Author: Innermost Being

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Blogging has been a rewarding addition to my spiritual journey. It has shown me how much I want to connect with other people. It has revealed my fears and self-doubts and helped me to face them. My Innermost Being blog is about pursuing spiritual growth through self-examination.

My Seven Year Itch

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Do you enjoy your job?

I enjoy my job most of the time, but it can be  stressful, especially this time of year. My job has gotten more complicated over the years, and I have grown tired of it. I’m itching to move on to the next phase of my life – retirement.

I have known people who worked for the same company their entire career, forty years or more. I have been working for my current employer for just seven years. In my thirty-eight year career as an accountant, I left three other jobs after eight years. This pattern makes me believe I have a “seven year itch” with respect to jobs. It just takes me a while to scratch it.

I was today-years-old when I learned the origin of the phrase “seven year itch.” According to Wikipedia, the phrase was first used by Henry David Thoreau in reference to the skin disease scabies!

The phrase as I knew it is based on the belief that happiness in a marriage or long-term relationship declines after seven years or so. I became familiar with the phrase watching The Seven Year Itch starring Marilyn Monroe.

Today, the use of the phrase “seven year itch” has expanded to other “cycles of dissatisfaction,” such as jobs or homes. It seems appropriate to use it to describe my recurring job dissatisfaction.

When I considered the timing of my retirement, I initially planned to stay eight years to match my other long-term jobs. But I realized that is silly. I really don’t want to live my life counting down the days as I am now (15 days!!).

Father, bring up there down here

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I learned the King James version of The Lord’s Prayer when I was a kid. Many churches still recite the King James version, even though we use a more modern translation for other Bible verses. The prayer is so familiar that we may recite it by rote, not pausing to let the words sink in.

The prayer that the Lord taught us to pray is the topic of a Lenten sermon series at my church. We are studying the prayer phrase by phrase, but with a less confusing translation.

Our Father who art… Perhaps because my first Bible was a King James, I didn’t realize how confusing the old English verbs are. God is an artist, but no, he is not up in the clouds painting.

…in heaven. We think of heaven as a place far away and in the future. It’s the place we go when we die, right?

Last week, Pastor Bob said that the real word is heavens not heaven. Our Father is in the heavens, in the air around us, as close as our next breath. He is everywhere.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, the Apostle Paul spoke about being caught up to the third heaven. The first heaven is the created world. The second heaven is the spiritual realm. The third heaven is God’s home.

May your kingdom come

Today, my pastor asked, “What was the gospel that Jesus preached?” I was thinking to myself, the Good News of Salvation. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is near!

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

It’s hard to grasp what Jesus meant about the kingdom of God. When we hear the word kingdom; we may imagine a castle 🏰 or the range of a king’s rule.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

My pastor described the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven in the book of Matthew, as the range of God’s effective will. It’s where God’s will is made known and put into practice.

Our culture reinforces the notion that heaven is far away and in the future. We think of heaven as up there. Earth and hell are down here.

God’s kingdom is not some far away place. Heaven is not some far away place. Both are near.

Heaven is life lived fully with God.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Father, I long for your will to be done right here and now. Bring up there down here.

🏰 ❤️ 🏰 ❤️

The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)
Song by Matt Maher

Father, let Your Kingdom come
Father, let Your will be done
On Earth as in Heaven
Right here in my heart

Talking, talking, talking without conversing

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What bores you?

I get bored when talking to some people. Some people. The ones who talk, talk, talk, without saying anything interesting or meaningful. The ones who talk endlessly about themselves with no interest in the person to whom they are speaking. The ones who dominate a conversation and don’t give other people a chance to speak.

A conversation is interactive. It involves the back-and-forth exchange of ideas between two or more people.

Introverts are not interested in small talk. Small talk is an easy way to begin a conversation, but it is boring. Gifted conversationalists (not me!) may begin a conversation with a question. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? What’s your favorite hobby?

What loquacious extroverts may not know is that the person who isn’t participating in the conversation can’t get a word in edgewise. You have to pause once in a while to let other people speak.

Talk. Pause. Listen. Repeat.

The best gift I ever received

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.

We live in a material world, so naturally, many people will say that the best gift they have ever received is a material thing. I received the best gift I could ever receive in the basement of an old church. My Sunday School teacher told me about this gift. I can’t see it. I can’t touch it. But I gratefully accepted it, and I hold it in my heart.

You know that we are living in a material world
But I am NOT a material girl

Those of us who believe in Jesus use different phrases to describe the moment we received this precious gift. We are saved. We are redeemed. We are born again. We have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

John 3:5-7

The best gift I ever received was a gift from God. He loved me (and you) so much, He came into our material world to give eternal life to whoever believes in Him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Jesus gave me the gift of eternal life!  He died on the cross for my sins, and He rose from the dead. As one of my favorite childhood hymns says, He lives! He’s in the world today.

I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him He's always near
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart
In all the world around me, I see His loving care
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair
I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast
The day of His appearing will come at last

Knowing Jesus is the greatest gift I’ve ever received. It isn’t just the gift of eternal life. He is with me today.

This morning, decades after receiving this precious gift, I will go to Sunday School to tell children about Jesus. I want them to receive the best gift they could ever receive just like I did.