It Is in the Heart of Man

:by Cindee Nebeker:

It is in the heart of the natural man to pass judgement and inflict reproach. Because we recognize that tendency in ourselves, we also fear it at the hand of others. Satan knows this better than we do and he uses it to his advantage. He would rather see us trapped and isolated by the fear of shame and rejection than to see us confess our sin, our struggles, and our sorrows. 

It's one thing to honestly open up to God about these things, but quite another to be that vulnerable with another fallible human being. It’s pretty scary. We have zero control over the way they handle whatever it is we tell them. Sometimes we have a choice about who we confide in. We can keep the circle small and tight and safe. That can be a very good decision. 

Sometimes, we have no choice. The story is out there for all to see and judge. Again, very scary, but we have to realize that the reactions of others, while they absolutely affect us, have little to do with us. Their behavior is between them and God. If they react in an ungodly manner, that is a reproach on them, not on us. 

I’m not referring to constructive criticism, or to godly reprimands. As Christians, we definitely are called to hold each other accountable. I’m talking about pointing fingers, placing blame, gossiping, and ostracizing instead of supporting, sympathizing, nurturing, and extending the love of God to those who are hurting. 

When facing the fear of shame, I think it’s important to remember that all shame isn’t bad. The Holy Spirit definitely uses it tell us that something needs to be corrected, much like pain is a useful tool that helps keep us safe. Since Satan cannot create anything, his only recourse is to twist and pervert what God has already created and established. Therefore, Satan employs false guilt and shame. He attacks us with guilt and shame that aren’t actually ours to bear. He is making fraudulent charges to our account. It’s our job to say, in essence, “I don’t receive that. I didn’t make that purchase.” 

To make matters worse, Satan doesn’t do this directly. He uses the people in our lives. People we love. People we respect. People whose opinions matter to us. It’s frightening to think those people might reject us, or think less of us. Satan loves to keep us in that fearful state because then he is in control and he is keeping us from a confident relationship with our Father God and with other believers. 

Also important to remember is that it is not God’s intention that we bear these burdens. That’s why Jesus came. To take all that upon Himself. “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me.” (Romans 15:3) Do not accept blame, guilt, and accusation from either yourself or others that is not yours to carry. You have an Advocate. If you are in error, correct it. If you need to change or make an apology, then, by all means, do that! Otherwise, boldly reject the shame and reproach directed toward you. 

I think the solution to this problem is in Ephesians 6:10-17. We must be protected with the Armor of God. It is His Belt of Truth that exposes the lies of the Deceiver. It is His Breastplate of Righteousness that guards our hearts from evil. It is His Shoes of Peace that readies us to go into whatever situation God leads us, gracefully spreading the gospel. It is His Shield of Faith that protects us against Satan’s fiery darts of fear, lies, and deceit. It is His Helmet of Salvation that that keeps our minds focused on Him. It is the Sword of the Spirit which defends against the Evil One. 

The belt of truth will help expose the false guilt and shame. The breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith will deflect the real and imagined judgmental looks and actions from others. (Satan will tell you that people are judging you even if they aren’t!) The helmet of salvation will keep your mind focused on Jesus and remind you of the TRUTH. 

Practically speaking, I think it’s helpful to mentally work your way through the list and “put on” the armor. 

BELT: Make a list of the truths regarding the situation and your thoughts about it. Sort out the truth from the lies. 

BREASTPLATE: Remind your heart that you are safe and secure before God because you have been given the righteousness of Jesus. 

SHOES: Remember that the Gospel of Peace has prepared you to walk with assurance into the situations of your life and spread the Good News. 

 SHIELD: Remember that, since you dwell in the shelter of the Most High, His faithfulness will shield and protect you. Psalm 91 

HELMET: Remain focused on the only One whose opinion really matters. If other people have a different opinion of you, they are in opposition to God Almighty! “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns?” Romans 8:33-34 

SWORD: Abide in God’s Word. It’s the only weapon listed. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. 

The verse in Ephesians right after this listing of the Armor of God, is a good one to end with: Ephesians 6:18 - “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” 

Pray for yourself. Pray for the situation. Pray for your Christian brothers and sisters. Pray that God will cover everything with His peace, love, and unity and that the gospel will continue to go forth and that His will is accomplished. Pray to be the person and to find the persons that will embody Romans 15:7 – “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” 

 

Out of The Mouth of My Grandson

by Catherine Fox (my grandma... writing about my little brother)

    My four-year-old grandson, Ty, and his family went to a fast-food place for lunch. While they were waiting for their food, he crawled under the table. When the server came with the a loaded tray, his mother said, "Ty, get up and sit down. It's time to eat." Ty reached up to get hold of the edge of the table to pull himself up, but he grabbed the edge of the tray instead. He pulled, and the whole tray of food showered down on him. He lay there with food and drinks spilled all over him , with everyone in the place looking at him. He looked up at his dad and said, "Don't...tell anyone I'm down here!" 

    Ty had to be in the hospital when he was five. One day he said to his mother, "I told the nurse I had a BME."
"That's good," she said, "'but what's the E for?"
"That's a silent E," he informed her.
He wasn't in school yet, but he learned about silent E's from his school teacher dad.

Ty, age 5

    Ty's dad, Norm, had always been an avid New York Yankee fan, and so was his son. When Ty was about five, his mother asked him, "Why do you think the Yankees are so special? Do you suppose it's because your daddy thinks they're so great? Who do you think you'd like if he liked the Dodgers?"
    After a few seconds of thought, he answered, "Well, I don't think I would even like HIM!"

    One morning, when Ty was in his early teens his dad became ill, passed out in the bathroom and hit his head on something. His wife, who is a nurse, had him lying on the couch recuperating when Ty came out of his room and asked what happened. When his mother told him, he said, "Well, Dad, I know what you hit your head on. You hit it on the toilet because your face is all flushed."

    Some years later, the family came to our home for dinner one evening. My husband had just had surgery and couldn't stand up to shower. So we put a little wooden three-legged stool in the bath tub for him to sit on. Ty went into the bathroom and when he came out he was carrying that stool. I thought, "Oh, boy, I wonder what's coming now?"
    Ty announced, "I found a loose stool in your bathroom!"

I Am From. . .

I am from banana-seat bicycles, Pop Shoppe soda, creamed honey on toast, and blue & green shag carpeting.

I am from a home with solar panels; drapes sticking to the frozen condensation on the sliding glass door; old, mysterious, non-functioning heating vents; and an attic with an old lifejacket and a huge boot hanging from the rafters.

I am from slender home-grown carrots with a "little dirt that never hurt", bluebells, dogwood trees, and blackberry vines creeping through the fence.

I am from Cones and Hoyts, Macdonalds and Foxes, Christmases of treasure hunts instead of stockings, word games, late night returns from holidays up north, and people talking very fast. Non-stop.

I am from "Sweet dreams" and "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. If they do, take a shoe, and beat them 'til they're black and blue", and gift songs before bed.

I am from Wednesday night services, singspirations, Bible drills, and revival meetings. I am from evangelism filmstrips in homes I visited with my dad, the "bee"attitudes, and all-church retreats.

I am from the Pacific Northwest, the coast, the Willamette Valley. I am from broccoli/cauliflower/tofu casserole, clam chowder, and pecan pie.

I am from an uncle who, as a boy, built a chair in the basement that was too big to move out of the room; from two aunts adopted from Korea; from a grandfather who was a World War II glider man with the 101st Airborne Division; and a great-great-grandfather who was a missionary to China

I am from Mossyrock, Milton, and Minneapolis. I am from Oregon, South Dakota, and Alaska. I am from America, China, and Brazil. I am from people who love each other, people who value each other, and people who enjoy each other.

I know where I'm from. I am from home. And I know where I am going...Home.

Link to original post (October 11, 2009):
https://www.facebook.com/notes/cindee-fox-nebeker/i-am-from/188107382941/

Don't Worry, Bee Happy

August 22, 2012

My Facebook status earlier tonight:  

Fun at the Fox's.... 13 stings, 5 victims, 3 or 4 hysterical children, about 1,000 bees, 1 cop and 1 mad-as-a-hornet(!) grandpa (Norman D Fox). Maybe I should head back to Idaho.

Junelle Fox Steiner- 6 stings

Ellie Steiner- 3 stings

Levi Nebeker- 2 stings

Rebecca Rae Nebeker- 1 sting

Jim Nebeker- 1 sting

Hysterical children- Ellie and Levi, of course, and Abby and Gabe. Abby was laughing (nervously) Gabe was distressed and over-wrought with the ambient screaming and telling Abby it wasn't funny!

I'm so rattled I almost dated this 19-something or other!! 

My family arrived at my parents' home today for a visit.  My sister Junelle and her family are here too.  After dinner the kids were outside playing.  A couple of the kids were up in the tree house.  We've noticed that there were some bees* around that tree but it didn't seem too bad.  "Don't bother them and they won't bother you."  Yeah, right.

Junelle heard her 4-year-old daughter, Ellie, scream.  She figured, "Great, she got stung." So she went out to help her.  Ellie was up in the tree house accompanied by my four-year-old Levi.  Ellie was SCREAMING and stamping and flailing her arms around.  June climbed up the ladder to coax her down and realized that there were bees swarming all around her head.  She didn't want to climb all the way up and into the tree house and then have to climb all the way down holding Ellie.  (It's a steep ladder)  Somehow, she got Ellie out of the tree house and the two of them ran screaming (both of them) for the patio.  June had bees in her shirt and ended up with 6 stings on her torso, head, and ear.  Ellie had 3 stings on her arms.  Meanwhile, my Levi was at the other exit, a fire pole.  Jim was at the base and told Levi to just jump.  He did.  Right into his daddy's arms.  Levi ended up with a sting on the inside of his upper arm and one on his scalp.

While this was in progress, I was in the house with baby Sarah.  I knew that Ellie had been stung and I was hollering directions to someone to get the Benedryl that I had brought along.  I saw that eight-year-old Gabe, Ellie's older brother, was pretty much hysterical with worry over his mom and sister.  I stepped outside to see what was going on and found my six-year-old Abby nervously laughing and Gabe hollering that THIS ISN'T FUNNY!!  I felt kind of stuck with Sarah sleeping in my arms and I asked Rebecca to go to him.  She brought him into the house and sat down with him on her lap.  Pretty quickly she realized that she had a couple of hitchhikers on her and she unseated Gabe as she stood up.  She brushed off the two bees and sent them flying around the INSIDE of the house.  I didn't even realize that she had been stung at first.  She controlled herself very well.  She didn't want to upset Gabe even more.  Jim and I grabbed flyswatters and went bee hunting.  I got one and the other one disappeared.  I think it may have flown out the open screen door.

Pretty quickly it was calm again.  I think the entire episode lasted about five minutes.  My dad looked like he wanted to throttle some bees.  Rick, June's husband, went to the store in search of bee spray.  I doled out Benadryl and pain reliever.  Mom got the Bactine.  It was fun.

Rick came back later with some spray that he got from a neighbor because the store he went to was all out.  In the dark Jim and Rick went out with a flashlight and a can of spray to kill bees.  They returned. Rick with an empty can and Jim with a sting on his back.  Total sting count 13.

Junelle- 6

Ellie- 3

Levi- 2

Rebecca- 1

Jim- 1

The cop I mentioned in my status is completely unrelated to this incident.  I just included it because it did happen tonight as well and including it sounded more exciting. :)  The story there is that one of the houses next to my parents' is vacant so Jim parked ClifFORD the big red van in the driveway of the empty house.  At one point tonight Jim went out to the van to get something and noticed that someone was taking down our license plate number and then went up to the front door and appeared to be keying in information on a cell phone.  Jim decided to move the van.  A half-hour later or so, a cop showed up at the door saying that someone called and reported suspicious activity at that house.  The caller said that he'd seen the van parked there a number of times.  Whatever.  We parked there when we visited here a month ago and we parked here tonight.  The cop seemed like he thought it was pretty silly and he left.

All in all, it's been a weird night.  Thankfully everyone seems okay.  Don't worry, bee happy!!

Link to original post and comments: 
https://www.facebook.com/notes/10220640048564166

Facebook Notes

Facebook discontinued their NOTES feature a few years back which was super disappointing.  I can still find my notes if I'm willing to take the time and do the work, but it's very inconvenient.  I'm going to try reposting some of those notes here on my old, dusty blog.  So be prepared for some old stories to make a reappearance here!

Link to all MY Facebook Notes