Faith

The Cure to Feeling Overwhelmed

February 9, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

You know how I’m reading through Ezra? I was thinking the other day, you know how they had this huge party after they built up the temple wall? I was wondering today as I was working in the basement…. I wonder if the women got a bit overwhelmed? Having too much to do in too little of time.. all these celebrations that happened. Then I was reading tonight in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and guess what the topic was? The cure to feeling overwhelmed… Kismet eh? 🙂

Remember in the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10)… anyways, here’s the story: 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Do you remember that Martha was getting all hot and bothered? All this work to do and no one available to help her? Overwhelmed? Want the cure?

Here she was living in a society where men’s work and women’s work was distinctly different. How they were able to worship was distinctly different. Men could enter the synagogue, women had the women’s court. Men were expected to know the Law of Moses and understand the tenets of God, women were expected to show their faith in action. They were to get jobs done. All these duties women had for cooking meals, getting the laundry done, keeping the house tidy and so forth. Much work to do.

Which means when Mary didn’t help her, she had no where to turn to. Men couldn’t be expected to help serve. Mary knew Jesus well enough to talk to him though, to say “Jesus, get Mary to help me!” Jesus simply told Martha, that Mary had chosen the good portion and he wouldn’t take that away from her.

Do you see it?

Do you see the answer to being overwhelmed?

It is choosing a different portion, a different focus. It’s choosing the good portion of focusing on Jesus first. Not getting all caught up in the work that needs to be done, or can be done, or_ or _ or…. you know what I mean!. It’s choosing the good portion.

What is the good portion?

Intimacy with God. He wants to walk and talk with us. To be involved in our every moments. He wants so much to just have fellowship with us, his children. Learning to love him and be like him.

How does one choose the good portion?

Dedicating your day to the Lord. When you get out of bed invite the Lord to come first in what you do. To guide all your paths throughout the day.
As you go through your day, remember to do the next thing through asking the Lord what it is that needs doing. Do you see what this does? It keeps you talking with the Lord all day long.
As you talk with the Lord about the events you need to accomplish during the day, with that you need to trust that he will get you through what NEEDS doing and leave the rest in his capable hands.
Be open to his leading, for the opportunities he gives you through the day. A neighbour to chat with, a meal to drop off, a child’s heart to hear, be open to it. Listen to it well. But remember.. don’t get caught up in the doing for doing’s sake… follow his leading for what you should be focusing on.

If you want to work through how to feel less overwhelmed, I’ve done up a small worksheet to help you. Click here or on the image below..

Would you like to follow along in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World? I’d be happy to have you along for the journey. 🙂

Privileged I Am

February 9, 2018 By Annette1 4 Comments

A five minute friday post on the word Privilege Two days this weekI faced
Clutter and Mess

Muscles tensed,
Headache commenced
Worry floods my mind.

What if I started and
could not finish?
Would I let down my boys?
Would frustration commence?

Choice to be made
Start and maybe fail?
Start and work it through?

Prayer
Stories unfold from a
Tablet close by.
Hugs from a hunny each time he passes by.

I remember the Israelites
in Ezra’s day and how they worked
A temple to complete.

Popcorn so old I can’t
remember the date. BUT remember
well the love of a friend who gifted it.

Curious cat winding her way,
Peering within,
Footsteps stumble
Avoiding a fall
A cat heedless of danger
Curiousity to fulfill.
lizzie a calico cat, curious about what I am doing
Old toys abandoned
Broken and worn
I still hear the cries
Joyful play, moments shared.

Dishes of old, new ones now had
Give to another
To “The Ark” to be shared.

As I work
The energy I find
A new perspective gained.

Privileged I am
There is much to toss
A hubby who says “take a rest now my dear”
A boy happily saying “let me load that up mom”.
It looks so much better! GOOD JOB mom/hun.
____

Five minute Friday is all about a five-minute freewrite on a word prompt provided for us by Miss Kate. Join us won’t you? It’s a great time for encouragement and refreshment. This week the word Privilege.

Genealogy Report

February 7, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

So we know that Ezra came, that Artaxerxes made a decree helping out Ezra and the Israelites. Today we learn the genealogy of the folks who came with Ezra, in Ezra 8:1-14.

These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. 11 Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

I have to admit…. when I know that I am faced with a genealogy my eyes tend to glaze over and my heart says “I don’t wanna”. And honestly I DON’T want to. I don’t want to read through an endless list of names and numbers.

Therefore as I sit here I find myself asking “why did the author find it important to include this list?” God’s word is meant to teach and admonish, to spur us on the good deeds. So what I can today… 2000 + years later learn from this passage?

How will it spur me on to becoming more of the person that God wants me to be?

I read over this list and I see that some families came with 50 people, and others came with 300. But you know what they all did? They all made the trek from Babylon back to Jerusalem. I can’t imagine it was an easy trip with air conditioned cars or trains to ride. They would have walked or had to deal with camels and donkeys. They may have faced bandits and folks unfriendly to them. But whether they came with 50 or 300, they simply headed the call and came.

We aren’t told if they needed to beg people to come, or if they lost people along the way, we are simply told that “S” brought _____ men. With those men would have been their wives and children. People to help repopulate the land. People that Ezra could teach the Law of Moses to. People to gladden the hearts of those who went first to build. Can you imagine what it meant to the builders to have these folks come? Folks to see the results of their hard work and to gladden their hearts?

I think about that and I see God at work in bringing these men and their families. What genealogies show is God at work. In individuals, in men and in their families. A good thing that yes?

Artaxerxes Makes a Decree

February 6, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

Remember yesterday who came? Yeah… Ezra! Teacher of the Law of Moses to the Israelites. Cool eh?
So today, in Ezra 7:11-28, we learn about a decree that Artaxerxes issues.

¹¹This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: ¹²“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now¹³I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, ¹⁵and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁷With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.

²¹“And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, ²²up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.²³Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. ²⁴We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. ²⁶Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

²⁷Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, ²⁸and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

King Artaxerxes issued this decree in the form of a letter to Ezra, priest and scribe. He invited Ezra, plus whoever else wanted to go with him, to set out to live in Jerusalem. Ezra is heading off with the permission of the King to go to Jerusalem. This decree allows anyone to go with him who wants to.

His Job: to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God AND to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem.

Can you believe it? This same king who ordered the work stopped, now sees it finished and sends Ezra and a whack of other people to Jerusalem and has them bringing gold and silver with them! Amazing isn’t? Totally God at work eh?

Part of the money sent is meant for the buying of animals and grains to offer as a sacrifice to God. What they do with the rest is up to them. With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.

The king’s treasury is open for them to use.

Not only that. but Artazerxes added a decree to the treasurers. Whatever Ezra needs… get it to him. Be diligent about it. Get the job done… up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil and salt!

Ezra is seen as the mouthpiece of God for listen to what Artaxerxes says “whatever is decreed by the God of heaven“. These words just said after he described Ezra as the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Why does Artaxerxes do this? He wants to avoid making God angry with him.

Artaxerxes goes on to remind them that taxes won’t be paid by the priests, levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants or any other servant.

Ezra is given the task to set rulers over the the people. These people are to know the laws of God, and if they don’t, they need to learn from Ezra. And if people don’t want to obey God’s law… or the kings’ laws gets to be executed, banished, imprisoned or have their stuff taken away.

I just like this next section: Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, ²⁸and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Hmm… I’d take courage too, wouldn’t you? To know the king was behind me 100%, a king who formerly opposed but is not actively helping. It’d be like our prime minister helping me to start up a church! Seems impossible, but God has this funny habit of doing the impossible. 🙂

Ezra Comes!

February 5, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

Last time we met we learned about God made the people joyful. Our next section is Ezra 7. I don’t know that I’ll get through the entire chapter today, but thought I would put up a youtube reading of this chapter for you. I’m just doing the first few verses, Ezra 7:1-10.

We know the temple has been built, we know that people celebrated for days afterwards. So what will happen next with the Israelites?

Ezra came!

Ezra was a man, whose job was to be a scribe. He was skilled in the Law of Moses. Do you remember that God gave the law to the people? The law of Moses is the first five books of the Old Testament. These books were a specialty of Moses. Now Ezra had everything he wanted or needed. All he had to do was ask for it and the king would give it to him. This was due to the fact that God’s hand was upon him.

I read that statement and I just had to think about it for a bit.

Imagine having the favour of the rulership of a land. To know that you can ask for anything and know you’ll get it.. It would be hard I think to maintain a humble heart. To remember that you have this blessing because of God’s favour.

7 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ²son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,⁴son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

But we see in Verse 10 this line “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel“. Do you see where Ezra’s heart was? Fixed upon the Law of Moses and sharing his knowledge with the people. Having that focus would have been an aid to him wouldn’t it?

Sometimes I wonder how people do it.

When I read Ezekiel and all the hardships he went through to show the Israelites God’s actions and plans. And now Ezra and the favour showed him by the king. How do people maintain their focus? How do they not let other things distract them from their purpose? I don’t know to be honest.

I know that it is SO easy for me to be distracted by things in life, but then if I stop and think about it (instead of getting down on myself) I think about how I do have focus. I want my lad to grow up to know the Lord, to love him and want to serve him. And how I will stop what I am doing so I can talk with him about various things. I realize that I DO have focus and that nothing really ever detracts from that.

Ezra had focus. He came to the Israelites with that focus intact. Teach them the Law of Moses. Let us have a firm focus like Ezra eh?

Ezra 7:1-10, Ezra Comes! Let us have focus like Ezra did.

Walking in Jerusalem

February 4, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

For the last couple of hours this song, which I often will clean the house to, has been running through my head. Since it’s so persistent I figure that means I aught to be sharing it with you. 🙂 I have it on a CD that drives my hubby batty, but never him mind..when I’m cleaning I’ll put it on and just belt out the words to all the songs. Do I sing them all correctly? NO.. I go with what I think I’m hearing as the CD came without lyrics printed out. I think that’s part of what drives my hubby crazy. 🙂

Anyways, doesn’t the rollicking beat make for a good house cleaning song?

It was written by Bill Monroe, and as I was searching youtube for versions of it I discovered some variations in how it was sung. This first version is closest to what I have on my CD. 🙂 Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass. You can learn more about him here.

Refrain:
I want to be ready,
I want to be ready,
I want to be ready
to walk in Jerusalem just like John.

1 Oh, John, oh, John, what do you say?
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
That I’ll be there at the coming day.
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
[Refrain]

2 When Martha spoke the Savior’s name,
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
She knew she’d never be the same.
walk in Jerusalem just like John. [Refrain]

3 When Peter was preaching at Pentecost,
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
He was endowed with the Holy Ghost,
walk in Jerusalem just like John. [Refrain]

4 When Mary asked Jesus to “come and see,”
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
Her faith gave Lazarus victory,
walk in Jerusalem just like John. [Refrain]

5 John said the city was just four-square,
walk in Jerusalem just like John.
And he declared he’d meet me there.
walk in Jerusalem just like John. [Refrain]

Review: NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible

February 3, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

When I received the NKJV Unaplogetic Study Bible I said to my hubby, “Wow, isn’t this a beautiful bible?” It’s simply is a beautiful bible, not only the cover, but how it is designed to help people know God better. Isn’t that the point of a study bible? To help people know God more? The goal of this bible is to inspire Christ-like thought, belief, speech and action.

This red-letter bible has a number of various useful features, the predominant feature being the various notes found within the pages. Most Study Bibles that I have used with have historical background, and explanatory text on the bottom half of the page. The NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible takes a somewhat different approach. They use notes and articles found from the Kairos Journal to deepen the understanding of the bible. These historical to present day articles delve into topics in a way that a normal study bible cannot.

This means that when you are reading the bible, you are predominately READING the bible, and not a bunch of helpful little notes at the bottom of each page. This bible is not the same as most study bibles. You need to understand the study bible wants to help you think through issues that we need to consider now-a-days, and does this through the use of well written articles, interspersed throughout the pages.

These articles are divided into 8 categories: Church, corruption, Economics, Education, Family, Government, Sanctity of Life and Virtue. Each section is colour coded. A image like the one below is found on the opening page of each book. A white star in the block under each type of article you can find showing you if an article is found in that book of the bible. The articles found come from biblical, historical, Quotations/Writings and Commentary.

Each book of the bible has an introductory page, on which the book is introduced. The background, content, insight, and a brief outline is given. A central verse is highlighted. As you could see from the image below, 2 Chronicles has 6 articles placed in it.

The articles included vary in length, most are one page long but some go a bit longer. You can find the articles referenced at the end of the bible. I did not read every article presented, but the ones I did were well-written and thought-provoking. I did not find anything that set off any alarm bells. You will find over 200 articles, 70 historical quotations and 50 profiles of historical figures. There are two indexes: canonical and topical.

My Thoughts:

This is a bible for pastors and individuals who want to deepen their understanding of God’s word and his standard for living. The articles presented are biblical and further the understanding of who God is and his call upon our lives. I was delighted to be introduced to the Kairos Journal and wish I were a pastor so I could fully utilize it. 🙂 Some of the articles on this site are public, so I urge you to visit it, if only to get your brain thinking on various topics. 🙂 Would I use this bible? It’s a hard one to answer. If I wanted a hard copy of a bible, this would be one I would use. I liked the articles I read. I didn’t find them detracting or distracting God’s word, but rather giving me insight which helped me think more deeply. I love my online bible though… and would be hard pressed to give it up. 🙂 This NKJV Bible though… it’s a good one and worth keeping.

picture of cover NKJV unapologetic study bible

NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible
   Confidence for such a time as this
Thomas Nelson
Hardcover, Fly-Overleaf, Study Bible
bible, study, kairos journal
Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers.

Where to find: Amazon Link.

Faith