Tag Archives: coaching

September 18, 2023 · 3:56 pm

My Father’s Chair

Oddly, one of my favorite childhood memories is that my father’s reading chair. It was softly padded, unlike the hard wooden desk seats at school. And it was covered in a wonderfully warm brown textured woven fabric. It had a separate footrest with wheels so that it could roll easily across the old wooden floors. I remember a time when I was called into my father’s room so that he could review my most recent report card and my progress at school.

It felt like I was entering the inner sanctum of our home, a very special place. As I knocked softly, my father motioned with his hand for me to enter and then he gently pointed to the footstool at his side. I took my seat next to him. Nodding, he reached for my report card, glanced it over slowly, and then began our conversation.

Today, as a Christian life coach, I realize that this memory serves me well as I grow in my Christian walk. It gives me the ability to imagine that, as my heavenly Father, God wants to talk with me and invites me to sit with Him on His throne.

As I share this story with my clients, I realize that many Christians do not understand the purpose or the meaning of being invited into God’s throne room. Today, we are going to explore the Biblical understanding of God’s throne and throne room, and perhaps most importantly, I’ll share with you 5 ways that you can enter His throne room and draw closer to God.

Introduction

From the Old Testament Bible, the Hebrew word for throne means a seat of honor and dignity. It also represents one’s power and authority to rule a people and a kingdom. For example, King Solomon’s throne was, according to Hebrew tradition (www.chabad.org), located in the Lebanon Forest just outside the City of Jerusalem. It was made from ivory and overlaid with the precious gold metal. His throne is described in 1 Kings 10:18-20:

¹⁸Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the best gold.

¹⁹The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.

²⁰And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

Here in the throne room, King Solomon met with his counselors, maintained the peace of his kingdom, administered matters of law and justice, and saw visiting ambassadors and dignitaries. Solomon’s throne reflected his position, power, and authority.

Purpose and Meaning

But what about God and His throne room? The Bible tells us that the throne room is where God dwells and reigns as King over all creation. It is a place of great power and majesty, where God’s glory is revealed. And, although, the Bible does not give us a specific physical location for the throne room of God, it does describe it as being in the third heaven, above the earth in the City of God.

The Bible gives us important glimpses into the throne room of God (e.g. Psalm 104:1-4 & Psalm 99:1-9). Notably, in the book of Revelation, the apostle John sees a vision in which God is seated on a throne of jasper and surrounded by twenty-four elders, four living creatures, and seven lamps of fire burning (Revelation 4:2-11). the throne room is sometimes described as being a place of great light and glory, and other times as being a place of great mystery and wonder.

The book of Isaiah adds to our understanding. The prophet Isaiah sees a vision in which God is seated on a high and lofty throne, surrounded by seraphim. filled with smoke, and seraphim crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! (Isaiah 6:1-5).”

Although there are many more bible passages about God’s throne, these descriptions suggest that the throne room of God is a place of great beauty and splendor. And we learn a lot from these descriptions, especially about God’s very nature. For example, we find that:

God is holy and majestic. We should approach him with reverence and awe.
God is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is in control of everything that happens in the world.
God is loving and merciful. He wants to have a relationship with us.
God is just and righteous. He will judge all people according to their deeds.
God is a God of grace and forgiveness. He is willing to forgive us if we repent of our sins.

Suggestions & Summary

Without a doubt, the throne room of God is a place of great mystery and wonder. Perhaps, most importantly, because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on Calvary’s cross (Hebrews 4:16), it is the place where we can bring our prayers and requests to God and know that He hears us and will answer us.

There are many ways to draw closer to God’s throne. Here are a few suggestions:

Pray. Prayer is the most direct way to communicate with God. When we pray, we are inviting God into our lives and asking for His help and guidance.
Read the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us. When we read the Bible, we are learning about God and His character.
Attend church. Church is a place where we can worship God and connect with other believers. It is also a place where we can learn more about God and His Word.
Serve others. When we serve others, we are imitating God’s love and compassion. This is a powerful way to draw closer to Him.
Spend time in silence and reflection. This can be a time to listen to God’s voice and to be still in His Presence.

As I sit and think about the days passed, the memory of my earthly father sitting in his reading chair reminds me not only of his counsel to succeed and the commitment involved but it reminds me of his love for me; a time of closeness and understanding. Importantly, the memory also extends itself into my spiritual walk and encourages me at the age of 73, that, because of Jesus, our Heavenly Father invites us to enter and sit with Him in His throne room to talk about our concerns, share with us His direction, His love, and His wisdom.

Stronger than Lions

With this post, I am extending an exclusive invitation to Christian women to come with me on a 12-week digital journey. The destination? A place where journaling, visual communication, and your inner artistic spirit intersect. If you are a younger woman just starting out on your life’s journey and seeking a deeper relationship with Christ, this place is created with you in mind.

Starting Tuesday, September 29, 2020, my Facebook page will open as a meeting place. This is a place where we can gather for the purpose of art journaling, for sharing creative thoughts, and expressing God’s goodness through the works of our hands.

The goal of the workshop is singular: to challenge you with a journaling prompt based on a Bible verse. It provides a time to reflect, rethink, build, and strengthen the gifts, skills, and abilities God has given you. It offers a place to receive encouragement, to look beyond the visible in practical tangible ways, to become stronger than lions in your Christian walk. Perhaps, more importantly, it can be the place where your life’s calling and purpose comes into sharpened focus.

It all begins with a weekly Bible verse prompt. During the 12 weeks you will be able to share your thoughts in the comments area. I find that just the simple act of sharing with others oftentimes breaks the chains of anxiety and worry that hold back creative work. And, I make it fun and easy by focusing in on just 3 areas of interest: people, places, and pets.

In addition to the workshop’s prompts and comments, every week through December I will illustrate, explain, design and create using techniques from the field of visual communication arts. These techniques are great no matter your level of experience. The techniques are also great for working through any creative mental blocks and keeping the artistic flow moving.

At the beginning of each week, I will use this blog (Living Life’s Way) to share my thoughts and provide a starting point for our discussions and creative work. As time allows, I will also include a link to a YouTube demonstrating a mixed media technique that you can try out for yourself. Of course, as the Spirit leads, we can always Zoom and meet !

This 12-week workshop is based on my training in communication arts, education, life experiences and ministry calling. My undergraduate work was in television and radio broadcasting which along with my advanced degrees shape the work that I do today as a 180 advisor or consultant. (You can read about the latest ministry development in my previous post: Knocking on Heaven’s Door). Teaching is my life’s calling and ministry gift. It does have a touch of serendipity, so I enjoy it greatly and am very thankful that God has allowed this open door as part of my Christian life coaching ministry.

Over the last forty years, God has refined my purpose and calling. He used the many art awards my work received to draw my attention, to lead, and guide me through my life’s journey. My work has been displayed, published, purchased, printed, and copied. I still have my first piece using 2 pieces of construction paper, scissors, and glue. It is an amazingly simple piece and I keep it to remind me that most times simpler is better.

I hope you give this 12-week workshop much thought and accept the challenge as a young woman in Christ toward developing a deeper richer Christian life using art journaling. I pray that the work of your hands be blessed and increase. And may God use this workshop and our time together to reveal, to establish, and bring to focus His purpose and calling in your life.

Put the date on your calendar now–9/29/20! And, share this invitation with your best girlfriends. All are welcome. And remember: As God gets bigger in our life, we get stronger!

Dr. Buck / Christian Life Coach / 180 Advisors

Please note that no previous art or writing experience is required to join this workshop. To get started, all you need is a computer and access to the Internet. A cell phone camera will come in handy to record and upload your work to Facebook.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

A few months ago, our Pastor encouraged us to think about ways of how the stay-at-home COVID-19 mandate could be a blessing. He suggested that God could and would open a door of opportunity for anyone that asked.

As I sat before my laptop screen listening to his message, I felt a nudge inside of me. I wondered if it were possible or even appropriate for a 70-year-old retired professor of communication arts to even consider such a challenge.

The thoughts came: What would a door of opportunity look like? What would it sound like? Who and what would be on the other side of that door? Oddly, the thoughts made me nervous and yet excited. With raised eyebrows, I questioned: Was this challenge really meant for me?

Six months later, I am now a 180 Advisor and Virtual Learning Coach. I am glad that I accepted our Pastor’s challenge. The challenge, however, was not without an inner fight and resulted in many a long nights, bleary eyes, and weary bones.

Perhaps, it’s best to start with telling you what a 180 Advisor is and what it is not. A 180 Advisor is not a pyramid scheme, a swindler’s dream or confidence game. Rather, I find it to be an activity involving both extreme mental and physical efforts. It can draw both the best and worst out of me, so, keeping my eyes open and catching myself from the temptation of bulldozing others out of my way remains high on my must-remember-to-do list.

The name 180 Advisor came from John, my daughter’s beau. John’s work involves helping businesses through financial crisis. He told me that there exists a huge difference between a 360 degree and a 180-degree turn. One leaves you going in the same dizzy direction headed toward crisis whereas the other, 180, means a turnabout, a shift, a complete change in the direction and thought in which one is engaged. I adopted the name immediately and asked his permission to become one of his 180 agents. John agreed.

This excitement helped to balance the anxiety that had recently crept in as the stay-at-home COVID-19 mandate had closed all my avenues of social interaction. Our library volunteer manager wrote an exceptionally long and sad goodbye as the City closed our library’s doors. My Homeowners Owners Association banned all public meetings. The distance to my family and neighbors’ homes grew longer with the passing of each day. And, although, the broadcasted public announcements continually reassured me that I was not alone and that separation did not mean isolation, I could not help feeling I was on my own.

It was in this gradually growing state of mindfulness that I answered my cell phone on that early April morning. The person on the other side of the phone greeted me with her familiar term of endearment “My sister,” and went on to ask: “how are you? I was wondering if you had time to talk.” And talk we did. And I’m glad we did. I still have the notes I took during our conversation about teaching and teachers and developing online training because of COVID-19 and the need to shift from classroom instruction to online using computers and the Internet. The pivot was shaking the field education like a 6.0 earthquake.

A few weeks ago, I gave my first online Zoom presentation to a university in Florida. It went very well. I felt like a 180 Advisor—that I am making a difference. And, best of all, I have been invited back next month to provide additional faculty training in online pedagogical practices for educators. This was not an opportunity that I could have foreseen. It is, however, a personal turnaround for which I am grateful and thank God for opening this door of engagement. I had forgotten most of my training in education and so it forced me to reconnect to theory and to practice and, most importantly, people.

In addition to my consulting work, I am also opening a new series of art on my Art Journaling Facebook page connected to my blog here at Living Life’s Way. Over the last seventy years, I’ve learned a lot about life and the 3P’s—people, places, and pets. And, apparently, a need exists for older Christian women sharing life experiences with younger women in those areas! — (we’ll talk more about that later).

The opening verse is taken from Philippians 1:11 (TLB). “May you always be doing those good, kind things that show you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord.”

My hope is that younger women everywhere can learn from both my successes as a new creature in Christ as well as the hard-earned lessons from my missteps as God’s new creation.

God’s blessings and peace!

Dr. Buck / 180 Advisor / Virtual Learning Coach

Tag Archives: coaching

My Father’s Chair

Stronger than Lions

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

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