Looking for the heart fully alive
Donna Harris
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Homepage: http://olivepeopleonline.com
Posts by Donna Harris
Tozer on Leadership
Aug 15th
A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of external situation. …I believe it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. The true leader will have no desire to lord it over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and altogether ready to follow as to lead, when the Spirit makes it clear that a wiser and more gifted man than himself has appeared.
– A. W. Tozer
Thought: About Us and God’s Plans
Aug 15th
Something I’m contemplating tonight:
Neither foot dragging on Him nor rushing ahead of Him are particularly useful to God’s plans.
Connecting the dots
Aug 5th
Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
Steve Jobs (from his 2005 Stanford commencement speech)
(quote taken from http://kill3rmedia.com/blog/business/connecting-the-dots-backward-steve-jobs)
Respecting Marriage
Aug 2nd
Want to help restore the sanctity of marriage? Here’s a simple thought with loads of implications.
It’s something everybody can help with, regardless of marital status, gender, relationship experience, etc.
The thought: Give marriage the respect it deserves.
The result: Stop joking about things that bring disrespect to what God intended marriage to be. This includes joking about marriage itself or about spouses in a demeaning way, joking about sex, joking about divorce. We need to stop bending standards we claim to hold because of the influence of the culture around us. We need to stop placing ourselves in situations and climates that allow us to be negatively influenced. We need to admit that we have been impacted in the first place.
We have become so thoughtless and flippant about these kinds of things. What would happen if the standard that Christians held with regard to marriage and sex was reflected in all aspects of our lives? Oh wait… it does get reflected in all aspects of our lives.
So, let’s restructure that question: What would happen if the standard that Christians held with regard to marriage and sex was honourable and above reproach? I think something pretty amazing would happen. When we respect what God made marriage to be, we respect, please, and honour Him. We allow our lives to be lived out within that design. In turn, we also respect one another. Our friends, family, spouses, complete strangers even.
End result? God is glorified.
Flake and Shake
Aug 1st
The WOTD consistency flopped pretty quickly, didn’t it? Honestly, I’m not a total flake. The best post I had written for it, I actually never posted…. I love the idea, but I need to grow something different out of it I think.
Some people might be wondering what the heck I’m doing on Facebook these last few days. I resolved to post silly, nonsensical statuses for a few days. Initially, it was a stress relief. Now it’s also a way to keep me from posting anything too deep and not thought through. There is so much going on in my head and heart right now. It turns out I need that space.
A crossroads. That’s where I stand.
And a familiar one at that.
Time to shake off old habits and attitudes and move in a new direction.
Something like that.
WOTD: “Abide”
Jul 26th
Yesterday’s Word of the Day was “Abide”.
Taken from a favourite song (especially for Marked By Love to sing…) verse one of “Take Time To Be Holy” reads:
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
(Side note: I love how “seek” turns up here to tie in with the previous word of the day.)
This is a good start because this is where we’re at and what I’ve had to return to in a very intentional way.
To abide means to remain or to dwell… to stay, to rest.
Psalm 15:1 (KJV) asks “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” The NIV presents it as “… who may dwell…?”
Then there is a list… we like our lists… we use 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) as a checklist, as well as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians, and bunch of others, but I’ve never noticed the use of this one before. Compiled from verses 2-5 (NIV) in Psalm 15:
Who may dwell?
- their walk is blameless
- they do what is righteous
- they speak truth from their own hearts
- there is no slander on their tongues
- they do their neighbour no wrong
- they cast no slur on their fellowman
- they despise the vile but honour those who fear the Lord
- they keep their oaths, EVEN WHEN IT HURTS (djh: i loved that part… jumped out at me…)
- they lend money without usury (that is, ridiculously or illegal interest rates)
- they accept no bribes against the innocent
Who does these things shall never be shaken.
Hmm.
So, when we flip over to Psalm 61:4 (KJV) and read “I will abide in thy tabernacle forever; I will trust in the covert of thy wings” we are making our choices to abide and trust and deciding to go with that checklist above.
I found that interesting to consider and worth checking myself against much more frequently. To stay in the tabernacle, God’s presence, we have to quite simply be holy. Still not a popular enough concept, even in our churches.
Anyway, here is the Scripture passage dump. Make special note of the verses from Jeremiah. These also jumped out at me. And I’m always happy to hear your verses and thoughts.
Psalm 15:1 (KJV)
1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
Psalm 15:1-5 (NIV)
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
Psalm 61:4 (KJV)
4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
Psalm 91:1 (KJV)
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Jeremiah 42:10 (KJV)
10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
Jeremiah 42:10-12 (NIV)
10 ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’
John 14:15-16 (KJV)
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 15:4-10 (KJV)
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Philippians 1:24-25 (KJV)
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
1 John 3:23-28 (KJV)
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
WOTD – Word of the Day
Jul 25th
Long story short – right now I am on a journey where I am getting to know God better by diving into the Bible in search of a word.
At first I wasn’t sure if I would share this journey publicly. Then I decided it would be a good exercise in accountability to be sure I do this for a few weeks at least. And perhaps hear from others various verses and thoughts that I might otherwise miss.
So, I’m calling it my WOTD – Word of the Day.
Yesterday’s word was “SEEK”. (And the sub-word ended up being “heart.”)
And the result of that search for me?
1 Chronicles 16:8-11 (NIV)
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.11 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.
1 Chronicles 22:19a (NIV)
19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.
Psalm 24:4-6 (NIV)
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Psalm 27:8 (NIV)
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Psalm 69:30-32 (NIV)
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.…
32b you who seek God, may your hearts live!
Psalm 105:4 (NIV)
4 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.
Isaiah 26:9a (NLT)
9a All night long I search for you;
in the morning I earnestly seek for God.
Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Hosea 10:12 (NIV)
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.
Zephaniah 2:3a (NIV)
3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility…
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
7Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Delight and Desire
Jul 22nd
A common passage. A treasured promise, for me and many others.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4 NIV)
Have you noticed the focus often placed on “… he will give you…”? Because we want the desires of our heart. I know I sure do.
But…
The other part comes first… “Delight yourself in the Lord and…”
They are not disconnected, as much as we try to do that. It is more like ’cause and effect’.
So, if I am sitting around expecting the desires of my heart to materialise without delighting myself in the Lord then I might as well keep on dreaming.
Placing our primary focus on God is ridiculously difficult because we really just want to focus on self. When we delight in the Lord there is no room to delight in self because God is just soooo big.
And what of the desires of our heart? He’ll place the best and truest ones within it, while we’re busy looking at Him most likely, and then He’ll delight in giving those desires to us.
You know, it does make sense. After all, it is the desire of His heart for us to delight in Him, to know and love Him.
Just some Thursday morning thoughts as I wake up… in more ways than one.
It’s not easy.
Jul 20th
I’ve determined that life just isn’t easy.
My observation skills have been in overdrive lately considering and pondering far too many things.
Not much is easy.
- It’s not easy being single. It’s not easy being married.
- It’s not easy living with your family. It’s not easy being on your own.
- It’s not easy having kids. It’s not easy not being able to have kids.
- It’s not easy working for a living. It’s not easy being unemployed.
- It’s not easy taking on something that is new. It’s not easy sticking to the same thing for a long time.
- It’s not easy being sick or injured. It’s not easy watching people you love suffer.
- It’s not easy exercising to become truly fit. It’s not easy exercising to challenge a truly fit body.
- It’s not easy being lonely. It’s not easy being in demand.
- It’s not easy going unrecognized for things you’ve done. It’s not easy being recognized for things you’ve done, especially if you remain unknown for who you actually are.
- It’s not easy when somebody else gets the credit. It’s not easy when you get to take all the credit — or the blame.
- It’s not easy when you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s not easy when you do know what you don’t know.
- It’s not easy to know what you want. It’s not easy to get what you want.
- It’s not easy to recognize what you need. It’s not easy to accept what you need.
- It’s not easy to view ourselves as others see us. It’s not easy to stop trying to see ourselves as we believe others must see us.
- It’s not easy to be seen. It’s not easy to be ignored.
- It’s not easy to stop writing like this when I could literally go on all night following this form…
With very few exceptions, regardless of what we do, or don’t do, there is an element of “It’s not easy…” to it. Getting somewhere just isn’t easy. Going nowhere usually isn’t easy either. How often we long for or pine after something that isn’t our present experience. A key point I’m trying to make tonight — and primarily to myself — is that the motivation had better not be because that “other thing” is easier. Because not much is easy.
For me, this is a big lesson for some reason. I’ve had to scrap the mentality of “if only … happened” or “it would be good when … finally happens”. Sure, it has been great when some of these kinds of things have actually happened… and also sometimes for them to have come and passed by, thankfully. But the value in these things must come from so much more than the thing itself. It has to be about the journey to get there, or to survive it, or to be made more compassionate to others because of it, or to find joy, perhaps.
It’s not easy being green. It’s not easy being human. That’s the way it is.
But, “not easy” does not necessarily equate to “not good”, thankfully. There are an awful lot of not easy things worth fighting for or fighting through. And sometimes, even just worth putting up with.
- It’s not easy to be a good friend or family member or spouse or parent. But how good these things can be, and are meant to be.
- It’s not easy to learn something new. But how good that knowledge can be for us or for somebody else we can help because of it.
- It’s not easy to put up with crap day in and day out. But how good it can be when we take that stupid stuff and relate to another person because of it, or shine brighter because we didn’t give up when things were rough, or perhaps because we chose not compromise standards despite the constant pressure.
It’s not easy. Anybody who knows their Bible knows that Jesus’ life was not easy. Anybody who has been alive for a moment knows it’s not easy. But it is possible. And there is value in living out the “not easy” things. ”For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36-37) And nothing wasted either.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
- Not sure what a “yoke” or a “burden” refers to in this passage? Take a look at this commentary for more insight.
Overnight successes and dreams of all shapes and sizes
Jul 8th
Have you ever heard that overnight successes often take years to come to fruition? Usually accompanied by lots of hard work and hard knocks.
Tonight I was thinking that, even with all of that long and winding road of an experience, there must always come a point where it’s the figurative “night before”. What does that make it — Overnight Success Eve? I don’t know. Whatever we try to call or not call it, there is always that moment even if we cannot recognize it.
So, is it the same with dreams? Sometimes we wait an awfully long time wondering if a dream will come to pass or fall by the wayside. Sometimes we can “make our dreams come true”. A good friend recently said something to this effect: a dream becomes a goal only when we set the plan in motion to achieve it. I liked that thought very much. It puts the responsibility and the accountability to me to DO SOMETHING. Oh initiative…
But sometimes there isn’t much we can do with our dreams but wait. Watch. Pray. Be patient. Wonder. Worry. Forget. Remember. Dream some more. And sometimes we find out that our dream isn’t actually the dream we thought it was. Maybe we’re not fully aware of the dream yet. Perhaps it’s not fully formed in our mind’s eye. Or maybe God’s got something in mind that we can’t even handle yet, so that part of the dream is not revealed to our hearts until the time is right.
Whatever the journey is right now, whatever the dream – big or small, we can rest assured that (as another friend said, and I re-quote frequently) God wastes nothing. If you believe Him to be the God of all the details (and I definitely do) then you get this statement. He will put all our experiences to use – especially when we let Him.
And just think…
like with the overnight successes… one morning we could wake up to find a day where a dream or two will come true. The sleep might have been fitful or beautifully restful, but the morning brings word of His unfailing love. And with that the hope of dreams realised.
