Book Titles

This weeks question from Internet Cafe Devotions is "what would be a title of a book about your life?"

This seems rather similar to that "your life in six words" meme that I came across a few weeks ago and I played that one on my Life and Times of Me blog and said "books, books, books, here, there, everywhere" which I thought was rather reflective of my voracious reading hobby and my career as a librarian!

I think that this question requires a bit more subtlety though; do I go for a film type title - "Samantha: the book" (like Garfield: the movie!) which seems silly, do I do go for something highbrow like....um, er, I can't actually think of anything highbrow as I am definitely not a highbrow kinda person!

Once, someone told me that my name means listener and thinking on it now, I think that this would be a great title for a book "Samantha means listener" as this could be applied in so many ways.

I am deaf, which you may think makes a mockery of the chosen book title, but actually I think that emphasises the title as although I am deaf, I strive to listen; to listen to the conversations around me, to listen to my cat meow at me, to listen to the music in my car, to listen sounds that are normal to you but unusual to me - sounds your brain has heard, absorbed, recognised and ignored are sounds that make me listen and want to know what they are.

Sometimes my whole being is focused on listening to what you have to say as it requires more than just my ears, I have to watch your mouth and body movements, I have shut out everything else in order to concentrate on you, sometimes I even have to position myself so that I am in the right place for understanding.

And I think that this is a good way to demonstrate listening to and understanding God as we need to listen to Him with more than our ears, we need to put ourselves in the right position for listening, and we need to concentrate on Him alone if we are hear anything.

Why spend money on what is not bread

and labour on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Isaiah 55:2

Priorities

This week's question from the Internet Cafe Devotions is all about priorities and it goes like this...

Name what you think should be your first 5 priorities in life? Then order those priorities the way they actually are at present in your own life. Do they match up? Why or why not? If needed, what is one thing that you can do today that will help your two lists match up?

This question opens up a whole can of worms for me because I don't think that I have any priorities, or at least none that I can pin down, which sounds strange but if by priorities we mean things that are important to me and are at the forefront of my mind constantly, then I can't actually think of any. This may mean that I am simply floating through life without any real direction and should actually sit down and think about what my priorities are and so this question is quite timely!

Naturally there are things that if I don't do then life becomes difficult, for instance, if I don't make my family my priority then we could become estranged and I lose contact with them; if I don't make work my priority then I could lose my job and struggle to maintain my house (and other luxuries!), if I don't make myself one of my priorities then I lose self-confidence and energy; and so the list goes.

But I don't actually consider any of them to be a priority in that they are just a part of my life and I get on with the business of living - making sure I chat to Mum online regularly, making sure that I get to work on time, making sure that I have time to pamper myself. So, by default those are my priorities, except that God and my faith do not automatically appear in that list of priorities and this is definitely something that I need to work on. Although, having said that, I actually think more about that at present than I do anything else in that I am considering what to read, study and think on when it comes to my faith.

So....what this question has revealed to me is that I really need to stop and think about what my priorities are and how I can actively work to truly make them (whatever they may be) my priorities. Clearly I need to "work" at life rather than just float through it aimlessly and doing whatever comes my way!

A godly woman

Do you have a godly (woman) mentor in your life? If so, describe your relationship with her…

If you don’t have a mentor, would you like one and what would you hope to gain from the relationship?

In my mind the word mentor suggests an older person counselling a younger because they have a lot of experience and knowledge to pass on, which is a great thing, but I also see this as a teacher-student relationship which to me is not an equal relationship. So, I would actually prefer a more equal relationship based on the fact that we have a great deal to learn from each other.

Perhaps this is based on the fact that I find that my respect for the teacher/mentor gets in the way of my ability to question and discuss because I am in awe of their knowledge and tend to accept what they say as correct without thinking about it.


As it is, I don't actually have anyone who I would consider a mentor (or like-minded friend) that would help me to get the most out of my faith. Having said that, as I've said before, I am enjoying and using all those blogs to spark my thinking and steer me down paths that I may not have considered before.

It would, however, be nice to find someone I can talk to in real life as well as reading all those blogs as good conversation is always far better in person. So I have to find myself a Church that I can relate to...make a few friends...and get some conversation going!!

Lies

Today's question from Internet Cafe Devotions is about LIES. Most of us are or have been plagued by lies, some from just being a woman. Lies are destructive and defeating. Lies about priorities, marriage, family, emotions or sin invade our spirits if we let them.

What is a lie that you have believed in the past (or even currently), and why do you think you believed that lie? Find a verse in God’s Word to combat the lie.

This question seems to me to be quite similar to one we had some time ago about lies about women that contradict God's word which I answered on my other blog. This question is more wide ranging though in that it covers lies about anything and specifically asks me to seek out a verse from the Bible that combats this lie and so helps me become more familiar with God's Word.

After some thought I have decided to talk about the lie that is very pervasive in today's society, which is that the only way to be happy is to have the biggest and best in the way of material possessions, or to have as much as possible in order to feel happy. You see it all the time in the more affluent societies as people earn more and more they then feel as though they have to own more and more (or bigger and better); and I am no exception to this as I have things like a nice car, a new laptop, piles of books, more clothes than I need and so the list grows!!

As a child it is easier to think that a pile of goodies on your birthday or for Christmas will make you happy and yes, perhaps you are happier on that particular day than you were a week ago because you have lots of new things to play with. But that feeling doesn't last does it? It is to be hoped that as we grow up we begin to realise that that feeling doesn't last and therefore stop looking for material possessions in order to make us happy.

But that's not true is it? No matter how old we are, we fall into the trap of thinking that owning the best car, the brightest jewelry, the latest iPod, or the fastest laptop will make us happy. As much as I am particularly enjoying my new laptop, I know that it is not making me happy in myself, which is a different kind of happiness. If anything, I am more content because I am answering this question and learning more about myself spiritually and personally.

Indeed, the Bible says that Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves (Proverbs 11:28), which is just what I have been talking about - if you trust your possessions to give you what you need then you are not going to get very far!

Happiness is to be found in other ways as the Bible points out; Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) If you are always thanking God for your blessings and thinking of those blessings how can you be anything but happy as your spirits are lifted! It is hard to be unhappy when you're saying thank you for the cat that curls up next to you, thank you for the sunshine that streams through the window and thank you for everything!

P.S The Internet Cafe Devotions is having a give-away!! I seem to be a bit late in the game to know about this, perhaps the day the give-away was launched was the day that I clicked on the wrong button on Bloglines and cleared my list of posts to read! Anyway, hurry on over to find out more about the give-away as it includes lots of lovely things to help you in your faith journey; like a journal, a bookmark to save your place and a candle to get you in the mood for listening to God!