Checking my back

I like books. My husband does too. We rarely go on any kind of shopping adventure without stopping by a bookstore of some kind. I have a huge stack of “TO READ” books on the nightstand beside my bed. When I add a new one to the stack I reshuffle the order. I’ll get to them all eventually. I do get distracted from the stack sometimes, however, when a new book is released and I’m drawn in by all the media and hype so much so that I read the new book and ignore the stack.

I am not necessarily a voracious reader. I don’t devour books quickly and then move on to the next one. I am more of a deliberate reader. I read slowly and savor. I rarely read a book without a pencil in my hand. I like to underline and mark the good parts, the parts I want to try to remember. It usually takes me a while to finish a book. That behavior is more likely because of the types of books I read, which are mostly theology-ish and related to Christian living.

Every now and then I read a novel. The last novel I read was, dare I admit it, The DaVinci Code. I thought that book was a wonderful work of fiction. It held my attention and every time I had to put it down to do something else, I was anxious to get back to it. I didn’t need a pencil and I finished it in a matter of hours, not days. It didn’t influence me to change my own theology, but it did make me think about what I believe and why.

I just read another book that only took hours to read and did not require a pencil. It was an autobiography, sort of. It didn’t cover the author’s entire life from beginning to end; instead, it was an account a few critically defining years as a young, single adult.

In My Beautiful Idol Pete Gall compares humans to collector or decorator crabs. The crabs gather up stuff off the ocean floor (like anemones and bits of coral and seaweed and such) and attach these trinkets to his outer shell. All the junk serves as a disguise camouflaging it from its enemy, the squid. Humans do the same thing, covering our lives with all sorts of things, pretending we’re not vulnerable to our enemy. I think what Pete discovered was that it would be a whole lot easier if we quit trying to cover it all up. Admit that we truly are vulnerable to our enemy, show our real selves, and seek our protection from someone other than ourselves. That’s were God comes in.

My overall theology is not entirely the same as Pete’s, but I think we’re headed in the same direction. The book certainly made me think about it.

And, it gave me a whole new perspective on being crabby.

You can read the first chapter here:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

He is Here

I can’t remember a time when I did not believe in God.

I guess I have always known that He was out there somewhere. To some degree, I found safety and security in that. Often it was enough just to know He was out there somewhere.

But I don’t always feel like He’s right here with me. Close.

Have you ever found yourself in a tough or lonely situation where you wondered, “Where is God when I need Him?”

What about all those promises that He would be with me?

I started thinking about all this because of what I have been reading in Isaiah lately. Specifically, chapter 58. The subject matter of the chapter is fasting.

Now, I like to eat. Going without food is something I do not like to do. I get irritable and grumpy and I usually get a headache. Matter of fact, I’m getting a headache just thinking about the possibility of skipping lunch.

What I’ve come to see in this scripture is that it’s not really the fasting that is so important. What matters to God is my true motive for doing it. Or anything else for His sake. When you do it like He says, He shows up.

Service. To others.

Serve Him by helping others… and “then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “

When my circumstances are difficult, help someone else. And praise Him.

"...and he will say: Here am I."

When my plate is empty, help someone else. And praise Him.

"...and he will say: Here am I."

And especially when my plate is full, help someone else. And praise Him.

"...and he will say: Here am I."

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

Do you drive the truck?

When I tell people where I live, they always want to know where it is because they have never heard of it before. I always tell them, it’s two weeks from everywhere.

When they want to know what that means, I say to them in my most southern accented monotone voice, “We don’t have it in stock. Be glad to order for you. It’ll take two weeks to get here.”

THAT is where I live. The small, rural town of Inconvenience.

Granted, for some, that is the charm of this cozy little not-really-close-to-anything town. It’s pretty much removed from any metro, big city life.

What do we do for fun here?

We wait on trucks.

Monday we went to a fast food restaurant for lunch. Before I even opened my mouth to order, the person taking the orders named off several things they were out of. They were waiting on the truck to come and re-supply their stock.

Tuesday we went to a sit-down restaurant for dinner. After we had surveyed the menu and made our choices, the server came with her pad and pen to take our order. I told her what I wanted, to which she responded that they were out of it. She then gave us the list of everything else they were out of too. They were waiting on the truck to come.

Wednesday I went to the post office. I had Mother’s Day cards to mail to my mother and two sisters. I wanted pretty stamps to put on them. Now, I’m not a philatelist, but I like pretty stamps on special cards. And you know what? They didn’t have any. They ran out and weren’t going to order any more since the price of postage stamps is going up next week. No stamps. They put tacky metered stickers on my lovely pastel envelopes covered in heart stickers. They were waiting on next week’s truck.

I’m looking forward to next week. And I’m looking for the truck.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25

So, I've been thinking...

The last week has been out of the ordinary for us. We’ve done some not-so-routine things, traveled away for a couple of days, and had a different kind of Sunday. All of these things have stirred me to think about a lot of things. Way too many to cover in one sitting. But it’s on my brain (not that you asked!) so here’s what I think….

1. It’s refreshing to hear the people that work for Chick-fil-A respond to customers by saying, “My pleasure.”

2. If you’re standing at a counter making a purchase, it is disrespectful to the sales associate and the other people in line behind you to talk on your cell phone while your transaction is taking place.

3. If you are the sales associate behind the counter, it is disrespectful to the customer standing in front of you to answer your cell phone while attempting to carry out a transaction.

4. When you attend a church worship service, somebody should read scriptures from the Bible. Out loud.

5. There is always someone who can do it better than I can. Sometimes I need to stop and let them do it. Sometimes I need to keep on doing it until I get better at it. Either way, I should be happy that it is getting done. Neither one is easy.

6. Trust is not really something that can be earned, at least between humans. Even if I jump through all the hoops to try and earn someone’s trust, it can still be lost. I think that’s why the Bible tells us to trust only in God. The challenge for me is learning to quit thinking of it as a NEED I can’t live without.

7. I love it when somebody learns something new or tries something different that turns out working more effectively than the old way. It inspires me to want to do more or go further.

8. Just when I think I can’t live one more day in or with a certain circumstance, the one thing usually God asks of me is…just one more day. That is usually because it’s the one thing I haven’t given over to Him yet.

9. I haven’t been a good steward with much of what God has given me. I am very thankful for what I have and I praise God for it. I’m just not so good at giving back. I’m working on it.

10. Not wanting to burden other people with my troubles is, in some ways, selfish. (They are my problems, all mine!). Wanting other people to know all about my troubles is also selfish. The reason for that is because in both situations, the common denominator is me. When I make less of me and more of Jesus, I find just the right balance. And the trouble seems smaller too.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2

Once upon a time...

Rebecca’s second wedding anniversary is this week. She’s celebrating by sharing on her blog the story of how she met her husband. She’s invited and inspired others to share theirs too, so here is mine. Once Upon a time…

One of the first jobs I had after graduating from college was as flight attendant for a commuter airline. My home base changed with the tourist traffic, so during the winter months I lived I in Florida, at home with my parents. During the summer months I lived in Cape Cod, Massachusetts with a house full of other flight attendants.

After spending the summer months in New England, I returned to Florida just after Labor Day. The very next Sunday I went to church and learned they had hired a new staff member while I was away. Scott was the new Minister of Music and Youth. He was fresh out of seminary and this was his first full time ministry position.

There were a few other singles at the church, most of whom I knew quite well having grown up with them. In a brief conversation with one of the girls, I gathered that she was interested in Scott. I put my matchmaking skills to work.

The Trivial Pursuit board game was really popular then, so I set out to set up a social game. I don’t really remember how it actually came about, but it wasn’t long before several of us ended up at Scott’s apartment (he was the only one with his own apartment at the time) to answer stupid questions and fill our game pieces with colored pie wedges. The ulterior motive of the game night was to get Scott and the other girl some face time somewhere other than church.

At one point in the game, one person went to the bathroom, one went out to their car to get something, one went to use the phone, one went to the kitchen to get a drink. Everyone had stepped away from the game board for one reason or another. Everyone, that is, except Scott and I. He didn’t waste any time. While it was just the two of us, he asked me out to dinner.

I was a little stunned and totally not expecting that from him. After all, I was there to fix him up with someone else. I think my response was something like, “Where did that come from?”

I did eventually agree to go to dinner with him. It was early in the week when I agreed and we set the date for the following weekend. Apparently Scott was having difficulty waiting until the weekend because by Wednesday he asked me to go out for dessert and coffee. I am not that fond of apple pie or coffee, but I went.

We dated for a couple of months. Scott got anxious again and it wasn’t long before he said to me, “I want you to be my wife.”

I told him that was nice. As far as I could tell, that was not a question.

Thus began a lifetime of learning to communicate in a whole new way. Me, learning to hear what he meant instead of what he actually said. Him, learning patience as he waits through my long pauses as I take inordinate amounts of time to formulate into words what is really going on in my head.

After some coaching, he did actually offer a proposal in the form of a question.

It took some convincing for me. It’s that hesitation thing I do. Being one who has difficulty jumping right in, my answer was, “I can’t say no.”

He says it was love at first sight for him. He’s like that. When he sees something that hits the spot, he’s never satisfied with anything else.

That was in September. The wedding was the following June.

That was over 20 years ago.

It has been, and still is, a wild and crazy ride with all kinds of ups and downs. The one thing I know for sure now after 20 years of marriage is that there will never be another. This is it and I'm going to hang on to it as tightly as I can. And that is not just because of my commitment to Scott, but my commitment to Jesus. Following His directions is what has held us together for so long.

Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Ephesians 5:22-24

Pumpernickel, please

“All the bread is hot. Would you like a wrap?”

That is one of the most confusing things anyone has said to me all week.

Now, I know I’m not much of a cook. I’ve never baked my own bread so I will admit I might be a little ignorant on all the culinary processes necessary to achieve yeasty yumminess. I have, however, probably eaten way more than my share of loaves and rolls. I have eaten so much of it, in fact, that I have become a connoisseur. That’s just a fancy way of saying I’m a bread snob. I don’t really like sliced white bread all that much anymore. I’m all about the dark breads with seeds and grains in them.

I also think the bread making people that supply buns to fast food restaurants try to fool us by putting sesame seeds on plain white bread rolls to make us think they have added class and elegance to a hamburger. Hmmmpf, I won’t be fooled to lower my standards any more (I’ve already sunk to eating the white bread bun - - isn’t that enough of a compromise?!!) I usually pick the sesame seeds off, or trade my top bun for my husband’s bottom bun. I end up with two bottoms and no sesame seeds.

So, when someone tells me the bread is hot, I think that’s a good thing. Mmmmm, fresh out of the oven. The aroma. The butter-melting warmth.

Apparently, there are times “all the bread is hot” means it is not fit to eat.

Scott and I had a long day and had not had a chance to eat dinner until late. As I said, I’m not much of a cook, especially when it’s late in the day and I’m hungry. We headed to Subway for a sub sandwich. The greeting we received…

“All the bread is hot. Would you like a wrap?”

I asked the young woman to repeat what she said. She did, “All the bread is hot. Would you like a wrap?”

I had to ask, “Is that a BAD thing?”

Someone else behind the counter piped in with a little more explanation about hot bread being too hard to chew. Well, my goodness. I never knew.

I guess the greeting sandwich artist and I both assumed the same thing….that I knew more about bread than I actually did.


Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35

Do What?

In case you missed my previous post about how much I love signs that make me think about everything else EXCEPT for the purpose they were intended, I have discovered another one. Yes, again, right here in my little town, on the corner of what is probably the busiest intersection just a mile or so from the interstate.


OK, so, DO NOT…..???? Do not what????

Hmmmm, let me think.

DO NOT:

…let your shrubs be the boss
…waste your money on signs
…pass go or collect $200
…try this at home
…resuscitate
…go gentle into that dark night

A few other things come to mind.

DO NOT:

…murder, commit adultery, steal - Mark 10:19
…covet - Romans 13:9
…judge - Luke 6:37
…be discouraged - Joshua 1:9
…be afraid - Isaiah 44:8

There are sometimes when the best advice is just don’t do it!

"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” Exodus 23:2