Exile?

As many of you know, Scott has been teaching and preaching 1 Peter.  In his letter, Peter is writing to people who are going through a lot and who would continue to go through a lot simply because they wear the name of Christ.  It is easy to see how christians suffered for their beliefs and the way they lived.  It was even present in their everyday lives, not just martyrdom, but the way they were treated.  Perhaps they were unable to buy goods from some non-christians, or perhaps people wouldn't purchase their items.  Whatever it was, these christians did not have an easy life.  They suffered on a daily basis because of their beliefs.  They truly were exiles.  Later on, people gave up all of their earthly possessions in order to 'suffer' for Christ.  Now, when we apply this letter to ourselves, while we're sitting in our air conditioned buildings on padded pews, we seem to think we too are suffering terrible things.  This thought really disturbs me because as christians today, in the United States, I really don't think we suffer for our beliefs.


As christians, we purchase whatever we want from whomever we want.  We eat whatever we desire, and participate in whatever we think is fun.  We live exactly like the rest of the world except we go to worship when we don't have some other activity planned.  This really bothers me.  Notice, I'm including myself.  If you've been in my home, you know we have some really nice things.  We wear nice clothes, we drive a nice car, and like to have fun just like everyone else.  When reading and studying 1 Peter, I am VERY uncomfortable.  For example, in 1 Peter 1:17, Peter says, "...live in reverent fear during the time of your exile."  Exile?  I don't know about you, but I look around at how I've been so blessed and I don't see exile.  I know I'm not in heaven now, but I really don't see me living the life of an exile.  


I wonder if I would live more like an exile, would I suffer more like an exile?  I wonder if all christians did these things, would we see the church grow?  I wonder if we gave up more, would we be more excited about leaving this world?  I wonder if when faced with death, we would be able to say, "to die is gain" and truly mean it?

"The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases, the pain of his exile also increases."  -Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 12

Letting Go

Most of us have probably either seen an episode, or at least have heard something about the A&E show "Hoarders."  In cause you know nothing about the show, each episode follows two compulsive hoarders as they try to "clean up" their homes.  Sometimes these people have lost their children, or they are an inspection away from it.  Some people are forced out of their homes, and many lose their spouses over their disease.  During the episode, each individual works with a professional who attempts to organize, and help the hoarder learn new behaviors.  Large trucks and dumpsters are brought in, along with several workers to help the individuals sort and clean their homes.  The show ends with significant progress or failure of the person to change.


I've watched horrific scenes of clutter and trash being shoveled out and sorted by men in rubber suits and masks, and I have always wondered how the home owners could let their problem get so out of control.  This question is almost always answered by the person saying they just can't let go.  They can't let go of shopping habits, stray animals, trash, or home improvement items.  Whatever it is, they can't let go, and eventually they are trapped in a very destructive behavior.  


Every time I see an episode of this show, I am encouraged to do some type of house cleaning.  I sort through clothes to give away one more time, or I clean out my "scrap booking" items that will probably never actually go into a scrapbook.  I am always terrified of becoming a hoarder.  This morning, as I was washing dishes, I thought about the show a little differently.  I wondered if I'm a secret hoarder.  I thought about when we moved and how much "junk" we were able to get rid of.  I decided I don't have a problem with hoarding physical things, but I began to wonder if I hoard anything else.  


I thought back to the days in college when I was going through a really tough time.  I felt trapped in sin that I couldn't escape.  Just like all of the hoarders on the show, I was trapped in a destructive behavior that was slowly killing me.  No, I wasn't physically dying, but I certainly was spiritually.  Then one day, I realized I couldn't clean up my life on my own.  I knew I needed help, so I turned back to God.  This was not easy for me.  I'm a very prideful and stubborn person.  Having to accept the fact that I failed and couldn't fix the problem myself hurt really bad.  


Once I humbled myself to ask God for help, the first thing I needed to do was purge my life of everything I had trouble letting go of.  God knew I would need help, so He provided a clean up crew, my brothers and sisters in Christ.  This was very humiliating because all of my garbage, the skeletons in my closet, the very things I tried to keep hidden from everyone, including myself, was just laid out and being slowly sorted through and thrown out.  When I say slowly, I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W.  I remember for weeks on end, night after night, of not going back to my dorm room until it was so late, there really wasn't anything to get me into trouble.  Instead, I would hang out at the UC with several people singing, talking, reading the Bible, and just being around each other.  I avoided all the things that triggered my destructive behavior, and eventually these things weren't a temptation for me anymore.  


I truly believe we all need a cleaning crew to help us sort through the stuff and throw it out, but without God being there to show us how to change the behavior, we are just going to get trapped again.  I also think it takes us being completely broken and our souls laid bare before God can teach us to let go.

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18 (ESV) 

The Curtains; Pt.2

On Tuesday, I put in a couple of hours at the sewing machine and finally finished Jackson's curtains!  It's about time huh?  After finishing, I felt a sense of accomplishment.  I finished something I had been putting off for far too long.  While I was hanging the curtains, Jackson didn't even try to help!  He was too proud to do anything but look at them.  I think it is safe to say he likes his new curtains.  I've attached a couple of pictures so you can see I actually did finish! 

Jackson and Sheriff Woody are enjoying a book together.

Jackson's room doesn't stay clean for long...

5 Reasons Why I Choose Organic

Several people ask this question, "Why do you spend more money to buy organic?"  I have often wondered the same thing.  It does seem like many organic foods are quite a bit pricier than the non-organic varieties.  However, some items are pretty much the same price.  To me, price doesn't matter as much when I see the benefits to eating organic.  I'll try to explain some of the benefits as I explain my reasons for choosing organic.  To preface this, I will be working on additional articles that will go more in depth on some of the subjects addressed.  These reasons are not in any particular order.


1.  Buying organic supports the local farmer.  Organic foods are not filled or sprayed with preservatives so they do not have the long shelf life other foods have.  For this reason, many organic products are purchased from local, or almost local farmers (even in the large chain stores).  Therefore you are helping someone close to you.  In addition, organic farmers are not subsidized by the government so you are helping farmers who are not over producing their crops for a larger paycheck.


2.  Organic foods are more like God made them.  By law, organic foods can not be genetically modified (the seeds made in a laboratory).  In addition, the animals cannot be given antibiotics, hormones, or be offspring of cloned animals.  Vegetables and fruits must be grown without being GM, without the use of chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge (I don't want my strawberries to be grown in sewage sludge, do you?), or irradiation (basically chemo for produce).  I will write a bit more on the problems of these things later.


3.  Organic foods have serious health benefits.  Some of the benefits include:  Strengthened immune system, improved sleeping habits, reduced cancer & heart disease risks, and they also promote weight loss.  I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can when it comes to weight loss!


4.  Organic farming is better for the environment.  Since plants can't be doused in chemical pesticides and fertilizers, the chemicals are not poisoning our air, water, and soil (not to mention our bodies).


5.  Organic foods often contain more nutrients.   It has recently been shown that many fruits, veggies, and even meats contain more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients than their non-organic versions.   Perhaps this is because they are grown in nutrient dense soils, and are fresher.


Like I said before, I will be expanding on some of these areas soon.  I'll probably start with GMO's.  It's shocking what I have learned!

525,600 Minutes

Recently, 40 billionaires pledged to give at least half of their wealth to charity.  That is a LOT of money going to good causes.  I know these billionaires have more money than they can spend, but it's still an incredible thing they are doing.  I know we don't all have money like that, as a matter of fact, most of us will never come close to having that kind of money.  However, there is something we can give back, something worth far more than millions of dollars.  Warren Buffett, who pledged to give away 99% of his wealth, stated the following about his pledge:

Moreover, this pledge does not leave me contributing the most precious asset, which is time. Many people, including -- I'm proud to say -- my three children, give extensively of their own time and talents to help others. Gifts of this kind often prove far more valuable than money. A struggling child, befriended and nurtured by a caring mentor, receives a gift whose value far exceeds what can be bestowed by a check. 

 I think he hit the nail on the head.  Our time is valuably important.  We never seem to have enough time, so how are we supposed to give more of it?  Let's think of it this way:

There are 24 hours in a day, and 7 days in a week (168 hours).  Since there are 52 weeks in a year, there are 8736 hours each year.  

Lets go back and think about each day and week.  The column on the left will show the activity the middle column will show the approximate time spent on the activity each day, and the last column will show the approximate time spent on that activity each week.  

Activity                     Hrs per wk day                    Hrs per week
Sleep                                8                                           56
Eating                              2                                           14
Dressing/Shower            2                                           14

Work                                8                                           40
Driving                             1                                            7             
                                                        Total                    131


That leaves  37 additional hours that we usually have something going, lets figure out how we fill this.  Most of us say we pray and study our Bible every day, lets be generous, and say we do this an hour each day.  That brings our total hours to 138 per week.  We still have 1 1/2 days to fill.  Let's say we go to worship each Sunday morning & evening and go to Bible class on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening these activities are only 4 hours a week.  I know there is also house cleaning, kids activities, etc.  But We've only filled 142 of 168 hours!  That means we still have more than an entire day each week, or 14.25% of the week that we can devote to other worthwhile things!   Just imagine how that adds up over a year!


Tips on spending time wisely:
1.  Make a list of your time priorities.  Worship and Bible class, family, work, sleep, etc...
2.  Make a time budget.  Write down how you spend each hour of the day for a week.  Look to see where you spend most of your time.  Make a list of things you want to start doing, or continue to do, and things you do not want to keep doing, or habits that need change.  Now make a schedule for the week of how you want to spend each hour of every day.  Make sure to include the changes.  Sometimes this takes sacrifice, but it'll be worth it in the long run.  This is a good activity for kids too.  They also need to learn the value of their time and how to spend it wisely.
3.  Always make sure there is time for God.  We often fill our lives so full that we don't have time for what is most important.  It's one thing to say God's a priority, it's another thing to make God a priority by giving your time to Him.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes,

Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Moments so dear.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

-Jonathan Larson, Seasons of Love

The Curtains

Lately I've thought a lot about motivation.  What spurs me to do the things I do, the way I do them, and at the time I do them?  For well over one year, I have had fabric to make some curtains for Jackson's room.  I actually purchased the fabric and all of the other supplies while I was on maternity leave a year and a half ago.  The plan has been present, the supplies ready, and even the time has been available, but I have still not finished the curtains.


When we moved to La Grange, I did run across a slight problem:  Jackson's new room had two windows, not just one.  So I devised a plan, but never put it into action.  Five months quickly passed and then my Mother In Law came for a visit.  My MIL decided to motivate me.  We went to the store, purchased the additional items, cut everything out, and pinned it all together.  When she returned to Oklahoma, I was motivated to finish the curtains the next day.  The next day turned into the day after, then the day after turned into next week.  This kept happening, and a month and a half later, I still have not completed the curtains.


This honestly sounds incredibly lazy of me, but I promise I really haven't been sitting around doing nothing the entire time.  I've done some deep cleaning around the house more than once, ran errands, visited some people, and have done all kinds of other things.  However, I seem to always forget to sew the curtains together.  I have moved then from one place to the next to get them out of my way, but I haven't taken the couple of hours to sew them so I can hang them in the windows.  


The more I think about the curtains, the more it irritates me that they are not finished.  One day I'll say, "I need to finish these curtains, tomorrow should be good."  When the next day comes along, I just say the same thing.  I lack the motivation to finish.


My High School Bible class teacher taught my class over and over not to say, "I'll do something tomorrow" for a couple of reasons.   The thing that has stuck with me the most is the first reason he gave.  He said repeatedly, "Tomorrow never comes."  He explained how we never make it to tomorrow.  We're always looking toward tomorrow, because it's always in the future.  We're just chasing after tomorrow.  The other reason is we're not guaranteed another day so we need to take care of things today.  I thank you for teaching that to me Bill, but I haven't always put it into action.  I'm real good at letting others know "tomorrow never comes" and if they want to see something done, then to do it themselves, but rarely do I take action myself.  I guess I'm just caught up in chasing after tomorrow.


Thinking on this makes me wonder if I'm chasing tomorrow on my walk with God.  I wonder about the cards I'm going to mail tomorrow, or the Bible study I'm going to start tomorrow.  Am I going to say that encouraging word tomorrow, or am I just going to keep putting God off until tomorrow?  Sure, I may be busy going to class, worship, and all the youth activities, but am I putting God on the back burner when it comes to my personal relationship with Him?  After all, I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, even if I could catch it.

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

James 4:13-14 (NIV)

Watering the Grass

I had not planned on posting anything today, but something happened this morning I think is quite funny.  I decided to share it with you.

Jackson is now 18 months old, and he has been interested in the bathroom and the toilet for several months now.  Since I like to be informed, I decided it was time for me to read up on potty training.  I purchased a book the other day at Half Price Books that is supposed to explain everything you need to know about potty training.  As a matter of fact, the book is titled, The Everything Potty Training Book by Linda Sonna, Ph.D.  "Everything" seemed like a good place to start learning, so last night, before going to bed, I began to read potty success stories.  Even the failures turned out nicely in the long run.  

After reading the first couple of chapters, I understood several things I needed to do.  First, since Jackson's always worn diapers, I have to teach him where his waste comes from and about wet and dry.  The book explained a good way to do both of these things is to take the child outside without a diaper and let them "water the grass."  As it was only 80 degrees at that point in the morning, I decided today was a great day for Jackson to start learning.  So I took his diaper off and we went to the backyard.  

At first, everything was just fine.  Jackson was playing in his sandbox and having a good time.  I was relaxing in a chair on the porch with a new book in hand waiting for the opportune time for a teaching moment.  Potty training couldn't be going better.  Pretty soon Jackson left the sandbox and was wandering around towards the porch.  He walked around for a little while and then stopped by his toy boat.  That's when I saw my chance!   I set my book down and waited.  I knew he was about to do his business, and sure enough pretty soon he was watering the porch.  That wasn't quite what I had hoped for, but I wasn't too upset by it.  The next thing is what caught me off guard.  He wasn't just watering the porch he was fertilizing it too!  

I decided to go with the flow and tried to explain and show him what he was doing like the book said.  He didn't seem too interested in what I was saying, so he walked away to a different area of the porch.  Cleaning off the porch was simple, I just wrapped it up in a big leaf and went to bury it.  The next thing I know Jackson was at it again.  I was thinking, "This is a little messier than I anticipated, but at least he's really getting several learning opportunities."  However, this time was different from the first time.  As he walked away, he began to trip.  What happened next is kind of a blur.  The outcome was poo smeared into the concrete and all over Jackson.  I soon gasped in horror as a little hand went towards a little mouth.  Fortunately I was quick enough to keep it out, but just barely.  I quickly washed Jackson off with the water hose and sent him back to play in the sand as I washed and scrubbed the porch.  While spraying the water towards the mess (the hose is only about 3 feet long) I also managed to spray my chair and my new book.  

As soon as I had the porch cleaned up and my book wiped off, I took Jackson inside for a bath and began to blow dry my book and think about what had just happened.  The amount of blow drying I had to do allowed for a pretty good think.  I decided several things.  First, it's not always as easy as the "true" stories in the books.  Second, I should wait to start patting myself on the back until after something happens.  Third, I'm not an expert after reading a couple chapters in a cheap resale book.  Finally, the most important thing I learned from this is experience is: if a book tells you it has everything you need to know about something, unless it's the Bible, it's lying!  

Have a happy day!

When It Clicked

Sunday night at worship, as we were singing, a powerful memory resurfaced.  One thing I love about music is its ability to transport your mind to another time, or to conjure powerful emotions and feelings.  While singing the other night, both of these things happened to me.

At first, I was reminded of singing the same song every worship for the six weeks I was in Japan.  It wasn’t just a casual reminder of singing the song.  I remembered the voices of my brothers and sisters singing this song in both their native tongue and in mine.  I could hear how earnestly they sang with passion in their voices and on their faces as they pleaded for Jesus to fill their land with His grace and mercy.  I heard them as they prayed for His Word to be spread.  I felt the tears I cried with Akiko, the 70 year old woman who understood her condition and wanted to change it, but she was too scared to be baptized.  She was scared because she would be left alone, by herself with no home for dishonoring her family.  Then I remembered how I met Akiko and why I even went to Japan.

I call it, “The Night It Clicked.”  It happened late one Wednesday in August of 2001.  I was meeting under a gazebo between the two main dorms on campus at OSU.  The gazebo was located in a grassy lawn in the middle of a HUGE parking lot for the 1000’s of students living in the dorms.  At the UC, we had a tradition to meet at the gazebo on Wednesday nights from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. and in the darkness sing.  People in their dorm rooms could hear us, and people walking by or playing volleyball would often stop to listen for a while.  Sometimes others joined us.  It was an amazing experience similar to the awesome late night, tennis court devotionals you have at church camp under the stars, or around a fire.  Only this was better.  It was better because we all wanted to be there.  We all had work to do and sleep to catch up on, but we chose to spend another hour together praising God and reaching out to a lost campus in song.  

I described all of that, because I want you to understand what it was like when it all came together for me.  It was one of those nights, at the beginning of a new school year.  We were singing, and as I looked around the circle of new and familiar faces, I looked beyond them.  I looked out into the parking lot at the 1000’s of cars, each representing a person.  Each car representing a soul.  Then I looked back at our circle of 30 - 40 and it clicked.  I was so suddenly aware of how many people need what I have but don’t care, or don’t even know it’s there for them.  I realized that night how vast our task is as Christians.  I realized that night I could no longer sit idly by and let other people do the work I should be doing as well.  That was my “Ah ha” moment.  

In the weeks to come, one of the things I decided to do was participate in a Let’s Start Talking campaign.  The following summer I went as part of a team of 5 to Curitiba, Brazil.  The next summer, in 2003, I was part of a team of 3 to Mito, Japan.  It was the memories from Mito that hit me like a brick Sunday evening as we sang “Shine, Jesus, Shine.”  Singing that song made me think not only about the past, but about now, the present.  As I sang, I knew my brothers and sisters in Japan had already sung that song earlier in the day.  I knew they didn’t just sing it, they meant it.  It was their prayer to an Almighty God who can do anything.

Thinking of them made me do something thinking of myself and the commitment I made to God when I put His Son on in baptism.  The commitment I made to share the love He gives me to everyone I see.  I was reminded part of that commitment was also to others.  I made a commitment to the world that I would show them Jesus in my everyday actions, words, and life.  If I’m not fulfilling my commitment, I’m not just letting myself down.  I’m letting down those around me who need God’s love.  I’m letting God down.

Singing that song Sunday night gave me more than just strong memories.  It also challenged me to make good on my promises to God and to others.  It reminded me I promised God I would be like his Son, so I need to do be more Christlike.  It reminded me to not just think about doing something, but to do it.  Instead of just saying I’m going to bring food to the homeless the next time I go to the city, I need to bring food to the homeless.  Instead of just saying I want to send some money to a children’s home in India, I need to write and mail the check.  Instead of just saying I’m going to send cards to the sick, I need to send the cards.  Instead of just staying I’ll pray for someone, I need to get on my knees and pray.  Instead of just singing some words to a pretty song, I need to earnestly mean them with all of my heart.

Thanks Tom for leading that song Sunday night.  I thank God for the reminders and the challenge.

Shine, Jesus, Shine

By Graham Kendrick

Lord, the light of Your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness, shining;

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,

Set us free by the truth You now bring us:

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory.

Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.

Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy.

Send forth Your Word, Lord, and let there be light!

All the Dust

Tonight I settled into bed, got my book ready, looked up at the ceiling fan and gasped in horror!  For several months, we've had the fan on continuously to help circulate the air in the house.  Tonight, for some reason, it was off.  What I saw completely grossed me out!  I saw thick gray dust completely covering the fan blades!  


Immediately I put my book down, jumped out of bed, and ran to the closet which houses my cleaning supplies.  This had to come down tonight before I did anything else.  As I came back into the room, equipped with a full arsenal of rags, dusters, and spray, I realized I needed to cover the bed or it would become the new home to all the dust currently living on the fan.  I quickly draped the bed with old ratty towels that are usually in the car protecting the back seat from Jackson.  Then I went to battle.  The war was on and the dust was putting up a good fight.  It was so thick the Swiffer Duster wasn't doing the job.  I had to really wipe hard to clean the blades.  I was amazed by how much dust had collected so quickly.  It really had not been very long since I cleaned the blades.  I know I've wiped them down a few times in the six months we've lived here!


All of the dust really got me to thinking about life in general.  Sometimes I'm a lot like that fan.  My life is dusty, and I need it cleaned.  There are so many distractions, annoyances, and just stuff in my life that clutters things up and makes me dusty.  I don't know where it all comes from, but it always seems to cloud my vision about what's important.  


While I was cleaning my fan, I looked around to see what may be causing so much dust.  As I turned around, I noticed the AC vent just two feet from the fan blades.  When I looked closer and saw the dust inside the vent, I knew I had found the culprit.  I also came to the realization if I didn't get to the source of the problem, then I would always have a dusty fan.  No matter how well I clean the fan blades, with the dusty air blowing on them, it's not going to take any time at all for my fan to be just as dusty as they were tonight.  Until I clean the ducts, or at least install a filter over my ceiling vents, I will always have a dust problem.


My life is like that as well.  As long as I just clean up the surface of my life, Ill just keep getting dusty.  It's a superficial clean, something everyone can see, but it doesn't solve the problem.  What I need to do is call in a specialist to clean out my ductwork.  I know that is easier said than done.  It takes time and sacrifice, but it's definitely worth it in the long run.  Not only will my life truly be clean, when my fan blades start to get a little dusty again, the dusting will not be quite as tedious.

"Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, 

      scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life."

Psalm 51:7  (The Message) 

Hi!!

Hi Everyone!


I'm obviously new to the blogging sphere.  I decided to start this blog on a whim.  I think this may be a good way for me to decompress all of my thoughts.  If you know me at all, you know I'm full of random, off-the-wall things.  I think it may be a good idea for me to let them out instead of keeping them all inside.  Plus, it may be entertaining for you!


I plan on posting some of my random thoughts on life, spirituality, motherhood, food, and really whatever comes to mind.  So, here it goes.  I hope you find this interesting...  :)


Laura