roxanneadrian.com Blog

A couple of months ago I lost two hubcaps.  A car can look old and dowdy without those hubcaps!  I finally had a new set put on the tires, and what a difference it made!  My car is suddenly transformed!  It is sort of like putting jewelry on – it “dresses” us up a bit.  Ornamental things can make us and things look better.

In thinking of this, it triggered the memory of the verse in I Peter 3:4.  The passage is talking about women and what true beauty is.  As it turns out, according to God, true beauty has to do with your inner person more so than with your outward appearance.  “Whose adorning…let it be the hidden man of the heart…even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”  I Peter 3:3-4 (KJV)

The ornament that is of great value to God is a gentle and quiet spirit.  This is actually precious to Him.  Meekness is not weakness, but rather a constant gentleness combined with humility that is seen in our disposition in all the various circumstances of life.  A quiet spirit is a settled and contented acceptance of what God is doing in your life along with courage to live each day for Him to the best of your ability.  These things are not the easiest to cultivate and the process can take a while.  But, according to God, developing the beauty that comes from within is the more valuable adorning.  Letting Him transform our inner person is the more important endeavor.  This will affect every other area of our lives.  God can help us to have a new look, like my car- inwardly and outwardly.

How?  Well, Jesus says we can learn from Him – “Come unto me…learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls…”  Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)  We develop the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit by coming to Jesus and learning from Him.

As I gather my thoughts today, three things keep surfacing…

The first:  In a conversation with a friend last evening about the struggle of staying on track with eating correctly physically and also the struggle with daily not letting the devotional quiet time alone with God be pushed aside by busy schedules, we realized that the first struggle is with taking in too much physical food, and the other struggle is with not taking in enough spiritual food.  Interesting!  We have to set our minds to getting both on track and keep these disciplines in place.

The second:  The beautiful autumn falling leaves are a reminder of our need to “let go”, shed, and relinquish our plans and agendas, hurts and disappointments, the past and the fear of the future, or whatever the Lord is asking us to let go of.  Letting go, of the good and the bad, is part of the cycle of life.  It opens the way for the new to come into our lives at the proper time.  For the branch to bear fruit in due time, the leaves of this year must fall to make room for the leaves of next year.  Philippians 3:13-14 says “…this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.

The third:  During the Sun. am rehearsal, my music director mentioned how beautiful the half bare trees were as the sun glistened through them.  She had realized that any stage in our life can be beautiful if the light of God is shining upon it.  Then, the pastor made the statement,  “It’s all about the light”!  And, he is right.  Many things, which in themselves could actually be ordinary and even drab, are transformed to untold beauty when light shines on or through them.  This is true of us as vessels of God.  God is light.  (I John 1:5)  Jesus is the Light of the world.  (John 1:9)  The Lord is my Light!  (Psalm 27:1)  The moon has no light of its own.  Yet, it shines and at times has a stunning glow.  It can only shine like that because it reflects the light of the sun.  Jesus, shine on me and through me!  Let Your light shine through me!

I love the line in the old spiritual-  “…you can take all this world, but Give me Jesus”!

This past Sunday evening, I played a thirty minute piano concert of my own original hymn arrangements at the Bible Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ks.  It was a great victory because six months ago I could not lift my right arm at all.  Severe tendonitis, along with all the other “itis” problems, had set in my right upper arm, and I had no strength or ability to move it.  There also was much pain.  My arm was locked up.  My hand was alright, but my arm could not get my hand to the piano or have ability to move up or down, left or right, or turn under for scale passages.

At that time, I wondered if music ministry, through playing the piano as I have been able to do, had come to an end.  To my surprise, I found that God had brought me a long way in my 56 years of life and in the 47 years of belonging to Him (I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was 9 years old).  There was a great peace that let me know it would be all right if my piano playing days were finished.  I realized that my identity is not in my talent or ability.  Rather, it truly is in Christ!

“For me to live is Christ…!”  (Philippians 1:21)

“…Christ, who is our life…” (Colossians 3:4)

Having that understanding was worth going through the trial of the tendonitis.  I learned some things about myself and about my relationship with Christ.

Well, my arm healed and in time, I was back to the piano.  I did have a sense that the Lord was letting me know He was not finished with the piano playing and ministry.  My arm became stronger and I felt comfortable to schedule this concert for last Sunday.  As I would practice for it, it was thrilling to work up to having the agility, freedom, strength, and control in my arm and hand and also to work up to the thirty minute endurance requirement and not at all feel tired.

The victory was when I was able to play and share the music, relax, and enjoy the concert myself.  My arm was in great shape.  All the glory belongs to Jesus!  Thank you, Lord for Your healing touch, and for the lessons I have learned through this experience!

Last week my computer got infected.  Within a snap of the finger, the virus popped up and there was no getting rid of it as it had already infected the anti-virus programs.  So, I took it to the computer shop, let the techs deal with it, and paid the bill.

How easily can our inner person be infected with pride, fear, and other such  “viruses”.  In a moment we can find ourselves on a path that ultimately could end in a lot of damage and destruction.

This happened to me a few days ago.  I am so thankful to the Lord for not leaving me in the pit of emotional despair.  When I cried out to Him for help, He did lift me up.  He is the “Lifter of our heads”!  (Psalm 3:3)  He helped me to have humility instead of pride, courage instead of fear, and I was able to go to the person I needed to and fulfill what God wanted me to do.

I learned a lesson of how humility and courage go hand in hand.  We can be strong in heart when these are the operating and motivating forces.  Then God, who is Love, can act in His awesome, miraculous way.

The Lord is our Helper.  (Hebrews 13:6)  When we cry out to Him, He will help us!  And, if we humble ourselves before Him, He will exalt us in His time.  (I Peter 5:6)  God is Love, and as He lives and abides in us, His love can flow through us to others.  We are His vessel.  So, we must run to Him for help when we realize we are infected in our heart!  He will cleanse us if we ask Him to!

This is a quote I read this morning in a devotional by Charles Wesley:  “If love is not conquered, it conquers all things.  Who can tell the force of love?”

May we be willing to come to God with our heart infections, let Him heal us, and let love be the ruling force in our hearts and lives.

This past week I was reminded of some great advice from Elisabeth Elliot (Christian missionary, author, speaker).  It was “Do the next thing”.

How simple those words are.  Yet, when a person is feeling overwhelmed and pressed from many sides, and there is too much to do and too little time – just simply “doing the next thing” can help one to find clarity and direction.  And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, it can chase away the doldrums and help to get one up and going and moving forward.

Last week, I was also reminded of these scripture verses:

I Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Our lives are made up of the hours and moments in our days.  How quickly they slip by and how easily they can slip through our fingers.  As I focus in on “doing the next thing”, I want to also do it with all my heart and for the glory of God.

Last year, when I was on vacation and watching television in the hotel, I saw a movie about a woman who decided to cook every recipe in the Julia Child’s cookbook.  What a great thing to do.  I have remembered that and thought it would be fun to at least try to go through one of the cookbooks I already have!  This afternoon I tried two new recipes.  What fun!  We can get in a routine so easily, and then life becomes a bit boring.  Trying new things, like a new recipe, can get us out of the rut.

This is the fun of needlework and other crafts and art.  A person may not be a master artist, but they can sure have fun creating something!  Experimenting and creating is what I am doing in this blog with thoughts and words.

It also holds true in music.  My students love to create their own little songs.  And, once in a while, there is a student who truly has composing talent!  One can also approach studying God’s Word and prayer with fresh creative approaches.  Who knows?  The Father may be able to teach us something we have not been able to grasp before!

God is our Creator.  He is awesome and His works are awesome.   God said His creation was good!

We can take what we have and create – new recipes, new outfits, new songs, express ourselves in a craft or poem.  It does not have to be shared with anyone, and if it is, they may enjoy it also!  Taking a little time to get out of the rut can be very beneficial, brighten up the day, stretch us, and bring a spring to our step.

I think I need to start on one of those cookbooks!

This afternoon, I went to the Kansas City Symphony Concert in the new Kauffman Center.  As I sat in Helzberg Hall, on the grand tier level looking down on the orchestra, I was captivated listening to the awesome sounds of music and watching the musicians and conductor.  Then, as I drove home, I was captivated by the brilliant sunshine, beautiful blue sky, the puffy white clouds as they lined up almost evenly across the sky in three rows, and the beginning signs of the autumn change of color.  Sometimes the wonder of God’s creation leaves me stunned and in amazement!  We try to grasp it with our finite understanding.

For example, I’ve recently thought about the fact that there are seven notes in both a major and minor scale.  And, then there are five non-harmonic tones.  Twelve different tones total.  From just this, think of all the music that has been written throughout the centuries!  And each tune, melody, and composition is different and unique!

Our faces have the basic features of eyes, nose, mouth, etc., and yet, each person (the billions of us!) looks different!  How can that be??  From where I sat in the concert hall, the people looked so small!  We looked like toy figures all put in our little rows of slots.  And, yet, God knows about each individual person that was sitting there today, and He knows all about each of us, to the point of numbering the hairs on our head!  (Matthew 10:30)  And, He has known about every person who has ever lived!  How can He do that?

Well, at that point in the thought process is where I remember God is infinite and I am finite.  His thoughts and ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9)  By faith, I must accept and believe what He has revealed about Himself in His Word.  And, He has shown us, through Christ, His amazing, undying love for us!

John was a disciple of Jesus, and knew Him when He lived on this earth.  He finishes writing the Gospel of John with this verse: “Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”  (John 21:25)   Isn’t that incredible?

It is good to be awed and in wonder about God, His creation, His works, and His love!

Tonight begins a new adventure of adding a blog to my website.  Since I am very challenged with things on the computer, it will be a technical stretching exercise. But, once I get past all that, I hope to be able to share my thoughts now and then!  Time will tell how it all goes!