About Me

  Patricia Hammell Kashtock

Aka: Pat Kashtock. Mother of three, wife of one. BA in Social Work and Biblical Studies. Graduate work at Virginia Tech interrupted, then derailed by oldest child’s brain tumor...

My life has not followed the course I planned. But I am not complaining. Pain is to be expected in a world broken apart from its Creator.

The miracle resides in the ability to find joy when least expected...

 

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Blessings,

Pat

For What It's Worth

Each life is a journey. The voices of many guides try to direct us, saying, “This is the path – walk in it!” Yet each one leads in a different direction.

I believe only one Voice can be true. That Voice will lead us in ways most unexpected, into worlds yet undiscovered. It will lead us up the hill, around the river and through the forest. And sometimes, it will lead without mercy.

Or so it seems.

I have made listening for that Voice and following it, my life’s quest. I will share some of what I have heard that Voice say with you. But I am not in the business of telling people how to think or what to believe. Each has to decide for himself. Only you can decide if you find the truth of the Voice in these words. And only you can decide how much it is worth to know the Voice, and follow.

But for me, it is worth the whole world.

And then some…

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Entries in legalism (1)

Wednesday
Mar032010

God Is My Warden…forget the co-pilot part

I can't believe that after years of being so regular with the morning oh at least an hour quiet time, I let it fall apart.

--- It needed to for a while. It had become a joyless habit and that is not what I want from you. It means nothing to me that way. Besides -- your mind kept going elsewhere too frequently. That's what happens when something becomes a legalism -- the heart goes out of it. I want your heart, yes, even with the Western understanding of that.

And yes, you did need to see that others can and do function without taking all that time. I never left you, did I? ---

To my amazement, You didn't.

--- I won't. Not ever. You cannot make me go away. I'm here to stay.

     Like a little nag at your side. ---

Uh, Lord?

--- [Grin]. You need one, you know. You aren't very good at it. ---

Like a parent?

... Or warden?

--- Both. Of course. --- [More grin]

 

I'm chuckling. And I'm relieved.

Someone staying on me sounds like hope.

But You can't be a nag in the dictionary sense...

(someone who

  1. annoys by continual scolding, faultfinding, complaining, urging, etc.
  2. continually troubles, fusses at, etc.

--- Don't be so sure about that. ---

Well, I don't see you as fault finding and complaining.

--- Actually, I am very good at finding the faults and putting my finger on them. ---

Oh -- like Teutonic plates. Putting pressure on them to keep to keep things from getting out of sync.

--- Something like that.

The difference is that I can bring real change, and it is change you desire. This truly is for your sake, unlike human "nagging" which is often for the nagger's sake and fueled by bitterness. ---

 

I looked up warden. Interesting. I tend to think prison guard, but that is only one meaning. A warden is a keeper -- a person charged with custody of people animals or things. Public servants superintending parks, wildlife, Burroughs, colleges. A gatekeeper.

I need all of those, minus the jailer. I didn't use those words this morning, but essentially I ask you to gate-keep my time today.

E-mails make me crazy. One thing leads to another.

--- You don't have to read them all. Things will go forward without you. I will tell you when to take action. Yes -- "mind the checks." Please.

And speaking of minding checks... ---

Suddenly, I see the keyboard in front of me. Time to practice. But I haven't read yet.

--- So read. ---

So I opened to Matthew 10:42. "And even if you give a cup of cold water to the least of these..."

(I promptly went off on a thinking tangent about Louisiana, and my time there. But that story is for another day. Suffice it to say, I should have minded the check)