James 5.12

The Saga continues and then ends. Amen

I got on the Job this morning around 7:30 and I waited patiently for my cabinets to arrive and they did not. I called the cabinet shop and talked to the man who had been helping me and he said they were built but that was all he could tell me. He said he would talk to the owner and call me back. After about 30 to 40 minutes I called back and the owner answered. We had a very pleasant conversation and my cabinets arrived around 11.30 and they were installed. We had more issues but the owner did what he needed to do to fix the situation. I was nice and so was he. I did what I said I was going to do. There were some other issues but they all got fixed. I ended up going back to the cabinet shop this afternoon to pick a piece of material they forgot. They handled it right on the spot and did not charge me. I told the owner I was still going to continue to do business with his company and I also told the other gentleman that he was forgiven for his bo boos and everything is back to normal. It was a learning experience for me. It is all good

The nugget today is this "when we judge, we are no longer motivated by our hearts, the wisdom of God's word, the voice of God in our hearts, or the love of God in our hearts. Instead, we are led by our attempts to be the God of our own world. And this limits us to the wisdom of our judgments.

Being free form judgment allows your yes to be yes and your no to be no. Has anyone read James lately? James 5:12
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgment.NKJV

There are many things we can do and say without passing judgment----- and one of the most gracious things we can ever do is give a person the opportunity to establish a new track record

Thanks Kevin

Another test comes my way

Another test comes my way. I am in the middle of a Kitchen remodel. I have been planning the schedule for weeks. Finalized the schedule Monday or so I thought. The cabinets were supposed to be installed Wednesday morning then Wednesday afternoon and then this morning (Thursday). I finally had to go down to the cabinet shop to find out what is going on. The man who was actually in charge of my job dropped the ball. I have to say I was pissed … to the point of cutting off my nose in spite of my face. This is where I bring in the first nugget of wisdom from the book.

Nugget: All it takes to break free from the destructive cycle of judgment is to refuse to judge, to refuse to attach significance to the actions of others. When another person's actions affect you negatively, simply ask if there is a problem. Don't assume, and don't attach significance. When you can learn to observe rather than judge, you can stop the pain before it becomes suffering.

So what happened? By the cabinets not getting installed it through everything I had scheduled into a mess. Nevertheless it all worked out and the customers are happy. Cabinets will be installed in the morning and the rest of the granite will be installed Monday afternoon. I wanted to be mad at this man, but that is what he is …. A man, enough said. The first time I met him he recognized my FTS hat and he wants to go on a Quest. What Kind of man would I be if I let him have it? He knows he screwed up and it was not just my job either. So I will email him and call him to tell him that he is forgiven

I have to tell you at one point today or twice maybe three times I was ready to end this business relationship, but I am not. At this time this is where I was adding significance to the judgment I was handing down and I could see it and it was ugly. I am sowing into this business, the owner is lost and I have giving him a bible…. A Spanish bible. I will not let the enemy divide this relationship because there is freedom on the horizon. So I will continue in this relationship even if something happens tomorrow, because will any of this matter ten years from now …. No.

Matthew 7:17-20
A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.NLT

 

They will indentify me by my actions and they will know I am a man of integrity.

Amen!

Tough day

Tough day,

I got to experience this judgment crap first hand. I had set up an appointment to have my Daughter Rebekah's truck to be worked on at Christian Brothers Automotive, but Rachel my oldest daughter who had a bad experience with CBA decided that she would take the truck somewhere else. That pissed me off! What she did was wrong. I assessed that she did this out of disrespect of me and my authority of my household. I judged her motives without talking to her first. So all day I did the negative self talk thing. You know how that goes. "I can't believe she did that to me" " who does she think she is" "I am the one who bought that truck not her" Maybe since she took matters into her own hands she should pay for the repair herself"

Oh it gets better …………… I judged my wife as well. I just assumed she didn't back me up when talking to Rachel. There were a lot of other things I thought as well. My point is, by the time I got home I was made at Rachel, mad at Rebekah's and mad at my wife. I had an attitude and I brought it all on myself.

Self inflicted pain. All of the negative self talk, I am not good enough at being a dad a husband. I had myself worked up into frenzy and my precious wife received the brunt of it.

After we talked it over and I vented and found out all the details and how she did defend me, I felt like a complete idiot. Why? Because I fell into the trap of judgment and attaching a "WHY" and significance to the issue at hand today. I reaped what I sowed and it sucked crap.

I learned this evening that I had to be willing to surrender my opinion before I was able to move forward or see it from the other side. My wife's side.

Thanks Kevin

A little nugget out of the chapter "fixing you is killing me"

People who are focused on their faults never escape those faults.

Matthew 7.1

Matthew 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.NKJV

 

Matthew 7:1-2
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.The Message

 

 

I have noticed that as I read this book I am very judgmental ………. Of everything. Now that I recognize it, I can head it off, but it is still difficult. I see it for what it is. I see areas of my life where I had no idea that I was being judgmental. An example would be this: Have you ever thought or said to someone "I know why you did this" that is being judgmental , You or me do not know why someone did what they did.

So how many times do we Judge God? ……………. Think about that statement for a moment.

You have circumstances that have happened in your life and you would tell yourself or better yet convince yourself that God brought or allowed these things into our lives for some purpose. Of course, subjectively determining that purpose would cause us to decide WHY God allowed it. In other words we would have to judge God. I don't know about you but that just doesn't taste well. I have often wondered myself WHY God allowed something in my life not realizing that I was being judgmental of the Lord.

Thanks for reading

Kevin

Jeremiah 17.9

 

I am reading in a book that is very good. I am actually going to write several little nuggets that the Lord is keying on me in this book. The parts that I have underlined that are significant to me. I have also found that when I go back and read chapters that I have already read. I find new nuggets. This book is about a whole new way of thinking. Thank you Lord

 

Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?

NKJV

 

Nugget 1. One of the things that really jumped out at me was how the author puts a different twist on Jeremiah 17.9 He says "God is the only one who can truly know the heart. When people assume to know why, then their reactions are not based on reality; they are based on judgment. That judgment causes confusion, pain, and loss. My added thought is when we add this judgment then the depravity starts to swirl around as well.

 

Nugget 2. The moment you attempt to determine "WHY" another is doing what he or she is doing, you have giving it significance. Keep in mind that nothing has the power to hurt you until you attach significance to it. Another's person actions are only as significant to you as the judgments you pass on them. The judgment you make is based on your decision about why that person did what he did. The degree of pain or insult you experience from the actions of another is based solely on the judgment you pass. And the judgment you pass is your assumption of why he did what he did.

 

Now keep in mind that these two nuggets come out of the first 22 pages that I have read. I am over have way through this book. It is my opinion that this is one of the best books I have every read next to The Bait of Satan and the Bible of course. This book is really speaking to me and Kelly. It is a whole new way of thinking for me and her. I have never realized or gave it much thought that when people judge me that I might actually believe their judgment. Or when I judge somebody that they might believe what I have judged about them. It is a lot deeper than that.

 

Kevin