I Found God At The Garage Sale...

If there was ever proof that you CANNOT TAKE IT WITH YOU when you die, it was demonstrated at the whole-house garage sale that my Mom and I completed for my in-laws. My husband's grandmother died after a 6-mth struggle with colon cancer. After the funeral, after the family divested the house of some furniture and various personal items, there was still a house PACKED with STUFF... stuff that had to be dealt with. Enter my mom and I - who offered to organize and run a whole-house garage sale...

84 years of living was priced in 3 days and sold in 2 -

with a last half-dozen boxes of misc. junk carted off to Goodwill

at the end of the sale.

A lifetime of "STUFF" - divided, sold, donated, trashed. Most of the "STUFF" was meaningless. We kept a toy train that my kids asked for: one that always circled GG's Christmas tree. We took an old Machinist's Handbook - that belonged to David's grandpa - his version of a graphing calculator or laptop. A piece of furniture here - a keepsake there... but the majority of items now rest in someone else's home... to one day be a part of their garage sales.

STUFF is meaningless.

STUFF can be lost, broken, sold, bartered, stolen, donated, trashed.

In fact, the "stuff" that really counts is not "stuff" at all: relationships, memories, words, actions, deeds, faith-- Those are the "things" that stick with people long after you're gone. Your bit of immortality on Earth are the memories people have of you and the stories they pass down. And your "ticket to Heaven" will not be given to you based on the amount of "stuff" you had on Earth.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

God knows that your heart points to what you treasure most. Your actions clearly show that you value the most. Do you use your talents and gifts that He has given you by helping others, loving your neighbor, and acting selflessly? Or do you use these God-given gifts to just further your own agenda and accumulate more "stuff?"

If your treasure is your laptop, then your pleasure is tenuous at best: one computer virus away from destruction. Is your treasure money? Then you walk stressful line watching the stock prices or the Dow numbers... one fall away from a great depression. Is your treasure popularity? Do you fill yourself up with important "friends" to make yourself feel better or more important? People are fickle and can turn on you on a dime - this treasure lays on slippery ground.

BUT... If your treasure is in God - then you listen to His Word, act on His Behalf, and spread His Good News. These things are eternal - everlasting - unbreakable... and the blessings that befall you are real and powerful. God blesses His followers - on earth AND in Heaven.

So adjust your thinking! Realign your priorities! Purge out the useless STUFF in your life, and concentrate on what matters most: God, your Family, your friends, your service. Use the gifts God has blessed you with and pay-it-forward: Help someone!

Because, he who dies with the most stuff doesn't win... He who dies with the most stuff just leaves a lot of garbage for the rest of the family to deal with!!!

Karaoke Tuesday: Everlasting God

It's been a while since I've done a Karaoke Tuesday - and I was totally inspired yesterday... My five-year old, Luke, was dancing around our family room singing "You are the Everlasting God... the Everlasting God... you do not faint, you won't grow wear-y....," and when he got to the part about "wings like eagles," he started flapping his arms and "flying" around the room.

You can't help but smile when you see unbridled joy in a small child... and believe me, our smiles got MUCH WIDER, when Luke prayed Jesus into his heart last night. :)   Take a look at the lyrics - they are just perfect for this occasion.

And the end of Lincoln Brewster's version (my personal favorite) a child says this:The Lord is the everlasting God,
The creator of all the Earth,
He never grows weak or weary,
No one can measure the depths of His understanding,
He gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless,
Even youth will become weak and tired,
And young men will fall in exhaustion,
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength,
They will soar high on wings like eagles,
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not faint,

Why is it that sometimes, it's the children who just GET IT?

Why would you pledge your love, your fealty, your devotion, to anyone other than He who is everlasting... He who is strong... He who gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless, He who never tires... never faints... never fails...???

Revelation 22:13 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (NIV)" God is everlasting - and ever eager to fill our hearts with His Word. Have you opened your heart and invited Him to come into your life yet?

And if not... What are you waiting for???

My favorite version is by Lincoln Brewster, but others sing it too.
Hear it here on Last.FM.