Loose Lips Sink Ships

Psalm 141:3 "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips."

 

Fan or no, there is no missing the hoop-la surrounding the famous chef, Paula Dean. Watching her disastrous fall from grace, it becomes crystal clear that our tongues can get us into an awful lot of trouble. Even for those of us whose lives are NOT played out in front of a camera crew, the words that sneak past our lips can have a huge impact on those around us.

WWII PR Campaign Poster

In a radio interview with her older brother, Richard - a jockey once introduced a song sung by Karen Carpenter as having been written by "Richard's chubby little sister, Karen". The words would change her life. She went from 5'4" and 140 pounds to a meager 91 pounds of flesh and bone towards the end of her brief 32 years. When she died from heart failure due to anorexia nervosa, Karen weighed less than 90 pounds and her heart could no longer support the strain of her eating disorder. 

In a conversation with one of the Queen's military men, William Franklin [then, Governor of New Jersey and staunchly AGAINST American Independence] mentioned a "secret mission" in which his father, Benjamen played a key role. Intercepted by a Red-Coat block-aide, Benjamen was forced to scrub the mission. While the details of Benjamen's mission have been difficult to nail down, he was in league with the French at the time - and working on the clandestine trade of arms and munitions that would later fuel the American Revolution. Benjamen would never forgive his son, William for his political AND very personal betrayal. And though the famous "taming of lightning" involved the two previously inseparable father and son team - the two would never again see one another amicably and William was forever stricken from Benjamen's will as heir to one of our most important founding father's legacy. 

By World War II, our Nation recognizes that words can kill.  If common sense didn't lead to the military phrase, "Loose Lips Sink Ships" - our own history sure did. Sailors in our country's ever growing military power were told to "button it". The consequences of careless words were too terrible and one of our most famous PR campaigns took flight with the use of some creative and artistic posters.

Modern "Loose Lips" Campaign

In a dark garden under a star-lit sky, one Judas Iscariot  kissed Jesus lightly on the cheek, forever sealing his fate to a grueling death on the cross. It was with words, however, that Judas gave up his Savior, telling the Sanhedrin Priests exactly where they could find Jesus at a moment when he might be most vulnerable. 

It has been said, OFTEN, that the pen is mightier than the sword. The truth is, behind the "sticks and stones" taunt that children sometimes call out - there is real pain. Words can sting. Leaving us with permanent marks that cannot be treated with Neosporin and anti-scar creams. It's no wonder that our deeply feeling Psalmist cries out a plea for help with devastating words that might spew from his own lips. And when our Artist/Soon-T0-Be-King's best friend happened to be the son of the current reigning Monarch - words could NOT have been more important. Jonathan warns David of Saul's deep hatred and intent to have him killed. It was with words that Jonathan loved David in spite of the deep-routed desires of his own father. The turmoil of being caught in the middle of two people so very close to him could not have been easy for Jonathan. But it is in this moment that we hear Jonathan utter words of true devotion and a tiny seed for REAL, MANLY friendship is planted - as Jonathan tells his friend David that he is loved like a brother. 

In a popular TV series about the lives and drama of Vampires - a favorite, love-to-hate-her main vampire character provides a sneak peek into eternity as a blood drinker when she informs a Psychiatrist that vampires choose their words very carefully. In a slow southern drawl the vampire comments on the meaningless words taken for granted by the human race as she says: "You promise to never forget each other; you promise to feel the sting of a loss, forever, because for ya’ll forever is just the blink of an eye; you’re lives are pathetically brief. When we say forever; we have to mean it"  As the rest of the scene plays out, it becomes evident than even in our modern, pop-culture saturated society - the importance and potency of words is easily recognized, if NOT always respected.

Within pages upon pages of human-kind written history - from Egyptian papyrus to instant finds on an internet search engine - WORDS draw so much attention that it's easy to become a little desensitized to the true value they can really have. Everything from screen-plays, to Wikipedia, to digital news papers, and hastily formatted corporate e-mail CAN make way into publicly published media. [Just ask Paula Dean] And - while I may NOT live my life out through the lenses of professional camera crews - if I behave as if I DO -- I might be a little more careful with the words that come out of my mouth.

Lord, set guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips. May my mouth make you proud.

A Well Placed Closet

Mark 1:35 -- "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there."

A topic chosen more than once when I sit down to do some writing - it cannot be said often enough that there is absolutely nothing like a breaking dawn. More than the peace and the wonder of sitting back quietly to watch the world blink open it's sleepy eyes and the sun peek out above the tree line - day break IS promise. Today's mistakes haven't been made yet, time has yet to spin away from me, and the fresh pages on my day planner lay open and naked. It's beautiful promise. Is it any wonder that Jesus chose this moment in his daily routine to hide away and spend time with His Father? Stepping into a thick blanket of darkness holding it's breath as it awaits the first rays of sunshine to explode onto a new morning, Jesus left the house in which his followers were sleeping and hid away in the pre-dawn quiet. It's a wonderful image given to us in Mark's words as he describes his Savior.

It is not always easy to find a secluded place. Perhaps, that is why Jesus left the house and wondered out into the darkness. 

In a home with two teen-age boys, loud televisions, three pet cats, a washing machine that likes to do the jitter bug across the laundry room floor, and an ever-pumping A/C unit - it is VERY difficult to find a secluded place. A fellow home-schooling mom once gave to me her precious secret. She hides in the closet. As we sat on her porch swing at two in the morning watching the fog roll in, she said to me - "there is nothing quite like a well placed closet."

I have learned the truth of her words. And I can understand completely why Jesus left the house. It's a precious thing to have a few moments of quiet to be still and listen for God.

Date night with Steven, ladies night out, lazy Sunday afternoons are all jealously guarded moments I fight to keep. My time with Jesus should be no different. As a wife and mom juggling a few hats on a daily basis, it's important that I spend quality time with those I cherish. How much MORE important is it that I steal a few precious moments for my Savior, my Creator, .... my EVERYTHING?

Don't be afraid to sneak out. Don't be shy about hiding away to spend a few precious, quiet moments with YOUR everything. Even God's own Son needed to do this. What greater example could there be?

Ya'll Get To Lovin' And Cherishin'

I John 3:18 -- ..."let us not love with word and with tongue but in deed and in truth."

No matter how many times we all sit in the quasi dark and watch the scene that plays out on the screen, we all start laughing. Sometimes, we even rewind the thing and watch the scene again - and of course, we all start laughing all over again as if watching the comedic genius of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones for the first time.

As this very odd couple barge in to a quiet family living room, do some magical turning of switches and knobs, they reveal a compartment hidden behind a wall that has been stock-piled with a mass array of impressive looking weapons. Our heroes are charged with saving the entire world from a powerful alien race. And they are on a tight dead line.

There are two very distinct and very different heroes grabbing at weird looking weapons that have been born in the imagination of some pretty impressive writers. One hero [played by Tommy Lee Jones] is a tried and true, "this is old hat" kind of veteran who has seen every kind of space alien known to man and is certainly acclimated to the scene playing out in front of them. The other hero [played by Will Smith] is experiencing his very first "rodeo" and is not shy about his exasperation, deep felt concern, and very human heart brimming over with troubled emotion and sentiment for the indigenous Earth species that he has heretofore dubbed his fellow man. It's an interesting and hilarious combination of personalities.

As they storm out with our poor and unsuspecting family stunned into an almost drooling and stone-frozen glazed look about them, Tommy Lee Jones sets about erasing their memories. They will not know this mis-matched pair of suit-wearing, battle-ready champions has been in their home. Now, prior to his partnership with Will Smith, the professional memory eraser that defines our Tommy Lee Jones character did just that, he erased memories. Will Smith, however insists that if they are going to take something away, they should use the opportunity to put something good back in. Ever the sentimental hero, Will Smith has a deep-rooted desire to implant a positive, if not sappy memory each and every time Tommy Lee Jones uses his amazing flash device to mess with the gray matter of oblivious homo sapiens. In this particular scene, knowing that man kind faces it's collective immanent demise and perhaps, aware of the truth in Will Smith's RE-direction,  Tommy Lee Jones includes the command:

"you will cherish and love each other for the rest of your lives."

With perfect comedic timing and in response to Tommy Lee Jones' instructions Will Smith adds:

"which could be the next 27 or 28 minutes, so y'all should get to lovin' and cherishin'."

Turning to go he spins back around and, as an afterthought, he includes a "P.S." to his recent verbal embellishment. Attention directed solely to the parents of this human equation of three family members he says:

"Oh, and she can stay up as late as she wants ...... and have cookies and candy and cakes and junk and stuff."

Fits of tear producing laughter are shared by all four Dalton Gang members and we set to rewind the scene just one more time. Naturally, this quote has been used often in our house-hold and usually becomes the suffix to almost any command, expression, or statement issued by Steven or I in an effort to make humorous an otherwise tense situation. For example: .... Tyler, you have yet to take the garbage out and feed the ducks. These things need to be done before you can play the X-box and junk and stuff.  Or:  Brian, have a good night at work, be careful, we love you and junk and stuff. 

Trust me, there is no end to the number of possible family scenarios to which this movie quote can be applied.

THAT, however, is not what started the churning of my own gray matter this morning as I read today's verse and thought back to this scene from Men In Black II. I am drawn to the contrast between our two heroes. I am drawn to the idea that you can command an emotion to be shared on que.

In the book of I John, we are instructed to love one another. Several times through out this book we are given examples of what true love REALLY is and a deeper dive into the depth and breadth of love is taken as the importance of real love is stressed by the author. There are two things that come to mind, here:

1. Emotions cannot be commanded. Emotions are experienced. Felt. Shared. But NOT     commanded. You could not say to a person - "feel sad right now. feel joy at the count of three. be ashamed. be sorry." No, ultimately, these things have to develop in the personal timing of each human being. Even actors can't snap their fingers and make these things happen - though they are pretty good at producing a reasonable facsimile.  And yet, here we have God's Living Word instructing us to LOVE on another. To ACT. To grant more than lip-service to a thing so very obviously important to our Savior. We are told to ACT love. BE love. 
2. Am I a Tommy Lee Jones or a Will Smith? Have I become so desensitized to the human condition that I can no longer inspire to really LOVE? Have I acclimated to the crisis and become so accustomed to the lack of belief that people have in Christ and in God, that - much like Tommy Lee Jones in the movie,  I no longer find the situation dire or worthy of panic?

The wheels were set to churning in my head this morning.

Am I a Tommy or a Will? Well, sadly, I think I'm most often a Tommy. In an average span of commercial time spaced in aggravating intervals that interrupt featured programming, we are bombarded by images designed to make us sympathetic. "Give of yourself to this ..... donate to that." I find myself blowing air out of puffed cheeks when the sappy "feed the children in this foreign country" ads start to play. It's not because I don't want the children in foreign countries to have food. It's because I think it might be good if we feed the starving children in our own back yard, first. So instead of being moved to meet a financial need, I roll my eyes and get up to refill my water bottle. Then an emotional face of a well-known singer comes into focus followed by big brown dopey eyes set deep into the emaciated face of a helpless baby animal. I don't WANT to leave the room. I HAVE to leave the room or I'll start throwing things at the television and may even lose what food I have in my stomach at the time. I HATE animal cruelty. The animals can't fend for themselves. They don't have voices and can't complain or tell of the pain they suffer at the cruel hands of someone they trust with their lives. It INFURIATES me! I HAVE to get away from those images.

So, sadly, I'm a Tommy Lee Jones character that has become somewhat desensitized to the plight of the human race. I don't sympathize when I should and am moved more deeply by the needs of animals than I am moved by the needs of humans. Why? I could argue that human beings have made the conscious decision to turn their backs on the Lord. That we, as a species, have deliberately chosen NOT to accept the grace of God and have, instead, chosen the life-style that is most lucrative, most comfortable, and most self-gratifying. However .... doesn't God know this even more than I do? Knowing this, He still commands us to love one another. To love in action. To do more than utter the words - to serve, to love in deed. 

..... which means ..... love - REAL love is NOT an emotion. It might inspire an array of emotions that morph through many forms of human sentiment, but the love that God mentions over and over again in His Word is NOT an emotion. If it were just a human emotion, God would not COMMAND us to DO it. He would not stress so often that the act of real love is THE first thing God puts on "children do" list. Nor would it have lead to the ultimate sacrifice, THE act of service when Jesus died for our sins on a cross that He could have incinerated with a call for lightning from the Heavens.

No. It comes to mind that LOVE is a deed. It's a moving, living thing with feet, with life, with the ability to bare fruit. Like fire that breaths and feeds - love is a thing that inspires cultivation, growth, and MOVEMENT.

Will Smith is moved by the needs and the pure HUMAN that is the race of man. Tommy Lee Jones is not at the beginning of the film. Or at least, it would appear that he is not. The actions and RE-actions of Will Smith's character leave a mark on his partner to the point that changes are made. Will Smith is graced with panic - motivated to save what he finds so endearing about this earth.

Isn't that what WE are told to do? Don our inner "black suits" and fancy earth defying weapons, strap on our courage and march forth into an unearthly battle that we cannot afford to lose? There is only one moment that matters - the next one. Fight instead of walk away - pull out the BIG GUNS and save the world from itself. From its complacency, from it's selfishness, and yes - from it's sin.

We have but one fight. We have but one chance -- and that is the life that we are in. LOVE when it seems too tough. LOVE when we don't feel like it. LOVE when I'm frustrated with man-kind, when I'm fighting with my spouse, when I'm tired of my children not doing when they are told, when I am angered by church politics. LOVE in deed and in truth.

It's NOT an emotion. It IS a commitment to Christ.

If I Do Say So, Myself

Genesis 1:25b - "And God saw that it was good."

"Light Play" Photo by Tyler W Dalton

Nose nestled firmly in a good book my focus is suddenly and quite by surprise interrupted with a Cannon digital camera shoved in my face. Tyler has returned from his journey into the back yard for some homework assignments in his photography class. Breathless, red-faced, and excited, he bounds in with a "Mom, you've GOT to see this one!"

His effervescence is contagious. I smile as he says to me, "isn't it great?!"

I totally agree. The photo is truly, a great one. I am proud of him, and I'm proud that he has recognized a good thing in himself. I'm pleased that he can pat himself on the back with confidence in his talent and in his ability. [a thing that is so very difficult for ME]. But then he looks at me funny and says "wait, I'm not bragging am I?"

"Alien Planet" Photo by Tyler W Dalton

Tyler and I have been working on the fine line between being proud of a personal accomplishment and just plain being prideful. It's been an interesting journey that began as I overheard him crush an on-line opponent in a battle to the death while playing Red Dead on the X-Box 360. Very loudly he announced to his defeated victim that "see, I told you no one is better than I am at this game."

Woa, woa, woa .... hold on a mintue! Let's back up and focus on what you just said to your friend!

It's very true that God wants us to be humble. That He did say in His Word that - the MEEK shall inherit the earth. However - there are also moments when it's perfectly acceptable [even encouraged] to acknowledge a great achievement. To look in the mirror and say "hey, kudos!" God, Himself did this more than once as He created us.

"The Tater" Photo by Steven W Dalton

It's ALL about heart. I can accomplish NOTHING without God. He is the reason I exist. After hours hunched over a sketch pad and some charcoal pencils it's o.k. for me to take a step back and say "hey, that turned out pretty well ... if I do say so, myself! And as I wipe the charcoal from my fingertips and STILL manage to smear it across my face ..... I say, Lord - thank you for granting me this gift. This joy in a simple sketch. Thank you for creating GOOD!

It's ALL about heart! Don't be afraid to be proud of something you've achieved. As you step back, review your handiwork and recognize that it is good, don't' forget to give credit where it is REALLY due.

This is a little reminder to myself ..... it's ALL about heart.

Sparks In The Breeze

Revelation 7:17 -- "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

In the low, blue light of the living room I look about and see the guys deep into the action-packed throws of a newly purchased DVD from the $5 bin at Walmart. Their eyes are glued to the screen and light up at the sight of the weapon wielding anti-hero who has just made a perfect shot using a security mirror and a gun designed to allow soldiers to shoot around corners. I think I can actually see them all drool. This anit-hero [we later discover is actually a bad guy] is so afraid to look around the corner that this amazing weapon is pulled from some strange secret and invisible compartment in her very tight outfit. She is hiding. She is using a weapon bigger than her arms, but somehow makes it look like she's done it forever.

And with this magical and wonderful machine [which I have discovered really DOES exist] she does not have to peek around the corner. So terrified of what she cannot see, she managed to make her escape without having to really face whatever future terrors might lie in wait around that blind corner.

I could wax poetic about the blurred realities and falsehood's portrayed in movie gun fights as compared to a real battle - but there is no point in trying to explain the obvious. The thing that caught my attention is that we - out here - on THIS side of the silver screen - are often NOT afforded a magical corner shooting gun and a perfectly placed security mirror. Nope. So often, we have to take that blind corner.

Call it trouble. Call ME trouble.

Job 5:7 says "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward."

The first thing that popped into my head when I read this verse in Job is an image of our grounds keeper, Baba Tennis, in Africa - as he pushed a large tree further underneath the giant metal rain tank that provided our little house with water. The trunk was set on fire. It would burn continuously. A unique method of obtaining hot water, the end of the tree would burn down and Baba Tennis would push it deeper into the flame - ensuring the even and constant burn of that huge log. Every time he did this, a storm of sparks would explode into the air around him, drifting onward and upward until they burned out and lost the heat that allowed them to defy gravity for a short time. It never failed. These sparks would take flight in a beautiful glow with the graceful choreography of a well rehearsed ballet.

Job says that as surely as those sparks will take flight and float upward, WE are born into trouble. BUT .... WE cannot hide from a blind corner and use magical weapons hidden in pockets we didn't know we had.

There are moments when I long for a well-placed security camera and an amazing machine. There are moments when I don't want to peek around the corner because I'm afraid of what might be hiding there. There are moments - sadly - when I don't want to pick up the phone to check on a loved one, because I'm afraid of the outcome. What if there is no answer on the other end of the line? What if the news is bad?

Here is the thing - we can't hide from trouble. Job was right, there isn't a single human being on the planet that can avoid loss, turbulence, or speed bumps that catch us by surprise. What we CAN do, is cling to the promise that God will take the tears. All of them.

Revelation 21:4 grants us the promise of reprieve. When we are called home - called to meet our Savior face to face - there will be no more pain. No more sorrow, no more crying, no more death. [no more shingles, no more bronchitis, no more aids, no more cancer]. These things will have all burned out and and fallen away like the sparks that billowed out from underneath our rain tank.

In the mean time, we can allow the tears to fall gently down our cheeks, because we KNOW - we have this wonderful blessed assurance - that God will catch them. Every single one.

On The Count of Three

I John 5:3 -- "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." 

 

To the music of a very large green tree frog outside our bedroom window, my husband and I wind down for the evening and turn the covers back on the bed. After a long day - no, long week - of all four of us fighting upper respiratory issues, nothing felt more inviting to me than finally tucking myself in for the night. I indulged in a full body sigh.

Djibouti with her blue fish toy. Very happy kitty.

Relishing in relaxation, I am fully prepared to count some serious z's, when right in front of my face there is dropped a bright pink, slightly wet, fuzzy fake mouse. Djibouti is looking at me with her bright little face in anticipation. I just want to roll over and sleep, but I know she will keep doing this until I flick the mouse, allow the agile feline to retrieve the thing and bring it back to me - just so I can flick it again. [Yes, we have a cat that plays fetch]. And here is the thing about Djibouti ... she knows if you're not trying. She will not let you get away with that. I have to flick the thing high and long so she'll be able to do her incredible arial acrobatics. Not only does she insist I put heart and soul into the flicking, but if I don't sit up and get to it - she'll unsheathe one claw and start to poke me with it under the covers until I comply. [Yes, she has us well trained].

So ... I sit up and indulge this very spoiled rescue cat. We've trained her to pounce on three, and NOT before. If she gets too excited and pounces before three, she knows that the mouse will fall to the floor [because she knocks it out of our hands] without granting her the joy of a really good pounce. There are those skeptics out there that insist you cannot train a cat. I beg to differ. Any food motivated creature on this earth CAN be trained. . . 

The game is afoot. And I notice something. Djibouti pounces with everything she's got after the word three.  I can even skip two. She knows the word three. Just like she knows the word treat. Even if we spell it out in an attempt to prevent her excitement when simply calling out to one of the guys that we need some more from the store. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose.  This IS the cat that sits down to watch Too Cute every time it's on Animal Planet - and she often beats us into the living room because she hears the intro music and knows what follows. [she's also a huge fan of Jackson Galaxy - I'll have to tell him that, one day].

Djibouti watching Too Cute on Animal Planet

You see, to Djibouti - taking a few minutes to flick a ratty old mouse toy IS love. She understands this play as affection for her. We act. Granted, she IS soooooo very spoiled, but would she "feel" affection from us if we didn't act?

This month, Steven and I have been married for sixteen years. From the moment we exchanged vows, without skipping a beat - the very first thing my husband does when he opens his eyes in the morning is tell me that he loves me. He has done this, without fail, every single morning for sixteen years. I love it. He does not wait until he's had his shower - until he's ready for work - until he sits up to get out of bed. He says this to me the moment his eyes are open.

Djibouti does not hesitate when the pink fuzzy mouse is flicked. She pounces immediately. 

Let me ask you something. Would you feel loved if after your wedding day your spouse never again said he/she loved you? Or what if they only said it to you on special occasions - like Christmas. Or Easter? What if your brother, your sister, you parents or grandparents only told you how much you mean to them a couple of times a year? Or when it felt convenient for them? Would you believe them when they said it to you?

What if someone you cherish told you they love you, but then sighed or followed the statement with a shrug of the shoulders and an "I guess". Djibouti knows when I'm not flicking the mouse with any amount of enthusiasm. God knows when we say the words that SEEM to indicate we love Him - but put no real commitment or enthusiasm behind them.

Why do we wait to obey the Lord? Why do we turn this expression of our love for God into a burden? Well, ok, God - I'll go to church today, I guess. Ok, Lord - I'll tithe ... next Sunday. 

I love Djibouti. So I flick the mouse. It is not a burden because it's an expression of love.  Every morning my husband tells me he loves me. It doesn't make him tired to do so - because it's an expression of his love for me and he knows that before I even open my eyes a smile spreads on my face when I hear those wonderful words from his mouth.

In Psalm 119 verse 60 David says "I hastened to obey your commands". I love that verse because David is excited. He is enthusiastic in his affection for God. He hurried to do the things that he knew would make God happy. 

Shouldn't OUR affection for our Creator and Savior come with an abundance of enthusiasm? With energy?  With joy? 

Food for thought, no?

 

Owl Pellets

Deuteronomy 8:3 -- "Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

I just LOVE this little guy.."WHO, Me?"

If you look in the encyclopedia for Owl - you get to learn that first, there are several different types of owls, and second, they do this weird thing with their food.

Predatory owls hunt and eat things like small fish, frogs, rabbits, rats, insects.....you name it, and there's most likely an owl out there that includes it in his diet. The thing is, they can't always digest the stuff they catch. So.....after eating, I'm talking a few days after eating, they regurgitate the parts that were not digested.  This can include insect exo-skeletons, bones, plant materials, beaks, parts of feathers and what have you. It's called a pellet. [If you're a hawk, it's called a casting...I have no idea why there is a difference].

owl pellet - kind of mushed

A homeschooling mother, I get to dissect these wonderful little pellets with my student in Biology class this year.  You can learn a lot from a pellet.  You can even determine the kind of owl that barfed, just by doing a little poking around in it's puke. [I know, it sounds so gross....but it's actually kind of cool].

My point is: owls kind of pick and choose what parts of their meal they are going to keep. [or at least, their bodies do] The parts they like and need are kept, while the parts that mess up their little bird tummies are discarded. Kind of a neat thing.

WE - are NOT owls. Though I have met my fair share of Christians who eat like an owl [unfortunately, myself included, sometimes]. We take God's Word, keep the things we like and toss the things we don't. We will cling to certain verses and ignore others. It IS easier to do it this way and at times, a lot more comfortable...but that's not really what God had in mind.

I like that Deuteronomy 8:3 specifically says - "we live by EVERY word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." I am also drawn to pay attention to the most frequently quoted part of this verse: "people do not live by bread alone." This one verse says so very much.

I cannot live without God's Word. AND....I have to eat my spiritual vegetables. Even the kale and broccoli parts. God is teaching me, feeding me, and growing me. I am thankful that He has given us His Word and will do my best to pay attention to EVERY part of it.
 

A little note: did you know that owls don't make any noise at all when they fly? Their wings don't flap - it's amazing.

Warts And All, Even

Romans 8:1 -- "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ."

The shadows cast by the trees that lined our dirt road had become long and the mosquitoes started to buzz as if we'd personally set chimes to the dinner bell. It was definitely time to go in. Not wanting to admit fatigue, however,  my sister and I begged Mom for just one more round of Tether Ball. She obliged, and we each took our places around the pole.

Oh, how I do remember the days before video games and cable TV.

Round and round the bright yellow ball went around the pole, the simplicity in design still a marvel to me, I can remember it as if it were yesterday -- how we played on until the the bright Philippine sun was so low behind the trees that we could barely see what we were doing. And we laughed. Like music echoing through the Epil Epil trees - we laughed like our lives depended on it.

On an old dusty road with no street lights, the darkness forced an end to our Tether Ball game. Mom and I broke the pole down into pieces and started to role the cement-filled tire into the driveway of our house. It was then that Dad drove up behind us, getting home from a long day at work. He did what he usually did, he honked the horn.

Most houses in the Philippines are all fenced in by tall cement walls with crushed glass imbedded into the tops. The only entry point is a two-doored gate that locks with a pad lock. Dad honked, signalling someone on the inside of this fortress to come open the gate so he could drive in. Though the gate was already open for Mom and I to role the tire into the yard - Dad's honk did was it was intended to do.  It made us both jump. I can look back on it and call it funny - but when Mom and I dropped the cement tire, the anchor part of the tether ball pole came up fast and hit me on the right side of my jaw. I didn't think it was funny then. Mom didn't either when I ran into the house and grabbed the only good guest towel she had left and pressed it into my bleeding face in an effort to stop the flow. Heads and feet bleed the most. They bleed faster and more readily than any other part of the body. I ruined her guest towel.

Had we been back in the US at the time, I would have been rushed to the ER and had several stitches sewn into the side of my face to close the gash. But, we weren't back in the US. My poor Dad, after spending all day at work was greeted with a blubbering pre-teen and a medical emergency the second he stepped into the house. An expert by now at what one would call "battle-field" triage - Dad patched me up with gentle hands.

At forty-one, I look into the mirror lined with bright LED bulbs, grab my toothbrush and set out to brush my teeth. I don't know why I need a mirror to brush my teeth - I DO know where they all are in my mouth .... but it never fails - I stand there at the mirror, monitoring my progress with the toothbrush as if I might somehow miss one of them while completing my oral hygiene ritual.  As I turn my head to left, I can see the slightly jagged scar on my jaw. It makes me smile, now. In part, because I can still here my sister, my mom, and myself laughing as we punched on a tether ball. And in part, because I can remember thinking that I'd never get married because no one would want a face with a jagged scar marking the right jaw line. [I know, its silly - but girls really do come up with thoughts like that].

When my husband took me on our very first date - he didn't even notice that I had a scar. In fact, it wasn't until after we were engaged that he even asked me about it. THAT memory makes me smile, too.

When Jesus looks at us -- those of us who know Him, love Him, and serve Him - he doesn't see our scars. We have NO scars left on us by past sin. We now have NO condemnation in Him. While I might see my scar when I stand at the mirror to brush my teeth - Jesus doesn't. Holding on to the memory of things that I have done - things that would not be pleasing to Christ - only hurts MYSELF and fixes my focus on MYSELF. If I can't let go of yesterday, I cannot shine for Christ today.

Jesus doesn't see the scars. He takes us as we are. He loves us, forgives us [if we ask] warts and all. Now, I ask you - if HE doesn't see the scars left on us by our past - why should we dwell on them? Aren't they pretty much a non-issue?

A Line In The Sand

John 14:7 -- "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."

At a red light. That's when this verse popped into my head. With the sun blazing in through the windshield, the music on the radio interrupted by static and Steven's foot baring down on the break pedal - again - I lean over in an attempt to stave off the motion sickness crawling up the back of my throat and tuck my head between my knees. 

And THAT'S when Steven and Brian simultaneously - spontaneously quote a line from Chicken Run. As if they'd been planning on this exact moment and counted out the seconds so they could speak it in perfect unison - they both step into their inner Cockney and say ....

"In the quite likely event of an emergency, put your head between your knees -- and kiss your bum good-bye" 

The car erupts in laughter. Motion sickness all but forgotten.

I often find myself thinking that these two were split at birth. Though B inherited Steven's Dad's middle name - it was a name given to him by Steven on the day of B's legal adoption. The long-awaited day that these two men made legally binding the Father/Son relationship that they'd forged from the time Steven gave Brian two Hot-Wheels on his third birthday. But DNA is about the ONLY thing that these two don't have in common. Though Brian was born to me in another marriage [long story] you would never know it if you observed our family of four for any amount of time. Steven calls B his oldest son - and Brian has said repeatedly that Steven IS Dad - there is, nor has there been - any other. 

Steven and Brian [and Tyler, too for that matter] speak a unique language that - if I didn't know otherwise - they can speak telepathically.  Proof of this is in the moments when they burst into simultaneous song, movie lines, or identical sarcastic remarks. If you want Steven's take on a new film, ask Brian what he thought about the picture and you pretty much have Steven's take on it, as well. It is a marvel to me - and, it made me think of John 14:7.

Philip is in a deep conversation with Jesus and asks our Lord to:  just show us the Father, that will be good enough for us. Jesus very gently and very lovingly says, basically - um, what do you think I've been doing the entire time we've been together?

During the physical time Jesus spent walking the earth as a human - I don't think He ever put it more clearly than He did in verse 7.  ...From now on, you HAVE seen our Father, and you know Him. 

Jesus draws a line in the sand. This is it. THIS is the moment. Know Me - and you know Father. 

When Steven signed his name at the bottom of the page, stood in front of the judge at the county courthouse and claimed Brian, gave to Brian the Dalton family birthright in spirit and in name - he was drawing a line in the sand. A line that said ... THIS is the moment. You are now legally what you have been all along - my son.

Jesus did the same thing for us. When those big red drops of his precious blood hit the sand below the cross, He drew the line. THE line. All we have to do is cross it.  If we know Him, we know our Father. In fact, the ONLY way for us to know our Father is for us to know THE Son.

 

Extreme Make-over

Ezekiel 36:26 -- "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

With a bucket full of creaky limbs and stiff joints L. Frank Baum's Tin Man walks the yellow brick road in his quest to find a heart. He's asked why he wants one - and from the well-read pages of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz there pops out one of my favorite quotes:

“I think you are wrong to want a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart.”

The truth of the matter is - this quote hits home for so many of us. I don't think there is one person on the planet that can say they've never felt heart-ache. And when in the throws of a terribly painful life event, it's difficult to find the good things about having one. [a heart, that is]

But in Ezekiel 36 God tells us that it IS most desirable to have a heart of flesh. A heart that feels. A heart that breaks and yes, a heart that experiences pain. God promises to provide a new heart with a new spirit, a heart that no longer resembles stone.

Ever wonder why this is so important?

It comes down to life, doesn't it? A stone pumps no blood, gives no life. And while it's true, a stone won't feel any pain - it will never know joy, either. Would there be joy without the salty tears? Would one appreciate the Spring without knowing the Winter that comes before it?

Before you answer that with a resounding YES - think about this one thing: Jesus felt everything when His life drained away from Him hanging on the cross.  He felt every physical pain - but more deeply, He knew a very broken heart. Not only did He feel the pain of betrayal, of rejection, of defeat - but the One He could always count upon for support had no choice but to turn His back in a moment when Jesus needed Him the most. God could not look upon the sin that Jesus carried on His shoulders - for us. 

And Jesus felt it. All of it. So we wouldn't have to.

As the Tin Man roams the fields, the forests, and lets not forget - that yellow brick road, I am introduced to a kindred spirit. A fellow seeker. Aren't we ALL seeking? LOVE? Say the word heart in a crowded room and the first thing that springs to mind is LOVE. There are countless songs about the broken heart, the heart that skips a beat, the heart that dances to great music. We would not BE if it weren't for that constantly beating life battery hidden away in our rib cages.

In Proverbs 4:23 God tells us to "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

It couldn't be said more perfectly -

I'm thankful that Jesus gave me a new heart. That He breathed a new spirit into me - a new wellspring from which to draw the unique droplets of emotion as I travel my own yellow brick road.  I'm thankful - if for no other reason than for the price Jesus had to pay in order to give them to me. But there ARE other reasons, as well. Lots of them.

I challenge you to count the reasons today. As Ann Voskamp challenged me - I challenge you to keep a journal. Write in it every single time you think of something for which you are grateful. The next time you feel the painful beat of your own heart - through out the next trouble or the next heart-ache - make an entry in your journal. Think also of all the wonderful moments that ticker of yours has experienced.

Your entries might surprise you - as you read how very many times Jesus has given you a new heart and breathed into YOU a new spirit.

You Are What Eats You

Proverbs 14:30 -- "A heart at peace gives life to the body ... "

Throwing the covers off I violently kicked my legs out from under the thick blanket. Maybe cooling off would bring about some much needed sleep. But I kind of doubted it - I'd already tried everything else. The issue wasn't really my level of physical comfort, but my emotional and spiritual one. No matter the method I tried, I just could not turn off my brain. Every time my eyes closed another worry would pop into frame in vibrant and agonizingly brilliant detail. It just would not stop.

I finally gave up and stepped into my flip-flops, grabbed a cup of chamomile tea and headed out for the rocker on the screened in porch. If I was quiet enough, I might not scare off the heard of deer that come to steel the suet and peanut-butter bell shaped treats I hang out for my Downy Woodpecker. I might even catch a rare glimpse of the otters that play in the pond.

Resting tired bones down into to the creaky chair I looked about the night, the quiet, and sighed deep. Frogs were singing at the tops of their lungs, I could hear the Barred Owl and wondered to whom he was belting out those low rhythmic tones. I could still smell the rain and caught spuratic glimpses of heat flash high in the sky, setting the clouds a glow. The moon was full and it was amazing.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew the dark sky was hinting at the sunrise to follow and I had a terrible crick in my neck. But I couldn't complain - I finally got some rest.

It all made sense when I pulled myself out of the chair and headed in to switch my tea-cup for a coffee mug. The night doesn't worry. Enveloped in it's quiet and surrounded by hundreds of living things that don't stay up at night fretting about tomorrow - it WOULD be easy to sleep. Inside my own head and panic- I reflect all of my worry, all of my struggles. The night knows none of this. And really, neither should I.

In the book of Proverbs, one can almost map out an instruction manual for mankind. One thing is for certain, the author sure doesn't beat around the bush.  In chapter 14 verse 30 the words ring out loud and true - a heart at peace gives life to the body. This brings a smile to my lips as I think of an old adage "you are what you eat" - but really, we are what eats AT us, aren't we? If my focus remains on all the worries I have stored up for tomorrow - it will definitely show when I wake with dark circles under my eyes and a grumpy disposition. Focusing on Christ and the will of God will reflect THOSE thoughts, as well.  I would much rather look like a child of God than a sour woman with bed-head.