Surprise!!!

This past weekend I received a few neat surprises.  Surprises are those things that you are not expecting to happen and when they do you can respond one of two ways: joy or sorrow.  And for those of you who are sassy and might ask this question later, NO I am NOT pregnant.  The surprises this weekend were ones in which I responded with pure joy. 

Saturday was a loooong day as I spent 12 hours painting my living room.  I knew that I wanted to get rid of the icky mint green (I’m sure that’s what it said on the swatch at the store when whoever lived here before picked it).  I spent the week before gathering different colors and trying to decide if I wanted to be bold and go blue or stay more neutral with light yellow or even porcelain.  Finally Saturday morning arrived and I still hadn’t picked a color and it was then that I sat up in bed and said, “I’m going with the blue.”  No turning back.  After the man at the hardware mixed the color, he opened the can for me to see.  I got this sinking feeling inside that my living room would turn out looking like a robin’s egg; but I went with it.  To my surprise after all of my hard work, it ended up looking a lovely slate blue color that not only blended with my colors but wasn’t the shock of the century that the mint green had been when you walked into my house.

As I was finishing the entryway, standing right by the windowed door, there was a quick knock and a hello.  Being very surprised that someone had walked through my porch without my knowing it as I had been standing right there sent me screaming a shrill, harsh scream.  This scream was different than my normal ones and my husband actually feared that something had truly happened to me.  Nope, it was just my next-door neighbor Margie wanting to come see the progress that I had made on my painting.  She scared the tar out of me and almost gave me a heart attack.  Now that surprised me!  But the joy I felt from her surprise visit was wonderful as she told me how nice it all looked. Her encouraging words made me feel like I could finish the little bit left to be done.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around and we had to wake up to go speak at a church in Clio, I thought I had been hit by a truck.  Every muscle in my body hurt and just sitting up and getting out of bed was a challenge.  Now THAT part didn’t surprise me any as I am out of shape and a little older than I used to be.  We made it to our destination where Brian would preach and as I stood in the foyer of the church I saw a great surprise.  My son Zachary, whom I thought was at his university, was standing there.  After an event where he works he had stayed the night at a friends house that happens to attend that church.  The family knew that we were going to be at the church speaking and they all thought it would be a fun surprise.  It was.  Oh, the joy brought to my heart to see my boy.  My aches and pains of the days work before were behind me as I had my handsome young son standing in front of me. He was able to go out to lunch with us and we were able to have a nice surprise visit.     

It’s amazing how the little surprises of life can bring such joy.  I think God just smiles when he sees all of it taking place.  He loves to give us good things and he loves to watch us enjoy those good things.  There is nothing like a few good surprises to get your new week jumpstarted.  Look for those surprise things in your life this week that can make your day and enjoy them as they come your way

Helping Your Children Cope with Grief (from Guest Blogger)

Today I want to highlight a blog from a friend of mine named Melanie Pickett.  She has some really good things to say about helping us deal with grief, especially with our children.  You may even want to subscribe to her blog too.

http://melaniespickett.com/help-children-cope-grief/

Maneuvering in the Darkness

Yesterday when I woke up I moved my ankle around and wondered why in the world it hurt.  I could walk on it but it just felt like I had strained some things inside.  Then I remembered, ah, yes, the fall the night before.  Are you surprised that I fell?  Don’t be, it happens all of the time.  It’s just one of the many ways that I hurt myself.  In fact, it’s such a common occurrence that my husband gave me a very practical Christmas gift.  You know how in the work place there is a sign that says how many days without an incident or injury and then how many previous days that had gone by without one?  Well, I got my very own, special one to keep track of my incidences.  I have to say that my family was surprised when I went 15 days without an incident.  Unheard of.  No, seriously, it’s really unheard of. 

We traveled up to north Michigan this weekend to speak at a lovely country church.  We went up the night before and were hosted by a wonderful couple in their home deep in the woods where I had no cell service, where in the springtime bears walk through their front yard and where you walk outside and there is complete silence.  It was pretty awesome.  This couple was so kind and so hospitable.  They cooked us a great meal Saturday night, sprinkled yummy chocolates on our bed, left us a goody bag filled with fun things and just really pampered us.  They even put nightlights between our room and the bathroom to make sure that we could see all right if we got up in the night.  We couldn’t have asked for anything more. 

We all said our goodnights after visiting Saturday evening and I took my stuff and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.  Normally if I’m staying at a new place I look around for things that I might run into if I’m walking in the dark, or things that I might trip over because, well, I struggle with those things.  I shut the light to the bathroom off, opened the door and proceeded to walk to my room (which was about 10 steps right in front of me).  I had failed to remember that just outside the bathroom door there is one step down and then a clear path.   I proceeded to walk to our room.  Even with a little light glowing, I missed the step and I could feel myself going down.  Oh mercy, not again.  I hit the floor and of course the first thing I did was look around to make sure no one saw me.  Seriously, it was dark, who would have seen me?  But I’ve become accustomed to doing that when I fall.  Habit.  I gave a little “Ugg” and picked myself back up and continued into the bedroom telling Brian what I had just done.  My pride was hurt and I knew that I’d have to mark it on my “incidence board” but other than that I was fine.  Then Sunday morning came and as I rolled my ankle around feeling a bit of stretching inside I knew that it was just going to be a reminder to me of the little outside of the bathroom tumble that I took. 

I was thinking about that whole situation and how it’s so much like sin in our lives.  We know the things that will trip us up (sometimes literally) and yet at the time that we least expect it we fall.  I knew that step was there but wasn’t paying attention as I was maneuvering in the dark.  I could have turned a brighter light on in the hallway before going into the bathroom knowing that I do have struggles walking, but I didn’t.  I chose to walk around in the dark figuring that I would be ok.  I think so many times we do that in our Christian lives.  We hang around in the darkness thinking that we will be okay because we know what’s there and then when we least expect it, we fall and we sin.  Instead of choosing to have the light around us we dabble in the darkness, even for a few minutes, thinking that it’s a straight shot to where we are headed and telling ourselves that nothing could possibly go wrong.  My one choice to walk in the darkness caused me to fall.  I’m feeling the consequences of that fall even today in my ankle.  Are you walking in the darkness thinking that you’ve got it covered, that you can make it to where you are headed?  Be careful in thinking this way.  The NIV Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The Message Bible in the same verse says with different wording, keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. 

You may not be falling down after missing a step, but keep your guard up friends.  Know what’s around you.  If we are Christians striving to live a life for Jesus, the devil wants to trip us up.  Keep alert and keep the light on around you!

Ski boots, Curled Toes and Discouragement

A few months ago I was at a thrift store and found cross-country ski boots that were my size.  I knew that I had cross-country skis in the attic and had been excited since coming home for when it would finally snow and I could use them.  The boots that I had with them were about 2 sizes too small, and though they worked, they were not comfortable.  I was excited to get ones where I didn’t have to curl my toes.  Today when the sun came up and I was sitting by the picture window I saw the loveliest type of snow falling from the sky.  I call it romantic snow.  You know, the kind of snow that has big flakes and a lot of them that drifts down as if in slow motion?  This friend is my favorite kind of snow.  As I continued to work throughout the morning I kept seeing the sun hit the fluffy snow and I just knew that this was the day to get those skis out of the attic and into the snow. 

I bundled all up in my winter clothes making sure I had a covering for my ears, 2 layers of pants in case I fell and of course a scarf and gloves.  I put on my new $3.50 boots, grabbed my skis and poles and headed out the door.  About a mile from the house the city has a walking trail and I thought that would be the perfect place to begin my season of Cross Country skiing.  It was going to be perfect!

When I got to the trail there was no one around, which was probably good in case I lost my balance and fell.  My husband made sure I had my cell phone when I left the house for just such an occasion and especially if I had hurt myself and couldn’t get up.  I put the skis on the ground, lined them up and went to put my boot in the clip of the ski and it wouldn’t click.  Okay, I thought, maybe there is a right and left ski and I had them backwards and so I tried the other.  The same thing happened.  My boot would not hook into the skis.  With it 14 degrees and a wind chill of about 15 below zero, I was eager to get moving.  I kept trying different things and began to get very frustrated.  I think I even said out loud, “Are you kidding me? Ugg.”  So with much discouragement I loaded the skis and the poles back into the van. 

When I turned the ignition on, the radio had been left on and I heard the words, “That’s just the way it is.  Some things will never change (you’re tellin’ me!).  That’s just the way it is.”  I know “things” always just happen to me but do I really need a song to remind me of that?  Then the song went further and it said. “Some things will never change.  BUT DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT” Yes.  That’s right.  I would NOT believe it.  So I drove the mile home and I walked up into that attic, grabbed the boots that were two sizes too small for me and headed downstairs to take the skis out to my yard and at least ski in the back alley. 

I sure was disappointed when things didn’t go my way but I refused to give up.  I had a goal and I was going to ski even if it were for 5 minutes in the alley behind my house.  Sometimes we have days, weeks, or even months of disappointment in our lives.  It seems so much easier to give up and just throw in the towel.  But we have good news, in our disappointment we have a God who lifts us up by the bootstraps, or in my case, the ski poles and says, “Don’t you give up.  I’ve got your back.”  Joshua 1:9 sums it up well when God speaks to Joshua as he is installed as the leader of Israel after Moses died.  There were bound to be days of discouragement in leading but God said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

These same words are true for us today.  Don’t give up, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!

Photo Friday: Here's the dog that finally "Just did It"

The day after I wrote my blog about waiting and waiting for my dog outside she decided each time she went out to get it done and get it done quickly.  I'd like to think she read my blog and that helped her.  :)

Just Do It!!

I woke up this morning bright and early and it was cold, just plain cold.  I put on my hoodie and my big, pink fluffy robe and stumbled to my daughter’s room to get her up for her first day back to school after Christmas vacation.  I then went to get the dog, stopping to check the thermometer.  0 degrees Fahrenheit? Maybe I didn’t read it right.  I wiped the sleep from my eyes and looked again to see 0 degrees Fahrenheit.  Is that even legal?  Now I haven’t seen these temperatures in a good long while as we’ve been in Mexico the last few winters.  In Mexico this time of year it is still about 80 degrees, so it’s pretty comfortable.  I wasn’t feeling too comfortable as I took the dog outside for her after sleeping bathroom break. 

In my mind if something is uncomfortable you want to get away from it as quickly as possible.  My dog, on the other hand, decided to sniff around and eat snow until her feet were so cold that she could barely stand.  Needless to say, she did not get the job done after several long minutes of standing outside.  A half an hour later, I had to return to what felt like Siberia so that she could do what she was supposed to do the first time. 

Do you ever find that you do the same type of thing with many situations in your own life?  Something you have to do may not be very pleasing and so you sniff around for a while, lollygag for another bit and then decide that you’re too uncomfortable to proceed. Your uncomfortableness causes you to run inside hoping to receive shelter from the situation that must be faced. For awhile it works, you go on with something else that will take your mind off the inevitable until, like my dog, you have to go back out and do what you knew should have been done the first time that you put it off. 

Please don’t get me wrong; I’m not calling you a dog.  But you have to admit, that we do play some of the same tricks don’t we?  We don’t like to be uncomfortable; who does?  Even my dog doesn’t on a cold, windy day.  Here are some things that I told my dog early this morning as I was freezing, standing outside with her.  I believe we can apply the same principles to the uncomfortable things that we have to do.

            1.  Just Do It!!   Nike sure had it right with this.  ‘Nuf said

            2.  The sooner you get done the sooner you can go lie on your stuffed pillow and chew on your bone. (To a person I’d say, the sooner you take the bull by the horns and get er done the sooner you can get on to the things you want to be doing)

            3.  You know you’re going to have to come out in a half an hour anyway to “get the job done” so put your feet down and face the snow  (to a person I’d say, you know you’re going to have to face it again sooner than later so there’s no time like the present)

            4. If you wouldn’t have spent so much time sniffing around and eating the snow your feet wouldn’t have gotten cold and you could have finished the task.  (To a person I’d say, if you didn’t try everything in your power to dodge the situation you could have just finished the task then and there)

If you really look at it, most all of the principles blend into the same sort of thing. We just have to face the task at hand. Sometimes the things we have to face can be scary, unknown, or just plain uncomfortable. But we have hope.  The Hebrew name for God,Jehovah 'Ezer , means, “Lord my Help” or “Lord our Help”.  This is great news for us as humans.  We have a helper.  God is our help.  When we have uncomfortable situations that have to be faced He is there.  We don’t have to figure it out on our own.  Hebrews 13:6 says, So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

How does bitter weather, taking my dog outside and watching her be uncomfortable bring us to the Lord being our helper?  It’s because I had a lot of time (many times) outside in the cold with the dog today being uncomfortable myself.  As I stood waiting and shielding myself from the cold,  it got me thinking of what we do when we are in uncomfortable situations.  Letting God be our helper seems like such a simple thing but oftentimes we try to figure it out on our own, going around and around in circles before we just let him help us do it.  This week instead of putting your task off, allow God to be your help and Just Do It!

Photo Friday: Do you feel like this after the holidays?

Do you ever feel like you just might burst open after all of the many parties, junk food, late night snacks and extra pie after the holidays?  Yep, me too!!