Count Your Blessings . . . Even If You Didn't Choose Them

I am sitting at my computer right now - thankful for the air conditioning that is cooling this room. You see, yesterday it quit working, and we were left in the smoldering heat of the Southeast Texas summer, complete with humidity and not a fan in sight.

If I had been God yesterday, I would have waved my finger at that A/C unit and utilized my omniscient and omnipotent powers to correct whatever went wrong. Unfortunately, my godlike abilities extend no farther than cleaning a mean bathroom and making some fairly amazing pies. Instead of my problem being solved immediately, I had to call in reinforcements - namely, my dad.

As usual, he dropped what he was doing and rushed over to rescue his daughter and son-in-law who have about as much knowledge in the field of air conditioning as they do about neuroscience, which is to say, absolutely none! Dad proceeded to check things out and pronounce our A/C sick. We had to call in the professionals. Meanwhile, we spent the night with my mom and dad. Yes, they took us all in - my daughter, my husband, myself, and even our dog, Sarah.

Needless to say, our favorite Heating & A/C guy, Tommy Barfield with Precision Air, rushed to our rescue this morning and fixed the problem for a more than fair price. Really, I have to say that Mr. Barfield is amazing, so if you live in Baytown and have A/C problems, he's your man! No, I'm not getting endorsement deals from him, but I think it is only fitting that someone who performs a service well and for a reasonable price deserves to have his name mentioned. And thanks to him we are now sitting in a wonderfully, comfortably cool house.

I said all of that to say that had it been up to me (you know, if I were God), I would have skipped over the middle man and fixed the problem myself. He could have done that, you know. He could have just "healed" our A/C, but that is not how He chose to do it. However, through this inconvenience we were reminded of some of our other blessings.

First, I have amazing parents who did not voice one complaint as we practically moved in to their house yesterday. If you have a kid, you know what I am talking about. We had to be sure we had everything down to extra sheets in case she had an accident and her bath toys because Avari has never bathed anywhere but our house. We tramped in and took over the place for 24 hours with no prior notice. Talk about loving, understanding parents.

Second, we found out that Avari did not have as much of a problem staying away from home as we had expected. Granted, her MiMi and Pop have a room all set up for her complete with a bed almost exactly like hers at home. Nevertheless, the first night away from home can be challenging, especially if you have one like mine who is a stickler for routine and familiarity.

Third, we were reminded that there are still honest, courteous people out there in the world. Sometimes I wonder, because when we are at their mercy, it is easy for them to take advantage of us since we haven't got a clue whether they are being truthful and forthright.

Last, but not least, I was reminded that Papa always knows best how to handle these things. I would have saved some money doing it my way, but I would have lost a lot of perspective. In the end, the lesson is worth the cost, especially since Papa owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And ultimately, He's going to take care of the bill anyway.

Next time you find yourself in less than desirable circumstances, remember that there just may be a lesson to be learned there, and count your blessings even if they are not the ones you would have chosen for yourself!

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Prepare To Be Assimilated

First of all, allow me to mention that my husband has exposed me to inordinately large quantities of Star Trek of late. Thus, the title of this post. However, I am not talking about the Borg, here. I do want to broach the subject of being assimilated into religious Christianity. What does that mean? Well, let's explore it together.

Imagine with me, if you will, that you are a newly born Jesus-lover. You are full of vim and vinegar, ready to take on the world. You are eager to share your new faith with everyone you know. You express your excitement to a fellow believer who has been on this journey quite some time. He smiles knowingly, pats you on the back and thinks to himself, "He'll simmer down a little before long."

You start attending weekly meetings with the local congregation. You express a desire to "witness" to friends but are told that you really need to be "taught" the correct way to go about sharing your faith. So, you join a "new converts" class and the assimilation begins. Your joy is effervescent but seemingly lost on the more experienced believers. Bit by bit you begin to take on their views and are taught the "rules" of being a Jesus-lover. Before long, you look back at the joyful new believer you once were and wonder where all that excitement went. Instead of recapturing it, you succumb to the assimilation and are convinced that "Resistance is Futile."

OK, maybe that sounds a little harsh or extreme. Perhaps your experience was not quite so earth-shattering. And, I know, enough with the Star Trek vernacular. However, I imagine that some part of my little scenario rings true to you. It does to me.

Let me begin my story by saying that I became a Jesus-lover at a very young age. At the age of 5 I began to take seriously my responsibility in the Great Commission. So, I began telling my friends about Jesus. In fact, the first soul I led to the Lord was in the back of a van on the way to a birthday party. I was so excited that I quickly told one of the adults, "I got [so-and-so] saved." Now, I in no way thought I was responsible for the salvation that took place; however, my inability to express the event in the correct terminology was quickly pointed out to me. As a result, my fervor was quashed. It took me a long time to recover from that.

My point is this, whether you are the experienced saint or the newly won sinner, don't lose your passion for Father. I believe in constructive instruction for new believers, but I also know that Papa takes care of the remodeling once the house is sold, if you catch my meaning. Our job is to build relationship with others and try to assist in bringing both parties to the table, but the contract is between God and His child. Too often, those of us who have been assimilated into the religious vein of Christianity lose sight of the wide-eyed innocence of faith in our Father.

Matthew 18:1-4 explains it thus:

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

That pretty much says it right there. We need to be humble - not puffed up with pride at our theological knowledge or our expansive understanding of doctrine, which if I might point out, we probably have much less wisdom than we like to think. If we are humble as children, Papa will do as He did for David and "restore to [us] the joy of [His] salvation" (Psalm 51:12). What a relief! We can be joyful again, whew!

It all boils down to this: Do not, under any circumstance, allow a seasoned saint or anyone else to rob you of the joy of His salvation. To go back to my original analogy - you can now disconnect yourself from the collective mentality and begin exploring this tremendous Father-centered relationship with the freedom and wonder of a child. Have I mentioned the copious amounts of Star Trek?

Live long and prosper - and be prepared to beam up!

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The Pain Around Us

A couple of weeks ago we received the best news possible. We were told that there was going to be a new addition to our family - we were going to be an aunt and uncle again. I was so excited for my brother and sister-in-law. You see, they suffered an unimaginable loss when their first son was born prematurely and passed away. That has been nearly two years ago, and our family has been buzzing with these joyous tidings of a new life for the last two weeks.

Yesterday we received a call that my sister-in-law had a miscarriage. Now, I cannot claim to know what a miscarriage is like because I have never had to walk through the pain of that. I do know, however, what it is like to experience extreme disappointment when you are trying to have a child. Aside from the obvious torture of dealing with the feelings of hopelessness and loss, the worst part is dealing with well-meaning people.

Christians in particular seem to be horrible at handling these types of situations. Unfortunately, they tend to always have their handy go-to scripture ready like: "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). It is a wonderful scripture to be sure, and it is revelatory when Father drops it into your heart. However, pithy statements and trite scriptural references are not the answer when you see someone in pain.

"What, are you saying I shouldn't share scripture with a hurting friend?" That is not at all what I am saying. My point is that you should stop and pray about sharing that scripture. Is it something Papa is directing you to share, or is it the first scripture you could latch onto that sounds applicable to the situation? If it is something Father is leading you to share, the best way to do it may be to write a note in a card and hand it to your friend letting them know that you felt led to give this word of encouragement. Give them a chance to read it on their terms. That way, they do not feel as if you are expecting them to suddenly feel alright about whatever has happened.

You see, when we offer trite words of encouragement, they sound hollow and empty. When you are on the receiving end, you realize that the intentions are well-meaning. However, most of the time you just smile and nod to appease the sharer. The sentiments, instead of being healing, are often salt in an open wound. That is especially true when they are offered by someone who has no clue what you are going through.

So, what are you supposed to do? Well, the first advice I can offer is that actions speak louder than words. I've always found that when words won't suffice, a hug will work wonders. Not one of those cheap "pat on the back" kind, but the real, wrap your arms around a person and share-the-love variety. If you are not a hugger or do not know the person well enough, a double-handed handshake works well too. You know, the kind where each of your hands enfolds the other person's. It's like a hug for your hand. Oh, and eye contact, please look them in the eye. Avoiding your friend's gaze just communicates the desire to flee as quickly as possible. It does not speak to a desire to comfort and console.

I guess what I mean to say is that the person you are trying to encourage does not expect you to have some answer to their pain. What they need is love, a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. It is more important that you just "be there" than that you have 3 scriptures and a devotional ready to greet them. We, as believers, need to realize that it is not our job to fix the hurt or heal the pain. Papa can use us as a conduit to effect some of that, but ultimately, He is the one who wraps us in His arms and makes us whole again.

Next time you are confronted with "the pain around us," allow yourself to be guided by the Holy Spirit. After all, that is what He is best at. He is the Comforter, after all. Don't put pressure on yourself to have the "perfect" thing to say, and don't pressure the hurting person to be "fixed" or feel better immediately. Validate their pain, join in their struggle. The Bible gives us this advice in Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." I know that most of us find the rejoicing part easier to handle, but the weeping part is equally, if not more important.

So, even if it is not in the presence of the individual, shed a tear for their loss or pain. Do not be afraid to feel the very heartbeat of Father for that person. Then you won't have to worry about what to say because your heart will be full of love and compassion which need no words.

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Morally Bankrupt

When I began writing this blog, I had no intention of commenting on news stories. There are enough other sites out there that take care of that and are infinitely more adept at it than I could pretend to be. However, there are times when a story just hits too close to home to ignore. This is just such a story for me.

Those of you who live in the Houston area are no doubt already aware of the tragic circumstances that took place on April 2nd here in Baytown. For the rest of you I will summarize the situation. A 14 year-old junior high student at Cedar Bayou Junior School gave birth to a full-term baby boy in the school restroom where emergency medical personnel, upon arrival, found him dead. Initially, the mother claimed that she had no idea she was pregnant and was simply going to the bathroom when the baby was born. When I originally heard the story, I believe the claim was made that the infant was stillborn or at least never cried. Suffice it to say that the autopsy report showed bruising to the head and neck, which were the result of blunt force trauma. Even if this evidence could be explained away, they also found toilet paper blocking the baby's airway.

The girl's defense team would like us to sympathize with her saying that she was too young to realize the implications of what was happening to her. In a written statement, her attorney said, "Please remember that this is a 14-year-old child who has experienced a tragic event." My question is this: what about the newborn child who experienced a tragic event - his death? He was robbed by his mother of the opportunity to live!

Based on their statements thus far, the defense team is arguing ignorance - ignorance of the pregnancy and ignorance that she had given birth. The claim was that the teen had sex one time and did not know about the pregnancy. However, another comment by the young mother's attorney indicates that the 14 year-old "thought she was having a miscarriage" and didn't want her parents to know. Now, if you think about the logic of these statements, you will find that there is none. It does not take a genius or even a high school graduate to figure out that if you had intercourse once, 9 months ago, it is not possible to have a "miscarriage" now - especially if you did not even think you were pregnant in the first place!!

Now, why am I bringing up such a grisly occurrence here? Because I want us to stop and think about what kind of children we are raising. Forget just for a moment that this girl was 13 or 14 years old when she conceived, and who knows how old she was when she became sexually active. That is bad enough in and of itself. However, when confronted with facing responsibility for her actions and the resulting consequences (i.e. a baby), she chose to terminate the life of another human being rather than face the music.

I have to rant a little about this. I mean, come on, we have "safe havens" set up just for these types of situations. All she would have had to do is go to the nearest hospital or fire station and hand the baby over to an adult. I live here - I know there is a hospital just down the street from the school. She did not have to raise the baby, but she could have given someone else the opportunity to do so. As someone who longed for a child for years before having one and spent thousands of dollars and many tears prior to her arrival, this type of behavior is particularly incendiary to me.

I understand that we all make mistakes. I realize that not everyone is blessed with loving, nurturing, supportive parents. But you cannot convince me and I will not concede the point that no matter how morally depraved her life may have been up to this point that she did not know that it is wrong to take the life of another person. Her age did not preclude her from that knowledge.

How are we raising children who take guns to school to shoot their classmates and drown their newborns in school restrooms? If this does not prove the importance of parenting, I don't know what will. Being a parent is without a doubt the most important responsibility you will ever undertake. If you are paying attention, you realize that the first time you hold that new little life in your hands. Our job does not end when our children are potty-trained, can dress themselves and make their own beds. We need to stop allowing society through television, movies, music and video games to raise our children. As parents, let's take ownership of our responsibility so our children will know what that looks like. Then, when they are faced with difficult circumstances, they will have the ability and desire to make good choices and not only good choices, but the right choices.

Now, I intend to pray for this young mother because regardless of what justice is meted out to her by the court, she will be forced to live with the knowledge that she took her son's life. I encourage you to pray too - pray for your children, pray for the children of your friends and family and pray for the children who, like this girl, are lost in a world of hurt that only Papa can heal!

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The Honeymoon From . . . Well, You Know

I promised in my last post to tell you about our horrible honeymoon. It wasn't anyone's fault, really. My husband had planned a beautiful week in the mountains of Arkansas. We had a cabin with an amazing view of the mountainous vistas, but things went wrong from the very start.

It all began on our wedding night. Since we were married at 5 pm and the drive to our honeymoon cabin was a good 12-13 hour trip from Baytown, we decided to spend our first night as a married couple in our "new" apartment in Grand Prairie (near Dallas/Fort Worth). We drove the 4 hours from Baytown, TX to Grand Prairie. As we pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, the radiator in my husband's car exploded. And that was just the beginning.

As we rose the next morning (when we were supposed to leave on our drive to the mountains), I had the auspicious task of calling my father to ask if we could use his van, which I had been driving temporarily, to make the trip to Arkansas. First, let me just say that your dad is not really the first phone call you want to make after your wedding night - nuff said. Dad readily agreed to let us drive his 1984 Chevy van into the mountains of Arkansas, so off we went.

We had a mostly uneventful drive up the narrow, winding roads to our mountain getaway. Things seemed to be looking up for us. Unfortunately, it had been raining for several days prior to our arrival. We pulled into the "driveway" of the cabin (if you call muddy, rutted dirt a driveway) and began unpacking our things. It had been a long, tiring trip, so as soon as we changed, we went out to find something to eat. Well, let me rephrase, we tried to go somewhere for dinner.

Unfortunately, vans like the one we were in are not designed for muddy mountains. As soon as we started to back up, we promptly became mired in the muck. My husband found someone to help pull us out, and we proceeded to the restaurant.

The next morning we decided to test fate again and travel to a nearby park and go hiking. We managed to traverse the driveway with no problem and arrived safely at the park. We hiked along the trails for a while, finally arriving at a cave where you could jump several small crevices (about 5-6 feet deep), crawl through a low portion of tunnel and arrive at a cavern where a waterfall tumbled down from the cave's ceiling. Now, I am just over 5 ft tall, but with my husband's help I managed the jumps (this white girl cannot jump - at least not very well). We crawled through the tunnel and took some nice photos of the waterfall. As we left the "waterfall cave," my husband went first taking our lone flashlight with him. I turned to follow but since the light had vanished with my husband, I was left in the dark. I thought I had knelt low enough to allow plenty of headroom to begin crawling back through the tunnel - something you would not consider difficult for someone like myself who is horizontally challenged. I managed to whack my head directly into the wall where the exit was located nearly knocking myself unconscious. Fortunately, we made it back to our car - with a lovely knot on my forehead but with no further incident.

We decided to play it safe that evening and warm up a can of soup and make sandwiches for dinner. We even lit a fire in the fireplace and managed not to burn down the cabin in the process.

After a successful evening with no further unwanted adventures, we decided the next morning to take a drive up to Eureka Springs because we had heard about the Passion Play there. We drove to Eureka and found that, alas, the Passion play did not start for 2 weeks. No problem, we continued our drive to Branson, Missouri. We drove around for a while, walked through a few shops (full of things we could not really even afford to walk near, much less purchase). We ate dinner and headed back to the cabin.

If you think things have sounded less than ideal up to this point, you are in for a treat on the second half of this journey of ours. Hang onto your hats, the ride is about to take a turn for the worse.

The following morning we prepared to go whitewater rafting. This was one of the things we had looked forward to most about this trip. We both love the water and had thoroughly enjoyed our previous whitewater experience. Off we went, or so we thought. About 30 seconds in the car, and we were stuck fast in Arkansas mud, again. After the friendly neighbor pulled us out for the second time (bending the bumper and probably laughing uncontrollably at us to boot), we took off on our next adventure. Too bad the adventure ended with being towed out of the muck. We drove for hours trying to find one of the rafting establishments. When we finally stumbled upon one, they had closed 20 minutes earlier. Back we went to the cabin - this was getting old.

We had so far managed to do nothing we had intended to do while in the mountains with the exception of my near-concussion at the waterfall. The next day I was determined to go horseback riding - real horseback riding - not trail riding with my horse's nose in another horse's derriere. It had been raining again, so we made a quick stop at Wal-mart to purchase a poncho because I was going to go horseback riding, rain or no rain. We followed the directions to the ranch. When we were a mere mile from the location, we came to a fork in the road. The signage was at the apex of the split in the road, so it was difficult to tell which direction was the correct one. Since there was a veritable river cascading over one branch of the road, we opted for the other direction - bad move, very bad move.

Let me preface the next portion of the tale with a little back story. I spent a pretty penny having my nails done for my wedding a few days earlier. I am not a "froo froo" girl, so having nails was a change for me and up to this point I had managed to keep them intact and looking fairly good. Now, the saga continues . . .

As we made our way cautiously down a fairly desolate stretch of road, we realized our error in judgment. We attempted to turn around and head back the other direction, but have I mentioned the sticky, nasty, vicious Arkansas mud? You guessed it, we were stuck, for the third time in four days. There was one catch - in trying to turn around on a very narrow piece of muddy road in a very large van, I had pulled further to the side as I edged forward. When we became stuck, I was inches from pulling over the edge of a precipice, which dropped into the aforementioned rush of water we had earlier avoided. Oh, and the last detail that is important to mention is that our emergency brake was not operational at the time.

All of that being said, my husband donned the poncho purchased earlier in the morning, walked about a mile back to civilization (if you can call two trailers and a couple of Dooleys civilization) and begged for help. Meanwhile, back at the van I kept my foot on the brake, prayed like I had never prayed before and proceeded to chew off every fake fingernail that had been so painstakingly applied. Needless to say, we survived the experience. We never did get to the ranch to go horseback riding though.

We hightailed it back to the cabin. Pulled out a map and plotted a course to a new destination. We packed up our stuff and took off driving to Bossier City, LA. After hours in the car, we had just pulled across the Louisiana state line when a well-meaning police officer pulled us over to inquire whether we had been drinking. I'm still not sure why - we had turned around and used the shoulder probably a little more than we should have, but have you ever seen the turning radius of those vans? Anyway, I was crying at this point. In fact, I think I scared him a little. He let us go when he realized we were not the drunks he originally thought us to be.

We pulled into Bossier City, found the most expensive hotel room we could rent on such short notice (we had plenty of funds since we never actually did anything costing money - other than sleep and eat), and collapsed. The next day we ate a really nice dinner at Ralph and Kackoo's and headed back home.

Fortunately, we had no further misadventures. We did decide after commiserating about it for a while that if we managed to make it through our honeymoon, this marriage thing should be a snap! Oh, and we haven't managed to take a vacation together since - all trips have been missions or youth-related in the last 10 years.

So, next time you think you are having a bad vacation, just remember our little tale of woe. And if you have a story worse than this one, I'd love to hear it!

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Old Married Couple?

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were sitting in the sanctuary following band practice on Sunday morning. He had his arm around my shoulder, per usual. We were talking and picking on one another - you know, status quo. About that time, a member of the congregation, somewhat more experienced in life than we (read: older) came up to us and said, "It's good to see an old married couple still in love."

I have to say that I was a little taken aback by her comment. I never really thought of us as an old, married couple. We've been married 10 years, but I think we need at least 20 or 30 more years under our belts before we qualify for that title. Of course, when I consider how many marriages today terminate in divorce within a few years, more than a few even fail within the first year, I suppose maybe we are an old, married couple. And, I suppose if we look at celebrities as any indication, we are lucky we make it past the first week of wedded bliss (*cough Britney Spears *cough). So after a little more thought I decided that her comment was definitely a compliment.

My husband and I have always been a little unusual. We have known each other since we were 13 years old. We dated from the time we were juniors in high school until we graduated college; then we got married. He is my very best friend, and I share everything with him. Most women run straight to their best girlfriend to share the latest news in their lives. Not me, my husband is it for me.

Don't misunderstand, we have our moments. He was being a complete grouch the other day, and I told him about it. Of course, I have more than my share of grumpy days too. Like all couples, there are days when our house isn't big enough for the both of us, but somehow before we go to sleep at night, we manage to work it out.

So, what makes the difference in a marriage that works and one that doesn't? It all comes down to one little word - commitment. Right after we got married, I looked at my husband, and with all the love in my heart said, "Well, I guess you're stuck with me now." He replied, "Yep, and you're stuck with me too." And that is how we look at our marriage to this day. We are stuck with each other, in the very best way! There are no contingency plans. We have no backup parachute should this one fail. We succeed together and fail together. We are 100% committed to each other and this beautiful adventure of ours. If we weren't, we'd have quit before the honeymoon was over - no seriously, our honeymoon was horrible. I'll spend some time telling you about it in the near future.

So, for those of you who have "fallen out of love" with your spouses, my advice is to fall back in again. Give of yourself to your spouse - fix him his favorite dinner, rub her feet, give each other a sincere compliment and most importantly, pray for one another. You may be surprised at how much of a difference it will make.

And next time someone calls you an old, married couple say, "Thank you!"

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Who's Your Daddy?

I spent some time with a friend recently and while we were talking she told me that she has been checking my blog occasionally. Of course, that made me extremely happy because if you're a writer, you want to feel like what you are writing means something to someone out there. It's a horrible thought to imagine you are spending valuable time writing and there might just be no one who cares!

And of course, you can track statistics all day long and really never know whether you're making a difference or not. I mean, someone found my site the other day when they Googled the phrase: "ways to know your lover has lost interest in you." People, there were sites listed on the Google page that I never thought I would see near my innocent, little blog. Let me just say, "I like to got an education!" And that was just looking at the search results. That is why it is so nice to get feedback (be it through comments left on the site or personal comments).

Something else my friend said stuck with me. She said, "I read what you wrote in your blog, and I was like, now I know why we're friends." As the conversation progressed, she told me that she liked that I referred to Father as Papa. Of course, I gave credit where credit was due and told her that I started using that particular nomer after reading The Shack. She told me that since she had never really had a father, that is how she views God - as her Father.

You know, I really think that made Papa's day - hearing one of His children acknowledge who He is in her life. I believe that so often we keep God at a distance because it is easier for us that way. If we really get close enough to feel that He is our Papa, then the religious lines start to get fuzzy for us.

I'll let you in on another secret from my life - I can relate to what she was saying. Now, I have a wonderful dad, and I love him very much, but Papa took the place of my mother. You see, I was only 10 years old when I lost my mom. It's never easy to lose a parent at that young age. From my perspective (which is the only one I have to draw on), it was particularly difficult to have my mom go on a weekend trip and never come home. It was confusing as a child to wake up every morning hoping that this would be the day she would come home and night after night go to sleep disappointed that she had not returned. I prayed that God would bring her home to me. In my childish mind I reached out for any shred of hope, so I would wish on a star every night too, just in case.

I can tell you that through most of the major experiences of my life up until I was 20 years old, I missed my mother. I would rail against God asking why He had allowed her to be taken from me. I questioned how a loving God could permit such heinousness in this world, especially when He said that we could ask Him for anything in faith and it would be done. Then, on the same night He had me forgive the man who took my mother's life, He confronted me with this question: What do you miss about your mother?

How do you answer a question like that? There's only one way to answer it - honestly. I told Papa that I missed her love. I went on to list all of the good qualities that I could remember about her. When I had exhausted every trait, He said, "That was me." Yeah, my jaw dropped to the floor too. Basically, Papa went on to explain that every single, solitary positive thing on my list of "I miss my mom because . . ." was attributable to His work in her. He also told me that He would fill that void left in my life, if I would allow Him to do it.

Funny thing, I opened up to Him, and He really did take away the pain, and on the day I got married I didn't miss my mom because I knew that Papa was with me. The day my daughter was born (my fondest dream come true), Papa was there then too. I have the assurance Papa adopted me into His wonderful family.

Galatians 4:4-7 tells us this:

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Now, I know that a lot of people would say that we were never under the law to which Paul was referring. We received salvation through faith in Christ. That is true; however, many of those who are saved place themselves under "law" rather than exploring the fatherhood of God. He is our Daddy God. He is our Papa. By whatever name you choose to refer to Him, He is so much more than a grandfatherly figure sitting on a cloud making arbitrary decisions about people's lives.

If you have not arrived at the place where you can see Him in that light, I would encourage you to take that next big step in your walk with Father. He will be your Daddy too!

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Pink Princess Medicine

No, I'm not blogging about some new fringe drug making its debut on our streets. As you may recall, a few weeks ago Avari had strep throat. Her doctor, who is just wonderful in my book, prescribed an antibiotic for her to take. She told Avari that she was giving her "Pink Princess Medicine." Now, the medicine has been gone for over a week, but Avari still asks occasionally about "Pink Princess Medicine." You're wondering, so, what does that have to do with me?

Well, let me answer your question with a question. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some sort of medicine we could take that tasted good going down and worked with no side effects whatsoever - a cure-all, if you will? I know I sound like one of those side-show people in the old westerns - "Come one, come all and try the miracle of the century. It'll cure whatever ails ya!"

No, really, there is something that is that good - joy. The scripture says in Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." I know quite a bit about crushed spirits. The kind of debt we are in could be a real spirit crusher if we allowed it to be.

But I know that Papa has my life in His hands, so instead of worrying, which incidentally, is hazardous to our health, I am going to proceed on in joy. I gain a lot of impetous for joy from what Jesus says in Matthew 6:27-34:

²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. ³⁴Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

So, instead of worrying, let's rejoice in our Papa. Today, I did a little rejoicing in the blessings Father has given me. It's so easy that you can do it too. Here's the recipe . . .

Just take a big, heaping dose of family (you can choose the flavor - you know, the ones you were born with or the ones you picked out for yourself).

Mix in a little water or whatever medium works for you (bowling, picnics, movies, games).

Stir vigorously with laughter, and enjoy!

Now, you can mix up a batch of joy that will cure the worst case of crushed spirit you've ever seen. Come on, open up and take your medicine; you know you like it!

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10 Signs That You Are A Pharisee

As promised, we are continuing our look at the pharisees. If you read my previous post and came back for more, you must be serious about a relationship with Father. That's perfect because confronting our pharasaic tendencies takes sincerity, as well as humility.

I've always believed in the axiom given us by Mary Poppins: "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, medicine go down, medicine go down" - sorry I got a little caught up there. So, we'll use a little humor to help this "medicine" go down as we look at 10 ways to know if you are a pharisee:

You know you're a pharisee if. . . (to be read with Jeff Foxworthy's accent)

1. You ask a friend over to help you move some furniture, and you sit on the porch drinking a lemonade while they do all the work. (Matt 23:4)

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

2. You rent out a billboard on the highway to make sure everybody hears that you left a $1 tip for the server at Billy Bob's Ribs 'N More after dinner on Sunday (and it wasn't in pennies). (Matt 23:5)

They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

3. You use your pocket knife to carve your name into the pew at church, and you'll knock out the three teeth Jimmy has left if he sits in it. (Matt 23:6)

And they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues

4. You invite people over, put up "Do Not Enter" signs, and then stand at the front gate with your shotgun to make sure no one gets in, includin' you! (Matt 23:13)

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

5. You offer to teach someone how to work on their car and then make them twice as bad a mechanic as you are (maybe the 3 cars up on blocks in your front yard should have been a clue!). (Matt 23:15)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

6. You go to the White House to meet with the President, and you get so distracted by the big screen TV that you don't even hear him offer to buy you a brand new double-wide trailer. (Matt 23:16-22)

¹⁶Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath." ¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸And you say, "If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath." ¹⁹You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. ²²And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

7. You are always careful to use your blinker when you change lanes on the highway, but the fact that you're goin' 120 mph and all your tail lights are busted out escapes your notice. (Matt 23:23-24)

²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

8. You spend 2 hours washing and waxing your 1983 El Camino, but you forget to clean the two week old fried chicken out from under the front seat. (Matt 23:25-28)

²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

9. You figure you're doin' alright 'cause you've only got one busted refrigerator sittin' on your front porch and you finally got satellite TV - not like the poor sap down the street that has two rusted out Frigidaires and a Kenmore and still watches TV with rabbit ears. (Luke 18:10-14)

¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

10. You tell your wife whatever she wants to hear just to get her to pipe down while you watch the Dallas Cowboys playing the Washington Redskins. (Mark 7:6-8)

⁶And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

"'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; ⁷in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

⁸You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

Seriously though, nobody could get Jesus going like the Pharisees. He ranted and raved at them trying to show them how foolish and arrogant they were.

It all boils down to this: the Pharisees wanted to see themselves as righteous without ever confronting their issues. Their goal was to be superior and with that superiority to gain power and influence. They wanted a shortcut to holiness. Well, I'll let you in on a secret - there are no shortcuts.

I think Jesus summed up the Pharisees' issues pretty concisely when He said, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Wow, that is . . .wow. How can you walk away from that one? Just sit a minute and think on that. Could that be said of you?

Do you say all the "right" things and do all the "right" things but still feel empty? Are you a dirty cup or a pretty tomb? Too often we become obsessed with being "perfect." Father is not looking for you to be perfect. If He was looking for perfection, He would have vaporized every one of us and started over a long time ago. He wants relationship!!

I know that I am beating a dead horse at this point, and I risk alienating those of you who are tired of hearing it. But Papa will not allow me to stop talking about this yet. His very heart beats for us. Why else would he have sent his only Son to die for us? I mean, He said it right there in scripture - they give me lip-service, but not their hearts. Isn't that what Jesus is saying in Mark 7:6-8?

Jesus summarizes it for us in Matthew 22:37-40:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

Relationship: relationship with Papa and relationship with each other. So simple, so full of life and love - that is what our life with Him should be.

I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too, at this point. I hope that in some way you have been inspired to Fathom Deep. Go deeper with Father - as deep as you can go. And when you think you are as close to Him as you can possibly get, draw closer!

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Identity Crisis - Luke 12:1-7

I tend to be a straightforward person. What you see is pretty much what you get with me. I have never been very good at "going with the flow." I never conquered the art of changing my persona based on the group of people present at the time. I suppose that is why I was never the popular kid in school and why I have always been the type of person to have a few close friends rather than legions of acquaintances.

So, I do not know how else to approach this topic other than just to say what is on my mind. I want to talk to you today about pharisees. You may be thinking, "What, are you talking about? The Pharisees were those dudes in the Bible with bells on their robes that Jesus was always going on about." Well, you would be right, in a sense. However, there are plenty of pharisees roaming the halls in our places of assembly today (Remember, the church is not a building; we are the church).

"Shock and horror. Whatever do you mean by saying there are pharisees in our places of worship?" Think about it. The Pharisees were the religious elite who tried to live for God by fulfilling the letter of the law. Which, if they had been paying attention, they would have realized was impossible.

I have witnessed much of this same approach in other believers today. They believe that by discovering every "rule" in scripture and following it to the letter, they can be holy. What they fail to recognize is that their goal is an impossible one to reach. However, they continue on in a vain effort to attain their brand of righteousness. In the process, they drag many other poor, unsuspecting souls into their dead-end pursuit.

As I have said before, the law was a tool to show us that we are incapable of righteousness without Jesus. As a result, the Pharisees of the Bible and the pharisees today have something in common. They live one life in public and another in private.

There is an amazing passage of scripture in Luke (it is repeated in Matthew 10:26-33) where Jesus talks to the disciples about the Pharisees. Let's look together at Luke 12:1-7

¹In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ²Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God ⁷Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."

In other words, Jesus is saying that we should not be pulled into this trap of hypocrisy. We should live our lives openly and honestly. The pharisees that we encounter have no lasting power over our lives. Father's is the only opinion with which we should be concerned because His is the only one that truly matters. Besides, as the scripture says, He loves us so much that He's numbered every hair on our heads. Shouldn't we be seeking Him instead of seeking perfection through rules?

So, you see, it really is simple to live for God as long as we don't complicate matters. What Papa wants from us is relationship. He wants living, breathing sons and daughters adopted into His family, not rule-quoting automatons trying to achieve superiority over everyone else with their perfection. Rules bring condemnation and death; relationship brings grace and life. Do not cling to a quantifiable existence in the law; release your inhibitions regarding how close you can draw to our Father. You will find that you can be much more alive in Him than you ever dreamed.

If we stop trying to be religious and start trying to have a relationship with Father, we will find that we are no longer living a life of rules but a life of love and grace. And when those pharisees do stick their noses up in the air at our living relationship, we will not be concerned about their opinions anymore.

Tune in next time to find out how to know if You are a Pharisee.

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Are You a Christian?

OK, I promised in my last post that I would devote some time to discussing why I tend to avoid the term Christian. My husband and I have been discussing this question a lot lately - Are you a Christian? I have to tell you that I have come to prefer the title Jesus-lover over the title of Christian. Blasphemy!!!

I'm really not trying to be inventive or trendy by shedding the traditional title. I have just come to realize in recent months that the term Christian carries a lot of baggage with it, and it no longer means to people what it once did. Besides, IMHO, Jesus-lover is much more descriptive of who I am as a person.

How can I explain without offending? The title of Christian now carries with it the stigma of religion. And as one of my faithful readers, you well know that I am not a proponent of religion. I am, however, a huge fan of relationship with Father. Here's the thing, if someone on the street asked me the question, "Are you a Christian?," I would have to ask them, "What do you mean by 'Christian'?" People associate a myriad of meanings with the label, most of which are not complimentary in nature. And many of them have nothing to do with real life in Jesus.

So, at the risk of insulting the sensibilities of some, I am opting for the term Jesus-lover. If using this description does nothing else, I hope it strips away the religiosity from my life. It causes me to think more deeply about who I am as I live outside the confines of ritual and religion and seek to find a deeper walk with my Papa!

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Same Song, Second Verse - or was it Third?

Well, here we are again. Sitting down for a quiet evening together, just the two of us, since Avari is in bed (I've got my fingers crossed that she'll stay there). Like I said, a nice, relaxing evening together - no, not my husband and I. I sent him to do the grocery shopping this evening. I figured it was a fair trade since I mowed the yard this morning. I'm talking about you and me. I thought we could spend a little time discussing a topic close to my heart - relationship. Oh, I know, I talk about it a lot. It really borders on obsession, but in a good way, I think. Hang in there though, I think you'll like this one.

I'm not sure how you grew up in the faith. From the time I was a newborn Jesus-lover (Please excuse me for not using the term Christian - we'll get into my reasons for that in another post), I was raised to think that if you stuck your pinkie toe out of line, you better repent fast, or you could die suddenly and go to hell. I'm serious - no, really, quit laughing, it's not funny. There is a whole segment of our brothers and sisters our there who believe that very thing.

When I started driving, I lived in fear that I would get in a car wreck, curse by accident, and then die. I was sure if it happened and I didn't have time to repent before I stepped up to the pearly gates, I would be sent suddenly southward into a pit of fire and brimstone courtesy of St. Pete's secret trapdoor for sinners. I grew up thinking that my life as lived for Christ up to the point of death counted for nothing if I committed the slightest sin prior to "meeting my Maker."

In order to save myself from hellfire and damnation, I "rededicated" my life to Jesus every time there was an altar call. I thought I had lost my salvation each time I sinned. Now, I am not going to get into the whole issue of once saved, always saved. I have said before that I am not and do not claim to be a theologian. I will say this, I don't think you can lose your salvation like you lose your keys. You'd have to be working pretty hard at it to misplace it.

That said, we, as Papa's children, need to realize that we do not have to "rededicate" ourselves every time we sin. We should repent, we should ask for forgiveness, we should turn away from the sin, intent on not succumbing to it again. We do not, however, need to start all over.

Aha, now we're getting to the heart of the matter. We tend to think to ourselves, "Oh, man, I managed to mess up again. Now, I'll have to start from the beginning so I can get it right." God is screaming - No, No, No! That would be like getting remarried every time you get into a fight with your spouse. Wow, that would get expensive. Let's see, I've been married 10 years, so that would add up to . . . wow, yeah, very expensive.

Wait, an even better example is this: Say you are going on a cross-country road trip. You know your starting point, you can see your destination on the map, but you do not have the complete route marked out yet. It's like using one of those nifty navigational systems that give you step-by-step directions. So, you begin your journey, and you do your best to follow the directions as they are given, but let's face it, sometimes, you make a wrong turn. I don't know about you, but if I'm 700 miles from home, and I miss an exit, I am SO not driving 700 miles back to where I started just to retrace my steps all over again, especially with gas at $4.00/gallon. I'm going to get that computer to tell me the quickest way to get back on track.

Father desires us to do the same in our journey with Him. He has no desire for us to start all over. That's like saying His work up to that point was worthless, and He should start from scratch. He also gets no satisfaction out of our wallowing in guilt and condemnation. Those two treats are gift-wrapped curses from the enemy. When we stumble and fall, as we are all wont to do at times, He wants us to turn, repent and continue on.

So, next time you make a wrong turn on this journey, please refrain from going back to the beginning. Turn your ear to Papa, so He can give you directions to the quickest way back to where He wants you to be.

Blessings!

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Freedom!

I've been thinking quite a bit the past couple of days about freedom. To be completely truthful, it has been something that I have been mulling over for a couple of months, but over the past couple of days it has been strong on my heart. It is something that we, as Americans, take for granted so often. It is the subject of freedom.

I believe that we really have very little concept of what true freedom is in our lives. We tend to live under the shadow of obligations, responsibilities, and requirements. Too often we lose perspective on why we really do all the things we do on a daily basis. We forget that we are free.

I am not simply discussing with you the freedom that we enjoy here in this country. The freedoms to which I refer run deeper, much deeper than those. We are freed by the love of our Father. We are freed by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

I know a lot of times we focus on the sin aspect of this freedom - we are freed from the slavery that sin places upon us (see John 8:34-35). And that is most certainly a truth that I treasure. However, most of the time we stop there. We think, "Whew! I'm free from sin," but we never take that next step in the relationship process with Father.

We forget to remember that because we are free from that sin, we are also free to partake in a rich, deep, unfathomable relationship with the Creator of the universe. We fail to take advantage of the freedoms that are available to us. We neglect the opportunity to commune with our Father. No, that sounds too "religious" to say it that way.

What I mean to say is this: Stop, and think about it just for a moment. You have the ear of God, the one and only God. Not only that, He wants to spend time with you - not in some "run down a shopping list of prayer needs" kind of way, but in a real, honest dialogue. He cares about what you have to say. He wants to speak to you. Man, I feel like I'm really not getting this across strongly enough. God, please help me to convey Your truth.

This whole thing is not about religion it is about relationship. It is about knowing - Father knowing you and you knowing Father. It is not and never has been about a list of rules. You can go to a building to worship every Sunday, you can pray every morning or every night, you can take Communion, you can read your Bible, but you still may never know your Father. Oh, you may know something about Him, but you will not know Him. Just like you can read this blog, sit next to me in a service, hear me preach or lead worship and never know me. You may have some information about me, but in order to know me, you must have a relationship with me.

That, my friends, is the purpose of the Law, the purpose of Christ's crucifixion, the purpose of scripture. Relationship, it all boils down to that. We are free to have relationship with Him. I pray that you can really grasp that concept. If you do, it will revolutionize your walk with Father.

Until next time, grace and freedom to you!

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The Shack

Yesterday I started and finished the most amazing work of fiction that I have read in a decade. It has staunch supporters and very vocal detractors. There has been much ado about a little book called The Shack.


Let me just say that this story embodies the most personal portrayal of the God-man dynamic that this blogger has ever seen. If you are happy in your religiosity, then please do not read this book because it will shake the religious cobwebs from your heart to experience our Abba Father in a completely fresh way.

The author, William Young, paints a stunning picture of the Trinity and shows how from the relationship within the Godhead flows the love that is our Father God. He manages to put into words the thoughts that I have been trying to formulate but did not have the capacity to express. I can tell you that I will never view my relationship with Papa in the same light again.

If you are ready to go deeper with God, if you long to move past the form and function of "Church" as usual, if you crave a truly personal relationship with your Father, then you should beg, borrow, or buy a copy of this book.

The Shack will absolutely breathe a breath of fresh air into your spiritual life. Not since I read Hinds Feet On High Places has a work of fiction moved me this completely toward a deeper walk with Father.

If I had the financial wherewithal to do it, I would buy 3 or 4 cases of this book and give a copy to everyone I know and some that I don't know. It is just that good. Please, if you have not read this book yet, drop whatever you are doing and do whatever you have to do to get a copy of The Shack. You will not regret it!

Please enjoy your reading of The Shack. I look forward to hearing how much it touched and changed your life. I, for one, will not be the same.

Oh, and Papa wanted me to tell you that "He is especially fond of you."

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Shirking Responsibility

I have to admit it - I have been remiss in my blogging today. Instead I spent the day cleaning the house, playing with my kid, and reading a book - not necessarily in that order. So, in order to compensate for my lackadaisical mentality I thought I would give you a tip for when you go out to eat on Sunday.

I found this blog post on a friend of a friend's site. He talks about what a horrible witness we Christians can be immediately after we scramble out the sanctuary doors on Sunday. I didn't feel very convicted by this because I'm too poor to eat out on Sunday (or any other day of the week) right now. I will, however, be thinking about it next time I walk through the doors of a restaurant on Sunday.

Besides, I have had enough friends who have been servers at restaurants to know that leaving a decent tip and a kind word go a long way. In addition, I always try to consider what a server might be dealing with in his/her personal life before I make it more difficult by being a pain in the you-know-what.

OK, enjoy this post, and remember not to forget what you learn when you sit down to eat your Sunday dinner!

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Entymology Lesson

I thought I would share a bit of information I gleaned today by being totally freaked out by a bug. Most who know me know that I am not a "bug person." I'm OK with the ladybugs, June bugs and love bugs, but past that I have a freak out reflex that is something to be marveled at.

I walked out of the house this morning to play with Avari in her pool, and this is what I found:

It was sitting on our back patio (if you can call it a patio - it's very small). Our dog immediately approached for further investigation. Eyewitness reports say that the bug jumped off the ground a good 6 inches, landed, jumped again and landed on his back (I was in the house retrieving the camera, which was probably best for everyone involved, especially the bug). After his incredible display of jumping prowess, the bug played possum while we examined him. I have to say that I took this picture at very close range. Of course, the whole time under my breath I was praying, "Dear Lord Jesus, please don't let this thing jump at me, or Avari will be scarred for life by my reaction." She already has a more than healthy fear of bugs thanks to me!

Don't worry, all you bug lovers out there, we followed the prime directive (my husband has been exposing me to Star Trek, of late). We released him unharmed back into the wild.

Anyway, if you ever see one, this is an Eyed Elator, also called an Eyed Click Beetle, and his scientific name is Alaus Oculatus. Apparently, the adults are harmless to humans and drink nectar from flowers. The false eyes are there to scare off would-be predators. Let me tell ya, it worked for me!

So, there's your entymology lesson for today. Do you feel smarter?

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Are You Crazy? - Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever turned your life over completely to God? Have you ever truly and with no holds barred given Him the control? Do you still have that one thing that you hold back from your Father? I did until a couple of months ago.

There is a scripture that many of us know by heart. It is Proverbs 3:5-6, and it says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

We quote it, but do we live it? In my estimation I had always been a good Christian. I did all of the things you are supposed to do. I went to church when the doors were open, I volunteered, I had personal devotional time, etc. However, I always lived in a little bit of fear of what God would require of me should I completely surrender to Him.

Then I did it. I let go and told Father that He could do whatever He wanted with my life because it belongs to Him. Now, I do not in any way say those words lightly. He asked us to do something that seems like lunacy. He told us that in order to live in His fullness we needed to relinquish control. For us that meant that my husband resigned from his teaching position to write a novel. That doesn't sound too crazy until you realize that I am a stay-at-home mother, so there is no second income on which we can rely.

We are in the process of living out Proverbs 3:5-6. We are trusting our Father with our whole hearts because our understanding tells us that we have lost what little sense we had to start with. You should see some of the strange looks we've been given when we have shared with others about what God has told us to do. Please do not mistake me. We have some wonderful friends and family who have gone so far as to be excited with us about this new adventure (you know who you are). However, we have seen some really confused and puzzled faces from others. I don't blame them. A while back I could very well have been one of those people. Now, I know that there is an amazing peace that comes from being obedient even when everyone else is asking, "Are You Crazy!?!"

In reading this scripture once more, I have seen something that I never noticed in my previous perusals. It is in verse 6. It says, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." I can tell you that I have walked in circles in my spiritual journey enough times to recognize the value of a straight path. Imagine, trusting in Father to the point where you never have to walk in circles around the same issue again. That sounds like heaven on earth to me.

You know what is so amazing about all of this? It is that even though we are in the worst financial shape of our lives thus far, even though we are not sure how Father is going to pay our bills, even though my understanding says that I should jump ship now, I am completely and totally at peace. I cannot control this situation. Sure, I could run out and get a job to pay the bills, or I could try to force my husband to do so. All that would accomplish is us walking around the same mountain again. I don't know about you, but I certainly do not want to be like the children of Israel walking around in a desert for 40 years complaining when the Promised Land is 50 feet away.

So, what does all this mean? Simple, it means that if we are willing to release our hold on the controls of our lives, God will take over and guide us in expert fashion through this maze of life. It translates exactly as the scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Do not keep even the smallest piece from Him. Give Him everything in your life down to the most inconsequential thing. "Do not lean on your own understanding." We can never know what Father knows; our flawed view of our situation will always lead us in the wrong direction. "In all your ways acknowledge him." There is no part of our life in which He does not want to be involved. "And he will make straight your paths."

The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years when the trip should have taken a matter of weeks. Talk about wasting a lot of time. I mean, I'm not sure how you feel, but the land of milk and honey sounds way better than a desert full of nothing.

That means, you can call me crazy all you want, but I'm going to take the advice of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. I am going to trust in Father with my whole heart, let everything I do flow from Him, quit depending on my analysis of the situation and take the direct route to wherever He is leading!

Blessings and a safe journey to you!

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Organic Matter

Wow, I have been so used to writing every day that it feels like it has been forever since I have written anything. It has been a busy few days for us, especially Sunday. We kicked off a new ministry at our church on Sunday. It is called "realife." It is a ministry to reach out to the 18-40 age group in our congregation. I am almost hesitant to write this post as I know that there are readers who are affiliated with my church. But, I did not start this blog to pander to anyone. I started it because I felt God was telling me that I should do so, and as this is supposed to be a Father-directed venture, I will continue writing as Father directs.

Let me say that I am still undecided as to how God wants me involved in this venture - "realife." On the one hand I know that my generation is one who is slipping through the cracks of traditional congregational churches everywhere. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I should necessarily be concerned about this. I know, I know. I just heard a lot of jaws hit the keyboards out there. I am in no way saying that I have no concern for those who are not serving my Father. My heart breaks to think of those that I have seen walk away from Him (not from a congregational setting - from Him). However, I have been a leader and a follower in various congregations. What I have seen over and over is that someone sees a lack of a certain type of person in a congregation, and they decide that there needs to be a new program to "reach out" to that demographic.

Now, I'm probably going to get a lot of angry comments and e-mails about this post, but I simply have to say what I believe my Father is speaking to me. A program, a meeting, another night of the week is not the answer. We wear people out with our programs and functions. Do you know who ends up coming to those things after a while? The same group of people that come to every other "ministry" of the church. My question is this: Are we really meeting needs and developing relationships between ourselves and others and God by doing all this? Or are we just creating another service for people to attend?

The "church" philosophy has become - "get 'em in the doors and God'll minister to 'em." You know what - that's not how God designed it. In the early church we see Jesus sending the disciples out to minister to others. He didn't say "build a big ginormous really tricked out building, invite them to come to a special function and they shall be saved." He commissions us to reach out to others. Congregations have developed this "convenience store" attitude. They can drive in and pick up whatever kind of "ministry" they need. Then they drive home with not much to show for it. Just think about it - there's children's church, youth group, young adults ministry, Sunday school, ladies meetings, men's ministries, singles groups, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

What I hear over and over from people is the thing they really desire is not another ministry or another opportunity to go to a building. Their hearts' desire is for relationship. I can tell you after enough years in traditional church (whatever form it may take) that relationships are not built by sitting in services. We have to start being intentional in our relationships. We make time for the things and people who are important to us. So if we feel like we are not connected to anyone in our congregation, we need to take it upon ourselves to build the types of relationships that will help sustain our walk with God.

When we were kids, we just walked up to another kid and said, "hey, do you want to be my friend?" You know what I've found, that still works most of the time. Oh, you're still going to have the people that will look at you funny and walk away. Far more often you'll find that the person you are reaching out to is reaching right back. We are relational beings. Father created us to be that way. That means that just sitting next to someone in a "service" is not going to satisfy our need for spiritual relationship.

This one thing I have learned from my own experience: you cannot fabricate something genuine. It drives me completely bananas to hear someone say that they are reading this great book about how so-and-so grew their congregation to 10 bazillion people, and we're going to do the same thing so that will happen for us. People, people, people - God just does not work that way. Just because having a church service in a swimming pool worked for Church ABC does not mean that Church XYZ in Antarctica should try it. Have we ever thought that God might give us creativity and direction for our situation if we let Him?

God will give us a living, organic way to minister to those around us if we will avail ourselves of it. Let's be purposeful in our relationships with others and our relationship with God. Quit depending on a "service" to fix what ails you. God is much more personal than that. Congregational settings can be wonderful, but they cannot meet all needs. Sometimes, they aren't the answer at all. I feel that way more every day. I love God more, and somehow, I love "services" less.

I crave something real and sincere in this day and age of special effects, lies and debauchery. A living thing, an organic being is not birthed from something unliving - inorganic, if you will. When will we wake up and realize that simply offering another time for people to be at church is not the answer? When will we instead, get into people's lives, build relationships with other Jesus-lovers for the purpose of taking this journey together?

In any case, this is my goal. Jeremiah 29:13 (in my top 5 fav scriptures) says, "You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart." Regardless of where God sends me - in or out of a congregational setting - I love my Father and will serve Him unconditionally.

This is my final question to you today: Will you be my friend? Won't you join me in this journey?

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The Waiting Game - Habakkuk 2:2-3

We humans are curious creatures. We apply one set of rules to ourselves and our desires and a completely different set for everyone else's. We even teach our kids this double standard way of living.

Let me explain my point with an example. When I ask my daughter to clean up her toys, I expect her to stop whatever she is doing and fulfill my request. However, when she asks me to do something for her, I see no problem in telling her that she will have to wait until I have a free moment to comply with her wishes. Now, when I have to wait on her, I continually repeat the request and add punishment to the mix if she refuses to cooperate. When she waits on me, begins to get impatient and starts expressing her frustration in unacceptable ways, I scold her for not being more patient. Talk about a double-standard!

I teach her to procrastinate or put off meeting someone else's needs; I teach her to be frustrated when someone else does the same to her. Wow, I never realized that I was doing that - I've just had a revelation moment!

Please don't misunderstand. I am in no way saying that our children should be able to put us off indefinitely when we ask them to do something. Nor do I think it appropriate for them to throw tantrums when they do not get our attention immediately. However, I do think we owe our children some consistency in word and action. Maybe we should strive to meet their requests as promptly as possible while giving them a little latitude on when they meet ours. Thus, the beauty of a compromise.

Now, to bring this back around to a spiritual perspective. We do the same thing to God that we do to our children. Again, let me illustrate with a common occurrence. We ask God to do something in our lives, perhaps provide something monetarily or otherwise. Then, when we do not see immediate results, we get frustrated. As a result of our annoyance at not receiving an instantaneous answer, we pout or throw tantrums. We accuse God of not caring for us or listening to us. The reverse situation is also relevant. God asks us to do something like take a hurting friend to dinner or give a single mom the night off by keeping her kids, and what is our response? Many times we brush Him off. We are so busy; we certainly do not have the time or the funds to honor His request.

We serve God with a double standard. Our needs are important, but His requests are frivolous. We, like our children, fail to realize that Father has our best interests at heart. He knows whether we are ready for the blessing we are requesting. He sees the big picture, while we are looking at a close-up of a single frame.

Let me be transparent right now. I know exactly what I am talking about here. For 7 long years I prayed for a baby. My husband and I spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to conceive. I did everything short of cursing God. I begged, I bargained, I pleaded in desperation for Him to grant my request. Now, I still don't completely understand His reasoning for taking us down the path we traveled, but it is not for me to understand. I do know this: while I was being a petulant child throwing my tantrums at God, He was quietly asking me to do certain things for Him, which I refused to do. I always kept a part of myself back from Him. I suppose I was subconsciously punishing Him, but really, I was only hurting myself.

Hopefully, I have learned a few things since then. I pray that I will not react that way again should I be placed in a similar situation. I thank my Father for being a big enough God to handle my childish actions. I am so glad we serve a God full of grace and mercy.

I have a favorite scripture that I would like to share with you. It is the one that I hold on to when I feel that my prayers are hitting the ceiling. It is found in Habakkuk 2:2-3

Then the Lord answered me and said:

"Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

If God has told you He will do something for you, you can rest assured that He will. It may not come in your timing, but it will come. At the same time, the scripture mentioned above says that we are to "wait." Now, that is not the doctor's office definition of wait - you don't sit around reading a magazine until God calls you in. We are to be active in our waiting. We should be actively seeking Him and His will in the meantime. Just because we are not seeing the answer to our request doesn't mean that He doesn't have other things for us to accomplish in the meantime.

Our Father loves us, and our prayers never fall on deaf ears. However, we often allow His desires to go unanswered. I encourage you to do as the Bible tells us - write down your dreams so you can see the answers as they come, but do not make the mistake that I made. Be active in your waiting.

Do not put off 'til tomorrow what God has asked you to do today!

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Live In The Moment

Do you ever just stop for a minute, look around, and realize that you have everything? I'm not talking about material things. I mean, do you ever just stop and thank God for all the blessings He's given you?

I am fairly young, but even I can look back over my life and see that I have wasted time. It seems that I have always lived my life looking forward to the next big thing. When I was a teenager, I counted the days until high school graduation. In my early twenties I longed to graduate college and get married. After I married my fabulous husband (10 years ago!), my heart's desire was to have a baby (that one took a while). Of course, along with all of my other hopes and dreams I wanted to have a big, world-changing ministry. Unfortunately, when I attained these goals, the satisfaction and happiness were not permanent.

The key is that I was never living in the moment. I didn't own my life; I was leasing that space hoping for something better. You know, the grass is always greener. I never allowed myself to be completely happy. Don't get me wrong. There were weeks even months when I was "walkin' on sunshine," but for the most part, I was always looking to the future for my happiness.

I have to tell you that I seriously doubt that is how God intended it to be. I'm not saying that every day is going to be a walk in the park. We are going to have those rough days, weeks, months, maybe even years. Shouldn't we take whatever we are given and live in that moment in time? The Bible tells us in Psalm 30:5, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

Now, please note, the scripture says joy, not happiness. The thing about happiness is that it is fleeting. That is why we tend to spend the majority of our time looking to the future if we are seeking happiness. I would encourage you to seek joy rather than happiness. You see, you can have joy even in the dark times of your life. My favorite "joy" scripture is found in John 15:9-12 where Jesus tells us:

”As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Did you catch that? It was the secret to joy. Did you miss it? Let me help you. First, Jesus tells us to abide in (that means dwell, live, inhabit) His love. Then He goes on to say that if we will keep His commands, we will dwell in His love. He continues by saying he told us all this so we can be full of His joy (not running on empty, not half full, but completely full). Then He tells us what this commandment is we are supposed to follow - love one another. Did I lose you?

Here is the secret to being full of joy all the time - even when things seem dark and difficult - love others with the love of Christ. That's right, and it works every time. Why? Because you get the focus off yourself and onto God. That is when He can really work. If you are living in Him, you will not have to look for the next big thing to make you happy. Instead, you will have everlasting joy.

So, to recap, loving others translates to living in His love, which brings us lots and lots of joy. Now, it's completely up to you, but if I were you, I would now get up from my computer and go love someone, so you can get some joy!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

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For Real

I just have to share this with you. God used my 2 year old to give me a glimpse into how He desires to use us. I recently shared this story with some ladies in our church, and it seemed to minister to them as well.

Back in November we had Avari's portrait made with her cousin. The plan was to get it framed for my in-laws and give it to them as a Christmas gift. Off we went to Hobby Lobby with Avari (23 months old at the time) in tow to pick out a frame and matte.

After 15-20 minutes of trying to find a matte and frame to match, we resorted to asking for help from the lady working in the framing department. Now, when we first approached the employee, she seemed less than enthusiastic about helping us. Begrudgingly, she began to show us various mattes to go with the frame we had chosen. About that time Avari noticed that the woman had a band-aid on her finger.

Now, Avari had skinned her knee a month or so earlier, and we had used the opportunity to teach her about prayer for healing. We told her that we could pray for her boo-boo and Jesus would heal it. She really latched on to that and told us repeatedly that Jesus had healed her boo-boo.

So when Avari spotted the woman's band-aid, her little mind kicked in to overdrive. She pointed to the employee's finger and said, "you have a band-aid on your finger." The woman replied, telling Avari that she gets hurt quite often working with the glass in the frames. Now, Avari has these big beautiful brown eyes that just grab you, and she looked up at the woman with those eyes and said in the sweetest, most sincere voice, "Jesus will heal it."

You could see the change take place in the blink of an eye. Immediately, the woman's eyes welled up with tears, and she said, "You're right. Jesus will heal it." From that moment on she was more than happy to help us. Before we left we had learned all the names of her grandchildren and where they lived. We knew their ages and which of them was good at sports and who made good grades in school. By being the wonderful person God created her to be Avari had changed the course of that woman's day.

I love the story of Esther. A humble Jewish girl goes from her family's home to the palace and becomes a queen. However, she made that transition by just being herself. When faced with a challenge like none we are ever likely to face, she is urged by her cousin Mordecai with these words found in Esther 4:14 "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this."

God places us in situations everyday where He can use us if we are willing; however, if you are anything like me, most of the time you overlook those opportunities. We have a tendency to see the circumstances of life as obstacles to be conquered rather than a series of opportunities in which God can mold us and use us. Most of us think that we lack the ability, the training or the talent to make a difference for God. I'm here to tell you that God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

If we will be willing to be the men and women that He has created us to be, we can change our world. There is no one person who can reach everyone who needs the touch of Christ. It is going to take every single Jesus-lover to accomplish that task. God is not looking for you to hold sold-out revivals in huge stadiums; He is asking you to be yourself - the man or woman He designed you to be. Be real; be genuine and sincere. As such, He will use us in just the same way that He used Avari and Esther - to touch the lost and hurting souls all around us.

Who knows that you and I were brought into the kingdom for just such a time as this!

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What If?

I had to post a link to an amazing post that I ran across today. You can find it here.

It really makes you stop and think about the fact that while we are trying to figure things out for ourselves, God is longing for relationship with us. If you never click another link on this blog, please click this one.

Blessings!

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Every Vote Counts

I had a few minutes to myself this evening, and I was thinking about the election. Now, I'm not going to get all political on you here. However, I do think you should let your voice be heard at election time. This is one of the most hotly contested presidential races in history.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this website: PresidentialElection.com. There may be other websites like this one, but this is the one I found. It has a tab on the home page that you can click on to get voter registration information by state. I am already registered to vote, but I clicked on it and had them send the information anyway. The e-mail gave me links to the voter registration forms, voter information and even a link to the site where I could check to see if I was already registered.

Now, I'm sure the information links differ by state, according to what your state offers. I just thought it was terrific to find a site that makes it so easy to find the information.

In any case, if you aren't registered to vote, please register. So many people would love to have the freedom to vote for their leaders. We should exercise our right. After all, every vote counts!

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Made to Worship

Last night was an exercise in discipline. My angelic, little girl decided that bedtime really didn't apply to her. We have a 2-½ year old rebel on our hands. Of course, I shouldn't complain too loudly. Her idea of rebellion was sneaking a book into her room to "read" after she was supposed to be asleep. We finally convinced her to stay in bed, and then she serenaded us over the monitor.

It took us a few minutes to figure out exactly what Avari was singing. It turns out she was singing the Chris Tomlin song "Made to Worship." Here are the lyrics that made their way to us over that monitor:

You and I were made to worship
You and I were called to love
You and I are forgiven and free

She placed particular emphasis on "forgiven and free." It just made me smile to hear her little voice over that monitor praising Jesus. I can only imagine how it must have made God smile.

I imagine that He has the same reaction when we worship Him - truly worship him. You know, so many times we forget that our worship is not about us. Oh, we benefit from it because it draws us close to Him. But really, it should be all about Him. In the words of one of my favorite Matt Redman songs:

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about you, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus

In fact, our worship isn't about music at all. When we serve God, our lives and the way we live them should be an act of worship. In John 4:23-24, Jesus tells us that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Now, if you look at that entire passage in John, you will see that he was talking to the woman at the well and responding to her question about whether she was supposed to worship on the mountain or in Jerusalem. Jesus' response resonates even today because what He was telling her is that worship is not about ritual or religion, but it is about relationship.

Our Father is still seeking true worshipers today. Let us be those worshipers. When my life here on this earth ends, I pray that I will be remembered not as a great guitarist, singer or writer. I doubt anyone will remember the sermons I've preached or the songs I sang. My desire is that people will describe me as being a true worshiper of God.

As we go forward may we all strive to worship Him with our lives. In the words of Chris Tomlin as sang by my sweet girl: "You and I were made to worship!"

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The Church Has Left The Building

Well, we are housebound today because of Avari's strep throat. Of course, that means we missed church this morning, or did we?

If memory serves me, the Bible never refers to a building as the church. It does compare the church to a building in several passages. However, the building is not the church - we are. Christ is the head of the church, and we are the body. That means that we do not go to church on Sunday morning (or whenever your services are held). It means that the church gathers in a building and meets together to encourage, exhort and teach.

Let me say that I am not advocating disobedience against scripture. I firmly believe that we should not forsake "the assembling of ourselves together" as the writer of Hebrews urges in Hebrews 10:25. However, I do not see in scripture where it tells us that this "assembly" must take place in any particular building or location. I seem to remember another portion of scripture, Matthew 18:20 to be exact, that says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." That means that even though we had to stay home this morning, God was still here to meet with us - the three of us gathered together in His name.

I think that we have done a disservice to God's church by making our Christian lives about a particular building. That attitude - the one that says, "I'm going to get ready and go to a building so I can meet with God" - is one thing that causes us to live lives that are not full of His power and love. We section our lives into pieces and carve out a small piece for God on Sunday. Instead, we should view our lives as He would have us see them.

God should not have a piece of our lives, but He should be the center of our lives. Everything that we do should be infused with His influence. Instead of ministry flowing from a building, ministry should flow from the church - the Body of Christ - us - you and me. In this way, we no longer depend on the pastor to tell us what we should be doing for God. Rather, we take it upon ourselves to reach out (as the church) to those around us. At that point, we no longer have one point of ministry in a community but hundreds or thousands because we come into the full realization that the church, not the building, is God's instrument of ministry.

So, no matter where you worshiped this morning - in a home, a school, a park - I pray that you left with the desire to be a point of contact for God to impact those who reside within your sphere of influence. Now, let's go forth as the body of Christ, the church, and touch our world!

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