Small Hard Things

I just finished reading Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris -- for the third time. I love the chapter on small hard things. It's so easy to focus on doing big things for God and to forget about the little things in our lives. But God says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

What is one small hard thing that you are committed to doing? Please put your answers in comments to this post. I'd love to know what you are doing.

My answers:

#1 I am committed to pressing the play button on my CD player each morning. What's so hard about that? I am not listening to music. I am practicing Portuguese. The only time I have to practice is while I make my bed and pick up my room in the morning. Often I would rather enjoy the quiet and let my mind wander. Yes, pressing the play button is a small hard thing each morning.

#2 I am committed to getting my blood sugar under control this summer. I am not diabetic. My blood sugar is just erratic. It is so erratic that I despair of ever controlling it, "...but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Feel free to hold me accountable on this one. I have a terrible sweet tooth.

So what are your answers?

Creativity

I recently discovered the website http://www.bloomthemagazine.com/ and their "Weekly Conversations." I decided to use the conversation starters there as an inspiration for my own blog posts. I would love to hear your thoughts. Let's make this a conversation.

The most recent question is: "Madeline L'Engle writes, 'Unless we are creators we are not fully alive.' Do you agree or disagree? How do you implement creativity into your daily life?"

I partly agree and partly disagree. I disagree because many people use creativity as a substitute for God.

Francis Schaeffer addressed this in the third chapter of Escape from Reason. Naturalistic science (denying God's existence or His involvement in the world) leads to determinism. If there is no God, we are a product of evolution, a chance combination of matter and energy. Then what are my thoughts? Random neuron firings? Are my actions a product of my environment?

People do not want to believe they are mere machines. They value freedom and self-expression. They value creativity. If I create something, I am more than the product of my environment. Or am I? How do I know I created it? Who am "I"?

I fear Madeleine L'Engle sought her identity and worth through creativity rather than finding them in God. When interviewed by Bob Abernethy, she said that she was not a Christian author. She said, "I am a writer. That's it. No adjectives. The first thing is writing. Christianity is secondary." (See http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week412/profile.html.)

In John 10:10, the Lord Jesus said, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Christ gives life. Creativity never can.

However, Madeleine L'Engle might have a point. We will never feel our faith until we act on it. God made us individuals. He gave us personality beyond our DNA. As we live this out, we experience the life He intended us to have.

Creativity plays a great part in my life. I teach private music lessons. I am continually looking for new ways to inspire my students, explain difficult concepts and master challenging technique. Photography is my creative pass time. I love capturing the beauty God put in the world.

But I don't worship my creativity. I use my creativity to worship the God who gave me life and enjoys my friendship.

Count the Towers

This afternoon I was thinking about some very special friends who are expecting, and the babies are due soon. I think of the joy of parenting. I think of the instructions God gave us in His Word about how to raise children.

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 48:12-14. It tells of the Jews visiting Jerusalem. They are commanded,

12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;

13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.

14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.

God wanted the Jews to notice what He had done for them, how He had established their city. Then He wanted them to go home and tell their children the details. Count the towers, remember each little thing, tell your children "This is God, our God forever and ever."

I read this one day as we were driving through the beautiful hills of our state. (Don't worry -- I was not the one driving.) I may never visit Jerusalem, but I serve the same God. Do I pay attention to the beauty of His creation? Do I notice everything God does for me? Do I record the details? Am I excited to share with the next generation the might and goodness of our God?

Psalm 113:3 (NKJV)

From the rising of the sun to its going down
The LORD’s name is to be praised.

Ecclesiastes and Bicycle Wheels

Do you ever feel like life is pointless? You get up in the morning, make the meals, do the laundry, clean the house, and go to bed, satisfied with a day's work. Until the next morning, when there are more meals to make, bigger piles of laundry to do, and the house somehow got dirty overnight. Are there goblins that sprinkle dirt around while we sleep?

I face this dilemma all the time in practicing. I was feeling good about the progress that I made on the music for our orchestra's pops concert until a message popped into my inbox that the music for the following concert was ready to be picked up. Now I'm back at the beginning!

Eccleseastes 1:5-6 captures this so well: "The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit" (NKJV). Does everything go in circles?

Then I decided life is like a bicycle wheel. Imagine being a point on the wheel. This poor point thinks his whole job in life is to get to the top of the wheel. He finally succeeds. But he falls down. He tries again. He falls again. Will it never end?

But the person riding the bike sees the road. Progress is made. That poor point on the wheel might not be able to see the road. He doesn't know where the road goes. But he trusts that there is a purpose in his circles.

When we let God steer our bicycle, He leads us down an eternal road. So I faithfully do my circles. I know there is a purpose in the end.

The Answer

Sunday's Bible Trivia Question
What verse comes immediately before Deuteronomy 6:6-7, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.'"

The Answer (Congratulations to Jessica, who got this right)
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (NKJV)

Ever notice how we talk constantly about the things we love? I'm passionate about children's ministry. If you get me talking about how to pass our faith to the next generation, beware -- I might not stop talking.

But we must never take Deuteronomy 6:6-7 apart from verse 5. My talk about God must flow out of a whole-hearted love for God, or my students will miss the point.

I promised you that Sunday's question was not actually a trivia question. Trivia doesn't matter. Sunday's question matters because it has two bigger questions behind it. Am I daily growing in my love for the Lord? Does it show?

Trivia Question

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (NKJV)

Question: What verse comes immediately before this passage?

This isn't actually a trivia question. There's a point to it, but I won't tell you right now. I enjoy leaving you guessing. Check back in a day or two, and I'll post the answer. =)