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. 

Penny and the talking donkey

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  - Joshua 1:9

I'm a wimp. It's true. Water, heights, going blind, the dark, going too fast. If there is something to be afraid of, I fear it. If there is a possibility that anything could go wrong, I will have already imagined it. This is especially true when things are out of my control.

My family went to Tennessee this summer, and we were able to take my niece Vivian with us. Rather than just winging it when we got there, we had a plan mapped out of some of the things we wanted to make sure we did during the trip. Dollywood, ziplining and horseback riding were on the list.

I had been horseback riding before, but I believe it was on our honeymoon, so that was 16 years ago. I was excited for Noah and Vivian to experience this since neither of them had done this.

However, as we drove to Big Rock Riding Stables, I started feeling anxious. What if I fall off the horse? What if the horse decides it doesn't want to follow everyone else anymore? What if it isn't defiant, but just dumb and doesn't know he is supposed to stay with the group? My mind filled with questions like that.
Not to mention worrying these same things about Noah and Vivian.

We all were given our horses. They were each named after states, and my horse was Pennsylvania, but she went by Penny, which I found comforting, since that was my mother's name.

The guy giving me my horse assured me Penny is an old horse, who will go slow and easy.

New fears. What if Penny decides she has had enough. She is overworked and tired of it. There is very little separating Penny and me from careening down the side of the hill if Penny decides life is no longer worth living.

As I'm fearing all of these things and more, God began to calm my heart. He reminded me of Balaam.

In Numbers 22 you can read about him. Balaam is an oracle, who told the future, and gave out blessings and curses, sometimes for money.

That is the situation in chapter 22. He was hired to curse a group of people, and the price was right. Fast-forward a few verses. So he gets on his donkey and they take off down the road, with the desire of money in his heart. On his way, his donkey saw an angel of God holding a sword in the middle of the road. The donkey veers of the road toward a field. Smart donkey. Balaam beats her. A little further down, the donkey sees the angel again, and this time it is on a narrow path, with vineyards on each side. She scoots close to the wall, squishing Balaam's leg, to get away from the angel, and Balaam beats her again. Then the third time she sees the angel, the donkey just drops to the ground, refusing to go. He beats her a third time. Then verse 28 says this, "Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?'"

To get Balaam's attention, God caused the donkey to speak. Wow.

It was here that God reminded me that He made Penny. He had complete control over Penny. If He wanted Penny to speak, He could make her speak, so He certainly could make her stay on the path if that's what He wanted.

I'd like to say I relaxed completely the rest of the ride and enjoyed it, but I'd be lying. I was definitely calmer, but I was certainly glad to see the stables at the end.

God did teach me something during that ride, something of which He has often reminded me.

I don't have to be afraid. He has everything under control. That is so comforting when I remind myself of this, or when God reminds me of it. Nothing is too big, hard, small, unimportant, for Him to handle.
Whether it's a horse, health, job, relationship, finances - He's got it. I hope that's comforting for you too.

Whatever your situation, God is bigger. I'm glad He keeps reminding me.

BTDubs - This is Penny, followed by Shawn, Noah and Viv with their horses 

From "So what?" to "Say what?!" and a block party :)

When Noah acted crabby with a friend when he was younger, we told him to tell that friend, "I'm sorry." It was a struggle, because he did not like saying those words. And when forced to say them, they kind of lack sincerity. But other times, when he has done something and felt so bad about it, and his beautiful blue eyes filled with tears, he would offer up an "I'm sorry" and mean every syllable.

The attitude of the heart makes all the difference. 

I joined an online study through Proverbs 31 Ministries on Lysa TerKeurst's book What Happens When Women Say Yes To God, and on one of the posts, the study's leader talked about the difference between "So What?" obedience and "Say What?!" obedience. She said someone could say that God wants them to do six loads of laundry. So what? But if that person took it seriously and committed to doing that laundry, praying over each load for her family, it could be a Say What?! moment. She said, if she decided that as she folded her children's socks, she would pray for their feet, and the places they would be going, and if she folded her husband's t-shirts and prayed for him and his job, and as she folded sheets, she could pray for rest and safety for her family as they slept, and fully believed that these prayers will make a difference, her family's lives could experience an awesome change. And as she tells her friends about this, they too could decide to make this a commitment for their families as well, creating changes in homes everywhere! Say what?! 

That left a big impression on me, because I often look at things without the commitment and enthusiasm they deserve. 

Take nursery duty at church as an example. I kind of dread it when I have it. I love the kids and I end up having a good time with them, but when I realize I'm on the schedule, I'm not excited. 

But rather than looking at it as a babysitting service, I should look at it differently after this study. It's a chance to be with the kids, to pray for them now and for their futures. To pray for the babies who have just recently been born and will be in the nursery soon, and for the ladies I know who desperately want to one day have babies of their own crawling around in the nursery. What an opportunity! 

Our church is having a block party tomorrow evening. Most of us were pretty excited about doing it during the early planning stages, but, typical for me, as the day gets closer, the excitement fades and is replaced by stress and I look forward to it being over. I've been sort of looking at it like a "So What?" kind of project. 

But I'm changing that, starting now. The reason for having it is to let the people in our church's neighborhood, especially the kids, know about the classes and programs our church has. It's to get to know the neighbors of the church and hopefully get people excited to stop by and learn that Jesus loves them.

So, tomorrow morning, as I am making lemonade and sweet tea, I will be praying for the families who will be drinking it. I will pray that they will see Jesus' love poured out in our neighborhood. As I help set up tables and games, I will be praying for the kiddos who will be playing them, that they will have a good time and feel loved and wanted by the church volunteers who are there. I will also be praying for the church volunteers who will be there doing everything from serving free hot dogs to manning the inflatables, that they will see each person they talk to as someone Jesus loves and gave His life for.

Kind of turns it into a "Say What?!" project :)

Nearly anything in our day can be changed, with a change in our attitude. I want my attitude to reflect a girl who is happy to serve Jesus.

Praying for our Kids... the Sequal

Sometimes things we want don't always line up. I might want to lose 20 pounds, but I also want cupcakes and sprinkles. I want to get a bunch of stuff done in the evening, but I also want to sleep. I want to save money, but I also want to buy sparkly things.

If you read my post Praying For Our Kids, you know that Noah started his 7th grade school year this past Thursday. You also know I was committed to praying for him and had peace about it.

I spent the drive to school Thursday morning praying for Noah's day, his teachers, him and his friends. I dropped him off, then walked 2 1/2 miles around the neighborhood surrounding his school, talking to God about this new school year. I prayed more detailed prayers for all of the teachers, counselors, bus drivers, cooks, secretaries, students, their families, and specifically for Noah and his friends, as well as the kids from my church who were starting school that day.

I felt pretty good the rest of the day, trusting it would be an awesome day. But it didn't feel so awesome for Noah.

I'm hesitant to post this. Sometimes it's a fine line between transparency and being a blabber mouth, especially when it involves people other than yourself. Having said that, I'm going to share.

While it could have been much worse, he had several crummy things happen - beginning with  me not remembering he needed $5 for locker rental and him having to carry his stuff, including his lunchbox, all day. Out of respect for him, I'll skip the other details, but ultimately he rated his day, from 0, meaning the worst day ever, to 10, super awesome, at a 2. He had a bad day.

I was so bummed. I was sure with all my praying and confidence, his day would be better than that. And I was kind of frustrated with God. It seemed wrong even to say that, but God knows my heart. After all that praying and believing, I just felt it deserved better than a 2.

So I told God as much on Friday morning after I prayed with Noah again and dropped him off. I cried. I asked God why He didn't give Noah a better first day when that's the very thing I had asked for.

God wasn't silent. He quickly reminded me of another prayer I had prayed.

Last year, I began praying for Noah to have a closer, more personal relationship with God. He has a great relationship with God, but the older he gets, I know it is important for him to continue to develop a faith that is entirely his own, not just what we have taught him. I want that for him.

While what I wanted for Noah was a #10 day with happy teachers and a slew of friends to choose from at lunchtime, those aren't always the kinds of days that produce trust and faith in God.

But #2 days can do that.

In Job 36:15, Elihu, a counselor to Job, shared these words with him...

"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction."

I've had a few #2 days before, and I can say for sure that those are the times I feel God closest to me. When I'm broken, desperate, and don't know what to do, those are the times I look for Him the most. And the more days I have like that, the more I trust that God will be there for me again and again, because He has shown me all the times He has been before. God definitely speaks to me in my affliction, just like Elihu said. Right in the middle of it, I can hear His words, and that is what gets me through whatever it is.

If these are the kinds of days that will help Noah to be closer to God, to be the person He is creating him to be, bring them on. I will be right there with him, praying for him, loving him, and thanking God for knowing far better than I which prayer to answer.

A cat, some birds, and a roaring lion

Shawn has always liked to build things with wood. When we first married, he would watch The New Yankee Workshop, learning from Norm Abram how to build benches, tables, and desks. He watched this for fun. I couldn't understand any of the tools and ways of doing things, and I couldn't understand how he found this entertaining. But I'm glad he did. He knows a bunch of stuff.

Shawn built lots of things, even as a kid. A wooden reindeer, a tiny rocking chair - just because he felt like it. In passing along this tradition, Shawn and Noah worked together to build a birdhouse a couple of years ago, and hang it on the tree in our front yard. Last year we had a tiny bird family living in it. So cute!

We've been looking for birds in there this year as well, and saw some signs, with bits of straw hanging out of the "doorway." We weren't the only ones aware of the new birds.

A neighborhood cat, who comes to visit our Meatball, (visit meaning the two of them watching each other through the front door and windows) also saw this and assumed position. He stayed at the base of the tree, looking up longingly at the birdhouse for the better part of the day. When the cat would get distracted for a second, the mama bird (or papa bird - not sure about the family dynamics or parts of birds) would sneak in quickly to get to the babies, giving them a bite to eat.

As I watched that cat, and how intent he was on making sure he didn't miss an opportunity to pounce n those birds if they would get close enough, I was reminded of somebody else.

Peter describes Satan this way in 1 Peter 5:8...
     Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

It was a real-life reminder for me to keep my eyes open. I have written along this topic before, but sometimes a reminder is good.

Being self-controlled, according to some random, free dictionary online, means restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.

How do we become self-controlled?

Pray for God's help. He loves to give it.

Have a friend or two who will keep you on track, asking how you are doing in whatever area you need more self-control in.

And don't give up when you mess up. Ask God for His forgiveness and keep going.

Moving on in the verse...

Being alert, according to another random, free dictionary online, means being quick to notice any unusual and potentially dangerous or difficult circumstances; vigilant.

How do I make myself quick to notice any usual or potentially dangerous circumstances?

An answer to most spiritual questions is to read the Bible, and I think it fits perfectly here as well. That's the best way to know what it is God wants for your life, and the things that He knows aren't good for you.

Pray. A lot. The more we talk to God and get closer to Him, the more we learn His voice.

And always listen to the Holy Spirit. When you get the feeling to not do something, don't dismiss it. When you begin to justify what you are about to do as "probably okay," pray instead. It isn't worth it.

I have dismissed that feeling and justified my actions more times than I care to admit, and I can only imagine the hurt and pain I could have saved myself and others if I had lived out this verse and been alert.

God doesn't want that pain for us. He has these guidelines in the Bible to keep us from it. Trust Him to give you what you need to avoid it. Listen to Him.

You won't regret it.