Paula Deen, Homecoming 1993, and the love of Jesus

What do these three have in common?







What celebrities say or do can ruin their careers in an instant. Paula Deen, with her past use of the N-word. Miley Cyrus - we'll just leave it at that. Justin Beiber with pot, DUIs, etc. And so many more.

While what these people and many others did varied, the public eye is often unforgiving. It takes one quick mess-up, intentional or not, and that's what you are remembered for.

During the Paula Deen scandal, I remember feeling so bad for her. *Please know I'm not condoning her use of the word - I do not use that word, and don't want to hear anyone else using it, period.* But to see someone shamed by so many is hard to watch.

Homecoming 1993- tan, thin,
and able to wear sequins... Those
were the days...I just noticed my left
shoulder looks like it's being pulled
down, I'm guessing, by the 10-pound corsage
 that looks more like a floral decoration for a cast 

I remember saying not long ago that I am way glad I am not famous. There's a home video of my 1993 homecoming where I may or may not have flippantly used a derogatory word toward my date, one that I wouldn't even think of using now (if I even hear this particular word from a stranger now, I give a stern scowl). I didn't mean it literally at all, but I do regret saying it, big time. I feel terrible that I did. And all other reasons aside, that's one reason I will never be elected president.

*Other reasons include, but are not limited to, not knowing the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives, not being able to locate Syria, Kuwait, and Crimea on a map (really all places outside of the US, and some inside the US, especially the square ones in the middle), and not knowing exactly how a bill becomes a law (somehow I didn't pay attention during that episode of Schoolhouse Rock).

But for me to feel like when I mess up, it is not as big of a deal as when  people who are famous do, is not okay. God said a whole bunch of times that it is not okay. One particular time is when God spoke to Joshua, as He was encouraging Joshua as the new leader of the Israelites, just after Moses' death.

In Joshua 1:7, He said, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant LMoses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." 

While God was speaking directly to Joshua, I feel sure He wants us all to follow this advice. Believe me, we are not perfect. We are going to mess up. It is likely we are going to turn a little to the right one day, and maybe a little to the left another. But it's not okay to use that as an excuse to do whatever we feel like doing. Our goal is to stay on track. While our salvation is not because of how we act, if we really love God, we want to live in a way that pleases Him.

And while the whole world isn't keeping tabs on us through the internet or Entertainment Tonight, we each have our own set of people keeping an eye on us, even when we don't realize it. People in our separate corners of the world who are looking to see if the love of Jesus is really in us, and if that makes us different from anyone else. And it should. It might not make us perfect, but it does make us different. The love of Jesus showing in our lives makes all the difference. 

Whether it's our Facebook postings, how we interact with our family, or the attitude we have at work or church - let's make it our purpose to show that love, whether we think anyone is watching or not. Because they are, and even if they aren't, Jesus is, and what could be better than for Him to watch us and be proud of us?

For your amusement, and my education, here is a little something to watch :)

You only had one job...

You only had one job to do...

These Pinterest pictures crack me up! Given one job, how can someone mess it up so badly? But the pictures also hit home a little. I have a tendency to mess things up. I've noticed over the years that I lack some common sense, but thankfully married a guy who is full of it (Common sense, I mean, haha). 

In the past when I have messed things up, I've felt embarrassed, frustrated, and more sure that I can't get things right. But everyone makes mistakes, even the woman God trusted to raise Jesus, and if that doesn't make me feel better, what can? 

In Luke 2, Jesus is 12, the same age as my Noah. The relatives and friends of Jesus' family are all on their way home from Jerusalem after the Passover Feast. Comfortable that Jesus is safely nearby, Mary and Joseph travel for an entire day before they come to the conclusion that He is nowhere to be found.

Just pause here for a minute and imagine the panic. Yikes! Once I lost my mother-in-law's cat, and I cried my eyes out and nearly threw up. She lost Jesus!! Can you even imagine? No cell phones, no Amber Alerts, mind you. Just searching for him...

Thankfully, Jesus was found, teaching in the temple three days later. In verse 47, it says, "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." At 12 years old. Wow. Then on to verse 48, "When his parents saw him, they were astonished." I don't know if this astonished is the same as everyone's amazement in verse 47. I like to think so. But the Message translation says "But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt." And finishing out verse 48, Mary begins to scold him a bit.

Naturally, she had been freaking out. Jesus was gone for days, and finally found. I can't even imagine the emotions she must have been feeling.

But I do know that after she simmered down, she saw the beauty of that moment, watching this child - whom she no-doubt had rocked to sleep, sang songs to, and gave soft kisses on his cheek as he drifted off to sleep - this child... now growing and maturing, teaching and leading. She was seeing more of the whole picture, and knew for a moment that she needed to take a mental snapshot of what had just happened. Verse 51 said, "But his mother treasured all these things in her heart."

By the way, I wish I could have known Mary. I think we could have been the best of friends.

There are so many times I mess up, and consequently want to give up. Do you ever feel like one mistake, one wrong, one sin, can ruin everything? We screw up, and can't imagine God can still love us. We can't imagine people can have faith in us again. We can't imagine we can be forgiven.

But we can.

God doesn't want us running from Him when we blow it. He wants us to keep going. He is there to love us through it, help us learn from it, but He will not give up on us. He loves us too much to do that.

Mary didn't give up. Mary treasured the good from that moment, and kept going. She continued to raise Jesus, loving Him, and pouring everything she had into the plan God had for her life.

And that is what we are to do. Don't quit. Don't give up. Acknowledge your mistake, ask God for forgiveness and help, and keep on going. We don't want to miss out on a second of what He has planned for us.

Onward and upward, dear friends.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13,14

Hungry, tired, and thirsty in the desert

Other than Jesus, David is probably one of the most famous people from the Bible. We heard about him as little kids, watching how brave he was to be the good-looking, littlest brother of the family, going up against a giant with 5 small stones and a whole bunch of faith in his big God.

We read some of his psalms, heard about him chosen by God as king, also about some sin along the way, including adultery and murder. We even heard God call him a man after His own heart! How cool would that be to hear?

There was also a time in his life when David was being hunted down by his own son who wanted to kill him. In 2 Samuel, chapter 17, David is being chased by Absalom, and thankfully, God intervenes and David and his people are able to escape. Absalom hears they are headed one direction, but friends of David tell them to go another way, so David and his people head to Mahanaim. 

Here is where I want us to focus. As they get to this town, three guys there start bringing them things - bedding, bowls, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep and cheese, "... For they said, 'The people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert,’" (verse 29).

How many times do we notice someone who is hungry, tired and thirsty in the desert? Maybe they aren't literally running for their lives, but just worn out? Could be a friend in a ministry that is just exhausted from the expectations and disappointments. Maybe a friend who is literally worn-out from an illness.  Or a mom who is frazzled from trying to please everyone all the time.

You can probably think of someone now. Someone who lately just doesn’t seem themselves and could use some encouragement.

There are times when I notice someone seems discouraged, depressed or defeated. And if I notice, I for sure will have intentions of helping, but sometimes that's as far as it goes. And that's not okay. My good intentions mean nothing if I don’t put some action behind it.

David had people seeing his need and meeting it, simply because they noticed, they cared, and they followed through. I want to be like these guys. I’ve had people be like these guys to me.

I have received flowers from some dear friends when the thrill of pregnancy turned into the disappointment and grief of a miscarriage. And other sweet friends who have experienced the same heartbreak let me talk to them for hours about how I was feeling during that time.

During the death of my father-in-law, a friend offered to watch Noah, who was a toddler at the time, during the funeral.

Other friends have sent encouraging notes just when I need them.

I have friends, even now, who I know are feeling like David. They are hungry, tired, and thirsty in their deserts, and I’m sure you do too. It’s our job to make sure we can give them what they need. Think of your person today, and what you can do to help.

If you have any ideas of what we can do to be an encouragement to someone, please share! Maybe it will make those of us with good intentions put them into action. :) 

Olympic chatter, rocks, and God's faithfulness

The Olympics pretty much rock. I'm not athletic and I don't follow many of events, but when I do see them, it is awesome. A couple of nights ago I caught just a few minutes of the halfpipe event, and was excited that Shaun White (the only name this non-athlete recognized) hadn't gone yet. I tuned in just in time. It was hard to watch though, as he crashed the first time, and then didn't score high enough for a medal. Bummer. (All of this is really unrelated to this blog post, I just wanted to look like I was cool for a second :)

Another Olympian I heard about yesterday was a free-skier named David Wise. But the story wasn't about his event, which may or may not have happened yet - not sure. It was a simple story about how anytime he goes away somewhere, whether a trip, a hike, fishing, or a skiing event, he finds a heart-shaped rock to bring back to his sweet wife to let her know she was thought of. This is a picture from his Instagram of the one he is bringing back to her from Sochi.



Sweet, right? It is good to have reminders. His wife collects these rocks, and when she sees them, she can remember all the times she has been thought of and missed while he was away from her.

I was reading in my Bible not that long ago about some other stones that were used as reminders. In Joshua chapter 3, Joshua was following God's direction and leading the Israelites across the Jordan River. God explained with detailed instruction that He would divide the water in the river, allowing the Israelites to cross right through it.  God wanted to give them the confidence they would need for the situations they would soon face. On a side note, I LOVE that God did this. Chapter 3 verse 10 says, "This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites." He knew what they would need to trust Him, and cared enough to make sure they would be ready.

So moving along, in Chapter 4, they had finished crossing the river, with things happening just like God said they would. He told Joshua to set up 12 stones that had been in the middle of the river bed, one stone for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. In verse 6 and 7, he explained why. "... In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

Then at least four other times, rocks were used as reminders for other things that had happened.

I think I need some rocks. There have been so many times God has answered prayers for me. A few days ago God brought a few of those to mind. It is so easy to forget the goodness and faithfulness of God. Sometimes we focus on the times God answered our prayers differently than how we wanted, and we start doubting the power of prayer. But we must remember however it is answered, it is always for His glory. And there are other times prayers are answered exactly like we asked, and in a way that is only possible through God, and soon after we just go on about our daily lives, and those times get put way in the back of our minds.

It is crazy that we could forget something so awesome as the God of everything listening to one simple human being among the other 7 billion humans living and breathing right now...and not just listening, but caring and working things out because we are asking.

Maybe piles of rocks all over my house wouldn't be the best plan, but something more doable in terms of space, like a prayer journal, would be a way to do that. A place that I can remember when I fasted a weekly meal and prayed for weeks for specific friends to get closer to Jesus, and they did. A way I can remember that I prayed for God's presence to be felt in Noah's school, and a Bible study was started there at lunchtime by a pastor I don't know. A place I can remember when many people prayed for my sweet niece to be born healthy, while tests were showing she wouldn't be, yet she was. A reminder of when a kid in Noah's class kept getting in trouble and having problems with school work, we prayed for him daily, and by the end of the year Noah said that kid was doing so much better in class.

All we do is ask God; He answers. He loves and cares that much. The least I can do is remember, and to share those stories with my child, and with anyone else who will listen.

What kinds of things could you set up some rocks for?

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; 
   great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23

Haymitch, Phil Robertson, and a little reminder

"This is my command: Love each other. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." - John 15:17-18

 I LOVE the Hunger Games. Love the books, love the movies. Seriously. In case you didn't get to read or watch, or had no desire to, here's the general gist. What's left of America in the future is divided into districts and is ruled by the Capital district and President Snow. The Capital has all the wealth and power, while the remaining districts have few freedoms and little money.

The rules enforced by the Capital include a fight to the death between 24 teenagers randomly picked from the 12 districts. Only one can live.

The story's hero, Katniss, is forced to go into the games a second time in the sequel, Catching Fire, to fight for her life again. Her mentor Haymitch reminds her as she enters the arena, "Remember who the real enemy is." 

Haymitch wanted her to remember the enemies were not the other 23 unlucky kids trying to kill her; it was the Capital officials and President Snow - the ones responsible for all of it.

I couldn't help but think of the wisdom in that. The Bible says something very similar in Ephesians 6:12.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Satan can use just about anything to distract people from their fight against him and sick them on each other. I've seen some of it today.

Hearing about Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson and the attention he is getting from his words reminded me of how easy it is for us to forget who the enemy of God and Christians is. Christians might think the enemy is the people who don't know Jesus, or maybe it's the media, or a Merry-Christmasless chain store, but it isn't. Our real enemy is Satan.

Satan can get us so focused on a particular sin, topic or issue, and what might start out as sticking up for the rights of Christians can end up leaving us a hateful, bitter bunch failing to show the love of Christ to those who need it right where they are.

I'm not saying that if something is a sin, you should pretend that it is okay. But doesn't God look at all sin equally? In the GQ article, Phil paraphrased the list of some sins from I Corinthians, where homosexual practice is right alongside the sexually immoral, idolatry, adultery, the thieves, the greedy, the drunk, slanderers and swindlers. I've been guilty of more on this list than I would care to mention.

When Christians make fighting against one sin or another their platform, it takes away from our first duty and what should be our biggest delight - to love God and love others.

Back to that passage in I Corinthians though, chapter 6 verse 11 says something beautiful about a group of people like all of us who at one time were dabbling in that list of sins I mentioned above...

"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 

There isn't one single sin that God's grace can't cover. Not one. I am beyond grateful for this!

Standing up for what you believe in isn't wrong. Send A&E an email if you want, and proudly wear your Duck Dynasty t-shirt (I think the show is adorable and really hope it continues with Phil present - BTW, Jase is my favorite). But please be careful not to make it an "us against them" fight.

It's us against Satan, and unless we are showing the love of Jesus everywhere we go, he is winning.

Wax on, Wax off...

Ralph Macchio was way hot as Daniel-san in the original Karate Kid.

Dreamy!!!



As Mr. Miyagi was training him so he could defend himself against those jerks at the Cobra Kai Dojo, he gave Daniel-san some odd training techniques. Rather than showing him how to block a kick, Mr. Miyagi told him to wax his cars, paint his fences, and sand his floors. Sounds like a scam.

And that's just what foul-mouthed Daniel-san tells Mr. Miyagi when he felt he had done enough. But Mr. Miyagi showed him just what he had learned.

While all the waxing, sanding, and painting seemed completely unrelated to the task of learning enough to show Johnny Lawrence that he wasn't to be messed with, Mr. Miyagi had been teaching him all along. 

I've noticed some wax-on/wax-off assignments from God recently. Walking around the block by Noah's school and praying, I noticed it was trash day for the surrounding neighborhood. One of the neighbor's trash bags had been ripped open by a local dog, with all their scraps and evidence of the week that had just passed. 

As I walked by, I felt God nudging my heart. It seemed He wanted me to pick up the trash. So I kept walking. I decided I would get a bag from my car and pick it up on my next lap. I forgot to stop. So I circled again, still feeling God's words on my heart. I grabbed an empty bag from my car, and walked to the yard. As I began to pick up pieces of this stranger's garbage, I discovered garbage of a family just like mine, right down to their love of Chick-fil-a. 

While nothing obviously life-changing happened from me obeying, God asked me to do it for a reason. Whether it was for that family to not have garbage all over their lawn, for me to learn a lesson in humility, for me to have a few moments focused on this family and praying for them, or for me to just learn to hear God's voice, I don't know. But I do know God wanted me to do it.

He has shared other things with me lately that He wanted me to do. And it seems the more I listen to Him and obey, the more "assignments" he is willing to give. And I really want them. There is nothing more satisfying than obeying God. 

If God is asking you to help someone unload their cart at Walmart, or say hello to a neighbor, do it. Even if it is something that doesn't seem to serve an immediate purpose. God is speaking and we are learning His voice.  

Wax on and wax off your way to a closer, more intimate and beautiful relationship with God. You won't regret it. 

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." - John 10:27-28

Missing God (and a zip-lining video)

"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?

Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

They are higher than the heavens above - what can you do?

They are deeper than the depths below - what can you know?

Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." - Job 11:7-9

My family loves to go to Tennessee. Probably our favorite vacation spot. I’d say we’ve been there nearly 10 times since we have been married. We even went there for our honeymoon.

There are so many things to do. We shop, miniature golf, ride go-karts, go to Dollywood, watch a

show. Never a dull moment.

This year when we went, we decided to get a little more into nature. We rode horses, went on a hike, and Shawn and Noah even went zip-lining (check out the video of them below). It surprises me how easy it is to be so close to natural beauty, like the Smokey Mountains, and never get close to it. Never really look at it. Just seeing it from a distance, while driving from one mini-golf course to the next.

Taking a look down the parkway, there are attractions upon attractions. And they’re so fun and entertaining. But the beauty of the area is really in the mountains, and we have missed it so many times.

This year, God nudged my heart a little on this. There are so many things that capture my attention and get in the way of me focusing on God. Seeing him, spending time with him, worshiping him. And like mini-golf and go-karts, these things aren’t bad in themselves.

It could be things originally meant to worship God, like our church building, or church activities, our music, or our ministries. If the building, or the event, or the song, or even the ways in which we serve, take our focus off God, we are missing out. It’s not how God intended it.

Music is my favorite part of a service. A song can focus our attention on the beauty of God, his power, his mystery. But if we listen to the song, liking it just for what it is, not paying attention to Who it is about, we have missed out on something lovely.

The same for a ministry. If we are serving in a ministry, like a Sunday School class, and go at it half-heartedly, just trying to survive until the class is over, or if we fail to look for what God wants us to do with the class, it’s not as great as it could be. Good things can still happen, but we are missing out on a beautiful opportunity.

Sometimes even the blessings God gives us can take our eyes off him. Things might be good for us with our families, with our finances, or otherwise, and we forget that each day we live totally dependent on Him. Our next breath comes from Him.

When we are not in a desperate place, sometimes we forget how big He is. We make Him small and understandable. He is neither.

The times we have gone through the Tennessee mountains, hiked, viewed waterfalls and enormous trees, seen the wildlife - those are when I am in awe. I am sad for all the times I was so close and missed them.

On a much larger scale, the same goes for God. When I look for Him, my worship, my ministries, my everyday things are so different. They are so much more beautiful to me.

Today, let’s make it our purpose not to miss Him.