Darla Dumler

Darla Dumler
Darla Dumler

Friday, September 30, 2011

Wisdom is a Choice


                                                                                      
I’ve worked hard and I’ve struggled, so why shouldn’t I buy that new pair of shoes, have a drink with a co-worker, or eat that second piece of cake? Everyday our minds are bombarded with justification to satisfy ourselves which leads to hasty decisions. 

God has given us emotions, but they have no brains. Emotions ebb and flow like an ocean, depending on the current of our condition and circumstances, the climate of our mind, and the life within our reef of the ocean. When we let our feelings contaminate our reasoning, we volunteer to follow them into danger. Once in that dangerous deep, we discount, deny, or justify them. The only way to keep them from invading and destroying our logic, reason, and wisdom is to identify the sadness, loneliness, or devalued emotion and then make better choices. Once you give them a name, lonely, sad, mad, you can identify what need isn’t being met for you by others, or what you are not looking to God to fill. Your mind is in control of your emotions (“… and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, 2 Corinthians 2:5), so you can think and make better choices.  You’ll no longer simply react. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32

In every current of our lives there is a line where good turns to bad, moral to immoral, and self care to selfishness or pride. A single choice may not be bad or wrong, but each reactive decision sparked by feelings brings us one step closer to the line.  My life experience has proven this line is thin, slippery, and enticing. The only way to guard against it is to ask myself if my choice is wise for a child of God. 

1 Corinthians 10:23, 24   23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.  

Here is an example. If a male coworker asks me to lunch at a small, out of the way restaurant, is it wrong to go? Not in itself, if I’m unmarried, but I am married. So I ask myself, is this wise for a daughter of the King of Kings? No. I set myself and Him up for gossip even if we don’t do anything wrong. What if I forgot to tell my husband about the lunch and he sees us? What if he attacks me and I am unable to protect myself? By asking the wise and prudent questions, I avoid calamity in my life. I avoid taking one step closer to the line.

Before the next decision you make, ask if it is wise and prudent.  Let me know how it goes.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Coffee in Heaven


    
 
I love to start my morning with a fresh, hot, tantalizing cup of coffee. I can’t resist inhaling the rich aroma and letting out a sigh of pleasure before I taste it. As the first few sips roll throughout my body I encounter a soothing and peaceful effect. 

My coffee experience illustrates the majestic elation I encounter whenever I listen to praise music. The wondrous love, grace, and mercy of God sweep over my heart and soul through life-affirming words, voices, and melodies. I have come to cherish and protect these exceptional personal times God shares with me. 

For many years I fought with depression. It was all I could do to find a good thought when my eyes opened. Through the help of a doctor, a prescription, and the counsel of a Godly woman, I began to change what I did when I awoke. I surrounded myself with Christian music, I searched out scriptures that dealt with my emotions and read God’s promises to me, I read other inspiring books, and I decided my first thought would be God. 

Every morning I pray, “Good morning, God. Thank you for your love and sacrifice so I can receive your mercy, grace, and love I need for this day to make me into the woman you want me to be. Help me to see where you want me to share the blessing you have given me. Thank you for your protection, wisdom, guidance, and strength. I surrender my will to you and ask you to guard your servant and help me release my faith in thought, word, and through deeds.”

The music, scripture, prayer, and my actions to focus on God first allowed him to heal my broken hurting heart and mind. I began to understand the meaning of relationship versus religion. God revealed His truth, His commands, His examples of character I was to follow, and my responsibilities as a follower of God. In this process I was healed of my depression.  I could stop the medication.  Praise God this pit no longer threatens me!

I know if I do not continue to start my days this way and guard my heart, I leave the door open to forces, words, ideas, and people Satan sprinkles into my head, my heart, and my life. We must guard our hearts against our human desires to argue with wrong, take problems on without God, or fall prey to our pride.  These are the same temptations Eve failed to beat.

I have come a long way, but scripture reminds me Satan is still in my life’s arena like a rodeo bull. He’s waiting for the moment I turn my back or forget he’s there. Never let your guard down. 

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

But with the love, wisdom, protection, and the power of God through His son Christ Jesus, we are armed, able, and standing firm in Him.  

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:27) 

How do you start your day?


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Finding My Edges


“When you have come to the edge of all the light you have and step into the darkness of the unknown,
Believe that one of the two will happen to you.  Either you'll find something solid to stand on or you'll be taught how to fly!”    By Richard Bach

The other day I needed a rag to clean. I took a stained towel out of the drawer and tried to rip it. I was unsuccessful because its protective finished edge was still intact. I reached for the scissors to snip the edge and tore several small rags from the big towel. Holding a rag at arm’s length, I realized how my life mirrored the tattered edges of this rag.

My life’s circumstances, situations, and experiences snipped the edge and protection of my life. It created rips of uncertainty, no safety, and believing I was responsible for others’ pain.  That, somehow, made me unlovable and created tattered and fuzzy edges around my life. Without the safety provided by love, encouragement, and protection in my childhood, I didn’t know where I stopped or began in relationships.  I was willing to do anything to feel a drop of love. I was afraid to say no because it could mean I’d be abandoned again. I felt hopeless, helpless, and a victim just waiting for the next bad thing to happen.  

For years my mind struggled to understand. My human half remained in the hurt, pity, and martyrdom of the circumstances, while the spiritual part of me who knew Christ fought and strived to fix my broken edges. God made His presence known to me as far back as I can recall a memory. Even though my life has been a tattered rag canvas, God has placed people along my journey to provide love, encouragement, and protection I lacked.  His provision attached the rag of my life to a frame to give me the opportunity to let Him create a work of art as I discovered the edges of my life.

I have spent thousands of hours reading my Bible and other self-help books, going to counseling, and visiting with Godly women to reach where I am now. It has taken years, but little by little God has provided spiritual threads of His revelation, wisdom, and understanding.  These have helped me discover, create, and define who I am now, and who I am not. I know where I begin and end better than I ever did before. There is great peace and assurance to know I can choose what I am exposed to in my life, and I can trust myself with my yes and no.  I’m thankful God continues to work on and through me as I foster my personal relationship with Him daily. Instead of fearing the future, I now anticipate the wonders God will reveal in my future as His precious and cherished loved daughter.

“All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.” (James 5:12) “Can you answer yes or no with confidence?”

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Home at Last


I just returned from a cruise to Alaska with family and friends. We enjoyed the pampering and entertainment from the ship’s crew in our city on the ocean.   For two full days we glided between the emerald green forests and the white shimmer of the waterfalls gushing from the rocks amid the trees scattered throughout fjords before we reached the towns of Juneau and Skagway. At times God’s creation of grandeur and beauty took my breath away. 

Alaska is a beautiful place to visit, but I couldn’t live in the rugged conditions with the weather, light, and isolation. Many people thrive there, I believe, because they are called to a place like this. As I’ve matured, I have discovered I am a city girl who needs temperate conditions and many people around me. At times I pull away to a quiet place to restore and regroup, but on the whole I need to be with people. 

God made each of us as unique as the plants, climates, terrain, and places on His earth. We are all driven to live, explore, and root in many places for many different reasons or seasons. It is refreshing to explore new places and people. I have lived in and visited many cities, states, and countries. In many ways I’ve felt like a nomad with no one place to call home. It has only been in the last ten years that I feel I have chosen a home in Colorado. My home base gives me the opportunity to build relationships with my family, church, and girlfriends.  That stability helps me grow and evolve into a stronger woman of God. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have a home where I can rest, grow, and thrive.

What have you learned about yourself in your travels?