Today is a great day! It is the day that I celebrate God’s abundant gift to me that is my husband. So, I’m going to tell you a few of the reasons he is so great
Joe wasn’t supposed to be able to be born. God answered prayers and gave him to his wonderful parents and they did a fantastic job raising him to love God, treasure people and treat a woman like gold!
I still remember the first time Joe ever smiled at me. We were both college students at OBU in Shawnee, Oklahoma. I was sitting in Psych 101 and he walked across the front of the classroom, made great eye contact and flashed me an amazing smile. I actually felt like my insides melted. He had me before hello!
We became friends first and I remember being struck by the fact that when he asked me if I needed prayer for anything, he actually prayed for me. He asked me about it the next week. I had never known a “Christian” young man who really meant it!
Truthfully, I knew I was his long before we were even an item. It was a soul thing. We belonged to one another.
We have been together for almost 18 years married and about 20 years when you add in dating. I would not trade one moment. He is a gift of love to me from the Father of Lights; daily evidence of God’s abundant heart of love for me. Joe has been my best friend, my discipler, my shoulder of strength, my balance against my temper, my help mate, my smile, my snuggling place, my channel for God’s provision, my protector, the best father of the best children and a true follower of God. He promised me when we were dating that I would always be second place and I had his word that he would always love God the most. That has been a life long comfort for me.
He is my love, my man, my Dosef and every year when he has a birthday I feel like I’m the one who got the present.
Today, I have had the experience of looking around at the world as if I haven’t seen it for 20 years. I am coming up on my 20 year spiritual birthday in 2010. I have been rescued by the maker of the universe, the creator and author of all. I am made a new creation by His life and mercy.
But here is my ponder:
Could you pluck me out of current society as devoted to anything other than the mass devotion to self? Am I marked by something other? Am I true to the heritage I have entered?
I am not.
I feel my soul stirring to wake. I feel the determined nudge of the Holy Spirit to end my slumber and self-love. I feel as though I am being awakened to a world that I was not aware existed. People that I have not seen. A sickness that I was avoiding. I am having my Matrix moment. I am seeing the people hooked up to feed life to the forces of this world. I am feeling the call to face the ugly reality and reject the comfort of the fashioned dream of the matrix. It is a bit fearsome. I am overwhelmed at how much destruction has gone on around me as I peacefully slumbered in my church clothes.
Oh Holy Father, change me. I am the chief of sinners. I have failed to love you. I have rejected the journey to your heart and glory. Please keep me awake and alert. I desire to love you, but I don’t know how. I thought that I was loving you but now I see that I was seeking a Santa Claus, Daddy War-bucks version of you so that my life would be safe, warm, well-funded and easy. Shame on me! Set me free.
As we have established, I am a fan of TV. Recently an actor named Joel McHale, who I have long enjoyed on The Soup has been cast as a lead character in an ensemble show called Community. I gave it a shot because I enjoy his humor so much. I was not disappointed. It is funny and smartly written. Add to the mix that Chevy Chase is in the ensemble and I was hooked.
I have seen about 4 episodes of this show now and had a startling revelation. They are a group of vastly diverse people who are jacked up and selfish but manage to grow as individuals by sharing life together. Would that not be an appropriate definition for what a church body is supposed to be? We are called to come together amidst all of our conflicts, differences and selfish tendencies and pursue God as a family. His Spirit will change and construct us to be more in the image of Jesus meanwhile developing our connection to each other in community.
Comedy writers in Hollywood understand community better than the current American, church going Christian. Again I see the challenge and hope that I will submit to the change that God is calling me to experience. I want the messy, beautiful, catalystic life force of true community. It scares me a little, but I’m going in anyway. Care to join me?
The children’s ministry at my church adopted a group of soldiers in December of 2008 and has sent them quarterly packages and letters throughout this year. They pray for them and talk about them. They carry an understanding that some kids out there don’t have their mommies and daddies right now because they are willing to be soldiers for us; so that we don’t have to go away from our families.
I would like to publicly thank this group of soldiers: The 690th Medical Company of Georgia out of Fort Benning. They are amazing people. They are the first responder units, the ambulances of the war zone. I can’t imagine what they see as they take care of our nation’s wounded and dying. We do what we can to show them that they are remembered, but I am afraid we can never do enough.
My father is a veteran. My father in law, my grandfather, my cousin in law, and many others in my and my husband’s family trees have been honorable men in service of our country. I am so proud of them.
Thank you to all of the brave men and women who serve today and their forerunners who had so many sacrifices before them. Thank you to the families who give up their loved ones for this service. I revere your sacrifices and humbly try to live up to them.
I’m a big TV gal. It doesn’t thrill my husband, but I can’t help myself. I watch bad TV, good TV and even some, and I stress some, educational TV. In this, what the hay – let’s call it a sport, I love it when I see a distinct finger print of God. He is big enough that he can show up and teach me something about himself or the Christian life in something as trivial as TV. Now some might argue that he teaches where he finds his students and if I spent more time in the Bible versus in front of the boob tube, he would teach me the same things there. To them I say, you are probably right. But that doesn’t negate what he does teach me.
I recently saw some episodes of Ghost Whisperer in reruns. I have liked Jennifer Love Hewitt since her Party of Five days so I thought I would give it a whirl. I noticed that in each of the three episodes I watched over the week, she always faced a moment when, in order to do what she felt was best and most helpful for someone in pain she would have to step out and tell the person that she could communicate with spirits and a loved one/friend was trying to settle something so that they could move on “into the light”.
She was almost always met with hostile disbelief and ridicule. But she pursued the resolution of the needs of the people involved anyway. She saw that she was a part of something bigger than personal comfort. Do I believe that this type of thing is valid or even legitimate? It doesn’t matter. The lesson I learned related to evangelism.
How often do we shrink back for fear of ridicule? Or even that oddly raised eyebrow of disdain? We firmly believe the truth of the Gospel of Christ and it’s powerful ability to help a hurting and lost soul. But we will do anything, enter seeker sensitive dogma, to avoid saying the actual purpose of our concern for their lives.
I have a relationship with God, the creator of the world, and He has paid a tremendous price to have a relationship with you that will bring Him glory and place you in His family forever.
I am challenged by this fictional character. She expects ridicule and hostility, but sees her cause as so much more important than herself. I realize she is written this way, but that doesn’t nullify the challenge.
So, I was encouraged in my faith by rerun television. And I thought I would share it with you.
I was watching TV the other day and sat in awe as I watched a commercial for iparticipate.org, or United Healthcare. Gwyneth Paltrow and her mother were trading screen time to encourage us to give back to our communities. Their smiles and beauty were meant to soften and entice. Then I was jarred out of the hypnotic state by this statement, and I quote:
Doing good for others, doing positive action, always comes back around and enriches your life. It’s the biggest gift you could ever give yourself. – Gwyneth Paltrow
The biggest gift you could ever give yourself. The biggest gift you could ever give YOURSELF.
So, now our culture is so intrinsically self involved that we will not reach out to help our fellow man unless there is something big in it for us. It better swing around to me on the back end or tough break for you, Mr. Homeless Man. The cosmic good vs. evil scale better tip in my favor or the hungry children of the world can suck it.
What a profound indictment that this is what a room of ad executives knew they had to promote to develop interest in their cause. I stand ashamed for any part I have had in this murderous act against charity.
When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. – Matthew 6:2-4 NLT
God is the giver of good things in our lives. We shouldn’t live in a way to give ourselves “the biggest gift.”
I am part of the generation that witnessed the birth of MTV. I was at a young and impressionable age and, quite frankly, was fascinated by their perilous dance with irreverence and the boundaries of what was inappropriate or even scandalous. I remember when they would black bar scenes in an Aerosmith song and refused to show Like a Virgin by Madonna.
Well, this weekend I recorded the VMA’s and snuggled into my chair to see what MTV had in store for me this year. They always have some surprise that is delightful and just a little wicked. But I was disappointed. And I am not talking about what Kanye West did to Taylor Swift. While it was inconsiderate and rude, I wasn’t surprised. He has been inconsiderate and rude a number of times before and I’m confident he will do it again. I am talking about the host, Russel Brand.
Mr. Brand presented himself as just a “bloke” from across the pond to bring us a little humor. And he proceeded to say any number of inappropriate things which American audiences laugh at because it is said in a cheeky, British accent. I expect British comedians to be inappropriate in their jokes. It’s part of their comedic culture. What truly disappointed me was the reaction that the American audience had to his accusation that we let our people die in the streets while Britain offers free health care. He yelled this out in an unmistakeably accusatory tone and was met with…you guessed it, applause and cheering. It’s as if the mass of this cross-section of our nation responded with, “You’re right! We suck!! We let our people die and we don’t care. Let’s just blindly follow the entertainment industry’s political leading.”
What has offended me more than the initial crowd reaction though, is the complete lack of response over all to this statement. It is as if no one heard it. Someone we hired with our money to be famously recognized and celebrated on our stage and screen stood up and defamed our country and was greeted with applause. Something is wrong, people. Or was it okay because he used his cheeky, British accent?
I was driving home from the gym on Saturday morning listening to Keith Green’s No Compromise album and came to one of my favorite songs. He sings
We are like windows, stained with the colors of the rainbow. Set in a darkened room til the bridegroom come to shine through…
I began to think about the life of a believer in relation to a stained glass window. The beautiful pieces of the glass are broken. And no window that is made is all one color. Usually, the blue glass is prevalent. To make blue glass in real stained glass windows is very easy. One would use cobalt and a very small amount will stain a great deal of glass. We find this in our own lives. It doesn’t take much pain or sadness to change the color of our lives to blue. Now red, that is amazing. It takes real gold to make the color red in glass. It is very costly and therefore rarely used in any real quantity. It is an accent color. And for the gold in the process to be useful, it has gone through it’s own fire and refinement.
These colors are held together and surrounded by a seemingly out of place element, lead. Not brilliant, not shiny and very mundane. Our lives are made up of broken moments, many of them touched by some sort of sadness. But there is the rare and powerful pieces of red. Pieces that cost us deeply to prepare for as well as live. These pieces speak to commitment and devotion. But all of these colors and more are held together by the small, daily moments that can go unnoticed against the colorful pieces of our lives. But it is this that defines us. This everyday quality that outlines, shapes and holds together the beautiful picture of our life. But the true beauty of the window can never be seen without light coming through it.
God builds us from the broken places in our lives. He alone sees the pattern and the overall beauty. Each piece of glass would only see itself surrounded by the lead, the dull and mundane. But those looking on our lives see the picture as well as the One who fashions us shining through to cast the light of His beauty through the broken places and everyday moments of our lives.
This morning I woke up with my day swimming in my head already. I find that this is happening far more frequently than it ever has before. Am I that much busier? I can’t tell if it means that I am resting better and when I awaken I am truly awake, or if it means that my head is too full of things that are waiting to be done.
I have begun working out again as of last Monday. I find that I am sore most days and a wee bit more tired at night. My 12 year old son is my work out partner, a gift that I have truly enjoyed. We are both competitive and encouraging, so it works well. We won’t let the other one do more sets or reps than we do, but we encourage them on to do their best. It’s a kinder, gentler competition.
I am at the gym 5 to 6 days a week for this reason, I want to be a healthy senior citizen some day. I am trying to think of my children’s future as well as my own. How I treat my body now not only effects me, but it effects my future daughters in law, my grandchildren should I be blessed with any, and my sons’ money. I hope each day to be the best Mama that I can. I strive to change things in myself to the best version of my character that they can be, oft times with utter failure, so that I do not burden my children with my short comings. Why should my health be any different?
Is it not one of the most selfish things to do in life if we wreck havoc on our bodies with poor habits, dangerous hobbies, negligent regard and apathy? It is as if we look at the people in our lives who love us and say, if not subconsciously, “no matter what, you will take care of me.”
We may, with our short sighted behavior, actually hijack the lives of the ones we love. We become the one that must be cared for or seen to rather than them being able to see to their own lives. Now, I know that somethings come up that are beyond our control and that age can deprive us of this choice at times. But should we not do all we can to honor the love given to us by those dear in our lives by giving all that we can to prevent kidnapping that love with avoidable pain?
So as I sit here with sore thighs and aching abdominal muscles, I will go to the gym and work my body. Why? Because I love my kids and my husband and my friends. If I did it because I loved myself, it would be easy to set some short term goal and then re-embrace my apathy. But my love for these other dear ones in my life will drive me far beyond any love for myself.
I subscribe to a newsletter about the Christian community in Hollywood. It includes a prayer request section as well as a “happenings” section. This month, as I read through the many requests listed, I found this gem.
I was moved, challenged, ashamed, and motivated. I hope that it does the same for you. Please watch it.
