Month: July 2020

Matching Socks…Must they?

Posted on by rinouye

I tied up my tennis shoe laces while seated on the front porch, stood up quickly to demonstrate my resolve to go for a walk and thought…Okay, let’s do this thing!  

While out on my walk I saw a woman who clearly had on socks that did not match. One was a red sock on her right leg the other was a green sock on her left leg, they were ankle high and were clearly two different colors. She wore black tennis shoes and shorts with a blue t-shirt. The point is, I remember thinking, Hmm? Her socks don’t match. Well, years ago the trend was, or may possibly still be, to not wear matching socks. 

I remember fondly, how a young gal used to come over to our house weekly and take off her shoes politely, in the entryway, then make her way up the steps to chat with us in the kitchen. 

I asked her about her silly unmatched socks one day and she giggled, threw her head back a bit and said, “Oh, I never have time to match my socks. I just pull out whatever two I can grab quickly before rushing off to school.”

I shared a simple tip: I said, “A friend of mine used to safety pin her own socks and her husband’s socks before throwing them into their dirty clothes hamper. That way they’d be ready to wash and would stay mated. If that helps you, try it!”

Enough about socks, life hacks and the woman I saw today with an unmatched pair. But this all started me thinking about how easily we can judge or question someone or think our way is the right way. My socks usually match, yet should it really matter to me whether someone else’s socks match? No! Of course not! This is a silly example but…

In this day and age, or at least currently it seems, people have an opinion about everything, get offended about anything and are tipped over and upset about everything! Okay, I’m exaggerating but let me build my point.

It seems like differences have caused people to think they can’t be together, rather than allowing the differences be the reason we are drawn together. I know our own uniqueness can be celebrated and beautifully stands out because of the differences and diversity of the other people around us.

I LOVE my husband and children so much and my extended family too. We have so many similarities, but really we are nothing alike. We are a huge can of mixed-nuts! I celebrate that, it makes us the goofy and amazing bunch that we are. 

Photo by Caio on Pexels.com

I like going to the farmers market and picking up a beautiful bouquet made of the flowers that bloom during summertime. I love how each flower is so different! The big sunflower lifts its head in the center, the little tiny purple flowers fill in next to it, both large and small flowers are represented, with the lacey beside the bold. It’s the differences of each unique flower that makes that collection one of my favorite late-summer bouquets. 

So as I walked this morning, I thought about celebrating, rather than judging, questioning or even wondering about a lady who wore unmatched socks. God reminded me of what really matters and what must match. Like what I believe about Him, His love, His character and nature and what I believe about myself in light of who He says I am, now that matters! 

I must rehearse truths about who He is and who I am. Because this determines how I think and feel and choose and that is what must match up. God showed me, by speaking to my spirit, how my life’s love must be matched and directed towards people and my faith must be matched with action.  I’m working on it! Or I guess, I’d say He is working on it IN me! 

So feel free to kick off your shoes, take off your matched or unmatched socks and remember to “keep your love on!” 

Let me leave you with these verses:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Romans 12:9-18 NIV

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Would You Allow a Thief in to Vandalize Your Home and Rob You Blind?

Posted on by rinouye

An onslaught of thoughts, words, visuals, sounds and images all blast us daily, hourly, each moment of the day and every waking second. But will we and should we even allow them access?

Let me ask you a question,would you allow a thief in to vandalize your home and rob you blind?

Duh, I know the answer, no way!

Yet we allow this to happen with our thoughts all the time.

God’s Word has much to say about our thoughts and what we should think about. Allow me to share a few verses here, plus add a true story illustration, then offer some personal ways I combat toxic thoughts.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

AND this massively important one:

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

I know people who are bombarded by their own negative and worst-case scenario thoughts. These thoughts, unchecked, can wreak-havoc and vandalize a life.

I’ve witnessed how these thoughts played out to an imaginary end, left the individual robbed blind of the present precious moments as well as the immediate future. (Usually, this robbery is at the hands of FEAR about things that NEVER even occurred. This is what God’s word calls speculations.)

Sometimes speculations creep in or a spirit of dread makes its entrance on the scene and the thoughts become very toxic, even fatalistic.

Whoa! I realize it’s not always this simple, but we must stop the toxic thoughts. We must recognize and arrest the thoughts and stop them from coming in or make them obedient to Christ, otherwise these thoughts, carried it out through the full gestation period, can birth into a full blown movie of a horrifying future. This is not from God. This is a “Spirt of dread.”

We, dear believers, have the mind of Christ. He’s given us a sanctified mind and he’s also told us what types of things we can allow our minds to think about. Thus the above verse Philippians 4:8. Which mentions things that are LOVELY.


Whatever is lovely? That word, lovely my friend used often. She moved miles away so I don’t get to see her regularly but I do see things, hear of events or moments in life and just like my friend, I utter, “Oh, that’s lovely.”

Let me come at this another way, because of the whole COVID-19 coronavirus in the global pandemic, I have had to scan my forehead to take my temperature, fill out a sheet and record my temperature, wipe down everything I’ve touched and fold and place my completed sheet in a sealed, locked box.

This all must take place before going any farther into my own church. As I enter to rehearse for the worship team, I need to complete these steps so that I am considered “safe” to come in, mingle with people, and not spread the virus.

Here’s my point.

What if we took the temperature of our own thoughts, so to speak. What if our thoughts had to go through a screening process. What if our thoughts had to go through a check point before they were allowed to come in and interact with our lives.

What if toxic thoughts that carry the wrong temperature or a potential virus were examined, taken captive and made to obey Christ and were not allowed in. I think that’s what it means to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. That’s what it means to consider whether it fits with the Phillipians 4:8 passage or not.

Related to taking thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ, here’s what I try to do. I carry the thought way out to a future point, farther out than when I first received the thought. Then…

I ask some questions:

  • Whose voice is assigned to this thought? (Is it the Accusor’s or the Comforter’s voice? Should it be allowed in?)

  • What is the far-reaching end of this thought?
  • Is it hopeful?
  • Does this condemn me?
  • Do I have hope when I think about this in this way? (God is the God of all hope.)
  • Is this lovely?
  • Is this true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable? 

Finally, let me leave you with some lovely photos from my back deck and a few “lovely” thoughts about Father God:

  • God is good
  • He is a good Dad, He is going before you even right now.
  • He promises never to leave you, never to forget about you.
  • He invites you to cast your cares on Him, because He cares for you.
  • He warns and reassures us all the time. (Warning: The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy, Reassurance: BUT Jesus said,” I have come to give you life and life to the full.”)

Wrapping this up…

Don’t open the door to the wrong voice, don’t allow the enemy to vandalize your day, home, or your life and never allow him to rob you blind.

God is a giver of every good and perfect gift. And we can all be gracious receivers. Now that’s a “lovely” thought! 

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