The Tablets of My Heart: "A Reminder to Remember"
()
About this ebook
Remembering to rely upon our Fatherremembering to find answers and solace in the Word is something we instantaneously turn to when bombarded with hopeless situations. Wait...or do we? I dont alwaysincredibly I dont always. I get so focused on the problem I do need a reminder to remember to refocus on truth.
Tablets are memories of Gods faithfulness in my life. Memories of how He stretched down to reach me, teach me...rescue me. There are no deeply intellectual-spiritual concepts introduced...just reminders of how incredible is our God...truths from my yesterdays that I draw strength from today, building faith to walk out my tomorrows.
If God does the incredible for one...He does for all. I firmly believe that I was chosen to share this simple...yet dynamic concept because I am in the worst of the worst to need it. This instruction from
God was introduced early in the Old Testament when man began the grumbling that led to faithlessness. The growing madness in our world distracts, depresses, and dissuades remembering Whose we are. A revival of the use of a reminder to remember is imperative within the body of Christ today!
Anna Darby Asher
Anna Darby Asher is native to the beautiful Tennessee valley. Being a wife, mother, adoring grandmother, architectural designer, and author have gifted her life. For these blessings she is daily humbled at His immeasurable grace...and eternally grateful.
Related to The Tablets of My Heart
Related ebooks
The Sword of the Spirit in Memory: (Easy Method to Memorize Scripture) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMirror of My Soul: Journey to Peace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoly Scribbling: Looking at Life Through a Sacred Window Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Vicissitude Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Soul Sings for You: Spiritual Peace in the Life and Times of Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Disreputable Priest: Being Gay in Anti-Gay Cultures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrief Doesn’t Do Math Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCompendium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSearching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Brighter Side of a Darker Thing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Leaf Key Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaste of Wonder: Poems of Hope for Dark Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoul Revision Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's Your Choice !: "Believe and Have Victory!" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGone Are the Days: A True Story of Forgiveness and Healing. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Long Night: Readings and Stories to Help You through Depression Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore Than a Whisper: One Woman's Journey Through Pain to Grace Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5lov1978...This Is My Testimony Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Meantime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagic and Miracles: In the Arms of Angels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFive Hours Before Midnight: A Story of Fear, Faith, and Survival Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeaven Can't Wait: Reflections on Spiritual Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Imperfect Pilgrim: Trauma and Healing on This Side of the Rainbow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Anvil's Passion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen I Am Overwhelmed: How to Handle Life at Its Most Intense Moments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of the Ordinary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBroken Heart on Hold: Surviving Separation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections of a Simple Human Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDon't Miss Your Life!: An Uncommon Guide to Living with Freedom, Laughter, and Grace Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Religion & Spirituality For You
The Love Dare Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Upon Waking: 60 Daily Reflections to Discover Ourselves and the God We Were Made For Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Here Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5THE EMERALD TABLETS OF THOTH THE ATLANTEAN Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Course In Miracles: (Original Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Abolition of Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude: The Life-changing Power of Everyday Mindfulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Se Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gospel of Thomas: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weight of Glory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Tablets of My Heart
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Tablets of My Heart - Anna Darby Asher
Copyright © 2012 by Anna Darby Asher
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
1-(866) 928-1240
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright (c) by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
All scripture is taken from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4990-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4989-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4991-0 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012909372
WestBow Press rev. date: 9/18/2012
Contents
FOREWARD BY GREG EVANS…LOVER OF GOD, PASTOR, COUNSELOR, FRIEND
INTRODUCTION
TABLET 1: A Reminder to Remember
TABLET 2: Mamaw Mason
TABLET 3: Statistically Impossible
TABLET 4: Dark Threads
TABLET 5: Miraculous Words
TABLET 6: Moving Mountains
TABLET 7: Shod
TABLET 8: Rebuke?
TABLET 9: Malachi Friends
TABLET 10: Knowing
TABLET 11: Remembering Rhetta
TABLET 12: Jail Time
TABLET 13: Really, A Worm?
TABLET 14: Faith of a Child
TABLET 15: No Sugar
TABLET 16: Downcast
TABLET 17: Walking Through
TABLET 18: Sweepstakes
TABLET 19: Grace
TABLET 20: Honeysuckle Hospitality
TABLET 21: Rachel’s Race
TABLET 22: Peer-sing Words
TABLET 23: Punch Bug!
TABLET 24: Expectation
PROLOGUE
Foreward
Have you ever been to a ballgame and found yourself caught up in The Wave?
You know, The Wave is when the fans in a certain section jump to their feet at the same time, reaching their hands upward, and that movement continues, elegantly, smoothly, in a complete circle until all the fans have become a part of the dance.
What is the purpose of this book?
Anna asked the Lord. To remind them to remember,
said God. I think that most of us think of remembering
primarily as a mental event, an intellectual recalling of something or someone from the past. But what if remembering is far more than a mental event? What if remembering is like The Wave?
The Bible tells us that Christ was slain before the foundations of the world. What?! No, He was not! He was crucified in Palestine about 2,000 years ago. Right? Well, yes and no. What if the determination of God that His Son die began before the universe came into being? That determination was carried, so to speak, throughout many lands and many centuries, in the voices of prophets, and in the hearts of people.
God’s Son sacrificed rippled throughout the planet each time a priest raised the knife to slay an animal on the altar, quietly praying with Abraham that God would one day provide a lamb so that blood would no longer flow from the temple. The murder of the Christ has been a steady, relentless movement through ages and ages of grateful believers; saints in darkened sanctuaries, teary-eyed adorers who gazed upon crucifixes and icons in remembrance of the Precious One; strong passionate voices of evangelists and preachers who could not be silent before the Mystery of Grace…the steady rhythm of worship, perpetually pulsating through creation-the trees, the wind, and the angels. Silent ascent of candles burning, the smoke of incense, and the praises of God’s people…remember Him.
I have been to many ballgames, but I never really think about The Wave until it
happens. I forget. Were it left to me to remember, The Wave would never again be experienced. Thanks be to God for Anna, I believe, is that single solitary person in the thick of the crowd who stands once, looks around, considers the possibility, then returns to her seat in fear, thinking to herself, I will look so stupid.
She considers the appropriateness of her attire, and wonders how her makeup is holding up to the weather. She asks herself, If I do it, will anyone else join in?
And then, as quickly as the fear came, she ignores it, and not too quietly says What the hell?
She bolts from her seat and extends her hands, eyes alive and heart on fire. And you and I, right now, are left with a decision. Do we enter The Wave
, or sit this one out?
Every time I become a part of The Wave, I smile, because a mundane ball game becomes an occasion for celebration and frivolity and play. But mostly I smile because my body tells me, as I bolt from the seat, that I have assumed the posture of adoration. I reach my arms toward the One who loves me and has always loved me and will forever love me. And Christ, who was slain before the foundations of the world, is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and He delights in my worship and giggles as we become a part of The Wave, until one day, not many days from now, others will remember, and propel the past into the present and soon, the future.
What if remembering is the primary instrument the Lord uses to propel the past forward, enveloping us, and continuing to its ultimate destination…Him? What if remembering is a tidal wave, that begins as a ripple somewhere far out in the ocean of the past? Its energy surges forward; energizing the water in its wake and re-shaping it…bend it upward and forward. What if, through remembering, we actually pass that which we remember from ourselves to others, just as those in our past have done so for us?
Greg Evans,
M DIV, MA, NCC, LPC
Introduction
I felt in my heart I was to write a book, yet I resisted. Assuming I was to write the life story of a victim—anxiety filled me and I cowered from publishing the ugliness. Yet if sharing convinced someone…isolated…that they are not alone or to discourage the choices I foolishly made, then how could I not? The flip-side of this choice is that I be careful not to judge or hurt those I have long ago forgiven. That doesn’t mean I have forgotten circumstances, it means knowing all I have walked through has shaped who I am. Placing focus on those who were a catalyst in any abuse I sustained would not be uplifting. I don’t need to look back at those memories, but be encouraged by revisiting sweet aspects of His rescue, His provision, and His healing; those characteristics of our Father that shine through the darkness as the light of hope. Those incidents lived by us, surrounding us, and to purposely be remembered by us.
The title was chosen while reading Proverbs chapter 3. It excited me as I heard the Holy Spirit reveal it to me. What a clever, pretty covering for my words…words yet to be written. Joyful anticipation soon clouded with that same question, was it to be a tell-all biography?
Time elapsed and an unwritten book slipped in and out of memory. Possibly a decade passed when I found a suitcase of saved notes and many beginnings of the first page.
I wept bitterly at how much time had been lost. No… seriously…stop and think about it…I receive an assignment from our Creator and I forget to follow through? I wrapped myself in a cloak of self-loathing and condemnation. I’m experienced at dragging that outfit out of my spiritual closet. I begged His forgiveness…in sincere travail…I begged His forgiveness. As I did, I was reminded that nothing we do takes Him by surprise. Hmm…could running from the subject my book was to convey actually be about His timing? I needed confirmation. Was I still to write The Tablets of My Heart or learn that I had missed my chance?
Confirmation came a few days after my desperate prayer. A letter arrived informing me I was on a list of pastor’s wives to write one devotional a week; for one month. It was already scheduled. I hadn’t even been asked. Instead of a traditional devotional; I daringly pulled from the notes in that old suitcase. I prayed, cried, laughed, wrote and submitted one of my Tablets. I waited nervously for rejection, or maybe…acceptance?
I was stunned by the positive response and encouragement to write more Tablets.
Person after person, email after email, suggested I compile them in a book. Wow-okay Lord, I get it! (Note how easy it is to take man’s suggestions over God’s.)
With revelation of my book revitalized, I was delighted…then insecure, then overwhelmed…an emotional yoyo. This project resurfaced at a time that circumstances…heart-vested disappointments…had me fragilely worn. Joy became a visitor, no longer a live-in. The visits too seldom…too short and I couldn’t figure out why. Slowly moving my emotional baggage, without the desire or plan, my residence was now my second home, The Pit. I hadn’t visited there for a while. Since being in the ministry, I thought I had overcome the tendency to run there…hide there. Depression…a word overused…non-descript for a painful, complicated existence.
Because I was a pastor’s wife, I isolated myself so no one would know I wasn’t handling life as a good Christian should. I resented the just-get-over-it
advice, an attitude of those who misunderstand the sadness. Oh, I dressed for church; attended just what I was expected to, and wore an I’m fine
mask.
Ashamed of my lifeless residence and convinced I should talk to no one, my fight ebbed, and wearily I lay down spiritually…then physically. Tired of being tired, combat seemed futile. This pit had me constricted by rejection and I dug it degradingly deep taking solace in sleeping. I slept through the loss of my usual creative yearnings, and loss of a career that I dearly loved. Mind and soul needed all the thinking…thinking…thinking to settle; the dull senseless pain to stop. I was drawn to snuggle under my covers as if addicted. I found peace in the unconsciousness. Being an insomniac my whole life, I was amazed that I could sleep twenty hours out of twenty-four. At first, I justified that I deserved a sabbatical, but years of sleeping slowly slipped by. That’s right; I said years…three…could be five, six?
Simple tasks escaped completion-yet when I sat down to write or rewrite a Tablet, (deadlines in place by the devotional assignment) I entered a place where I was surrounded by life, warmth and excitement. For hours I was consumed with writing, studying, and loving my Lord. Rising and walking away from my desk, the joy slowly ebbed.
It’s inconceivable I sought solace in my second home.
I couldn’t escape the fear of inadequacy in compiling Tablets. I AGAIN lay my whining before Him? (I’m SO rescued that a fruit of the spirit, His Spirit, is patience. Even I cannot stand whiney people.) His show and tell
came as I was packing to move. I came across a batch of Tablets printed months before to send to a friend. These copies disappeared in a to-do stack. Sitting down to take a break, I glanced…then read through them. An hour and a half later I was bawling. Reading about His faithfulness in my life injected strength I desperately needed…a shining light of hope making me realize I wasn’t alone as depression suggests. He is with me. I whispered in revelation, "Lord, these are for me…me! I need to read these when I face problems…they remind me of how good you were-no-are to me! Considering that, I asked,
Father, did you have me write these for this purpose? Is Tablets really supposed to be published or are they for me to draw solace in remembering how profoundly good you are to me? People encouraged me to put them in a book…but they were probably just being nice. The bookstores are full of inspirational books so I don’t understand the purpose of this one? He responded with something that seemed random,
To remind them to remember."
To remind them to remember…remind who to remember what? Hit the refresh button, Anna. I’m sorry Lord…I’m not getting the connection. Could He have my book mixed up with another’s? I felt a pout coming on…Not funny, Anna, He’s God; He’s not capable of getting mixed up.
I rationalized I may be created in His image, but am very capable of getting mixed-up. Okay, if He said them
that’s encouraging…that’s more than one reader…that’s good. If you have been chosen to read this…because you are deeply loved…because He hears the cries of your heart for strength to stand…He is revealing the importance of reminding ourselves to remember…reminding ourselves to remember every detail of His love and faithfulness to us.
In delightful obedience to Him…Holy God, Savior, Deliverer, Healer, Teacher, Best Friend, my Beloved…I share with you The Tablets of My Heart…remembrances of rescue from the impossible; times He reached out to me when I stubbornly reasoned a failure like me had better not impose on God; and illustrations He used to teach me when my anxiety-ridden spiritual skull was too thick to grasp what I asked Him to help me understand.
He is amazing…I pray you will be blessed reading about His patience, His humor, the magnitude of His love, and the eternal commitment of His grace.