Are you ready for a funny?
Yesterday at Sunday morning service, I was about to begin enjoying worship and I thought I smelled something. Hmmm, it smells like someone forgot to put on their deodorant. I look over and it's a little old lady. 'No, it can't be.' She is starring at me like she wants to say something. Then she finally ask if all the seats are taken. I said, 'yes.'
So I'm trying to get back into my groove of worship. Not a few minutes later, I noticed an older gentlemen who kept coming around this old lady and then leaving. He did it several times; walk up and walk away. Well that nice aroma that I smelled was coming from him. I thought when you got old, you don't' have those problems anymore. Well between that lady obviously wanting another seat and that man with that sweet aroma, I couldn't take it anymore. So I got up to move to the balcony.
I get to the balcony and I was relieved to be able to move around a little more. I try to get back into worship and as soon as I close my eyes and begin singing, 'oh good Lord not again!.' Is that smell stuck in my nose now? I open my eyes and someone just sat down in front of me with the same sweet aroma.
At this point, I had to check myself to make sure. So, yes, I raised my hands as I was worshipping the Lord. I needed to make sure I didn't need to go worship the deodorant myself. :0) I was clean. I enjoyed the rest of service doing my best to ignore it.
Night service comes around and I'm excited that a friend saved me some seats up front because the place was packed. There was not a lot of space to move around but there was such excitement to worship the Lord and hear a great message, I didn't care. I closed my eyes and joined everyone else in singing and loving on Jesus until maybe 3 minutes into it, OMG seriously! It was horrible. My friend sitting next to me busted out laughing because she already knew what I experienced this morning. She just leans over laughing saying, get used to it because it's like being in Africa. Great! I'm going to get a headache seriously! Worship needs to be toned down tonight so these people don't work up a sweat. I stuck it out and enjoyed the rest of the service for the most part:)
So, is there a point or message in my day of stink? I don't know. I could try left field and say, 'maybe I have some stink I need to get rid of in my own life, before I start freaking out on other peoples stink.' Or this could make for a new slogan in progress...
"It's never too late to use deodorant!"
"Jesus will wash your sins away, but not your armpits!"
"Going Nat-ur-al, does not mean the armpits!"
"Thank you Jesus for deodorant!"
"Jesus went Natural and so do I!"
"Deodorant Kills!" (Really?)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
All I need to do to get to the top of the mountain is CLIMB
Take a moment, close your eyes, and picture yourself standing at the bottom of a mountain looking up and saying, "All I need to do to get to the top of the mountain is climb." Can you see it? How long is the climb? How rough does it look? Do you see yourself at the top?
Let's change the scene a little. Picture yourself as a child standing at the bottom of the mountain. Can you see yourself all grown up at the top? How do you see yourself as a child? How do you see yourself at the top all grown up? Worn out, old, barely standing or Victorious, beautiful, and alive?
How long is your climb? I don't know about you, but I feel mine has been long and I have a long way to go! My mountain has a mixture of scenery. I see beautiful flowers at the bottom and spread out in different places, some fully blossomed and some still growing. I see dry rocky areas, to a beautiful water stream flowing down , to some cold, icy places. Mine looks very long and the scenery so different as the farther I look up. My hope is that one day I will be standing at the top with my hands lifted high and from the depths of my soul, shouting Freedom!
Now, that you have this picture of yourself climbing a mountain, stop for a moment. Ask yourself where are you at in the climb? Now go there. I see myself in the middle. I'm in a place that I'm too high up to go back down but yet I still can't see the top. But, I have to keep going. Are you there with me?
Are you climbing right now? Are you moving? Have you come to a hault to rest? Have you stopped because your worn out? Are you carrying to much weight? Have you come to a stand still because you stumbled over a rock and injured yourself? Have you stopped from an unexpected little flying rock or pebble that hit you but, got you deep because it came with such speed and force? Are you continuously circling the same area cause you loosed focused on the direct path up? Have you fallen down and are holding up by a limb? Or Are you moving? Brushing off the dust, moving the branches out of the way, grabbing a hold of each rock and pulling yourself up and looking up?
"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward- to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back!"
All you need to do to get to the top of the mountain is Climb.
Let's change the scene a little. Picture yourself as a child standing at the bottom of the mountain. Can you see yourself all grown up at the top? How do you see yourself as a child? How do you see yourself at the top all grown up? Worn out, old, barely standing or Victorious, beautiful, and alive?
How long is your climb? I don't know about you, but I feel mine has been long and I have a long way to go! My mountain has a mixture of scenery. I see beautiful flowers at the bottom and spread out in different places, some fully blossomed and some still growing. I see dry rocky areas, to a beautiful water stream flowing down , to some cold, icy places. Mine looks very long and the scenery so different as the farther I look up. My hope is that one day I will be standing at the top with my hands lifted high and from the depths of my soul, shouting Freedom!
Now, that you have this picture of yourself climbing a mountain, stop for a moment. Ask yourself where are you at in the climb? Now go there. I see myself in the middle. I'm in a place that I'm too high up to go back down but yet I still can't see the top. But, I have to keep going. Are you there with me?
Are you climbing right now? Are you moving? Have you come to a hault to rest? Have you stopped because your worn out? Are you carrying to much weight? Have you come to a stand still because you stumbled over a rock and injured yourself? Have you stopped from an unexpected little flying rock or pebble that hit you but, got you deep because it came with such speed and force? Are you continuously circling the same area cause you loosed focused on the direct path up? Have you fallen down and are holding up by a limb? Or Are you moving? Brushing off the dust, moving the branches out of the way, grabbing a hold of each rock and pulling yourself up and looking up?
"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward- to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back!"
All you need to do to get to the top of the mountain is Climb.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Be Free
As I was having some chill time with the Lord this morning and covering some things and people in prayer, I felt like He told me to read Psalm 32. So I did and then said, ok so who's that for? Laughing right? Well I got an enlightening answer, "You!" What a revelation, lol! So anyhoo, I read it out of the Message Bible.
"Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be-you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean. Count yourself lucky-God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone-my guilt dissolved, my sin disppeared. " I'll let you read the rest...
So my heart was moved and the tears soon followed. It's so easy to read Truth, but to receive it in our hearts for ourselves is much harder. I mean, think about it, do we treat others this way? Think about the last time someone hurt, offended, disappointed, or wronged you intentionally or unintentionally. Especially the people in your life you are close to and love deeply. What about when you have been the one who delievered the blow to the heart. We've all done it and we all been on the receiving end too. How do we respond? It's hard right? We're human with A LOT of flesh; some more than others.:)
We are children of God and He is our Daddy. He is in the business of molding and shaping us into His image, if we allow Him. It's a daily process but He never gives up and loves us through our journey of growing up in Him. We are going to make a lot of mistakes but He is quick to forgive and full of Mercy and Grace. Don't get me wrong, it's not an excuse to keep making the same mistake over and over because He displines the ones He loves! I thought about it more later in my day as I was playing with a child.
I was going back and forth, throwing a football, wrestling, tickling and just goofing off with ---. He went from laughing, screaming (out of excitement), crying, saying mean words, to laughing again and the cycle continued. A child doesn't understand all the emotions that come alive in them so whatever they feel, they go with it. Now, in his short time of mean words, I could have walked away and ended the play time but I didn't. I understand he's a child. Now, mommy quickly told him that he shouldn't say those things and why. Do you think he listened? For a moment, until I got him again:) I didn't react to him by getting mean myself. I continued to love him through his emotional moment (making him do a "shake it off" dance) and soon enough, he was happy again. By the end of my time with him, he was giving me kisses goodbye. So I share that because it just made me think of Psalm 32 again.
I'm not a parent, but imagine how many times a child makes mistakes. You still love them right? Their a child, thinking like a child, acting like a child, so let them be a child. As the days continue, they will grow and learn from you. They will want to become just like you because they Love You.
Our Father knows us so well. You may be 35 like me, but 18 spiritually, who knows? He does! He wants us to be free like a child. You will make mistakes and mistakes will be made to you. The pressures of life will always be as long as you have flesh. Don't hold back or shut in trying to process or figure out you or life through the filter of your mind. He holds nothing against us! So let the pressure around your heart be released! As you spend more time with the Father, you will want to be like Him. Your heart will fall in love with Him, I promise:0) So Be FREE!
"Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be-you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean. Count yourself lucky-God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone-my guilt dissolved, my sin disppeared. " I'll let you read the rest...
So my heart was moved and the tears soon followed. It's so easy to read Truth, but to receive it in our hearts for ourselves is much harder. I mean, think about it, do we treat others this way? Think about the last time someone hurt, offended, disappointed, or wronged you intentionally or unintentionally. Especially the people in your life you are close to and love deeply. What about when you have been the one who delievered the blow to the heart. We've all done it and we all been on the receiving end too. How do we respond? It's hard right? We're human with A LOT of flesh; some more than others.:)
We are children of God and He is our Daddy. He is in the business of molding and shaping us into His image, if we allow Him. It's a daily process but He never gives up and loves us through our journey of growing up in Him. We are going to make a lot of mistakes but He is quick to forgive and full of Mercy and Grace. Don't get me wrong, it's not an excuse to keep making the same mistake over and over because He displines the ones He loves! I thought about it more later in my day as I was playing with a child.
I was going back and forth, throwing a football, wrestling, tickling and just goofing off with ---. He went from laughing, screaming (out of excitement), crying, saying mean words, to laughing again and the cycle continued. A child doesn't understand all the emotions that come alive in them so whatever they feel, they go with it. Now, in his short time of mean words, I could have walked away and ended the play time but I didn't. I understand he's a child. Now, mommy quickly told him that he shouldn't say those things and why. Do you think he listened? For a moment, until I got him again:) I didn't react to him by getting mean myself. I continued to love him through his emotional moment (making him do a "shake it off" dance) and soon enough, he was happy again. By the end of my time with him, he was giving me kisses goodbye. So I share that because it just made me think of Psalm 32 again.
I'm not a parent, but imagine how many times a child makes mistakes. You still love them right? Their a child, thinking like a child, acting like a child, so let them be a child. As the days continue, they will grow and learn from you. They will want to become just like you because they Love You.
Our Father knows us so well. You may be 35 like me, but 18 spiritually, who knows? He does! He wants us to be free like a child. You will make mistakes and mistakes will be made to you. The pressures of life will always be as long as you have flesh. Don't hold back or shut in trying to process or figure out you or life through the filter of your mind. He holds nothing against us! So let the pressure around your heart be released! As you spend more time with the Father, you will want to be like Him. Your heart will fall in love with Him, I promise:0) So Be FREE!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Just Like That!
Ok, so this is very different for me to openly write down my thoughts, especailly when I don't have the best confidence in my writing ability, but like my Blog says, I'm one who does my best at "keeping it real."
So I woke up this morning still in a personal funk. It's been a tough few days and I've done my best to seperate the feelings from the reality of different things going through my mind and weighing on my heart. Disappiontments at work, feeling like I failed my teams, no consistent time with the Lord, feeling guilty of not going to Him to lead and guide my days, Change in scenery, feeling like I'm not really making any strides forward, Ive just moved for a moment...etc, etc. One thought can lead to another if we don't take them captive and allow God to reveal the Truth in our heart. Instead, I drove to work analyzing my "feelings" which caused me to be even more sensitive, moody and emotional by the time I arrived at work. It seemed every action, word, or jester ran through a sensitive monitor machine, that ended up spitting up more feelings of despair, failure, guilt that just lead to a even heavier heart.
Soon enough, I couldn't take anymore! It was getting in the way of what was right in front of me...people, lives, Work! I took a deep breath and prayed a quick pray, "God, forgive me of allowing my feelings to get in the way of reality. Help me get my eyes off of self and look outward again. Help me to be a blessing to those around me. Turn this around for Your glory."
Then I waited. About 5 minutes later as I was busy doing something, one of my employees ask me a question about a potential relationship in my life and that began the open door of commuincation about God in her life. A question that started off as humorous, ended up impactful in her heart and mine! By the end of our conversation, I didn't feel the weight of heaviness dragging me down, but an excitement in my belly and love in my heart for the person that was standing in front of me, a life that God is calling to Himself!
So we all have our days, we all have "stuff" that happens, feelings that come and go but if we just take a moment to let go and let God, He just may turn that situation or thing around, Just Like That!
So I woke up this morning still in a personal funk. It's been a tough few days and I've done my best to seperate the feelings from the reality of different things going through my mind and weighing on my heart. Disappiontments at work, feeling like I failed my teams, no consistent time with the Lord, feeling guilty of not going to Him to lead and guide my days, Change in scenery, feeling like I'm not really making any strides forward, Ive just moved for a moment...etc, etc. One thought can lead to another if we don't take them captive and allow God to reveal the Truth in our heart. Instead, I drove to work analyzing my "feelings" which caused me to be even more sensitive, moody and emotional by the time I arrived at work. It seemed every action, word, or jester ran through a sensitive monitor machine, that ended up spitting up more feelings of despair, failure, guilt that just lead to a even heavier heart.
Soon enough, I couldn't take anymore! It was getting in the way of what was right in front of me...people, lives, Work! I took a deep breath and prayed a quick pray, "God, forgive me of allowing my feelings to get in the way of reality. Help me get my eyes off of self and look outward again. Help me to be a blessing to those around me. Turn this around for Your glory."
Then I waited. About 5 minutes later as I was busy doing something, one of my employees ask me a question about a potential relationship in my life and that began the open door of commuincation about God in her life. A question that started off as humorous, ended up impactful in her heart and mine! By the end of our conversation, I didn't feel the weight of heaviness dragging me down, but an excitement in my belly and love in my heart for the person that was standing in front of me, a life that God is calling to Himself!
So we all have our days, we all have "stuff" that happens, feelings that come and go but if we just take a moment to let go and let God, He just may turn that situation or thing around, Just Like That!
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