How Much Wisdom is in your Bethany House Pantry?

1 Peter 2 starts off talking about getting rid of the ugly things in our life, which I mentioned in my earlier posts about cleaning out your Bethany House.

2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

Peter then says that we should grow up in our salvation. Get rid of the nonsense and GROW UP… experience God and realize how GREAT He is!

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

How does one GROW UP in the Lord?

Wisdom.

Gaining knowledge of course. Even better is that it’s endless! Trying to know and understand God is a lifelong education. You can’t finish learning about Him. What we are able to understand should blow our mind! If it doesn’t… we must keep digging. The way the Old Testament shows up in the New Testament… so cool. Or just look at nature! IF you can’t get out or travel the simple task of watching shows or photos about the earth is fascinating. From the epic forests and jungles to the chemicals in the leaves that give them their color or change color in seasons. Its truly remarkable. I can’t even draw stick people correctly much less try to create anything similar to His creation.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Yesterday I took my girls to a movie at the theatre near where I grew up. The wave of memories was like being in a movie where they have crazy flashbacks! I was overwhelmed by the memories and so grateful that I have GROWN UP. What a pain in the neck I was! Thankfully, my parents instilled in us the need and required us to be in church if we weren’t deathly ill. Even in my rebellion and stupidity I made it to church. Our church had outgrown its building, so our youth group met at this theatre on Sunday mornings. I am so thankful that even though I lived an “I’ll ask for forgiveness later” lifestyle, I loved and respected God enough to keep showing up. Many seeds were planted despite my being a fool who despised wisdom and discipline. Today’s fruit is the result of those seeds planted years ago. Today, there’s truth in the pantry, ready whenever I need it.

Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Our world doesn’t appear to be fearful of God. Look around… we’re a wreck. We’ve stopped knowing God for how big and powerful he is. Instead, we treat him like a vending machine for our prayer requests. It’s sad. Everyday activities consume and distract us to the point that we completely forget about eternity. We spend our vapor of a life here on earth trying to make it the best one possible instead of focusing on what life eternal will be like for us and the people around us.

Pursue Him. He’s worth it. Store up wisdom! How much wisdom is in your pantry?

Make sure there’s plenty. Is there enough to share with others?

We’ve got to know him with our heads and with our hearts. The resources we have to learn about God are more available than ever. The options for education are endless, and we have ample opportunity to use what He teaches us. That’s where wisdom comes in. Y’all if you have committed your life to Christ the Holy Spirit walks around with you, pointing out how to use what you know! How priceless!

Not sure where to even begin? Ask God for help and then work for it.

James 1:5
If any of your lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Now forgive yourself…

Have you ever had an old sin or habit come back and bite you? (raises hand)

Recently something I had dealt with and been forgiven for by God and my friends parked it’s struggle bus in my driveway. It reminded me of what a foolish brat I had been and struggle not to be. Fortunately the friend who I ran over with said struggle bus is kind. We talked things out and I owned all the things, but when I hung up I punished myself all over again.

“Who did you think you were when you did that, honestly?”
“Thought you’d just walk away from this unscathed? Please.”
“You. Still. Suck”

Thankfully the words of a counselor I saw in my teen years (yep… the struggle bus has been around a long time) came back to me.

“Bethany, you have repented and are forgiven by God. When you wallow in shame or punish yourself out of guilt for something that has already been paid for… you are saying that the price Jesus paid on the cross for you isn’t good enough.”

Whoa. #micdrop

I can still see the almost smirk on his kind face, knowing he just struck a chord. Sitting in his office with tears in my eyes. “Could you say that again?” So he did and the weight of my shame lifted away.

I am forgiven and am so thankful Jesus did that for me.

Stop. Just STOP it.

On Monday at 2:15 pm I posted that I was starting a blog.

At 2:16 pm my anxiety kicked in. I wanted to change my mind and delete it all. I could see and hear it all in my head:

People screenshotting my post and texting it to someone “of course she did… #eyeroll”

“Oh great… now we can hear more about God and all the “great” things. #annoying”

“Who does she think she is?”

“She just wants to be famous…good luck” (I don’t to be clear)

“YAY! Another blog to NOT read! “

Stop it.

Caught off guard by how panicked I felt, I actually flipped to my heart rate monitor on my watch to see just how ridiculous this was. The only perk to my racing heart was maybe burning a few extra calories. I closed my computer, pushed my phone away and grabbed my journal. “God, what is happening? Why am I so freaked out about this? My confidence is in You, not others’ opinions. Please use this for your glory.”

Have you ever done or not done something because you were afraid of what people would think or say? All the stinkin’ time! This blog and many other things would have happened much, much sooner if my own insecurity wasn’t an issue. Naturally, I am a fearful person. Always have been. Do you know what exacerbates that? Being critical.

A while back I found myself in the mode of constantly looking for the bad in things and people. It was a pretty awful place to exist, not gonna lie. It snuck up on me because I could make it funny. So was it critical if people were laughing? I cringe as I admit to it. We all do it…or so I thought. There are TV shows geared to laughing at someone else’s expense. No big deal! That is until I found myself wanting to do things but being paralyzed by my own judgment and insecurity. I had become enslaved and paralyzed by my own criticism. James 4:10-12 tell us to be humble and not judge others. I was failing at this and it backfired! “If I put myself out there people will destroy me behind my back!”

Staaaaahhhhhhppppp IT!

“You are seriously the most insecure person I have ever met.” burned my ear through the phone. Ouch. I didn’t even realize how out of control it was! My insecurity had spiraled into poor decisions and was leaving a path of destruction in relationships. I needed to just jump off the crazy train, tuck and roll style. I read books about insecurity and became a hermit for a while. It hurt and I didn’t walk away unharmed. My heart, my pride… all the things wounded.

The clouds of guilt and shame have since parted. I enjoy people, social events and life in general so much more now. The one opinion that matters most is God’s. That’s not to say my anxiety and these bad habits don’t try to take me down once in a while. But I am aware now, and I ask forgiveness as soon as I realize it. The more I learn about who God is the more peace I have about who I am. He’s got this, my job is to share Him in an honest, noble, pure, lovely, and admirable way. The peace follows. (Phil 4:8,9)

So invite that person to coffee, plan a dinner with friends, go to that small group. If someone is on your heart or mind… reach out. Just go in with a humble heart and walk away without criticism. Let me tell you the joy that comes when you realize God used you for good. It’s priceless.

Phil 4:8,9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is love, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

James 4:10-12 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters.

So many questions!

Years ago, I told God I would go/ do/ be ANYTHING for Him. I meant it.

I still mean it. Probably more so now than ever.

The book “Anything” by Jennie Allen was very eye-opening to my willingness (or lack thereof) to be ALL IN committed to the God I have spent my life believing. But what was I doing with my life? Was there fruit from my belief? Did I really believe, or was this all just part of my routine? What fruit was coming from my faith? (John 15:5, 16)

When my sweet grandfather-in-law passed away, I witnessed a funeral of someone who was ALL IN. Grandpa Art lived a life of complete dedication to God and discipling others. I’d never been to a funeral like it. I’ve not been to a lot, but enough to know he lived in a way that I didn’t.

A switch flipped in me that day. No one would say I was ALL IN for Jesus if I died today; My funeral would not be like his. Sweet mercy, I have some serious work to do! I have to stop caring what people think and start caring about what God wants first and foremost.

So many questions rolled around in my head (which is ironic because my oldest asks 700,000 questions a day. It makes me nuts.). 🙂

~ What is it going to be like when I die and stand before Him?

~ Will I have given Him all I’ve got?

~ What about the people in my life?

Recently, a book I was reading asked:

“What would it be like to watch your spouse stand before God? Did you do everything in your life to help (not make) that moment be a ‘Well done’ moment?” Ouch.

Have I done “ANYTHING” to show the people in my life how fantastic God is?

Now the question that has followed me for weeks: What have I done this week with eternity in mind?”

Some days I really do wonder if my head might explode. Please tell me I’m not the only one who runs questions like these on the regular!

#somanyquestions

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What is a Bethany House?

This last summer I had the pleasure of meeting Jill Briscoe after respecting her from afar. I attended an event for her magazine that she was at and decided to host one myself. As if it wasn’t cool enough to have her over, it landed on my birthday! As the night came to a close and people were leaving she leaned over and said “You have a Bethany house here you know,” Instantly I was confused… nothing new there! She could tell. “You know… a Bethany House and your name is also Bethany! It’s perfect!” I only knew that Bethany in the Bible was a town that meant “house of affliction” or “house of figs” (always felt that was kinda lame, like when you got those cards with your name and meaning on it. Mine would say “house of figs.” It was disappointing to say the least.) I never looked into why figs are so often mentioned in the Bible or what a house of them meant. I’ll save that for another day. What I will tell you is these plants don’t grow overnight, and it takes time – their maturity shows that the gardener has been continuously there, tending to their growth over the years. Sounds like a great analogy of our faith.

Besides the obvious answer of my own home… this goes a little deeper. My name was always special in that I was named after my Aunt Beth who was born severely deformed and passed away at 9 months. It was an honor to be named after her.

In the 2 years previous I have been challenged to have people into my home more often. Before then I would have been extremely stressed. It can be messy (after spending hours cleaning), it can be loud and I didn’t always get to enjoy my guests because I was so busy cleaning up the whole time. #MarthaofBethany If I didn’t clean up the whole time I was stuck with hours of clean up after everyone was gone. So we rarely had people over since it didn’t seem worth the crazy. I was so very wrong! I vowed to work on it and I am thankful I did! I can now say that it is a pleasure to have guests in my home. There have been several times where God did obvious work in my heart or one of my guests… I can’t think of a greater gift to a host!

But NOW…. after reading more into this place in the Bible I know that Bethany was a place of rest, a place of faith, and a place of healing. I had NO IDEA the significance of this place!
~ The last foot print Jesus made before ascending to heaven was in Bethany (Luke 24:50)
~He blessed the disciples there (Luke 25 :50)
~ Many times Bethany is referenced where Jesus would go to retreat and rest. (Matt 21:17, Mark 11:11)
~ Mary Anoints Jesus in Bethany at Simon’s home (John 12 1-8)
~His dear friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived there.
(John 11:1, 12:1)
~ Where he cursed the fig tree that did not produce fruit. (Matt 21:18-22)
~ It’s in walking distance of the Mount of Olives.
~ He brought Lazarus back from the dead (John 11)

Not only do I pray my home can be a place of rest, encouragement and growth in faith for others. I pray that I, myself can be a person of comfort, encouragement and growth for others. I believe in the God who does miracles and so I intend to share his hope with everyone I can, however I can. This is not to say BE LIKE ME!!! This is to say… BE LIKE JESUS!

My Blogging Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Last year instead of resolutions I chose a word for the year. Simplify. It ended up looking much different then I thought, but by the end of the year I had simplified my heart. My mind and thoughts had simplified which turns out is priceless. I can proudly say I’m simple minded! HA!

As 2019 crept closer I didn’t give much thought or prayer to a word for the year. Until I went to a dinner and the host asked if we were going to choose a word for the year what would it be. It was time to think about it! “God if you have a word for me…” I prayed to quickly.

Reach? Like the toothbrush?

Reach people for Him… Got it. Didn’t expect that one, but I like it!

My first thought when I was to flying to Dallas this fall as I looked out the window and down on the tiny homes, cars and buildings I was overwhelmed. I cannot even wrap my mind around how many people there are in the world. (7.53 billion) How do I tell them about how fantastic God is and how much they need him? My life has been a constant transition and education of how much I need Him. So 2019 is my year of telling as many people as possible about this wonderful God that continues to change my life for the better. He sent his son to die for me… the least I can do is my best to share him with others. Do you know why you believe what you believe? I encourage you to seek it out.

So here goes one of my many paths of trying to REACH people for Jesus.