Dead Crickets

Tonight we were playing outside; the girls were jumping on the trampoline, swinging and riding bikes. The weather is nice and everyone was enjoying it and having fun hanging out. Then one of my girls had a melt down over some little thing, crying and carrying on about nothing really. I guess whatever happened was the last drop of water that her lake could hold, because the damn broke and she ended up crying for over an hour about everything from the senseless death of crickets, to missing her family in Lubbock, to a mean girl at school. After a nice long visit with her daddy and a few minutes of comic relief with me she seemed to feel a lot better. She got everything off her chest, knew that her daddy heard her concerns, got some love and attention and was able to go to bed with the peace of knowing her daddy loves her and will do anything for her.

The truth is nothing changed by her crying and screaming and almost making herself sick, she is still far away from Lubbock, where most of her favorite people live, crickets still die needlessly (lol) and that same mean girl will be waiting for her in the morning. I guess all that changed was her perspective on things, her Daddy was able to give her some guidance, support and insights on the things that were bothering her, which made things make more sense.

Sometimes that is how it is when we talk to our Heavenly Daddy. We can and should go to God about anything, He cares about everything that is weighing on us and loves it when we talk to Him about the big stuff and even the little nagging questions that we have. Although prayer can and does change things, sometimes the biggest change is in our hearts and in the way we see the circumstances and people around us. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Prayer seems so awkward to us, like we need to say the right words and sound the right way, but in reality we should just sit in our Daddy's lap and talk or cry or scream or whisper and get everything off our chest. And in turn we will know that God hears us and cares deeply about everything that is bothering us, we will enjoy God's peace and best of all get some amazing Daddy love. And even if crickets still die without any reason at all we can trust the God loves us and that He has good plans for us.

Band-aids

Earlier this week, one of my girls fell on the sidewalk at church. I was chasing her because she was teasing me about seeing a possum, which I HATE and we were laughing and running. I guess her feet got away from her and she tripped. It left a huge bruise on her knee and a scrape on her hip. She insisted that she needed a band-aid for her hip so we dug around in the closet at church and found a cheap off-brand bandage and gently covered her scratch. No big deal, problem solved, all better, or so I thought, what I didn't know is that I just caused her more pain instead of fixing her up! That night in the bath we decided to go ahead and take the bandage off, but it was stuck so tight she was freaking out, so her daddy left it on. The next day it had to come off so my husband and I had to literally hold her down, kicking and screaming, to rip it off. I was so sad, because it left raw places where the sticky had been and the scratch was already gone. That dumb band-aid did more harm than good :(

Many people try to put band-aids, or worse cheap off-brand bandages on their problems in life, bandages like boyfriends/girlfriends, popularity, possessions, friends, money and maybe even going to church. The thing is none of those were meant to fix the problems we have or to help the emptiness we feel inside. And often times what we are using to cover up our hurt, family problems, failures, insecurities and shortcomings is only making matters worse and creating more of those negative feelings and thoughts.

We need to be healed. Jesus is the only One who can come into our lives and love us and heal us from the inside out! Psalms 30:2 says, "O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me." God wants so badly for us to stop covering things up and trying to fill our selves with stuff, people and experiences; He wants us to call out to Him so He can show us what He made us for and guide us to discover His plan for our lives. When we are living our lives for God we will experience healing. Please don't think that all the junk and pain or even sickness is going to disappear out of your life, that is not always what healing means, but you will have the promise that the Creator of the universe will never leave you and He will walk with you through every single heartache that you will experience. During Jesus' time on earth, "large crowds followed him, and He healed them there." (Matthew 19:2) He wants the same thing to happen today!

I pray that you will not keep digging around looking for cheap band-aids that will leave you even more hurt, but you will embrace Jesus and allow His love to heal you!!

All for Him

After a great week of having the girls home for Spring Break and getting to spend extra time with our youth, today I had a little catching up to do around the house. I bought some groceries, cleaned the kitchen, did a few loads of laundry, straighten up the playroom and the girls bathroom, cooked supper and then re-cleaned the kitchen. I used to get a little frustrated when I had a lot of house keeping jobs to do, especially when I didn't make the mess but ended up doing all the work. I would feel sorry for myself and think I was being under appreciated. But then God showed me a couple of verses that really changed my attitude! Colossians 3:17 says "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." And in Philippians 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." These two verses really rocked my world, because they say to me that I should clean house, cook, do laundry, take care of my family and do everything I do like I am doing it for Jesus. And not only that but I should be thankful that I have the ability to do anything at all. AND not only that but I should do it happily so that I can shine like a star! Wow, that is convicting!!

I am so blessed to have a husband and children, a house, clothes, food and random stuff! I am blessed too that I can use my time to take care of my family and all that stuff. The only way to get out of the work would be if I didn't have all the people and things I am thankful for. Instead of complaining and being worried about getting credit for what I do, I try to remember that I am not only serving my family but JESUS! These verses could apply to being a stay at home mom, working anywhere, doing school work, dealing with difficult people, or really anything. When we look at the tasks at hand as a gift from God and do it all for Him, it will change everything. My house is tidier (most of the time) than it was before I found these verses. My attitude is tons better (most of the time) and I am thankful for things I used to take for granted like running water and washing machines!

So as you go through your day think of how God has blessed you and how you can bless Him and others by doing all that you do just like you would do it if Jesus Himself were going to thank you!

Son Burned?

Yesterday we had an awesome time with our youth; we had a paint balloon war out in the woods behind our church. Before we could have the fight we had to fill up balloons with paint water, which meant I was in the sunshine most of the day. Usually this would not have been a big deal, it was a beautiful warm spring day, I normally would have just been able to start working on my tan. :) But I have been on some antibiotics for about a month now, and I didn't realize but the medicine made me more sensitive to the sun, so I am burnt, really burnt. Luckily I had long sleeves on so it is mainly on my face, hands and half of one leg, but anyone who looks at my face can clearly see that I have been in the sun.

In the Old Testament Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and when he came down he was not aware but he face was radiant because he had been with the LORD. How cool is that? There was no question or doubt in the minds of those around him whether or not he had talked with God, the evidence was all over his face. It freaked the Israelites out so much that Moses went around with a veil on his face, but each time he hung out with God they again saw that his face was glowing. (Exodus 34)

In the 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." As Christians we too should have "radiant faces". The people around us should have no reason to doubt if we have been hanging out with God, because it is so evident in our actions, words and life. That is not always easy, but as we let God transform us into His likeness, His characteristics will shine through and draw people to Jesus. I think it would be a lot easier if our faces were actually radiant like Moses was, but instead God wants us to glow with His love!

Strangers at the park today could easily see my sun burn but I wonder how many people that I see every day can see my "Son Burn" and know that I love Jesus, spend time with Him and that I am being transformed to be more like Him. It is my prayer that I am reflecting God's glory in everything I do, from a simple seemingly unimportant task like doing dishes, to teaching the Junior High girls at church, to loving and serving others. And it is my prayer that you are being transformed to be more like Jesus too and are lighting up the places you go with your glowing faces!

Even When We Are Not Looking

Kids have a funny way of thinking about and processing the world around them. They don't see things like most grown-ups do and we can learn a lot from them if we take the time to listen. My 4yr old is a real "live wire", ask anyone who knows her and they will have to admit she is a mess! In the last few weeks she has started to close her eyes and ask if the lights are still on, or if I am still standing near her, etc. even when she cannot see. She is long past the developmental stage when children learn that objects do not disappear when out of sight, but she thinks it is funny to pretend that the lights automatically go off when she closes her eyes.

Every time she does this it makes me think of the passage in Hebrews 11 that says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Just like the lights, that do in fact stay on even when Raegan closes her eyes, Jesus is all around us and working in every situation, even when we are not looking, even when we cannot see. For some people the idea of surrendering everything, or anything for that matter to an invisible being in the sky is foolishness, but to those of us who are, by faith, giving our lives to God, it is power. Power to live a life that matters, power to love in every situation, power to serve and sacrifice, power to be all we were created to be and power to be used by God to change lives.

We know that the sun still exists even when it is night and that the wind is real even though we can not see it. And what about gravity? I cannot see or touch that, yet with out gravity we wouldn't be on Earth. So how much more should we believe Jesus is all He said He is. And not only that He is real but He is worthy of everything we have, since He proves Himself over and over in every good thing that we have.

So open your eyes and see the God who created the universe, at work in every intimate detail of your life! Or close them; and you know what? He is still there!

Glass House vs. Glass Heart

It has long been said that pastors and ministers live in a "glass house". I guess that means that everything they do and say is under a microscope because every one is watching them. Some people are probably even watching them just to see when they mess up. There is not a lot of privacy when you live the life of a pastor's family and every little action is being critiqued from everyone, folks inside the church and out. I have always embraced this truth. And other than the occasional amusement when some one says something like, "Where were you yesterday,your car was gone from 12-3," it never really bothers me. I don't know maybe I just don't feel like we have a lot to hide, not because we are perfect just because we are normal people striving to live a life worthy of our calling and learning as we go.

But it occurred to me this morning that God wants all of His followers to do more than live in "glasses houses" he wants us to have "glass hearts". If people could really look into my house from all sides, they would see the laundry piled up to my knee in my room, the girls closet which is a disaster and the nasty stuff that grows in my refrigerator. And how are our lives and hearts the same? If people around us could look at our hearts from all sides what would they see? What kind of nasty stuff is growing in there? That may be a frightening thought for some of us. We try so hard to put on a facade that looks like we have everything together. We are afraid of what our peers and fellow believers would think if they saw the inner turmoil that we have. We fake it painting over the problems, fears and questions we have, to appear perfect. God calls us to a life of authenticity, which means we will have "glass hearts", letting our true condition out, not masking over it with what we say and how we look. This is how God sees us anyway, He sees straight through our appearances into our hearts. If our peers around us, who are watching us whether we like it or not, were able to see in our hearts and know that we are not perfect, just trying to love Jesus and live it out, that would be so much more attractive to them than the front we put up, that they can probably see through already. We are all going to have days when we struggle, days when we doubt, days when we can hardly keep our heads above water, and if we all had "glass hearts" we would be more able to help each other out and ask for help, since it would be clear that no one has it all figured out. Examine your heart today and you may see it needs some cleaning up, and hopefully you will understand that covering it up doesn't do you or anyone else any good. Strip it down to the "glass heart" God intended.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your TRUTH; give me an undivided HEART, and I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my HEART,; I will glorify your name forever." Psalms 88: 11-12

Deep Calls to Deep

This morning was like most Monday mornings, I woke up late, too lazy to really get myself ready before I got the girls up and going for school. My 4 year old usually sleeps in on Mondays till about 8, which works well for me so she is not under foot as the big girls rush around, or are actually prodding around as they eat and fix hair and such. This morning however, Raegan woke up before everyone else and was watching me make orange juice. I didn't really talk to her, just smiled and kept going. Then she melted my heart, "I need a hug Mommy." So of course I had to stop everything and scoop her up in a giant bear hug.

It got me to thinking how many people wake up Monday mornings feeling like that, they just need a hug or a friend or their mommy. And how many of those people don't have a ready supply of love in their houses or lives. They can't just wake up and ask for love and get it instantly and unconditionally, but shouldn't everyone have access to that? I guess that is where you and I come in, loving those around us, even if they are not four years old and as cute as can be, even if they are not deserving of such affection. As Jesus' hands here on Earth it is our responsibility or better yet privilege, to love others, sharing God's love through us. I know this is hard sometimes, most of the time actually, because loving people is risky in so many ways. What if you choose to love someone and they turn around and stab you in the back, what if you choose to love someone and your friends think you have gone off the deep end, what if you choose to love someone and they act like they don't need your love? Very risky indeed!!

But 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, " Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give in his heart what he has decided to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Now I know that this is probably talking about money and tithing and God supplying your financial needs, but I think there is more. If we love sparingly or half way is that not what we will get in return, but if we love generously, the God of heaven will himself make sure we have all the love we need to keep going and stand up under anything. Loving everyone, in all conditions is not easy, but if as Christians we do not sow love, who will? No one, I am afraid.

Psalms 42:7-8 says, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life." There is a deep whole in the human heart that longs and calls for a deep love. The Lord wants to sweep over us with his waterfall of love, He wants to love us all day long and sing love songs to us in the night long. If you have never experienced that love there is no better time to open your heart to God and His indescribable love. If you have known that love in the past, but due to life and circumstances and worries, that love seems like a distant memory, then today is the day to let God's love wash over you anew. And if you are living in God's love and enjoying it through the good times and bad, you must share it!!!

There may not be any needy 4 year olds running around in your home, workplace or school, but there are people who are needy, who are lonely, who feel unloved, and you could be the one to stop everything and scoop them up give them a giant God hug.

And I pray that as we grow and learn to walk as Jesus wants us to that we can grasp," how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Eph. 3:18)

Back to Blogging!!

My family relocated to East Texas right before Thanksgiving and I am just now coming up for air. Moving right before the holidays was very overwhelming, add to that diving into a starving youth ministry that need us so badly and hopefully you can understand my absence from blogging. But every day I find that God is teaching me something through daily experiences and I am reviving my practice of sharing those lessons and thoughts. I am hoping that something in my blog speaks to you and encourages you to live your life sold out for God. So stay tuned because I am back!