Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Do you remember the ending of the 1956 classic movie starring Charlton Heston? Moses is running from Pharaoh who wants all the slaves back in Egypt. Moses raises his staff and the waters of the Red Sea part. Millions of Israelites cross the dry riverbed to safety. The end.

But have you ever wondered how or why the Israelites ended up running away from their enemy straight into one of the largest seas in the region—without a cruise ship waiting for them?

Here's what we read right before the epic scene:

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.” (Exodus 14:1-2)

God told His followers to set up camp between the desert and the sea. Have you ever been there? Between a rock and a hard place? Not sure why you are there? Not sure how you got there? Or what God wants to do with you while you are there?

The fleeing Israelites probably didn't know either. All they knew was that they were being chased by the largest army they knew and now they were trapped. That is probably why God told them...

“Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this.” (Exodus 14:3-4)

Did you see that? It is right there in verse 4. God put them—puts us—in difficult situations, situations that we cannot see a way out of, so that He can gain glory for Himself.

That's all He wants. The glory. Not too much to ask for The Creator of the world to ask is it? So next time you find yourself in a sticky situation think about how you can give the glory to Him through it. And who knows maybe you will be able to part the Red Sea. Or maybe not.

But I do know that you will come through the difficult situation better. Closer to God. Closer to the person He wants you to be.

It's Hot!

It was 104 today. Yesterday was just as bad. And, with the heat index, we are way beyond the “danger” level of temperature warnings. It is just plain hot!

So, needless to say, my children have not been allowed to play outside for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Not that they want to be out longer than that. The second that their feet touch the hot pavement on the patio or the hard ground that once grew grass, they are jumping up and down complaining and begging to come back into the air conditioning.

But after days and weeks of watching movies and playing board games, I have had enough. One evening, when I mistakenly thought the weather would at least be tolerable, I told my flock to go outside. I didn't care what they did. I just knew they were going to get cabin fever in the middle of the summer if they spent one more minute hooked up to an electronic babysitter.

So, I sent them out. I watched as they raced across the hot stones of the patio. I saw them in disgust as I reminded them to find something to do. I observed as they resigned to my request and resolved to just sit in the middle of the yard—not in the shade, like a smart minded person, mind you—and cried.

I felt pity on them and went out to join them. I quickly learned of their demise. It was still very hot. After even just a couple of minutes, I joined them in crying.

So then I grabbed the water hose. I drenched all of them. Right then and there. In their clothes. Soaking wet. At first they screamed. Then they ran. They were so mad. But I chased them with the water hose around the entire yard.

They begged and pleaded for me to stop. Nothing they said or did was going to convince to obey their wishes. It was hot!

No matter where they went I was there showering them with nice cold water. Eventually they realized that the water was refreshing and actually felt good. They calmed down and went on to find something to play. I just followed them from activity to activity making sure they were sopping wet.

I wonder if that is what God does to us. He knows what is best and tell us to get up and go outside. But we don't want to. We are conformable in our air conditioned house. We fight it and complain. Sometimes we even cry. But no matter what He is right there with the water hose.

He's not going to let us get dehydrated or have heat stroke. He's too good of a Dad for that. Just like I am too good of a mom to let my kids swelter in the heat this week. I may have soaked my children with well water but He drenches His children with His living water.  He follows us around daily dousing us with love to remind us we can do whatever it is that He has asked us to do—even if it is hot!

He's Not That into You

My favorite book of the Bible is Song of Solomon. It's a love story between King Solomon and is beloved Shulamite bride. Actually it is more than just a love story. There are parts that so graphically detail their courting, marriage and sex life that Jewish boys weren't allowed to read this particular book until they were men. (One more reason to party at the Bar Mitzvah!)

My absolute favorite part of the entire love story is at the beginning of chapter 2. Before the beautiful wedding. Before the actual marriage. Before the juicy sex part. Way back in the beginning of the relationship. At the start of the relationship when they are falling in love. The Shulamite, the beloved, gets butterflies in her stomach when they are together (v 1). King Solomon makes her feel special (v 2). He tells her that there is no one else in his life and is committed to her alone. (v 3) But the best part of all is hidden in the next verse.

Song of Songs 2:4

Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
and let his banner over me be love.

Ahhh. True love. Not only does he make her feel special. Not only does he commit himself to her. He also took her out to dinner. Out in public. Announced they were an official couple. Made it his Facebook status.

Because, you see girls, if he isn't into you in front of his classmates, his mother, or his friends, he's not that into you. If he wants to kiss you in private but doesn't acknowledge you in the mall, he's not that into you. If he gives you sweet treats at your house but doesn’t give you the time of day at school, he's not that into you.

Some scholars believe that the book of Song of Solomon is written figuratively to show us how God loves us. That He thinks we are special and proud of us. And trust me, He declares his love for us every time He sees us. He declared you His on His Facebook status a long time ago in the Book of Life. And His banner over you is love. True love.

If there is only one thing that I know about my God it is that He is really that into me. He loves me more than any other person ever could.

We Lost the Baby

I have heard these four heavyhearted words from more friends than I care to count. “We lost the baby.” Most of the time these dreadful words came from the quivering mouth of a tearful mom who miscarried a baby in her first trimester. These types of loses actually happen more often than you would think. But for some reason we don't talk about them.

I have also had the unfortunate anguish of hearing these words from a mother who had to bury her baby just weeks after giving birth to him. Since then I have met a mother who delivered her first child still born. And another friend whose baby died while being delivered. My heart aches every time I hear stories like these. Then I thank and praise God that all of my children are healthy and living.

Recently, I heard those four horrible words from a different mouth. This time it was from a fellow foster mom, Sherry. Sherry had just left the courtroom. She was broken, shocked and hurt. The baby she had been taking care of since her release from the NICU three months prior was just taken from her. Sherry, the foster mom, was the one that sat up all night caring for this sick baby born six weeks early. Sherry was the one that fed the baby every two hours around the clock. Sherry was the one who took the baby home and made her part of her life. But Sherry was not the one leaving the courthouse with the baby that day.

You see, Sherry is “just” the foster mom. These temporary parents are called in to take care of children while their parents can't. In this case, the baby's 16 year old mother was addicted to various drugs when she went into premature labor. Therefore, by law the baby needed to be removed from the environment until the environment changed.

So, after several months, the baby's mother passed her drug screening and proved herself stable enough to raise a child. And like many of these cases, reunification is the desired outcome as much as possible. The issue is that one person, the family court judge, gets to decide if the environment is stable enough for a young baby. And sometimes that decision is difficult to swallow.

For all of my friends who have had to say goodbye to their child way too early—either from the womb, from their arms or from the operating table—I have only a few words of comfort. All I can offer is to let them know that those children are in a better place. (Read 2 Samuel 12:18-23) I confidently know that they are in the arms of God. The best place ever.

For my friend Sherry, I cannot give her that same confidence. Statistically, we know that baby will more than likely end up back in the foster care system. I am not sure if her baby is in a better place. I doubt she is. I hope I am wrong. I only know that my friend lost her baby. And that is tragic. 

LDS Principles of Faith

This is the second writing on Mormon beliefs. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago and promised that I would publish my thoughts about their doctrine.

The LDS church follows 13 basic principles. These are taken directly from their web page. (http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith/ )

“(The principals) enhance (their) understanding of certain doctrines and help (them) commit to living them. They invite further thought. And they’re a good tool for explaining (their) beliefs to people unfamiliar with them.”

So let's take a look at what they believe:

(My thoughts and rebuttal will be in bold parenthetically.)

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (so far, so good.)
   
   
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. (not so much. “Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die.” Romans 5:12)
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. (Thankfully not true. I, for one, cannot keep the law. No one can. It is not by “obedience to the law” that saves us. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3: 23-24)
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Yes, we must believe in Jesus. Yes, we all must repent. Yes, we are called to be baptized. But as far as laying of hands, I'm not so sure. Receiving the Holy Ghost is definitely a gift but I am pretty sure that the laying of hands is not necessary. Mary never had anyone lay hands on her and she was filled with the Holy Sprint, literally. And there are many more examples of a person filled with the Holy Spirit and yet not had hands laid upon.)
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. (Well, one must unquestionably be called by God to become a “man of the cloth.” However, we are all called to preach the Gospel. “(Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”Mark 16:15...no laying of hands required. )
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. (So do Christians. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up .” Eph 4:11-12)
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth. (Christians believe in receiving gifts of the spirit also. They are found in 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11)
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. (half true. The Bible is The Word of God. Unfortunately, if you want a correct translation you need to learn Hebrew and Greek—as that would be the only true translation. I cannot confirm or deny that The Book of Mormon is God-breathed or not. But I am just going to guess it is not or it would have been canonized with the other 66 books.)
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (We believe this also.)
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. (Most of the book of Revelation is still debated, but I am very curious to know how they figured out that Zion will be built in America. To my recollection the United States is never mentioned in the Bible.)
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. (Finally we agree—sort of! We have the privilege of worshiping God and allowing others to worship Him how and where they want but we need to be very careful with the 'what they may” part. We are to only worship God and Him alone.)
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. (Yes. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1)

    .

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. (The actual quote is: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 So, I will agree that these are things we strive to live up to also.)

I find it ironic that within their 13 statements of faith there really is no straight forward description of how they will make it to heaven. Let me make it clear once and for all: Everyone has sinned--no matter how “good” you think you have been or how much your “good deeds” out weight your “bad deeds”. There is only one way to heaven folks!

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9(NIV)

I am a Mormon

I have seen some interesting commercials lately. I am sure you have also. They are everywhere. Television, radio and billboards. They follow an ordinary person, living an ordinary life through an ordinary day. They show us how this person lives a normal life just like you and me. Then at the end of the ad we hear the tag line.

I am a motorcycle lover ...and I am a Mormon.

I am a red head ...and I am a Mormon.

I am a third grade teacher...and I am a Mormon.

I am confident that the message of these ads is to inform us, the viewer, that Mormons are just your average run-of-the-mill people. That Mormons are no longer the stereotypical skirt-wearing, long-hair-rolled-in-a-bun, polygamist. That everything we think we know about this sect is no longer true anymore.

I am also confident that these ads have something to do with the fact that we have a presidential candidate this term who is a...wait for it...Mormon.

Now, don't get me wrong, Mormons have some wonderful family values. They practice tithing. They practice chastity before marriage and fidelity in marriage. They practice obeying the laws and submitting to authority. They even have the words “Jesus Christ” in the official name of their religion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS)

But before we jump on that band wagon of thinking Mormons are same minded as Christians lets look at their belief system. Before we decide that our next president should be a “religious” man let's make sure his religion is a worthy one. Let's not believe every ad we see. Because we all know that the Big Mac we get in the drive through doesn't always look like the one on the screen of our TV.

I have found their basic principles online. (http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith/ )

In a future blog I will dissect these beliefs and compare them to what the Bible, the true Word of God, teaches us.

Our Princess

We knew it might cause problems the first time we told he. We just never thought it would get this bad.

About a year ago we were reading a Bible passage with our kids about the King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev 19:16) Ou kids had also learned that they are children of God. (Gal 3:26 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith...”) So, without missing a beat, our oldest daughter put two and two together and came to the conclusion that if she was God's daughter and He was the King, then, she must be a princess.

And who are we to tell her any differently? She is a princess. Not only through supreme lineage but also in attire and attitude.

Rebekah takes great pride in her appearance. Her nails—both toes and fingers—are always painted (usually pink!) and looking pretty. She has an enormous set of head bands, scrunchies, bows and, of course, crowns and tiaras. And she is rarely ever seen not wearing a dress. Her overall outlook on clothing is that “only workers wear jeans”.

Then there is her attitude. She really does think she is a princess. She tries to act like royalty. The problem is that she really only has one role model to set the example of how to be a true princess and that living example lives on the other side on the pond. She also expects to be treated like a princess. She repeatedly reminds her classmates that she is a princess and should always get to choose the game, movie or other activity for the day. Which, as you can only imagine, does not go over well with her friends.

If only she realized that most of her classmates and friends are children of the King too. That they are also princes and princesses. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But, maybe all of us need to realized that we are also princes and princesses and we should start acting like it. Because Kate might live on the other side of the world but our father is the ruler of the world.

Happy 7^th birthday Princess Rebekah. You have truly been a delight. You are an outstanding student—even though you hate school. You are an amazing artist—even if it is coloring just about everything. You are an spectacular shopper—no matter what store we are conquering. You bring a smile to my face every time I see you—even in the morning when you have no desire to get out of bed. Six was great. I am hopeful that seven will be even more wonderful!

Life Goals

I remember the day so well. I was working part-time at a car dealership. I walked through the shop to clock in for my last couple of shifts. As I walked passed everyone I realized no one noticed. Not one person mentioned. I doubt any of them had even heard. I am sure none of them even cared.

You see, less than 24 hours prior I had accomplished a goal that many of them have never nor will ever achieve. Most of them haven’t even attempted to obtain it. I had just graduated from college. The first in my family. With a 3.8 GPA. While working 3-4 part-time jobs. But I did it. I officially earned a Bachelor’s degree.

I am not sure what I expected from my co-workers. It is not like my education effected their lives at all. I guess I was just expecting some form of recognition. A pat on the back. A job well done.

My next life changing event was slightly different. I got married. I had my dream wedding including the horse-drawn carriage. Many took part of the celebration. This time everyone had heard. Everyone knew. Numerous friends and family acknowledged this life goal. I was even introduced to the congregation the next day by my new uncle with my new name.

The only problem is that pulling off an impressive wedding is not the same as making it to the “death do us part” part. Marriage is hard work. There are days that I need someone to realize the struggle and give me compliments for staying in for the long haul. Sometimes a pat on the back can go a long way in making it happily ever after.

Last week I accomplished yet another life goal. I ran a half marathon. (Now before you go judging me on only running a half marathon, let me inform you that it is still 13 very long miles. So unless you can do it, don't judge. And as my new bumper sticker clearly states: “13.1 because I am only half crazy!”) But I did it. I can now mark that goal off the list. (Mostly because I will never run one again!) This time I had several individuals encouraging me along the way. Literally and from home. I crossed that finish line and that was the goal.

Now I only have one more finish line to cross. And much like the marathon one, it seems like it will be forever before I get there. Some of the things that I will do before I finish will be noticed. Some will not. I anticipate many days being difficult and tiresome. I just hope not all of them. Some people will support me. Some will not. But my only desire is to cross that line and hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Because it doesn't matter what degree I earned, who I married or how many miles I ran, It's about doing my best and pleasing Him. Not only will He give me a well deserved and much anticipated pat on the back, I will also get my crown of life. And then I will know it was all worth it.

Go run your race. Do your best. Accomplish your goals. I will see you at the finish line. We can share stories and battle scars. Then we can take our crowns over and place them at the feet of the One who deserves them.

I just hope His aren't as blistered as mine.

Get It First Hand

In the judicial system it is referred to as hear say. When a witness didn't hear the information directly but rather from a second person. It is often dismissed or overruled by the judge.

So it is no wonder The Judge overrules a misdemeanor in the Garden of Eden case. You see, when Eve gets confused by the snake, she has an excuse. She received the rules about the Garden second-hand. Actually, she wasn't even created yet when the instructions were given. Check it out:

Genesis 2:15-17: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'”


It is not until the next verse (v 18) that God realizes that Adam is lonely. “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”


Eve wasn't there to get the word directly. She had no way of going back and checking the records to see exactly what God said was permitted and what wasn't.


We do.


The problem is that we don't go back and check it. Centuries ago, when most Christians were illiterate, many of them relied on their preacher to teach them about God and His ways. They had to trust that their clergyman was teaching them correctly. However, today, we have Bibles readily available for our use. We have internet sites that have the Word of God acceptable in any language and translation. (check out Biblegateway.com.) We have the knowledge and freedoms to read the printed Word anywhere, anytime. But we choose not to.


No, many of us just sit back and let others do the reading. We expect them to have all the answers. We let them decide for us what is right and wrong. We hope that someone else knows what God really wants.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we end up believing lies from talking snakes. How the truth gets distorted. Why there is so much debate over what is acceptable or not.


Get it first hand. Check out the answer key. It is all right there for you. Provided for you by The Author of life.

How Could She?

Within the last month I have added a different form of exercise into my workout routine. I swim. I am actually starting to like this part of my training. Partly because the pool at our gym is almost always empty in the mornings when I go. Partly because it is very quiet in the water without the ability to plug my headphones into a media socket. But mostly to break up the monotony of the treadmill.

In the beginning only three problems stood between me and the pool. First, I did not own a swimsuit in which I could actually do laps. The ones I owned were more like the fashion kind used to sit on the beach and look cute. And finding a modest suit that actually covered my not-so-small breasts proved to be quite a challenge. Secondly, in order to get in the pool I needed to get half naked in said swim suit. Thirdly, the life guards at our gym are also the teenage boys from our church's youth group! So I had to find a swimsuit that held all of me that I could strip down to in front of impressionable young men that I needed to have respect for me come Sunday morning. That was a challenge.

But I did it. After much searching, I found a suit. I have gotten over my fear of allowing this much of my skin to been seen. And, the best part is that I have even more respect (and I think it is even reciprocated) for the teens that have to sit in the patrolman's chair and watch my attempts to learn how to swim.

On most days I am the only person in the pool. If I ever do have to share the water it is usually with a retired US Navy sailor who has to be in his 70's but has one mean backstroke.

But today's swim was different.

Today a woman walked in the pool area carrying a size 6, B-cup, athletic frame. (I am certain she had no problem trying to find a lap suit that would fit her.) She eased herself into the water. Placed her goggles over her eyes and off she went. She glided across the water with no effort. She swam like a dolphin. Such ease. Such perfectionism. She even knew how to swim in a straight line with her eyes shut. A task I still haven’t seem to master.

She lapped me many many times. (Something I should be used to being that one of my running partners run circles around me—literally!)

By the time she had completed her workout I was only 2/3's of the way done with my mile. I felt like such a schmuck. I was convicted that her only intention of working out this morning was to make me feel like an inadequate beached whale who was struggling to breathe with each stroke. I just knew that her only purpose in life was to make me look horrible. She had reached her goal.

Then she left. Of course she did. She was done with her mile. I started to feel better. I realized that she probably didn't come to hurt me or even think twice about me. I also realized that if an Olympic swimmer came in she might actually feel the same way I did—but I doubt it.

Then I realized that is how we are with our Christian walks. Some of us are beginners and have only been in the pool for a month. Some of us have had professional training for years or decades. But all of us are doing our best. And as long as we are swimming better than we were a year ago...and we will be swimming better a year from now, that is all God wants. He doesn't expect us to have everything mastered—not even the swimming straight thing. He just wants us to keep learning. Keep doing His will. Keep breathing. Keep swimming. No matter who is looking or in the lane next to you.

He loves you and your efforts. Just as much as I am sure the lifeguards love me and my efforts. Because they aren't laughing at me—well, at least not out loud anyway.

End of an Era

Well folks. It's the last one. The last time I can honestly answer someone and say I am in my 30's.

Yep, that's right. It's my birthday. My 39^th birthday to be exact. A day of celebration of sorts. Trust me when I tell you that I am handling it much better than my mother. She is in hysterics that her “baby” is (almost) 40.

The number really isn't bothering me as much as I thought it would. It helps that I have close friends already in their 40's and they don't seem “old”. It also helps that my children are the ages that they are. For some reason, no one considers me (almost) 40 because my kids are all under 10. I am alright with that.

I have been told that many changes are headed my way. Women who are (almost) 40 tend to lose hearing, seeing, height, strength, hair, bone density, estrogen and metabolism. However, I doubt I will wake up tomorrow as a short, bald, deaf-blind, weak, fragile menopausal woman . But you never know.

Actually, there are many things I wanted to accomplish before I turned the big 4-0.

Graduate from college and have a career (check, check).

Buy a house (Check.)

Get married and start a family (check, check).

Travel around the country and see the states (38 down, 11 to go.)

Celebrate the 4th of July in Washington DC (check.)

Travel the world (not quite the world yet but working on it).

Ride on an elephant. (check.)

Celebrate Fat Tuesday and Madi Gras in NOLA. (check.)

Learn to belly dance. (Does line dancing count?)

Ride in a hot air balloon (check--with my son!)

Donate a gallon of blood (almost, but I was pregnant for the past decade.)

Mark “organ donor” on my driver's license. (I don't need them where I am going.)

Teach college classes (check.)

Learn a foreign language (that's the class I teach.)

Land on the most dangerous airstrip in the world. (I landed in the second most difficult one and that was enough for me.)

Run a marathon (well, if you add all the “little” races together that I have done and the one I have in a couple of months, they would total over 26 miles. Does that count?)

See Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon and The Great Wall (yes, no, no)

Celebrate the New Year in NYC, watching the ball drop at midnight (not yet.)

Visit the Holy Land (Due to finances, our children's ages and the political issues there, I have a feeling that this one will have to wait until after my 40^th.)

Looks like I have a busy year ahead of me. But that's OK because I am still young and adventurous. But looking back over my list I can see how truly blessed I am, the places I have been, the things I have done and the people God has put into my life to accomplish them all.

What;s on your list? What do you still have left to check off? What can you write on there today? Go out there and live. Live life to the fullest because you never know when you are going to turn (almost) 40.

Suck a Bucket!

There is an expression heard often in our house. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know what it means. I am not even sure it is physically possible. What I do know is that when I am frustrated instead of saying some other more explicit words that would receive an R rating I say, “Suck a bucket”.

I never really put much thought into it. It just pops right out when I stub my toe, or burn my finger or drop something unexpectedly. I never really put much thought into it until one of my kids repeated it the other day. Just to hear those words come out of his mouth made me stop and consider how much influence I really have on my children.

Some influence is good. Reading our Bible everyday. Saying please and thank you. Praying before meals and bedtime. Opening doors for ladies. Signing hymns—opposed to screaming—in the car when you are scared. The list goes on.

But we also have the ability to pass down not-so-good traits. Like the time when I was pregnant with our oldest. I was getting my hair cut. As I sat in the salon chair another woman was sitting in the one across from me. Her two year old accidentally knocked over the trash can. The contents spilled out over the floor. He promptly said some words that a child that young should have never heard-- let alone say. Shocked and astonished, I looked at the mom to see what her reaction would be. It only shocked me more.

As her son was expressing his frustrations with profanities, she laughed. She thought it was cute. I did not. I vowed, right then and there, that I wouldn't say “illegal” words in the presence of my children.

I may not talk like a sailor in front of my kids but I do, however, pass down some not-so-good traits. My children have seen me on numerous occasions eat way too much chocolate cake. They have experienced me throwing tantrums when a plan doesn't go the way I expected it to go. They have heard me whine and complain. And I am pretty sure that they have caught onto my ophidiophobia due to the fact that I refuse to take them into the deserts section of the zoo.

No, I am not a perfect mom. By no means. I doubt you are either. But we all are doing our best with what we have and that is all God expects from us. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are to “...bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (6:4)

So keep on training and instructing just make sure you aren't telling them to go suck on buckets of any kind.

What a Colorful Mess!

The other day Matt and I were working on a project upstairs. The kids were down in the living room watching TV. All seemed fine. Then that feeling came over me. You know the one. The overwhelming sensation when you know something is wrong because it is way too quiet.

When we went downstairs to check on the children we discovered that our three year old had done some coloring—on the couch!! With a blue ink pen no less. On every arm of every chair. It was a royal mess.

To say I was furious is an understatement. But in my disappointed mindset, I took pictures. Of course I did. I wanted evidence of this encroachment. And proof to later show her own children.

Then I was reminded of the time our now six year old painted her toe nails all by herself. She was also three at the time of her offense. She waited until I was out running errands and Daddy was at the helm. She got out various colors of polish on her own and started painting her toes... and her feet... and her ankles... all the way up to her underwear. She was literally covered in bottles and bottles of enamel.

Both coloring situations are cleaned up now. Our oldest daughter took a very long bath and the younger one scrubbed the couch with rubbing alcohol for almost an hour. But both demeanors and poor judgments have been forgiven and wiped clean. Spotless.

Just like our own spots and blotches that are covering us. The ones caused by our sin and are discoloring our white robes. Our demenaors, our sins, our transgressions are washed clean. Not by soaking in water. Not with mineral spirits or even bleach. No, Jesus washed us clean with something much more marvelous. His blood. Who knew? A mess plus blood equals a white robe. Forgiven and wiped clean. Spotless.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Lottery Ticket

The New York State Lottery had a big winner last month. Big. Millions of dollars big. It was confirmed that one person—no sharing involved!!—bought the winning ticket a couple of days before the drawing. The only problem is that the winning ticket is lost.

Now, if it were me, if I had knowingly bought a lottery ticket and there was even a small chance that it was the winning piece of paper, I would be searching high and low for it. I would check every pocket of every pair of jeans I owned even if I hadn't worn them in years. My purse would be dumped out and all the contents would be sorted through. I would clean out the dryer's lint catcher even if that meant only finding pieces of the ticket. Nothing would keep me from searching for it.

That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told in Luke 15. In His story He shares three different situations where something is lost and how the owners go about looking for them.

The first is the lost sheep. The shepard has 100 sheep in this flock and one goes missing. When he finds the absent one, he breaks his legs and “he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” (v. 5-6)

The second is about a woman who loses one of her ten coins. She hires an overnight cleaning crew to come and search the house high and low looking for it. She finds the misplaced money and “calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’” (v.9)

The final story is about losing something even more serious and heart breaking. This story is about a man who loses one of his sons. One day the man's younger son asks his dad for his inheritance so he can go away and “live the good life.” He runs off to Vegas (OK. OK. Maybe not Vegas) and squanders away all of his money. His dad's money. He wakes up one day to discover he is broke. He is hungry. He is desperate.

The son realizes his predicament and wisely chooses to move back home. His dad, of course, welcomes him home with open arms. Actually it was more like “his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (v. 20) And I am sure he picked up his phone and called all of his friends to inform them that his son had come home and it was time to rejoice. Then he got on Face Book and posted “Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.” (v 23) and invited everyone over to the biggest backyard BBQ he had ever thrown.


All of these examples Jesus gives us is to remind us of how He feels when a lost soul is found. When someone puts their trust in Him and His power to save them from hell. Each illustration given is a glimpse of how we are to rejoice when one of our loved ones comes to know Jesus. How we are to be searching for the lost ones. High and low. Across the valley. Under the bed. Across the street. At the grocery store. Or even in the next cubicle.


We need to search for those who don't know Him. Then when they become believers we are to call all our friends, rejoice, and have a party. Just like I am sure the owner of the missing lottery ticket will do when he finally finds it.

What a Deal!

February 15^th is one of my favorite days of the entire year. Yes, I said the 15^th, not the 14^th. That is because I can get flowers, chocolate and balloons at half price. Yes, the retailers over-purchasing is my reward.

Moreover, I really like the sales after any major holiday. I usually find amazing offers on sweaters and jackets the last week of December. The day after Easter brings on my beloved Cadbury eggs. November 1^st fills the candy jar for the entire year. I love half price anything!

Then, of course, there are even better sales. Kohl's often has some of my favorite clothes marked down 50-70%. Hobby Lobby seems to always have one of their store's sections marked down by 88%. I frequent Good Will stores because I know it won't cost much. And if I am really lucky, the item I want is half off their already incredibly low prices. That's a deal!

But, of course, free is even better! But you have to be careful. Just like the saying goes, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Most of the time “free” does not always mean you get it for nothing. Sometimes it means you have to buy one at full price to get the second free—usually referred to as BOGO sales. Or the door-to-door salesman will offer you a free estimate only if you choose to have his company fix anything they find wrong. Recently, we won a “free” cruise for our anniversary to find out that we “only” had to pay about $1000 in hidden fees and taxes. Sometimes free can really be expensive.

But I do know something that you can get for free. Genuinely, free. It has been offered to all of us at no cost. No hidden fees. No taxes. No fine print. A gift for the taking. And the best part is that it is not only free it is also wonderful. I guarantee the best gift you will ever be offered!

“But God gives his people a free gift—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Eternal life! That is way better than a box of chocolates or discounted roses. Getting to live in heaven forever, for free. That is an amazing deal. An amazing grace.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the (free) gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

If you don't have this gift yet you need to put it on your wish list. Ask someone about it. Call your pastor. Call a friend. Call me.  You'll be glad you did. Then after we get eternity taken care of we will go find some other great deals.

The Flight

This crossed my desk today.  And being that I am way too tired to come up with a blog of my own, well... I thought I would share it with you.  Hope you enjoy.

A 50- something year old white woman arrived at her seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn't want the seat. The seat was next to a black man. Disgusted, the woman immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The woman said "I cannot sit here next to this black man." The fight attendant said "Let me see if I can find another seat." 

After checking, the flight attendant returned and stated "Ma'am, there are no more seats in economy, but I will check with the captain and see if there is something in first class." About 10 minutes went by and the flight attendant returned and stated "The captain has confirmed that there are no more seats in economy, but there is one in first class. It is our company policy to never move a person from economy to first class, but being that it would be some sort of scandal to force a person to sit next to an UNPLEASANT person, the captain agreed to make the switch to first class." 

Before the woman could say anything, the attendant gestured to the black man and said, "Therefore sir, if you would so kindly retrieve your personal items, we would like to move you to the comfort of first class as the captain doesn't want you to sit next to an unpleasant person." Passengers in the seats nearby began to applause while some gave a standing ovation.

The Eulogy of Annie Smaller

This is the first installment of a series that I started on January 5, 2012.  You might want to go back and read that one.  Scroll down a little.  On the left hand side there will be a list of previous blogs.  Click on January.  Then click on Pre-U's.  I hope you enjoy the read.  Then get out there and tell someone how much you love them before you loss them.

The Eulogy of Annie Smaller

Pre-U Series; Volume 1

Annie is one of the most caring and giving people I know. She not only would give you the shirt off her back, she would drive to the store, buy you a pantry-full of food, fill up your gas tank, scrub your floor, make you dinner and put the kids to bed with a smile on her face and no shirt on her back. She is simply amazing.

No matter what time of day—or night—she will come running to your rescue. I know. She has done it for me. After knowing Annie for a couple of yeas we had to do just that. We had to call her in the middle of the night to come rescue us. It was the night of our car wreck. I my panicky moment of understanding the severity of the wreck I could only remember one phone number. Hers. She immediately woke her husband (I am sure that didn't go over well.), loaded up her kids and came to our aide. Of, course she did. That is the kind of girl she is.

Not only does she come running in times of need she is also right there if we need something at home. She often comes over to help me prune, plant or pick my flowers She lets me know when she finds a great sale on something she knows I might need. She calls to check on us if we miss school or church just to see if there is anything she can do to help.

And as if helping out her friends isn't enough, Annie has several jobs in which she is serving others. She is the director at a retirement home where she assist the elderly. She works at the local flower shop where she makes funeral arrangements for grieving families. She is the MOPS coordinator where she loves on and helps guide young moms. She often goes home to her aging parents to help them take care of their house and yard. All while raising two young boys.

And if that wasn't enough, she uses her spare time to volunteer at the church. She goes in and does random jobs like folding bulletins, cleaning up rooms or organizing a luncheon. But her biggest task is coordinating all the meals for families in need. And that is only the jobs I know about.

Yes, Annie is a busy and wonderful person. We should all strive to be more like her. I am proud to call her my friend.

Who's Here?

I have been journaling in this blog for a some time now. I have discovered that I thoroughly enjoy sharing my life with this form of media. I find myself thinking of how to connect events in my life in a blog for others to enjoy or even learn from.

One of the most interesting things I have come to discover is who is actually reading my written ramblings. And who isn‘t. I have no way of knowing who actual reads the entries. I only can track how many have read it and on which days.

I have been stopped before by people that I had no idea were reading this blog that comment on something I wrote. While there are others who I write this blog for who just haven’t had time to read it yet. I do, however, have fans that are always complimenting me on something here. (Thanks Tylers!)

The trouble is that I am surprised at who has and who hasn’t read it.

So it got me to wondering. Do you think this is how it is going to be the day we get to heaven? Are we going to be surprised by who’s there? Or better yet, who’s not? Are we going to look around and wonder, “How did you get in here?” Or worse yet, “Where is Jack? I thought for sure he would be here.”

Kind of makes me sad. Not knowing. Maybe I should be more direct with my friends and family in asking them if they know the true and living God. The God who can forgive us of our sins. The only One who can guarantee our place in heaven.

Maybe you should too. Maybe we all should. We should be asking everyone we know if they know Him. And if they don't we can introduce them to The Forgiver. The Redeemer. The Savior.

It will give us something better to do than read read (or write) blogs. That's for sure.

My Birthday..sort of

Thirteen years ago today I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I can honestly say that I am a new creature. (2 Cor 5:17) I traded in my drunkenness for the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) and my promiscuity for love from One. (John 16:27)

I am God's child. (Gal 4:7) I am a co-heir of Christ. (Romans 8:17) And I have life eternal. (Titus 3:7)

Because of all of that I have hope.

But when I was first introduced to the Bible I wasn't quite so hopeful.

Before I became a Christian, at the ripe old age of 26, I had never personally owned a Bible let alone read one. My parents did, however, own a Bible when I was young. Of course we did. We went to church—at least twice a year!

I distinctly remember that our Family Bible made a wonderful flower press because of its enormous size. And a great centerpiece piece because it sat in the middle of our coffee table. But to open it up and read it was nothing that even crossed my mind.

So when I accepted Christ as my Savior I decided that I needed to start reading the letters that He wrote to me. Some dear, dear friends bought me my first Bible but warned me that it wasn't necessarily a book that was read from cover to cover.

Dully noted.

So the next day I called the associate pastor at my new church. I explained I was a new believer. I owned a Bible but didn't know where to start. He agreed that the Genesis-to-Revelation approach was not the best. He simply stated I should start in The Gospels.

Great. Thanks.

With that I hung up the phone and opened the Holy Writ and flipped through the pages to find The Gospels. And I flipped. And I flipped. And I flipped. Then I cried. I couldn't find it. So I did what an intelligent woman would do, I checked the Table of Contents. It was not there. No where in the list of seemingly 100 names of books was there one titled The Gospels. Oh no! Did I have the incorrect Bible? How could it not be in this one? What was I doing wrong?

I quickly called the pastor back. I calmly stated that my particular Bible did not include a book called The Gospel but if he had a page number I would try to find it.

He chuckled. I did not.

He then proceeded to tell me that the first four books of the New Testament where called The Gospels and that they were written by four different men that knew Jesus. Of course I thought they were called the “Knew Testaments” because the authors knew Christ. But I later learned that was incorrect also.

To clear things up, he suggested I start my new quest in the Book of John. I thought that sounded fine. I remembered seeing a book by that name. We hung up with each other again.

I opened my trusty book. Wasting no time I turned immediately to the Table of Contents. There it was. John. Four times!! Are you kidding? Four Johns? I knew it was a popular name but give me a break! Which one did he mean? Some were numbered. One was not. Was I supposed to start with number one? Or was the one without a number the prequel?

At this point I was weeping. Uncontrollably. How could I be so stupid? I never thought trying to read God's Word would be so difficult. But it was.

After several more conversations with a now weary pastor, I made it to the correct page. I sat down (hours after I had begun) and read my very first chapter. I was confident that now that I had the proper starting point all would be fine.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Here's what I read:

John 1

The Eternal Word

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.


What?! What ever happened to “Once upon a time...” or “It started out to be a cold and rainy day when...”


To say that I was confused is an understatement.


Luckily, I made my way through it. God gave me wonderful teachers and understanding friends to come along side of me. They taught me not only how to read the Bible but answer my endless questions of how and why things happened or didn't happen. He placed me in countless Bible studies which gave me a desire to read and learn more.


Now I am in The Word daily. I can't imagine not. I find that it is the best way to have a conversation with The True and Living God. And I still use that same Bible that was given to me...even if it doesn't have a book called The Gospels.

Long Live the King!

Author's Note:  This blog was written last October when we went on vacation.  I, however, just found it in the "needs to be posted" folder.  Enjoy.

Dagnabit!!! I brought the wrong one. How does this happen?

After weeks of planning, preparing and packing for vacation, I thought I had everything our family of six would need. I filled suitcase after suitcase full of clothes for the week. I made sure everyone had clean socks and underwear. I grabbed all the toothbrushes. I remembered to get a collection of “travel activities” including but not limited to various movies to watch, books to read and pages to color. We were all set.

At the last minute I decided I didn't want to take my big bulky study Bible. Instead I found another one and took it off the shelf. So upon choosing which blessed book to bring on our journey I simply snatched the smallest one.

I realize that there are several people around the world that have never owned and will never own their own Bible. I, however, am truly blessed in that we possess various versions and numerous copies of God's Word. We simply have dozens copies of the Holy Writ.

So what are the chances that I would end up hundreds of miles from home. Miles away from my piles upon piles of my beloved Bibles—to discover that the one I selected was The King James Version. Really? I brought the most difficult one to read.

Is it still Holy Scripture? Yes. Will it have all the verses I need? Yes. Was it written in English? Well..that is debatable.

And trust me when thy tellest thou that when thou readist words written for the king of James in a language that was used centuries ago, thou doesn'tist want to readist any furthermore.

I think I would have been better off if I would have retrieved our Santa Biblia. I can translate “Hesus te amo” much easier than this.

Long live the King! (But, I, for one, am glad that King James is dead.)

Christmas Gifts

After repeatedly asking, several descriptions and much anticipation our children received their Christmas presents. Some of the things they asked for they got. Some things they did not. (Who gives an eight-year-old and iPod anyway?)

On the highly awaited morning we sat back and watched their expectant eyes examine all the presents stacked under the tree. Then each gift was distributed to the rightful recipient each getting their own according to their own specific needs and wants. We looked on with delight as they tore open the gifts and proclaimed their excitement.

Oh the joy!

Joy from both them and us. Joy that comes from seeing them open the gifts they were given and joy from seeing them use those gifts.

Maybe that is how God looks down on us. He gives us gifts. Then just sits backs in anticipation waiting for us to open them then use them.

Check this out:

1 Corinthians 12: 4-11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.


What gift did you get? Wisdom, healing, prophecy? Are you using it? Are you just sitting there wishing you would have received another gift? Or are you excited about it as much as my kids were in front of the Christmas tree last month?


Just remember that the gift you received is perfect for you and better than anything you could have gotten in a gift wrapped box- including an iPod.