Memories....

Ok, many of you know I sing. I was standing in our congregation yesterday and had these crazy flashbacks of growing up that I felt I wanted to share.

My Dad's side of the family is all gifted in some sort of music or just enjoys sitting around singing. I have memories of gathering for holidays and my aunt playing the piano and all the his sisters and brother and the adults singing hymns or old gospel songs. Most of the songs I learned didn't come from the Baptist hymnbook or worship hymnal. They are songs that are just gospel songs... nothing special about them, except that they worship Jesus. I have vivid memories of going to a barn on a friday evening as a child with my dad, aunt and grandmother and singing songs out of a book while they had a full band on this "stage" complete with hay barrels and animals in the back. There would be a piano, banjo, drums, cymbal, different horns, guitar... you name it, it was probably there at one time or another. I grew up believing that singing was worshipping Jesus, not if you hit the note or not. I still don't quite understand the whole "singing a special in church" deal.

To this day my dad still sings around the house no matter what he's doing. I do believe his most famous is singing like Louis Armstrong as he cleans the kitchen. Ask my mom or brother, they can testify to this. Well my dad doesn't sing "specials" in church but believe me when I tell you that he can be heard across the church. We have little old ladies who will fight to sit in front of him just so they can hear him sing during the service.

Well I was sitting by him yesterday and of course I can hear him loud and clear. As I was singing I suddenly realized how easily i fall into harmony sitting next to him. It made me think how I fit in my family...though many times I wonder if my parents really listen I know that I am in that family for God's glory. Then it made me think about how I fit in God's family. I have a place and a purpose in His family, in His body for His glory.

Even when we aren't sure why or for what God may have us somewhere, we fit into a specific slot that was carved out just for us so that He may receive glory. Fit into the piece in which He leads you to...

Advice from a good friend....

What you talking about, Willis?

So many times in life we let our jobs, family, money issues, whatever just bog us down. The Lord has everything worked out in His timing and will supply for our every need.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4:19

He provides the clothes on our backs, a shelter over our head, even the very food we need to sustain us from day to day...

My friend, Max, enjoys his food and would offer to share with anyone he met. I visited with him on Friday evening, well technically with his mom but who's keeping a record. We all enjoyed a meal together and he wanted me to make sure I had bread. His mom can testify that many times he offered me a piece of his bread, though I politely declined seeing as he had already enjoyed it as the picture above shows.

We need to hold onto the things in this life as loosely as we can. Scripture tells us that our treasures are bound in Heaven. Things we hold on to here will fade away. They are meaningless! We need to trust that the Lord will provide for us. Children often teach us how to enjoy the life the Lord has given to us.

Thanks Max for reminding me of the story of David and Goliath and reminding me how many stones it took David to kill Goliath. Also for reminding me that God supplies what you need, right when you need it just like He did with David.

Many times the Lord surprises us with blessings we didn't expect from Him.

At times, things may not go just as we had planned, but we are to remember He has our best in mind. Be slow to anger, slow to speak and quick to listen.

The Lord smiles on His children and desires to give us good things. Sometimes even a candy house with our sister. Right Max? :)

Good start to a Friday morning!

I really need to start adding pictures to this blog. No, but I want to share with others my interesting morning. My dad and I stopped to get gas this morning and I always go in to pay. I walked through the door. The man behind the counter screamed something as he then ran to the back of the store.

I stand there not quite sure what to do. I wait about a minute and a half and this other man emerges from the back room carrying a display to put on the counter. He slowly puts the display on the counter, changes the placement, adjusts the display...all the while I'm thinking "dude, come on I'm going to be late to work!". Well i finally pay for the gas so my dad can start filling the car. I walk away from the counter to get something to drink and a snack for the day. I come back up to the counter with a bottle of mountain dew, a pack of crackers (for breakfast) and a mid-morning sweet snack. He rings everything up and says "$1.09". I thought he said $21.09, so I asked him to repeat it. I looked at the price on the register and he said "$1.09". I thought... do I argue with him?

I don't, pay the man $1.09 and gather my items to leave. I'm sure he simply made a mistake because he definitely got jipped! But hey, I got a discount. Yeah for great happenings on a Friday morning!! :)

Questions, Complaints, Comments....

I’ve been eating lunch at work more frequently trying to save money and honestly just because I’m tired of eating out. Plus it’s healthier than buying burgers or fried food. Friday I was eating with our program men and our chaplains and I sat with some of our newer men in the program. We were having a good conversation and I had swatted at a fly once or twice. With the heat outside and our kitchen doors always being opened we have developed a fly/nat problem. I made the comment “man, these flies are getting on my nerves”. To which the man across from me replied “you know, I didn’t even notice the fly until you said something. Before I got into the program, flies used to live with me, so I didn’t even notice the flies.” That statement stayed with me the rest of the afternoon.

I left work and went to the Christian bookstore looking for some new tracks. I went into the restroom and the toilet paper dispenser was one of those that you really have to work at getting the toilet paper off. It doesn’t just roll like it should; you have to manually roll it with your hands because it only flips so far. I got frustrated and thought “man, these people make enough in the bookstore…you’d think they would buy a decent toilet paper roll dispenser.” Then the Lord spoke! I felt Him calm my spirit and softly remind me of the conversation I had had with the man earlier that day. I felt as though He whispered to my heart “Jessica, there are people who are living with flies whom I love.. why are you complaining about a toilet paper dispenser?”
Needless to say, I shut up real fast. I walked out of that restroom having to ask forgiveness for the fact that I was selfish and impatient to the point of complaining to the Lord about having to work to get toilet paper when there are some who are sick because they don’t have the proper hygiene supplies to be clean.

We are a blessed people. Are these blessings things that make our lives comfortable or are these blessings things that we truly need? If the Lord called us to be uncomfortable for a while…. Do we love Him enough to say “Yes Lord.”?

Isaiah 43:4 says
“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.”

Walk by the Spirit…not by the flesh. Scripture says nothing about being comfortable, but everything about freedom. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

hmmmm

Wonder if people actually read this blog or if I'm simply talking to no one.....

oooo girl...did you see what she was wearing?!

Apparently I’ve reached that age. The one where people start asking questions... I’m a single girl in her mid-twenties who is not dating anyone nor has ever been married before. People start asking “when are you going to get married?”, “why aren’t you dating anyone?”. Or they speak to each other phrases like “she’s too picky”, “maybe there are some things she needs to change”, or my favorite “does she not want to be married?” I’m not making these lines up people… I’ve heard them all. I think the worst thing about all these thoughts, questions and comments are that the majority of them come from those who attend the local church.

See I’ve decided that all my Bibles I’ve ever owned left out the book of Jeraboim. See in the 7th chapter and 23rd verse of the book of Jeraboim it clearly states that a female must be married with 1.5 kids by the time she reaches her 25 birthday. Preferably with a second child but at least have a second child on the way. Please tell me where I can find this because I’m obviously missing something. ***Please note, I am not serious about my Bible missing books. My Bible is complete and no lacking in anything (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Now don’t get me wrong…I have a HUGE desire to be married and have a family, but in God’s time, not mine. For the time being I’m learning how He is my groom and my true heart’s desire and anything else He gives is just because He loves me. Song of Songs 7:10.

This blog is to talk about how we as people, creations of the Living God treat those He has created. We believe that our culture has created this mold in which others must fit into perfectly, yet when they don’t somehow it’s their fault. It’s their fault that no one has chosen to share their life with them. It’s their fault that a husband and wife cannot conceive. It’s their fault that a spouse chose to leave them because obviously they’re not getting what they WANT out of their husband or wife. It’s their fault if they feel uncomfortable when lessons are taught on loving parents just because both their parents passed away before they turned 30.

Why do we think that we have any right to try and criticize the life of a child of the Lord? A creation He formed with His hands. A son or daughter that He loves so much that He desires to give good. Do we truly believe our opinions and thoughts will bring them peace and love when they aren’t spoken from the Lord? Do we honestly believe that our looks and actions will show approval and grace to those who the rest of the world sees as worthless?
We find the faults in others and seek to pull them out in hopes to make them a better person. Rather, shouldn’t we cover those faults and blemishes with the love, grace and arms of the Lord and His extension through us? Won’t those “issues” that we see in others be turned into things the Lord can use to minister to others using that individual?

When I look at a girl who is broken because she comes from a family who doesn’t care if she eats from day to day, but I act like she is in my way and taking up precious time I have. What about the two kids who live in a home with their parents. However, their parents have one A/C unit that is in their bedroom and the children have free reign of the rest of the house and the parents never come out of the bedroom because they’re continuously cooking meth? (I am not making that one up). Do we cut our eyes at them in disgust when they walk in and just want someone to hug them because no one hugs in their family… they would rather hit or tell the individual how much they need to fix in their life… their version of loving and mending…

The love that the world has created comes when one meets the standards that the culture sets. The church today believes you must meet a certain physical appearance in order to be “accepted”. One must bath and have clothing from a high-end fashion store before stepping into the newly remodeled facility. What if an individual comes in who hasn’t bathed in 2 weeks? What if they are wearing the same clothes they’ve worn for 3 days? What if they sit beside me? Do I politely smile and ask “how are you doing?” but not really mean it? Do I tell them it was nice to see them as I leave the church but never offer them to come to lunch with me or ask them if there is any way I can help?

I remember growing up when my parents weren’t as involved in church as other parents in the youth group. Other kids would give me looks like it was my fault. Adults would ask questions because they felt it was my responsibility to make sure my parents were involved. I don’t remember one person coming to our house to visit just to see how we were doing. We weren’t “in the right circle”.

I’ve become so consumed with meeting my wants and not meeting the needs of others that Jesus puts in my path. I think as long as I tell them the story of the Gospel that they will want what I have…. But I show no love? People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Didn’t Jesus always meet the needs of others while also sharing His love…. Paul says in I Corinthians 13 “I may speak in tongues of men or of angels, but if I am without love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy, and know every hidden truth; I may have faith strong enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may dole out all I possess, or even give my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I am none the better.”

I want to be the person who sits in the nursery at church holding children even when they smell of smoke or dirt is caked on their face. I want to be the girl in Africa praying with mothers and fathers as they learn their child is terribly sick. I want to stand in the middle of a field in South America leading worship for the local church. I long to sit with a young girl as she cries and explains to me why she feels it necessary to cut herself to make the pain go away. I want to remind her of the one who created her and looks at her declaring her beauty day after day. I want to be the one who kneels to kiss the feet of the Father longing just to hear Him.

Dirt and Dust

My mom and I have kept the nursery a few times this year already at church and we always seem to have the preschoolers. Not the bed babies which are easier, but the preschoolers. The ones you actually have to entertain. :)
I won't go into the story of walking into the classroom after the Sunday School teacher had been there and there were 10 cans of play dough out for 4 kids in a carpet room. I mean seriously...

I digress though. One time I had to employ 2 other people in the church to help me. We had quite a few that evening, about 12 preschoolers. That's a job in itself!! I have a point to this blog, I promise.

In the class, there were these 2 little girls..probably 4 or 5 years of age. But they were very quiet and weren't the "favorites" amongst the other children nor the other people in the room. My heart seems to always cleave to these kind of individuals. Call me weird, but ones that others cast out seem to be my favorite.
Well I am always the story reader whenever I have to keep the nursery. I've had 5 kids in my lap at a time while reading a book and had to ask them to turn the pages because I couldn't reach my arms around all of them. Yes that would have been a great picture. But these 2 little girls always seemed to bring more books and would want to be as close to me as possible even when they were in my lap. Let me paint the picture of these girls. They smelled of smoke, dirt, sweat and their appearance fit the smell. When there is clear dirt on a child's face and they're not anywhere near dirt, it can tug at one's heartstrings.

So at one point and time I had one of the girls in my lap and she's rested against my chest listening as I read. It was difficult to breath in because the smoke smell is overwhelming. I look over at the other people in the room with me and they are trying to disguise the fact that they don't approve of these girls. They are talking about who their parents are and saying how the children don't know any better because "look at who their parents are". At one point and time, one of the girls handed something to the one of the individuals and she took it as though it was soaked in toxic chemicals. She quickly brought it over to the counter to disinfect it. The little girl didn't quite understand, but I'm sure she picked up on the woman's body language.

This made me think.... I am just like those little girls. I go out, I get dirty, I smell, I am filthy and all I want to do is climb up in my Father's lap to hear Him speak love over me and remind me of His promises. I am His child. I want to ignore the fact that I have sin, but it's evident to Him. Just as I tried to straighten that little girl's hair while she was in my lap, my Father tries to "fix me up". He wipes away my tears, cleans the dirt (sin) off my face, takes away my smell of the sin and makes me clean and righteous.
The Father's lap is such a place of peace and rest. When You are resting against His chest, listening to Him, knowing He's your protector and warrior.... *BIG SIGH*
The Father's lap is a place of security and is love in itself. Why would we want to be anywhere else?

The other people who were in the room are just like the people in the world. They look on me, ridicule me, tell me I have no place in coming to the Lord in the shape that I'm in. Isn't God good that He doesn't make us clean up our act before we can come to Him? It makes me want to open my arms to all...but then again, isn't that what the Lord wants from us?

Lord, if I never do anything "amazing" in the eyes of the world, may I always love on those that You send to me. May they feel Your love through my love for them.