billy-joel

Are We MORE than Golden in Christ? 

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The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. Proverbs 17:3

I feel that I have been taking the downtime I need and needed this past winter – for many reasons – including the reason that if the ground rests, we should allow ourselves to rest a bit mentally too – and truly to rest my heart and to rest my stress. I have to say that I have really appreciated this down time – even if others see very little of it scoping out my activities day to day. Well, for me, this is downtime to sit and write and I am ever so much more blessed to do so…

And as spring approaches – we need to get more spring in our step – yes we do and “do Spring” – appreciate it – get out and walk or in the yard – break out of our winter shell. Spring, with it’s ups and downs of temperature and tumultuous weather patterns, finds that we also need to spring forth and remove ourselves from a cocoon of self-induced shelter. Honestly I mean that we DO need to take care of ourselves but we also need to get out more and reach more and simply be the people out there in the world that the Lord needs us to be – if not for us – for them – for those people who need to see someone be an encourager…  

In my down time this past few months – which is coupled by my incredibly blessed busy schedule of going everywhere, LOL, I have really taken more time to ponder and to simply watch “TV” – but good chosen TV – and movies – no longer do we use the flipper to look at channels and their offerings but we think of the artists we like – the topics we like – and yeah we get to choose more of our content-driven leisure time. I HIGHLY recommend a few shows recently: the HBO Billy Joel 2 part special, the HBO David Bowie’s last 5 years special, and movies that you catch up on during waiting for airplanes – like the George Clooney 2 recent samplings of “Good Night and Good Luck” and the movie of him as a movie start travelling – yeah it’s kinda like junk TV but not – it is more critically acclaimed and thought provoking – plus there is junk TV too – like Survivor which finally in episode 50 I am watching it side by side with my daughter at home…  nice…  and free stuff abounds too – on YouTube or PBS or wherever – you can find the endless podcasts of your favorite stars, things like “Finding your roots” and just funny clips – like I just rewatched the last 5 minutes of the Newhart finale where he wakes up in bed and it was all a dream and next to him is his wife from his first series – well, you have to watch it – I mean everyone’s tastes are so different.

And last nights indulgence of TV? THE OSCARS – no I never saw any of the movies except the one that had NO nominations – Wicked for Good – which makes no sense – that is the biggest theatrical release and not even a nod for costume design or casting??  ANYWAY – I appreciated a song from a movie that I HAD NOT watched – Kpop Demon Hunters is known for it’s teen appeal and without teens in my life I am happy to not have to stay up on recent movies – and yet this song was so fitting in my thought process – that we are “Golden” – that we are to remember ourselves being blessed and even golden or silver tarnished can be shined – we can shine – we can rise – we can spring into spring and just be better us… In the Oscar performance, and the original, we are to be hunters of the darkness and be back out in the light – and be GOLDEN!

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.  – Yes, Proverbs 17:3 speaks to me to us – to listen to the Lord and become even more GOLDEN and more than GOLDEN – to be the best we can be for HIM… The Kpop “Golden” lyrics are below and include: “We’re goin’ up, up, up, it’s our moment – You know together we’re glowin’ – Oh, I’m done hidin’ now I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be – Oh, our time, no fears, no lies – That’s who we’re born to be – Waited so long to break these walls down – To wake up and feel like me – Put these patterns all in the past now – And finally live like the girl they all see…”

And there are even more reasons to be more than Golden and know our place as children of God – to know our future even through rough times – to know the wisdom God gives us to keep living strong – to know that He will right the rights – to know that He has and will overcome. We are more than golden in Christ.

OK – back to spring springing – keep shining, keep believing, and keep listening to God – ask for WISDOM – and serve Jesus by being a servant to others. Be more than Golden!

AMEN – enjoy the day!

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Zechariah 13:7 NKJV The Shepherd Savior – Says the Lord, “… But one-third shall be left in it:  I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

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Proverbs 8 NKJV 

The Excellence of Wisdom

Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
O you simple ones, understand prudence,
And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
For my mouth will speak truth;
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
They are all plain to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold;
For wisdom is better than rubies,
And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.
Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, I have strength.
By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of the earth.
I love those who love me,
And those who seek me diligently will find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,
And my revenue than choice silver.
I traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.

“Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the Lord;
But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.

———-

Kpop song “GOLDEN”

Oscars

Original

I was a ghost, I was alone, hah
Given the throne, I didn’t know how to believe
I was the queen that I’m meant to be
I lived two lives, tried to play both sides
But I couldn’t find my own place
Called a problem child ’cause I got too wild
But now that’s how I’m getting paid, kkeuteopsi on stage

I’m done hiding, now I’m shining like I’m born to be
We’re dreaming hard, we came so far, now I believe

We’re goin’ up, up, up, it’s our moment
You know together we’re glowin’
Gonna be, gonna be golden
Oh, up, up, up with our voices
Gonna be, gonna be golden

Oh, I’m done hidin’ now I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That’s who we’re born to be

Waited so long to break these walls down
To wake up and feel like me
Put these patterns all in the past now
And finally live like the girl they all see

No more hiding, I’ll be shining like I’m born to be
‘Cause we are hunters, voices strong, and I know I believe

We’re goin’ up, up, up, it’s our moment
You know together we’re glowing
Gonna be, gonna be golden
Oh, up, up, up, with our voices
Gonna be, gonna be golden

Oh, I’m done hidin’, now I’m shining like I’m born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That’s who we’re born to be

You know we’re gonna be, gonna be golden
We’re gonna be, gonna be
Born to be, born to be glowin’
You know that it’s our time, no fears, no lies
That’s who we’re born to be

Got to Begin (Again), Billy Joel, Lamentations and New Beginnings

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There’s the biblical “start again” – and then there’s the BIlly Joel “Got to Begin (again)” – and I can hear and see from the newish Billy Joel documentary and accompanying album “And So It Goes”, over 150 songs, it’s clear that Billy Joel stated again and again! (The documentary is on HBO)

Not just reinventing ourselves because that is a God-worth task, but at least knowing the newness in each day. Of course, God knows about us IN HIM – about us in the Lord: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

If we hold onto the new day and the new us and the newness of the Lord in His mercies each morning – remembering EACH morning to begin again – it will give us a new start and also a new outlook. Like the snow pack that melts a little each day and the longer hours for the sunshine, we approach seeing old days in new light.

And when the going is tough – well – not just the tough get going but the devoted get LOOKING at the Lord.

Prophet Jeremiah was lamenting the situation with the Babylonians and he wrote in Lamentations 3:55-57 of how the Lord helped him: I called on Your name, O Lord, From the lowest pit. You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.” You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, “Do not fear!”

Jeremiah who knows that the Lord wil deliver us – deliver him – said “GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS!!!  

Lamentations 3:22-31: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him; Let him put his mouth in the dust – There may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. And so it goes – let us remember to look to the Lord for His Mercies fresh every morning – and moment by moment known that He is building us up – strengthening us – and showing us how endurance is needed – life is a marathon not a sprint – keep keeping on!

AMEN

Whole album – search releases on you tube

OR https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4GKbOKCQRU15FNZJ5iqIEaAFxs1bKUqf&si=TXb25cgGuTTtvEmr

Got to Begin Again 

“That I’ve got to begin again. Though I don’t know how to start. Yes, I’ve got to begin again, and it’s hard” Billy Joel

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JAMES 1 NKJV

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

Profiting from Trials
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor
Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.