In Truer Ink: Niki Turner

E is for Epic {an a2z take 2 post}

2012-02-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

Epic fail. Epic win.
That was "epic"!

I hear that word frequently in my house full of teen boys.
What does epic really mean, though?

Yet another word we've added additional meaning to. Or at least a sarcastic meaning.

What are some other words we've "added unto"?

Check out some of the other awesome "E" posts at a2z take 2!

Why are you so mean? To you?

2012-02-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Are you mean to yourself? I am. I'm forever attacking and berating and rebuking and belittling and punishing myself. Whether it comes to what I ate today or what I said to someone or what I thought or heard or saw, I'm mean. To me.

Do you know the golden rule?

In short, it's something like this: Love one another even as you love yourself.

Love one another. The cardinal rule of Christianity. The all-encompassing law of God. Fulfill the law of love and satisfy all the commandments. Love others — wait — AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF?

That means you need to extend the same grace, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and patience to yourself that you would extend to someone else. Failing to do so is as much of a break in the command of love as cruelty to another.

That's where I struggle and fall short. Generally, it's easier for me to let someone else off the hook, to release them from guilt, to excuse their failings and weaknesses, than it is to do any of the above for myself.

That for which I forgive others, I fail to forgive in myself.
This is wrong.

That for which I afford grace to another, but turn and deny grace for myself.
This, too, is wrong.

That which I wouldn't hesitate to counsel God's willingness to forgive and deliver, but for which I will not forgive myself ... is hypocrisy in reverse.

Think about it. The usual definition of hypocrisy involves someone acting all holy and pure and righteous while they hide their bad behavior. Flip it around and you have the same thing ... the person weighed down with guilt and condemnation over their failures and weaknesses and sins, hiding the righteousness of Christ by which they have been saved, is hypocrisy in reverse.

The bottom line? Every time Jesus encountered someone snared in sin, He released them. What did He tell the woman caught in adultery? "Neither do I condemn you." Contrary to popular belief (which is pretty much always wrong) Jesus didn't come to condemn us. Any of us. He came to rescue us from the grip of an enemy who seeks to steal and kill and destroy us. He came because He loves us. Unconditionally.

Atheist.

Agnostic.

Pagan.

Witch.

Doubter.

Sinner.

Loser.

Failure.

Worrier.

Gossip.

Critic.

Slap whatever label on yourself you like. Jesus loves you, with or without your label. Accept it. Believe it. Act on it.

Daily {a2z take 2}

2012-02-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Life isn't really lived from decade to decade, or year to year, or even week to week.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Life comes from day to day.
God fulfills His part...

"Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Selah." Ps 68:19 NKJV

For the believer, we have daily tasks as well. Sometimes in prayer, sometimes in action. Those daily assignments are for our own good as well as the good of others.

"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." Acts 5:42 NKJV

"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb 3:12-14 NKJV

As we fulfill our daily tasks, we cooperate with God's actions in the spirit realm.

"So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47 NKJV

I tend to think in terms of weeks, or months, or years. One-day-at-a-time thinking (and planning) is challenging for me, but from what I can see in the Word, it's the best way to think in terms of stress reduction and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

My husband was laid off from his job a few weeks ago and I've been endeavoring to hold fast to the "don't worry about tomorrow" instructions.
One day.
Just get through today.

After all, the entire world can change in a day.

For more a2z take 2 posts, click HERE:

At Inkwell Inspirations today...

2012-01-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Talking about a serious subject ... when grief tries to take over. Not a fun topic, but one we must be aware of and able to respond to in healthy ways, whether for ourselves or in ministering to those around us.

Yep, C is for cookie. {a2z take 2}

2012-01-25T09:17:00.001-07:00

C? What does C stand for? OK, I can't help myself... C is for cookie.

Yes, this reveals my age.

Think about it...
Fresh cookies and milk after school.
Warm cookies on a snowy afternoon.
A full cookie jar on the kitchen counter.

Never having been much of a baker, I was thrilled when our former next-door neighbor wanted to bake Christmas cookies with my four kiddos and myself. We trekked to her house in our boots and mittens, and settled around her kitchen table. She'd already prepared multiple batches of dough for sugar cookies.

With her help, my kiddos rolled out the dough and cut out shapes. We mixed frosting and food coloring in multiple colors, and set it out in bowls on her waxed paper covered dining room table.

You must understand, at the time, I was a pastor's wife with four small children. My best friend in the world had just moved away and I felt more alone than I ever had in my life. My neighbor's cookie-baking offer was the equivalent of an oasis in a storm.

She offered love and care when I felt bereft, kindness and company when I felt very much alone. We continued the cookie-decorating practice at Valentine's Day, and Easter and Christmas, for several years to come. Long enough that her gift of time given, of compassion released, and of friendship offered, is forever imprinted on the minds of my children. She made an impact on our lives through something as simple as cookies.

You might not have a prophetic gift, or be comfortable teaching a Bible study, or be able to give thousands of dollars to charity, or be a leader of hundreds. Don't fret! Even the ability to bake cookies can been a genuine gift of love and encouragement to another member of Christ's body!

(Don't forget to check out the other A2Z Take 2 posts!)

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Psst... are you listening?

2012-01-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

I'm at Inkwell Inspirations sharing the story of the accident my boys were in yesterday. They are all safe and well, although the car is not, but in the grand scheme of things, things don't matter.
Click the link above or the picture below for (in the words of the esteemed Paul Harvey) "the rest of the story."

Bacon, bacon, bacon {an A2Z take 2 post}

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

B is for bacon.

First off, let it be known that I am not a bacon aficionado. I like bacon all right with eggs and toast, or on a BLT, but I hate to cook it, hate the smell that lingers in my house (and smells to me, for whatever reason, like poverty) for hours, and hate figuring out what to do with the nasty grease that's left behind.

Bacon, is experiencing a dramatic surge in popularity. Maybe not actual bacon, but bacon-flavored products. A quick Google search for "bacon-flavored" turns up vodka, lip gloss (which may turn up on a top-ten list for "how to attract a redneck"), toothpicks, soda, and envelopes. As well as a bacon wallet, bacon Band-aids, bacon toothpaste, bacon soap and bacon-flavored microwave popcorn. Ew.

So what is the history behind this staple of American breakfasts?

Bacon, in some form, has been around since the Roman empire. Which leads me to wonder if the early Christians ate bacon. Did the Romans sacrifice to the bacon god? Was bacon the meat Paul referred to as meat that could be sanctified by prayer and thanksgiving?

Bacon as we know it is often credited to John Harris from Wiltshire, England. Harris opened the first commercial bacon-making business in the 1770s. Bacon as we know it appeared in 1924, thanks to Oscar-Mayer's introduction of pre-packaged, pre-sliced bacon.

While the idea of bacon-flavored breath mints makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth, bacon in its proper place and form is a perfectly fine addition to a menu. But, IMO, when bacon takes over, something is wrong.

What do you think about the current bacon craze? Are you a bacon fan?

Agree. Love. Be. ~ Words You Can Live By

2012-01-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

For the first time in YEARS, I'm not following a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program. Instead, I'm just seeking direction each day on what to read, what to study, where to look for my daily supply of spiritual food. It's like coming off a diet where all your meals are preplanned and now, suddenly, you have to figure out what to eat for yourself.

So far in 2012, I've read through Galatians and Ephesians again in The Message (if you don't have a copy of Eugene Peterson's contemporary rendering of the Bible, hie thee to a bookstore at once!). This week I turned to Philippians and fell headlong into verses 1-4 of chapter 2...

"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care– then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."

Now, just think about what you see on Facebook every day... How many of the "Christian" (including your own) posts are agreeable, loving, friendly and helpful?
No wonder so many folks avoid Facebook altogether. It's often easier to be silent than to follow Paul's directive.
But Paul's words weren't even designed for social media (although they fit). They were designed for LIFE–for living and interacting and responding to the people around us, from our children to our church family to our co-workers to our Facebook friends and Twitter followers. They were designed to give us the kind of life-giving, soul-fulfilling, lasting relationships that human beings need in order to be happy, successful, and satisfied.

Agree.
Love.
Be.

Agreement requires us to stop trying to change the people around us. It demands that we accept and acknowledge without judgment, without manipulation, without control.

Love, though it sounds simple, is complex. True love casts out fear, obliterates condemnation, and offers unconditional acceptance.

Deep-spirited friendship? That's the kind of communion, companionship, that goes beyond shared likes and common opinions, it's a covenant between souls that extends beyond shared space, shared time, shared feelings, to the deepest hope and belief for the other's greatest good. It's rare, to say the least.

To these things we are called...

When they go astray

2012-01-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

I live in sheep world. Real sheep, the actual fuzzy critters from which come wool socks and mutton, are raised (or farmed, or shepherded, or whatever it is one does with sheep) in this part of the world.

Raising children is a lot like shepherding sheep. I've seen shepherds roaming the hills, searching for the one that went astray between Point A and Point B. We once had a sheepdog hanging around our house for two or three days, trying to get the attention of the "stupid humans" (us). One of the sheep in the flock had fallen into the ditch, upside down. That dog wasn't willing to leave even one of her charges behind.

At this point in the parenting journey, I am one tired sheepdog. My little flock feels scattered. I empathize with that sheepdog ... desperately wanting to move along with the rest of the flock, but the one or two stragglers hold you back because they keep making stupid choices, and their bad decisions have repercussions you can't avoid or ignore, repercussions that affect you emotionally, relationally, financially ...
*sigh*

Parenting = Licking a frozen flagpole and spending 20+ years separating your tongue from the metal, piece by piece, taste bud by taste bud. Can anybody relate, or is it just me?

A is for Attitude {An a2z take 2 post}

2012-01-14T19:07:00.001-07:00

In ballet, an attitude is a particular position of the body. It involves balancing on one leg, while raising the other, bent at the knee, either en derriere, en avant, or a la seconde (to the back, front, or side). It's one of the most graceful, most recognized positions in ballet.

In aeronautics, attitude refers to the incline of an aircraft in relation to the horizon, to the ground, to the wind.

And in psychology, attitude has to do with an individual's perceptions or feelings toward a person, place, or thing. Attitudes can be positive or negative.

How do dancers learn to hold an attitude without falling? What must pilots do in order to maintain proper attitude in flight when faced with variable wind speeds, ground conditions, engine power and more to avoid crashing?

The answer is another "A" word... they learn to Adjust.

The dancer learns to adjust her weight between the supporting leg and the elevated leg and corresponding arm positions. The pilot adjusts the plane's speed to the external conditions with the position of the wing flaps and nose in order to maintain correct attitude in flight.

In other words, having a "good attitude" requires us to adjust to internal and external circumstances and situations.

"But I'm RIGHT!" We insist when the opportunity to adjust our attitude arises.
No, you might have BEEN right at some point, but once circumstances change, you will have to adjust YOUR attitude to maintain balance and "keep flying."

The willingness to adjust may be the key to continued progress and development, whether it's in marriage or parenting or business or any other area of life. Changes come (like it or not) and we have to constantly adjust ourselves to maintain proper position.

What is proper position? As believers in Christ Jesus, the proper attitude is the one that enables us to keep walking in love toward our fellow man, no matter what is going on around us. When we slip over into selfishness and judgment and fear and rejection and unforgiveness our attitude has slipped out of place.

I'm checking myself this week for places where I'm out of place, where my attitude is droopy or faltering, and asking God to help me make the necessary adjustments to get back in position! How about you? Got your leg up there where it's supposed to be?

(I'm a bit late this week, but be sure to check out the other A2Z Take 2 posts for the letter "A"!)

You are the decisive element...

2012-01-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

I have this quote hanging on my wall. Every time I read it I'm inspired to do some things differently in my thinking, in my words and actions, and especially in the way I treat other people.
Thought I'd share it with you today ... enjoy!

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element:

It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor; hurt or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or deescalated, and a person is humanized or dehumanized.

If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be,we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832

Monday FAIL on Tuesday night

2012-01-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just wasn't inspired yesterday. Nothing. Nada.
I even tried to put something together.

Sometimes (all the time) I forget that my creativity, like my willpower (see this excellent series of posts from "The Art of Manliness about willpower) is finite. If I write a couple thousand words worth of local newspaper articles, plus a blog post, my creativity is pretty tapped out unless I make a conscious effort to recharge.

Fiction writing is different than blogging and journalism. When working on a fiction project, it's easy to get lost in the story and (excuse the cliche) go with the flow. When writing newspaper articles, you're locked in to interview quotes and facts you need to be able to back up. Creative writing skills are exercised in the form of segues, intros and conclusions to keep the reader's interest. If your article is about something as enticing as a board meeting, it can create a creative vacuum, a sort of verbal "black hole."

Blog posts are even more challenging, because they have a tendency to be a sort of "upchuck" of whatever is in your brain at the moment. Ew. Sorry for the visual.

That's why themes and memes are helpful (especially ones you didn't come up with yourself ... God bless Patty Wysong). Like the writing prompts you remember from high school English composition, themes and memes give you a place to put pencil to paper, or fingers to keyboard – a starting place for the race to "the end."

And so ... it's Tuesday night. I was "supposed" to post yesterday morning. At least Wednesday is already scheduled.
*sigh*

Hack your way to better living

2012-01-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

I wonder if the title of this post will get me in trouble?

I'm not talking about breaking in to the computers of some corporate giant, I'm talking about modifying your life for better productivity and quality of living. Simple changes that make a big difference.

Have you seen the Lifehacker site? I love it. Thousands of little ideas and ways to improve your quality of life. Instructables is another site chock full of tips and tricks and DIY stuff. Even Pinterest (latest addiction) has links to all sorts of cool ideas. Like this one...

Using a binder clip to keep my printer cable from falling into the crack between my desk and bookcase whenever I unplug my laptop. Duh. Why didn't I think of that?

Last year we bought two things that improved our quality of life, well, MY quality of life, dramatically. These weren't high-dollar purchases, just little things that never seemed to fit into our budget as a legitimate need.

An electric blanket and a doggy door.
Not exciting, not flashy, and certainly not luxury items, but WOW!
On a side note, the number of Flickr and Photobucket pictures of humans – adults and children – crawling through dog doors is somewhat disturbing.

We got rid of my husband's heated waterbed after my first pregnancy because third trimester + waterbed = beached ~~whale~~ woman. That was in 1991. For two decades we slipped between shivery sheets every night, muttering about the miseries of a cold bed. After a nasty cold spell last winter, DH went to the store and came home with an electric blanket. It has dual thermostats, auto shut-off, and so forth. We turn it on before bed, and slide into a cocoon of warmth. Ahhhh.

And then we bought a doggy door. Our dogs have free reign in our fenced backyard, and they like to run in and out all day long. We'd hesitated to install a doggy door, out of concern that some other furry critters would decide to come in for a snack. We've had skunks, raccoons, and a baby porcupine come through our fence into the yard over the years (and that's just the critters we caught). But my frustration increased exponentially every time I had to get up to let the dogs out, and then get up to let them back in, which occurred, oh, hundreds of times a day. Install doggy door and voila! I got two hours of time per day back for that $100 purchase. Seriously. Two hours a DAY. (Of course, I've wasted most of those hours on Facebook, but that's for another post.)

Archie headed outside after I spent 20 minutes scraping gunk off the doggy door so it wouldn't look gross in the picture.

Why am I sharing all this useless information? Because there are things you've thought about buying, but you keep putting it off and putting it off, even when you have the money, because it doesn't seem like a fun purchase, or there's something else that is more pressing. (There's ALWAYS something more fun or more pressing...)

It might be something as simple as a set of plastic tubs to organize out-of-season clothes and shoes, instead of wrestling with them in an overflowing closet or shoving them under the bed in plastic bags. It might be a pair of really comfortable ear buds for your iPod, so you can listen to something soothing while the shrill sounds of alien battles blasts from the other room.

I'm going to start paying more attention to those little things that are a regular source of frustration and seek out potential solutions, instead of just continuing to live with the problem year in and year out. I may not be able to resolve all of the frustrations and annoyances and time-thieves, like boys who leave their dirty socks on the floor and a husband who harbors a serious aversion to home repair projects, but what CAN I do? What can YOU do?

Wordy Wednesday #1

2012-01-04T08:43:00.001-07:00

It's the first Wednesday since I decided on my new plan for themed posts here at In Truer Ink. Wednesday, if you recall, is set aside for words. Not my words, but other people's words...enjoy!

I'll start with something from Eugene H. Peterson's introduction to the book of Galatians from his "contemporary rendering" of the Bible, aka The Message. He writes,

"When men and women get their hands on religion, one of the first things they often do is turn it into an instrument for controlling others, either putting or keeping them 'in their place.'
...Through Jesus, Paul learned that God was not an impersonal force to be used to make people behave in certain prescribed ways, but a personal Savior who set us free to live a free life. God did not coerce us from without, but set us free from within." p. 1602, Introduction to Galatians, MSG

Now think about your personal "religion," whether it's a denomination or an anti-denomination. Have you ever been guilty of using your religion to put or keep "others" in their place? Judging and condemning others, or worse, manipulating and coercing people to "walk this way" from outside, instead of letting Jesus work on them from the inside? I have.

Conversely, I've been a willing subject of that kind of external control, from the church AND from myself. It's the way religion works, and it makes our flesh feel good because it looks like we're accomplishing something. Unfortunately, all religion really does is put on a good show.

I need to think about the things I do, particularly the things I feel compelled to do, the things I feel guilty over, and the things I judge other people for doing, and figure out if those feelings are coming from within my new creation spirit, or from the Christian culture without. Interesting, no?

On a lighter note...

For guaranteed giggles, check out my daughter's blog, Walker Whimsy. Yes, I'm probably biased, but if your own kid can make you laugh out loud, surely she can make other people laugh too, right?

Joanne Sher may be one of the sweetest, kindest people I've had the good fortune to meet online. Her unflagging encouragement of others is inspiring, especially in light of the obstacles she has had the opportunity to rise above. She's starting a Wednesday theme at her blog, An Open Book, to share stories about God's goodness and faithfulness. Today's post, in particular, was heartfelt and thought-provoking.

And now, I'm off to work...

Themes, memes and ... what else rhymes with that?

2012-01-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

As part of my annual new year inventory, I've decided (after months of being a terrible blogging slacker) that I need to incorporate themes into my posting days.

Participating in Patty Wysong's meme a2z4u&me last year not only brought me into contact with an entirely different community of wonderful writers, it made me realize that SOTP (seat of the pants) blogging is not the best way to go about having a blog. Perhaps, at some point, this will carry over into my fiction writing, where SOTP continues to win, hands down, over plotting, but for now, I'll work on the planned blogging.

At this point, going with the things that are most often "on my heart" (whatever that means) to write about, I think Mondays will be devoted to Mental Health at Mid-Life, because that covers a huge variety of topics... empty-nest syndrome, perimenopause, enduring the teen years, marriage at mid-life, body image at mid-life, becoming a grandma, etc. Good things, challenging things, and s*** we simply have to put up with, like it or not.

I work Wednesdays at the newspaper office. It's our production day, which makes responding to comments difficult. Therefore, Wednesdays need to be set aside for posts that don't require much response. I suppose that's why so many bloggers do "wordless Wednesdays," but since I'm a word-person, I think Wednesdays may become the day I set aside for promoting OTHER people's words, whether Bible verses or famous quotes or books or blogs worthy of sharing.

Fridays... Because I don't work a full-time day job, and because my kids are mostly grown, Fridays have lately become an experience fraught with boredom, loneliness, and a bad case of "I wish I was doing something." Therefore, I hereby declare Fridays to be FREE FRIDAY. In other words, Friday could be a craft project (yes, those are on my list of things to do in the new year) or a freakishly fun activity (like 'how to go to a movie alone and still have a good time) or a quasi-political rant or some opinion I just can't keep to myself...

There you have it, dear readers, the plan for 2012. At least right now. It could change. I hope you'll join me, and invite others along for the ride.

Thank you for reading, for following, for commenting, for reminding me that I am not just talking to a volleyball named Wilson whenever I post something. You are appreciated, and I pray that the words you find here will encourage, inspire, enlighten and bring you joy and peace!

Oh, how I LOVE the New Year!

2011-12-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

I took down the Christmas decorations tonight. Everything will go back to the shed tomorrow morning. The fireplace mantel is empty. The top of the piano is bare of decorations.

And I don't care.

Why?

Because it means the year is over. All the turmoil, the trauma, the celebrations and rejoicing of 2011 have come to a close. It's time to turn the page, reboot the computer, reset the perpetual calendar. In the next few days we'll cross an imaginary line into 2012.

It really doesn't matter what number we assign to the year, what matters is the clean slate, the fresh start, the blank calendar.

The new year is a wide open door of opportunity for change, irresistibly attractive, IMO. It's an opportunity to set aside all the baggage I've picked up in the last 365 days and go forth, footloose and fancy free.

Those changes can be internal or external. They can be about writing goals or about personal goals, financial goals or emotional ones. They might fall into entirely different categories.

What do I want out of my life?

What changes must be made to accomplish those goals?

Time for a little introspection and self-evaluation ... care to join me?

The unexpected Christmas gift

2011-12-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

My son came home this week with an armload of gifts for our family, some from his work and some from church friends. I cried.

Then I got a message from a friend, thanking me for something I wrote a year ago and encouraging me to continue blogging and writing. I cried again.

For me, those unexpected gifts (Yes, I consider words of affirmation tangible gifts ... can you guess what my love language is?) are often the ones that mean the most. They become the gifts that stay with me well beyond the holiday season.

I wonder if that's how the shepherds felt when the angel appeared and announced the arrival of the Savior of the world? Surprised, blessed, humbled, grateful...

In the tumult of the coming weekend, I'm purposing to keep in the forefront of my heart and mind the most undeserved, unexpected gift ever given to humanity, Jesus the Christ. And to give thanks to the giver, our Father in heaven who declared His will for us all on that night through the angel:

"Peace on earth, and good will toward men."

Merry Christmas!

There's more than one way to _______

2011-12-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

You've heard the story about the little girl who asked her momma why they always cut the end off the Christmas ham, right? No? Well, she asked, and her momma said, "Because that's the way grandma taught me." So the little girl goes to her grandma and asks why they cut the end off the ham, and the grandma replies, "Because that's the way my momma taught me to do it." So the little girl asks her great-grandma why they always cut the end off the ham, and great-grandma answers, "I have no idea why your grandma and your momma cut the end off their hams. I did it because my pan was too short."

It's easy to let ourselves get stuck in a mental rut (perhaps that's what those weird wrinkles are on our brains), plodding along on the same limited course day after day. We get a certain idea in our heads about how things are going to go, and then we're frightened, frustrated, and disappointed when circumstances change.

If you suffered through my whiny Christmas post last week (I apologize, by the way), you got an ugly picture of that kind of blockheaded thinking. I felt trapped in a circumstantial snare, helpless and without options, like a fly in a web, just waiting for the spider to come and finish me off.

Don't you love how our Bible story
pictures are full of white guys?

I ended up in 2 Chronicles 20. According to the story, the people of Judah were facing imminent destruction at the hands of three armies. King Jehoshaphat, the Bible says, "feared, and set himself to seek the Lord..." He then prayed what might be one of the greatest prayers of faith in the whole Bible.

"O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." That's right, it's perfectly all right to go to God and say, "I have no idea what to do, but I trust You, Lord." God responded to Jehoshaphat's prayer through one of His prophets, saying, "...Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you."

Huh?

STAND STILL?

If an attacking army is headed your way, and you are more or less defenseless, isn't running away, or at least ducking into a hidey-hole the sensible thing to do? There's the rub. The sensible thing (the one possibility we see with our limited knowledge and ability) is not the only possible solution, it's just the only one you can see at the moment. I was watching my SIL play video games the other day, and it occurred to me that until you've played the game a few times you don't know all the tricks and turns and possibilities. In fact, today's games are so complex that the possibilities for action and reaction are almost limitless. I find it intimidating, but I'm from the Pac-Man generation: one screen, one character, a few bad guys, and only four directions to choose from.

How many of us are living our lives in that Pong/Pac-Man/Space Invaders kind of thinking, when we serve a completely limitless, endless-possibility kind of Lord and Savior?

Anyway, back to our story ... In response to the instructions from the prophet, Jehoshaphat did something completely bizarre. He took his praise and worship team and put them out on the front lines. (He had to have had some really, really, loyal and trusting music ministers.) And when they began to sing and praise "the Lord set ambushes against the people ... who had come against Judah; and they were defeated."

Having endured a few middle school band concerts and an opera or two, I can imagine the kind of music that would wipe out an entire army, but I don't think it was the music that took out the opposition. It was the POSITION they took of trust and praise in God and not trust in themselves or their weapons or their prowess with the sword and bow that gave them the victory.

The enemy of our souls sends his threats and his lies to terrorize us, circumstances come up in our faces because of the broken world in which we live, we make foolish mistakes and fall in holes of our own design, and we can see no way out, no way of escape. Ever been there?

THIS (above) is not the answer.
For some, tragically, the despair and hopelessness becomes so great they choose any way out they can find. Others run like scared rabbits. Some folks just freeze up and stop functioning. Others lash out in fury at anyone and anything in their path. The temptation is great, but the results are lousy.

Let's encourage one another, especially our friends and acquaintances and loved ones who are discouraged and frustrated by the mountains, or the advancing army, or the Red Seas in front of them, to keep our eyes and hearts and minds open to fresh ways of thinking and acting, new instructions (or old ones you haven't obeyed) to follow, even when those ideas seem contrary to the way we've always done things. Instead, tune in to that still, small voice in your spirit. I believe He's saying something to those facing apparently impossible situations:

"Don't panic, just trust Me. There's more than one way to skin this (proverbial) cat."

Pomegranates, my new favorite fruit.

2011-12-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

My first pomegranate encounter took place on the school bus. I was in 5th or 6th grade, and I'd never seen a pomegranate, much less tasted one. Of course, it was one of the "cool" kids who had one.

The result? I not only avoided pomegranates, I was afraid of them. They aren't the friendliest looking fruit, after all!

This year I ran across a "how to eat a pomegranate" on Pinterest and decided the time had come to conquer my fear. Pomegranates were on sale at the grocery, and I was armed with information. I bought one, and I was hooked.

Friends on Facebook shared tips for peeling the pomegranate.

Thanks to Nancy, I don't have red-stained fingers.
Thanks to Trina, I have a frozen stash of pomegranate seeds tucked away for later use.
Thanks to Kristine, I'm completely envious of her Phoenix back yard where pomegranates grow wild.

So what have pomegranates taught me?

1. That which is worth ingesting may be hidden within an unattractive shell.
2. Accessing the edible involves setting aside the chaff.
3. That which is good and nutritious contains seeds: the ability to reproduce itself.
4. The "good stuff" demands some effort on my part!

How do these lessons relate to spiritual truths?
1. Genuine Christian behavior and choice are rarely the most appealing choice.
2. We usually hear the Word wrapped in spiritual-speak or religious explanation... finding that which feeds your soul requires setting aside the excess.
3. You are what you eat, and you will reproduce what you have ingested.
4. In order to satisfy hunger, you must be willing to expend energy and effort.

Crazy, huh? How do you "feed" on the Word?

My whiny Christmas post

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Despite my pre-Christmas season commitment to avoid the annual commercialized Christmas pressure, I find myself drowning in a sea of cheap bows and ugly wrapping paper yet again.

Besides the nasty glue gun burn on my finger (yes, the same finger I snipped open with kitchen shears last summer) obtained while obsessively creating 3D paper stars so we would have some "new" decorations this year, I've depleted my "slush fund" like a cistern in a drought to buy presents for my kids and grandson. Not lots of presents, mind you, just one or two apiece. Now I'm fretting over the dearth of gifts and the depletion of my ~~slush~~ security fund. And there are still names on the list...

It doesn't help that everyone around me seems to have a surplus of Christmas funds this year. From iPads to the latest gaming system, to those wretched commercials where the wife presents her husband with a brand new Lexus with a ginormous bow on the top and the husband cracks open a box of "he went to Jared"...

Besides the gift issues, in order to spend Christmas Day with grandbaby, I did something I would ordinarily NEVER do. I finagled (manipulated) an invitation to the home of my SIL's parents for Christmas dinner. The kind of invitation that comes because folks don't want to say "no, we'd rather not include you, but we won't say so because we don't want to be rude."

Blea. Why do I do this to myself again and again? Can we just skip this season?

Don't try to tell me it's all about worshiping Jesus, because I had a more spiritual worship experience with the Lord last night in my dream montage (which involved a marble grotto, holy water and a genuinely intense one-on-one with Jesus) than I've ever had doing the Christmas thing. Seriously, there's so much hype involved in Christmas and Easter services at church that it's often hard to hear His voice.

© Photographer | Agency: Dreamstime.com

As for the "creating family memories" and "togetherness" idea, that disintegrated sometime after my kids became teenagers. Yeah, I remember opening gifts and racing to the phone in the hallway (the kind that was attached to the wall, folks, with a cord and everything!) to call my friends and compare gifts. I remember wishing, desperately, that one of my friends could keep me company for Christmas dinner with the fam. I really don't want to force my kiddos to endure my idealistic holiday vision against their will, either.

*sigh*
Hubby just came home and announced we must have a "state of the finances" meeting, which means nothing good. This is where I need a fast-foward button ...

Like I said, this is my whiny post. I'm sure I'll come out of it soon. Please forgive me for pity partying!

Cute Christmas-themed story from Barbara Early!

2011-12-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

This year, I'm determined to read some Christmas themed stories DURING the Christmas season, instead of in January, or in July, like usual.

I started with a brand new release written by fellow Inkwell Inspirations blogger (and debut author) Barbara Early entitled "Gold, Frankincense, and Murder." Red herrings abound in this cozy mystery. I found myself asking "whodunit?" right up until the murderer's unmasking.

A missing coworker.
A muscle-bound side-kick.
Sometimes the holidays can be murder.

Woven throughout the tale is the systematic dismantling of the heroine's Christmas tree by her cat, Soot. I think I owned that cat, once upon a time. Topping off the story is a sweet touch of romance between the heroine and the hunky hero, Sam. Will they figure out their attraction before it's too late?

As a Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden fan growing up, "Gold, Frankincense, and Murder" was a lovely reminder of what I loved about those early cozy mysteries. Need a quick boost for your Christmas spirit? Download "Gold, Frankincense, and Murder" for Kindle, or order your copy ASAP from White Rose Publishing!

The tumult 'bout Tebow

2011-12-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Before I begin this post, I must clarify my position:

1. I am not a sports fan. For the most part, I think it's a ridiculous waste of time, money, and energy. Why someone should be paid $6 million to PLAY football while our soldiers, firemen, and policemen scrape along on wages that are scarcely above poverty levels ... in my opinion there's something wrong with that. That's my personal opinion, and I'm just as entitled to it as you are entitled to bedeck yourself in the colors of your favorite team, wave flags, yell and scream, and spend hundreds, if not thousands, of your hard-earned dollars on merchandise and game tickets and overpriced hot dogs. To each their own.


photo by gtmcknight	via PhotoRee

2. I am a Christian. I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who came to earth in the form of a man and ransomed humanity from eternal death and destruction through his death, burial, and resurrection. He made the way for us to be restored to eternal life and relationship with God the Father. All that is required of us is to believe in Him, to acknowledge and receive Him as our Savior and as Lord.

That said...

Football fan or not, living in Colorado this year means we are bombarded with news and commentary about Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow, you may recall, first came under fire in 2010 for making a pro-life commercial that aired during those million-dollar milliseconds we refer to as "Super Bowl halftime."

He hasn't pulled back, either. His pregame prayer sessions on the sidelines have generated a viral movement known as "Tebowing." Yeah, there's no question about Tim Tebow's religious position, and his open profession of faith has generated the usual deluge of praise and criticism.

While most limit their wrath to Tebow's ability to lead an NFL team to victory as a quarterback, others have gone on the attack about his outspoken religious views. Even fellow Christian footballers like Kurt Warner have suggested Tebow tone down the religious rhetoric. Others have jumped to Tebow's defense, attacking the media attackers and declaring the young player the victim of an evil, left-wing, liberal, Christ-hating, socialist media agenda seeking to destroy our country's Judeo-Christian foundation.

*sigh*

I question how quickly the same right-wing, First Amendment professing, free-country-declaring individuals would be to leap to the defense of an equally vocal Muslim or a Jew or a Buddhist, or, {GASP} a homosexual football player? Or a thrice-divorced adulterer with questionable personal ethics ... oh, wait... stick with football, we're not talking about GOP presidential candidates.

On the other hand, would the Tebow haters be as swift to lash out against a non-believer? Would there be any notice taken at all?

Honestly, can we not come up with anything better to argue about? Do we REALLY believe God gives a flip about who wins or loses a football game as though it was an Old Testament battle between the Hebrews and the Philistines?

As for Tim Tebow, in my opinion he has every right to continue to speak from his heart, to pray on the sidelines, and to give honor and praise to God whenever and wherever he feels like it. Dude, go for it. And if you can keep up the winning streak, more power to ya ... Coloradans are noticeably happier when the Broncos aren't making ~~asses~~ er, donkeys, out of themselves.

For all the Christian armchair quarterbacks out there wielding your righteous indignation: Is persecution not to be expected for those who take a stand for Christ?

"If you are reproached (insulted or reviled) for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified." 1 Peter 4:14

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven ..." Matthew 5:11-12

Let's quit whining about the media being mean to Tebow and rejoice with him!
Just a thought.

That "X" in Xmas... What does it mean?

2011-11-30T17:56:00.001-07:00

Call it a pet peeve. Call it hypersensitivity to conflict and strife. Whatever it is, I'm SO tired of the griping about "taking the Christ out of Christmas."

Yes, Christmas is ridiculously over-commercialized. Yes, Santa Claus gets top billing from the world. But would we really WANT to subject the image of our Savior and Lord to the hype of the season? Drape him with Christmas lights, portray him sitting beside a decorated tree with a wrapped package in hand? Really?

But, Jesus is the reason for the season!
Yeah, but Jesus is the reason for EVERY season ... football season, baseball season, ski season, hunting season ... Without Him we are incapable of producing anything good. Hmm. If only the church would battle for the name and honor and glory of the Christ during all THOSE seasons as militantly as they do during Christmas!

But it's Jesus's birthday!
Um, no, it's not. Based on interpretation of the scriptures coupled with historical records, the actual birth of the Christ in Bethlehem took place in the spring. Sometime in the third century, the leaders of the early church, seeking to direct their congregations away from the pagan holidays they were accustomed to celebrating, decided to celebrate the birth of the Christ at the same time as numerous pagan holidays, including the birth of the Babylonian "queen of heaven." (It's the same mindset we use today with our "harvest parties" in an attempt to turn Christians away from observing Halloween.

And then there's the distress about abbreviating Christmas to "Xmas." Of all the arguments, I find this one the most irritating. Why? Because it exposes our tendency to choose offense over knowledge. The use of "X" in place of "Christ" was never intended as a slight to Jesus. During the days of the Roman persecution of the church, believers adopted the "ichthus" – or fish – symbol to represent their faith. According to R.C. Sproul, "Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”

So the next time you're tempted to jump in, feet first, to the so-called "war on Christmas," take a deep breath and ask yourself, WWJD? Or, as the early church might have put it, what would X do? Somehow I doubt Jesus would be having a hissy fit over how much appreciation He receives during the month we've labeled "the Christmas season." Instead, I fear He might be grieved by the strife, offense, hatred, abuse, and division that His followers have brought into the mix.

Maybe it's time to set aside our frenetic attempts to defend our Lord and instead love the unlovely and show mercy to the lost in the same way He did during His life on earth. Let's move past petty arguments about a pagan holiday that was overtaken by organized religion and move into the kind of acceptance and love demonstrated by our Jesus.

Check your motives, not your list!

2011-11-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

Perhaps it's because we honor traditions during the holidays more than any other time, this season can also cause us to tumble into unwelcome ruts in our thoughts and feelings.

I posted a few suggestions for getting a grip on the holidays at Inkwell Inspirations today that I hope will help me purge some of those old motivations behind some of the things I find myself doing year after year... Maybe they'll help you, too! Click the picture link below...

Glasses can't fix this

2011-11-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

I've got a perception problem. One thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of other women share.
No matter what I weigh, no matter my BMI or percentage of body fat, I never feel thin, skinny, or slender for more than a few seconds at a time.

Chalk it up to those formative years spent in ballet classes, or media pressure in magazines, TV, and movies. Blame my fear of becoming morbidly obese like several of my family members. Call it a brain dysfunction or whatever you will ... it is a point of perpetual suffering and torment. (Note: 6 years ago, I lost 25+ pounds through a combination of calorie restriction and exercise.)

This used to be sexy.

Since my grandson was born at the end of April, I've packed on somewhere between 5-8 pounds. My weight is still well within the healthy/normal range, but I'm struggling. I'm tired of starving myself and tired of battling jealousy and envy when my co-workers eat pizza and I see friends' posts about cupcakes and treats and going out to eat.

And yet, when I go to get dressed and my pants feel tight, I experience momentary panic. NOOOOO.... I can't go back there!

Isn't there a balance? A place of peace when it comes to one's weight and shape and size? I understand how people end up tens, even hundreds of pounds, over their ideal weight. At the same time, I fully comprehend how people can starve themselves down to 70 or 80 pounds, because no matter what you weigh, there's a lower weight to strive for. Crazy? Yep.

Anybody have any suggestions? Is there a magical cure? A lens I can put on that will make me see things as they are?

Yeah, I like Twilight. Deal with it.

2011-11-21T09:18:00.001-07:00

While procrastinating exercising this morning, I read yet another snarky commentary on the Twilight saga. This author pointed out the serious psychological dangers of letting young girls believe that there's a perfect man out there for them; the risk we take by filling their impressionable tween brains with fluffy romance and ideas of happily-ever-after. (That's right, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast and all the other fluffy fairy tales we feed our kids are damaging!)

Sure, the books might not be stand-out examples of literary excellence. Yes, men are freaking out about feminized vampires who glitter and refrain from killing humans and neutered werewolves who cry, pout, and whine. Women think Bella is a spineless weakling and Edward is a dangerous control freak, giving girls the wrong idea about relationships. The idea that the hero refuses to have sex with the heroine before marriage, or that both of them are shhhh... *virgins*, is totally unrealistic. And of course, getting married at 19 is just absurd ... after all, no one could really fall in love in high school, right?

I hate to say it, but if we're worried about the minds of our youth being corrupted by Twilight, we are so far removed from the culture in which we live we risk becoming totally irrelevant. I mean, check out the Ken doll I spotted at Walmart a few weeks ago.

Sweet Talkin' Ken is billed as the "ultimate boyfriend." You tell him what you want to hear and he repeats it back to you in "his" voice. Talk about unrealistic ... and don't even get me started on the detrimental effect Barbie's impossible measurements and lack of muffin top have on the female psyche.

But, gee, could that lack of realism have anything to do with the fact Ken and Barbie are TOYS? Kind of like the Twilight series is FICTION? Remember your definitions now, fiction is not true. It's for entertainment. It doesn't have to give an accurate depiction of reality because it isn't real. Read that again.
It. Is. Not. Real.

Every generation of young people latches on to something – a band, a movie star, a fashion style – that the older generation freaks out about. They're convinced the collapse of the civilized world will rest solely on Elvis' swiveling hips or Edward's sparkly skin. Remember the fervor over Olivia Newton-John's early '80s song, "Physical"? Or the protests over the length of the Beatles' hair? Or the flappers and cropped hair of the '20s?

This too shall pass.

Z is not the end! {an a2z4u and me post}

2011-11-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

Can you believe how swiftly these 26 weeks have flown by? I've met new friends, been ministered to through their words, (hopefully) encouraged them in their journeys, and, perhaps most importantly, kept blogging when I otherwise might have slipped right off the map, so to speak.

Of all of the blessings of participating in Patty Wysong's From A2Z4U & Me meme I've enjoyed, I'd have to say encountering the sweet, sweet spirit of Joanne Sher, the wisdom of Rita Garcia, the grace of Diana Leslie Brandmeyer, the courage of Amy "Sparrow" Wiley, the humor of Rhonda Shrock, the insight of Vonnie Blake, Ginger Solomon's gentle way with the word of God, Barbara Lynn Culler's inspiring photography, Kimberly Russell's roar of faith, Marji Lane's fresh vision, Shelly Ledfors practical application, Laury Hubrich's thoughtfulness, Sara Harricharan's awesome analogies... have I left anyone out?

Wow. Have I been FED spiritually through these posts? Most certainly.

And that is what leads me to my "Z" post... In the Greek alphabet, "zeta" is only the sixth letter... omega is the last. Therefore, I am declaring that "Z" is NOT the end of the From A2Z4U&Me meme.

Why? Because I believe something greater than a "linky" has been created over the past 26 weeks. From this point forward, when I see the name of one of the A2Z participants, I want to find out what's going on with them. I want to interact with them. Someday, maybe, I'll meet them in the flesh, and if not, I'll meet them when we all come together in heaven.

For the past few days I've been praying Jeremiah 29:11, and now I pray that verse over all the new friends I've met through this meme...

"For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome." (Amplified)

When it comes to the things of the spirit, the connections made between souls, there is no end... we may lose touch, or forget a name, or lose an email address, but the spiritual ties are there, and those are eternal. For that, I am thankful.

Thanks, Patty Wysong, and for all the rest of the FromA2Z participants. You have blessed and encouraged me! May the Lord bring to completion the good work He has begun in you!

Never good enough

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel oppressed or frustrated by the Scriptures you've read? As if the things you see in God's Word (the New Testament in particular) are just more things you need to add to your daily to-do list?

Do you battle an underlying sense of failure or condemnation because no matter how hard you try, you can't put an approved stamp beside all the perceived requirements assigned to your life?

Are you tormented by wordless guilt because you know you aren't good enough at anything you do, including being a daughter of God?

I'm convinced the above are symptoms of a spiritual attack designed to convince us that our "arms are too short" to fulfill the plan of God, that we aren't good enough, strong enough, spiritual enough, diligent enough, or some elusive something enough to please our heavenly Father.

Been there?

Here's a thought ... be who you are,
not who you wish you were.

You see, if you are a believer in Christ Jesus, God has already placed within you the power, the ability, the strength, the capacity and the grace to be everything He has called you to be, most of all, His beloved daughter, complete in Him. Do we see all of those things in our daily lives? Hardly. But that doesn't mean they aren't there, working their way to the surface as we yield.

Our pop culture fascination with zombies, vampires, werewolves and the like ought to teach us something ... transformation is inevitable. God WILL have His way in us. He will, according to His Word, bring to completion (perfection) the good work He has begun in us in Christ Jesus!

Y is for Yams {an a2z post}

2011-11-08T19:19:00.001-07:00

I so wanted to come up with a deep, spiritual post for the letter Y. Not because Y is particularly spiritual, but because I was told Sunday that my posts are "light and humorous" compared to my hubby's "serious" posts on Facebook. *sigh*

The funny thing? Face to face, hubby is the light and humorous one, and I'm perpetually serious (read: bland). Or that's how it seems, anyway. Perhaps our alter egos appear when we're online?vThat said, my "Y" post for this week's a2z4u and me meme is about yams. Yep, yams.

My momma is from Kentucky. And I don't just mean she lived there for awhile when she was little. After doing some genealogical research this year, I learned that my ancestors were in Kentucky when no other white folk were there, just Indians. Apparently, they liked the wilderness, as Kentucky was then considered.

This, perhaps, explains my fondness for horse racing, mint juleps, and my ability to make really good biscuits. Or perhaps not. Whatever. Anyway, one of our Thanksgiving staple side dishes when I was growing up was candied yams. I thought everyone ate candied yams for Thanksgiving (and Christmas).

Candied Yams (my mom's version)
Large-size can of yams (or more, depending on how many are coming for dinner)
Butter (real butter, of course)
Brown sugar (lots)
Bag of miniature marshmallows

Empty yams into a casserole dish, liberally sprinkle with brown sugar and chunks of butter, then top with marshmallows. Bake at approximately (this was never quite clarified) 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour. Or so. The best round I ever had was the year I baked them without the marshmallows, then added the marshmallows and broiled for a couple minutes. Yummy.

Anybody else have a collection of charmingly non-specific family recipes? You know, the ones with direction that include random measurements, times and temperatures?

Our first Thanksgiving dinner as parents was spent at home, because our 7-month-old daughter awoke with her first bout of stomach flu. (Yes, we stayed home. In later years with additional children, we headed for grandma's anyway. She was less distressed by vomit than I was.) I sent hubby to the store for the essentials and created what I thought was a suitable Thanksgiving dinner at the last minute ... roasted chicken (they were sold out of turkeys), and mashed potatoes, and green beans, and of course, the yams. (Do you remember Visions glass cookware? It was a wedding gift.)

To my surprise, hubby was not impressed by the candied yams. Regardless, for the past 20+ years, I've made the silly things, reducing the amount every year after realizing they will only be eaten by yours truly. And by my father-in-law. (Mom and Dad stopped "doing" holidays years ago.)

I've since added other ingredients, depending on the year ... crushed pineapple, a hefty dose of Kentucky whiskey, nutmeg, cinnamon ... attempting to adjust the recipe to appeal to the masses, to no avail. I'm still the only one who eats 'em.

Now, if I make baked sweet potatoes (aka yams, out here in Colorado), or oven-baked sweet potato fries, some of my kids will eat those. This year, I don't know ... I might just forget them altogether. It seems silly to make an entire side dish just for the sake of tradition.

Which makes me wonder ... how many of our church traditions are irrelevant to the masses, to the newly saved, or to those we attempt to reach by promoting those traditions?

Do you have holiday traditions from your childhood that had to be adapted after you got married and/or had kids?

For more a2z4u & me posts, click on the picture!

X is for Xanadu {an a2z post}

2011-11-02T14:41:00.000-06:00

Time for another {a2z4u and me} post!

I think we're all in agreement that the letter X poses a challenge un this kind of meme.

X marks the spot. (Too broad.)

X stands for "Christ" in Greek, which is where "Xmas" came from. (Too controversial.)

X-rays. (Nah. At our house, X-rays are depressing... the picture is from 2007... oldest son's elbow after snowboarding incident. Yep, that's an elbow.)

So I'm opting for something a little bit, um, lighter. Fanciful, even. I'm also showing my age. For some of you, this will be completely unfamiliar (and cheesy). For others, you'll remember it well, as cheesy as it is. But, it does start with X.

XANADU

Circa 1980: The Greek muses incarnate themselves on Earth to inspire men to achieve. One of them, incarnated as a girl named Kira, encounters an artist named Sonny Malone. With the help of Danny McGuire, a man Kira had inspired forty years earlier, Sonny builds a huge disco roller rink.

Here's to finding your muse!

What's behind that mask?

2011-10-31T11:05:00.000-06:00

I'm over at Inkwell Inspirations today... check it out!

On glue traps and becoming unstuck.

2011-10-28T13:40:00.000-06:00

Ever been stuck? I've never thought of myself as claustrophobic, but a fair number of my less-than-pleasant memories have to do with being stuck.

Stuck in a dress, unable to get it over my head... (I still hate when that happens).
Stuck in the mud/snow/ditch while four-wheeling.
Stuck at the airport unable to get a flight home.
Stuck at the top of a tree, unable to let go and ride the zip line to the ground.
Stuck in a sailboat in the middle of a storm on a lake too cold to swim in.
Stuck – belly-up and nine months pregnant – in a waterbed ... you get the idea.

And then there are the concepts of being emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or physically stuck in some undesirable condition, like depression, anxiety, failure, unforgiveness, condemnation, financial lack, physical weakness, strife, etc. Stuck sucks.

The first house my husband and I lived in after we married had mice. I'd had mice as pets when I was little, so snapping their little heads off in traditional traps upset me, as did poisoning them. (Somehow the poisoned ones always managed to perform their death scenes out in the open for my viewing horror.) We were being overrun by mice. And then I stumbled upon a glue trap. Now, I'd had no experience with glue traps, so I imagined a cute little field mouse with its four pink feet neatly attached to a piece of plastic about as sticky as a roll of duct tape. I assumed all it would take to free the mouse was a quick flick of my wrist.

I was wrong. Oh, so wrong. The mouse I found in the morning was pinned from whiskers to tail, squirming and writhing in terror. (Kind of how I look when I get stuck in my sweater.) This was no glue trap. This was mouse quicksand. There would be no gently prying the mouse off the trap. Traumatized, I racked my memory banks from chemistry class for a substance that would dissolve glue. (Do you remember those days before the Internet, when we had to rely on our own brains for information?)

I put on rubber gloves and tried soap and water first. Now I had a wet, clean mouse stuck to the trap. I tried a little nail polish remover. No luck. And it seemed too toxic to pour over the critter. My gaze fell on a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the cupboard. Behold! Rubbing alcohol dissolved the glue, sort of. After an hour of drizzling rubbing alcohol on Mouse and tugging as gently as I could manage, she was freed. Wet, bedraggled, bruised, exhausted, and obviously intoxicated, but free. I took her out to the field, where she wobbled away on unsteady legs and took refuge under some sagebrush. Good thing she wasn't driving.

What did I learn from the mouse and the glue trap? Getting unstuck takes effort. Lots of effort. Sometimes it takes outside assistance. You will probably look and feel worse for wear immediately afterward, but you'll be free. And freedom is worth it.

Having said all that, I've implemented my own "getting unstuck" plan. Yesterday, I moved my desk and office supplies out of the kitchen where they've resided for the last 10 years, and into the living room. It's a change of scenery, change of location and change of perspective. It's also many more steps to the pantry and the refrigerator! Then, this morning, I updated my author profile at NaNoWriMo.org.(cue applause, please)

If you're a writer-type, writing tends to be a kind of therapy. Whether you journal or blog or write fiction, a round of writing can be equivalent to a good, hard run for the athlete, or an hour of counseling in a psychologist's office. For myself, I'm looking at the NaNo challenge as 30 days of intensive therapy. Like a long spa visit. Or writing rehab. Whether I end up with something that can be polished into a manuscript of literary value is of less importance than getting myself unstuck, I've decided.

Step one. Check.
Step two. Check.
Step three ... decide what to write. I'll get back to you on that.

How about you? Do you have a plan for getting unstuck?
What's ONE thing you could do to start the process?

Writing, Weirdness and Westies {an a2z post}

2011-10-25T21:06:00.000-06:00

Brought to you by the letter "W," an a2z4u and me post.

WRITING. I wake up with words in my head. I go to bed with words in my head. Sometimes the challenge of extracting those words and putting them in print is enough to make me cry in frustration, and when the words flow like a river in spring run-off, it's better than sex. Okay, maybe not quite, but it's awfully close.

I think in words, not pictures. The recent move toward pictorial instructions and signage drives me crazy. Stick one of these pictorial signs in front of me and I feel like I've been presented with a Russian phrase to translate.

Did you know most people don't have a perpetual stream of words running through their brains? That when asked to spell a word they don't see a ticker tape of letters in their mind's eye? In my opinion, that explains so much about the absolute WEIRDNESS of the rest of the population.(Seriously, thank goodness for 'em ... otherwise I would still be trying to figure out how to operate some very common appliances.)

Have you noticed the general weirdness of the world lately? Have you wondered if weird should be spelled with an "i" before the "e" according to the rule? Somehow it seems appropriate that the word "weird" twists the rules of English, doesn't it?

My other W word is WESTIE. I am the proud owner of a West Highland White Terrier named Archie. Yep, he's the same kind of doggy highlighted on those Cesar dog food commercials.

What those commercials don't tell you is that Westies are only cuddly in the morning when they want you to get out of bed and get their food, and that after they nuzzle your nose they turn right around and lick their butts. On your pillow.


Archie after recent skunk encounter.

And they are never actually white. Like most white animals, Westies have a predilection for being dirty. Call it the instinctual desire for camouflage or the urge to get revenge for being forced to bathe, Westies do not like to be clean for any length of time.

All that said, I've never had a better dog. He's uber-independent, only sits in my lap when he's bribed with food, and thinks he's in charge of the entire household, but I know he loves me. As I type this, Archie is curled up in his basket. The basket I have placed at the end of my desk. Yes, if I moved his basket somewhere else, he'd go there ... it has nothing to do with MY location. Ah, well. If I had a needy dog I'd probably resent his neediness.With Archie I'm grateful for every scrap of attention he deems acceptable to offer.

Hmm... I'm sure there's something amiss with that last sentence, but I can't think about it now, Archie needs me!

To NaNo or not to NaNo?

2011-10-23T09:37:00.000-06:00

http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com

I seem to be in confession mode here. Perhaps therein lies the true power of the personal blog post ... the ability to bare one's heart and soul before an audience with an expectation of accountability, of support, even just the knowledge that someone else out there knows what you're going through.

Outside of blog posts, newspaper articles. grocery lists and Facebook status updates, I've scarcely written a thing in months. Oh, a few hundred words here and there, but certainly not the consistent progress I need to meet goals.

What's wrong with me? I've asked myself that question hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. The answer varies from the classic "not enough time" to "overwhelmed by change" to more random excuses. All – mind you – excuses.

Now, with a little more than a week before the 1st of November, I find myself involved in an internal debate.

TO NANOWRIMO, or NOT to NANOWRIMO?

For the uninitiated, Nanowrimo stands for "National Novel Writing Month." During the month of November, NaNo participants accept the challenge to pound out a 50,000 word manuscript in 30 days.

Shall I NaNo this year?
I've got another week to decide.
How about you?

Vicissitude: Today's Vocabulary word, an a2z post

2011-10-18T22:30:00.001-06:00

I confess. For this week's a2z4u&me post I had to revert to flipping through the "V" section for the Webster's New World Pocket Dictionary on my desk. Yep. I ran out of steam, or juice, or creative Viagra, or whatever it is that keeps us writers going, this week. In fact, my only personal blog post last week was for this meme. Ouch. I feel like a slacker.

My eyes scanned the words... variable, vermouth, vicissitude.
Huh? What the heck is vicissitude?

I'm not sure what kind of a nerd gets a rush out of stumbling across an unfamiliar word in the dictionary, but whatever kind of nerd it is, I'm it. Finding a new, interesting word is almost as good as finding a few extra bucks in my checking account or discovering a brand new Ann Taylor jacket in my size and preferred color at Goodwill on half-price. (Yes, that makes me incredibly cheap: I look for the sale tags at Goodwill.)

So what is vicissitude? According to my handy pocket dictionary (a Christmas gift from one of my kids) it's "any of one's ups and downs; change."

I don't know about you, but definitions like that are like having "just a taste" of my husband's dessert at the company Christmas dinner ... unsatisfying. So I looked vicissitude up on www.dictionary.com (a favorite site).

Oh my. That's me. That's where I'm at right now ... if I took a picture of myself I could stamp VICISSITUDE on it with one of those big, red rubber stamps no one but government officials use anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE change. I rearrange my furniture seasonally, revamp my wardrobe as often as I can make the 100-mile one-way trek to the nearest ~~mall~~ Goodwill, and change my hairstyle as quickly as it will grow. But these changes, I don't know... physical, mental, emotional, familial, relational, spiritual, financial... name it, it's in a state of flux (another way to say "transition"). Or mutation. Is that what's happening? Am I mutating?

Years ago, when my mom was going through menopause, she described it as "puberty in reverse." I think I might finally understand what she meant. Hopefully, this too shall pass... SOON.

How do YOU handle change?

For a selection of much more inspiring posts about the letter "V," check out the following:

Unmentionables! An a2z post.

2011-10-12T21:08:00.000-06:00

No, no, not underwear.
(I've already done a series of posts about underwear.)

For the letter "U" in the a2z4u and me meme (can you believe it has been 21 weeks already?) I'm thinking about the unmentionables in the church today.

You know what I mean ... the turmoil burbling under the surface. The things we only speak of in whispered voices, behind closed doors, only with specific individuals. The stuff you don't want the rest of the congregation to know. The things you would be traumatized for your pastor or reverend to know about your life. Things you refer to as "unspoken" in prayer requests. Subjects that make us cringe when they turn up in sermons. Problems and questions there are no easy answers to. Topics we'd rather pretend don't exist in the lives of "nice" church people: domestic violence, rebellious children, emotional and/or physical adultery, racism and bigotry, addictions to drugs, alcohol, work or sports, child abuse, money trouble, depression, bipolar disorder, sexually transmitted diseases...

Seriously, I'd been in the church for almost two decades before I ever heard anyone mention God offering forgiveness and healing for STDs. Considering the number of people afflicted by these ailments, why hadn't that ever come up before? Because it's an unmentionable.

Your social background, your personal and familial history, your denomination, and your age all contribute to your idea of what is unmentionable. If you are a writer of inspirational romance, your list of unmentionables is dictated by the requirements of your preferred publisher. If you write for secular publishers, your character's Christian faith might be an unmentionable in your manuscript. Political associations further define your list of unmentionables, as do the area of the country in which you live, and the level of education you've achieved.

Many of the unmentionables from our parents' generations are no longer an issue, just as exposed bra straps and stockings fail to stir a reaction these days. Things that were hush-hush a generation or two ago, like cancer, miscarriage, and bankruptcy, are no longer kept silent, and that's a good thing. Thanks to our society's ravenous interest in politicians and entertainment stars we are privy to infidelity, addiction, mental breakdown, and every weakness and sin and failing known to man (not always a good thing). In accord with the nature of the flesh, we either embrace and accept, or we point fingers and scorn those who fall under the unforgiving lens of the paparazzi.

In my opinion, when it comes to seeking Christ's grace and forgiveness, what we admit to and discuss in our Christian circles, there should be no limitations, no unmentionables. Jesus didn't shy away from any topics that came up for discussion ... he addressed adultery, prostitution, women's health disorders (still a whispered topic in many circles), demon possession, divorce, leprosy (the AIDS of the day), and more. I doubt there was a subject He didn't meet head on with the truth of the Gospel. How did he meet those difficult subjects? Not with condemnation, judgement, and persecution, but with grace, forgiveness, mercy and HOPE.

Do we do the same?

Can the people in your circle of faith, your sphere of influence, come to you with their unmentionables without fear of rejection and rebuke? Have you, have I, created an atmosphere of mercy and love for our children, our friends, our fellow church members and our coworkers to enter? Or are those we love and long to minister God's grace to hindered from coming to us because they see their troubles on our list of unmentionables?

Lord, help me to love those whose troubles frighten and disgust and repulse me. Help me to love with Your love beyond the unmentionables of my denomination, my generation, and my experience. Just as there is NOTHING impossible with You, and nothing outside the reach of Your mercy and grace, may my ministry in word and deed mirror Your kindness and love. In Jesus' name.

Tomatoes... the green ones.

2011-10-04T20:41:00.000-06:00

Colorado's first winter storm for the 2011-2012 season is due tomorrow. That means goodbye garden. After a few weeks of running outside at dusk to drape blankets and sheets over my plants to protect them from frost (we've already had a few), today I determined it was time to put the garden to bed. I picked the remaining pumpkins and squash and green tomatoes in the rain this afternoon, and left the garden gate open for the deer and bunnies and other critters to come in and glean the remnants from the peas and beans and spinach and lettuce.

Tomatoes are strange. The leaves and stems are toxic (a member of the nightshade family, like hemlock), but the fruit (yes, tomatoes are a fruit, or technically, berries) is delicious. At our altitude, with our short growing season, they tend to be challenging to grow, and nearly impossible to ripen on the vine. As a result, I have a bay window full of hard, green 'maters. A few of them have ripened in the sun over the past few days, but I'm concerned that the ugly weather forecast for the rest of the week means we're going to be eating lots of very green tomatoes.

So tonight I made fried green tomatoes. (I only recently realized one of my Pampered Chef lids fits my mountain man rendezvous authentic cast iron skillets ... Suddenly, fried foods are not the messy misery they were before. Darn it.)

Here's the recipe...

Heat oil of choice in cast iron skillet. (I used canola) and heat to medium heat.
Slice your green tomatoes. 1/4 inch thick is good.
In a shallow container (pie pans are good) mix 1 cup flour with cajun seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. (I used Tony's Creole, because I had it available. I added salt and black pepper.)
In another shallow container, mix 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk with 1-2 eggs (depending on the number of tomatoes you plan to fry. I fried 8 tomatoes and used 2 eggs.)
In the third container, mix 1 cup cornmeal with 1/2 cup bread crumbs. I had Italian flavored bread crumbs on hand, so that's what I used.
Dip your tomato slices in the flour/seasoning mix, then in the milk/egg mixture, and then coat both sides in the cornmeal/bread crumb mixture.
Fry for 3-5 minutes per side (or until golden brown) remove and place on paper towels to drain.

Interestingly, hubby and sons thought I'd deep fried a bunch of zucchini. *sigh* Whatever.

Do you remember the "Fried Green Tomatoes" movie? I do, vaguely. More, I remember the atmosphere of the movie and the attitude of the characters; the way "fried green tomatoes" – something many viewers, myself included, had never tasted – came to represent an idea. I haven't watched the movie in years, but the mention of fried green tomatoes triggers thoughts of Southern living, of strong women, of inspiration, and, most importantly, of friendship.

What books or movies or television shows are marked in your memory by a food, or a specific location, or a certain "something" that generated an atmosphere you can't forget? Can you put your finger on the "thing" that made that story unforgettable?

"T" is the latest in the a2z4u and me blog meme. For more "T" posts, click the picture!

Is this goodbye, Erica Kane?

2011-09-30T13:29:00.000-06:00

It's the end of an era. After 41 years of daytime television, the final episode of ABC's daytime drama "All My Children" aired last week.

Susan Lucci as original character Erica Kane (1970)

Goodbye, Erica Kane, and your six (or was it eight?) husbands.

But wait! As with all great soap opera characters, the end is never really the end. In classic soap opera style, the show's producers left fans hanging on Friday, Sept. 23 (supposedly the final episode) with a cliffhanger. Then announced Monday that in January 2012, new episodes of AMC will begin airing in a new online format.

I loved soaps in my teens and early 20s, despite my mother's dire warnings that soap operas would make me neurotic. (I was neurotic before I ever saw a soap opera. Maybe that's why I liked them so much.) When my parents (finally) bought a VCR, I started recording "General Hospital" to watch after school or in marathon format on the weekend.

TotallyLooksLike.com

After marriage and children, Frisco and Felicia were replaced by ginormous purple dinosaurs on Ecstasy; a Poltergeist-ish clown doll that lived in the couch, spoke to dust bunnies, and had this "10-second tidy" song I thought was great and my kids ignored; a really nerdy dude in a striped rugby shirt having delusions about a blue dog and talking salt and pepper shakers; and Geordi from Star Trek: The Next Generation reading children's books without his signature banana clip glasses.

Even though I don't watch them anymore, for the sake of cheap thrills, ridiculous story lines and absurdly unbelievable plot gimmicks, I'm relieved that AMC isn't really over.

I mean, in what other venue can you return from the dead as your own evil twin to torture your in-laws, have amnesia and marry your husband's brother, expect your one true love to crash the wedding of the century just before you say your vows to the wrong dude, and lie in a coma for weeks in a hospital bed in full make-up with gorgeous hair? Those kinds of cliches don't even pass muster in category romance novels anymore.

Escapism? Of course it is. But I'd rather watch Erica Kane and her pretend husbands than watch the Bachelorette date 12 men at the same time. Call me old-fashioned.

S is for Sesame Street {a2z4u and me}

2011-09-27T10:57:00.000-06:00

Sesame Street will celebrate 42 years of children's television broadcasting in November. I like to think that Kermit the Frog and Big Bird and Grover and Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie are just eight months older than me. Of course, that's not why I'm thinking about Sesame Street today. THIS is why...

Grandbaby Talen, 5 months old and already fascinated by Sesame Street.

Forty-two years on air is a pretty amazing track record. The show's creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett combined short films, humor, music, live action and animation with Jim Henson and his team of puppeteers to harness the childlike quality of the human imagination and yoke it together with educational teaching tools. How many of us learned how to count, how to read, even how to get along better with others while watching Sesame Street?

Oh, sure, there's been controversy ...after only one year on the air, "a state commission in Mississippi voted to ban Sesame Street because of its 'highly integrated cast of children' which 'the commission members felt ... Mississippi was not yet ready for'." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street#cite_note-missban-116)

Source: chestychong.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

At some point, even before the Peewee Herman debacle, someone suggested that Bert and Ernie might be gay, since they live together. In my opinion, people who sit around looking for homosexual tendencies in a couple of puppets need to have their minds washed out with strong lye soap.

Even lovable, huggable Cookie Monster came under public fire. His cookie addiction reportedly setting a bad example for children. These days, you'll find Cookie including healthy, nutritious snacks to his diet. Poor Cookie... I know how he feels, but we all have to eat better as we get older.

Oscar has been recommended as a candidate for antidepressant therapy since he's always so grouchy. But then, that's why we love him. Didn't you always want to venture down in that trash can and see what his house looked like?

Grover (my favorite growing up) probably has adult ADHD and delusional tendencies. He does, after all, sometimes think he's Super Grover. But he also has a sweet, kind heart and wants to help others.

Source: yfrog.com via Adam on Pinterest

During the years when I was "too cool" for Sesame Street and the time I had my own kids, new characters joined the neighborhood. Most notably, Elmo. Remember the tickle-me Elmo doll? Parents having knock-down drag-outs over the last one on the shelf at Walmart before Christmas? Elmo would not approve, I'm sure, since he's all about being nice. So nice he drives most people crazy.

Criticism aside, the next time you think about Sesame Street, for whatever reason, remember how powerful and far-reaching our imaginations are. Like Jim Henson (pictured at left), let's be bold enough to do things that haven't been done before, in spite of the controversy, in spite of the opposition, whether we are lawyers or teachers or writers or ministers of the Gospel.

Our God-given creativity, unleashed, has the power to extend far beyond our own lifetimes. Let's release that creativity for His glory and honor in whatever we set our hands to.

For more fantastic a2z posts, click here...

You say tomato, I say pomodoro

2011-09-23T17:26:00.000-06:00

I love time management systems and methods and plans. But they have to be simple. Really simple.
If it involves color-coded tabs or little symbols or sorting tasks into boxes, I will fail. For me, time management has to be flexible, functional, and feasible.

In the past month I stumbled upon a new method that sounds promising. I've even gone so far as to download the desktop gadget for it... although I haven't found the time (how sad is that?) to test it out yet. It's called The Pomodoro Technique. You can find out more about it HERE.

I've been a multi-tasker for years. Blame it on being a mom...
Cooking dinner – talking on the phone – balancing the checkbook – watching the evening news – with a baby in a backpack, and a toddler clinging to one leg. Or blame it on being a child of the 80's, when the average attention span of a human being dropped to the average length of a music video on MTV.

Multi-tasking just seemed to be the way to go if I wanted to "get everything done," which is, in itself, an oxymoron. Everything will never be done. If you don't believe me, do the laundry or the dishes. No sooner is the laundry basket empty then someone throws their dirty underwear on the floor. Dry that last dish and put it away and someone will set a dirty glass or ice cream bowl in the sink. Just saying.

Recent studies indicate multi-tasking is not as productive as we were led to believe. (See this NYT article for evidence.)

So what's the solution? It's obvious most of us NEED some sort of time management technique, lest we be drowned in the tasks we keep avoiding in favor of doing things we like. Using the Pomodoro Technique (pomodoro means tomato in Italian... I'm glad they left it as pomodoro, because tomato technique just doesn't sound quite right) you attack your to-do list in four 25-minute segments, with 5-minute breaks in between. After the fourth segment, you take a 20-minute break.

This appears to be especially helpful for those of us who are involved in creative endeavors – writing, painting, design, etc. – which have the ability to suck you into your chair for hours at a time. Only the longer you strain your brain you're losing effectiveness, making more mistakes, and effectively thwarting your own best efforts.

I, for one, am not good at taking breaks. Once I start, I want to finish. This is particularly silly when pursuing goals like writing full novels, painting an entire room, all kinds of crafting projects, scrapbooking, and cooking.Yes, cooking. For years I've avoided recipes that require "chilling" or "marinating" because I hate to take breaks. Marathon cleaning sessions have frequently left me so exhausted I pass out on the couch without ever enjoying the fruits of my labor. (By the time I wake up someone has made a new mess, of course.)

The Pomodoro Technique will require me to exercise some self-discipline (never a bad thing) and will, hopefully, keep me from scrolling Facebook and Pinterest for hours on end instead of doing the things that I really want to do, the things that really MATTER.

My tomatoes outside in the garden are still green on the vine this first day of autumn, nevertheless, the change of season is a good time to start applying the tomato ... er ... Pomodoro .. technique!

Recovery (an A2Z post)

2011-09-20T21:22:00.001-06:00

I'm in recovery.

Merriam Webster: the act, process, or an instance of recovering...

(Don't you hate those definitions within a definition?)
"To recover" means:

1: to get back : regain
2a : to bring back to normal position or condition recovered himself> b archaic : rescue
3a : to make up for <recover increased costs through higher prices> b : to gain by legal process
4 archaic : reach
5: to find or identify again <recover a comet>
6a : to obtain from an ore, a waste product, or a by-product b : to save from loss and restore to usefulness : reclaim

I'm recovering from an extended period of working while wounded – spiritually wounded, or "burned out" – to use popular vernacular.
Running on fumes.
At the end of my rope.
Those phrases have all found their way into my vocabulary over the past few years. And now... relief has come.

But why isn't it instantaneous?

To my chagrin, this recovery process is taking a lot longer than I anticipated.

I expect it's the same for someone coming out of a broken relationship, a job loss, a bankruptcy, a natural disaster, or a death, in all varying degrees.

But I am impatient.
I want to be "back to normal" NOW.
Normal, however, is a figment of my imagination, nothing more than a state of mind. It would be better to look back to the definition and identify what recovery means, for me...

That's important for all of us, to clearly identify the GOAL of recovery, whether we're coming out of a bout with the flu or a financial crisis or a spiritual struggle. What's your goal, what's your vision? Picture yourself in your mind's eye as "recovered," what do you see? Write it down.

"Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it. Hab 2:2 NKJV

Without a vision (a hope and plan for the culmination of your recovery) you run the risk of being disappointed. Where are you headed? What does it mean to be rescued? To be reclaimed?

Remember Tom Hanks' in Castaway? His rescue, or recovery, was not what he expected. He had to establish a "new normal," and so do we when we find ourselves in the position of recovering from something, whether it's surgery or injury or some other ailment.

Give yourself time. I'm trying. God is working, piece by piece, part by part, step by step, to restore me to wholeness and strength. But I need to give Him (and me) time to accomplish the process.

(for more A2Z posts, by talented writers with words to bless you, click on the picture... believe me, it's worth it)

May I Be Excused?

2011-09-16T15:41:00.002-06:00

Remember PE class? That horrific nightmare of the educational system designed to expose every flaw and weakness, destroy self-esteem, and stigmatize you for life?

I learned (early) how to get out of PE. All I needed was a note from my mother. On the days we were scheduled to do REALLY awful activities, like dodgeball (AKA kill the nerdy kid), I'd get a note to "sit out" of PE, which usually meant I got to spend the hour reading. Nice.

So when my washing machine overflowed again, this time from the pipe under the kitchen sink (after filling both sides of the sink with wash water from the load of towels and the bathmat used when we washed the skunk spray off the Westie) my first thought was, "May I please be excused?"

It has been a week.

Sunday night: Hubby had a strange, uncharacteristic outburst of wrath that left me in tears for most of the night (he has since apologized and all is hunky-dory in our little kingdom, FYI).
Monday: Dog escaped from yard while satellite guy was here. Returned with a face-full of skunk. He still smells (the dog, I don't know about the satellite guy, I didn't smell him), in spite of repeated baths incorporating various mixtures and formulas.
Wednesday: My car overheated on the way home from work, forcing me to stop every 1/4 mile to let it cool off. Hubby JUST fixed car on Saturday.
Thursday: Hubby got rained out at work and had to come home. This equates to a smaller check for the coming pay period.
Friday: Round 2 this month of plumbing problems. (See above explanation.)

Yeah. One of THOSE kind of weeks. Not big stuff, not scary awful stuff, no ER visits (thank God), nothing I really have any reason to whine about.

Just annoyances. Aggravations. Time wasters. Bad smells.

Kind of like PE class.

But mom can't write me a note to excuse me from life.
And God won't. (I already asked.)

So I better suck it up (literally and figuratively, considering the water that is making its way across the floor) and deal with it!

Quickly! Quickly! {an A2Z post}

2011-09-14T08:33:00.000-06:00

This has to be quick.
Quick.
REALLY quick!

It seems like there's never quite enough time in the day to do all the things I want to do, need to do, should do, have to do, ought to do.

My want-to's (working on my WIP, craft projects piling up in the back bedroom, plucking my eyebrows so I don't look like Bert from Sesame Street) get shoved down below the have-to's (gotta homeschool the youngest, gotta feed the troops, gotta sweep up the dog hair before it turns into another dog, gotta get to work) and the need-to's (need to answer email, need to mow the lawn, need to iron that shirt before I wear it again).

The ought-to's (ought to call that friend and go for coffee, ought to take the recycling away) and the should-do's (should remove that fuzzy object from the back of the fridge, should call my mother), I keep trying to pretend the shoulds and oughts aren't there. It isn't working.
(The fuzzy thing in the back of the fridge may have growled at me this morning when I reached for the creamer.)

So I end up with a terrible case of White Rabbit Syndrome, rushing here, rushing there, rushing, rushing everywhere.

Oh my furry ears and whiskers,

look how late it's getting!

Ever feel like this? Chasing the clock, convinced the sun has increased the speed with which it traverses the sky?

I'm late, I'm late,

For a very important date.

No time to say "Hello."

Goodbye.

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.

(For more a2z posts, click HERE:

Why We Need Spiritual Autumn and Winters

2011-09-10T11:14:00.000-06:00

photo by *~Dawn~*

via PhotoRee

In my last post about spiritual seasons I said I would do a little research about what happens to trees and plants during autumn and winter. I knew trees and grass and other perennials don't actually die during the winter. What I didn't know is how important the processes are to the health and well-being of the plant/tree the importance of fall and winter. Not just for plants and trees, but for ourselves, spiritually speaking.

Leaves changing color and fluttering to the ground are probably the most obvious sign of autumn. Responding to the shortening hours of daylight, deciduous trees begin a process of self-preservation. Leaves are fragile in comparison to branches and trunks, unable to survive freezing temperatures. The tree shuts off the supply of chlorophyll (which supplies the green color). The yellows and oranges and reds are the result of other chemicals already present in the leaves, or produced during the light changes in the autumn.


photo by ganzoman	via PhotoRee

In other words, the tree senses what's coming, and begins to prepare. It stores food produced in the leaves during the summer to sustain itself, stocking up a "plant pantry" to feed upon throughout the winter. Although trees appear dead, the winter period is called dormancy. Similar to hibernation in many animals, plants are resting, relying on the food they've stored up during the spring and summer. Attempts to force growth during this season (fertilizing, for example) may actually harm the plant.

And something else is going on during those long, cold, months of winter ... the growth to come in the next spring and summer is protected and nurtured within the bud. Growth that is already prepared, already expected, already established. When "environmental conditions" are right, those buds will swell and blossom into the new life of spring.

photo by enggul

via PhotoRee

Are you fretting over the dropping of your spiritual "leaves"? Fearful that spring will never come, and if it does, you'll be left behind?

Don't fret or fear. Start looking for the buds of new life. What "swells" in your heart when you think, talk, or hear about it? What thoughts and dreams and activities stir within you like a warm breeze? Yes, they may seem to be entirely different from anything you've done before, but that's all right ... God likes to do new things.

Meanwhile, enjoy the season you're in, whatever season it may be, because God has a plan for you, and that plan is good!

Not Crazy, Just Changing Seasons

2011-09-08T15:55:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, just when you think you're really "losing it" (like maybe you took a wrong turn and are now limping down an endless stretch of deserted country road) you stumble upon another traveler on the same path, one with greater wisdom about the journey or just in the same place, and you're comforted. That happened to me today. Bonnie Gray's "What Season of Faith Are You Walking In?" post at Faith Barista spoke to my heart.

Our seasons of faith – where we're "at" in our walk with God, in our prayer lives, in our daily conduct – are subject to change just as surely as the seasons outside the window. And that's all right. Throughout the course of our lives we walk through many seasons. Why wouldn't the same thing be true in our spiritual walk?

It may be a spiritual season of springtime for you right now ... full of new life, fresh growth and revelation, warmth and the rain of the Holy Spirit. All excitement and thrills and power. I'm thinking of a young couple I know. They're having spring. Running to and fro from meeting to conference to meeting, reveling in the presence of God, excited about things to come. They are sowing toward their future in word and action.

Or you might be having summer ... bright, warm days filled with harvesting the good things sown in the spring, enjoying the juicy fruits of righteousness and basking in fellowship with others and with God. This is the season of maturity, of fullness and rejoicing, of moving past just being blessed to being a blessing.

Perhaps you've entered a spiritual autumn. Things seem a bit dry. Everything "looks" different. I think of Solomon writing Ecclesiastes, questioning and testing and examining. Parts of your spiritual experience that were lush and vibrant a season ago have withered away to dead stalks. There's a chill in the air and a sense of impending change. As Bonnie put it, fall is a time of "letting go." I'm about to have to "let go" of my garden, as we've dropped down into the 30s at night here and my squash and tomatoes have already suffered the chill. It's time to put my garden "to bed" for the season. From a spiritual perspective, we "put to bed" our ministry as pastors in July.

Maybe it's spiritual winter for you right now. Everything appears frozen, dead, unwelcoming, and harsh. There's little light and lots of long, empty hours of darkness. Fellowship with others all but disappears. You want to hibernate, nestle yourself away with your Abba and avoid the cold, hard world outside. On the inside, there's light and life and warmth, but it's locked within. Think of Paul, writing to the church at Philippi from his prison cell, life within and apparent death without. I wonder if, at the time, Paul felt like he was in a spiritual winter?

For some strange reason I think I've been led to believe the only spiritual seasons of value are spring and summer. After all, those are the seasons we applaud in our churches and encourage from our pulpits. Watch someone enter an autumn, or worse, a winter season, in his or her spirituality and the questions come. "Is so-and-so backslid? Are they falling away from the church? What's wrong with him/her?" Maybe, just maybe, NOTHING AT ALL. Perhaps the person is simply in a different season.

Just because the leaves fall off the tree in autumn doesn't mean the tree is sick.
Snow that covers the grass and turns it brown doesn't indicate the death of the lawn.

What if there's something important, something critical, to be accomplished during a spiritual autumn and winter? The God I know and love wouldn't have created entire seasons that produce nothing.

So what is happening in nature during fall and winter that we're ignorant of? And does that analogy apply to us spiritually?

I'll be mulling this one over for a day or two. I'll share what I discover in my next post.
In the meantime, check out some of the other posts linked up to this subject at Faith Barista...

P is for Premenstrual: An a2z4u & me post

2011-09-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

My P for a2z could have been PAT, for my hubby, or procrastination, purpose, presence; even popcorn or peanuts or personality. Instead I've opted to venture out on a hormonal limb... my P is for PREMENSTRUAL. (If you wish to run away screaming now, go ahead. No hard feelings.)

I didn't even realize I'd developed a problem until I had baby #3 (the one who started his senior year in high school this week).
Several months after his birth I found myself sitting on the living room floor, rocking and sobbing, unable to remember my own name. Certifiable? In a former generation, probably. I was out of control enough to scare myself, anyway.


If your hubby looks like this guy some days...

From month to month my symptoms ebbed and flowed... confusion, depression, fits of rage, uncontrollable anger, crying jags, severe panic attacks, forgetfulness, exhaustion, nausea, headaches, stomach trouble, nightmares. For at least a week out of every month I was convinced my husband's head was entirely too small for his neck and my children were trolls. No matter how much I cleaned all I saw was dirt and filth in my home.

I was a fairly new Christian at the time, just learning about walking by faith and trusting God. I knew my behavior was completely contrary to who I was in Christ, but I couldn't seem to control myself.

The physical/mental/emotional symptoms were bad enough. The spiritual symptoms were unbearable. For 10 days prior to my period I felt spiritually dead. I read the Word the way a middle schooler reads a university philosophy textbook – completely void of interest and understanding. My prayer life was dull, dry and empty. I felt guilty and condemned. I went to church and battled sarcasm, irritation and an inability to ignore the pastor rattling his change and keys in his pocket during the message and the wobbly beehive bun in the front row. If I was saved, why couldn't I act better? Why did it seem like God was so far away?

I fasted. I prayed. I belittled myself for being weak and lame and a Christian wimp.
I changed my diet and tried herbal and homeopathic remedies with varying degrees of success.

Eventually I explained to spouse and kids the physiological changes I was experiencing from month to month. Hubby learned to watch for "signs" so he knew ~~what~~ who to expect when he came home from work. Kids learned to "be on their best behavior" when mommy had her monthly crazies.

Seventeen years later PMS is still a battle for me (although my sons and son-in-law have a better understanding of the female menstrual cycle than most physicians). Increased knowledge and the addition of prescription medications mean I'm less likely to throw things, kick the furniture and rant for hours over misplaced action figures and Legos. These days I'm more inclined to go into hiding (literally) than I am to fly off the handle and have a random emotional meltdown.

For the love of other humans, especially my children and hubby, that's probably a good thing. For myself, I'm still NOT MYSELF for a week, and that's frustrating. Imagine losing yourself for 10-12 days every month, barely able to function and completely unable to trust your reactions to people and situations. That's PMS (or PMDD).

It's easy to joke about (believe me, I've heard them all) and easy to discount as a non-issue if you aren't a sufferer. Most physicians brush aside the symptoms of PMS/PMDD as a "girl problem."
It's not so easy to live with, much like so many of the chronic health issues many of us face. May weclearn to offer each other grace instead of rebuke, mercy instead of judgment, in the light of those conditions.

Bloom Anyway

2011-09-03T09:24:00.001-06:00

This sunflower bloomed yesterday.

It's not a wild sunflower, nor is it planted in a flower bed. The seed from which this flower sprang started out in the bird feeder, on its way to being bird food. Birds, however, are messy eaters, and have managed to drop enough seeds to generate a little patch of grass below their feeder. And this solitary flower.

In the course of life, many of us eventually wonder if we are fulfilling our purpose on the earth. Are we living according to the design of our Creator? When we stand before Him will we hear Him say "well done, good and faithful servant" or will He cross His arms and tap His foot and frown and say "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

To that very normal question about life and what we do with it, add a touch of neuroses, a tendency toward OCD, a dash of perfectionism, and a genuine desire to please God, and you end up with a bad case of analysis paralysis.

Are we in the right place at the right time?
The right place, but the wrong time?
Right time, but wrong place?
OR, (shivering in horror) are we in the wrong place at the wrong time?
What if it's ALL wrong?

What if we missed some vital step somewhere?
What if we took a wrong turn and aren't even on course?
What if we are the turnip that tumbled off the turnip truck on the way to the farmer's market?

I'm tired of fretting over every decision and action; past, present, and future.
I think Solomon, during his quest for wisdom and understanding, must have come to the same conclusion when he wrote "Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor." in Ecclesiastes.

That sunflower has its "face" turned to the sun this morning. It's simply being a sunflower in spite of being in the wrong place and probably the wrong time. (Some of you with pristine flower beds are cringing at the idea of a stray flower popping up of its own free will, aren't you? Get over it.)

Do I know what today holds? Or tomorrow? Nope. I could fret myself to a frazzle trying to figure out the ultimate plan, hang my happiness now and forever on one hook. But what if I just take a cue from that silly little flower and bloom anyway?

I

It grew! It really grew!

2011-09-01T11:34:00.001-06:00

Since I posted this about my garden's poky start, I thought I should provide an almost end-of-summer update.

In spite of seeds that refused to sprout altogether and seeds that washed right out of their tidy little rows and opted to take root in the valley instead; despite a cool and rainy June and July that resulted in stunted corn, sparse spinach, and slow-growing green beans; even though the squash and zucchini plants failed to blossom until early August; harvest season has come!

Back in June I was in the throes of doubt over those tiny specks I'd buried in the soil. Today I'm awed at what those seeds have produced.

Jesus said words are like seeds. Words received into our hearts will produce fruit – or weeds – in our lives the same way those seeds I planted back in June have grown into full-fledged plants.What's being produced is the result of seeds sown and received. Therefore, if I don't LIKE what I'm producing, I need to change what I'm putting in the ground, right?

Words (whether spoken aloud, heard and accepted as truth, or silently spoken in your head) like "I can't" and "I'll never" and "this isn't working" and "it's impossible" are guaranteed to produce thorny, spiny, stinky weeds in your life.

Words like "I hate this" and "this is stupid" poison the ground of your heart so that weeds grow faster and good seeds struggle to survive.

Fearful words are the equivalent freezing temperatures. Angry words scorch the soil with heat.

I've got some changes to make in what I'm producing, do you?

OREO. Two O's for the price of one! (An a2z post!)

2011-08-30T06:00:00.002-06:00

Is there anyone who DOESN'T love Oreo™ cookies? Honestly, I've yet to meet the person who doesn't appreciate an Oreo cookie now and then.

Oreo™ cookies are awesome. Two crunchy, dark-chocolate wafer cookies hug a creamy white sandwich filling that simply cannot be replicated. Personally, I'm a Double Stuf fan, but Oreo™ fundamentalists (they're out there, trust me) swear by the original version and declare all recent additions to the Oreo™ family heretical and blasphemous.

Whatever you think about the latest versions of the Oreo™ (I like to think of them as different denominations), I believe the following statement can be applied to all Oreos™:

The grace of God is like an Oreo™ cookie, sandwiched between layers of gratitude.

Yes, I have discovered spiritual truth in a cookie.

Hey, God talked to Moses from a bush and spoke to Balaam through a donkey ... if He wants to reveal Himself through a cookie, I'm not gonna argue with Him.

We NEED God's grace. Grace is power. It's God's "almighty" added to your "I think I can."
It's how we overcome obstacles, how we conquer temptation, how we accomplish what appears to be impossible in obedience to God's direction. Grace is God's power, His goodness, His ability, all wrapped up in one wonderful package.

Gratitude – simply being thankful for all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus – is like those chocolatey layers of crunchy goodness on either side of the Oreo™ stuffing. Gratitude for the air you breathe, for the relationships you have, for the place you live and the body in which you exist.

As a child I wished I could avoid those cookie layers and stack up the yummy white stuff. As an adult, I've learned to appreciate the cookie part of the Oreo™. Much like the grown up ability to enjoy onions and garlic and other flavors children turn up their noses at.

We'll call it maturity, and with maturity comes gratitude. Not just a greedy grasping for the grace of God, but an appreciation and awareness of the price that was paid to make that grace accessible to us.

Need God's grace for something in particular today? Try starting with the cookie layer of gratitude!

(This post is part of the From a2z4u and me meme. For more visit Patty Wysong's blog or click on the picture:

No is not a bad word. (An a2z post)

2011-08-23T06:00:00.003-06:00

"No" in more than 520 languages

Contrary to the belief of my children, dog, and probably husband, NO is not my all-time favorite word. In fact, I really hate to say NO for two reasons.

1. I feel guilty for disappointing the person who asked me the yes or no question.
2. I hate feeling obliged to explain my reason (or come up with a reason) for saying no.

Saying yes seems easy, until you have to follow through...

"Yes, I'll watch your children while you go shopping this afternoon."
"Yes, you can borrow my vacuum cleaner."
"Yes, your friends can spend the night."
"Yes, I can loan you the money until payday."
"Yes, I'll take on that extra assignment at work."
"Yes, I can cover that meeting for you."
"Yes, I can volunteer for that project/committee/program."
"Yes, I'm coming to the family gathering this weekend."

Those are all such NICE statements. Some are downright NOBLE! Or so it seems until you peek under the surface ... Can you imagine how distressing it would be if what you were really thinking was revealed?

"It takes me two days to repair my house after your kids are in it."
"Every time someone borrows my vacuum cleaner they break it."
"I was really looking forward to a quiet evening at home, not a slumber party."
"If I loan you the money, I'll have to badger you for months to repay me."
"That assignment isn't even in my department, why are you asking me?"
"My schedule is overbooked as it is, how can I fit in another boring meeting?"
"What, is there a sign on my back that says 'gullible volunteer'?"
"I don't have the money to travel right now, and I'd rather not go into debt to come visit."

I know. Not noble, not nice. But honest. And as the saying goes, honesty is the best policy.

Do you know it's more Scriptural, more Christ-like, to simply say NO than it is to say yes when you don't mean it?

"But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

Matthew 5:37

And when we're asked "why?" by the multitudes of adults and children out there who were obviously never taught to respect a simple NO, it's all right to speak the truth in love and tell them your real, honest reason for saying NO. Even if your reason is nothing more than "because I don't want to, that's why."

If they still pester and badger you, that person doesn't respect you very much. (If you are a pesterer, stop it! Leave people alone!)

NO is a powerful word. With it you can defend your personal boundaries in relationships, you can stick to a budget (by telling yourself "no" when it comes to shopping for things you don't really need), you can stay on your diet, quit a bad habit, meet goals, uphold your convictions, protect your health and sanity, define your priorities, and more. No is NOT a bad word!

For more a2z4u & me posts, click here:

The MORE Doctrine

2011-08-22T06:00:00.002-06:00

Pray more.
Spend more time reading the Bible.
Speak the Word more.
Give more.
Go to church more.
Witness more.
Serve more.
Praise more.
Submit more.

MORE. MORE. MORE.

The unspoken thought behind all of those "mores" is that if we will _________ more, THEN God will be pleased with us and He will bless us ... more. We'll have more peace, more joy, more money, more health, more success, more wisdom, and more approval and acceptance.

The MORE doctrine eventually wears out the faith of its followers because no matter how much you do, no matter what you say or how well-behaved you are, it's never enough.

Never enough anointing.
Never holy enough.
Never consecrated enough.
Never enough presence of God.
Never enough power.
NEVER GOOD ENOUGH.

"Never enough" leads to frustration and discouragement with yourself and with your circumstances.
We Christians are really good at starting things in obedience to the Spirit and then taking over and trying to finish, or perfect, them in our own ability and strength by making rules, setting up systems, organizing, directing, controlling, and generally orchestrating things the way we think they should be.

The enemy is sneaky. He likes to convince us that our doing is more important than our being. That's what he did to Eve in the garden of Eden, and it's the same pattern he has been using for generations. As soon as we get our focus on what we (or those around us) are doing, instead of on our being in Christ Jesus, we are stuck in the quicksand of the MORE doctrine.

Recognizing the grace God extended toward us in Christ Jesus reveals that there's nothing we can do (or not do) to change God's love for us, or His purpose in our lives. Oh, there are consequences for our actions or inaction, but that doesn't change the way God views us, or His desire to defend and protect us as long as we acknowledge Him.

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"

Gal 3: 1-2

Have you struggled with the MORE doctrine? Have you felt like a loser, a failure, or not good enough? I pray you find comfort in this... God loves you, accepts you, and approves of you JUST AS YOU ARE. Will you let Him love you today, or will you push Him aside and keep working, working, working to attain the elusive MORE?

Earwigs, what are they good for?

2011-08-20T11:45:00.001-06:00

CAUTION: If you are squeamish about bugs, stop reading now!

The lovely summer of rain and humidity we've had is something to be thankful for.
Along with the rain, however, comes an abundance of these less than appealing creatures...

Earwigs.
I think they are western Colorado's version of the cockroach. Having never dwelt with cockroaches (I snapped pictures of one when I visited the coast a few years ago and thoroughly traumatized my hostess) I'm sure I can't comprehend the horror involved. However, earwigs in abundance come with their own YUCK level.

1. Earwigs in your washcloth. (Yeah, so shake it out, big whoop.)
2. Earwigs in the sink. (So? How hard is it to rinse them down the drain?)
3. Earwigs in the shower. (A daily occurrence. See #2)
4. Earwigs in your chips. (This from my son, who discovered a habitation of earwigs in the open bag of chips in his truck.)
5. Earwigs in your water bottle.

This is apparently my test for the summer. I'm not generally squeamish about insects at all, but this year the earwigs crossed my personal line in the sand. Two crawled into the straw-top of my water bottle.
Take it from me, earwigs taste icky.

Icky enough to assume I'd contaminated my water bottle with CLR while cleaning the hot water heater, so I ran my water bottle through the dishwasher. The next day I filled the bottle with fresh water. I took a nice, big swig ... and had to spit out an earwig. Ew. They were STILL THERE.

I took out the straw and left it on my desk while I rewashed everything. By that afternoon, another earwig had taken refuge IN THE STRAW!

Last Sunday there was an earwig in the microwave. I tried to get it out. Really, I did.
(Note: Earwigs continue to crawl around the microwave for more than a minute before they implode.)

Doesn't something EAT earwigs? (Besides me, by accident, I mean.)

So... dear readers... are there earwigs where you live? Anybody have a simple solution?

Exchanging One Bondage For Another

2011-08-18T06:30:00.002-06:00

I'm beginning to think some of us are born with a legalism gene.
I can turn ANYTHING into a rigid moral code. Diet, exercise, prayer, time management, attire, speech, work. (Maybe it's that 1/16th Jewish blood.) Whatever it is, it's beginning to get on my nerves.

Since childhood, I've been creating self-improvement strategies. (I tried setting up improvement systems for my family, too, but they didn't comply.) At the end of every school year I'd analyze all my failures and faults, identify my goals, and set up a program for change. I'm bloody good at it, too. Over the years, I managed to morph into every social mold I stumbled across. Upon discovering the shortcomings of each one, I'd simply shift to another.

These days, I'm beginning to wonder if I've spent much of the last 40 years trading one set of chains for another. You see, it's easy to jump into a nice, neat, ready-made system and force yourself to comply to its structure, whether it's a denomination or a political party or yoga or vegetarianism or whatever man-made identification system you decide to hide yourself within.

But that's not the freedom for which Christ has set us free.
True freedom is not exchanging one kind of bondage for another.

But it's a heck of lot easier to jump from one ready-made corral to another than it is to jump from our man-made corral into legitimate freedom based exclusively on Christ Jesus.

As my daughter so eloquently put it this week, "It's much easier to follow a list of religious rules and ultimatums than it is to follow God."

Maintenance is Messy!

2011-08-16T19:54:00.000-06:00

My computer just ate my post.

(Brought to you by the Letter M, as part of the a2z4u and me blog meme!)

I rarely write my posts in my word processing program. Today, because of a wild thunder/hail/wind storm ... complete with sunshine (nothing like Colorado weather), I had no choice. My satellite internet went out, so I wrote my post in my word processing application. When I finished, I saved it.
Somewhere.
Now it's gone. Just gone.

Today's post, interestingly enough, was supposed to be about MAINTENANCE! In the process of maintaining my writing/work life and upgrading my computer, I now have a system that sucks files into the abyss. No, not really. I'm certain it's operator error. It usually is, isn't it? Meanwhile, as I learn to use my new operating system and a keyboard that has all its keys in strange places, my computer life is a little bit messy.

Maintenance, however you look at it, is messy, and maybe that's why we avoid it like the plague. It's also inconvenient, time-consuming, often expensive, and sometimes even painful.

Unfortunately, everything in our lives requires maintenance these days, from our eyebrows to our toenails. We have to maintain our weight, our homes, our marriages, our friendships, our children, our cars, our pets, our yards, our jobs, our ministries ... In the process of juggling it all, it's easy to let things start to slide. But once they slip a little, catching up is a lot like running uphill on a greased treadmill.

That seems to be where I'm at right now. Hopefully, the letter "N" will stand for "NEAT."

How about you? Do you ever feel like everything you have to maintain has taken over your life?
Ever wish you could slap a sign like this on your life for a few days, or a week, or a month???

To dumb to quit?

2011-08-12T09:50:00.000-06:00

My grandma played a lot of penny poker. I was allowed to sit and watch, but I don't remember being allowed to play very often. I think she took her penny poker quite seriously. Strategy is a huge part of the game. As Kenny Rogers put it, knowing when to hold the hand you've been dealt and when to fold, even knowing when it's time to leave the table, is a key to the gambler's success or failure.

We would think it odd if a player kept playing the exact same hand in game after game. But how many of us are playing the game of life according to obsolete ideas, useless paradigms, toxic relationships, and incorrect assumptions? Sometimes we just need to be smart enough to know when to quit!

I'm over at Inkwell Inspirations today talking about recognizing that there are times in life when we need to be willing to "fold" and wait to be dealt a new hand, just as surely as there are times we need to hold fast by faith and stay in the game. Discerning the difference between the two is crucial to our well-being, now and in the future. You can read the rest of the post here...

Labels, Limitations and Letting Go

2011-08-09T21:40:00.000-06:00

I once purchased what I thought was a can of jalapeno peppers. However, my inability to translate the Spanish label resulted in my bringing home a can of jalapenos and carrots. Mostly carrots. VERY spicy carrots. They tasted good, but required a little bit of explanation: "Why are there carrots in my enchiladas? Are you on another health food kick?"

Labels, correctly interpreted, provide information and instruction. Nutritional data, warnings about health and safety, proper procedures for use ... all these are found on labels. A well-designed label can save your life. A poorly designed one is at least good for a giggle.

But the labels we slap on each other with the wanton abandon of 3-year-olds let loose with Post-it notes aren't helpful. In fact, they are usually harmful, and frequently they are flat-out wrong.
We must have gotten it from Adam, this desire to classify and pigeonhole and identify everything we see with our eyes.

"So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever he called them, that was their name."

Gen 2:19 TLB

These days we label people instead of animals. We label one another based on appearance, political position, religious beliefs, age, gender, race ... you name it, we've got a label for it. We create labels and try to fit the accompanying description to the person, or to ourselves: conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, gay, bi, straight, married, single, divorced, white, black, Indian, Latino, Hispanic, stoner, druggie, rebel, hippie, preppy, hick, redneck, nerd, geek, pervert, blue-collar, white-collar, insured, uninsured, rich, poor...

There's no end to the variety of labels, and much like scientific nomenclature, we often end up with multiple "names," broken down from the largest classification to the smallest. And even the smallest differences are enough to separate us from one another. (First Baptist or Second Baptist, anyone? Seriously, how different can they be?)

We label ourselves, too, adopting things other people have said to us (Pass the Label), or accepting the whispered suggestions of the enemy in our internal ears (Buying the Lie) ... Depressed. Lonely. Stupid. Smart. Popular. Failure. Athletic. Clumsy. Worthless. Selfish. Generous. Unimportant. Special. Ungrateful. Loser. Lucky. Ugly. Pretty. Too fat. Too skinny. Too young. Too old. Too extreme. Too whatever. (I'm sure there are people who accept labels like "talented" and "destined" and "important," too. However, it has been my experience that the people who wear a label that screams "TALENT" are often tortured with labels that produce doubt and fear and paralysis.)

Labels are limiting. We have to let go of those labels in order to achieve the God-invested potential on the inside of us.That's why Paul wrote the following words, instructing believers in Christ to let go of the labels they'd placed on themselves and on each other.

Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh].

2 Cor 5:16 AMP

True freedom from the expectations of the world (and from organized religion) is only found in Christ. When we come to Him, all the labels are washed away. Yes, people will continually try to slap some kind of ugly bumper sticker on you, but when you go into the presence of God you remember, "in Him I live and move and have my being." When we are in Christ, His love is the only label that matters, whether we are looking at ourselves or at someone else.

It's important in our relationships with each other, too. When we view each other according to the labels we wear (willingly or unwillingly) we limit each other to that definition. According to Paul, it's even possible to look at Jesus and limit Him according to the labels of the flesh and the natural realm. I don't want to stand before Jesus and have Him say, "I really wanted to do such-and-so in your life, but you limited Me with that label you had for Me. That label cut off your faith in Me at the knees."

Make yourself aware of the ratty old HUMAN labels you unconsciously wear and shrug them off like an outgrown coat. Quit looking at YOURSELF according to the human point of view and see yourself through God's eyes: beloved, adopted, accepted, approved, cherished, redeemed, delivered, saved, healed, restored, rescued, ransomed, destined, effective, free, graced, holy, justified, made new...

I was in third grade when it became popular to wear a designer's name on the back pocket of your blue jeans. Wearing the "right" label changed my whole perspective on third grade.

But choosing to wear God's labels changed my perspective on life.

(This is the 12th installment in the a2z4u and me meme. For more, visit www.pattywysong.com or click on the picture:

The Kitchen

2011-08-04T10:51:00.000-06:00

We're up to the letter K at the a2z4u and me meme. Don't forget to check out what the rest of the a2z memers(?) have to say about K this week! (I can coin a new word for people participating in a meme, right?)

K is a strange letter. King, kitten, kit, kindness, kid, kindle, key, kite, kale, Kellogg's, kin, kilt, kink, ketchup, kelp, koi, kvetch ... Knute, as in Knute Rockne, famous football coach at Notre Dame University. (My mother-in-law intended to name my husband Knute. He ended up as John Patrick, thank the Lord.)

If your house is anything like mine, the K word that gets the most use is KITCHEN. We have an open kitchen/dining room. My desk and computer are in the kitchen, because it seems logical to put my workspace, well ... in my main workspace.

I write, check email, balance my checkbook, do laundry (just off the kitchen), and prepare meals at the same time. When all four of my kids were homeschooling, which we did at the kitchen table, sometimes I felt like the rest of my house suffered from disuse.

The kitchen is the pulse of the home. Time is marked out in the thrum of daily meals, in the march of birthday celebrations, holiday gatherings, and in the height measurements ticked off in pencil just inside the pantry. It's where you go to satisfy your hunger not just for food, but for security and familiarity and comfort.

The kitchen is the "you are welcome here" room. The living room is too formal, the family/TV room too informal, the bedrooms too personal and the bathrooms ... too small. And that would be weird, besides.

Do you love your kitchen, hate your kitchen, or feel indifferent about your kitchen?

Zombie finger limits typing speed

2011-08-01T03:00:00.002-06:00

Friday night I was outside trimming some bushes and cut my finger. (Yes, I was cutting them using the motion-sensor floodlights, and I was using my kitchen shears.)

The lights flicked off just as I snipped an out-of-control sprout, and the blades got my left middle finger by mistake. It took a divot right out of my fingertip that bled like crazy. Once the bleeding finally stopped I doused it in antibiotic ointment and wrapped it up in some kind of heavy-duty band-aid.
Apparently, I left the band-aid on too long, because now I have ZOMBIE FINGER.

Ew.
Typing without that finger is a challenge.

I've been typing and driving and exercising and everything else without hindrance ... with the bandage. I'm reminded that when I'm spiritually or emotionally injured, and I wrap up that wound and hide it away to avoid further pain, it's not going to heal properly. It's going to get really, really nasty. Even if I can use the wrappings to disguise the injury and keep working, the injury is still there, under the wrapper.

When we're emotionally hurt or offended or betrayed, there's a time to dress those wounds, until the bleeding stops, and there's a time to expose those emotional and spiritual wounds to the light and love of God, hopefully before the affected part goes into zombie mode like my finger!

We had a wonderful time of praise and prayer tonight at church, and God started unwrapping some of those old bandages... some I didn't even know I had. It hurts. But I know it's only through trusting Him with those wounds that they will be properly treated and able, at last, to heal.

Have you let any wounds sit under a bandage for too long?

.

Joie de vivre!

2011-07-26T23:24:00.000-06:00

I'm a Francophile. I love all things French. It's my mother's fault ... my first alphabet book was in French. I learned l'arbre before I learned tree.

This week is the week of J. As in Joshua (my youngest child), and Jesus (my Savior and Lord), and jelly beans (my favorite candy). All three have crossed my mind as subjects for my J post, but I've opted to go French instead.

Joie de vivre is translated "joy of life" or "joy of living." I believe it's the way God intended us to live our lives - discovering joy in every aspect of life, however small, however insignificant, however mundane.

photo by polandeze

via PhotoRee

Mere natural people (separated from the spirit of life) view joy as the result of a particular conglomeration of circumstances. As believers, we have a nasty tendency to think of "joy" as one of those things that will fall upon us in a church service, or in a time of intense personal prayer. That's fine, but don't limit your joy! Jesus prayed for us in John 17 that our joy would be complete! Joy in every area, every aspect of life.

Monday evening I got home from work and prepared to cook supper. I made spaghetti. Simple spaghetti, with meat and canned sauce. No flair, no creativity, no pleasure in the process. It was a chore, a duty, a task. But the French find joie de vivre in cooking ... even the simplest meal is accompanied by a passion for flavor, for presentation, for LIFE.

What can we learn from this? (Besides how to cook really yummy food?)

It's not about the task,
it's the attitude we apply to the task.

I had this conversation with my youngest this morning about schoolwork. As long as his attitude is bad, he'll find no enjoyment in learning (and neither will I, since he's homeschooled). When we have a negative attitude, whether it's about housework, taxes, or cooking, we lock ourselves out of joie de vivre.

I'm endeavoring to adjust my attitude about those tasks I dislike ... because the Bible says "the joy of the Lord is my strength." Finding the joie de vivre in whatever we set our hands to will strengthen us in spirit, soul, and body.

I dare you to find ONE task today that you generally dislike or resent or avoid and find for the joie de vivre in it!

For more "J" posts, check out From A2Z4U and Me!

Have you defragged lately?

2011-07-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

While the human brain is far more complex than any computer, there are some similarities between the two.

Computers have a "sleep" function. So does the brain.
Computers can do lots of different tasks at once, many of which I am not aware of. So can the brain.
Computers can receive new information, remember old information, or synthesize input to share with others.
Computers can be afflicted with viruses and worms and bots. Ever been hit with a mental "insecurity virus" or an "unforgiveness bot" or a "worm of fear"?

Computers, like our brains, tend to file things at random. Its the way most of us manage our kitchen counters, desks, closets, drawers, or if you are a teenager, your entire bedroom. Eventually we end up with lots of bits and pieces in piles that don't relate to each other in any way. This bogs down our operating system, because now the hard drive has to sift through all those piles of stuff to find what it needs before it can respond to our commands.

I think my soul (mind, will, and emotions) needs to be defragged from time to time. Lots of transitions, changes, events, activities, busyness, and so forth create a jumble in my head, slowing me down and hindering me from moving forward.

Since God didn't equip me with a nifty drop-down menu or convenient button, how do we go about defragmenting our overcrowded minds?

1. Examine those "piles" of mental and emotional clutter. You can do this through journaling, prayer, meditation, or some other method of rummaging through your mind's hard drive.

What do you keep tripping over in your thought life that you'd like to put away in its proper place?
What out-of-date or expired thoughts and feelings need to go to the trash?
What ideas need to be organized for future application?

2. Decide what to do with each item before you "put it aside." In other words, if you stumble across something particularly messy in your head, don't just ignore it (that's how you ended up with this mess). Deal with it now.

If it requires a response, respond. Unfinished business is a primary cause of fragmentation!
If it needs to be archived, do something tangible to remove that thing from the forefront of your mind.

3. Create the necessary space for future input. This is the beauty of mental defragmentation, as opposed to the computer... you can create whatever you require in your head to organize and situation things.

Added a new role? Create a new mental "file" for that role or responsibility.
Left something behind? Put it in the archives. If you need to access that information later, you'll know where it is, and in the meantime, it won't be clogging up your present-day interactions!

So when was the last time you "defragged" your soul's system?

All My Many I's

2011-07-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

See all those "eyes" in my picture? I'm multifaceted. Like you. Like God.

Do you ever struggle to identify yourself to new people? You can only introduce one aspect of who you are at a time. For example, here at In Truer Ink, I'm a writer. I write blog posts. Among other things. But that's only part of who I am. Sometimes it can be really difficult if someone only knows one aspect of you to encounter that person when you are in some other facet of life. Like when you see a teacher outside of school, or the day you realize your parents have a relationship with each other that has nothing to do with raising you and your siblings. Sometimes it's hard to remember that other people are just as multi-faceted as we are!

So to introduce myself, which "I" gets revealed? Some people might meet your business I. Others meet your family I or your hobby I or your vacation I. And then there are all those past I's ... the childhood I, the high school I, the junior high I, the college I, the newlywed I... That's a LOT of I's to get to know in one brief blog post! Instead, here's a list of some of my favorite things that begin with the letter "I."

1. Imagination
2. Ink, esp. India ink.
3. Icing
4. Idiosyncrasy
5. Invisibility
6. Incense
7. Income
8. Inchworms
9. Indigo
10. Ivy
11. Introversion
12. Italy
13. Isolationism
14. Ireland
15. Inspiration
16. Idioms
17. Industriousness
18. Insects (except mosquitoes)
19. Ingenuity
20. Indoors

(BTW, "I" is a very difficult letter to make lists from!)

For more blogging fun From A2Z4U and Me, click the link or the picture below!

Call the woman who can stop the insanity in Washington!

2011-07-15T09:20:00.000-06:00

The budget talks in Washington, D.C., have been alarming.

Not because our country is borrowing money on credit just to pay its regular monthly bills (hey, half of America does that) and not because we're teetering on the edge of defaulting on our loans as a nation. (By the way, we've been playing this way for years... the debt ceiling had to be raised at least four times during the Bush administration, so this isn't anything new.) What astounds me is the degree of immaturity being displayed by our nation's elected officials.

Walking out of meetings when things don't go their way (do they still slam doors, too?).
Peer pressure and taking sides (aren't we all on Team USA?).
Name-calling. (Okay, they do that all the time, I know.)
And the kind of stubborn, stomp-your-foot-and-cross-your-arms mindset reminiscent of a roomful of toddlers running high on full-sugar Kool-Aid and Halloween candy.

In the real world where the majority of us live, the grown-ups are expected to act like grown-ups, which means sometimes you have to lay aside your personal preferences for the greater good. How did that go on Star Trek? "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?" (My Trekkie friends will be correcting me now, but you get the point.)

Ethan, Caitlin & Luke. Josh hadn't arrived yet.

Having raised a houseful of children, and having endured their battles over things like who gets the top bunk, who gets the front seat, the remote control, the VCR, computer time, the first shower, the last shower, the piece of cake in the corner, the piece of cake with the extra frosting, who gets to lick the beater after the batter is mixed, which movie to see, where to go on vacation, which fast food to scarf down for dinner, who mows the front lawn and who mows the back... shall I continue?

I think it's time we call in a mediator of great power and strength. Someone who has demonstrated the ability to manage the most immature individuals of all sizes... It's time we send a strong, capable woman to Washington to bring these immature politicians under control ...

Yep. We need to invite Supernanny to come sit in on these congressional budget talks, because the "big boys" in Washington are acting like they're all still in short pants. Shame on them.

House or Home?

2011-07-13T08:06:00.000-06:00

When does a house become a home?

At the end of a vacation, or in a time of crisis, or at the end of a long day, we don't normally say, "I'm going to the house." We say, "I'm going home."

A house is a building suitable for providing shelter. A home is a place where people actually dwell. A house can be empty. A home, no matter how humble, is never empty.

Home denotes a place of safety, comfort, security, and unconditional welcome. It's the place where you know you belong. But it's not a house, or a physical address, or the place where you spent the most time as a child. Its where you sleep in peace, where you don't have to ask permission to use the bathroom, or get a drink, or find something to eat in the fridge.

Home is where you are loved and where you learn to love others. It's the place where forgiveness flows freely, where there is always another chance to succeed. It's the place where, although there are expectations, there's no fear of rejection if we fall short.

photo by boxlace

via PhotoRee

Churches are often referred to as the "house of God." Solomon built a house for God in the Old Testament, and God turned around and filled that house with His presence. In other words, God moved in and set up housekeeping.

But in the New Testament, every person who believes in Christ Jesus is called the house of God, and God wants to move in and make a home with that person. The "church" is not a building, not a locale, not an organization, but the individuals who have opened their hearts to God and allowed Him to move in.

Isn't that amazing? God Himself, the creator of all things, wants to make a home in us, and not just in us (because that reminds me of those weird parasitic alien movies) but with us. God wants to move in with us, wants to be as integral a part of our household activities as every other member of our family. He wants to bring His stuff with Him: redemption and peace and healing and grace and mercy... no ratty armchairs that smell like grandpa's head. God has good stuff. Such good stuff that we might be persuaded to get rid of some of our junk to make room for His furnishings!

As a believer, I have to ask myself, have I allowed God to make a home within my heart? A place where He is welcome at all times, free to relax, comfortable with whatever is going on around Him, knowing that He has free access to everything within? I want Him to be at home in my heart. Don't you?

Did you grow up in a house, or a home?

What makes a place "home" for you?

Today's post is brought to you by the letter H, courtesy of the a2z4u and me meme (and that rhymes with theme). For more helpful, hopeful, hilarious, hearty posts sponsored by the letter H, click the picture below!

Who made up these rules, anyway?

2011-07-09T12:11:00.000-06:00

"Won't you get struck by lightning for that?"
I have a non-churchgoing friend who likes to ask me difficult questions like "You can't do that and be a good Christian, can you?" or "Isn't that against your church rules?"

photo by Daquella manera

via PhotoRee

Like many others, she's under the faulty impression that God's approval, acceptance, and love is reserved exclusively for those who meet a lengthy and stringent criteria of laws, codes, and ordinances. I've fallen into that performance-based faith trap before, and it's a miserable place to be.

via PhotoRee

photo by mtsofan

That's not to say God doesn't have standards He wants us to live by. Unfortunately, organizations, administrations, and people in general like to add a lot of extra, unnecessary "stuff" to His standard. I was reminded this morning of just how simple God has made it for us.

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. " Romans 13:8-9

The great majority of religious regulations are things that keep people away from church and away from God, things that cause God's people to suffer faith-hindering guilt and condemnation.

Blindly accepted traditions made into rungs on the ladder to salvation (or damnation).
Church/Christian cultural trends mistakenly attributed to God's character.
Personal preferences elevated to a criterion for holiness.

It's time we, as believers, start asking ourselves the kind of questions my friend tosses at me. Especially when we catch ourselves having those stiff-necked, knee-jerk, judgmental reactions to something (or someone) outside our personal church comfort zone. Are our rules helping, or hurting, God's cause?

The church should not be a shark tank

2011-07-07T06:00:00.002-06:00

My Facebook friends cover a broad variety of spiritual belief systems. Agnostics, atheists, pagans, heathens, lots of Christians, a few Jews, a Wiccan or two, some New Agers, and a couple Buddhists are in my friend list.

From that eclectic socio-spiritual mix, the only people I've ever had to unfriend or hide because their posts or their shared links or their messages were hateful, spiteful, judgmental, and mean, have been self-avowed Christians. (I say "self-avowed" because I wonder what Jesus calls us when we act like that.)

Sunday, one of those yucky posts surprised me. It was a shared link from a Christian whose posts are usually unquestionably sweet and encouraging. In the linked video, a popular minister "abominates" (his word) a particular doctrine taught in many churches and, by default, those who preach that doctrine. Abominate, by the way, means "to hate or loathe intensely." He wasn't abominating violence, or rape, or child trafficking, or war, or murder, or even gossip and outbursts of wrath. No, the video was his explanation for hating and loathing intensely a particular teaching within the body of Christ.

What strikes me as odd is that I can't recall ever seeing one group of pagans denounce other pagans, although surely they must have their differences about their practices. I don't remember my heathen/barbarian friends from one group denouncing the heathens from another group for some minor difference in ideology. The Buddhists never seem to denounce anything, the Jews don't ever bring up the subject of religion, and the new agers are usually too excited about some new, new age activity to bother. In fact, the only time I remember hearing griping and "abominating" coming from those groups was about the lousy, self-righteous, hypocritical way Christians tend to treat each other.

Good grief ... viewed from outside, through proud lenses filled with preachers abominating other preachers, the church looks like a shark tank with some piranhas thrown in to clean up the leftovers. No wonder folks are hesitant to join us for Sunday fellowship!

Why is it that the group that is supposed to be known and recognized by its love for one another, for unity of heart and spirit, feels it's all right to bash each other publicly over what would be considered "internal affairs" in any other organization? How is it that we who have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit can spew out such critical, faultfinding, negative actions and words? Why is it acceptable within the body of Christ to tear down other parts of the body with our words?

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus would be more comfortable hanging out at the lake on Sunday with a bunch of guys going fishing than he would in many of our church services.

Oh, that's right... He was.
Shame on us.

G is for Growth

2011-07-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Growth is the most natural thing in the world. Plants grow (especially weeds), children grow (faster than we think), minds grow (if properly stimulated), faith grows (as we feed on God's word), and so on. Much growth, maybe most growth, occurs in the unseen realms—seeds sprout below the soil, babies grow in the womb, faith grows in the spirit, knowledge and wisdom grow in the mind and soul.

Last month I planted my vegetable garden. The first month or two of a garden project is excruciating for me. Will it fail? Will all the work I've put in to this patch of dirt be completely fruitless? What if the seeds are duds? Why are the weeds growing faster than the seeds? (Perhaps we should be eating the weeds.)

My "fairy" garden.

Most everything has sprouted now, and I've filled in some of the blank spaces where seeds simply disappeared ... eaten or washed away, who knows? The urge over the last month to dig in the dirt to check on the seeds that hadn't sprouted yet was strong. I resisted.
Mostly. It seems that "helping" things grow is not helpful at all.

Artificial aid in the natural process

results in weakness and deformity.

Knee-high on the 4th of July.
If you're a Barbie doll.

Move a little dirt to let that bean sprout come up and it gets too much sunlight and dies. Pick that dry seed shell off the squash sprout and the leaves never quite finish maturing, leaving the plant weak and pale.

I should know better. Somewhere I read a story about someone who tried to help a butterfly that was struggling to come out of its chrysalis. The butterfly died. The same is true for baby chicks coming out of their shells. The process—exhausting, painful, and difficult as it appears—is critical for healthy growth and maturity ... and not just for butterflies and bean sprouts.

Lettuce on June 12

How often do I jump into situations to rescue my children when they really need to work it through on their own? (For the record, I have done all of these things at least once.)

Not letting an infant fuss and cry while he or she learns how to roll over, or pull up (or sit back down), or crawl or walk, or tie her shoes, or put on his own clothes.
Serving as a live wake-up call for children who are old enough to set their own alarm clocks so they won't suffer the consequences of being late to school, work, or church.
Finishing a science project, 4-H craft, or other assignment for him or her because they are "too tired" or it's "too hard."
Selling the Girl Scout cookies, chocolate bars, or whatever, yourself, so your child won't "feel like a failure."
Intervening in minor disagreements with your kids and their friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. because you "just don't want them to get hurt."

Lettuce on July 4

Even worse, how often do I run around looking for someone to bail me out of uncomfortable, difficult, or downright unpleasant situations? Instead of asking for grace to grow, I start looking for the quick fix and the easy way out.

The winning lottery ticket instead of trimming the budget.
The magic fat-burning elixir instead of the boring diet and exercise plan.
The one, particular miracle church service instead of the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year, Scripture-memorization, time-on-your-knees-in-prayer program.

(Please don't misunderstand me... there are situations in which "assisted growth" can be necessary, appropriate, or an answer to prayer. It is not, however, conducive for long-term growth and healthy development.)

We have become a culture that despises the process. We want prepackaged, prearranged, prefabricated, pre-appointed everything.We don't want steps, stages, or "some assembly required." We want results. Immediately. Now. Yesterday. That mindset has made us much, much weaker physically, mentally, and emotionally than our pioneering forefathers.

New seasons of life always require growth and change—internal, external, or both. Let's determine to accept the processes that new growth requires, not with a hangdog face and sour attitude, but with joy and anticipation. We're going to have to "go through" sooner or later, if we want to have enough strength to stand and fly when we get to the other side!

A quick shout-out to Patty Wysong for coming up with this terrific meme! For more "From a2z4u & Me" posts, click the picture below.

F is for Freedom ... from a2z

2011-06-30T22:07:00.000-06:00

Are we really free?

I've been thinking a lot about the roots of freedom in the last few days, in part thanks to a historical novel set in the pre-Revolutionary war era and in part due to the realization that many of my ancestors fought in that war on behalf of liberty.

As believers, we speak of freedom as part of our gospel message. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

We like to say we're free, but are we really?

Are our decisions made according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, or are they influenced by the pressures and expectations of the groups with whom we associate?
Are we free to choose right from wrong for ourselves, as children of God who are filled with His Spirit, or are we pressed and pushed and prodded to choose from a limited menu of options presented by our denomination, our political affiliation, our socioeconomic group, or any other demographic that would attempt to pigeonhole us?
Are we free to express ourselves via words, music, attire, appearance, food, drink, and/or holy days according to our own personal conviction, or do we find ourselves barred by the convictions of others and our own desire to "fit in"?

As we prepare to celebrate the 235th anniversary of our nation's Declaration of Independence, it would behoove us to spend some time before the Lord, asking Him if we are truly living in the kind of freedom He purchased for us. Or have we settled for a cheap substitute in the form of acceptance, approval, and agreement with the majority of those with whom we've chosen to associate?

The men and women we honor during our nation's Independence Day chose to honor their personal convictions above and beyond any group with whom they were allied. They risked, and often lost, friendships, family, and fortune for the sake of true freedom. How did they do it? The same way we must, if we are to have true, personal, individual liberty in our lives: by faith.

Faith is the avenue to freedom.
Fear is the avenue to bondage.

What actions we take, what choices we make, according to faith in God and His Word, will lead us into freedom.
And what we choose to do because of fear -- fear of death, of rejection, of loss, or whatever -- will lead us into bondage and oppression.

Choose faith. Choose freedom.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "F" as part of the a2z4u and me meme, where a consistently amazing group of bloggers are creating some wonderful posts. Check it out!

Permission to be an introvert, please.

2011-06-25T13:14:00.000-06:00

"Caring for your introvert" from Atlantic Monthly

Today I just want to hide.
Disappear.
Snap my fingers and "poof" into a wisp of smoke.

Even the idea of social interaction exhausts me. I'd like to crawl into a cocoon and not come out until I feel better. I'm well aware that this feeling is a direct reaction to the changes taking place around me and the stress that produces, coupled with my perpetually annoying roller coaster ride of hormones. Why do the "big events" always occur during PMS week? Add these factors to my naturally introverted self and I want to hide under my desk.

No. Seriously. I contemplated hiding under my desk this morning.

I've hidden under a desk before. I was eight or nine and my paternal grandparents had come to visit. My grandmother had a very strong personality. It was her custom, upon arrival, to greet us with hugs and kisses. She kissed everyone on the lips. Ew. NO ONE kissed on the lips at my house except my parents. So, upon their arrival, feeling anxious and insecure and desperate to avoid this physical, emotional, and mental assault on my hypersensitive little person, I opted to flee instead of fight. When my absence was noted, my mother found me, curled up under the desk in her office. (I think the event traumatized her almost as much as it did me.)

And so, although no one is coming to kiss me today (except maybe my hubby, and that's okay), the combined effect of our dear friends whom I haven't seen in two years arriving in town and the strange shift in our relationship as we transfer the oversight of the church to them; a wedding I feel obligated to attend this evening; grandbaby's dedication tomorrow at church; it being my husband's last day as pastor and mine as pastor's wife; and facing a kind of "blank slate" future, I can feel myself withdrawing.

Can I just shrink into the crack between the sofa cushions and hide there for awhile? (I'd have at least a month's worth of food in the form of popcorn and lost Skittles.)

On top of this overwhelming urge to adopt temporary hermit status, is an equally overwhelming guilt that by doing so, I am shirking my responsibilities as a member of the human community. That I am just being selfish and unfeeling and unloving. In the past, I learned to push through these sensations by turning them into anger, irritation and downright bitchiness. I can't seem to do that anymore.

If I had, say, shingles or malaria, no one would think twice about me staying safe and snug at home to hide and rest. But saying, "I'm having a bout with extreme introversion today," doesn't carry the same weight.

What I need is permission, from myself, from my loved ones. Like a note from the doctor to get out of P.E. class. I'll be ready to stick my head out of the shell again soon, I'm sure of it. Permission, acceptance, whatever you want to call it ... would go a long way toward reducing the tormenting guilt experienced by introverts everywhere that, I'm convinced, only exacerbates the problem.

Maybe if I made up a little permission slip ... a little note on my door like a "quarantine" warning.

But then I would have to explain, and fend off all the arguments extroverts like to stir up with introverts. How come introverts aren't always telling the extroverts to stay home, find a place to hide, shut up, and be alone for awhile? Why are we always the ones on the defensive?

The desk is looking more and more appealing by the moment.

Is Christian fiction for Christians?

2011-06-23T13:01:00.001-06:00

There's a lot of debate about how to define "Christian fiction."

photo by faithcreations

via PhotoRee

On Mike Duran's deCompose blog this week, he questioned whether Flannery O'Connor's books would be considered Christian fiction in today's market. After all, her characters were known to use swear words. *sarcastic whisper mine*

Meanwhile, Jeanette Levellie, at On Wings of Mirth and Worth, questioned whether we should label a book—fiction or nonfiction—as Christian even though it doesn't include any mention of God, Christ, salvation, or scripture. It's simply a clean, pleasant story sold in a Christian bookstore and published by a Christian publishing house.

I frequently come across scriptures in secular fiction ... even in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Surprise, surprise. I've posted previously about the Christian themes I see throughout the Twilight stories. But that doesn't make them Christian stories.

On the other hand, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Chronicles of Narnia don't have scriptures in them, but they are considered Christian tales. Last month I read a Christian book in which the lead character, a minister, went out for beers and burgers with a friend ... a definite no-no in many Christian circles, and certainly a taboo on the infamous list of dos and don'ts that circulated through the blogosphere last year. A list that includes things like "no mixed dancing," and "no gambling" by Christian characters.

It's hard to define what constitutes a Christian book when we can't even agree on what constitutes a Christian. The Baptist sect in Kansas that pickets the funerals of our fallen war heroes thinks their actions are Christian, though the majority of believers beg to differ. Some churches teach that you can't be "saved" (become a Christian) unless you go to that specific church and pray a specifically worded prayer. Others teach salvation through works, through baptism, through tithing, or simply assume that if you attend a church with a sign over the door that says CHRISTIAN, then you must be one automatically. Like the old joke... "that's like saying going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger."

Certainly, putting a Christian label on a book or a business or a politician's platform makes Christians feel more comfortable about supporting that business, reading that book, or voting for that politician. But does it also turn away the very people we are commanded by Christ to witness to? Are we then merely "preaching to the choir"? And what happens when said business goes under for not paying taxes, or said politician is revealed as an adulterer, or the author of the Christian book is found to be a ... a ... um. Well, you get the idea.

As writers, I think we have to ask ourselves, as Flannery O'Connor did, who is our intended audience? The traditional response of the Christian writer is, "I'm writing for the Lord, of course!" That makes sense if we're talking about our motivation to obey Him, but it doesn't make sense when we're talking about our audience. If we're writing in the hopes of leading someone to Christ, why are we constrained by whether or not our work will be accepted by other Christians, purchased by other Christians, or even enjoyed by other Christians? It's just a thought, something to consider, to ponder.

Writing: Not for the faint of heart

2011-06-22T07:58:00.001-06:00

Stop by Inkwell Inspirations today for a great post by author Patti Hill about writing and reality!

Inkwell Inspirations

E is for the END: From a2z

2011-06-21T11:59:00.000-06:00

Ready for the next installment of From a2z4u and me?

This post is brought to you by the letter E.

I had all sorts of ideas for E, everything from Eeyore to Ernie, from empathy to effort to exercise to ennui. I settled on E for END.

Have you ever been reading aloud to a child, and upon coming to the close of the tale, said "the end," only to have them groan and beg for more? (This is particularly common at bedtime.)

Or reclined in a dentist's chair with your mouth cranked open wide enough to swallow a football, listening to piped-in muzak and the sound of the drill, with the acrid odor of burning bone drifting up your nostrils, and thought, "Will it ever end?"

Have you gone on a vacation, only to find yourself dreading the end of the trip when you have to return to regular life?

Or, as we experience in NW Colorado, when snow piles up outside in late May and the temperatures are still frigid, and your FB friends down south or on the coast are enjoying blooming flowers, green grass and warm afternoons, have you thought, "This winter will never end!"

Sometimes we dread "the end" and sometimes we yearn for it.

Personally, we're at an "end." After 13 years of pastoring a church, this Sunday will be my husband's last official service. He's stepping down. I won't be a pastor's wife anymore. My kids won't be PK's anymore. It's the close of an era, a season, in our lives. We never expected we'd be pastors, and once we were, we never expected we'd stop.

Bittersweet as it is, this ending is also a beginning, a time to start the next leg of the race God has laid out for us. With 13 years of experience behind us, we know God has good things ahead, because He is always faithful!

What endings are you facing right now? How can you look at them as a new beginning?

For more of the a2z4u and me meme, click the picture below!

Change of schedule

2011-06-20T09:49:00.000-06:00

To accommodate some changes in my personal schedule, my posts here will now be scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. If you're like me, you read most of your blogs via email subscriptions or in a reader or on Facebook, and the actual day of posting isn't that big of a deal, but I'm just letting y'all know so you don't think I disappeared.

Today, however, is Marriage Monday at The Pastor's Wife Speaks, so click the picture and visit me there!

From a2z ... day by day

2011-06-16T15:39:00.000-06:00

It's time for the next letter in the a2z meme... the letter "D."

We're undergoing a dramatic transitional phase in our lives and ministry. Major life changes—uncomfortable, but welcome.

These kinds of seasonal shifts bring a certain amount of dread about the unknown, and a head full of silly, unanswerable questions that start with "how," "why," and "what if." And deeper, more difficult questions about roles and identity and relationships.

Last night I caught myself thinking about one of those roles and wondering what it will be like to lose that part of my identity. What will I do, how will I feel, what will it be like to no longer be a _____________________, but to be a _______________________________ instead?
(Feel free to fill in those blanks with your own terms. It could be the shift from student to graduate, from employed to retired, from single to married, from non-parent to parent, or parent to grandparent.)

While I muddled over those thoughts, playing with scenarios in my mind the way a toddler splashes in a puddle, churning my head into a murky mess, I heard the words, "day by day."
Not the song, just the phrase.

Jesus made it pretty clear: "So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time." Matthew 6:34 TLB

But how many of us really, truly live that way? Not worried about tomorrow, not fretting about next month or next year or the next decade, just living "one day at a time"?

If I had to give myself a grade for how well I live one day at a time, it would probably be a big, fat, red "D" or maybe even a "D-".

It's a difficult concept for those of us who are compelled to accomplish and achieve and perform in order to feel worthy of approval and acceptance.

It might be a difficult concept, but it has to be better than living in dread and doubt and dismay, which are the results of worry and fretting about the future!

So there's my challenge... one day at a time. How do YOU do it? Maybe the letter "E" will provide an awesome answer!

Until then, don't forget to visit the other great a2z meme bloggers. I've been blessed by their posts and I think you will be, too.

Gardening and self-doubt

2011-06-13T06:30:00.002-06:00

I have a love-hate relationship with my garden.

Dead tomato.

No matter how many times I turn the earth and make the rows and pull the weeds and throw out the rocks and plant the seeds, I never feel confident about it. This year is no different.

So far, I've managed to kill every seedling I sprouted in my little peat pots a couple months ago and the three tomato plants I bought at the local nursery. The rest of the seeds are buried now, and I go outside every day to water the rows and hills and scan the soil for signs of life.

Beets

Every day, I doubt myself. Did I plant the seeds too deep? Not deep enough? Have I drowned them? Will they ever sprout? Did something sneak up from below and eat them? Have birds flown in and devoured those little seeds without my knowledge?

Lettuce

It's a lot like writing. The words, like seeds, have to be sown into the story in an orderly fashion (gardens are sometimes called "plots"). Then, day after day, those words in that plot are watered and weeded (rewrites and edits) until, hopefully, they produce something both nourishing and palatable.

I enjoy the processes in this writing-gardening life, but I hate the self-doubt that assails my mind between planting and producing!

Where does self-doubt sneak in and torment you? What do you DO about it?

"C" is for Compassion

2011-06-08T22:24:00.002-06:00

I had all kinds of ideas for the letter "C," (which just goes to prove that this whole From A 2 Z 4 U & me meme is an excellent antidote for writer's block!)

C is for cookie (because my cookie jar is currently empty and I feel pressured to fill it).
C is for correction (in a moment of repentance for bad behavior).
C is for cranky (as a mother of teenagers, this is self-explanatory).

But tonight, after responding to a Facebook message from a dear friend, I bumbled across MY "C."

C is for COMPASSION.


photo by Quiplash!	via PhotoRee

In these days of abject folly and generally humiliating behavior by the representatives of our most esteemed cultural institutions, of human fallibility in everything from parenting to predicting the future, of the ease with which (and joy we take) from judging and condemning one another in everything from singing ability to fashion sense, the "C" we are missing is compassion.

Oh, it's easy to have compassion on the people whose lives and livelihoods were sucked up into one of this year's dreadful tornadoes. It's easy to have compassion for the victims of the horrific tsunami in Japan, suffering the aftermath of loss, devastation, and radioactive contamination. It's easy to feel compassion for the women and children trapped in the war-ravaged Middle East.

But what about the old guy who failed to activate his turn signal, forcing you to slam on the brakes and narrowly avoid an accident on the way home from work?

Or the haggard Hispanic mother with the screaming toddler, whining child, and fussy infant in front of you in the check-out at Wal-Mart?

Or the pierced, tattooed, leather-clad teenager and his eclectic assortment of odd-looking compatriots, smoking cigarettes outside the fast food drive-through you patronized for supper?

Or the narrow-minded religious zealot waving an inflammatory (and blatantly false) placard on the sidewalk?

As easy as it is to feel your heart soften and stir when you see the pictures of third-world orphans in need of sponsors, or the latest heart-wrenching ad campaign of dogs and cats on their way to the gas chambers in America's overcrowded pounds, it's equally easy to judge and condemn the humans around us. And then to reject them.

Why? Because while we tend to feel that dogs and cats and third-world orphans are merely hapless victims of circumstance. We also tend to believe the humans around us ought to do better, choose better ... that we ought to be responsible for our own mistakes.

To a degree, that's true.

And yet, none of us knows what it means to stand in another person's shoes. No matter how hard we try, we can't walk through every experience with them, making objective decisions in the light of what WE know to be true.

For example: Just over a century ago, doctors were ignorant to cross-contamination by germs in their surgical practices. As a result, women died of puerperal fever by the thousands. Those doctors were acting on the knowledge they had -- knowledge which was, admittedly -- woefully inadequate.

By the same token, who are we to believe we know all, see all, understand all, about the circumstances and situations of the people we encounter from day to day? Quite simply, we don't.

Compassion, by definition, involves such an intense response of feeling to the woes of another that we are compelled to act, compelled to DO something. Compassion hurts.


photo by vvonstruen	via PhotoRee

Unfortunately, what we are most commonly compelled to do is to pass judgment. Let's face it... it's easier to judge, condemn, and reject than it is to endure the pain of compassion.

Jesus, on the other hand, was frequently "moved with compassion." Provoked by the conditions of the people He encountered, compassion generated a response, and release, of supernatural power in Him.

14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. Matt 14:14 NKJV

33 They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. Matt 20:33-34 NKJV

41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:41-43 NKJV

13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Luke 7:13-15 NKJV

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" 37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:33-37 NKJV

There are our directions... Go and do likewise. So should it be with ALL His followers. May we stop resisting and start yielding to the pull of compassion, allowing the Lord Himself to stretch forth His hand through us to heal, to provide, to restore, to minister.

Compassion... had any lately? If you've been tempted to judge, the answer is probably 'yes.' Choose compassion, prayer, mercy, giving, and love instead.

From A 2 Z 4 U and me is a meme created by Patty Wysong. Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this meme... you'll be surprised how much you can gain, one letter at a time!

http://msbarbiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://sparrowsflight10.blogspot.com/2011/06/2-z-cats-and-cavaliers.html
http://asoftervoice.blogspot.com/2011/06/clouds.html
http://networkedblogs.com/iQpnd
http://mybackdoorministry.blogspot.com/2011/06/a2z-c-is-for.html
http://lauryhubrich.blogspot.com/2011/06/c-is-for-changes_07.html
http://soulsearchingsuspense.com/
http://www.pencildancer.com/2011/06/a2z-and-letter-is-c-for-create.html
http://liztolsma.blogspot.com/2011/06/2-z-4-u-me-letter-c.html
http://www.neverkissatoaster.blogspot.com/
http://www.mytraveledpaths.com/

Can you be in three places at once?

2011-06-06T08:00:00.021-06:00

Ha ha! Thanks to the magic of the Internet, I can be here, at Inkwell Inspirations,

and at The Pastor's Wife Speaks all at the same time today! How cool is that?

Now, if I could just figure out how to clone myself, leave my clone here to do the housework, and take off for the beach...

Today at Inkwell Inspirations, I'm addressing a serious, and scary topic: Is there a way to deal with the food safety issues we hear about in the news like the recent outbreak of E. coli contamination in Europe? What recourse do we have beyond refusing to eat? (We all know that's not gonna work!)

And at The Pastor's Wife Speaks, I'm sharing something about marriage that is applicable to every wife, not just pastor's wives. Are you guilty of reading your husband's heavenly mail?

I hope you'll click and visit at either (or both) places today. Leave a comment and let me know you've been by!

Where did the words go?

2011-06-03T05:00:00.003-06:00

In our new, multilingual society, written, verbal instructions have been replaced by pictures. Cave art quality pictures. Stick people pictures. For those of us who are word-oriented, the new trend toward pictorial instructions is a pain in the, er, brain.

I think this is "how to make a cane." I could be wrong.

photo by quarksteilchen

via PhotoRee

People gripe and grumble about everything appearing in Spanish, but I'd much rather try to interpret a sign in Spanish than a sign in pictographs.

It used to be that I could read the multiple pages of instructions and figure out where that last nut and bolt were supposed to go. I could determine which step we'd skipped in assembly or activation of an item. Nowadays, I feel completely illiterate. Pictures mean nothing to me, particularly pictures that are little more than strange symbols.

THIS makes sense.

photo by Paul Hagon

via PhotoRee

Anybody else experiencing this discomfort? Wishing we could go back to the days of instructions that were actually written out in letters?

B is for Bird: From A 2 Z 4 U & me

2011-06-01T20:15:00.000-06:00

I have a bird feeder outside the window by my desk. Every day an astonishing variety of birds come and go from the feeder. They come alone, in couples, or in groups. If I forget to fill the feeder, they disappear, only to return within a few hours once I fill it again. Rain, snow, even high winds don't stop them. There might be different birds in different seasons, but there are always birds.

In the yard just beyond the feeder, robins hunt for worms and grubs and whatever other earthy delicacies are to be found below the surface. Red-tailed hawks circle the fields surrounding our home in search of ground squirrels and field mice. And once in a while, bald eagles appear high overhead, riding the wind currents. Startling black and white magpies with their dignified formal plumage, and ugly bare-headed turkey vultures play a janitorial role for the ecosystem, cleaning up what no one else wants to touch. (Turkey vultures are gross, but their bald scalps are practical ... if you stuck your head in, er, road kill, bare skin would be a lot easier to keep clean.)

Last week the hummingbirds reappeared, on their way "home" from their tropical winter vacations. Finding my feeders missing, they trilled their way to my window as if to alert me of their return.

During my lifetime, I've fed pigeons in New York's Battery Park, been adopted by a peacock, cared for an orphaned Canadian goose, had a flock of chickens, owned a cockatiel and parakeets, mourned the death of a baby magpie my son had plans to teach to talk, and tracked a (flock) of wild turkeys through the snow behind my house.

Of all God's creatures, birds may be the most familiar to us. So familiar, in fact, sometimes we overlook them. We see them in mall parking lots, catch glimpses of them in our peripheral vision, hear them when they begin to chatter at the barest lightening of the eastern sky, and thrill to the promise of spring supposedly warranted by the appearance of the first robin. But birds, by virtue of their commonality, can serve as powerful reminders of God's love and provision.

God used birds as an example throughout Scripture, in both the old and new testaments. Noah sent out a dove from the ark to determine when the waters had receded from the land, confirming God's promise. The Holy Spirit's method of coming to rest upon Jesus is described as being "like a dove." The Psalms repeatedly describe God's care for us as that of a bird's self-sacrificing, gentle care for its young. Mother birds, for example, rip the softest feathers from their own breasts to line their nests. Kind of reminds me of breast feeding.

Beyond enjoying their natural characteristics, birds serve as a powerful reminder for me of God's love and provision. God used birds as an example throughout Scripture, in both the old and new testaments. There are too many references to share in one post, so I'm just going to put my favorites here. I hope that these verses, reminders of God's incredible care for us, the value He places on us, will bless, encourage, and comfort you as much as they do for me!

Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young --
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You.
Selah Ps 84:3-4 NKJV

God provides a home for birds, He'll provide a home for me and my children. Are you praying for a change in your housing situation? Here's a verse to tack your faith to!

Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows.

Matt 10:29-31 TLB

Do you ever feel worthless? Like you don't count for much? God is aware of every bird that falls, much less every one of us, made in His image and likeness. Have you ever found a feather? You noticed that feather. God notices you - every pain, every hurt, every victory, every success.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Matt 6:26-27 NKJV

Birds don't DO anything to earn God's care and provision, He just cares for them because God is love. His love is unconditional ... the next time you catch yourself wondering if you've done enough, given enough, prayed enough, or praised enough to earn His care, read this verse again!

Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

Luke 13:18-19 NKJV

We can trust our lives to God's kingdom, and to the lordship of Jesus Christ, just the way birds trust the trees to support them and their nests and their young, no matter the intensity of the wind or rain.

Plant these verses in your heart and be prepared to be reminded of His word everywhere you go!

Don't forget to visit all the other blogs participating in the From A 2 Z 4 U & me meme! Just click the button:

So many...

2011-05-30T05:00:00.009-06:00

Apps, poop, muppets, and writing.

2011-05-27T11:54:00.000-06:00

Want to know what those three things have in common besides the "p" sound? (Well, no "p" in writing, but you get the point.)

Come visit me at Inkwell Inspirations today to find out.

Click here:

⇓

There's even a Sesame Street video involved!

A is for Ark

2011-05-25T05:00:00.019-06:00

You might think "ark" came up today because of all the rain we've been having, or the flooding, or the crazy weather patterns. Or you might think I have something to share about Noah's ark.

(Have you ever considered what a sad and horrific tale Noah's ark really is? Or how odd it is that we decorate nurseries and children's church rooms in Noah's ark themes?)

Actually, the ark I've been thinking about is the infamous Ark of the Covenant. Yep, the one that terrorized us at the end of the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Moses was directed to construct the first ark, a wooden box overlaid with gold and topped by a "mercy seat" and two cherubs. Within the ark Moses placed the Word of God, a sample of the manna that sustained the Israelites during their 40-year trek through the wilderness, and Aaron's rod - a stick which budded and blossomed to life supernaturally.

The ark was placed in the innermost chamber of the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. The presence of God rested upon the mercy seat there. (God is a God of incredible mercy, in spite of the opinion of some.)

For the New Testament Christian, I believe the ark represents Jesus, our Savior and Lord. When Jesus was crucified, the veil (more literally a wall of fabric, some 8-12 inches thick) was torn in half from top to bottom ... declaring the time for God's covenant to become available to all who would believe, not just a few who were born into it.

Setting aside the melting faces from Raiders, consider the following:

Jesus came in an physical, natural body... like a simple wood box.
He brought the mercy of God to a lost and dying world. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
He is our source of supply and provision, the One who meets our needs according to His riches in glory.
He is incorruptible and unchanging, like the gold that covered the ark.
To believe in Him is to receive everlasting, eternal life. You might feel like a dead stick, but God can give you a blooming, fragrant life.
A host of angels accompany Him, commissioned to carry out His will. In other words, you've got HELP!
God has sworn to be true to His word. His word is His will. What He has promised, He will perform.

Although there's significant debate about whether the cross of Christ was made of cedar, olive, or acacia wood, we know from Scripture that the ark was made from acacia wood. Interestingly, acacia trees were common trees in the region. Easton's Bible Dictionary surmises that the burning bush Moses encountered in the desert may have been an acacia. And as various species of the tree produce long, tough thorns, it's possible the crown of thorns worn by Christ before His crucifixion was made from acacia limbs.

The Israelites knew that as long as they had the ark, they had protection and power and safety and peace. When the ark went with them, they had victory over their enemies. When the ark was, for a time, lodged in the household of Obed-Edom, his household prospered.
And now we have a "new and better covenant" with greater promises than the Israelites had, our own personal "ark," Jesus.

I've been considering taking part in a meme for several months. But every time I come across one I like, it's almost over! Enter Patty Wysong (author of one of the first blogs I ever subscribed to) and the brand-spanking new a2z4u and me meme) I'm pleased to announce that my Wednesday posts for the foreseeable future will be part of this meme, beginning today with the letter "A." (I love A-Z things. They remind me of Sesame Street and alphabet books and Indian Chief tablets.) Are you a blogger? Want to blog but don't know where to start? Come and play!