Do you wanna laugh?

One of my bloggity friends found this video and it is so funny I just have to share it.

History in the Making

I love being a part of this, a part of history in the making.

I stayed up late to watch the President-Elect's acceptance speech because it is part of history.

I woke up this morning and read all the doom and gloom comments of my facebook friends. I checked my favorite blogs, only to read more doom and gloom. I even read one that encouraged the reader to pray that God will keep Mr. Obama from accomplishing anything he sets out to do.

I'm not so disturbed by this kind of stuff during a political election, but once the die is cast and we know who our new leader will be, it is important to me to think of him and to speak of him with the utmost respect, respect that is due anyone in his position. As a follower of Christ, this applies to anyone in authority. This is what I have taught my children to do with each of their teachers, whether they liked them or not, whether they were even good teachers or not. This is what I taught them to do with the elders at our church, with the police officer who happens to stop them for speeding, with their boss at work.

So as I watched him last night, I began to pray for him specifically. I prayed for his safety. I prayed for his wisdom, and I continue to pray that God will use him and his position of authority to do great things, things so powerful that it will be evident to all that with God, all things are possible.

After reading all of the doom and gloom, and some real ugliness, I landed upon two blogs of spiritual giants, two men I deeply respect. One of these men is one of my spiritual shepherds. Click here to read a relevant scripture he found. The other is a minister who just happens to be my brother. Click here to read his November 5 post entitled: And so we pray.

Crash Course in Dating Lingo

If you are the parent of a teenager and you are not yet utilizing modern technology to enhance communication, chances are, you are seen as stupider (newly coined term meaning "more stupid") by the minute, at least in the rolling eyes of your teenager.

In my days as a high school principal, I had to work to keep up with the ever-evolving linguistic codes of the teenage language system. I can get you up to speed with a crash course in the language of teenage romance.

"We are talking." This means that I think he is "hot" (which you parents will understand as "cool") and he feels likewise. We are talking on the phone, but mainly texting and talking (writing) on each other's wall ( semi-public page) in Facebook or MySpace (on-line social utility).

Think cyber-flirting.

"We are in a relationship."

We are past the talking phase and ready to DTR (declare the relationship). This can be done in a variety of ways, but must certainly be done on Facebook or MySpace.

DTR is the 21st century equivalent to:

"Going out" (90's)

"Going together" (70's and 80's)

"Going steady" (60's and 70's)

"Getting pinned" (50's and 60's)

Getting pinned or going steady usually involved jewelry, such as a steady bracelet or a senior ring on a chain, and a letter jacket. Such apparel to openly advertise the relationship is no longer necessary. Now, with social utilities such as Facebook and MySpace, one can DTR to the world through cyberspace.

"It's complicated."

This could mean that we have yet to officially define the relationship. It could also mean that we like each other, but are not yet ready to DTR. It could mean that we are on a break or in a fight.

It is also much simpler for today's teenagers to break up.

One simply changes their Facebook profile from "In a relationship with __________" to "single" and they are back on the market. No jewelry or clothing to return.

Of course, it is also advisable to remove the couples' pictures from your Facebook account. You might also choose to remove the once "hot" boy from your Facebook friend list to prevent Facebook stalking. Facebook stalking is relatively harmless, since at one time you gave this person access to your Facebook as a "friend", but now that your relationship is on the skids, you don't want him in your business. He might still try to text you, but you don't have to text back, or you can block his texts altogether, but then he will tell everyone that you are a "bad texter" which really hurts. It is the ultimate insult.

Ok, parents. This will get you started. Hopefully, I've been able to help at least one of you avoid the humiliation of asking about your daughter's steady boyfriend, or, worst yet, her new "beau".

Discipline

I have a theory about discipline...it is an inevitable part of my life.

I can either discipline myself, or someone else will step in to do it.

For example, I can either have the self-discipline to drive the speed limit, or a police officer will write me a ticket.

I can either discipline myself to pay bills when they are due, or incur late fees.

I can discipline myself to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly, or balloon out of control.

I tried to teach this to my children as they grew up. "If you will discipline yourself, then I won't need to step in and do it for you. It is your choice."

Consequently, I am a fairly disciplined person, which basically means that I thrive in a disciplined environment. I am happiest when there is discipline and order in my life. It does not always mean that I practice discipline; it just means that I aim to and am happiest when I am successful.

There are times, though, when my self-discipline gets out of whack and I must calibrate myself. I wonder if the apostle Paul was lamenting a lack of discipline in his life when he said,
"For I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out...So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:14-25

I can relate.

Paul is really whacking himself, totally frustrated with the war at work between his mind and body. How many times have I wanted to lose weight (in theory) but not enough to deny myself certain foods? How bummed out am I about the state of my closet, or my drawers, or even my house, and why isn't it enough to cause me to muster the energy to tackle it after a day of work? How many projects have I started and left unfinished? How often have I wanted to have a more intimate relationship with God but got "too busy" to communicate with him on a regular basis? What happened to that daily Bible reading plan I had?

It helps to know that I am not alone in this battle of my mind and body.

Thanks be to God, indeed.

Can you relate?

Candor

So I'm changing my grandson's diaper this morning. He will be three in December and is mostly potty-trained for one function, but for the other, more pungent one, he still prefers the convenience of the diaper. I have noticed that he will walk past his dad, his Pop, and even his mom to come find me so that I can change his dirty diaper. On many occasions, he has even met me at the door with, "Nana, pwease change my diaper." I mentioned this to his mom one day and she replied, "It is your own doing. You make it too fun."

Well, dirty diaper duty aside, we do have a good time. It begins with mutual speculation about how many wipes will be required to do the deed. Will this be a two wiper diaper or a three wiper diaper? I then place each cold, wet, wipe on his stomach with a loud "CH" sound to see if he can stand the cold. I also have a tendency toward the dramatic as I follow the odor to uncover the source.

The best part, though, is the conversation. This morning's went something like this.

"How was school yesterday?"
"Fun."
"What did you do?"
"I pay wif Cole and Camden and I had fwee boogers in my nose."

Ahhh...the candor of youth!

Ike

Our son has been living in Galveston, TX. for about 6 weeks now. A couple of weeks ago, Hurricane Gustav headed toward Galveston as a category 5. A couple of days before it was set to arrive, he packed up his dog, and the possessions he held dear (his books) and headed to Houston, where he spent the weekend with his sister and her husband. Fortunately, by the time the hurricane hit land, it downgraded to a category 1.

A few days ago, a short two weeks later, Hurricane Ike barreled to the coast of Galveston, a category 2, but one m.p.h. short of being a 3. Once again, he packed up to head to Houston. He got out of Galveston hours before the mandatory evacuation began, and has been in Houston for several days now. Unfortunately, the storm has now made its way north from Galveston, and now my daughter, her husband, son, and my son are without power in Houston.


So now my husband and I sit in the den, each with a laptop and a cell phone, glued to the TV for two days, watching the weather channel, while simultaneously surfing the internet and texting to our kids. Cut off from the world, they have many questions, not the least of which is how long they will be without power. My son is anxious about: the state of his apartment and all his possessions, not knowing when school will resume, and whether he will be able or even should come to Dallas. I'm checking his email for him, as well as monitoring the school's website for news.

I can't help but wonder about the Galveston Hurricane that hit on September 8, 1900 as a category 4. To date, it is the deadliest natural disaster in U. S. history, with approximately 8000 deaths reported. That was before the weather forecast, or the emergency broadcast system. Of course, italso pre-dates radio, television, cell phones, texting, internet, and email. The residents of Galveston were completely blind-sided. They didn't know to prepare for the storm, nor did they know to evacuate.

So I feel blessed to live in a time when there are so many ways to be connected to those I love. Of course, the mother hen in me would much prefer to have all the chicks in the nest...............l

Read the Label

I like to take yogurt to work so that when I get the mid-morning hungries, I can have a quick, moderately healthy snack. So today I was in a long morning meeting, and when we took a break, I hurried to the kitchen with yogurt on my mind. I grabbed my yogurt, rushed back to my office and plopped in my chair, primed and ready to plunge my spoon into its creamy goodness.

However, it seems that in my haste to leave home this morning, I had grabbed, not my yogurt, but Egg Beaters. So, here I am, sitting at my desk with a hungry fist-full of raw egg whites. I'm really perplexed, because I am absolutely certain that I brought yogurt. On the outside, at a glance, it looks like yogurt in size, shape, and feel. I am deceived by what I see on the outside. On the inside, it is something different entirely.

I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Greatest Moral Failure

Recently, I watched the Presidential Forum, moderated by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. Both candidates, Barak Obama and John McCain, were given the same questions touching on a variety of issues. The candidates were asked to avoid automatically reverting to their usual "stump," but rather to thoughtfully and carefully address each question as it was worded.

I found one question in particular to be intruiging: "What is your greatest moral failure?" Without hesitation, Obama referred to his rebellion and drug use during his teenage years, which he disclosed in his book, "Dreams of My Father." McCain referenced "the failure of my first marriage" but provided no further details.

Recently, John Edwards has dominated the news because of his extra-marital affair which was originally uncovered by the National Enquirer. The media is less critical of the affair, and more critical of the fact that he lied about it. Had he admitted it publicly in 2006 when he reportedly confessed it to his wife, Elizabeth, the media no doubt would have lost interest in it by now, as evidenced by the lack of current interest in the "indiscretions" of McCain, or Clinton, or Guiliani, or Limbaugh, or O'Reilly, or Gingrich, or Kennedy, Kennedy, and Kennedy (John, Robert, and Ted).

It seems that this country, or at the very least the media, is only moderately concerned about the sin in the life of public figure, but extremely critical if that sin is concealed or confessed only privately. Full public disclosure is expected of all public figures.

However, as private citizens, one of the inalienable rights we hold dear is our right to privacy. How many of us would openly and freely confess and discuss our greatest moral failures? I know of many who have, but it is usually because their sin was disclosed, either voluntarily because of guilt, or by happenstance, and it cost them their jobs or ruined their lives. Such individuals often choose to parlay that disclosure to a book deal or speaking engagement, capitalizing on their fifteen minutes of fame to go after the almighty dollar. Others share their experience to cleanse their conscience, or so others can learn from their mistakes.

Regardless of which way you, as a private citizen, are leaning in this election, you have got to admit it takes a great deal of courage to choose the life of a public figure these days.

The Best Kind of Friend

I started this blog in July of 2006.

For a little over a year I made several entries a week, which slowed down to two per week, then one. Finally, I just stopped.

I discovered the other day to my chagrin that my last entry was almost one year ago. It is kind of like losing touch with an old friend. Weeks fly by, months pass, and suddenly you cannot remember the last time you talked. You reflect on all that has happened since you last spoke and wonder if you should get together, but you dread the awkwardness, the stammering explanations of how busy you have been and why it has been so long since you have called, or, worse yet, returned the call.

Maybe blogging won’t be that way. Maybe it will be like those really comfortable friends who you can call every once in a while and pick up where you left off since the last time you called. No stammering, no awkwardness, no explanations, just sharing each other’s lives and enjoying each other’s company.

I’m hoping blogging is that kind of friend.

In the Valley

"They gave our Master a crown of thorns.

Why do we hope for a crown of roses?"

~ Martin Luther ~

My prayers are often filled with thanks for the life I enjoy as a child of God. When I’m living on the mountain top, I eagerly anticipate each new day. The sun shines brighter; there’s a spring in my step and a song in my heart. At times like these, I can easily list the blessings He has showered on me: my family, friends, health, work, prosperity…the list is endless.

When I sink into the valley, I can’t even see the sun. Shadows loom all around me. I am cold, fearful, and alone. I find myself praying for strength, guidance, patience, faith…I could go on and on.

Climbing out of the abyss, I try to look back and learn from my time in the valley. I search for God’s hand in my experience. What did I do or fail to do that got me here? What was he trying to teach me? How can I grow from this? One question leads to another as I long for wisdom…..

Bottom line is this: to fully appreciate the mountain top experience, I need to experience the valley. As much as I long for the mountain top, I do most of my searching in the valley. I have found most of life’s lessons in the valley. I am schooled there; it is there that I grow and learn and fully appreciate the blessings that can only be found in Christ.

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalms 23

Cobwebs

I can’t remember what started me to blog in the first place other than reading my daughter’s and thinking it would be fun to have my own, but blogging requires discipline, and discipline is seldom fun.

It is, however, even less fun to discipline yourself for a period of time and then to give it up. That is true of exercising, eating right, praying, studying the Bible, or even blogging. Developing the discipline is hard, then it gets rewarding, and, if you’re like me, you let it go and find yourself longing for the days when you were disciplined and feeling the benefits.

My friend and I exercise together at 6:00 each morning. Some days we spin; some days we walk.

Even though we walk as fast as we can without breaking into a jog, we manage to talk the whole hour.

On the days we go to spin class I will occasionally give her a lift home. One day as she got out of the car, she leaned in and muttered, “You know, your web of love has cobwebs” and promptly left me alone with my thoughts.

I sat in my car in the middle of the street puzzled; then it dawned on me.

Oh, yeah.

She is referring to my blog. My last entry, almost two months ago, was entitled, “Web of Love.”

Now the very fact that you are reading this tells me that you might not be able to relate. You probably have a blog of your own and have settled into a regular schedule of entries. Or you are toying with the idea of blogging and look forward to reading your friend’s blogs. Maybe you spend some serious time in blogs daily and have your favorites saved on your computer to check each day.

No, that one does not count; if my blog were saved on your desktop you would have deleted it by now, having checked it every day for two months with no new entries.

The other day a friend said to me in exasperation, “Don’t ever start blogging; it will take over your life!” Then he looked at me and said, “Oh, yeah, you do blog” and walked away.

Awkward………

He might as well have said, “And your web of love has cobwebs!”

Web of Love

They sat in a circle, blissfully unaware of what was in store for them. He stood in the center of the circle, the beloved teacher who, along with 10 other faculty members, was responsible for making memories for this group of high school seniors. He handed a ball of yarn to the senior class president as he told the class how as a senior class sponsor he had come to respect the leadership that this young man provided. He then challenged that young man to share the love.

Accepting the challenge, the senior class president scanned the faces around the circle, held on to the end of the yarn then tossed the ball of yarn across the room to another student. He then proceeded to tell the class why he admired that student. The second student then held on to his end of the yarn and tossed the ball of yarn to another student.

One by one, each student listened with rapt attention as someone else sang his or her praises. As the evening wore and the yarn was tossed from one student to another, it created a web of yarn between them, which we call the web of love.

Eventually, the yarn ran out. There was a moment of silence, then someone said, “Let’s keep going,” and they did. What was interesting to me as I witnessed this outpouring of love was the recurring theme. It went something like this, “Johnny, you and I have known each other since 9^th grade, and I’ll have to admit, I didn’t like you when I first met you. But we’ve had some classes together this year, and this is the first chance we’ve really had to talk. I just wanted you to know that I think you’re cool, man. You’re real, and I respect that.”

After hearing some version of that theme over and over, I thought about what they were really saying. “Ok, my first impression of you wasn’t a good one and wasn’t necessarily based on you at all, but on my perceptions about you. After a few years, I decided to give you a chance. I took the time to get to know you and realized how wrong I was about you. In fact, I like you just the way you are.”

I wonder how often I do that. How often is my first impression of someone negative and based totally on my misperceptions of them because I don’t really know them? How many times have I begun to really like or respect someone once I got to know them?

“Get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”

I Peter 2:1-3

Ski Trip

We have a long-standing tradition at our high school. Every year around February or March, we take the seniors to Colorado for a week to ski. This includes a 20 hour chartered bus trip, three days of skiing, three nights of devos, and a 20 hour bus trip home. Every year, we’ve come to expect great skiing, some important class bonding, and a surprise or two along the way.

This year was no exception. The kids were great on the buses. We stayed in the same condo that we have used for many years. There were four girls in my condo, and they were all very well-behaved. They were considerate of each other and followed the rules of curfew every night. One girl in my condo developed altitude sickness the first day and ended up flying home on the third day. Other than that and a couple of minor injuries, the whole week ran smoothly.

There was one blip in the whole trip. One of the girls in my room discovered $60.00 missing. She had hidden it at the bottom of her clothes drawer. She alerted the sponsors, who promptly alerted the front desk at the condo. We did not want to believe that someone in housekeeping had taken the money as we had never had any problems of this sort in the 15 years that we have used this condo; we just felt it important to let them know. The sponsors felt that more than likely, the culprit was one of our own, not because this person needed the money, but out of a desire to hurt that girl.

When the rest of the class found out about the missing money, they took action. The senior class president went to each member of the class and asked if they wanted to contribute a dollar or two to the fund to replace her money. On the last day of the trip as we circled around to pray together, he announced that this class felt very strongly that they did not want the actions of one person to taint the reputation of the entire class. He presented her with an envelope filled with $128.00 that they had collected on her behalf. What a strong message this sent, not only to her, but to whoever stole her money.

“Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”

I Timothy 6:18-19

Something for Nothing

I love a good contest. One of my bloggity friends, through Christian Women Online, is giving away a free Coach purse and glasses case that she does not use. That is such a fun contest, and don't we all like to get something for nothing? Click here to learn more about the contest.

Recently I wrote about putting on my winter coat for the first time last winter and pulling a $50.00 bill out of the pocket. Technically, that is not something for nothing since I was probably the one who put it there last year, but since it was totally unexpected it still felt that way.

My husband has an amazing knack for being at the right place at the right time. Several times in his life, he has looked down and found money on the ground. Once, he was walking into a store and a $20.00 bill slapped him in the leg. There was no one around so he was unable to see who might have dropped it.

I can't tell you how many times we have been driving on the freeway just to have him whip over to the shoulder, come to a screeching halt, put it in reverse (still on the shoulder, thankfully), open his door, and pick up a tool lying in the ditch, or a wallet full of money and no ID.

This man, who on any given day cannot find his own wallet, belt, glasses, or car keys, can spot a wrench lying in a ditch while driving 60 miles per hour on the inside lane.

As for me, I have never won anything, just money in my pocket that I put there in the first place. Except for him, that is. I won him 31 years ago and have been celebrating my good fortune ever since!

Little Fifi

This is worth a chuckle.

The train was very crowded, so the soldier walked the length of the train, looking for an empty seat. The only unoccupied seat was directly adjacent to a well-dressed middle-aged lady and was being used by her little dog.

The war weary soldier asked, "Please, ma'am, may I sit in that seat?"

The French woman looked down her nose at the soldier, sniffed and said, "You Americans. You are such a rude class of people. Can't you see my little Fifi is using that seat?" The soldier walked away, determined to find a place to rest, but after another trip down to the end of the train, found himself again facing the woman with the dog. Again he asked, "Please, Madame. May I sit there? I'm very tired."

The French woman wrinkled her nose and snorted, "You Americans! Not only are you rude, you are also arrogant. Imagine!" The soldier didn't say anything else; he leaned over, picked up the little dog, tossed it out the window of the train and sat down in the empty seat. The woman shrieked and railed, and demanded that someone defend her and chastise the soldier.

An English gentleman sitting across the aisle spoke up, "You know, sir, you Yanks do seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You eat holding the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side of the road, and now you've thrown the wrong one out the window!

What Need Am I Trying to Fill?

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you,

the part of you that chooses,

into something a little different from what it was before...

either into a creature that is in harmony with God,

or into one that is in a state of war with God.

Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other."

~ C.S. Lewis ~
Mere Christianity

She stood before this group of high school girls, clearly nervous, yet determined to share her message. She is a happily married Christian woman, yet, in her other life, she was a drug addict, a topless dancer, and finally, a prostitute.

She held the girls in rapt attention, because her life began in similar fashion to theirs. She grew up living with her mom and dad in an upper middle class home. She was a “daddy’s girl” who loved sports and especially riding her horse. She attended a private, Christian school, and was very involved in church; she led the idyllic life, until she reached middle school. The summer after 8^th grade, she and her mom left their home in Arizona and came to Texas to visit her aunt. It was there that her mom announced that she was leaving her dad. She had no warning, no chance to say goodbye to her friends, her church, her school, and most importantly, her dad.

This one event initiated the spiral. She immediately latched on to another girl in pain, and together they began experimenting with drugs, which led to skipping school, and finally, running away from home. Shortly after, she was raped. She lived on the streets for awhile, until circumstances forced her to bow her head in shame and return home.

She tried to clean up. A very intelligent girl, she managed to pull in excellent grades during the week, but it wasn’t long before her weekends consisted of alcohol, drugs, partying, and casual sex. She ended up dropping out of school and moving in with a boyfriend. She heard through a friend that a lot of money could be made topless dancing, so she entered that world. Tragically, this led to prostitution, which consumed her life and fed her drug habit for the next 10 years.

Sometime in her late 20’s, she stumbled upon New Friends, New Life, formerly known as Amy’s Friends. This non-profit organization helps women get out of sexually oriented businesses and provides the support and training to finish their educations and get jobs. She went through the program and now works for the organization. She is truly one of their success stories. Part of her ministry is to speak to young girls about the choices she has made and the consequences she has faced as a result.

I will never forget the day she came to speak to the girls at our school. There were two things in particular that she said that resonated with me. As she explained the importance of making wise choices that determine the course of your life, she used the analogy of a geometric angle. In drawing a 90 degree angle, if, instead, you reach the apex and veer slightly, the small adjustment will get larger and larger as your line leaves the apex. She said that it is the same with choices. One choice leads to another, which leads to another, which will either take you closer to your goal or further and further away from it.

During the question and answer period, the girls had a lot of “Why?” questions. Many of the girls in the audience came from broken homes, and her background of a broken home, Christian education, etc. made them a little uncomfortable. She talked about many of the things that she did in response to what was happening in her life, and what she was trying to accomplish. In every incidence, she said she was trying to fill a need that she had at the time. She took drugs to numb the pain. She lived on the streets because of her shame in being raped. She became a topless dancer and a prostitute because of the money, the power, and the “love” that she craved. So, in hindsight, she cautioned the girls, when faced with temptations, to ask themselves, “What need am I trying to fill?”

If you are interested in learning more about New Friends, New Life, you might want to check out the following websites. The first is their website; the others are articles that have been written about them. These women are victims of their own poor choices and need our prayers and support.

http://pages.prodigy.net/lriley/home.html

http://www.connectionmagazine.org/archives_old/2001_05/nodirtydancing.htm

http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion/christian_strippers.html

http://www.authenticrelationships.com/pornography_michelle.php

Racing Tumbleweeds

During our first years of marriage, we lived in the high plains of New Mexico, where you could drive along flat, straight roads with nothing but miles of flat land on either side. The highlight of a long drive like this is the tumbleweed race.

It is amazing, actually. You can be driving along, with tumbleweed rolling toward you at a 45 degree angle, and if you slow down, it slows down; if you speed up, it speeds up, or so it appears. This continues on until finally it comes right at you, hurls itself at your car, and bursts into a million twigs.

I guess if I were standing in a field, it might hurt to be hit by tumbleweed, with its thorns and dry, scratchy branches. But cocooned within the armor of my car, I am safe and sheltered.

God provides armor to protect us from the evil one. Although we tend to lash out against the evil that we see in this world, in actuality, there is an unseen world, a spiritual war going on, and what is at stake is my soul.

“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.” Ephesians 6:12

God desires to protect us, so he provides the tools we need.

“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:13-17

Finally, we are reminded that this battle is spiritual and must be fought in God’s strength, depending on Him through His word and prayer.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

Ephesians 6:18

Sandstorms

The first three years of our marriage, we were stationed on an Air Force base in Clovis, New Mexico. This area, known as the high plains of New Mexico, was known for its sandstorms (think this picture without the camels). I experienced my first one as a newlywed.

I spent the day cleaning house, anticipating my beloved’s return from work that evening. All of a sudden, I heard a sound like a giant freight train. Knowing there was no railroad track nearby I cautiously went outside to investigate. As I approached the curb, I saw a red wall of dirt as high and as wide as I could see coming toward me. I turned and ran in the house, slamming the door behind me just as the wall of red dirt passed over.

In its wake, a fine mist of red dust covered the house. It was all over the sidewalks, the porch, had seeped through the window sills, and under the doors. It came to rest on my carpet, counter tops, and bed. It was everywhere.

Thankfully, I only experienced a few of these in the three years we lived there. Typically, though, a sandstorm comes without warning. There is no escaping it. About all you can do is find shelter, brace yourself, ride it out, then clean up when it is over.

As a Christian, when hit with life’s storms, I pretty much take the same approach. Only now, I find shelter in the arms of Jesus. In fact, I can’t imagine bracing life’s storms any other way.

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in Him.”

Nahum 1:7

Skim and Scan

"Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets."

~ Madame Jeanne Guyon ~

I love to read. I would rather read a good book than watch a movie, because I can savor the words, read them over, decide what the characters look like, give their words the tone and inflection I want, and make the story my own. My current favorite author is Francine Rivers. I have been reading her books for months and have come close to reading everything she has on the market, so I find myself slowing down and savoring every word. I always have a grieving period after a good book; I reflect on the story, I miss the characters, then I begin the waiting period before I can start another book.

In contrast, if I am reading a book that is not as well written, or that I have to read something that I am not particularly interested in, I tend to skim, looking for the good parts. Skimming is not actually reading, it is more like searching for specific words or thoughts. A good skimmer can find information quickly, then slow down and dig deep into the information.

The problem is that skimming is a skill. Before I became a high school principal, I worked with students with learning differences. My favorite students to work with were students with ADD. One of the struggles that they tend to have is the inability to skim. That presents unique problems. When assigned a chapter to read with questions at the end to answer, few high school students understand the importance of actually reading the chapter. Most will skim the chapter, looking for key words and phrases that will help to answer the assigned questions. However, most students with ADD are terrible skimmers. To complicate matters, they also struggle to focus when reading material that is of little interest to them, in spite of their reading ability. Nevertheless, strong student or weak, skimming is not reading for understanding; it is searching.

Skimming is like scanning. Ever enter the church auditorium, looking for your husband? You scan the faces until you find the familiar one, but if questioned, will probably not be able to recall many of the faces you scanned. However, if you pick a row and study it, you can look at the faces over and over until you commit them to memory.

I scan the Bible when looking for a particular word, phrase, or verse, but to read for understanding, I have to slow down and read each word. I will then read a concordance on that scripture to understand the context and find associated scriptures. I keep a highlighter and a pen in my Bible to highlight scriptures and write in the margins. I also write on the blank pages provided at the back, having learned to do that in college with textbooks that I purchased; it is an important study tool for me. God‘s word is amazing. It is timeless, the only book I know that you can read over and over and learn something new every time.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105

Go to the Heart

One morning, during our first year of marriage, we were headed to the university in our VW Beetle, Myrtle (her christened name). To avoid morning traffic, we chose the back road which took us through miles and miles of farmland. We drove along without talking; my beloved was lost in his thoughts as I sat in the passenger seat studying for a test.

I casually looked up just as he swerved to hit a giant turtle that was crossing the road. My mouth gaping open, I stared straight ahead in shock as I heard the horrible gallump gallump of our tires running over its shell. Then I whipped around in my seat and screamed, “How could you do such a thing?”

Without waiting for his answer, my mind raced. Who was this man that I had just married? Who goes out of their way in order to hit animals on the road? I burst into tears and whispered, “How could you intentionally hit that poor, defenseless turtle?”

“I didn’t intentionally hit the turtle,” he replied calmly. “Apparently there were two turtles, but I didn’t know that. I saw a turtle in the road and served to miss it. I didn’t know that another turtle was right behind it until I ran over it.”

Oh.

Okay.

He may not be the most observant driver in the world, but at least he’s not a sadistic, cold-blooded turtle assassin.

As I think back to that incident, it is interesting to me the importance that intent plays in our actions. He killed a turtle, but he didn’t intend to. His intent was to avoid the turtle that he saw. I was so ready to be mad at him until I realized that he didn’t mean to do it.

Maybe that is why Jesus places such emphasis on what is going on in our hearts. Once I removed myself from his actions and looked at his heart, I understood his actions better.

It made me wonder; how diligent am I about looking a person’s heart, in order to understand their actions better?

How diligent are you?

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I Samuel 16:7