behavior Archives - Lynn Mosher

Consider Your Ways…How Have You Fared?

August 19, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

“Consider your ways (your previous and
present conduct) and how you have fared.”
Haggai 1:7 Amp

Here we go a-pondering again! I love to do this.

This verse may get printed out and put on my bathroom mirror and refrigerator!

The Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, “Is it then the right time for you to live in luxurious homes, when the Temple lies in ruins? Look at the result: You plant much but harvest little. You have scarcely enough to eat or drink and not enough clothes to keep you warm. Your income disappears, as though you were putting it into pockets filled with holes! Think it over, says the Lord Almighty. Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result!” (Hag. 1:3-8 TLB)

According to the Hebrew Masoretic Text, verse 7 is translated, “Set your heart on your ways.” The word used for set means to put, to place, to fix, to ordain, to establish, to direct, to determine, etc. Heart means inner man, soul, or conscience. The Hebrew word for ways means course of life, mode of action, road, or journey.

Let’s ponder that…Set your heart on your ways. Consider how you have fared. Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result!

How have we acted? What is our conduct?

We desire more for ourselves than we do for others who struggle with much less. We put other activities and time before that which should belong to the Lord. We do not give God top priority and our lives lack the necessary things to carry on the work for God. God’s house suffers lack of funds because we do not give as we should.

Maybe we need a monthly, weekly, or even a daily check-up on ourselves. We should make up a check list and ask ourselves:

1. Do I set my mind to go where God is leading me?
2. Do I set my heart on what the Holy Spirit is nudging me to do?
3. Who and what do I put first in my life?
4. Where is most of my time spent?
5. Do I spend time every day in meditation and quiet to study and pray to know Him better?
6. Am I an example of Christ to my spouse, children, other family members, others?
7. Do I exhibit the fruits of the Spirit? Have I matured enough to have any fruit showing?
8. What attitudes or sins do I have hidden deep within that need to be recognized and cleaned out? Do I allow His light to shine in those dark places of my heart?
9. Am I a humble, obedient servant?
10. Am I a reflection of Jesus?

Therefore, “let us test and examine our ways” (Lam. 3:40a NLT), for “Our goal is to please Him.” (2 Cor. 5:9 NLT)

Joshua, in his last days, called all Israel together to give them some words of advice, exhort them to be faithful to God, and encourage them to continue to love the Lord, “Be very watchful of yourselves, therefore, to love the Lord your God.” (Josh. 23:11 Amp)

I pray as Solomon did when he finished building the temple and blessed the assembly, saying, “May the Lord our God be with us…that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statues, and His precepts which He commanded.” (1 Kings 8:57a, 58 Amp)

“Consider your ways (your previous and
present conduct) and how you have fared.”
Haggai 1:7 Amp

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I Wanna Be a Broke Horse!

July 25, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

Via Paul Chaplin, The Patriot-News

I loved riding horses when I was a teenager. I took lessons from a woman who was well respected in the horse community (I live in Kentucky) and she wanted me to show for her, meaning ride one of her horses in horse shows.

I had an appendectomy when I was 17 and didn’t get to show. Never went back to riding. I don’t know why. Too many other things in my life, I guess. My oldest granddaughter (12) now rides and has been taking lessons for a couple of years. She has won quite a few ribbons already!

Somehow, the other day, I got on the topic of horses and read an article about training. It said the trainer must be assertive and confident, yet gentle and understanding, and, if a horse is frightened in the process of training, the fear will plague the animal forever. At first, the horse does not know what is being asked of it, as a result, gentleness works best.

Horses are flight animals; so, if one feels threatened by the trainer’s assertiveness or meanness, it will run. Therefore, finding the happy medium between the two methods can be tricky but is essential to the development of an obedient horse.

Training a horse uses the term “breaking a horse,” which is an unfortunate term; it sounds as if it is being beaten or forced. It just means it is “broke” of its wild behavior and now accepts a saddle on its back and a rider. It has also learned the basic commands of leg pressure and other body cues and the tug or pressure of the reins across its neck or in its mouth from the bit.

This method of pressure is called give and release training. When pressure is applied and the horse responds by doing the skill being taught, pressure is released.

A broke horse is not just ridable but responds to a rider’s commands safely and calmly, as it has learned to “listen” to what a rider is telling the horse through the rider’s body movement cues.

On occasion, a trainer must be very gentle to overcome the abuse or neglect a horse has suffered. As a twist on a similar saying, a horse trainer once said, “A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care.”

Then again, some horses just refuse to be taught.

I found this an interesting generalization of the breakdown of training, not so much the time periods but the explanations…

*30-60 days: ridable but will test you every chance it gets
*60-90 days: bucking should quit
*120-150 days: ridable without being skittish at even the wind blowing
*170-200 days: refinement period

They say training never ends.

I find all this fascinating. But you do know my brain is twisted, right? {wink-wink}Why do I find it fascinating? If God were the trainer, which He is, and I were the horse, so to speak, look at how all the above applies to me…and you.

God must be/do…

*assertive/confident
*gentle/understanding
*cannot frighten
*train for obedience
*break wild behavior
*continuously train

I am broken when I…

*listen to what He is trying to teach me
*respond to commands, cues, and pressures from God
*respond safely and calmly
*respond obediently to continuous training

Have I finished with the buck and test part? Am I still frightened at every wind of circumstance? Have I finally reached the refinement period? Whew, I hope so!

Some people just refuse to be taught. Not me. I wanna be a broke horse! How ’bout you?

Hooking up with…
Thursdays…

Fridays…

Sundays…

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How Do You Read Me?

June 24, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

Glaring typos. Boo-boos. Misspellings. Incorrect punctuation. Misuse of words. Paragraphs too long…yada-yada-yada!

Mistakes. They seem to proliferate these days in writing. Everyone is in a rush to type (can you still call it typing?), text, comment, tweet, and the English language gets clobbered.

I’m a little off track today. Maybe I’m just letting off steam. Hmmm…maybe not.

When I see numerous flaws glaring at me at the beginning of someone’s email for their new post or a comment on Facebook or Twitter, or someone’s article, devotional, book, or story on someone’s site, I don’t read any further. It’s hard to turn off than internal editor.

Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not being critical and I’m not saying I’m perfect. F-a-a-a-a-r from it! We all make typos and mistakes now and then. But those that know better should be writing better. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t know better.

All this makes me take a look at myself and ask: how are others reading me? Oh, I don’t mean my writing…well, I do, but that’s not my point. I mean me, personally.

How do others read my actions, my words? What kind of Christian am I? Do I exhibit flaws that turn others away? Don’t I know better?

One of my greatest prayers is what David prayed, “O Lord God…don’t let me be a stumbling block to those who trust in You. O God…don’t let me cause them to be confused.” (Ps. 69:6 TLB)

Imperfections and even sins are sometimes glaringly obvious to others but obscured to us. David also prayed, “But how can I ever know what sins are lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.” (Ps. 19:12 TLB)

In writing to the Romans, Paul told them not to be critical of one another, but he said, “If we must be critical, let us be critical of our own conduct and see that we do nothing to make a brother stumble or fall.” (Rom. 14:13 Phillips)

I want to KNOW better; I want to DO better!

Lord, show me and cleanse me of those hidden faults and flaws in my heart that pop out in words and actions which are unappealing and glaringly obvious to others.

How are others reading you?

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Mondays…

Tuesdays…

Wednesdays…

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Noblesse Oblige

January 22, 2010 By Lynn H Mosher

The other day, I watched one of favorite old movies, the 1944 original version of The Canterville Ghost, which takes place in England during World War II and stars Charles Laughton, Robert Young, and Margaret O’Brien when she was seven years old.

Margaret was so endearing and spoke so beautifully as a child. In the film, the phrase “noblesse oblige” arises because she is of English nobility and offers help to the American soldiers. I love hearing her say the phrase…noblesse oblige…in her perfect diction.

The phrase stuck in my mind, so I looked it up to be sure I knew what it meant. It is a French phrase and literally means nobility obligates.

The principle behind noblesse oblige is benevolent and honorable behavior considered the responsibility of persons of high birth or rank.

Therefore, one of nobility must conduct himself in a fashion that conforms to one’s position and with the reputation that one has earned by simple acts of kindness and generosity to help another, usually one who is less fortunate.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr., said, “Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.”

All this made me stop and think…

* Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins and salvation of lost souls
* which adopted them into the family of God and His Kingdom
* which made them kin to the King’s Son, the Prince.

So…

* as part of the Family, I am a princess, a daughter of the King
* I am of the highest nobility…that heavenly nobility.

My conclusion…

* as a member of this Royal Family, I have a responsibility to conduct myself honorably
* I am to live in a fashion that is befitting my position in Christ
* I am to engage in acts of kindness and generosity to help others
* I should do all in a way that reflects positively on my Father the King.

Therefore, if you have joined that heavenly Family, you are a princess or a prince, as a daughter or son of the King, and, as part of that Family, you are that nobility of heaven. It is, then, your duty…your noblesse oblige…to behave honorably and to give back to others.

If we give out of a heart of love with the thought of supplying some real need in someone’s life, then we reflect the Father’s image and likeness, upholding that reputation of the Family.

However, if we cannot pry open our hearts and our wallets to let go of whatever another needs, then their lack may go unfulfilled, and, sometimes, so will ours, for scripture says, “It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.” (Prov. 11:24 TLB)

It is not the size of the gift that matters but the condition of the heart. We give out of what we have, whether a little or a lot, “For if the [eager] readiness to give is there, then it is acceptable and welcomed in proportion to what a person has, not what he does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12 Amp)

When we give generously, whether of ourselves or of our possessions, scripture says,
“He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:6-8 NKJV)

Do we conduct our lives in the noblesse oblige way so that we reflect our position in the Royal Family? Do we perform simple acts of kindness and generosity to help and encourage others?

Is your life a reflection of noblesse oblige?

Consider Your Ways…How Have You Fared?

I Wanna Be a Broke Horse!

How Do You Read Me?

Noblesse Oblige

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