb line for living.
by Hope Venetta | Apr 29, 2015 | Maximized Hope
Vera marched to my office and with a head tilt and a sigh, held up a yellow stretchy man toy, a pen in the shape of a panda, and a geometric Rubik’s cube type of thing covered in triangular spikes. “These”, she huffed, “are items that were in the goody bags of this conference I just attended.” I laughed and shook my head. “Exactly!” she said, rolling her eyes and dumping the items into a box marked “door prizes” that we both share an unspoken disdain for. And with an exhale of mild disgust, she marched back to her office. While I didn’t say much, I tend to agree with Vera. I don’t like trinkets, knick-knacks, or items that remind me of Kid’s Meal toys.
Are you familiar with the 5 love languages? If you know me, you will know that I am a quality time person for sure. I like spending time in the presence of those I like, love, and respect. It doesn’t really even matter what we are doing. Wanna make my day? Keep me company while I am housecleaning, grocery shopping, or gardening. You don’t have to help me with my tasks, just be there and chat with me.
I’m sure I sound like a codependent wacko to the folks who prefer a few text messages of encouragement from their spouse during the day (words of affirmation), to the person who gives you a great big, long, sometimes uncomfortable bear hug when you see them in church on Sunday morning (physical touch), or that friend who feels so blessed when you do their grocery shopping for them until they can get used to the nursing schedule of their brand new bundle of joy (acts of service).
All of our love languages are valuable and they speak to certain gifts that God has given us as described in Romans 12:3-8. But I digress, it is the folks that value gifts that prompted this post. I don’t like gifts. Please don’t give me anything. Well, actually it is not that I don’t like gifts. I don’t like stuff that I don’t have a purpose for or isn’t attached to a memory. I hate it when salespeople visit my office and bring me cookies, that obligatory birthday or Christmas gift, or when someone says they were thinking of me and gives me some knick-knack that I will most likely throw away or give to Goodwill. If someone wants to bless me with a gift, my idea of an awesome gift is something that you know I will like because we have spent time together and you know me.
But back to the stretchy man toy. I caught myself wearing a black judge’s robe, judging people who are affirmed by gifts. Even seemingly random and insignificant gifts. Not to get overly spiritual here, but my judgmental huffing about people who get excited about a panda shaped pen showed me that at times I do not value who God has made other people to be — the part of His image that is reflected in them. Ouch. How convicting. All of us together make up the body of Christ as outlined in 1Cor 12:12-26. We each have value and bring something of significance to each others lives.
As we continue to use the Word of God as a plumb line for living, let us be gracious to one another and rejoice with those who rejoice – even over plastic stretchy man toys. 🙂
Until next time,
Hope
