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Category Archives: Faith

I’m forgettable…. that’s what I am…

24 Mar

Not too many weeks ago, I was watching American Idol and Simon told one of the contestants that she was forgettable. Ouch…  I hurt for her.  What a terrible thing to say to someone…..I can’t remember her name but ….. Okay, I guess he proved his point… ugh.  simon_cowell_pauls__457703a

I think it bothered me so much because I’ve been in that forgettable boat lately too…. twice on facebook and once in person.  While shopping at the nearby Meijer one day I ran into a high school classmate.  He passed right by me having no clue who I was.  After I freaked him out by calling him by his name, he said with a smile, “Nancy, I haven’t thought about you in years” … Now  you might be thinking that I’m going overboard with the whole forgettable thing with just that one comment but bear with me here….

Then on facebook, two of my guy friends who I spent time with and just adored in school  … one even gave me a nickname and called me by it for years… well, they acted (or ” for realled”) as if they didn’t know who I was… I will have to say that my ego was completely bruised.  I thought that all of these guys would have the same  memories as my memories.  I thought the one would automatically call me by my nickname again.  I thought the other would have thought about the whole 8th grade crush thing because I was pretty obvious about it.  Better yet,  I thought the other would strike up conversations about the church events that we went to together or the pranks we played on others… I will have to say that I was disappointed to see all of their little chat conversations with others were way friendlier than those that they sent me….  I’m thinking they either truly don’t remember me or don’t remember how connected we were… or at least how connected I thought we were … No, I’m not playing the violin of pity (well, maybe a little) as I write this, because I realized that the American Idol girl and I are still not in this forgettable boat alone… this is not some little fishing boat… we are talking an enormous cruise boat… the SS Forgettable… large enough for everyone to get on board… forgettable
Pretty much what I’m getting at is that everyone is forgettable.  Think about it…. can you name your great-grandmother’s maiden name?  What about your great great great grandfather’s name?  Do you know how many siblings your great grandmother had?  What about a former President?  Do you know the names of  Abraham Lincoln’s children or at least the name of the one son that lived through adulthood?  Okay all of this may sound pretty depressing or hopeless but hang in there… good stuff is coming….

Unless you have an extraordinary place in history (and even if you do, Mr. Lincoln) being forgettable is inevitable.  In Genesis, the story of Joseph is told.  He saves Egyptians and Israelites from lack of nourishment during a drought and is deemed a legend/hero and yet when you read the first few lines in Exodus you’ll see that a new king took the throne and didn’t know about Joseph… Joseph, pretty much a hero, was forgotten… it’s just going to happen… but there is some hope and some good here.

Luke 13 was part of my reading today… It begins with Jesus telling a parable about a tree and how the land owner tells the caretaker to cut down the tree that is bearing no fruit… the caretaker pleads with the owner for one more chance to help the tree produce at least once before it was cut down… the meaning?  It is simple …..A tree that produces no fruit is forgettable… worthy of being chopped down… a tree that produces fruit lives on and on…and we are not talking a physical fruit tree but a spiritual one…

Makes you think about the fruit that you may or may not be producing…

I am a product of a person who was producing fruit…I won’t forget that tree nor the nourishment it gave… ever… and hopefully I will produce fruit too and  nourish it in the same manner continuing the cycle…

So, we’re all forgettable … that’s what we are….. but our fruit always seems to remember where it came from… leave the forgettable to the naked trees and take advantage of the second chance…. go produce!

Luke 13

6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.‘ ”

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Life Stories

 

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I need to know what the moon is.. and more..

20 Mar

On facebook in the past month I have:facebook_logo

  • told 25 things about myself to 25 people
  • created an album cover using wikapedia, flickr and random quotes
  • caught up with my 4th grade teacher
  • chatted with a high school friend that I haven’t talked to since he graduated
  • created an NCAA bracket
  • laughed at a great Breakfast Song video
  • and loads of other things that I normally would not have done

Some of these things were interesting and completely time worthy a while others are purely a waste of time but fun….Usually some of the time wasters are sent to me by other who have done them too, so I just follow along and have fun with them… like this a little Google exercise that had these instructions- Go to Google, type your first name followed by the word “needs” and then write down the first five things you need…. so here is what Nancy needs

Nancy needs:

  1. to learn what the moon is
  2. jailtime
  3. her own personal Boeing 757
  4. prayer
  5. a vacation

(I definitely think four and five are on the money..)

I’m glad that I don’t really have to search Google to know everything that I need…..although sometimes it could come in handy.  Often times though, like it or not, I know exactly what I need.

I read tonight one of my very favorite accounts of Christ and the need of one man (Luke 5:12-16).  At first it seems like just a regular story of healing but then there is something more to it.  It begins as Christ has been healing others all around and word was spreading about his abilities.  A man with leprosy comes up to him and asks him to heal him if he will…. Now I want to make the picture of this story a bit bigger… (Max Lucado’s book, “Just Like Jesus” tells it in a far better way than I could)… the story is of the leper.. the way that people look at his disfigured body and are repulsed, the way that he longs to hug his wife and hold his daughter, the way he must warn people as he aproaches by announcing that he is “unclean” when entering a crowd… for years he has longed to be near another, to be touched, to be loved, to just be human but he is an outcast and his only hope lies in a man who he has heard has healed others…

Jesus did heal him but my favorite part is this…. Jesus reached out and touched him… Jesus could have just said the words, “you are healed.”  He could have told him to go home and his leprosy would be gone.  He could have done any number of things but Jesus knew that this man needed more than just a healing… this man needed a touch.  He needed to be validated, to know that he was worthy of a loving touch… He needed it and God gave it to him completely.  Amazing.

I love how God knows what we need better than we do… and all the guy did was ask.

I don’t know what you are dealing with or what you need as you read this but I do know that all we have to do is humbly ask for Christ to help and we may get more than what we knew we needed..

The Man With Leprosy- Luke 5:12-16

12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[l] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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Kiss me … I’m Awkward… Happy Awkward Moments Day

18 Mar

st_patricks_031_01If you’re not Irish, not a beer drinker or don’t happen to have a green piece of clothing in your wardrobe then March 17th kind of leaves you feeling like you are missing out. But I have a solution! St. Patrick’s Day has held the limelight for so long that people have totally overlooked the next great March holiday… Awkward Moments Day!  March 18th is day to revel in your foot in the mouth, blushing, heart-racing, awkward moments… I think most of us have something to celebrate on that day.  I know I do..How about this one? Falling down the steps at Rupp Arena… rolling, rolling, rolling all the way down ..or how about this?  Totally forgetting something or about something only to later experience that  awkward moment because of the forgetfulness……

Okay, here’s my story.. when you move into a new place you want to make a good impression.  So I was invited to a new friend’s house to scrapbook while our girls swam in the backyard pool.  We’ll days before I had gone to a store and being an outlet type store it had name brand undies that were branded “irregular.”   I couldn’t imagine that it was anything but maybe a wrong color thread so for the great bargain price  I bought them.  So on this day of scrapbooking I was chatting with my new friend in her kitchen when she went out to check on the girls and I went back to my scrapbooking space.  As I was walking I felt something on my leg.  At first I thought maybe it was a spider or something so I shooed it away but as I swiped at the “bug” I felt some fabric.  I grabbed it only to be amused at the fact that a sock was caught in my shorts and had made it’s way well below my knee cap for all to see.  I grabbed it and giggled as I thought of this funny story to tell my new friend but as I grabbed it and pulled I realized that it wasn’t releasing itself and I thought it must be caught so I pulled harder.  It was at this moment that I totally realized that this was no sock ………..it was my irregular underwear.  The seam had a bit of dry rot I suppose and completely fell apart… but only one leg.  I quickly fled to the bathroom to fix it and found out that fixing it wasn’t even an option.. the only choice was to discard it.  As if that wasn’t awkward enough… there is more… I didn’t know how to get rid of the underwear. There was a dirty clothes hamper right there in front of me but I knew better.  There was an almost empty trash can, but how weird would that be to find a pair of unknown panties in the trash can in your own home’s basement bathroom… awkward… So I did what anyone else would have done…. I stuck it in my pocket and though I was a bit uncomfortable, tried to finish up my time there as if nothing had happened.forgetful

On our way home that afternoon, I was nearly on empty so I stopped to get gas. I filled it up, went in to pay and while rummaging through my pants for change felt something weird in my pocket.  I thought to myself, “What is this?”  At that moment, while waiting to pay for my gas I reached into my pocket and pulled out, in front of everyone behind the counter and in line at the Shell station, my irregular underwear!  I was mortified… totally awkward moment!

Why is it that we forget so easy?  After feeling so awkward about the fact that I had to put my undies in my pocket, why on earth did I not remember that they were there?

I guess the whole forgetting this is pretty common… in the Bible I’ve been reading for some time about the Israelites who are constantly being saved by God but yet they continually forget about what he has done for them.  They gripe and complain, rebel and disobey all because they aren’t thinking back and therefore aren’t reminded of what God has done for them already.  What he has given them …

What have you stuffed in your pocket?  Give yourself an opportunity to remember what God has done in your life.

By the way, I’d love to hear it.

Happy Awkward Moments Day!

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2009 in Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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I be wantin me some treasure…. Arrrr…..

16 Mar

treasure-chest-1

Maybe you are like me and you can reflect over a time period and then think of something that you find to be pretty valuable.  Possibly a funny story to remember, a heart-warming incident that you never want to forget, an observation that strikes you as pretty amazing, or maybe even a lesson learned… Well, I had one of those times this weekend where I could just reflect on current little things that I would consider little treasures…. I think I’ll call it “mind booty” (what’s a treasure without pirate talk, yer know… arrrrr)… the treasure that is swiped right out of your mind…

Here’s the booty.. one jewel at a time…

Jewel #1– Lesson Learned- Even if the car in front of you does it too…..the “right turn only” cardboard-box-carsign means just that

Jewel #2 – Funny story to remember- A stimulus package is not a high energy flavored drink package that you dump into bottled water (don’t ask)

Jewel #3–Amazing observation- Children of today, who live in a high-tech society, have 24/7 communication with others (cell phones, internet….yes, even little children), have received more information by age 10 than a 15 year-old would have 15 years ago, are able to play sports, exercise their bodies and exercise military operations from the comfort of their couch with a joystick (and if they have a Wii they may possibly stand up)… all of this and they still enjoy playing in a cardboard boxdisney-ice

Jewel #4–Funny Story- One who turns 7 years-old actually LIKES having people sing Happy Birthday to them in a restaurant

Jewel #5– Heart warming moment- No matter how old you are and no matter if you see it every year, there is still something special about those events that  Disney puts together..

Each one of those little incidents, for whatever reason, make up memories that I don’t want to forget.. a little treasure or mind booty (arrrr…)

I love that about the Bible too.  I can read something one time and read it again later only to see something that I didn’t catch before… like yesterday… I have read the story of how Jesus was betrayed many times.  I know the whole  kiss on the cheek, ear cut off, denying of the denial, the false allegations, etc., but I caught something last night that I have either skimmed over in the past or just never seen.   It is  Mark 14:51-52.  It tells of a young man who had been following Jesus and his disciples. When all of the action of the arrest was taking place someone grabbed this guy and in doing so, his clothes ripped right off and he ran away naked…it is not mentioned in any other account of the arrest, just in Mark and it is only two little sentences.    At first I thought that it was kind of funny…  I chuckled as I pictured the scene of him being scared out of his clothes.  Then I thought about it (arrr…. searched for the treasure) ….right before that little story it said that everyone deserted Christ and ran… This guy didn’t get away in time so he did what he had to do… ran naked…

In that reflection I  wondered if I have ever run away from Christ when times got a little scary.. When Christ asked me to do something that made me feel a little fearful and instead of trusting, I ran?…My rebellious pirate answer? “Aye,”….. I have and I might just be able to say that when I felt trapped, I did what I thought I  had to do to run away from Christ …..not even considering about how I was acting or even how I looked as I took those steps….

Fortunately, we have a loving God who wants to be our treasure.  He knows when we are running scared and he is ready and waiting to give us fresh clothes, nourishment and guide us in the direction we know we should have gone in the first place.  And the best part-he doesn’t leave us running by ourselves…  I’m thankful that I ran back.

Are you running to or from your treasure?

Mark 14:43-52

43Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

48“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50Then everyone deserted him and fled.

51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

 
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Posted by on March 16, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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The sinister plot …. and we are in it….

09 Mar

If you have been following along for awhile you may be aware that I enjoy a superhero every now and then… particularly those with off the wall powers….you know,  like the ability to clear up misunderstandings or the ability to translate for a drive-thru restaurant speaker…I’ve been wondering about something for the last two days… maybe not wondering outwardly but inwardly… I’ve seen adults acting differently and children behaving in an manner out of the ordinary….I have felt if maybe there was some kind of an evil plot against people.. some force to be reckoned with…..some evil super villain with an evil plan…… Eventhough, I don’t necessarily believe that there is a evil super villain lurking through Kentucky, it did make me think and I put on my superhero creating cap and thought about the brilliant evil plan of a super villain….

Let me begin by sharing what would be my sinister plot if I just happened to be a super villain for once….. though it would require a great deal of patience, over time it would bring doom to those who opposed me and I would have complete control… This is my sinister plan-

daylightraI would:

  • make people so grumpy (particularly children) that no one could possibly get along … creating  a plan for mass distraction… everyone would be frustrated, angry or not talking to each other, so no one would be able to work together to create a defense against me
  • make children detest rest and sleep by staying up later and not relaxing as normal…  they will no longer be able to learn at their full potential… as they grow their intelligence will be iffy
  • make workers, particularly those of odd hours, also detest rest and relaxation so their productivity will decrease… causing low self esteem and output..and eventually creating apathy and a loyalty to me as my words of encouragement will seem sincere.
  • allow more play time for children (incredibly sneaky way of causing divisiveness between parents and their offspring leading to disrespect and discipline issues)
  • allow more play time for adults (another incredibly sneaky way of causing divisiveness between co-workers, spouses, etc)
  • allow farmers and others in an outdoor working field more time at their jobs so they can be overworked and very tired … too tired to fight when the day is through…..
  • create mass confusion by tricking adults into believing that they are on time to work, church, etc, only to really be late- causing stress related health issues..(high blood pressure, anxiety attacks, etc)
  • cause commercial travel delays and stand stills… again working on the stress related health issues

Now you might be wondering how to accomplish this mighty task… It is extremely simple… All I will do is tell people that for the good of the economy, energy savings and just for fun we must all extend the daylight in our lives by an hour.  My plan will also tell them that they will eventually get that hour back later in the year but the reality will be that their human nature will not give them that hour back because they will stay up later because they think they have an extra hour…

It is brilliant!  Brilliant! I tell you!  Bwahahahaha!!!!

What?  It’s already been done?

Darn you blasted Spring Forward Daylight Saving Time!

Now I don’t get to wear my fancy super villain suit….. it was perfect.  The blues represented the night and  day skies… the star was my secret way of making people think that they would still see stars…. The skin color was to originally represent the tan of one who is in the sun for a longer period of time but since we are talking me… my skin color would be a bright shade of burnt red… and then to top it off.. I won’t even get to use the evil name of Daylightra…

Oh well, since the evil plot of Daylight Saving Time is already happening maybe I should focus on the creation of a superhero who can add an hour of sleep to everyone’s day without shortening the day… Maybe he would be called Captain 25 Hours!

Today I did read about what it means to be on the side of good though… not in Superhero terms but in spiritual terms.. In Deuteronomy 7, God is leading the Israelites into the land that He promised them… and in doing so they are fearful of those that they will have to move out of the way.  God tells them that to remember that by following the laws he has laid out for them He will do incredible things and they won’t have to worry… Why would we even want to flirt with evil when we know the power behind the Creator God?  The opposition of God will always lose… those are the facts…no more super villain ideas for me….

Deuteronomy 7

17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

(By the way… take note of verse 23.. I’m wondering it was ancient Daylight Saving Time that caused the confusion… I’m just saying….)

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun

 

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Unexpected Acts of Warmth and Love…. Why don’t we????

09 Mar

Thursday night I received an unexpected text message… It brought such a feeling of warmth and love. On Friday I wasn’t expecting calls from two different friends but the calls came and along with them brought an undeserved warmth and another touch of love.  An email on Friday also did the same.  Then there was  a smile today and a hug that one more time brought that warmth and love.  Oh yes, and a note of appreciation that completely humbled me….Pretty overwhelming when I think about them all together.  You might be thinking that all of that is not really that uncommon.  Maybe not,  but what made it so special was it was unexpected…. not that the expected hug from my daughter before she enters her school building or other family and friend expected acts of warmth and love aren’t wonderful too…. this was just different… these were unexpected acts that were totally from the heart… from one heart to touch the heart of another… I just happened to be the recipient and I was totally affected.maryville-church

This afternoon I heard of the shooting in a church in Maryville, Illinois.  A gunman walked into the Maryville First Baptist Church and shot and killed the pastor during his first Sunday morning service leaving the congregation and community stunned.  Maryville was very close to where I lived in Illinois and I know exactly where the church is and even taught a child in school who attended that church.  It seemed to hit home.

When I started thinking about the situation……. the pastor, his family, the church family, their grief….. I wondered who might just have been that last person to have offered an unexpected act of warmth and love to the pastor.  You know, beyond his normal hugs and love from his family and close friends…. who offered him a hug of thanks or a note of appreciation?  Who sent him a text to see how his week was going and how someone could be praying for him?  Who told him that he had been a catalyst in a changed life?  I hope there were many…but the reality is, maybe there weren’t.  It doesn’t mean that people didn’t think it or feel it but maybe it was something that they felt was uncomfortable or timing was bad… sometimes it is just something we take for granted

I’ve been reflecting on this situation in Maryville because it happened to a pastor and I am a pastor but it’s not a setting irrelevant to others…… the Bible is specific that things happen without warning and without a lot of time to think about it … all the more reason to extend and Unexpected Act of Warmth and Love to others… A mentor, a boss, a neighbor, a friend, a family member and the list goes on……we all need them

An Unexpected Act of Warmth and Love is not to be confused with a Random act of kindness… a random act of kindness is meant to do good too, but an Unexpected Act of Warmth and Love is an act from the heart that is directed to the heart of another.

My eyes are open and my heart is ready… I don’t want to miss an opportunity… and to those who made the calls, texts, emails hugs, smiles and notes… I doubt you have any idea how precious that was to me…. Thank you!

Matthew 25

1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’9” ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.11“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’  12“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ 13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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A tribute to unconditional love and Dr. Seuss..

07 Mar

drs-764661Dr. Seuss was an absolute childhood favorite of mine.  Many nights I would lay in bed and read and reread a multitude of Dr. Seuss books… they are a wonderful part of my childhood memories.  Since I found out that his birthday was earlier this week I thought that I would tribute Dr. Seuss as I tell a story of a love that I was an eyewitness to this week…Enjoy

This is the story of Lydia McNoo
And the time she fell into the Gribbidy Goo

The house of Lydia was painted bright green
And in the town of Hooploo that meant she was mean

But mean she was not
Not the teensiest bit
Not a speck of the speckiest
Of mean in that kid

She loved to smell flowers
And dance in the rain
And rescue wild banzoos
That were hurt and in pain

The townfolks loved Lydia
At least those who knew
That Lydia was kind
Maybe kinder than you

But one day that changed
When she went into town
And all of the Hooplooligans
were standing around

They were reading a sign that flew in the air
It said” Green houses are bad. Does anyone care?”

Lydia saw people looking at her
And right at that moment she felt insecure

Her house was green
As green as a gleen
And then deep inside
She felt kind of mean

With tears in her eyes she ran far away
She could hear distant voices calling her name

Lydia felt tired and tiny inside
And with a her new meanness decided to hide

A Vonvoo tree stood dark and alone
And Lydia thought it was the perfect home

She climbed way up high as wild banzoos do
Way up high in the big Vonvoo
But the limb wasn’t strong enough for Lydia McNoo
It broke and tossed her into the gribbidy goo

It was stinky and dirty and in it she sat
She felt so alone ……she felt so sad
She squirmed and moved
trying hard to get out
She heard people coming
she heard people shout

“Lydia McNoo, we are looking for you!”
“We are looking for you,Lydia McNoo!”

She was quiet and wanted others not to see
That she was filthy, smelly and felt pretty mean

The crowd got closer and closer they got
The light shined on Lydia and the crowd quietly stopped

“Lydia, we’ve found you!” said Matthew McZee
“Here in the Goo under the Vonvoo tree”

“We want to help you get out of that goo.
We are here to help… we are here to help you.”

Too ashamed to look up, Lydia looked down
“You don’t understand,” she said, “I’m bad for your town.”

“My house is green and you should care,
that its best for Hooploo that I not live there”

Matthew smiled and held out his hand
And lifted Lydia onto dry land

“Here now Lydia, let’s get you clean.
We never ever thought you were mean.”

Lydia looked up and saw all the smiles
and knew then and there
She was off by a mile

The people still loved her and they didn’t care
That her house was bright green
They wanted her there
The moon over Hooploo shined brighter that night
and Lydia felt good… she felt all right

She was thankful for friends and glad that it was known
that Hooplooligans loved her and wanted her home

The story’s not over because to Lydia’s surprise
She arrived home to a sight for sore eyes

To help her know that their love was true
Her green house was now painted a bright shade of blue.

So if you’re squirming in Gribbidy Goo
Lift your head up and see who loves you.

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2009 in Faith, Fun

 

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What??? Oh no, he didn’t!…

05 Mar

after-american-idol-its-time-for-vietnam-idol_14After finally getting home around 9:00 this evening, the girls and I settled down to watch the recorded elimination of several more American Idol contestants and the bringing back of a few for a wild card night.  (By the way, if you have never watched a recorded American Idol in triple speed it is totally worth the effort…. the dancing is way fun to watch) As the contestants were narrowed down we were disappointed to see that our favorite female of the evening was going home… “Oh, nuggets”……As we continued watching we were biting our nails in hopes that our personal favorites would have one more chance.   Suddenly, they announced “Tatiana.”  What??? … but we let it go…  It came down to the last open spot… and Simon announced the one final person to have one more American Idol chance… “Anoop”… What???? No Nick/Norman???  Oh no, he didn’t just pick Anoop over Nick… How frustrating… how boring Idol will be now.  I’ve got my top three favorites but I wanted Nick to be in that top three… So now that my fun favorite is not in the mix I will have to root on my top three and my absolute favorite, Danny, and enjoy the rest while I can…..I guess the reality of Idol is not everyone in America can be pleased… we can’t always get what we want..american-idol-nick-mitchell-a-k-a-normund-gentle-20090205054356

You know,  that is the reality of life in general….

In continuing the story of Balaam (Numbers 23-25),I have wondered several times if the author used this little story to bring some humor into the picture… First, there was the talking donkey  and now we are at the place where Balak is hoping for the curse on Israel… You can probably imagine the scene…

Balak, the king/prince, is eager to hear that Balaam has cursed the Israelites.  He waits in anticipation for Balaam to come back down from the hillside and say his evil deed is done. But Balaam has news of his own… I picture the conversation like this…

“Attention everyone!  Balaam has come back down from the hillside to inform us that the Israelites will not harm us because he has cursed them and we are safe.”  The crowd cheers.  “Balaam, would you like to tell the crowd exactly what kind of a curse you placed on these Israelites?”

“Ummm,” Balaam stammers, ” God told me not to because he likes them”

What??? Oh no, he didn’t just say that God told him not to curse these people…

Balak, possibly thinking that Balaam had misunderstood, sent him to another place… same routine of altars and sacrifices.. Then Balaam goes back to Balak…

“Attention everyone!  Balaam has come back down from the hillside to inform us that the Israelites will not harm us because he has cursed them and we are safe.”  The crowd cheers.  “Balaam, would you like to tell the crowd exactly what kind of a curse you placed on these Israelites?”

“Ummm,” Balaam stammers, ” God told me not to because he likes them and they will probably kill you guys”

What??? Oh no, he didn’t just say that God told him these people were going to harm us!

So Balak sends Balaam to another place in hopes of a different story.. same routine of altars and sacrifices.. Then Balaam goes back to Balak…

“Attention everyone!  Balaam has come back down from the hillside to inform us that the Israelites will not harm us because he has cursed them and we are safe.”  The crowd cheers.  “Balaam, would you like to tell the crowd exactly what kind of a curse you placed on these Israelites?”

“Ummm,” Balaam stammers, ” God told me not to because he likes them and he curses you instead”

What??? Oh no, he didn’t just say that God told him to bless them and curse us!

Balak had enough and sent Balaam on his way.
Seems that if Balak would have listened to what God had to say and not worked so hard to change God’s mind he could have been blessed.

Numbers 24:9

9 Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?
“May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!”

Wonder how many great things I’ve missed out on because I was too stubborn to slow down and listen?

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2009 in Devotions, Faith

 

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Pride vs. PRIDE…… will the real jerk please stand up…

04 Mar

In the past few days I’ve had to do some dealing with pride…. I think there are two different kinds of pride- the first kind of pride is the standard definition of pride… something to the tune of the “quality of being proud” or “a reasonable self respect.”  When I have worked hard at something and it meets the goals that were created there can definitely be a sense of pride in a job well done.  I’m not so sure that there is anything wrong with that … But there is also the other definition of P.R.I.D.E.  –

Personal

Respect

In

Doses

Exceeding

(Necessity)

I suppose maybe that is more likely PRIDE(N) but you get the picture… this is the kind of pride that gets us into trouble … this is the kind of pride that keeps us from allowing ourselves to be humble… this is the kind of pride that is not only dangerous but can be hurtful… this is the kind of pride that make us look foolish in the end anyway…

My daily reading led me to the story of Balaam and his donkey. (Numbers 22:21-24)

The story in a nutshell is about Balaam on his way to visit Balak who thinks Balaam will place a curse on the Israelites for him.  On the road, Balaam’s donkey suddenly takes off into a field.  He gets so upset at her behavior that he beats her and she gets back up on the road.  Then the next thing the donkey does is as they are passing through a walled area she pushes Balaam’s leg up against the wall and again he gets upset and beats her. Finally the donkey just stops and lays down… again, Balaam(seems like such a pleasant guy)takes his frustrations out on her.  This time, little miss donkey has had enough and turns around and asks Balaam (yes, she spoke) why he keeps hitting her.  He said he was embarassed (his pride was hurt) because she was making him look like a fool in front of others who were supposed to respect him.  Little did Balaam know that his faithful donkey was only protecting him from an angel that the Lord had sent that would have probably killed him and Balaam finally sees the angel and is so sorry for his actions.

So all of this takes place and I noticed something… The writer of this acts as if a donkey speaking is a natural thing.   There are no double takes from Balaam and his traveling crew, nor are there any out of control screams of horror or even laughter… there is nothing.  So here is my take on this… Balaam was so focused on his pride and looking like a fool that he forgot he was conversing with a donkey…and I’m pretty sure looked pretty foolish anyway..

Yep, that is the way PRIDE(N) works… or at least in my life… I focus on what I don’t want others to see because it may embarrass me only to find myself talking to a donkey I end up looking foolish anyway.  There are times I don’t ask others for help and it haunts me later…

Are you experiencing PRIDE(N)?  Balaam saw what he had done wrong… and he was sorry…. me too.


Numbers 22:21-34

21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again.

26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.

31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. [i] 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”

34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”



 
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Posted by on March 4, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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Super Communicator …. Helping the Misunderstood and Saving the World

26 Feb

American Idol is one of those shows that I said I would never watch…. Never say never.  I’m not addicted but I sure don’t like to miss it.  Several weeks ago there was the airing of auditions at their stop in Louisville.  Well, as a Kentuckian, naturally I wanted to watch…. as if I wouldn’t have watched any other city… but you know what I’m saying. I wanted to watch people from my region have their 15 minutes or less of fame.  mark-mudd-jrOne guy, Mark Mudd, definitely got his 15 minutes.  He was in multiple commercials and highlights giving what looked to be the look of death (Say those last three words with a deep, melodic voice for a more dramatic reading)  I, like the rest of America, was on the edge of my seat waiting to see exactly what happened and what we Kentuckians are like.

The time came for American Idol to focus on the life story about this guy who would eventually give the doomed evil look.  From that biography we found out that he was really a pretty sweet guy who had actually gone through a lot during his life.  He came in, sang his little song and didn’t make the cut.  As he left he told the judges, “Take care and be careful.”  The judges went ballistic… or at least Paula did. Well, I think they all did to a certain degree.  They took his words as a threat…. as if the guy was telling them to be careful where they go because he might “git ’em” ….Paula jumped at the guy and told him that “you don’t say that to people…”   I started thinking about it. You know,  I say ” Be careful” quite a bit to people.  It is an endearing goodbye as I want the recipient of those words to know that I want to see them again.

I became a little frustrated. I wondered if Paula had gone into another country like Italy and someone said, “Ciao,” would she have the nerve to say, “You don’t say that to people, you might make them think you want to eat them”?  I doubt it.  Good grief, we live in a huge country. Even though we are a United States, I’m thinking it wouldn’t hurt for these folks to do a little studying up on the cultural sayings of the area before they head into a region…. super-communicator

Regardless, the guy was just misunderstood.  I would have liked to have swooped into that room, just like a superhero (I shall name me, Super Communicator) and taken that young man back in front of the judges and explained to them that he was being endearing… a gentleman.  They would have seen the error of their ways and apologized before the guy was made out to be some weirdo in front of millions of people watching.

Super Communicator must have entered into the picture somewhere because American Idol posted an apology for their misunderstanding.  Unfortunately for Mark Mudd, it came after the airing and more so, came quietly where most won’t even know it happened… and probably don’t care.

The American Idol judges misunderstood the intentions of a young man and in doing so they seemed to have missed out on an opportunity of warm Southern hospitality from a regular good guy.

Okay,  so I’m not really Super Communicator out saving people from their state of misunderstanding but maybe someone else is (though I do like my Superhero alter ego outfit)

I’ve been there before and I know being misunderstood stinks…

In Mark 5:1-20 there are a couple of incidents of someone being misunderstood…

The whole incident is about Jesus ridding a man of a legion of demons.  The guy was off living in the tombs (burial caves) by himself because of his demon possession.  The community around him had given up on him and he could not be subdued by anyone nor bound by chains.  So there he was among the caves literally tearing himself apart in misery.   When Jesus arrived he cast out the demons into a herd of pigs.  The pigs…. lots and lots of pigs …went running down a steep bank and into a lake where they drowned.  Those watching the pigs (would they be considered pigherds?  just curious) ran to tell the townspeople.  When they went to check things out they saw the cave guy sitting up, dressed and acting normal.  Others who had seen all of this take place started telling the story about what happened… verifying it… and the townspeople became frightened and begged Jesus to get out of town.

Okay, so Cave guy, he was misunderstood…. well, maybe not so much him being misunderstood as it was people just giving up on him and being frightened of him.  He was obviously dangerous and violent.  As a parent I can totally understand why I would be glad that he was up in those caves away from my family. I can’t say they were wrong in their fear.  But there is also something else I see here…..  This guy just needed Christ in his life.  He was mean, unkept, weird and definitely scary to those around him, but Christ met him and changed his life.  He took those demons out of his life and Cave guy became Normal guy.  Sometimes I think that is how we view people… we fear them because we are unsure that they are really like us so therefore we stay far away.  We misunderstand actions or looks as mean, weird or scary when we don’t understand the demons that they are wrestling…. maybe not the exact same kind of demons that Christ sent out (or maybe they were) but similar… you know, demons of worthlessness, demons of divorce, demons of addictions, demons of abuse, demons of neglect, demons of depression, demons of eating disorders and on and on…. “Cave guy” can be a neighbor, a co-worker, a teacher, a student, a friend, an enemy…. someone who needs Christ to help him get rid of those things that keep him from being able to be close to others, being loved or loving others- in reality, living life as intended…Yes, he was frightening. Yes, he was dangerous and different than others, but Christ didn’t leave him when Cave Guy bowed before him.

Then there is the rest of the story- Jesus- he was misunderstood too… Now here is a man (actually God) who has just taken this demon possessed, scary man and turned him into someone new and the people who were originally scared of this guy aren’t pleased… the words don’t really say exactly why they pleaded with Jesus to leave but I have some speculations.  Other scriptures refer to disciples being terrified when Jesus calmed the storm or others thinking that Jesus was not doing the work of God but of Satan when he healed… I think Jesus’s work was too big to understand… too powerful and too much to grasp.  I guess they could have been upset about the pigs dying too, but I’m leaning toward the frightened theory.   Isn’t that the way we are today though? We see Christ at work but we don’t really know how to handle it.  We misunderstand the intentions of God and then  just like those people, we seem to want to put him on a boat and get him out of town….in other words, we don’t understand why we must go through something and we send Christ on his way all because we could not see the big picture….

We misunderstand people because we don’t understand them completely and we misunderstand the work of God because we can’t understand it completely.  It seems we sure can miss out on a lot of good when we misunderstand and refuse to take another look at people and situations.

Now there is one more thing to be said about the demon possessed man … he had a serious issue and we see that Christ was the only one who could help him. I think that is important.  I’m not advocating putting oneself in danger or staying in a dangerous or abusive sitution just because we are trying to understand why another person acts the way they do… Christ can open doors for professional help and treatment. Our job is prayer and listening to God for direction, protection and strength.

So that makes Christ the Super Communicator, able to take demons out with a single sentence, able to change the way we understand and able to save the world…


Have you misunderstood what God was or is doing in your life?  Have you missed out on seeing his work because you asked him to go?  What about a person who is hurting, alone or is aching and needs Christ to renew them?  Is God asking you to be the person who goes to the caves to get that person and guide them to him?   Just think what you could be missing.

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Fun, Life Stories

 

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