Good Words from Colossians 4

Good Words from Colossians 4

DEVOTE:

commit effort and affection

PRAYER:

communion with God and intercession for others

WATCHFUL:

attentive to God’s voice and 

to what’s going on in the world around us ~

ready to respond appropriately

THANKFUL:

gratefully aware of blessings (even in disguise) 

and acknowledging their source

DOOR FOR OUR MESSAGE:

a divine opportunity to move into

a fruitful communication of grace

PROCLAIM:

call attention amid the distractions of the world 

and then share the details of the gospel

MYSTERY:

a story unfolding to open hearts,

not immediately clear but progressively revealed

WISE:

prudent choices, 

carefully thought through

and then carried out

EVERY OPPORTUNITY:

the chances and choices are there ~

what will we do with them?

CONVERSATION:

out there interacting, not in isolation,

not a lecture but a dialogue

SEASONED WITH GRACE:

attractive ~ inviting ~ savory ~ intriguing

 

KNOW HOW TO ANSWER:

intelligent ~ informed ~ listening

appreciating nuances ~ responsive

FAITHFUL MINISTER:

constant ~ diligent ~ active

on behalf of real people with real needs

ENCOURAGE HEARTS:

spur others to faith, love, and courage

in the inner core ~ it flows from there

GREETINGS:

friendliness sent forth ~

“I am thinking of you and I care”

WELCOME:

“well come” ~ make it a good and gracious arrival ~ 

not awkward but accepting with open arms and hearts

KINGDOM OF GOD:

where our citizenship belongs and our loyalty is due ~

what are our responsibilities?

COMFORT: 

we all need this, from the timid to the zealous ~

a place for soul to rest ~ embrace grace ~

be filled with peace

SERVANT: 

“in the Lord” and “of Christ” ~

action with humility

STAND FIRM: 

 “in all the will of God” ~ 

time to sink down roots ~

grounded in truth learned through study

MATURE: 

not presumptuous or hasty or naive,

but confident and patient ~ seasoned

 

FULLY ASSURED: 

letting faith seep in and

fill up the crevices of doubt ~

convinced through testing

WORKING HARD: 

going the extra mile ~ above and beyond ~ pressing onward

COMPLETE THE WORK:  

follow through ~ get it done ~ persevere

REMEMBER MY CHAINS: 

know the injustice which exists in the world

so you can intercede and intervene

When I went to the Refresh Retreat a few weeks ago, we were each encouraged to take most of our time there to read through the book of Colossians and journal our responses.  I finished up through chapter 3, jotting down key "Good Words" on one part of each page, a “Jesus Is…” list in another area, and tucking in “Exhortations to Me” and other notes wherever they fit.  It’s a good thing my newest journal has big pages!  I used some of my good words on my Kaleidoscope picture.

I’ve been meaning to get back into Colossians to journal through chapter 4.  Yesterday, while I was waiting for my children to get out of youth group, I took out my journal and my iPod Bible app and worked away.  This time, at least so far, I only did the “Good Words” section, and didn't even finish that much until today.  I decided to expand this section, and write a brief impression of each key word or phrase.  That’s what you see above.  Obviously there is much more to Colossians 4.  You'll have to read it yourself.

I also thought about what I would write in an “Exhortations to Me” section for this chapter.  I think the main gist of it is to be fully engaged with my Christian life, to be immersed in fruit-bearing spirituality and ministry, not as a hobbyist but as a disciple of Jesus.  It means living authentically and on purpose, looking for opportunities to serve and share.  It means not letting myself drift into apathy or empty busyness. It means doing my part, with my unique gifts and sphere of influence, to extend the Kingdom of God through the good news of truth and grace.  It means multiplying these efforts by equipping and encouraging others to do these same things in their own way with their own gifts.  In my life, so many of those “doors for the message” are right in my own home with my own children.  So much of that depends on living with Christ at the center of my life, which can be the most powerful example in word and deed.  I’m certainly not there yet, so this is a lot of meat to chew.

I have more to say, perhaps in another post, but for now, a few extra encouragements for you: 

• Read all the way through Colossians.  It’s a wonderful book, full of both inspiration and practical instruction.  Take it a little section at a time.  Meditate on it.  No need to hurry. When you are done with that, work through the Gospel of John.
• Jot down your impressions.  It doesn't have to be formal or fancy or even terribly profound.
• How do the words speak to you right where you are at in life? 
• While the words in this chapter were written in the context of a larger ministry setting, how can you, as a mother, apply them as you seek to disciple your children?

More posts!

Nurturing your own spiritual life:

• Busy, Dizzy and In a Tizzy: Christian Contemplation for Moms

• Wisdom from Letters of Direction by Abbé de Tourville

• Words of Promise, Comfort and Encouragement
• Sanctuary (Big Words)

Teaching children spiritual truth:

• Teaching Our Children to Walk With God
• The Thessalonians Prescription
• Bella Sophia (Lady Wisdom Sets Her Table)
• Trust and Obey

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

P.S.  The photos are from the EPCOT Italy pavilion.  I thought I had lost them, so I didn't use them in my other photo post here:  Impressions of EPCOT

Refresh Retreat

Dear friends,

Nearly two weeks ago, I had the immense privilege of attending a Refresh Retreat hosted by my friend Sandy Traugott.  I'd like to share it with you through pictures and captions.  It's funny that "Refresh" was my "one word" for 2013, and I still need it now more than ever.

Sandy is a veteran home school mom
whose children are all grown.
She is a seasoned saint,
well-acquainted with the trials of life,
but filled with a flourishing love of Jesus.
She inspires me.

Drop your cell phones here!
This is a day to get away 
without distraction.
(But it's there if you need it.)

A time to breathe and stretch,
in a posture of devotion and worship.
It's called DoxaSoma, an integration
of Christian prayer and movement.
Pray and praise with body and soul.
I loved it.  Sandy brought the mats.

After a time of listening 
to worship music,
we each sat with our own 
Bibles and journals,
turned to Colossians,
and asked God to speak 
into our hearts
as we reflected on his Word.
This was not a lecture and workshop retreat.
It was mainly a silent retreat.

Communion was available
to take in solitude as we wished.

Plenty of healthy snacks - strawberries,
hummus and gluten-free crackers,
lemon water, a variety of teas...
We also brought our own lunches.

Only six ladies come to each retreat.
One of my fellow participants
is my son-in-law's sweet grandmother.
Chatting on the porch with her,
I find that she hosted dozens of ladies' retreats
at her mountain cabin in North Carolina.
Between that and visiting missionaries,
2,000 people from 20 nations 
stayed overnight at Higher Ground
which is now available for week-long rentals.
She is also active in homeless ministry,
as are most of the others who came that day.
Shirley's hospitality and grace astound me.
I am so grateful for the 
family legacy she lives
for my soon-to-be born grandson Lucas.

Art time with lots of supplies -
a way to creatively express 
who we are in Christ,
and who we want to become in him.

Everyone else made 
collages from magazines.

I had already decided,
after pondering on Colossians,
to sketch my version 
of a kaleidoscope image,
inscribing Scripture words 
of grace and truth
onto the broken pieces my life, 
reflecting radiant beauty in the 
light of God's glory.
You can see and read about 
my finished piece here:

Kaleidoscope (Big Words)

We ended our day with a brief time 

of sharing what we had learned,

encouraging and praying for one another.

Our view out the window
of the condo clubhouse...
I went outside later
to take pictures by the lake.
You can see them here
in this related hymn post:
What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

What a refreshing day! 

If you live in the Orlando area, and would like to attend one of Sandy's free day long (9 AM - 4 PM) retreats, please visit her web site here:  Refresh Retreat.

Note on February 10: I finally finished journaling through Colossians 4.  Here are my Good Words!

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

P.S. Please enjoy one of the songs of worship from the retreat... "I Need You Now" by Matt Redman.  I downloaded it for my iPod, of course.

Kaleidoscope (Big Words)

What is this?

It's my blooming kaleidoscope flower!

I created it today at the Refresh retreat 

hosted by my friend Sandy.

It was a mostly silent retreat, 

and I'll write more about it later on another blog.

But for now, just the story behind the picture.

It started here on the couch,

before I even picked up my colors. 

In my private devotional time

reading through Colossians.

I wrote down key words

and pondered how they applied to me.

I came in weary and grieving this morning.

Last year, my most challenging ever,

left me feeling fragmented.

It's not yet over.

Today, in my meditations on 

Scripture and my tumultuous life,

I thought of the word:

KALEIDOSCOPE

Broken pieces,

raised to the light,

jumbled and reflected,

turned and turned

and raised up again,

ever-changing 

beautiful patterns:

redemption.

Why yes, I did just write an impromptu poem.

So when we sat down at the art tables,

while the others made collages,

I knew what I would draw with markers instead.

My outlines uneven,

shading splotchy,

as my life often is also.

I started filling in around the edges.

The words came from 

my morning's journaling

chapter by chapter in Colossians in my

well-worn Bible, which has a story of its own.

 I apply words of TRUTH

to the broken places of my life.

Love

Wisdom

Grace

Truth

Joy

Glory

Hope

Peace

Reverence

Gratitude

Encouragement

Growth

Devotion

Treasure

Endurance

Prayer

Singing

Service

Reality

Unity

Fullness

Strength

Sincerity

And on the stem, the words:

Rooted

Growing

Bearing Fruit

That's what I want to be and do.

At the end of the day,

one of the sweet ladies shared

what a blessing it was 

that she saw me blossom into joy

during the day

as I spent extended quiet time with God.

It happens that way,

doesn't it?

More later.

Oh, here it is now, two weeks later!

Two more posts featuring this retreat!

Refresh Retreat

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Virginia

The Day of Small Things

Flame vine on a neighborhood fence

I've been watching for it
and saw it on my way to the bank.

Today, in its emerging glory!
(See last year's flame vine photos, too.)

The curly vines always amuse me.

Could it be?  Flame vine in a tree?
Yes, blocks away, but it's the same kind!

At home again, fresh folded linens
on a fresh made bed (a new habit?)

Alternating housework with lesson planning
- then back in the classroom next week!

Visit with an old friend from faraway

Afternoon clouds = whimsy!

Clouds always speak to me!
(They have a whole category on my other blog...)

Hanging out the WELCOME -
a new flag for a new season
(but I still need to take down
the Christmas wreath from the front door).

Warm cinnamon rolls
for an after school snack = happy kids!

My "new" sweater,
$4 from Salvation Army,
nice and cozy!

"Who dares despise the day of small things...?"

Zechariah 4:10 (NIV)

Yes, I know that's out of the original context,

but the concept still rings true:

sometimes the little things in life count the most.

A quiet day (for the most part), 

no big thrills, still important.

Thankful!

"Brothers and sisters, 

think of what you were when you were called. 

Not many of you were wise by human standards; 

not many were influential; 

not many were of noble birth. 

But God chose the foolish things of the world 

to shame the wise; 

God chose the weak things of the world 

to shame the strong." 

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NIV)

I often link my posts to these blogs:

Still Saturday

The Sunday Community

  

"The Freedom to Make Mistakes" (Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel)

Dear friends,

So yeah, it's been well over two years since I started this Reflections on Grace Based Parenting series based on Tim Kimmel's book, and a year and a half since the last post on it. Now it's finally time to finish up so I can pass along the book to one of my daughters who is expecting her first baby this spring.  I already gave a copy to her older sister, who has two little boys already.  It’s funny to be well into the grandparenting years while still parenting young ones of my own at home.

The final two chapters are “The Freedom to Make Mistakes” and “Evening Grace.”   Trust me, in 26 years of mothering, I’ve made a boatload of mistakes!  So glad for grace to change and move on! Here are some of the quotes from these chapters which are most helpful to me:

“Parents who embrace grace make their homes a safe place for average kids to develop into extraordinary people.  In these types of homes, weaknesses and inadequacies aren’t a big deal.  These families are overseen by shrewd mothers and fathers who see their children’s fragile features as opportunities for God’s power to shine through them.  They also know that giving their children a safe place to work through their vulnerabilities keeps these shortomcings from getting in the way of their true greatness.”

“If anything, grace should motivate you to a higher holiness.  Grace-based homes aren’t places where family members assume they can say whatever they want, see whatever they want, hear whatever they want, taste or drink whatever they want, or touch whatever they want.  That’s not grace.  That’s someone wanting to live his or her own life with no regard for what God has said or what He thinks.  But when grace is in place, there is clearly a different attitude toward sin in homes without grace…. People who walk by faith are far more capable of developing a godly and righteous lifestyle because they are finding their power for living in their personal relationship with the Lord.”

“It’s not that grace-based homes don’t take their children’s sin seriously.  Nor is it that grace-based homes circumvent consequenceds.  It isn’t even that grace-based homes do nothing to protect their children from attacks and temptations that threaten them from outside.  They do all these things, but not for the same reasons.  Grace-based homes aren’t trusting in the moral safety of their home or the spiritual environment they’ve created to empower their children to resist sin…. Bottom line: Grace-based families realize that their children will struggle with sin.  They consider it an honor to be used by God to show their children how to find true forgiveness in Christ.  They are not intimidated by the dialogue that brings the discussion of sin to light.  In fact, they are grateful to be able to come alongside their children with an unconditional love during some of their toughest hours.”

“A grace response to your children’s sin is to avoid condemnation.  You can evaluate their wrong actions, discuss their negative effects, and even voice the pain and disappointment that you have experienced as a result of it.  But you don’t want to condemn.  Condemnation corners them and doesn’t offer much hope.  Condemnation attacks their character rather than addresses their behavior.  When you condemn, it causes a reflex within them to defend themselves.  Often your condemnation oes little more than to make a bad situation far worse.”

“Providing consequences for sin is a loving form of grace.  It says, “I love you too much to let you continue in this pattern and grow up to be bad.” Meting out fair and consistent consequences for their negative actions tells children there is a mature and decent parent overseeing their lives.  Letting them get away with sin says just the opposite.  It tells them they have an immature parent who is more concerned about their comfort than with their children’s dignity.”

“You have been singled out to do a favor for God.  He is asking you to be His representative to a small but vital part of the next generation.  He needs someone to be His voice, His arms, and His heart. He chose you.”

I’m glad I read these chapters tonight.  They are good reminders for me.  A lot has happened in our family since I started the series.  There have been some really tough circumstances and hard decisions, as well as some positive progress and sweet memories.  Looking back and looking forward, I know that I need to be more consistently proactive in my mothering to help my kids deal with the complexities of life.  I have swung the pendulum from severe to lax, and need to find my middle rhythm in grace.

I sat down with my five younger kids for about 15 minutes this evening – nothing long and drawn out. I read to them Ephesians 2:1-10 (grace of course!) and then chatted for a little bit about asking God to help us grow spiritually so that we want to do the right thing from the heart.  We also talked about some of the ways we need to pull it together as a family in the areas of responsibility around the house.  I tried to keep our family meeting light and sweet, and I think I got through to them at least a little bit!   We need to do this more often.  I’ll also give them a detailed list of reasonable expectations about chores, meals, use of electronics, etc.  I’ll tweak it based on this evening’s discussion and give it to them soon.  They did get to choose the days they wanted to do dishes.  A little choice goes a long way toward cooperation.

How about you?  How do you embrace grace in your home? I’d love to see your comments.  If you’re a blogger or you’ve found something good about parenting on the Internet, feel free to link related posts!

My previous posts in this Reflections on Grace Based Parenting series are:

• Chapter 1: "Why Well-Meaning Parenting Falls Short" 
• Chapter 2: "The Truth Behind Grace"
• Chapter 3: “A Secure Love” 
• Chapter 4: "A Significant Purpose"
• Chapter 5: "A Strong Hope"
• Chapters 6-8: "A Delivery System for Grace and The Freedom to Be Different and Vulnerable"
• Chapter 9: “The Freedom to Be Candid”

You might also like these related posts:

• Hypothetical
• Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
• Mothering by Faith and Grace
• Amazing Grace for Home School Moms

Grace, 

Virginia Knowles

The Proper Pressure

My friend Patty called yesterday.  "Do you want some bagels and flat bread?  I just got a whole bunch on clearance at the bakery outlet!"  Ever thoughtful, this old friend of mine!  She's been on Cru ministry staff, along with her husband, for most of her adult life. I've known her for nearly 20 years, and she's always been so full of grace and generosity.  I hadn't seen her in a while, but we keep in touch by e-mail and Facebook.

So Patty stopped by, and knowing she didn't come just to drop off some bread, I suggested we take a long stroll around my neighborhood and catch up in person.  Unfortunately, while we were gone, her tire went flat in my driveway. Completely unruffled, she opened her trunk, pulled out her little electric air pump, and plugged it into the car's lighter.  PSSSSH!   Little by little the tire regained its roundness.  Slow going, but "Slow and steady wins the race!" as the tortoise well knew. I thought that pump was really nifty and told her I'd have to get one since they're only about $25.  

As we continued to talk, Patty hit the off button and pulled out the pump nozzle.  But the tire was still pretty flat! She smiled.  She'd had a bright idea that I didn't know about.  Yep, that's right.  She wanted me to learn how to pump up a tire from start to finish. Not just watch her, but DO it myself!  So I did.  Check the PSI number on the tire to find the proper air pressure so I wouldn't over-inflate it.  Put the nozzle on the tire and flip the clamp lever.  Plug it in to the car.  Flip the on switch. Watch the dial until it reaches the PSI.  Turn it off and take the nozzle off the tire.  The whole works.  I am now an empowered woman.  

Patty explained to me that since her husband is very often out of the country on mission trips, she's had to learn to do a lot of things for herself.  It keeps her from getting too frazzled.  Because we're both philosophical chicks, we started musing about the metaphor of the tire pump and the PSI number.  How do we find the proper pressure in our lives?  Without air in our tires, we can't roll, but when does the pressure get too much and threaten a blow out?  When are we taking on more than we can handle?  When do we need to learn to back off and let it go?  Or conversely, when do we need more air, more pressure?  When do we need to step it up and take charge and make it happen?  Good questions!  

For Patty, this means there are certain ministry settings where she does not thrive.  She knows what she can do and what she can't.  It means finding emotional support from others when things get a bit much.  It means accepting herself for who she is, rather than comparing to others who seem to have it all together. It means being resourceful, and finding ways to do practical things by herself and for herself. 

In my own life, I find myself stressing about things I can't control while overlooking other problems that I should at least try to solve.  I have to know when to walk by and when to dig in.  I have to set boundaries and form reasonable expectations for myself and others. And I've had to learn to do a lot of things for myself rather than expecting others to do them for me.  I visit a Christian counselor.  I have a wonderful, supportive church and friends and family who check in on me and pray for me.  I read a variety of blogs that help me both think and do things that will improve life at home and at work.  I write in my journal or call a friend.  I tackle a mess or close a door.  I set goals and make a To Do list to motivate myself to action.  At age 50, I don't have all the pep I did when I first met Patty, but slow and steady wins the race, right?

How about you?  How do you find the proper pressure in your life?  What is your part to play, and what is not?

You might also like to read these related posts: 

• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• Beating the Holiday Blues and Stress

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com


This post may be linked at these blogs:

Still Saturday

The Sunday Community

Raising Homemakers on Wednesday

Whole-Hearted Home on Wednesday

Wise Woman Link Up on Wednesday

Walking Redeemed on Wednesday