a belief in the future

Being a Christ-follower means that I recognize His sovereignty and trust His faithfulness - my future is safe with Him; being an American citizen means that I love my country and grieve the seriousness of our national condition - spiritually, most of all. I will bring the two worlds together as best I can for as long as I can, but when the final analysis is made, my status as a Christian is the truly solid standing.

God and country have been connected for so long in the American mind that dissolving that union is unthinkable to most of us. And I, for one, hope that it may never be so. But history reminds me that great Christians of other times have seen their nations depart from godly moorings  - this is not a new thing. And they faced the increasing darkness with solid faith and unrelenting optimism.

 

 I'm reminded of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of my Christian heroes, who believed firmly in "the future" all the while Nazism swept his beloved Germany. He refused to give in to despair and commit mental suicide. He believed even in the possibility of his future marriage to his young fiancee, Maria. He wrote to her that their marriage must be a "'yes'" to God's earth'" - in other words, an affirmation that God expects us to live the lives He has granted us at this time. The future is His domain, not ours.

 

"Our marriage must be a "yes" to God's earth. It must strengthen our resolve to do and accomplish something on earth. I fear that Christians who venture to stand on earth on only one leg will stand in Heaven on only one leg too."  (Love Letters from Cell 92, Abingdon Press, 1995)

 

Bonhoeffer didn't marry Maria. He was executed on April 9, 1945, just a few days before the fall of the Third Reich. God's plan and purpose took a different route than what he hoped. But he was not wrong in his approach to life, even from a cell in Berlin. He was right to believe in the future. He was right to stand up for the oppressed. He was right to champion truth. He was right to commit his efforts to affect change in his country. And he did that, through his preaching, writing and resistance work, down to his last hour. And when his hope in his country was finally extinguished, his trust in the sovereignty of God took over and carried him into the next world where all is right and just.

 

It might do us well to to embrace his philosophy - love life, believe in the future, fight for the real values of your country and above it all, trust in the overarching supremecy of God who is a mighty Fortress. That means we can look at today and tomorrow with a positive lift to the countenance and a song in the soul. And that's what I intend to do. I hope my fellow citizens will do the same.

 

 

voting rage or righteous fervor

As a conservative, I hold firmly to my convictions and as a Unites States citizen, this affects how I vote. I have very decided opinions about my country and how I feel it should be governed. If you're an American, I hope you do as well. For patriots to be without strong conviction is frightening; our nation cannot exist if her people are casual or worse, apathetic.

My patriotism is strengthened and balanced by my status as a follower of Christ. When Jesus walked on earth, His contemporaries were patriots too. They were Jews who loathed their Roman rulers. Who could blame them, these people who have been violated and oppressed down through history? I'm convinced that Christ was not in favor of Roman cruelty; God created humanity with inherent freedom - His freedom, the gift of personal choice. Yet, Jesus did not advocate slander and violance.  He promoted truth.

Those who believe strongly and see the dangers ahead many times become frantic in their attempts to persuade others of the threat. You could liken it to a signalman trying to stop a car racing toward a train crossing. And unfortunately, it seems that emotion and momentum must reach a fevered pitch before the base gets motivated to act. Oh, that we were inspired to be good citizens even when the stakes were not as high!

Still, it remains that anger and fear are great motivators. And in this election cycle we have seen them both up close. I have felt them both; you probably have as well.

But, let's make an effort to vote righteously, fearlessly and freely but not angrily. I must temper my emotions when the outcome is announced - whichever way it goes. I must stand for truth and right without rancor. I must adopt the mindset of other patriots of other times who fought hard and retained dignity while doing it.

It's easy for conservatives to be angry - angry in church, angry in the public square, angry in the voting booth, angry everywhere at the audacity of those on the other side. And often it is difficult to distinguish between righteous indignation over the rampant evil in our culture and what we Southerners call having an "ugly attitude" toward others. It takes the grace of God to be a conservative citizen who can have strong feeling and Christlikeness at work all the while. There is no room for backing down or neglecting truth or having a spine like a jellyfish as my grandfather termed it. It's strength under control; it's Christian patriotism. And after all, that's what our nation was founded on.

So, today as I cast my vote, Lord, help me to proudly and firmly do my duty, let me use all my persuasive powers and winsomeness in talking to others who are genuinely seeking answers, give me the conviction to follow through on my conscience and let me do this with Your grace and strength and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Available soon!

Upcoming Release!   Everyday Moments with God 

by Valorie Quesenberry

"This brand-new prayer collection is designed for those “everyday moments” in your life—the tired moments, the stressed-out moments, the joyful moments, the tearful moments, the peaceful and chaotic moments. . . Dozens of practical and encouraging prayers, complemented by related scripture selections, will inspire you to strengthen your heart-connection to the heavenly Father. God really does care about every moment in your life!"   


 

- from Barbour Publishing

Available in print or epub on Ocotber 1, 2012.

Being versus Doing

Didn't Shakespeare write: "To be or not to be?"

Maybe its an age-old question; it certainly is a conundrum for me as a person and as a mother. Where is the balance between being and doing?

As a firstborn, I am driven to "do." Most firstborns are. We're a strange lot to those who don't share the role of going first in the family. Sure, it looks like a certain amount of glory, and there is some, to be truthful. But there is also the fact that we must be "first" in many other areas and that very "firstness" is a terrifying, motivating factor at times.

I am not going to attempt an in-depth study of firstborn traits; see Dr. Kevin Lemen's excellent books for more. Suffice it to say that being firstborn makes this more of an issue for me personally. For others, it may be other temperament traits that give you that type-A, overachieving need to be "doing."

However you come by it, perhaps you have struggled with this question as well.

There is certainly praise in "doing." We, as humans, were created to "have dominion and subdue" the earth. God tasked even the first couple in their perfect environment with work at which to excel. And the Bible always praises diligence and best effort; God is never impressed with half-hearted attempts, either at work or at worship.

Yet, we were also created to "be." As the human bearers of His image, we have innate glory in simply belonging to the splendor of our world, in taking in the wonder and absorbing the delight of our God's gifts.

Still, the conscientous soul shrinks from embracing this idea too eagerly. After all, most of us have a mental image of the hillbilly slouched on the porch with a straw hat over his eyes, digesting his dinner and relaxing while in the background broken down fences and a shabby cabin tell the true story. If that is "being," no thanks!

But is there not a place for some kind of "restfulness" of soul that recognizes the value in stillness and the worth of a human being apart from his or her accomplishments?

This is a slippery concept to grasp. It means that there is a connection between our "being" and our "doing" in a deeper way than is usually thought. Often when I think of death, I am eager to see my Lord, but I think about all the projects I want to finish that I must leave undone at that point. Then I remember that God sees the unwritten, uncompleted works in me; He views my undone tasks as me. All of those things wrapped up in the inner person are me - they comprise the value He has vested in me. No matter when I go on to the next world or what the status of my personal goals are at that time, I am not imcomplete. It is all part of my "being."

In our culture of accomplishment and constant improvement, it is difficult to remember that there is something to be said for just "being" somewhere, someplace - there is value in enjoyment, in having the ability to relish where we are and what we've been given. Sometimes when I hear my children practice their instruments, I am reminded that I don't want them merely to be satisfied that they have put in X amount of minutes; I want them to enjoy the instrument. That is the goal of practice. If one does not feel inspired and elevated occasionally by the music she is making, of what purpose is her rehearsal? To try to delight others when she cannot find joy in it herself? What an empty use of time that would be!

I have wondered if I might not have done better as a mom if I should have not opened doors for them and prompted them to reach beyond the everyday. Do mothers who encourage their children to accomplish and experience actually cramming more into childhood and adolescence than is healthy? Are those who simply go to school, graduate, work at a local factory, have a family, never reach for the extraordinary,etc. happier in life? Certainly, they don't have to contend with the anxieties of performance and the inner compulsion to do more than work, eat and sleep. But is that better? Do they find more delight in a field of wheat blowing in the wind or in a slice of pie eaten on the front porch? Or are their eyes so accustomed to the everyday joys that they are also blind to them? Perhaps their very immersion in that kind of "being" numbs their sensitivity to it. And, what if no one studied music or left the hometown or took a leap into a challenging sphere? What a dismal, backward society that would create. I'm sure that would not be to my liking.

In the end, I'm convinced there must be both "doing" and "being." To subtract either from daily life is to thwart God's purpose in us. The challenge for me is to keep them in balance, never to lose sight of either, and to be able to discern when to focus on one or the other. I think knowing appropriateness is the key. I must be vulnerable to the messages God gives me in my spirit, through my family and in the kind of day He has betowed. Some days and moods seem to fairly shout whether it is time to "do" or to "be." Maybe that's why I actually like a gray day once in a while; it beckons me to "be."

The wisdom in the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1 give the benediction here - "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

A time to "be" and a time to "do." Amen.

(and there is the answer, Shakespeare!)

somebody's mama

It's a wonderful thing to be somebody's mama. I know its the best vocation I could have had. To be a mama is to be connected to other lives in a way no one else can ever be. A mama is there, from the very beginning you could say. And, all along the way, she is part of every day life, the good and the bad, whatever comes, mama is there too.

My mama is part of all my childhood memories whether she was actually present in every event or not. I would be influenced in my behavior by her teaching and usually share the experience with her when I got home. She simply was present all the time with me, and still is.

To be a mama makes you tied to someone's life forever. They'll always remember your words, your food and your love. Of course, if you don't have anything good to share in these areas, they'll remember that too! But, when you're a mama, you can never be forgotten. It's a vocation that affects somebody for the rest of  his or her life.