Not-so-fine china

My husband mentioned recently that we've had more people over for a meal in the past month than any time he can remember.

I discovered that having something positive to focus on (like having a meal to get ready for friends) was a good dose of medicine for a bad case of the winter blues.  So I increased the dosage!

There are so many excuses I've had in the past for not inviting people over:  

• house is old and needs work, wait until it's perfect 
• kitchen is small and needs work, wait until it's re-painted and en-larged 
• landscaping is not as I'd like, wait until it's perfect
• don't have enough serving dishes that match, wait until I get more
• I tend to have bad accidents in the kitchen, wait until I'm perfect
• my grandmother's china is nice, but it's cracked and stained, too embarrassing to use???

I think you get the idea.

When my need for having people around outgrew my need to be perfect and impressive, I discovered that it is much more enjoyable to put aside all my flaws, get out my flawed china and start sharing my heart and home with others.

My kitchen is still small, my home still needs some work (we weren't going to live here this long and here we are 21 years later) and my precious grandmother's china is far from perfect, but we've been having a great time getting to know others better in spite of it all.

My not-so-fine china is actually a beautiful picture of life.  Why wait until it's perfect to share it.  Maybe others will feel a bit more free to share their heart too when I realize ALL of us are a bit cracked and stained.

After all, my imperfections are easily shared in my songs, why not my home?

Recalculating

I've been enjoying using my new GPS, most of the time.  I've encountered a few challenges with it, however.

 My short term memory creates a problem when the unemotional voice prompts me to take a turn and within a few short seconds I can't remember what she just said. It works much better for me now that I've figured out how to make her repeat the directions.

Then there's the challenge of exactly how far 200 feet really is.  I've never been good at judging distances. It'd be better if she would tell me to turn at the blue house with red shudders or look for the pizza shop on the left.  I just have no idea how far .4 miles is.  (Anyone want to travel with me?)

My first experience with a GPS was in Germany and it was not a good one.  (imagine 4 hours of traveling in a foreign country after an all-night flight and listening to 'recalculating' over and over).  I decided then that I would never get 'one of those'. 

My husband decided otherwise, and I'm glad he did.  I'm also thankful for the 'recalculating' because I know that eventually I'll end up at my destination, even if I take a wrong turn.

It reminds me of God's grace somehow.  Sometimes I take a wrong turn and wonder how on earth I'll get back on track.  But I know that He is always watching over me and He is a Father who finishes the good work He begins in us, even when we get off the main path. 

Whether we weren't paying attention to His leading because we were distracted or just plain chose to take a rabbit trail, He is recalculating and working all things out for our good.
 
Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  NIV

Now that's a GPS I can count on!

The Ring Reminder

Recently I lost one of my favorite rings.  My husband gave it to me for my birthday one year.

This ring has a tendency to slide off my finger easily when I'm doing housework.  Especially when I'm washing the floors on my hands and knees.  Something about the suds makes it slide right off.  (Or maybe it's trying to get out of cleaning!)

I looked through the house over and over to no avail.  I even emptied out the trash bag filled with gross paper towels, wet and dirty from cleaning usage and even unwrinkled them to look for the symbol of love.  Still no ring.

I finally gave up and prayed that God would help me find it.  I had done all I knew to do short of taking all the pipes apart to see if it went down the drain.

As days turned into weeks, my heart struggled to keep hoping.

Last week I was getting ready for bed when I dropped the stud of an ear ring on to the floor.  I got down on my hands and knees to look for the small piece of jewelry on the carpet.  When I still couldn't find it, I got down as low as I could and peeped under the dresser.  Sure enough - there was my ring.

How it ever ended up there is a mystery.  The fact that I don't always vacuum under the dresser every week is such a blessing at times like this for I surely would have vacuumed up the ring if I was an immaculate housekeeper.   (Don't even go there!)

It was a pleasant reminder when it comes to some other prayers I've been praying.  Lately I've been struggling with fear and anxiety over many things.  I know the Bible says not to worry or have any anxiety about ANYTHING, but to pray about everything WITH thanksgiving.  Knowing is always easier than doing.

I am tempted to try and solve my own problems, get a normal job to help fix all the things that have been breaking down around here, etc.   ie.  Just got word that our car will cost more to fix than what we paid for it.  But then I'm taking things into my own hands, just like the desperate searching the house for the ring.

It seems like when I finally just released it all to God and asked Him to show me where it was, He gently led me to it when I wasn't even looking for it.

My problems, worries and cares are no different.  I am learning to just release it ALL to Him and ask Him to lead me to the solutions instead of driving myself nuts with figuring out solutions on my own.

Yes, I'm glad I found the ring, but the truth is, the main reason is that it serves as a constant reminder to me that God will help me find all the solutions I need, as I trust Him to lead me.  Worry drives me, but God leads me.
I'd prefer to be led.

A Walk With My Father

I've been pondering how much the Father loves us lately.......more so than usual.

I have this incredible hunger to experience His love in deeper ways as I find deep holes in my soul that can only be filled with His love.

I went for a walk recently and my sole purpose in going was to imagine myself walking with Him.  I'm trying to talk to Him more and more as if He were right here with me ALL the time.  (I know that He is.....in my head, but my heart has a hard time 'getting it'.)
To really grasp His love, I have been contemplating what it means to be child-like.  As a child, my most favorite thing to do with my father was simply just be with him, no matter what we were doing. 

My walk on this day was a tangible way for me to 'be' with my heavenly Father.

I couldn't help but record some of the scenes we saw.  I knew when I got back home I wanted to write a piano song to go with the pictures. 

I want to share this home-made video and piano song with you.  As you listen and observe, may you find peace and sense the Father drawing you to come and walk with Him too.

To view the video click here.

"Talk to yourself - really!"

Have you ever called your phone and left a message for yourself?  (please say yes!  I'll feel better.)

I can't even remember why I did it, but one day I called my land line from my cell phone and gave myself a cheery "Hey you" message. 

Frankly, I don't remember why I did it or what all I said to myself.

But later, when I checked my messages, I was perplexed at the strange voice on the phone.  It seemed familiar, but whoever called didn't leave their name or number.  (the nerve....how is one to return calls when you don't know who to call?). 

Then the light went on.  It was my own voice.  Silly me.  I had a good laugh.   (You might be of the artistic temperament if you find encouragement from your own phone messages.)

But it might not be that strange when you think about it.  The psalmist David talked to himself sometimes for encouragement.

Psalm 103:1-3  (A Psalm of David)

"Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 
Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me. 
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases."  (NLT)

Perhaps if David lived today, he would use his cell phone to call his land line and leave himself a message.  Why not put technology to use in an encouraging way I say!

You see, there is something about being vocal about encouragement.  It's one thing to think to yourself that you should be encouraged but it takes it to a whole new level when you say it out loud, like David must have done.

We all know speaking an encouraging word to someone is much more effective thanthinking it.  I don't think it's much different when it comes to encouraging ourselves in the Lord either.

Try it.

Talk to yourself, out loud; encourage yourself to praise the Lord and remember that He is good!

Or leave yourself an encouraging message on your answering machine.  (You might want to make sure no one else is in the room when you check your messages though.) 

Nothing like hearing your own voice tell your own soul to be encouraged.  

P.S.  If you try this - let me know how it works for you!

Have a beautiful day.  You are loved by the Father of all creation!

The Marriage Bouquet

A few weeks ago Tom (my husband) was taking a shower and I was in the kitchen doing dishes.  A typical scenario.

All of a sudden from out of the bathroom came this odd question.  "Is there a reason there are clothes in the toilet?"

How would you answer this question from your spouse?

A)  Yes, there is a reason, leave them alone please.
B)  I don't know, but I'm sure whoever put them there had a reason.
C)  No, there is NOT a reason.
D)  What do you mean there are clothes in the toilet?

I went for multiple choice answer D since I knew nothing about any clothes in the toilet.

Now I've been known to put mousse on my face instead of in my hair and get mighty close to putting something other than coffee grounds in the coffee pot, but I've yet to put clothes in the toilet.

I could have blamed it on the children, but we don't have any.  Just 2 cats.  I'd be impressed if they did it.

Now if you were me, wouldn't you assume that Tom did it since they were HIS clothes in the toilet?  (Turns out, he did put them in there thinking it was the hamper.  Did I mention we're still in our 40's).

Well, on September 2, we celebrated 21 years and we find more and more reasons to laugh at AND with each other.  We are about as opposite as you can get when it comes to our personalities.

It reminds me of my flowers growing around my yard.  Some are very small and dainty, others are big and bold.  But you put them together and they show each other off.

Same way in relationships.  It's our differences that make our uniqueness stand out.  It can also be a point of contention if we're not careful.  (Like the clothes in the toilet - I thought his question was worded a bit accusingly - as if he assumed I put them in there.  He claims he has no memory of putting any clothes in the toilet.

So take a look at the bouquet I gathered from my yard.  Yes, my husband is the bold orange, and# 1 I'm more like the delicate purple with all kinds of smaller intricacies, but together, we make up a beautiful marriage bouquet.

Just need to keep it well watered!

A Wedding To Remember

It was scorching hot today.  An excessive heat warning was forecasted and for once, they hit the nail on the head.  It would have been appropriate to take beach towels to the wedding we attended today since the reception was held outside under a big white tent.  We could have absorbed a lot of sweat with those towels.

The ceremony took place in a comfortably cool sanctuary.  Thank God for whoever invented air conditioning.  (Now all we need is to figure out how to cool the outside air on a hot day).

I thought about taking kleenexes along just in case I might get teary, but decided not to today.

Ever since my dad died I get really weepy at weddings.  The father of the bride comes down the aisle with his daughter by his side and I loose it immediately.  It's one of those times where the water faucet is turned on and it's hard to stop the tears.  At least for me.   But since I only knew the groom, I figured I'd be safe.

Bad decision.  Note to self.  From now on, just take kleenexes along to EVERY wedding.

What I witnessed today was so beautiful I don't even know if I can describe it here, but I'll try.

It all started when I saw the face of the groom as his bride appeared in the doorway ready to come to his side.  It was obvious he was focused on one thing.  HER!  

I began to think about Jesus and how we are his bride.  I wondered if he looks at me with that kind of longing, so anxious to see me coming down the aisle into his arms after a life-time here on earth.

Then there was the way he committed himself to her as he read the vows he had obviously poured over long before he spoke them out loud.  The tears ran down his face and his voice cracked through most of the promises and I couldn't stop my own tears.

Surely Jesus must have had (and still has) the same emotions for us as he committed his love and life to us long ago.  He must be so anxious for the wedding day to come when we will finally be united with him and sit down together for our marriage feast and celebration.

Any of us that have been married any length of time know that sometimes in marriage we hit bumps in the road and the glory of the wedding day when we meant every word we said in our vows is long gone.  We struggle to love each other that deeply day in and day out.  Life gets busy and hard.

Tom and I will soon celebrate 21 years of marriage.  It hasn't always been easy, but I must say that my love for him is so much deeper than before.  We've weathered so much together.  We've had the comfortable cool of the beautiful air conditioned sanctuary with beautiful flowers filling the room.  We've also experienced the grilling hot temperatures of the outside tent when things weren't so cool and wonderful.  That's what 'weathering life' together is all about.

I guess that's how my walk with Jesus is too.  There are great days and not so great days, but every now and then it's nice to take an afternoon, go to a wedding and be reminded that I have a bridge-groom waiting for me at the end of life's aisle.  I want to keep my eyes focused on him as much as he must have his eyes focused on me as I make my way toward him.

Thanks Sam and Alecia for the beautiful reminder of Jesus' love for me.  It was certainly a wedding to remember.