Tag: Asperger’s

Don’t Throw Out the Baby

Nicodemus & Mary Magdalene

“The Chosen” is a crowd-funded television series which seeks to narrate the ministry of Jesus when he walked with His disciples. It adheres to the Bible, but adds details which may or may not have been fully developed in stories of Jesus and his followers within the gospels.

I’ve only seen season 1, the first episode several times, and it arguably remains my favorite. Arguably because there are many others that are so good, too.

The 1st two episodes of season 3 will be showing in theaters beginning in a few days, and I’m hoping to view these on the big screen.

In recent days, “The Chosen” has experienced controversy due to the following statement Jesus, as portrayed by Jonathan Roumie, makes.

“I am the law.”

Jesus does not say this in the Bible. What he does say is “″Do not believe that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come in order to abolish them, but in order to fulfill them.″ And in Romans 10:4 Paul states “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Even if this is more than a matter of semantics, which I’m not convinced it is, what bearing does it have on the fact that Jesus is Our Savior, Lord, Master, and Friend?

This is not a valid reason to discontinue receiving the great benefits of this wonderful series. The scene at the end of the first episode between Jesus and Mary Magdalene does not occur in the Bible, only its aftermath is referenced; however, any fringe person such as myself and many readers of this blog cannot help but be touched by the compassion displayed by the actor who so vividly portrays what I imagine Jesus would have done and said in just such a situation. It augments through the senses of vision and hearing what believers already feel in their hearts. If an unbeliever is watching, how could they not be moved?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Over the past 40+ years I’ve experienced a variety of Christian ministries, both in terms of denominations and in terms of ministers/pastors/reverends. One of the sermons that left the most lasting impression with me was by an evangelist who visited a large church my late husband and I attended.

He revisited the story of Jesus after his resurrection having breakfast with his disciples on the lakeshore. This is in John 21.

The disciples had been fishing and had caught nothing. There was a man on the shore who told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Miraculously, their nets were so full they could not easily be hauled to the shore.

After this miracle Peter realized the man on the shore was Jesus. I love Peter. He made a lot of mistakes and got in trouble with his mouth, but when he realized Jesus was there, he jumped in the water rather than wait for the boat to transport him to the shore.

After they all reached land, verse 9 says “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”

The fish on the coals could not have been the bounty the disciples had just caught because in the next verse Jesus says, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” (v. 10)

Where did the bread and fish come from? Was Jesus just carrying them around?

The evangelist next took us back to Matthew chapter 4:3-4: “3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus, having fasted 40 days and nights was hungry and certainly could have turned a stone into bread.

The morning at the lakeshore, satan (the tempter) was there, too. I don’t think he ever really goes away. The evangelist speculated that Jesus was “showing off.” He had turned stones into the bread that he and the disciples enjoyed that morning to spite the devil! Although the evangelist didn’t go there, it’s possible he caused the fish he had cooked to jump out of the lake and into his skillet!

There is nothing in the Bible to confirm these miracles, but they do correlate with what the Bible does tell us about Jesus.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Other times, I’ve heard pastors make outright mistakes. One talked about Noah and his daughters and their husbands boarding the ark. Genesis 7:13 “On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.” Does this mistake make that pastor a heretic?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

I’ve also had occasion more than once to ask pastors “What do you think about Jesus?” or “Do you believe Jesus is The Way to Heaven?”

Most of the time I was satisfied with the answers. There was one man, though, a minister for more than 40 years, who answered the 2nd question with “I believe Jesus is A Way to Heaven.” Articles are important!

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Pray for people, especially those in positions of authority within the Church, who make false and dangerous statements such as that made above.

Jesus is THE WAY.

Don’t throw them out. Again, pray for them fervently. Their souls depend on it. But be very careful with regard to everything else they attempt to teach you.

This is one reason the Bible advises not to follow a man. This is found in what many consider to be the middle verse of the Bible, Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” Follow The Man (again, articles are important), Jesus Christ. You are known by Him. Know Him. Then you will be able to easily to discern what is good and true. (Phil 4:8)

God bless you greatly in all you do.

Being Still

Psalm 46:10

What does the first part of that verse even mean?

What does it look like?

As I write these words, I am sitting in my comfy chair with my laptop listening for the voice of God to direct my words.

Am I practicing “stillness before God?”

For years, I’ve heard others, especially women, talk about their “quiet time” with God which seems to occur most often in the morning either directly or shortly after waking. My assumption was always that this was a reference to a period they devoted to God through prayer, Bible study, and devotions. Those certainly can be “quiet” times with God. But two of those require the turning of pages, and all three require engaging the brain either in conversation with God or in reading. For this writer, it also requires the creation of a spreadsheet to track how on track I am with my endeavors.

Are these activities practicing stillness before God?

Back to my comfy chair. . . Even if I were not typing these words, not playing a game on my phone, not crocheting or knitting or eating, not scrolling through my FB feeds, not listening to a podcast, not doing several of these things at the same time, seemingly not doing anything at all. . .my hyperactive mind would still be racing in a million different chaotic directions.

Is it even possible to “be still and know that I am God”?

The original Hebrew word for “be still” is “raphah” which refers to “that which is slack” or “to let drop.” It can also mean “sink down, relax, let go, cease striving, or withdraw.”

As an aspie, I find them all problematic. Those of you not on the spectrum, how do you feel about this?

For as long as I can remember as an adult, I’ve wanted a sugar maple tree in my yard. Last spring, I planted one. This photo reveals the fruit of my labors, the beautiful multi-colored leaves of autumn, even though there aren’t very many of them.

God has revealed several truths to me through this little tree, but this is the one that fits today.

The tree does not appear to be doing a thing. Granted, this is a still photo, but trust me, when I was taking the photo, it was just standing there not striving at all. Its growth was certainly not such that it could be seen with the naked eye, even though its appearance is far different from the twig I planted last spring.

Being still before God is like that. It requires no effort at all.

Unlike the tree, though, thoughts good and bad have made it feel unnatural to sit still and do absolutely nothing except know I AM (YHWH).

So. . . I started with an amount of time I thought even I could achieve. I set the timer on my phone for 1 minute.

Attempted to picture God. A great light with no definable facial features.

He was embracing me.

I recently read that for an embrace to have lasting benefit it needs to last for at least 20 seconds. I’ve been blessed recently to be the recipient of several such hugs. And if I was the recipient, surely that must mean I was the giver as well.

There had been a long dry period preceding that group of hugs.

Although we cannot physically “feel” the effects of our Father’s hugs, I believe that being still before Him gives even greater benefit, at least until the day we can receive them from Him physically.

So, my “quiet time” is really a time of “ceasing striving.” That is the definition of raphah that best describes what it feels like when I am being still. Maybe one of the other definitions better describes what it feels like for you.

It is only after the being still, the ceasing striving, that the time of prayer, Bible reading, and devotions begins. And truly, the few times I’ve practiced this practice so far have been of tremendous benefit to the rest of my activities for the day. . . and to my soul.

For example, today, I discovered a new podcast called “Gratefully Nourished” and through that a new author named Ruth Haley Barton whose most recent book is titled “Sacred Rhythms” amongst which of the rhythms is being still before God and an older one called “Invitation to Solitude and Silence.” Both have been added to my list of books I would like to read.

How amazing, but not really considering the omnipresence of YHWH, that He would reinforce what He is trying to teach me via so many media.

Be still–cease striving–and know and be greatly blessed by YHWH.

For the Love of Ivan

It had been the dream for years—to own a member of the doodle family, to experience and bestow the unconditional love I knew they were capable of. Plus, I believed he would be an emotional support for me as I dealt with the myriad of mental health issues on my plate.

Finally, on my birthday in 2020, I was notified I had been selected to have my own berniedoodle, whose name was Ivan. His cost was lower than his siblings because he didn’t have the so-sought-after tri-color markings. He was pretty much a black puppy with a little bit of white on his chest and under his nose and mouth. He had a sweet expression on beautiful face, and I fell instantly in love with just his picture.

My daughter and I took the 2-day road trip to the town where he was being socialized by a wonderful family. Neither Jordan nor I is familiar with driving in mountainous regions, and this part of the southeastern United States had plenty of them. But she didn’t complain, even in my 5-speed manual, and we arrived at our destination on a Friday morning.

Ivan was exactly like his pictures – only bigger and had lost some of his puppiness. But he was still absolutely gorgeous and so sweet.

We settled back in the car with Ivan on whom the middle name of Zoltov (because he looked a little Russian and both Ivan and Zoltov sounded Russian to me) was bestowed.

Over the next year and 2 months, Ivan was exactly the puppy I’d dreamed of.

Except. . . my young granddaughters were terrified of him because of his size. As of this writing he weighs 68 pounds and is quite muscular.

My cat never warmed up to him. He loves her; she hates him.

I came to believe I was the only human who truly loved him, and a big part of that was because of how beautiful he is.

Then came the cancer scare.

I am still under testing, and it is not known if the colon cancer has returned, but at some point I will more than likely be facing some type of abdominal surgery. 10 years ago, the colon cancer surgeries left me with a massive abdominal wound which took months to heal, an ostomy, and a bedsore which also took months to heal.

What would I do this time with my husband now gone and a 68-pound dog wanting to jump on me at every opportunity? I consulted my groomer. In the past, her partner had known someone who wanted a doodle. My groomer, who is also my cousin wanted a physical picture of him and an ad to try and rehome him. She also suggested I talk to my vet.

I called the vet, not really expecting anything. But the receptionist called me back after just a few minutes and told me one of the practice’s vets might be interested in Ivan. He called me that weekend, and I gave him the details about my puppy, but he did not call me back. . .

Until yesterday morning. Around a month later.

He said he couldn’t take Ivan because he already had a doodle, but he knew someone who might be interested. Could he give them my phone number? Yes.

I exchanged phone calls, texts, and emails with Ivan’s potential new mommy throughout the day at home and at work.

At 7 o’clock Ivan’s new family arrived. He and I were on the porch, he on his leash.

He was so excited when they got out of their SUV. It was the parents and the two younger children, an 11-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. Ivan was all over them. They weren’t afraid of him. Ivan really liked the dad, too; and the dad seemed to like him. The mom told me they lived on a farm. The farm had goats and a small pond. Ivan would never have to be on a leash. He would be sleeping with the boy instead of in a crate. It sounded like doggy heaven.

We loaded all Ivan’s accoutrements into their vehicle and lastly Ivan. He went willingly. I blew him a kiss, and he was gone.

As expected, I was sad after they left. I turned to my old standby to make me feel better. The local pizza place delivered their specialty within 30 minutes. My intentions were to binge on the whole 13-inch pizza.

But I have been listening recently to a lot of YouTube videos and podcasts about the neuroplasticity of the brain (transformation of the mind (Romans 12:2) and how this plasticity can be used to help one with disordered eating. Even though I haven’t fully “grasped” or put one (Ephesians 4:24) the principals, I rarely binge anymore and my problems are more in the realm of overeating. I stopped with 3 of the 8 pieces and put the rest in the refrigerator.

Then I watched the first episode of “The Chosen” once again. Even though I think I’ve seen it four times now, that last scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene still touches something deep inside, and it did even last night. It made me forget about Ivan being gone from my life. When Jesus told Mary “You are mine,” he might have been speaking to me. It was an actor portraying Jesus, and even though he does a spectacular job, I suspect when Jesus says those to me, it will touch something even deeper within me. I eagerly await that day.

Meanwhile I used the money the family gave me for Ivan’s things to go to Menard’s for a window air conditioner. The central air at my house has not worked all summer, and I’ve limped along on fans; but I thought the window conditioner might be a good use of my “Ivan money”.

A lot of people call their air conditioners AC. My air conditioner will be called IZ which sounds a little bit like icy, and I trust that’s how I will feel tonight while going to sleep in cool comfort but without a doubt will still be missing my Ivan.