Hidey Hut Blisters

I fully realize that I have worn out my little cache of loyal readers (waves at her mother) with metaphors found in nature. I am so sorry but....well, you know what is coming next. I opened the lid of my rabbit hutch yesterday afternoon to spy what was, to me, an hilarious image. Little Hershey, my lionhead rabbit who is not so little anymore, was resting inside his edible hideaway (fake hollowed-out log). The only problem is, the "hideaway" was never that long in the first place and Hershey has done a number on both ends with his teeth. So the only thing the log was hiding was his mid-section. He was determined to make it work. The end result is that he looked like he was wearing a barrel. It did not phase him. He was chill with it.

Reminded me so much of so many of us! God has created us for a large life, and we are determined to fit  our tremendous potential into a hidey hut from Pet Supermarket. He has the deluxe bunny condo in mind, or for that matter, endless acres of clover, but we'll take our hidey hut with gnawed ends, thank you very much. It's not all that comfortable and there's not a glamorous or fulfilling moment, but it's safe and it's right here so, here we go (squish, squeeze, snooze).

Take a hack saw to your hidey hut today. Toss it in the trash. Get down on your knees and invite the Holy Spirit to have His way in your life. Then, in His strength and by the courage that He gives you moment by moment, do what you hear Him saying to you. Be led by God's spirit, not by your whims, your fears, or your past failures. Life in the Spirit, and by default in your true calling, does not happen by accident. Use a journal in your quiet time with God to record what you hear Him saying. He is speaking! He wants a life for you that is beyond what you can live on your own strength and in your own wisdom.

Love you all.

Every Day Starts at a Crossroads; Life in Christ or Death in Unbelief

There are two images crowding my mind this morning. One is of a beautiful, thin, blonde twenty-five-year-old girl begging a man more than thirty years her senior to come and see her. She is hunched over and hung over.   The other image is of two fawns, only a few yards away from my open car window, peering at me in curiosity, then lifting their heads and bobbing them a bit to catch my scent and make sense of it. One, an image of waste and despair, the other the wonder of young life and vitality.

The first image is from a television series called "Intervention." While fascinating to watch, this program, which follows addicts through their daily life and into a confrontation with their loved ones during which they must choose leaving for treatment or being shut out of the family, is extremely sad. It leaves you heavy-hearted. It is laced with the weight of years of waste. Waste of potential, certainly, but, more importantly, waste of the joy of life and richness of relationships.

The second image is taken from something I experienced just yesterday at dusk. Gary and I were out at a state park. We drove by campsites bordering a farm. Suddenly we spied, in a field full of horses,  a herd of deer, grazing in two separate groups. We needed binoculars at first. Eventually, the groups came together and began inching closer to us. Suddenly, the two smallest, fawns with legs beginning to stretch out like pre-teens yet still sporting their white spots, saw us and began trotting toward our truck. I almost held my breath as they came onward. One was a bit braver than the other. He or she came within a few yards of us, ears pricked and eyes wide with curiosity. I wanted to hold my breath as the delicate creature, desirous of making out just what that was in that big red thing, tipped a bit closer and, when we thought it would not move closer, just a bit more. Eventually, the fawn saw that the herd was moving on without it and sprung off toward them. We turned around and headed down another road, scattering a huge flock of wild turkeys as we moseyed along. The freshness and purity of the encounter with the fawn fed my soul as we headed back into the world of laundry, homework oversight, and other "responsible" pursuits.

Back to the contrasting image of the young girl, her life also ahead of her, much like the lanky fawn. Instead of sprinting away into the rich, fulfilling destiny God had planned for her, she had stalled out in the trenches of life. After emotional body blows that left her winded, she reached for alcohol, which left her empty, a shell of human being who, though beautiful, talented and intelligent, was willing to sell herself for liquor money. As I watched more than one episode of this show back to back, I realized why I was flinching with each tale. I saw myself, in a sense. No, I don't use alcohol or drugs. However, I, like so many other Christians, HAVE allowed lack of faith, fear, depression and other "goodies" from Satan's bag of tricks to limit my potential, and take a hatchet to the life I am building in Christ. I have allowed other "escapes" such as excessive internet use, to keep me from pursuing the fulfilling life of purpose marked out for me. I have let other voices, including those of temporary pleasures and meaningless time-wasting pursuits, drown the voice of the Holy Spirit, who has not come into my life to take anything away, but to give me everything! He has a perfect plan for my life, and boring, unfulfilling, or deprived it is not!!! I made a further resolve to quiet myself for some time every single day so that I can hear Him. I have asked Him to give me the strength and courage to do what He reveals to me is His plan for my life. Now all I have to do is buckle my seatbelt and get ready for the ride to end all rides!

Jesus Is At the Door

I am not a doomsday foreteller. I do not run through the streets of historic downtown Franklin with an old gray megaphone shouting "Turn or burn, for the time is at hand!!!" I have stockpiled exactly nothing for the apocalypse (unless you count the mindlessly collected kits in the craft closet). And, lastly, this is NOT an end times blog. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a Christian who is forever bemoaning her lack of spiritual maturity. I have some serious issues in the sin arena, things I am distraught about (which hopefully keep me humble). But the times, they are 'a changin'...to quote somebody in the sixties (or seventies). I was playing with paperdolls then, but you get the point.

It's not a time for a woman who was once so committed to her faith that she wanted a career based on doing something of lasting value (unearthing injustice and proclaiming truth through journalism) and so fixed on doing the right thing she chucked said career to raise her children (they probably wish she had gone on with the journalism bit) to stick her head in the sand and latch hook and cross stitch her way into an early (albeit colorful) grave. No, it's time for me to pray. To dedicate what is left of my life to Christ and to Christ alone. I have said it before but I will say it again; life is meaningless without Him and you can't get away with just a little bit of the Holy Spirit. He is a gentleman. You have to invite Him in and make him welcome. You have to saturate your life with the Word of God and with prayer. You have to want all of God and you have to give Him ALL of yourself. I have tried asking for a la carte sin removal and got a big "NO". It just does not work that way.

I see society changing and said change is accelerating at a pace that leaves me dizzy. The Bible says that in the days just before the Second Coming of Christ, people will not put up with sound doctrine. This means they will re-write the scriptures to say what they need them to say. This means that they will do away with Bible teaching altogether if it does not complement their desired lifestyle. Laws will change. Christians will not be allowed to talk about the truth if the truth makes folks uncomfortable. I am not an end times prophecy scholar, but I do know a few rudimentary truths about what we can expect. Even I, in my limited knowledge of that particular area of Bible scholarship, can see that we are moving toward the final days. The Bible also says that the love that many have for Jesus will turn "cold" in those last days. I have lost the fervor that I had as a young woman. I have been burned at church by religious people who play games and I have been burned by the woman in the mirror, a person who starts her day in earnest and ends it in defeat time and again. I cannot, and will not, however, persist in my emptiness. I am so thankful that Jesus is as near as my next breath. I need His forgiveness and mercy. I need the meaning that He and He alone brings to my daily life. I need the direction that He can and will give me to live out the rest of my life with purpose. His purpose, not mine, and not that of other people for me.

 It's important to spend your time in a meaningful way. It's important to do good works. However, the greatest benefit to submitting to Christ is the sweet, precious fellowship He offers every single step of the way. Once you have tasted it, even if you stray far away, as I often have, a tiny part of your heart yearns so desperately for it that you come back around to looking for Him, wanting to meet Him in the garden as the writer of a popular hymn describes. Today I find my garden in a suburban den, dishwasher humming, little dog stretched out on the carpet, a pile of half-folded laundry nearby. This is my garden, and, suddenly, it is more beautiful than ever. If I am careful, I may smell the fragrance of the sweet Rose of Sharon. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Like Floodwaters Through the Windowsill of Life

My last blog post was about a life fully lived. It really reflected my heart. Now I want it to reflect my reality. Yesterday I daydreamed about finally breaking the yoke of poor self-discipline and going so far as to help others break theirs. It is so heartbreaking to see people who are depressed, living in a half-light of a life barely started, poorly lived, not embraced. The opposite character is reflected in the person who has a disability who is swinging the bat as hard as they can, cracking the ball with their enthusiasm and squeezing all that they possibly can out of life. I have seen stories about such people. No matter what happens to knock them down, they get right back up. They just keep going. They are like floodwaters seeping through the cracks of a well-built house. They are going to get in, going to make life work. I was not born with that sort of constitution. I am very, very, very easily discouraged. I am emotional, easily washed out to sea by discouragement. Jesus always throws me a lifeline. He is so good to me. Frequently He will come to me, walking on the waves of discouragement. Just loving me, not judging me. Encouraging me.

That's why I want to encourage you today. If you have no goals, make some today. Add completion dates. Do the same for your children. Shower them with prayer. Believe God for what seems impossible. It will change your life. Just knowing that you are heading in a definite direction will motivate you to be your best. If  God calls you to change your goals, drop everything and do so. Get to know Him so that you will know His heart for your life. If you are in step with Him, you will have a peace-filled, fulfilling life. There are no stagnant pools for a child of God, only rushing rivers of hope.