Tendonitis

I make a living as a sales manager in a retail store. My job requires that I am on my feet, and on the sales floor, 9-10 hours a day. Because I sell office and school supplies and it is back to school time, I am on my feet slightly more than normal.

OH MY ACHING FEET!

Well, my aches this time have turned to MAJOR pain in my left, foot, rather my left heel. I have Achilles Tendonitis. So naturally I went to Wikipedia to look up info about the Achilles tendon.

Cause: overuse

So, today I'm sitting around doing nothing...of course, this is after limping around to get to the podiatrist, (who by the way informed me I also need treatment for a toenail fungus. Aaaand, since the drug treatment for that sometimes has serious side effects, I have to undergo a series of liver function bloodwork tests because apparantly the drug I will be taking can cause liver failure! I'd rather have toenail fungus!). After the podiastrist, I limped to the Imaging Center for X-Rays on my heel, where I left and limped around at Firestone where my car is being repaired. Once Justin picked me up, I limped around WalMart to get my prescription filled. Now I'm home and happily in front of the computer.

I hate limping.

Later though, I'm going to be limping to the movies to see The Bourne Ultimatum! Yay!

Rude Christians

I know a person who is not a Christian and the other day he said to me "wow, those church people sure can be rude, demanding this demanding that and whining 'our church has an account here and we expect things done such and such way'". He then went on to add "do they not know who they represent?"

I found that a really interesting comment coming from someone who really doesn't know Who Christians represent. He may not know Jesus as his Lord and Savior yet, but it is obvious that rude "church people" aren't helping the cause.

Do you think anyone said of Jesus "wow, that guy sure is rude!"?

"My Goodness!"

Have you ever tried to define goodness? I never really thought about it before until I was reading again in the book mentioned in my last post.

If you are like me, goodness is defined by the good things we do. Goodness would mean things like dropping off old clothing to the Salvation Army, helping an elderly neighbor shovel snow off their sidewalk, delivering food to a needy family, holding a door open for someone, etc. These are good things to do, and they should be done, but do these things really define goodness?

Consider the story about the rich ruler in Mark 10:

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone."

Ok, now read that again and notice where I place an emphasis:

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone."

My goodness! (Oh, and where did that saying ever come from?) Isn't it just like Jesus to respond in such a way as to point out an eternal truth that only those really listening would hear and understand? I don't know how many times I've read that story over the years and never really noticed how Jesus was answering the young man essentially by saying "Doing good isn't the same as being good. Only God, and God alone, is good." I understand the concept, but never saw how subtle Jesus was about making this truth known to those watching that scene unfold.

So when Jesus told the young ruler what he could do to inherit eternal life, the ruler realized that even though he followed the Commandments, he still couldn't do what Jesus told him he needed to do. He wasn't good enough. The young man walked away sad.

No one can do anything to inherit eternal life. Eternal life isn't something you can earn by doing good things. No one is good enough. That is the point Jesus was making!

If we could earn eternal life then evil people could earn it too, because evil people can do good. Rich evil people could probably do even more "good"! Hitler's favorite pose for the camera was with furry animals and/or children, Idi Amin would tear up while listening to sad stories and even Stalin was kind to his daughters. Evil people can do good! "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

In God's eyes we all fall short.

I wonder if weeks, months, years later...if that rich young ruler dude ever understood the lesson he was taught that one day?

Watch Out for the Small Stuff

Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:10-17)

I'm currently reading Hidden In Plain Sight: The Secret of More by Mark Buchanan. In it the author helped me to gain insight into the "foot washing" principle.

When we accept Christ as Savior...He saves us for God and from God and washes us clean. In God's sight, we are blemish free because He sees us through the sinlessness of His Son, Jesus who stands in our place.

Jesus taught the disciples that once He makes us clean, we are cleeeaaan, totally clean...but now and then, we may get a little "dirt" on our feet, or in our lives. In other words, Christians may get a little "dirty" simply by living in this world and all Christians have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters to help wipe away that "dirt".

Jesus said "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet." What He is saying is that He washed us clean, but things in this world will tarnish us...it can creep into our lives and make us dirty.

Consider that slow driver that was "in your way" on the day you were running a bit late for work...what were your thoughts? Were they Godly?

Consider the television programs or movies you watch...would you watch them if Jesus were your guest this evening? Would He approve?

How about the music you have been listening to lately? Does it glorify God?

Have you been poking around Internet sites that are totally inappropriate?

Are you harboring any grudges against anyone?

Taken the Lord's name in vain? Ever say "Oh My God!" when surprised/startled?

There are many many ways that the world's crud affixes itself to us. We may not even notice the dirt on us piling up, and we won't notice because like Pigpen, we won't be bothered by "girls or mosquitos". In fact, if we aren't noticing it, we may be worshiping the lord of this earth, rather than the One True God. Jesus tells us to help one another wash this crud away in our lives. We are responsible to one another to do this. We should help one another get rid of the dirt that infects our lives! We sometimes refer to this as accountability.

The word accountability often brings to mind a person holding another person accountable for some grievous sin. Jesus wasn't talking to his disciples here about horrific sin, but about simple, small and sometime unnoticeable things that could subtly cause harm to His children and hinder a relationship with Him. He was warning us in a way, to watch out for the small stuff.

We are to be holy, and set apart from the world. The world is dirty, and we must count on our brothers and sisters to help us brush off the dirt that gets on our feet every day.

Failure

Katie talks about what a loser she is on our latest podcast. Check out "Failure" at Sisters' Podcast: It Bloggles the Mind!

YES! It Took a Year and a Half...

... and I finally did it! I conquered ZUMA!



















now what am I gonna find to do?

God Day at Natchez Trace

Katie and I spent the day at Natchez Trace yesterday doing Bible Study and simply enjoying God's Creation.

It was a good day weatherwise...sunny and bright. Mid 80s and little to no humidity. Absolutely a wonderful day!

We were able to prepare for our SaLT Group study and also did some of our current in depth study on holiness.

Oh and we were able to PRAISE THE LORD FOR KATIE'S NEW JOB! She will start with Career Services at Union University on August 1! This is a very exciting and anxious time for her, but IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!

God did it!

Click here to see more pics from our Natchez Trace adventure.