I Need A Spiritual Haircut!

What are you talking about? I'll bet that's exactly what you were thinking when you read the title of this post. Come on, admit it. You know you were. There, now doesn't it feel better to just tell the truth about these things? I'm serious about the title though - I am in need of a spiritual haircut.

Given that you are not mind readers, I'll explain what I mean by that statement. I'll preface my explanation with an anecdotal story, which I suppose is actually the explanation (confused yet?). Buckle up and hang in there, this will be a short trip.

I went to get my hair cut today. Prior to today's trip to the salon it had been 6 months or more since I'd visited. I was in extreme need of some hair therapy. I really thought someone was going to call the hair police at any moment. It was truly that bad!

Now, I seriously have no idea if a haircut has the effect on men that it does on women. For that matter, perhaps I am making rash generalizations about other women based on my own experience. All I know is that when I get a new "do" I feel like a new woman. It gives me a spring in my step and a whole new outlook on life. I actually feel like everything is going to come up roses. I may be indulging in a smidge of hyperbole, but the sentiment is sincere enough.

So, that brings us back to the spiritual haircut. I was sitting here reveling in the fact that I feel so much better after losing those 5 little inches of hair and wondering how much more it would affect me if I allowed God to do a little trimming on me. Uh, oh - I think I just saw some of you close your browsers at that last statement.

Often, we dread those seasons of pruning in our lives. It can be painful at times, but if we heed the words of Jesus in John 15:1-2, we will realize that the pruning and trimming is necessary for us to grow. Besides, you will notice that the scripture says that He only prunes those who are bearing fruit. So, if He's not pruning, you should be seriously concerned at this point.

The pruning process very much reminds me of going to the salon. There is much anticipation about what the end result will look like. You fear losing those locks in a horrible hair catastrophe. You know that it has to be done, you know that it will grow back, but you're still a little nervous. One point in this comparison doesn't hold up - we have nothing to fear when Papa starts trimming. He is gentle, and he cuts perfectly every time.

Now, I'm going to enjoy my new "do" and seek my Father for a while in hopes of a little sprucing up on the spiritual side of life. I love that I can rest in His arms and call Him Abba, Father, Papa. Don't you just love our God?

Blessings!

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Christmas Shopping Edition

OK, I usually don't write this type of blog post, but every once in a while I like to share a few things that have been passed along to me or I've stumbled across. I have been working on my Christmas shopping and have found and been told about some crazy good deals. I would like to share those with you!

First, this one has to be taken advantage of very quickly, but it is a super, fantastic deal. I'm not an Oprah watcher but a friend passed this info along to me. If you go to Oprah's web site and scroll down a little, you will see a link to Snapfish where you can get a free 8"x11" photo book from them. Here's the catch - the dispersal of coupons to Snapfish accounts ends on Friday, November 14, 2008 at 11:59 pm PST. That means, you have to go to the site, click the link and create or login to an existing Snapfish account prior to the cutoff time in order to have the coupon automatically added to your account. Then you have to redeem the coupon by Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 11:59 pm PST. That means you only have a few days to upload your photos and create your photo book. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that if you are signing up on Snapfish for the first time, you also get 20 free 4"x6" prints.Of course, you will have to pay for shipping/handling, but it's still an excellent deal.

OK, next, if you have a little girl and you are looking for the perfect bow to accent her holiday attire or any attire, you should check out Blooming Bows. I have been buying my daughter's hair bows there since she was an infant. They have excellent quality and are consistent in their products. In my experience, their bows are perfect every time! I have had occasions when I found something similar to what I was looking for (but not exact) on their site, and they were able to tailor it to my request. Best of all, they are less expensive than anyone else I've found (even local stores in my area). I cannot recommend them highly enough. They are terrific!! Right now, all of their holiday bows are 20% off - no coupon code required. I'm not sure how long the sale goes, but as of right now, it is valid. Another bonus is that if you have your order shipped via USPS, shipping is free.

Another of my favorite "go to's" for Christmas shopping is Christian Book Distributors. They have lots of great books at fantastic prices. Of course, they also have CDs, toys, DVDs, etc. Obviously, the majority of their stock consists of "Christian" products. Just thought I'd throw that in there in case you were hoping to find a great deal on the latest and greatest books on Buddhism or Kabbalah - you won't find them there. I found some wonderful books (for all ages), CDs and DVDs, which will make my family very happy come Christmas morning. All of the prices were less expensive than I could find anywhere else (even Amazon - although I am a huge fan of Amazon). I was even able to order a really great CD that would have cost me at least $12 or $15 (even at Walmart) for $4 on CBD. Anyway, they have lots of terrific products, they always sell at amazingly low prices, and the shipping costs are very reasonable.

OK, that is all I have to share for the moment. I hope you find one or two things that are helpful for your Christmas shopping. If you know of any fantastic deals, please share them in the comments section. I will be happy to incorporate them into another post if I receive enough of them!

Blessings!

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God Is Still On The Throne!

Am I bummed about the results of the election yesterday? You betcha! Am I sad that our country elected someone who supports the murder of our unborn children? No doubt about it! Am I crying in my coffee and chewing my fingernails to the quick over it this morning? Never!

You may say, "WHAT?" Am I not worried by what the Obama presidency will do to our country? To be frank with you, our country has been headed toward immorality long before Obama ever surfaced on the political landscape. There's no doubt that I am less than thrilled with the choice Americans made yesterday. However, that's the beauty of choice. Sometimes your guy loses.

Let me just say this though - God is still occupying His throne this morning. The election of Barack Obama to the presidency does not mean he ascended to the throne of God yesterday. God did not abdicate the throne of heaven so the media's darling, Obamessiah could set up his kingdom. He is merely a man, and our Father is infinitely more powerful than any man - even the President of the United States. I John 4:4 tells us, "for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

Besides, Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28 "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." It is now our job to continue to pray for our country and for its leaders whether they are the ones we chose or not.

God can and will still work through them. It may not be the way we envisioned things, but then, the Jews never pictured their king being slain upon a cross either. His ways are not our ways. Who are we to question our Father's authority and power in any situation?

My point is this, dear reader. You can rest assured that your heavenly Father still has you firmly in the palm of His mighty right hand regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. Each day His mercies are new. We may look at some situations and count them as impossible. However, Matthew 19:26 says, "But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

So, congratulations, President Obama, I may not have chosen you, but I pray you will utterly shock those of us who doubt you by being a tremendous leader. And, my disappointed friends, turn those frowns upside down because as long as we are children of God we live in a theocracy where Papa still occupies the throne!

Blessings!

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I Hear Those Sleigh Bells Jingling

Yes, I know that it's only October, but it's almost November. I'm just really getting into the Thanksgiving and Christmas spirit lately. I'm not sure what it is. . . Maybe it's the fact that we read about the birth of Christ during our family Bible time the other night. Maybe it's because I've been preparing for my daughter's 3rd birthday, which is just 5 days before Christmas. Maybe it's the amazing cooler weather that has kissed Southeast Texas the past couple of weeks. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our local Christian radio station sent out their Christmas music survey this week. Whatever it is, I'm loving it.

I love the fall. When our first hint of cooler weather visited a couple of weeks ago, I opened all the windows and let it course through the house. I walked around all day saying, "I love fall!!" I think my husband was ready to kill me by day's end.

There's something about being cuddled up under the covers at night with the cool air blowing through the window that just makes me happy. I wake up in anticipation of the day ready to grab a cup of hot tea, hot cocoa or coffee. We are not privy to the wonder of all the leaves changing colors like some areas of the country. Our fall is probably somewhat less spectacular than some experience. Nevertheless, I love it. Don't ask me to explain it to you. It's just the beginning of my favorite part of the year.

I suppose if I had to analyze it, I would say that during the fall I become infused with a sense of anticipation and expectation. It reminds me of a purer time of life when faith was less struggle and more natural. Surely you remember that too - when you were a child and no matter how much you knew that your parents probably couldn't afford whatever amazing thing you wanted, you still had this glimmer of hope that you would awake to something magnificent on Christmas morning.

This season reminds me that I have the privilege of experiencing that expectation every morning. I can awake to each new day in eager anticipation of what Papa will speak to me, show me, or gift to me. If I so choose, I can approach life with a sense of wonder and hope. The key being those four little words - If I So Choose.

I could be bogged down in the fact that we are on a waiting list with 700 other people to get an estimate on the repairs our house needs while I can hear the roofers down the street repairing our neighbors' homes. I could wallow in the state of our insurance settlement because our adjuster only allotted $1,500 to repair our roof, when it will probably cost closer to $7,000. Now we have to go to battle, which we cannot do until we get an estimate for the repairs. But, you know, it just isn't worth it to worry.

Don't get me wrong; I slip into that pool of despair occasionally. However, I try not to live there. If I did, I would drown in self-pity, self-loathing and general self-disgust.

Instead, I will enjoy the crisp fall day that reminds me so keenly that this is the time of year when I celebrate the birth that changed my life - the birth of my Savior. I rejoice in the promise of a brighter day. I revel in the joy of knowing that Papa cares for me, His daughter. His love is fiercer than my love for my own child, so I am safe and can rest soundly.

Paul exhorts the Philippians with these words in Philippians 4:4-7, and I echo them to myself and to you, my reader:

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Blessings!

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Going Backwards to Move Forward

I have to tell you that since our trip last week I've been doing a lot of pondering on what comes next for us. I've been asked that question a lot by our friends and family - What's next? It is a valid question, but when you don't have a clue as to the answer it can also be a painful one.

I've felt a bit like the tree in this picture - stripped bare. I do not mean that as a negative. Rather, it has caused me to stop and back up just a bit to take stock of things.

Sometimes in life, the only way to move forward is to go backwards first - a bit like a course correction. We had lunch with some good friends the other day, and they shared a similar experience of a time when they misheard God's voice. Their advice was to back up to the last time we were sure about where we were with God and go from there.

Knowing good counsel when we heard it, that is exactly what we have been doing. And you know, Papa has been speaking. It's funny. He's telling us the same thing He spoke to me when we were in Louisiana - live where I have placed you. That seems simple enough, but oftentimes, we are looking for the next thing. That's what we were doing. Our intentions were pure, but we still weren't walking where He placed us.

I certainly am not claiming to have all the answers for myself or anyone else at this point. I do know that we are doing our best to hear Him and follow His voice.

Something else that I realized is that there was no chastisement after all this. Oh, I chastised myself. I'm really good at that. But, my Father never spoke a harsh word to me. There has only been grace and love from Him. I suppose it goes to show how different my character is from His. Hopefully, I am growing closer with each victory and every misstep.

The key is perseverance, I suppose. What does Philippians 3:8-14 tell us? Paul says, and I echo his words:

⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - ¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death ¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

And so, like Paul, I will forget what lies behind because I could live in regret and wonder - pondering my mistakes. That would only serve to weaken my relationship with Papa. It would be as if I was saying that He is too small to take me from this place of disappointment and bring me back to a place of joy.

I refuse to concede! My Father's strength moves mountains, and He will uphold me by the strength of His right hand. I love 2 Corinthians 12:9 in the New King James Version. It says:

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

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