110%

Today on my way home from work, I stopped by a restaurant and picked up supper for my family. We discussed this last night, and the general consensus was that we would be having chicken fingers…but from where? There are four chicken-serving restaurants on my way home from work. Restaurant One is sort of out of the way, and they use too much pepper for our tastes. Restaurant Two has good chicken fingers, seasoned perfectly, but they have a habit of taking forever. Restaurant Three has good chicken fingers and has great dipping sauce. Restaurant Four has chicken fingers pretty much like the third restaurant, only I don’t like the sauce as much. So, decisions, decisions: Restaurant Three or Restaurant Four?

Restaurant Four is a no-brainer for me, and I’ll tell you why. Their sauce may not be as good as Restaurant Three, but you get more actual chicken for your money. I have ordered buckets of chicken at both restaurants. Restaurant Three takes the whole “twenty pieces” concept literally. Open your bucket and you will find exactly twenty pieces. On the other hand, Restaurant Four – and I have witnessed this with my own two eyes – takes the basket and dumps everything into the bucket, but there will be a little chicken left over. Not to be outdone, the person will then pack the chicken down and add the rest of the basket. “Twenty” isn’t a hard and fast rule; it’s a ballpark figure. Tonight, for example, Restaurant Four actually gave us no fewer than thirty-two chicken fingers!

When Luke recorded the Sermon on the Mount, he included a thought that is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38, NKJV). Naturally, when we give more to the Lord as a part of our worship, we will get more in return (Proverbs 3:9-10). Also, when we give our time and attention to others, we will receive not only their time and attention in return, but also their respect. Third, when we give our time and attention to God, we will be blessed beyond measure and we can accomplish things we never dared dream (Philippians 4:13).

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

As I write this, it has been six months since Hurricane Ivan devastated the Gulf Coast, both in Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Recently, some friends and I rode around the Pensacola Beach area to survey the damage. We drove down to see how the “hurricane house” fared. We call it that due to its dome-shaped, concrete exterior. The house survived just fine, except it’s missing the stairs which once grandly swept up on either side of the front of the house. They said the stairs were designed to break away, though. Better that than the whole house, I assume.

That whole neighborhood where the hurricane house is…well, it used to be nearly claustrophobic. There were so many houses there that I literally felt a little smushed while driving down that road. (You know how when you drive in a parking deck, the ceiling seems too low and you almost duck, thinking you’re going to scrape the roof of your car against the ceiling? Like that, only sideways.) Now, after the hurricane, only about one-third of the houses still remain, and a great number of those have extensive damage.

While driving through the neighborhood, we noticed this immense sand dune. We stopped and everybody (but me) ran up to the top of the dune. Seriously, it was between four and five stories high. While everybody was catching their breaths at the top of the dune, I walked along the water’s edge looking for anything interesting. What I found is very sad. It’s a piece of Blue Willow china.

I picked up the piece of china and held it in the palm of my hand. I listened to the waves crashing and I looked up at the huge dune where my friends were. I gazed around at all the destruction – all the houses missing their fronts so you can see in the kitchen and see things still in the cupboards…all the houses with garages filled to the top with sand…the hurricane house, missing its front steps. I thought this was a piece of somebody’s china. It could have been a wedding present. They probably really loved this china.

Then I recalled, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21, NKJV).

I still have that piece of china as a reminder that life is fragile. Sometimes what I think is important and what actually is important might be two different things. Where are your treasures laid up? Are you storing your treasure in heaven?

I'll Fly Away

I stayed up a little past my bedtime last night because I was glued to this fascinating story on television: Nestled somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains, a rafting company sends a photographer downstream from the rafters to take pictures of them as they hit some of the big rapids. Afterward, the photographer then drives back to the company’s headquarters to develop the film. The set of proofs is posted for the rafters before their return and they can then buy the pictures as souvenirs. The problem is this: driving back to the headquarters takes at least forty-five minutes. Add in the windy roads and the traffic, and sometimes the photographers don’t make it back in time. The pictures aren’t developed in time for the returning rafters to see them. The company potentially loses sales because of this time crunch. So the business partners got together and had a brilliant idea: Pigeons.

They trained the pigeons to follow the river to the mouth of the canyon and then take a right and fly straight to the headquarters. It wasn’t easy, but it worked. A pigeon is only allowed one job every few days, so a whole staff of pigeons is at the beck and call of the photographer. Each pigeon is outfitted with its own backpack which holds one canister of film. The photographer carries about five pigeons out, takes pictures, and loads the finished roll of film into the pigeon’s cute little backpack. The pigeon then flies back to headquarters. It takes the pigeon only sixteen minutes to make the trip, roughly a third of what it would take a car.

Thinking about the Christian life, we are a lot like those pigeons. Simply put, we are on a mission to make it home. We might not have a big birdhouse waiting on us, but we do have a prepared place. In fact, Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go there to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (NKJV).

This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Are you flying straight home, or are you getting distracted by the scenery of this world?

iTruth

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials for Apple’s iPod. While they don’t come cheap, iPods can store many, many songs, and make the CD virtually obsolete. If you’re not a big fan of music, an iPod would be a pretty pointless investment. If, however, you’re like me, and you have so many CDs they are taking over your bedroom and Jeep like kudzu, buying an iPod is worthwhile.

With my iPod, I can store almost 1,000 songs. (And it’s not even a big one!) Why would anybody want to have so many songs on an electronic device? Simple. It takes up far less room and is a whole lot neater than all those CDs. You can even buy music online for 99 cents a song and download it straight to your computer without having to drive to the store, much less have the actual physical mess that will inevitably accrue. The best thing about the iPod is that it isn’t any bigger than my hand. I have all my favorite songs at my fingertips, literally. It has practically every song I would want to hear.

Putting all those songs on the iPod was a time-consuming task. I had to figure out which songs I wanted most and then load them onto my computer. I then sorted them by the style of music. Then I connected my iPod to the computer and transferred the songs from the computer to the device. It took a lot of hard work and study, sure, but it has an immense payoff!

When I think about the iPod, I am reminded of my Bible. My Bible is a little larger than the iPod, but it still fits in my hand. It’s not so big and unwieldy that I have to devote a table to holding the Bible for me, like one might do with an unabridged dictionary. Peter says in 2 Peter 1:3 that “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (NKJV). This means everything I need to know about becoming a Christian fits in the palm of my hand. Everything I need to know about living the Christian life fits in the palm of my hand. Everything I need to know about getting to heaven fits in the palm of my hand.

Consequently, I am wary when I hear of teachings other than what is in my Bible, whether they be on television, on the radio, or professed by somebody in person. The world is filled with a lot of good, well-intentioned people who are misguided (Matthew 7:14). I imagine the population of heaven would be exponentially increased should more people look to the palm of their hands and read their Bible like the Thessalonicans did in Acts 17:11, to make sure what they believed was the truth.

Are we searching the scriptures daily?

U-Turns

The other night while closing at work, a co-worker and I listened to one of my CDs; it was a mix of 80s music. We sang along to song after song, as we counted the money in the safe and prepared the deposit for the next day. A song by Prince began. My co-worker told me that the particular song that was playing was one that he would no longer perform. I inquired why. She said it was because of the sexual overtones in the lyrics. I had no idea there were sexual overtones in the lyrics. I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying anyway. So I asked why he changed his mind.

“He found religion,” she replied.

While I do not agree with his new-found religious beliefs, I do respect his repentance. He could have said, “Well, I won’t write any more songs with sexual overtones” and nothing would have stopped him from still performing those older songs. As I noticed in my Ten-Minute Commitment, Prince’s repentance can be contrasted to that of Saul.

In I Samuel 24, David and his men are hiding in a cave. Saul enters the cave, and David’s men want to ambush and slay Saul. David denies their request. He does, however, confront Saul and show his honest intentions. Saul breaks down and weeps (verse 16). Saul thanks David for sparing his life, and asks that God bless him. One would think that would be the end of Saul’s relentless pursuit of David.

Two chapters later, Saul is at it again, chasing David. The king’s army is encamped for the night, and David takes Abishai down to Saul’s camp. Abishai wants to kill Saul, and, once again, David doesn’t let harm come to Saul. Again, David confronts Saul to show his honest intentions, and, once again, Saul is sorry. He says, “For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day” (I Samuel 26:21).

After the incident in the cave, Saul did not truly repent. Saul wept, but he didn’t repent. He felt bad, but he didn’t repent. He acknowledged he was doing wrong, but he didn’t repent. Repentance doesn’t simply mean we are sorry. It means we make a u-turn. We turn away from the sin and go in the opposite direction. We have no indication that Saul chased David after that second encounter.

Let us all be wary of the reality of not really repenting our own sins. Hebrews 10:26 says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (NKJV). Let us, instead, turn away and turn to the cleansing blood of Christ, like I John 1:7 states, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin” (NKJV).

By the way, now that I have an iPod, I downloaded my 80s music to it. That Prince song is now conspicuously missing.

Yuck

I looked at the menu, and I wasn’t thrilled by the choices. I don’t like steak, really, so there went a whole page. I don’t like going to a sit down restaurant and ordering a sandwich or a hamburger, so there went another whole page. I don’t eat fish unless it’s Captain D’s. By this process of elimination, the only food remaining was chicken, and the pickings were slim since I don’t like mushrooms, onions, or peppers. So I ordered the chicken fingers and loaded mashed potatoes and a house salad with ranch dressing.

The salad was okay, but I had to pick out the itty-bitty diced tomatoes. Giving my tomatoes to my mother meant that I had given her about half of my salad dressing, too. There were no croutons, either. This salad was just blah.

When my food finally arrived, it wasn’t even warm. It was as if they had fixed my plate before they even threw my parents’ steaks on the grill. I mean, what good is a big hunk of butter on top of the loaded mashed potatoes when the loaded mashed potatoes weren’t warm enough to melt the big hunk of butter? It was disgusting. And the chicken fingers weren’t anything special. I didn’t even eat half of my food. I got a to-go box and figured at least if I ate it for lunch the next day, the microwave would make the food hot.

We read what Jesus had to say to the church at Laodicea: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I would vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16.) There is nothing worse than being lukewarm – when it comes to both food and people. I know you’ve met those people who were fired up for the Lord. And if you’re like me, you sometimes use their enthusiasm as a benchmark for your own life.

I realize that comparing my own self to someone else has the potential for danger, but sometimes it has its good points. If I am able to realize a quality I lack, then I can become a better person. For example, I am annoyed by people who interrupt conversations, and then I think: “Do I ever interrupt others?” Then I can monitor my behavior and realize the potential for change.

Back to the idea of being lukewarm; I don’t like lukewarm food or people. Am I lukewarm? Or am I energized for Christ – ready to serve others and spread the Gospel?

More Than Fair Weather Friends

My family began attending Eastern Meadows more than fifteen years ago. I was a pretty shy kid and didn’t talk much. Plus, everybody in Sunday School had grown up with each other, and here I was, the New Kid. It wasn’t easy to fit in. I made a friend, though, in my Wednesday Night Girls Class. Our class was made up of junior high and high school girls. Then when I started school at Alabama Christian in the seventh grade, my friend was also my science teacher’s aide. So I got to see her almost every day.

The point for this FeMail isn’t who this friend is. The point is: she’s still my friend more than fifteen years later. You see, I’ve had friends from high school. I don’t keep in touch with them, nor do they keep in touch with me. I had friends in college…from each of the three colleges I attended. I only keep in touch with one of them, but she lives in Italy now and we just email occasionally. I’ve had friends from work, from all the jobs I’ve had since high school. I don’t keep in touch with any of them. I don’t really go out with friends from my current job, either.

Every time I think about lasting friendships, I think – all my good friends are friends from the church. I don’t think that’s just some coincidence. I think it is because we have common goals in our Christianity and our goal of making a home in heaven. Then I think about Jesus. He should be my friend, too. He knows just as much about me as my friend from church. In fact, He knows more. He is there for me when I am tempted or when I am having a bad day. He’s been there (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15).

It doesn’t end there. We shouldn’t just buddy up to God when we think we need Him. The truth of the matter is we need Him just as much on the good days as we do on the bad. I guess it is human nature to go to God only when we’re in trouble. If you think about your friendships on earth, they aren’t set up that way, are they? If I have a great day, I know I can call my friend to share the good news, and she can do the same with me. Likewise, we should remember how God is our friend always.

How is your relationship with God? Do you talk to Him on a daily basis?

Counterfeit

For three years, I worked for a bank. I saw a surprising amount of counterfeit money in that time. One of our regular contributors of counterfeit money was a neighboring fast-food restaurant. Every so often, their deposit would include a counterfeit one dollar bill or two. Not a hundred. Not a twenty. A one. What strikes me as odd is all the effort it took to make that bill look like a piece of legal tender. Surely all their time was worth more than one dollar.

I ran across this quote the other day which is attributed to William E. Biederwolf (1867-1929), a Presbyterian minister:

“I saw about a peck of counterfeit dollars once. Did I go to the window and throw away all my good dollars? No! Yet you reject Christianity because there are hypocrites, or counterfeit Christians.”

This made me think: there are those people out there who will reject God because of hypocritical Christians. Naturally, I feel confusion for such a mindset. I also feel sorry for those people, because they let a few people stand in the way of an eternal reward. The church isn’t home to perfect people leading sinless lives. The church is made up of people who are forgiven and who are trying to lead better lives. That’s something we all strive to do, both individually and together in unity.

As the majority of us reading these FeMails are Christians, I don’t have to ask you about hypocrisy standing in the way of your turning your life over to God. What this quote really makes me think is this: Am I one of those counterfeit Christians, turning other people off? Would my actions deter someone from listening about the Gospel? In I Peter 3:1, we are instructed to live so that an unbelieving husband “without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives.” I sincerely believe this verse applies to other people with whom we might have contact. Regardless of our individual marital status, we still have influence on non-Christians.

We’ve all heard that phrase, “Living like the Lord on Sunday, living like the Devil on Monday.” Does that apply to me? Does it apply to you? May we all check our actions and attitudes at home and in the workplace so that we don’t seem “counterfeit” to others!

Procrastinators Anonymous

In part of my Ten-Minute Commitment of reading the Bible ten minutes a day, I noticed what seemed to me to be a very odd passage. God has sent an invasion of frogs on Egypt, the second plague. Frogs are everywhere. I can’t even imagine the scene – everywhere you look – frogs. Frogs on roofs. Frogs in the streets. Frogs on the pyramids. Frogs underfoot. Frogs in the bed. Frogs in the food and water. Evidently Pharaoh has had it “up to here” with the frogs. He calls in Moses for negotiations. Moses asks Pharaoh when he wants the frogs gone…

“So he said, ‘Tomorrow.’” (Exodus 8:10, NKJV)

He says TOMORROW! When I first read that verse, I had to reread it several times because I couldn’t believe it. Frogs are EVERYWHERE, and he says TOMORROW! This strikes me as odd, because if frogs invaded my palace, I’d want them gone immediately, and I’m not even scared of frogs. Tomorrow would be 24 more hours too many! Scared of frogs or not, I’m sure most of you would feel the same way.

When I think about being a Christian, I think about the negotiation for our souls. We all sin, but do we hang on to that sin like Pharaoh kept those frogs around? Shouldn’t we want that sin out of our lives immediately? Shouldn’t we want to do whatever it would take to keep us from recurrences? Hopefully, we don’t live in denial like Pharaoh, because denial gets us nowhere (I John 1:6). May we all have the wisdom to see what’s wrong in our lives, have the courage to change it, and have the prayer life to see us through!

The Road Less Traveled

I love sitting in morning traffic on my way to work. Usually I have either the radio or a CD playing. On the rare occasion, I’ll eat breakfast on the way to work, too. Perhaps what I enjoy the most about the morning drive is watching the other drivers. I am so amused by how some people seem hurried, almost as if the very law of the 35 mph doesn’t apply to them, just so we can all wind up halted by the same traffic light. There is an unspoken law that almost everybody understands and follows. I like to call it, “The This Lane Is Backed Up for a Reason Rule.”

On my way to work, I must drive down a four lane road which has, conveniently, a 15 mph school zone smack in the middle (AKA Vaughn Road, for you Montgomerians.) The left lane of the east-bound traffic will inevitably be stopped because someone wants to turn left into the school parking lot. To further complicate matters, there will be so much oncoming traffic that it prevents said person from turning in a timely manner. Therefore, it is the unspoken law of rush hour traffic that everybody must get in the right lane to avoid those who might want to turn. Everybody who has ever driven that way in the morning just knows: This Lane Is Backed Up for a Reason.

This morning, a driver with an out-of-state license plate not only decided to clearly ignore the posted speed limit, but also chose to ignore the aforementioned rule. I suppose he thought himself smart, passing all of the slowly-moving vehicles. However – wouldn’t you know it – there were at least four cars waiting to turn left into the school parking lot! He had to sit and wait for who knows how long, all because he didn’t know the rule.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (NKJV)

Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (NKJV)

It is commonly accepted that the mother of learning is “repetition, repetition, repetition.” I think this verse is repeated for that very reason. So we’ll learn and know better. The first thing about which I am reminded by these verses is the fact that a lot of people profess to be Christians, but not all those people are going to make it into heaven in the end (Matthew 7:21).

Secondly, and on a more personal level, these verses remind me that sometimes it’s a good idea for me to keep my mouth closed. There have been times when I have said things I’m sure I shouldn’t have said. I think we all have regretted our words at one time or another; it’s human nature. These verses remind me that just because I think it’s a good idea to share something with someone else…maybe it’s not, really. Maybe next time I need to think about these verses and that one person in rush hour traffic who thinks he’s doing the right thing.

Are you doing what you think and feel is right, or are you doing what you know is right?

Courting With Trouble

The one sport that I simply can’t stand is basketball. It moves way too fast. Too much happens simultaneously. There are too many people in too small of a space. There are too many penalties I don’t understand. That’s why I don’t watch basketball. There are always those people who say “You can’t say you don’t like brussel sprouts until you’ve tried them,” so I can at least say I have played basketball…once…in P.E. class…with horrible, horrible results. Someone actually passed me the ball, much to my surprise. My excitement about participating was all too short-lived. I was called on three penalties.

One was traveling. Apparently, I was supposed to dribble the ball and walk at the same time. That’s just an accident waiting to happen. The other two were a complete shock: Backcourt and Double Dribble. Backcourt means once you dribble the ball past the halfway point of the court toward your goal, you can’t go back over the halfway line. Double Dribble means…well, I still don’t get it. It’s something dealing with dribbling the ball with one hand and then switching hands. I don’t know why that would be wrong.

The fact that I was unaware of such strange rules didn’t spare me from the penalties and embarrassment involved. On the contrary, I suffered just the same. Whether or not I know what the Bible says, I will still be judged by its contents. If I read and keep all the commandments of the Bible except for one thing – let’s say loving my neighbor as myself, even though that’s pretty obvious – I’ll still be convicted for that one thing. James reminds us of this: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10, NKJV).

This makes me think of the story of the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). He had kept all the commandments from his youth, sure. However, when he had the opportunity to turn his faith into something more active, he let that chance pass him by and went on his way, sorrowful. I feel sorry for the Rich Young Ruler and his bad decision.

Are you reading your Bible so you’ll be ready for the final exam?

Go, Fight, Win!

The Whole Armor of God #6

We’ve all heard the phrase, “The best defense is a good offense.” In football terms, if the score is 49 to 7 in your favor, the offense has done its job. Therefore, if the defense has a bad play and the other team scores as a result, your team is still winning because of the good offense. As a Christian, we have six items in the armor of God: “the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17). Out of those six items, the first five are for our defense. Only the last one – the sword – is our offensive weapon.

When I hear stories about people forsaking the faith for one reason or another – especially when it is rather suddenly – I can’t help but think of the importance of the sword. Matthew 4 records the Lord’s temptations. In each case, Jesus responded to Satan by quoting scripture. That is, He used the sword to attack what Satan was saying.

If we spend time studying God’s Word, we will be able to use it against our enemies. If we don’t spend time studying God’s Word, there will be bits we don’t understand…little holes in our armor. Then all Satan has to do is sneak in a false teacher and then – BAM! – we don’t know how to react. It’s our job as Christian Soldiers to know the Bible backwards and forwards. We’ll know how to respond to people who question our faith. Understanding the Bible may not be a quick fix and it may not be easy at times, but it is easily the best thing we can do to prevent ourselves from falling prey to Satan.

What’s the condition of your sword? Is it sharp and ready, or is it dusty and in need of repair?

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV).

That's Not Flying...That's Falling With Style

The Whole Armor of God #5

I was a little late in learning how to ride a bicycle. My cousin learned much earlier than I did. She had a blue bike with a banana seat, and she would tear down the very steep driveway on that bike. It had to be fun, the wind blowing through her hair and all. I was green with envy. One day it was decided – by whom I am still unsure – that I would ride with her on the bike down the hill.

I climbed on back of the banana seat, and she began to pedal. Sure enough, the wind was whipping through my hair just as I had imagined it would. It was awesome. And then tragedy struck. About halfway down the hill, my feet got caught in the spokes. Unfortunately, this caused the bike to go airborne instead of coming to a screeching halt, aimed, I might add, directly at the brick house at the bottom of the hill.

Back then, bicycle helmets weren’t required by law. Since we were helmet-less, my cousin and I were lucky not to sustain a severe head injury. In a bad bicycle crash or even a motorcycle accident, a good helmet can be the difference between life and death. In Ephesians 6:17, Paul instructs us to take the Helmet of Salvation. Whereas a bicycle helmet prevents physical death, the Helmet of Salvation saves our souls.

Having written quite a few of these FeMails by now, I realize that I always assume everybody reading these is, in fact, a Christian. Are you? Do you wear the Helmet of Salvation? Are you ready to meet your God?

That's No Bat, That's My Face!

The Whole Armor of God #4

Much of my time in junior high was spent longing for the time when I would be in high school. This boils down to one reason, and one reason only: no more P.E. I’m not a very coordinated person; therefore, I’m not entirely athletic. Also, I don’t enjoy sweating. Then there were the two times in eighth grade when we played softball and I was up to bat.

The coach was pitching. She (accidentally) pegged me in the mouth with the softball while I was standing there, bat at the ready. It wasn’t too long after that incident that I was at the plate again. Once again, the coach was pitching, and once again, I was hit in the mouth by the softball. Needless to say, the rest of the time that our class played softball as part of P.E., I let all my classmates cut in front of me in the batting order.

What I needed was the catcher’s mask, apparently, or something – anything – to shield my face from the pitcher. If I could have deflected that pitch, I would have been spared a lot of pain. As Christians, we should take with us the Shield of Faith. Paul explains why this is so important in Ephesians 6:16: with it, we will be able to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (NKJV).

Since real battle shields are made of different materials, they are able to undergo different forms of attack. It is rather obvious that a flimsy shield made of cardboard and aluminum foil will not prevent as much damage as one made of steel. Likewise, the substance of our faith will determine how much attack we can withstand. The greater our faith, the greater our stand will be against false teachers and sin. The lesser our faith, the lesser our stand will be against false teachers and sin.

How is your Shield of Faith? Are you confident it will hold up in spiritual warfare?

No Shoes, No Service

The Whole Armor of God #3

I am a shoe fiend. I love shopping for shoes, whether they are for me or for somebody else. The only downside to shoe shopping is shopping for sandals. This is because there are two basic types of sandals. If I’m traveling to the beach and will actually be walking in the sand, I want a sandal that will be okay if it gets wet. On the other hand, if the sandals are for work, worship, or play (sans sand), I want a sandal that is cuter and will match more of my wardrobe. (Right about now, I pity any men who read this; they simply won’t understand.) I suppose the following sums it up:

Town = Form of sandals
Beach = Function of sandals

When I think about life without sandals, I become very depressed. I’m not depressed because it’s a lack of a shopping opportunity, but, rather, because it represents a world of walking on hot asphalt, having dirty feet, and being more likely to stub one’s toe. I shudder at the mere thought.

As Christians, our feet are to be shod with the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). I think it is no coincidence that the gospel is compared to shoes. After all, in the Great Commission, Jesus instructed us to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, NKJV). Going means action is involved. Action means movement is involved. Movement means walking is involved. Walking means shoes are involved. What better way to spread the gospel than to take it with us wherever we go?

How about your “shoes”? Do you carry the Gospel of Peace with you wherever you go? Do you share the Gospel with others?

Reflections

The Whole Armor of God #2

When I was in the fifth grade, some cousins of mine sat next to a friend at church. I don’t know who this friend was, but, it turns out, she had the chicken pox. The next week, all five of those cousins came down with the chicken pox, as did my two other cousins and myself. (All eight at the same time – I don’t know if that was a blessing or a curse!) Even worse, this happened just before Christmas, and I can’t think of a more dreadful way to spend the holidays than scratching all over.

My chicken pox wasn’t as bad as some of our cases, but it was still pretty dreadful. The thing I remember most about having the chicken pox is that I had one sore right above one of my eyes (I think it was the left one; the scar is still there). Said sore made it nearly impossible for me to see out of that eye. I avoided mirrors because I looked so pathetic. I’m still not that fond of mirrors, come to think of it.

Like a mirror can reflect an image, our righteousness is reflected in our hearts. Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man” (NKJV). In Ephesians 6:14, Christians are commanded to don the Breastplate of Righteousness. The Breastplate will cover the body around the actual, physical heart. Figuratively speaking, we also use the word “heart” as a synonym for “mind.” To guard our physical heart (and as well our figurative one, I believe), we should put on that Breastplate of Righteousness.

The Breastplate of Righteousness will guard our hearts from evil thoughts and evil deeds. Making it a point to live righteously will eventually usurp our desires to live unrighteous lives. I believe this is summed up in one of the points we have learned in our Wednesday Night Bible Study class: “Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established” (Proverbs 16:3, NKJV). Or, as pop psychology would put it, “Act yourself into a better way of thinking.”

Not looking into a mirror when I had the chicken pox didn’t take away the spots, but it helped get my mind off the pain. Likewise, when we focus our energies on living as God wants us to live, we protect our hearts with that Breastplate of Righteousness. In so doing, we help keep out the evil. Are you protecting your heart from worldly pleasures?

The Truth Shall Set You Free

The Whole Armor of God #1

Part of my tenth grade health class consisted of toting around a five pound bag of flour for a week. This exercise followed a lecture on how college students frequently gain weight during their freshman year because of poor eating habits. Apparently, this lugging around an extra five pounds was supposed to remind us to eat better once we were those struggling college freshmen.

Carrying that extra five pounds that week was annoying. No matter how cute I dressed up that bag of flour like it was a baby, it was a strain. Everywhere I went, I was reminded that I had to hold the bag of flour. Doing everything with that bag of flour in tow was one of the most wretched experiences ever. (Now, Sleep Week in Psychology, where we got to bring our pillows, sleeping bags, and stuffed animals while we learned relaxation techniques…there’s an assignment I can get behind!)

It’s hard to forget something that’s stuck to your body like glue like that flour was to me. Jews were instructed to take the teachings of the Lord and bind them on their hands as a sign (Deuteronomy 11:18-22). This reminded them of the teachings and how they should live as a result. As New Testament Christians, we are to take up the Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14).

First, taking up the Belt of Truth means it is something we wear, figuratively speaking. This implies a choice on our part to wear the Belt – to choose Truth. Conversely, it also means we can remove the Belt of Truth if we so choose. Second, like the Jews and their phylacteries, the Belt of Truth reminds us how we are to live as a result of our obedience to Christ. Wearing the Belt of Truth will sanctify us – set us apart – from those who teach error. Third, the Belt of Truth, being a belt, makes our clothes fit. That is, it keeps everything else from falling apart. When we reject the Truth, our lives will fall apart.

How is your Belt of Truth? Are you wearing it daily to remind you of your obedience to Christ? Does the Truth support your beliefs?

Snake Patrol

My grandparents weren’t much for having animals. There was the occasional snake that popped up (just ask my aunt), but for the most part, they focused on their garden. The Andrews lived next door to my grandparents. They had a German Shepherd named Bear and a chicken coop. I remember one day being taken to see the chicken coop. I don’t know if I’d ever been to the chicken coop before then, but I’m sure I probably had been over there at some point. I don’t remember, either, ever actually seeing chickens in the coop. What I saw that one day, however, is something I’ll never forget.

The bottom of the chicken coop probably stood about nose-high to my five- or six-year-old self. The legs were made out of wood, and I don’t recall there being anything under the coop at all. Looking inside the coop, rather than seeing cute baby chicks, I gazed upon one very well-fed snake. I don’t know much about chicken brains and how they operate, but I think if I were one of those chicks, I wouldn’t have seen that snake coming. I wouldn’t have even known what a snake was, much less that I should try to get away.

When Satan appeared in the form of a serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden, I’m not sure she saw what was coming, either. Apparently she wasn’t frightened by normal serpents or she would have run away, one would think, but a talking serpent? You’d think that would definitely be cause for concern. As I read the account in Genesis, I want to yell out at the page, “Don’t fall for it, Eve! Run away! The talking serpent is up to no good!” Unfortunately, we all know what happens.

I think Eve and the chickens in the coop that day are like us, sometimes. It is when we drop our guard that sin creeps in. Eve paid for that mistake – not only was she banned from the Garden of Eden along with Adam, but she also got painful childbirth as a result. The chickens weren’t as lucky. We should always guard our minds so that we are not duped by temptation. Solomon advises, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV). What are you doing to keep up your guard?

Footprints

I know in a prior FeMail or two, I’ve told you about my grandparents’ house and how it was in the country. Maybe it wasn’t exactly in the country. I guess now I’d call it the suburbs, because there was a subdivision. It just wasn’t in Tuscaloosa proper. And there were snakes. There was also a large lot of land on which the house was built. To the right of the house there was an IMMENSE garden, five-year-old child’s eyes or no. My grandfather often took me on walks around the property.

What I remember most about these walks is the fruit trees. He had so many different kinds of fruit trees planted. Over to the left of the house, on the hill, there was a plum tree. My cousin and I once fed those plums to a baby bird we rescued from the evil clutches of the next door neighbor’s German Shepherd. (We also subsequently made several phone calls to a bird hotline, which is another story.) Almost behind the house on the left, there was a fig tree which provided the most excellent shade. On the right side of the house, there were a couple of peach trees – I think they were peach and not apple, but maybe they were pear – and several blueberry bushes. In the backyard, muscadines grew along the fence, while the scuppernongs grew in an arbor.

In Genesis, we read of Adam and Eve and their nightly walk with God. We also read a couple of chapters later how their sin took away that privilege. When I think about the Garden of Eden, that is what I think of the most – their being able to walk with God. We also know that Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22-24). Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah also walked with God.

Sometimes the Christian life is referred to as “the Christian walk.” I don’t think we’re meant to walk alone. Surely, we have fellow Christians with us on that journey. More importantly, we have God with us on that walk. Just as those walks when I was little was less about the fruit trees and more about with whom I walked, so is the Christian walk. You and I don’t get to experience the Garden of Eden. Instead we have the Bible to read and the avenue of prayer to speak to God. How is your Bible study and prayer life? Is it done with diligence so that it enhances your Christian walk?

How Much Are Those Eggs in the Carton?

When I was little, my grandmother would take me to the grocery store. She could give me a verbal list of some of the items on her larger, handwritten list, and I would go across the store, and collect the items. Two things were notable about this. One, I didn’t zigzag back and forth across the store, getting one item here and one item there. I went in order. Two, I knew exactly what brand my grandmother got of anything. She found that particularly astounding.

I don’t know how I knew to do what I did. I just did it. However, I do remember a conversation my grandmother and I had about buying eggs. “If the large eggs are no more than seven cents more expensive than the medium eggs, the large eggs are the better buy,” she explained. Nowadays, with inflation, this doesn’t always work, and for that reason, I stick to buying medium eggs when shopping with my mother. On occasion, though, I do notice only a seven-cent difference between the two, and I’ll smile, think of my grandmother, and grab the large eggs.

Thinking of weighing the cost of those eggs reminds me of how, as Christians, we should weigh the cost of sin. One little thing can sometimes reap so many consequences, the worst of which is death (Romans 6:23, James 1:15). Sin rarely is worth the trouble, isn’t it? The guilt that inevitably ensues just makes matters even worse. There’s an old saying that goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” How much less complicated would our lives be if we stopped to think and weigh the cost more often?

Soup's On!

A friend of mine once told me about her family’s recipe for Hamburger Soup. “It’s just like the vegetable soup,” she explained, “but it has ground beef in it. A whole lot of ground beef.” I laughed. That’s exactly how we eat it at our house, except we don’t call it that. It wasn’t until I had a few years on me that I realized the soup I grew up eating was not Vegetable Soup, per se. It’s more like Meat Soup with a Few Vegetables, but we just call it “Soup.”

As I write this, there is a huge pot of soup cooking on the stove. It’s good soup-eating weather, kind of grey and chilly outside. I know in a few minutes, it will be ready, and I will go to the kitchen. I’ll pick out a bowl from the cabinet and ladle the soup into the bowl, allowing as much juice as possible to drip back down into the pot. (Don’t ask; I know it defeats the purpose of having soup. It’s beyond explanation.) Then I’ll grab something to drink and head for the dining room.

What if I show up to the table without a spoon? What if we were eating something else and I forgot my fork? Naturally, this has happened before, and I have gone back to the kitchen to retrieve the utensil. What if I didn’t have a spoon or a fork? What then?

Twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday, the elders have afforded us the opportunity for a spiritual feast. We are all cordially invited to feast on the riches of God’s Word. Showing up to Bible Study and Worship without a Bible in my hand would be like my showing up to the dining room table without a fork!

One thing about our congregation that has always made me proud is the sound of pages turning when the preacher calls out a scripture reference. I notice this because for a while, he asked the congregation, “Where’s your sword?” I can’t really turn to the passage and read along when I left my Bible at home or in the car, can I?

Remember how the writer of Acts described the Christians at Thessalonica? He said they “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, NKJV). It seems to me that two things were at work here: one, they paid attention to the lesson (and may have read along, but that’s hard to know since the printing press wasn’t available yet), and, two, they went home and re-studied what they had just learned to make sure it was the truth.

II Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (NKJV). The King James Version says “Study” instead of “Be diligent.” Both imply work on our part. Let us be like those Christians at Thessalonica – eager, prepared, and working to grow spiritually! (Not to mention, show up for the feast on Sundays and Wednesdays. What good is food to you if you’re not there to eat it?)

Knock, Knock...Who's There?

There is no telling why my cousin and I happened to be in the closet of the downstairs bedroom in my grandparents’ house that day. I mean, the other bedroom downstairs had TWO closets, and they were much bigger, and they had lights. We played house in them all the time. For some reason, though, this one day we were in the other room, in the much smaller closet, with no lights.

My cousin chose this time to divulge to me a secret, which I will now reveal here after more than twenty years. My cousin thought her mother knew everything. I know that some of you are thinking, “Oh, how cute, the kid thinks her mom is the end-all of knowledge.” That’s not exactly it. My cousin didn’t think this in the traditional, book sense. She thought her mom was, for lack of a better word, psychic. She always knew what my cousin was doing, as if she had eyes in the back of her head…only better (or worse, if you’re a kid.) For super-eerie effect, my cousin then added, “She could know we’re in here right now and be standing outside, listening.”

About that time, she reached for the doorknob. It turned, but the door didn’t open. It was as if something – or someONE – was blocking the door! And it was HER – my aunt, with the all-seeing eye! Terror raced through my heart as I wondered what else we’d been busted for doing just because she knew everything that we did. (Now looking back, it seems extremely hokey, like I was set-up.)

Every time I think about this story, I remember the three Omnis of God: Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience. Omnipotence indicates that God is all-powerful. With God’s help, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). Omnipresence indicates that God is everywhere. There is nowhere I can be that God is unaware of what I am thinking and doing, and this correlates with His omniscience. He knows. He knows everything – my joys, my sorrows, my happiness, my pain, my trials and temptations (Hebrews 2:18).

Sometimes I think we get this picture of God as being out to get us. My aunt wasn’t out to get us. (I don’t think.) It’s just part of the job of being a mother and an aunt. It’s done out of love, to keep us out of trouble. God is the same way. He isn’t out to get us. He cares. What a beautiful thing to trust a God who can be, and is, there for us in every way! Are you running to God or away from Him?

Lights On, Lights Off

Picture, if you will, a hallway. To the left, about halfway down the hall, you have four doors, one right after the other. The first was the door to my grandparents’ bedroom. The second was the hall closet. The third was the stairs to the basement. The fourth was the bathroom. Let’s say you’re about three or four years old …you have to go to the bathroom…you can’t see your hand in front of your face…you don’t have a flashlight…and you’re not that used to sleeping over. What’s going to happen?

All I know is this: I was sound asleep in my bed when I (and everyone else in the house, and perhaps the block) woke to the following noise, which I will transcribe as best I can:

WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP
WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP

BAM! (Insert blood-curdling scream here.)

Needless to say, my cousin picked the wrong door, hurtled down the ten steps and slammed into the wall (because, alas, the steps turned to the left), and then emitted a scream that quite possibly registered on the Richter scale.

Had my cousin walked to the bathroom toting a flashlight, the above would never have happened. I can’t help but think of times when the right way to go or the right decision to make seemed confusing. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (NKJV). In those dark times of life, we can always turn to God and ask for His guidance. There is comfort in knowing we are never alone. There is comfort in knowing we can put our trust in God.

Further, in His sermon on the mount, Jesus called the believers “light” (Matthew 5:13-16). The book of I John discusses our fellowship and relationship with God with the same term: light. We teach this principle to children with the song “This Little Christian Light of Mine.” We are light to the world around us because we are His believers. We can be the beacon of light that guides another soul to God.

Light is an important part of life. It keeps us from harm; it guides us; it comforts us. In turn, it allows us to keep others from harm; it allows us to guide others; it allows us to comfort others. Is your Christian light shining, or have you hidden it under the bushel?

Staying the Same

Popcorn. I simply cannot tell you how much I love popcorn. It is easily my favorite snack. The pantry must be stocked with microwave popcorn at all times. There’s a funny thing about microwave popcorn, though – the time it takes to pop it. It varies from microwave to microwave, which is not usually a problem…unless you’re in junior high babysitting your cousins one night and you don’t know there is a difference in microwave wattage.

Apparently, my aunt and uncle’s microwave was newer and more powerful than our microwave at home. Popcorn in our microwave took eight minutes. Popcorn in their microwave popped for eight minutes left very excitable results. For one thing, the inside of the entire microwave was black. There was a hole literally eaten into the bag where it had been scorched. The entire contents of said bag were also black, matching the new interior of the microwave. Further, acrid smoke poured out of the microwave and filled the kitchen, so polluting the air that when the aunt and uncle arrived home a couple of hours later, they immediately noticed the stench. We were lucky, I suppose, not to need the intervention of the Fire Department.

What I had failed to heed was the Number One Rule of Popcorn, printed on the back of every single bag of microwave popcorn: Listen to the popcorn and when it slows down in popping, it is done. Microwaves come, microwaves go. The rule remains the same.

As a senior in high school, a Bible teacher pointed out Matthew 5:32, “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” He said that people will play What If and put in assorted stories. These stories are an attempt to get around what Jesus said in this verse. His exact words were – and I wrote this in my Bible – “Situations change, but the verse stays the same.”

How true! Things may change, but the Bible always stays the same. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV). Are you holding fast to the immovable, immutable word of God?

Stop, Drop, and Eject

The other night I watched a movie. I don’t watch many R-rated movies anymore. I wasn’t always like that. I suppose as soon as I was allowed to buy an R-rated movie ticket, I jumped at the chance…just because I could. At some point in college (it’s hard to say when it was exactly, what with my having spent nine years there) I met someone who didn’t like to watch R-rated movies. No, come to think of it, I had three friends who refused to see them. Their argument was the old “I don’t want that rubbing off on me.” I didn’t get it. I mean, it’s just a movie. It’s harmless. It’s not like I’m going to go kill somebody just because I saw it in a movie, right?

Well, I haven’t killed anybody, so don’t panic. I have, however, come around to their way of thinking. It’s a very gradual thing, the effect of movies. One becomes desensitized to hearing all the bad language, or seeing the way anger affects the characters, or seeing how people treat each other badly. It hardens our hearts, essentially. It reminds me of Pharaoh. He said he’d let the Israelites go numerous times, but he reneged on the promise, just because he could. He hardened his heart.

This movie I watched the other night was a movie I thought would be cute, after seeing the previews. At least two of my co-workers raved about the movie. So I rented it. After all, it was PG-13. What’s the big deal? Well, I’ll tell you the big deal: in this movie, there are no less than 29 times that the S word is used. TWENTY-NINE! That’s not a typo! And that’s not all. Some form of the Lord’s name being used in vain was used at least 35 times in the movie. (My thanks to the people at www.screenit.com who actually keep track of this so I don’t have to do it; if only I had checked prior to the Blockbuster trip.)

Working at a bookstore, I’ve finally learned that if I start reading a book and I don’t like it, I don’t have to finish it. The same thing goes for movies or anything else we put into our minds. If it isn’t good for us, we should hit the stop button then and there. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be looking at my life five, ten, twenty-five, or even fifty years from now and wondering what happened. I don’t want to have my heart hardened like Pharaoh.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (NKJV)

Choosing Sides

Both of my parents passed their love of reading to me. My mother let me read one of her favorite books when I was younger, Daddy Long Legs. I can’t even tell you how many times I have read that book. The spine was cracked, the pages yellowed, and the front cover creased, but I didn’t care. I read it again anyway. I loved it because of the drawings and the way it was written in letters. It wasn’t until I was an older teenager reading it that I noticed the ending. I was delighted by the ending but stunned that I’d missed out on it for so long. The whole point of the book had gone unnoticed by me for years.

I was studying my Bible the other day, when I noticed part of a verse that I’d never noticed before. Have you ever done that? In the last part of the first chapter of Romans, we read of God’s wrath against ungodliness. Many sins are listed and condemned, and we are told that “those who practice such things are worthy of death”. What jumped off the page was the latter part of Romans 1:32, “but also approve of those who practice them.”

When these popular issues facing today’s society emerge, such as the legality of abortion, divorce/remarriage, and homosexual marriage, I always hear someone say something like, “Now, while I don’t approve of such, I can’t make someone’s choices for her.” It has always seemed to me that such statements are a cop-out and are an attempt to hide our true beliefs. It’s true; we can’t make choices for other people. We do, however, have the opportunity – nay, the responsibility – to stand up and fight against what we know is wrong. Otherwise, we become approving of unrighteousness, and according to Romans 1:32, that is very dangerous ground to tread.

What are you doing to stand up for what is right?

Your Gift Is Your Presence

One day during my eighth grade year, my fellow students and I sat in the floor of the chorus room. It was chapel time, and we were singing. Well, that’s not quite right. Some of us were singing. Most of us were just sitting there. The song was “Shall We Gather at the River.” (Good ol’ #471.) I am pretty sure that I was one of the ones singing because I know I enjoy singing, though I may have been having a rough time since it was before I learned Alto was my best friend, but I digress. The general lack of participation frustrated the song leader. The lecture that resulted will go down in the history books as one of the most misconstrued lectures I’ve ever heard.

What was said was, “If you can’t enjoy singing this song, you won’t enjoy heaven.”

What some of us heard was, “If you aren’t singing this song, you won’t go to heaven.”

Quite a difference! I don’t have to tell you how upset this made a number of students. It was all anybody could talk about all the way back to class. We couldn’t even get any class work done, because so many were bothered by what was said – or what they thought was said. Our teacher literally had to stop teaching and explain to us what the song leader had really said and what he meant by it.

Some of the students, though, still didn’t understand – I got the impression they did, but they pretended they didn’t – and remained upset. There’s a lesson there, in and of itself, just in our tendency sometimes to hear what we want to hear and remain indignant even after being corrected. However, that’s not where I’m going. (But thanks for trying!)

When it comes to worship service, sometimes I have to wonder about our participation. We are commanded to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). However, for most of us, there have been times when our minds have drifted to what’s for lunch, or what we have to do the next day, or why those people over there aren’t paying attention. (Imagine!) We can even become so distracted that it becomes more than just not paying attention; we can become so distracted that we fail to participate in worship, just like the students did that day in chapel. We doze off during the prayer…We don’t sing…We don’t listen to the sermon.

Our attendance for Bible Study and Worship is what we offer God. His gift is our presence. It is one thing to be physically present, but it requires far more determination and focusing to be mentally present. Let’s keep our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2)!

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder

I like English; that’s why I chose it as my major. I do not like science in any way, shape, or form. You can imagine my disgust with having to take two Biology courses in college. What was even more horrible about the second Biology course was that it was at 8 am. I was determined, however, not to disgrace my grade point average. I figured if I wanted a decent grade, I’d have to put forth the effort and study. The best way to study was to be present for the lectures. Therefore, I dragged myself out of bed each Monday and Wednesday morning to be in class by ten minutes before eight.

Each college professor is different. Our Bio teacher chose to take attendance by having us write our names down on a piece of paper. That was the drill; every morning, we’d sign the paper and pass it to the next classmate. Like clockwork, a girl walked in every class period about ten minutes until the end. We all figured her class was the one after ours, and that she was there early. We admired her for her dedication to her studies. It wasn’t until the last week of class we learned the truth. She was in our class the whole time. She just came in so she could sign the roll and be counted as present. We were outraged!

I always wonder what grade the girl received for the class. Unfortunately toward the last couple of weeks of the semester, our professor fell ill and died. The new teacher had no knowledge of this girl’s habitual tardiness and flagrant disrespect for both the class and the old teacher. (Also, unfortunately, this new teacher didn’t know me like the other one did…and I got a B instead of an A.)

When I think about being a Christian, I am reminded of the priority that deserves. Our goal as a Christian is much more important than a Biology class; we strive for eternal life. Each morning our prayer needs to ask God for help in overcoming the day’s challenges. We start the day with high hopes, but we will inevitably fall short (Romans 3:23). Let’s all start the day off right – with prayer – and keep our priorities in the right place!

Fruit

It’s yet another morning, and I’m once again running late to work. I hop in the Jeep, begin backing down the driveway, and I look toward my neighbors’ backyard. They’re both outside. She’s hanging laundry on the line. Oh, look – the fig tree is in bloom. Mmm, fig preserves… Wait – what’s that? There’s a HUGE snake in the fig tree! That has got to be the biggest snake I’ve ever seen. The Crocodile Hunter doesn’t even mess with snakes this big, and he’ll pick up anything. My neighbor is standing six feet from the tree! (Insert hyperventilation here.)

I’m frozen in fear and panic, although I know there is no way the snake can get to me. I should be worried about my neighbor, but I can’t figure out what to do. Do I roll down the window and scream? Do I honk the horn? Do I run over? I hate snakes. I can’t run over there. I’m not even fond of rolling down the window, for the same reason. Do I honk the horn…really? It seems so cowardly…

All this happens in about ten seconds. On the eleventh second, it dawns on me: that is not a real snake. It’s a rubber snake, put there to scare off birds. I don’t know if it works, but rest assured, you’ll never catch me over there picking figs. Roughly two hours later, my heart rate is back to normal, but I still feel dumb.

Every time I think about this story, I wonder what it is about fig trees. Are they finicky plants? When Jesus found the fig tree in Matthew 21, He was hungry. When He saw that the fig tree had no fruit, He cursed the tree. Verse 19 says that the fig tree withered away immediately. As Christians, we are commanded to bear fruit (John 15:1-8, Romans 7:4). We should also exhibit the qualities found in Galatians 5:22-23 – the fruit of the Spirit. Our fruit can even determine whether we are true Christians (Matthew 7:16). Are we fruitless like the fig tree? How are we defending ourselves from the attacks of Satan, who would steal our fruit?

Lights Out!

My cousin and I called the game “Dark.” The gist was Hide-and-Seek, but we played in the bathroom of our grandparents’ house because the room had no windows. Furthermore, once we stuffed a towel in the crack under the door, we were left in complete darkness. Hide-and-Seek is one thing…but Hide-and-Seek in the dark is quite another! We had to rely on our other senses to locate each other, like listening for breathing and reaching out with our hands to feel.

The other game we invented didn’t have a name, really. We only played this at night in our grandparents’ bedroom. One of us would turn off the light, and the other would toss glow-in-the-dark stickers (shaped like eyes – they must have been some sort of prize from the cereal box) in the air, scattering them across the floor. Then we would hunt for the stickers. The winner was the person who found the most stickers. Not that exciting, really, but at least we weren’t playing with a stick and some string.

I don’t know why we were so obsessed with the dark. John seemed a bit obsessed with darkness, too, when he wrote I John. The first two chapters discuss how God is light. When we claim to follow God but habitually walk in darkness, John says we lie to ourselves (I John 1:6). Earlier in the New Testament, John recorded Jesus as saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). Finally, as Christians, we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). It is our job to eradicate darkness.

As fond as I have been of playing in the dark, I do not wish to spend all eternity in the dark. Sometimes we try to switch off our Christian light so we can say or do something unbecoming our Christianity. Maybe next time we’ll think before we click off that light and consider what it really means to be in the darkness.

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

I grab a plate and gaze longingly at the table. It’s a smorgasbord, and I’m not talking about the meats, vegetables, and casseroles. Oh, no. I’m talking about dessert. There is some sort of mathematical principle, I’m convinced: the larger the crowd, the greater the need is to get dessert before you sit down to eat. Why, if you waited until you cleaned your plate before you went to the dessert table, you’d be lucky to scrape together some brownie crumbs.

Speaking of brownies, I see some over there to the left. Next to that is the fudge. Then there are some of those chess squares I love. Peach cobbler is next in line. All these choices…all these colors…it’s just beautiful. Hey – what’s that over there? It’s a beat up metal bowl that has obviously seen better days. What’s inside? Well, it’s not a cake. It’s not a pie, either. It looks sort of like a cobbler, but not really. What are those? Apples?

To look at my Great-Great Aunt Ola’s Apple Roll, the untrained eye would see nothing more than a mess. However, to those in our family, this recipe is practically a legend. The cinnamon crunchiness of the roll, the soft sweetness of the apples…it’s an unbeatable combination. Yet, lined up with all the other desserts at the annual family reunion, honestly, it looks sort of shabby.

I’m reminded of James 2. A finely dressed rich man comes to assembly, and he’s given a seat up front. A shabbily dressed poor man comes to the assembly, and he’s left standing. Reading that story, we’re horrified by the prejudice shown. However, it’s a story that’s easier read than practiced. As much as we’re adults, we’re Christians, and we should know better…sometimes we do let the appearance of others prejudice us against them. Like my aunt’s Apple Roll, what’s on the inside is sweeter, and it’s totally worth digging into before making any rash judgments. Sometimes we just don’t know what we’re missing!

If the Shoe Fits

This time I’m adding a disclaimer: the following story did not happen to me; it happened to my mother, who gave me permission to use this. I only make this distinction because I’ve already admitted my tendency to wear shirts backwards and/or inside-out, and I don’t want you to think I’m entirely inept at dressing myself. We all make mistakes!

Last Sunday morning while sitting in the auditorium, my mother momentarily removed her shoes. When I glanced over, I thought the insides of her shoes looked weird, but I dismissed it as the angle of the light. Sunday evening at home, I saw the shoes once again because she had removed them.

“So, you wore two different shoes to worship today?” I asked.
“Yes, I wore white shoes this morning and black shoes this evening,” she replied.

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” I said as I pointed to the white shoes. “You wore two different white shoes.”

Sure enough, the inside of the shoes didn’t match…because the shoes themselves didn’t match. I can imagine while rummaging around in a dark closet, the shoes would look similar. While they were both white shoes, they had slightly distinguishing characteristics, namely the heels.

Typically speaking, when we don our shoes each morning, we make a choice on what pair to wear. None of us would intentionally wear shoes that don’t match. Matthew 6:24 admonishes, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (NKJV).

Just as we choose our shoes, we must also choose where our allegiances lie. It’s a clear-cut choice, all laid out in black and white. You choose one or the other. There’s no middle ground. How many of us get dressed in the morning, intent on choosing to serve God, only to forget that choice later on that day? In doing so, it becomes as if we are wearing shoes that don’t match. We conflict ourselves.

Even though Abraham Lincoln is oft-attributed with the quote, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Jesus used this phrase to rebuke the hypocritical Pharisees (Mark 3:25). Where do your loyalties lie? Will your actions today ultimately match your choice?

Pennies and Excuses

One of my few memories about my grandmother is attending a baby shower with her, and our totally dominating this one game. The game involved ladies sitting around in a circle, each with a certain number of pennies in her hand. The first lady would say something she’d never done before, and pass the cup. Each lady who had done what was mentioned would put a penny in the cup. Thus it went, until only one has any pennies remaining, and that lady was declared the winner.

Naturally, being only five or six at the time, I kept my pennies because I hadn’t done most of the things the ladies listed. When it came time for me to share something I’d never done, my grandmother told me to say, “I’ve never baked a cake.” An audible gasp went up from the audience, and women all the way around put in their pennies. I was the undisputed champ! (Should any men have gotten hold of this email, I will say that the prize I was given was actually for the mother-to-be. Since I won the game, what I really won was the opportunity to give the Expectant One a gift. This is what happens at some of these showers, should you ever wonder.)

Even to this day, there are certain things I’ve never done that might surprise some of you. I guess to some extent we’re all like this. I may have never changed a diaper (gasp!), but maybe you have never been on a seaplane, which I have. Each of us is unique, with our own set of fears and excitements. However, I believe there is one fear that is common to us all: the fear of rejection.

As Christians, we have tremendous amounts of opportunities to do the Lord’s work. Unfortunately, there are times when fear takes over, and we left undone things that should be done. We don’t sign up for preparing the Lord’s Supper. We have never taken food to the bereaved. We have never called to check on someone who’s sick. We don’t volunteer to teach, whether the class is for children or adults. We don’t share the Gospel. Instead, we let the same few do it by themselves time and again, which isn’t exactly fair. I know I’m guilty of some of these situations myself. At the same time, I’m convinced we should never force the elders, deacons, and ministers to beg for our help. We should always be ready to sign up or volunteer for the job at hand.

James said, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17, NKJV). Let us be ever mindful that the fear of rejection can turn into the sin of omission. We all know sins of omission are just as deadly as sins of commission. The only things that prevent this fear are constant study, having an open mind, and prayer. We really can do things we set our mind to do, and we can also learn new things just by asking.

Are we letting our excuses hinder the Lord’s work?

What’s in a Name?

A few weeks ago, some out-of-state relatives stopped by to visit our family. Naturally, this called for a meal, which, in our family, means at least one meat, four vegetables, three desserts, and some biscuits. Also, naturally, the conversation rambled around both the past and the present. There’s nothing like a big group of family getting together to bring out some of the best stories. My cousin asked my grandfather, “Didn’t you tell me once you picked out your own name?”

Well, that’s not exactly how it happened. You can’t be one of ten children and have no name. You have to have some sort of name just so you know when you’re in trouble, at the very least. What my grandfather didn’t have was a middle name. When it came time to register for Social Security, he had to have a middle name, so he chose one: Vernon.

I asked him why he chose that name, but he didn’t remember. My father said he thought it was a pretty uncommon name. Papa disagreed; he said he knew plenty of people named Vernon when he was growing up. I suppose that’s the reason why he really picked that name – it was familiar, and might have been considered a “good name” because of the men who were named Vernon and their good reputations.

When I think about names, I’m reminded that most of us also go by the name “Christian.” It, too, is a name we choose to take. In the 24th chapter of Joshua, Joshua issues a challenge to the Israelites to choose whom they should serve. The Israelites choose God. They must have been as excited as we were on the day when we chose God and were baptized. However, since the Old Testament was written for our learning (Romans 15:4), we know what happened to the Israelites…in the very next book, as a matter of fact…they forgot their pact.

As Christians, we can’t just keep the name when it suits us. We’ve made a commitment both to God and to ourselves. What will be in our next chapter? Will we do our name proud?

Fight the Fight

A few weeks ago, I called my friend at 10:30 am to discuss lunch plans. We agreed to meet at Olive Garden at 11:00 am. This meant I had to get ready…and fast! I took a shower and got dressed while I was still in the bathroom. I also lacked brushing my hair and teeth, and the fogged mirror didn’t help matters. Brushing my teeth wasn’t so bad, but I couldn’t see what I was doing to my hair. I didn’t have time as it was, so I ran some gel through my fingers and ran my fingers through my hair. I ran out the door in a flash, actually making good time.

Things grew complicated at the intersection of Perry Hill and Vaughn. I was waiting for a red light to go green, wondering how bad my hair looked, when I glanced over my shoulder. My shirt was on inside-out! In broad daylight! And I had to meet my friend at a restaurant in less than five minutes! Several weeks ago, I told you about my inexplicable habit of putting a t-shirt on inside out and/or backward. That’s right. I did it again.

From a spiritual standpoint, we sin. Maybe that sin is a one-time only deal. Or maybe it’s a repeat offender. Perhaps we get caught up in gossip before we realize it. Perhaps we let slip a word of the four-letter variety. Sometimes we might let the traffic get the best of us…or our families get the best of us…and we lose control of our anger. The first step to beating such a problem is admitting that it does in fact exist. Living in denial never helped anybody.

Secondly, we should always strengthen ourselves against sin through studying God’s word. This allows us to focus on verses which address any particular issues. We can then use these verses to remind ourselves of the right thing to do when the going gets rough.

Third, we should always pray to God for His help in overcoming sin. I’m convinced that the phrase “forgive me of my sins” is a wee bit overused. Again, acknowledging the sin while praying for it is just another way to keep it in the forefront of your mind, guarding yourself from repeat offenses.

Last, don’t become discouraged when you suffer a setback. Discouragement might lead you to give up the fight, and we all know how dangerous that can be. Losing the battle doesn’t mean you lose the war. It’s important to remember that, no matter how disappointed you might be, for this war is for your soul.

Never give up!

Searching for the Right Thing

Working at the bookstore, one of my responsibilities is to stock the few music CDs we carry. Each week the new list of CDs and the planogram for the fixture appears on our company’s intranet. Since the music stepladder is my responsibility, it is also my responsibility to obtain a copy of my instructions. The other day I was in the back of the store working on another project, and I asked my coworker if she would find the sheet for me and print it. I told her exactly what to type in the search box so she could find what I needed. It’s called “Book Department Music Stepladder.”

Unfortunately, I must tell you my patience was tried as this coworker typed in EVERYTHING but what I told her. Searching for “Music Stepladder” returns nothing. Searching for “Book Music Stepladder” also returns nothing. On and on this went, and as slow as the computer was, it probably wasted ten minutes of my time. I couldn’t help but think, “I could have already put the music out now if she had just typed in exactly what I said.”

I think – no, I know – sometimes as Christians, we try shortcuts. We want to do things our way. Sometimes it’s out of stubbornness; sometimes it’s out of curiosity. And we always want to think what we are doing is right. We’ll justify our actions. We let our emotions take over. We want to be in charge. There are also times that things in the Bible may not make sense to us, so we’ll question it. I’m reminded of Naaman, who was told to dip in the Jordan River seven times to be cleansed of his leprosy (I Kings 5). “What did water have to do with it?” we might ask. “Or, how about if he just dipped six times? Isn’t that good enough?”

Just as I’m head of the “music department” and I know how to find my planogram, Jesus is the head of the church…and He knows how to find heaven. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (NKJV) Let us always remember that when it comes to things of a spiritual nature, God is the one who should always be in control. We should always look to the Bible for examples. Above all, we should be people of faith.

How’s your search for heaven going? Are you trying to type in worldly things instead?

Two Snakes and Some Hats

To say that I am scared witless of snakes is most assuredly an understatement. My fear actually resembles a Dr. Seuss book: I do not like them big. I do not like them small. I do not like them alive. I do not like them dead. I do not like them plastic or rubber. I do not like them in a book. However, if I’m channel surfing with the remote control and I run across some snake show, I’m suddenly engrossed.

The other day I was watching Jeff Corwin run around like a maniac in the Everglades. He finds a coral snake in a pile of leaves, and picks it up by the head so it will be unable to strike. Okay, picture that – in his left hand dangles a coral snake, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. His right hand reaches into his left pocket and pulls out a sock. He unties the sock and dumps out a scarlet king snake. All the while, he is still holding on to the now very agitated coral snake in his left hand. He picks up the king snake rather carelessly since it is nonpoisonous (a distinction that is quite irrelevant to yours truly) and waves it around for the camera.

The only way to tell these snakes apart is by memorizing the order of their stripes. There’s a little poem, “Red touches yellow, it can kill a fellow; red touches black, it is a friend of Jack.” No sooner does Jeff Corwin relay the poem to the television audience than the king snake starts biting his right arm. Naturally, this hurts him – the animal does have teeth – but he appears nonplussed by the incident. (I, however, am curled into a ball of fear, lying on the couch.) The reason the scarlet king snake uses mimicry is so that potential predators will mistake its coloring for the deadly coral snake. Rather than chowing down on the king snake, the predator will flee instead, leaving the king snake to live his life to the fullest, doing whatever it is that snakes do.

As women, we wear many different hats. We are Christians, wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, employees, bosses, coworkers, and friends. Sometimes I think these hats turn into masks. Each different role allows us the opportunity to be a different person. At work, I may tell a joke that I would never tell in front of my family. During meetings of the church, I sing and pray and give and worship, but I may not ever open my Bible for study or share my beliefs with others outside the doors of the building. While I’m watching the snakes, I realize I can be like the king snake. I can imitate the behavior of those around me in any given situation, and that may not necessarily always consistent with my beliefs as a Christian.

Hypocrisy is something Jesus warns us about repeatedly; some form of the word “hypocrite” is used sixteen times in the book of Matthew alone. The reason is simple. It detracts from our Christian influence, both with those who aren’t Christians…but also with our friends who are. I don’t know about you, but I constantly strive to be a person who is the same, everywhere I go. And if you think about it, it’s a much easier lifestyle with a whole lot less stress. I don’t have to think about where I am before I act. I just am.

How about you? Do your actions match your beliefs, or are you trying to blend in with the world?

Membership Has Its Rewards

Part of my job as a bookseller is to push our store’s membership cards. I like to think of them as a commitment, because at twenty-five dollars a year, a customer will have to buy over $250 worth of books just to break even. That’s why they’re not easy to sell, especially when the competitor offers their discount card at only ten dollars a year. However, there are those days when we do particularly well. The store manager excitedly writes the good news on the white board for all to see, and he will give credit to whom credit is due, posting names and numbers.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a good day selling the membership cards, and I was leaving the cash register duties to a coworker. I told her how many cards I’d sold and told her to keep it up so we could have a really impressive total for the day. She told me she wasn’t going to sell any. When I asked her why, she responded, “Because I never get my name on the board; why should I bother?”

With that kind of defeatist attitude, it’s a wonder anybody gets anything done. From a Christian standpoint, we know we shouldn’t expect our reward here on this earth (Matthew 6:1-18). I’d rather have my name written up there than on a white board down here. It’s a shame that this attitude exists, and what’s more, the results are even worse. Not feeling appreciated makes us complacent, and will ultimately stunt our spiritual growth.

While women are not to lead in the public worship service, there are always jobs women particularly can do within the church. Somebody keeps the ledger, somebody fills the trays for the Lord’s Supper, somebody washes the baptismal garments when necessary, somebody brings flowers for the auditorium, and somebody makes sure we have supplies in the supply room. The list goes on, even including winning souls for Christ. While these may sometimes be thankless jobs here, I’m sure they won’t be thankless in the next life. Let us not cease to doing good just because we aren’t recognized for it!

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, NKJV)

Sticks, Sticks, and More Sticks

I attended Alabama Christian for six years. Since I did not hold the perfect attendance record any of my years there, I will say that a very conservative estimate of the number of days I attended was one thousand. 1,000: The number of Math classes I attended. 1,000: The number of English classes I attended. 1,000: The number of chapel presentations I attended. I am happy to report that I remember a great deal of the English language, though I will confess I did not read all of the books that were assigned reading. (Sorry, but Charles Dickens just isn’t my thing.) I am also happy to report that I can still compute very easy Algebra problems in my head and that I still know the Pythagorean Theorem, though word problems about trains make me want to cry from the confusion.

While I don’t remember any individual lessons from these classes, the same cannot be said for my attending chapel. I remember several quite clearly. (You didn’t expect me to remember all of them, did you? I’m lucky to remember what I had for lunch the day before.) One such a lesson involved sticks. Namely, a small stick and a large stick figured heavily into the illustration:

A student walks by with a small stick in between her eyeglasses and face. The teacher walks in the opposite direction, headed straight for the student. The teacher has a large stick in between his eyeglasses and face. The teacher ridicules student, pointing out the small stick in her eye, never realizing the huge stick in his own eye. The student and teacher reset their positions. The teacher realizes he has a stick in his eye and removes it. He then helps the student realize she has a stick in her eyes, too, and he helps her to remove it.

We can recognize this as a dramatized version of Matthew 7:3-5: “And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

The Bible also instructs us to examine ourselves daily. We should always be on the lookout for ways to grow, things we can do to change, improvements we can make in our own lives. We should always remember our own situation before we set off to criticize others. In most circumstances, we have the big stick in our eyes. That is, we have no room to say anything. How about you and the stick in your eyes? What are we doing to remove them so we can grow and, in turn, help others?

Road Trip!

Recently my family took our first vacation. Ever. My father wanted to see the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. I’ve visited Louisiana several times, and I’m familiar with driving in New Orleans. However, our hotel was in a part of town with which I wasn’t as familiar. I looked up the address online and printed out a map. I even bought a couple of maps to help us navigate the city, which has no true cardinal directions. (Everything is described as being upriver, downriver, riverside, or lakeside.) Unfortunately, the map leading us to the hotel wasn’t quite accurate.

Once we exited the interstate, we began looking for the hotel sign. We didn’t see it. I’m not saying we were lost, but we did see some interesting parts of the town (and you thought the French Quarter was scary.) I decided pull over at a gas station to call the hotel for directions. As it turned out, we weren’t too far away, but the hotel was on the west side of a canal…and we were on the east side. We crossed the drawbridge, followed the new directions, and arrived at the hotel (in a somewhat nicer section of town) just a few minutes later.

When I think about being a Christian, I remember that I have a destination: heaven. I also have a roadmap on how to get there: the Bible. Fortunately, this roadmap is guaranteed by God to be 100% accurate. Contrary to what some might believe today, that roadmap is just as good as it was 2,000 years ago. That is, the Bible is never out of date. However, it is my choice whether or not I follow the map. I can’t just follow the car in front of me and expect to arrive at my destination in New Orleans, nor can I expect to follow a person to heaven. I have to keep my eyes on the map. Similarly, I can’t take a surprise detour off the interstate, nor can I abandon the Bible and expect to arrive in heaven. I have to keep my eyes on the map.

Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NKJV)

How’s your journey? I hope you haven’t hit any roadblocks or made any detours!

Total Eclipse of the Son

When I was in the second grade, we experienced a total solar eclipse. It was the first time I’d ever been aware of such a thing, and I suppose that’s why the experience sticks out in my mind. Our teacher told us all about the science behind a solar eclipse, and why it was occurring. We even got to go outside and look through this little device. I don’t remember much about it – some of you might – I just remember a hole poked through a piece of paper. This was supposed to allow us to “see” the eclipse. Yeah, it never worked for me.

What I remember more than anything else is being scared silly by the whole idea. It was drilled into our brains that under no circumstances should we look directly at the sun, lest we wanted to suffer permanent, painful blindness as a result. As a seven-year-old who enjoyed reading, I didn’t want to lose my eyesight! I have very vivid memories about going to the car after school. I hid my face from the sun the whole way there, just in case. I stared directly at my feet on the sidewalk all the way to the car, and even today, I kid you not, I wonder how I got in the right car.

I’m sure it’s not a wise idea to stare at the sun, regardless of the condition. I know I’m lost without my sunglasses. I can’t help but think, though, that sometimes we can all be frightened like my seven-year-old self when it comes to our relationship with Christ. Sometimes it seems as though He is light years away. We avert our eyes, hoping that we won’t be caught. We know Him to be the Son of God, but we sometimes forget His human experience. We are enormously blessed to have a SON whose great example we can look at directly. More than that, He was tempted just as we are every day (Hebrews 4:15). How grateful I am that He’s not only my example, but He’s also my mediator each and every time I go to God in prayer! How about you? Have you been hiding your face from the Son?

Last Words

Mornings at work are usually pretty slow, so I grab a current copy of the newspaper and flip through. I look at the front page, and it’s usually all old news since I watch the news before going to bed most nights. I flip to the Tri-County section to make sure our neighborhood didn’t have anything major on the crime report. I eventually flip over to the comics, too. (Who doesn’t like “Family Circus”?) A growing habit of mine, though, is checking the obituaries.

Today’s obituaries had a very interesting entry. (I will add for those inquisitive minds, that I write these a few weeks in advance, so you’ll have to do some real researching here if you want to find this.) In what has to be the longest obituary I’ve ever seen, over an entire column was devoted to this one lady who passed away. The obituary was written so eloquently. It began with how the lady died, listed her brothers and sisters who had preceded her in death, listed her survivors – all five of her children, discussed her life in detail almost like a curriculum vitae, and then ended with her faith in God. The whole piece was moving, because one could tell this woman was loved. She touched the lives of others.

Obituaries are like last words. They can be quite memorable and revealing. I can’t help but wonder sometimes – when it’s my time to go, what will others write about me? Would it be something I would have been proud to read? Did my life make a difference to those around me? It’s a very thought-provoking question. If there’s anything of which I would be ashamed, now is the time for me to fix that. I’m essentially writing my obituary everyday. Perhaps this is horridly morbid on my part, but we don’t know when it will be our time. I look at it as a great opportunity to set things right. How’s your obituary coming? Is there anything you need to rewrite?

Who Turned Out The Lights?

When I was a senior in high school, I studied Psychology. Because the course was an elective, we had students from each grade (9-12) and a good mixture of boys and girls. I have to be honest here; I found some of the younger class members to be really annoying. I don’t know if it was just because they were younger and I was A Senior, or if it was just because I didn’t much care for their personalities. You can imagine my dismay at one of our assignments: we were to write something nice about each person in the class. It was extremely difficult to say something nice about somebody I didn’t particularly like, while keeping it meaningful (IE, not copping out with something like, “You have nice hair.”)

Ultimately, the teacher wrote for each student a compilation of the nice things that were said. My list went something like this: funny, positive, outgoing, nice, funny, outgoing, positive, positive, outgoing, nice, nice, and nice. I was immediately suspicious. I’ll give them funny, but if I were writing a list about myself, “positive” and “outgoing” wouldn’t have been on there. It made me wonder: did these students know me better than I knew myself, or did they not know me at all?

While I was described as being positive, I would have considered myself to be a pessimist. However, I realized then that being positive was much more beneficial to me as a person…so I worked to change my half-empty into a half-full. I will admit that I’m not entirely positive these years later – I am still a bit moody – but I do try. I definitely wouldn’t have described myself as outgoing, and I don’t know that I would even today. I like being one-on-one, but I don’t like being in a big group. However, understanding that quiet people are sometimes mistaken as snobs, I have worked on at least greeting others and carrying on small talk.

The way we perceive ourselves and the way others perceive us are insights to who we really are. I’ve heard it said that character is who we are in the dark. That is, character is who we perceive ourselves to be, while reputation is how others perceive us. The trick is getting the two to match. I took what I thought were the better traits and made those as goals. Lucky for me, though, it was the reputation side of things that listed the better traits. It would have been much more difficult had my reputation been a list of wrongs. I’m convinced, though, that character can be changed, whatever the situation, when one has an honest heart and a willingness to try.

How about you? Do your character and reputation match? Is there anything about yourself that you need to change to be a better person?

T-Shirts and Priorities

I’m sure at one time or another, for whatever reason, we’ve gotten dressed hurriedly in the dark. I have left the house wearing unmatched socks for that very reason. Luckily, that’s something that’s easily hidden. Something that’s not as easily hidden is an inside-out shirt. I’ve done that, too, and I’ve gotten all the way to work before noticing. How embarrassing!

I recently purchased a few t-shirts that are “tagless.” They say they’re tagless, but they’re not really. They don’t have a tag in the normal place at the back of the neck. Instead, there is one stitched in the hem, which I suppose is because they don’t want a lawsuit from someone who put a red shirt in with the whites because there was no tag with washing instructions. I could say something here about false advertising, but frankly, I’m just happy not to have that tag scratching my neck anymore. The downside to this, however, it is now ridiculously easy to put a shirt on backwards (again, while dressing in the dark; you’d think I’d learn to turn on the light.)

Sometimes things strike me as being backward, the opposite of the way they should really be. The other day in a Bible class, we were discussing the importance of attending the services of the church. Our book offered excuses some people might make as to why they would skip one Sunday. Sickness was one of these excuses, and the point came up: If you feel well enough to go to work, you feel well enough to attend services. We weren’t discussing legitimate illnesses but those times when we just don’t feel well and would rather stay in bed. My own mother has asked me this, and still does on occasion: “If there was a movie you really wanted to see…do you feel well enough that you’d go?”

I completely understand what this implies: how do you really feel, and what are your priorities? Further, I want everyone to understand that I’m not criticizing this idea at all, nor am I criticizing the brilliant ladies taking part in the discussion (who have a better attendance record than I do). It just sounds a little odd to me…a little backward. How did going to work get to be the benchmark? Our jobs are important, sure. We rely on the money to pay bills, and our coworkers rely on us to get our jobs done. Matters are complicated by being absent. Take a week off from work for a vacation, and when you get back to work, you’ll need another vacation after you have to deal with all the paperwork that piled up while you were gone. Shouldn’t it be instead that we are so accustomed to going to church – habits can be good things, especially when not just going through the motions – that if we wake up one morning before work, not feeling well, we should ask ourselves if we’d go to church? How much more important is our soul than a day’s wages?

In a Bible class years ago, I heard someone say one of the wisest things ever when it comes to attending worship services: We don’t have to go worship God; we get to go worship God. It’s all in the perspective and attitude. It’s our priorities.

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NKJV)