Earlier this week, on my blog, I revisited a topic I'd written about before, and it's still weighing on my heart today, so I guess that means it's kind of a theme for me right now.
Formulas.
There aren't any.
I'm not sure where and when along the way, we as a human race mapped out exactly how things should look for every life, planet wide.
Why kids start going to school at five and end when they're eighteen and then figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives and go back to school for that. Why getting married before 20 makes you married too young and after 22 makes you an old maid/confirmed bachelor. Why you have to have all your kids before 30, why only one child is not enough and any more than three is too many. Why church takes place on Sunday mornings at 10:00 and why the work day is a firm 8 to 5. Why owning a mini-van makes you a soccer mom and owning a sports car past 40 gives you mid-life-crisis status. Why kids who aren't able to care for aging parents are unloving and why kids who move home after college lack ambition.
Oh how very many rules we've placed on ourselves...or perhaps more accurately on others. {Because a rule works well for someone else, but when we're in need of its leniency, we're quick to grant ourselves grace.}
Earlier this week, I was in a group where women were sharing stories about their lives...about their own stories. It was an open, welcoming environment where we all just wanted to know each other a bit better. But I noticed, after the first few went, with their traditional, expected, following-the-formula stories, a couple of women hesitantly shared their own stories. They offered what they had, but within the offering was the hint of apology. Like perhaps they feared that they weren't quite as qualified because their stories had a perceived flaw.
And again, this weight washed over my soul...a grieving of sorts...because all our stories are unique. God hasn't written any two of us the same way...and what a celebration that should be! Just because these dear women had a season that looked different didn't mean they're flawed and I'm not. We're ALL flawed. ALL in need of a Savior. ALL in need of grace.
The rest...it's all a formula...and I have to wonder what Jesus thinks of our formulas and our strong bent to hold on to them with more tenacity than we hold onto Him.
Your story isn't mine. My story isn't yours.
My life hasn't followed a formula from the moment I was born into a family that thought it was complete. When I was born to parents in their forties and sisters in their teens. And nothing about my life has been traditional since then. But what a story God has written!
And YOU, my dear friend....your story is uniquely yours. Whatever about it doesn't fit the formulas we seem to live in doesn't make you wrong. If you started kindergarten at 6 and graduated from college at 18...and got married at 50 and adopted a baby at 60...and drove a motorcycle with a side car the whole time, that's okay. What matters when all is said and done isn't following formulas. It's following Jesus!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Word Up
Last Friday, the women of WBCL had their annual Day Out. Bekah and I were in charge of planning this year's experience, and outlined a day of fun, food and femaleship in Winona Lake, Indiana.
First stop: MudLOVE.
My heart is stoked with affection and respect for Luke Wright, the young man who founded MudLOVE in 2009 "with nothing more than an old stamp set, a box of clay, and an unadvised business plan of giving 20% of all sales to clean drinking water projects in Africa." The God-inspired clay creations include mugs, necklaces, magnets and pocket rocks. But what they're most known for are their classic bands, each featuring a one-word (sometimes more) declaration, though the line has expanded to also include animals and custom designs.
Our crew, especially Jeri Rusk (we love you, Jeri!), spent more than thirty minutes selecting bands for themselves and others, truly laboring over choosing the precise word they, or their giftee, needs reminding of right now.
Believe. Blessed. Forgiven. Mercy. Freedom. Breathe. Worship.
So many to choose from, and yet....
One Word is the source of them all: Jesus.
That truth sets me free! Some days I am such a mess, I need a STACK of words running from my wrist to my elbow: strength, grace, mercy, hope, peace, beloved...I require them all -- or at least I think I do. Until I do a deep exhale and whisper one word, the Word that encompasses all that's required to replace my poverty: Jesus.
What about you? What word would you choose for today? You might think it's patience, but what you truly need is understanding. You might think it's strength, but what you truly require is surrender. Everything you need for everything that crosses your path today is found in one word, the Living Word, from whom all blessings -- every word required for your today -- flow.
First stop: MudLOVE.
My heart is stoked with affection and respect for Luke Wright, the young man who founded MudLOVE in 2009 "with nothing more than an old stamp set, a box of clay, and an unadvised business plan of giving 20% of all sales to clean drinking water projects in Africa." The God-inspired clay creations include mugs, necklaces, magnets and pocket rocks. But what they're most known for are their classic bands, each featuring a one-word (sometimes more) declaration, though the line has expanded to also include animals and custom designs.
Our crew, especially Jeri Rusk (we love you, Jeri!), spent more than thirty minutes selecting bands for themselves and others, truly laboring over choosing the precise word they, or their giftee, needs reminding of right now.
Believe. Blessed. Forgiven. Mercy. Freedom. Breathe. Worship.
So many to choose from, and yet....
One Word is the source of them all: Jesus.
He (Jesus) is the divine Yes--God's affirmation. For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Him.
(2nd Corinthians 1:19, 20)
That truth sets me free! Some days I am such a mess, I need a STACK of words running from my wrist to my elbow: strength, grace, mercy, hope, peace, beloved...I require them all -- or at least I think I do. Until I do a deep exhale and whisper one word, the Word that encompasses all that's required to replace my poverty: Jesus.
What about you? What word would you choose for today? You might think it's patience, but what you truly need is understanding. You might think it's strength, but what you truly require is surrender. Everything you need for everything that crosses your path today is found in one word, the Living Word, from whom all blessings -- every word required for your today -- flow.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Blessings
Yesterday was my birthday...and I had the loveliest sort of day...even if the skies were crying over the news that I'm another year older.
Ryan surprised me at 5 am (ohhhhhh alarms are as evil at 36 as they were at 35) with cupcakes and coffee in bed. The perk of being a grown-up is permission to have a cupcake for breakfast. Braeya helped me blow out my candles...marking the first day she's EVER gotten this close to fire.
.JPG)
And when I got to work...my co-workers spoiled me rotten. Gift bags lined my desk...filled with all manner of coffee and chocolate related items, among other things.
I felt pretty loved and spoiled. Even if my cat tried to steal the cupcake.
Yesterday I sent an email to someone outside the station...someone I work with to help schedule interviews. We chatted about birthdays and adventures, and he told me a story about a friend of his that had a birthday a few weeks ago. She wanted to go for a hike, and he's quite the adventurer, so he took her on a birthday extravaganza...complete with a cupcake, candle, and the singing of happy birthday.
He told me that a few years back, he started thinking of small ways he could bless people who could use a blessing...and he's had fun doing it.
And THAT made me think of a few years ago when the very same sort of thing happened to me. A gentleman in my church was putting his life back together after a really painful divorce. He was the first person I ever met who used a time of horrific pain to really hunker down, learn everything possible, and begin anew. That year, he bought 2 season tickets to Beef & Boards, which is a dinner theater...if you're not from this area and not familiar with it. He called up a whole bunch of his friends - including me - who didn't have the money for those sorts of fun things, and asked us to pick the show we'd like to see.
I picked Grease. :)
And so the night of the show, I got all dressed up, and he picked me up at my house, drove all the way there, and we enjoyed a really scrumptious dinner {good seats!!} and watched the show. It really was lovely. I didn't date much in my life prior to Ryan, and even though this was NOT a date, it was a chance to get pretty and go have fun and enjoy something outside my budget.
So all these things have left me thinking...how can I bless someone who might not have the opportunity to enjoy something I take for granted? What little things could I do to reach out and offer a dash of joy to someone else...birthday or no birthday?
My mind is in motion. What fun this can be!!!
What about you? Someone in your life need a blessing that you have the means to give? What if you did it?
Ryan surprised me at 5 am (ohhhhhh alarms are as evil at 36 as they were at 35) with cupcakes and coffee in bed. The perk of being a grown-up is permission to have a cupcake for breakfast. Braeya helped me blow out my candles...marking the first day she's EVER gotten this close to fire.
I felt pretty loved and spoiled. Even if my cat tried to steal the cupcake.
Yesterday I sent an email to someone outside the station...someone I work with to help schedule interviews. We chatted about birthdays and adventures, and he told me a story about a friend of his that had a birthday a few weeks ago. She wanted to go for a hike, and he's quite the adventurer, so he took her on a birthday extravaganza...complete with a cupcake, candle, and the singing of happy birthday.
He told me that a few years back, he started thinking of small ways he could bless people who could use a blessing...and he's had fun doing it.
And THAT made me think of a few years ago when the very same sort of thing happened to me. A gentleman in my church was putting his life back together after a really painful divorce. He was the first person I ever met who used a time of horrific pain to really hunker down, learn everything possible, and begin anew. That year, he bought 2 season tickets to Beef & Boards, which is a dinner theater...if you're not from this area and not familiar with it. He called up a whole bunch of his friends - including me - who didn't have the money for those sorts of fun things, and asked us to pick the show we'd like to see.
I picked Grease. :)
And so the night of the show, I got all dressed up, and he picked me up at my house, drove all the way there, and we enjoyed a really scrumptious dinner {good seats!!} and watched the show. It really was lovely. I didn't date much in my life prior to Ryan, and even though this was NOT a date, it was a chance to get pretty and go have fun and enjoy something outside my budget.
So all these things have left me thinking...how can I bless someone who might not have the opportunity to enjoy something I take for granted? What little things could I do to reach out and offer a dash of joy to someone else...birthday or no birthday?
My mind is in motion. What fun this can be!!!
What about you? Someone in your life need a blessing that you have the means to give? What if you did it?
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Jesus is Coming...and I'm Not Scared Anymore
How does a woman who turned from her holy-on-the-outside/sinful-on-the-inside ways almost thirty years ago make an idol of something good, something God wants for His children: becoming like Jesus? That's the question I promised to answer at the end of my last blog post.
A quick recap if you didn't read it:
I was struck with fear when I heard Anne Graham Lotz say she believes Jesus will return during her lifetime. As a Christian who knows her heavenly future is secure, my fear made no sense; yet, it was my first, uncensored response. As I dug into the driving why, God's Spirit revealed the answer: roots of trusting in works, instead of grace, are still alive in me, AND I've become lax, even uncaring about the salvation of others, including people I love.
I wrote:
"It's easy to slide back into trying to save yourself, and the servant life of a follower of Jesus can make you ripe for shifting your righteousness from something that is entirely out of your control and too-good-to-be-true (though it is!) -- the gift of salvation paid for by Jesus' death -- to something that feels like the proper payment for being forgiven and made once-and-for-all clean: good, kind actions, which are the fruit of spiritual transformation."
Making spiritual transformation my obsession, and about me, resulted in the slow shift of trusting in good works to make me right with God. It also made me my first, second, and third priorities -- which shoved concern about others knowing Jesus, out the window.
While spiritual transformation is about us because it happens in us, it is not about us first.
Ah, now the fear and uncaring heart made sense. I had moved from living the Greatest Commandment, loving Jesus with every inch of my being, out of which the whole of our lives FLOWS, to prioritizing spiritual transformation. Truth be told, my desire for change was a mixture of wanting to bless and honor Jesus...and to make my life better, for my sake. Anne's declaration that Jesus IS returning was a gift from God to expose my sinful self-centeredness.
So now what?
It begins with confession. What a gift! God says let's agree that you've sinned, which is what confession means. Then ask for forgiveness, which God gladly, graciously gives. I did that. You can too, whenever you sin. Then take His hand and walk toward Home. I'm doing that. You can, too.
Ed Miller says, "We are not left on this earth after we become Christians because we have a job to do, but because we have a God to know." Out of that One Thing of knowing Jesus, we will be transformed, while resting in His righteousness, ready to meet Him, unafraid, when He returns.
Maranatha! Come quickly, Jesus!
A quick recap if you didn't read it:
I was struck with fear when I heard Anne Graham Lotz say she believes Jesus will return during her lifetime. As a Christian who knows her heavenly future is secure, my fear made no sense; yet, it was my first, uncensored response. As I dug into the driving why, God's Spirit revealed the answer: roots of trusting in works, instead of grace, are still alive in me, AND I've become lax, even uncaring about the salvation of others, including people I love.
I wrote:
"It's easy to slide back into trying to save yourself, and the servant life of a follower of Jesus can make you ripe for shifting your righteousness from something that is entirely out of your control and too-good-to-be-true (though it is!) -- the gift of salvation paid for by Jesus' death -- to something that feels like the proper payment for being forgiven and made once-and-for-all clean: good, kind actions, which are the fruit of spiritual transformation."
Making spiritual transformation my obsession, and about me, resulted in the slow shift of trusting in good works to make me right with God. It also made me my first, second, and third priorities -- which shoved concern about others knowing Jesus, out the window.
While spiritual transformation is about us because it happens in us, it is not about us first.
It's first about Jesus, as is everything.
Ah, now the fear and uncaring heart made sense. I had moved from living the Greatest Commandment, loving Jesus with every inch of my being, out of which the whole of our lives FLOWS, to prioritizing spiritual transformation. Truth be told, my desire for change was a mixture of wanting to bless and honor Jesus...and to make my life better, for my sake. Anne's declaration that Jesus IS returning was a gift from God to expose my sinful self-centeredness.
So now what?
It begins with confession. What a gift! God says let's agree that you've sinned, which is what confession means. Then ask for forgiveness, which God gladly, graciously gives. I did that. You can too, whenever you sin. Then take His hand and walk toward Home. I'm doing that. You can, too.
Ed Miller says, "We are not left on this earth after we become Christians because we have a job to do, but because we have a God to know." Out of that One Thing of knowing Jesus, we will be transformed, while resting in His righteousness, ready to meet Him, unafraid, when He returns.
Maranatha! Come quickly, Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)