For My Husband... And My Sons... And ALL the Men in My World...

Yesterday was for my girls - today is for you, Dudes.  Because the guys in my life are special, and unique, and AWESOME as well... 

God created you for an amazing purpose... have you found it yet?  Are you living up to the MASTERPIECE that you are?

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; 
      you formed me in my mother's womb. 
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made! 
      I worship in adoration—what a creation! 
   You know me inside and out, 
      you know every bone in my body; 
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, 
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; 
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you, 
   The days of my life all prepared 
      before I'd even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16, The Msg

Thank you for being you,
♥ Mags

I See You

You can find little life lessons everywhere... this one is brought to you by Dove, :)

What a difference between how each lady viewed herself... vs. how each were viewed by complete strangers!

We spend so much time worrying over and obsessing about and looking at and dissecting the things we find NOT QUITE right about ourselves, when in actually, we should be reveling in the awesomeness that is each of us.

In fact, I think we each need to find ourselves a THEME SONG.

Back in the 1990's I loved the TV show, Ally McBeal, and one of the episodes, called "Theme of Life," involved Ally coming up with a theme song to make her feel empowered (she chose "Tell Him" which was covered by Vonda Shepard on the show).  I like that idea of having your own theme song - or a bunch of them!!  

It's a running joke among my kids' friends (and my friends), that when I introduce myself, I tell them my name is "Maggie Is Awesome," "Darth Magius," or "Magius Malfoy."  The Star Wars and Harry Potter junkies crack up - and the littler kids just sit there pondering if "Is Awesome" is my true last name.  But it is pretty darn awesome when I show up to volunteer in my sons' classrooms, and a bunch of kids wave and say "HI, MAGGIE-IS-AWESOME!!"  What a feeling!

I have a playlist on iTunes called "AWESOME, I AM" (not specifically Yoda-speak, but I wanted it to be at the top of the list so I needed something that started with "A.").  These are the songs on the list:

• Titanium - David Guetta
• Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
• I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
• SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
• Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
• I Know You Want Me - Calle Ocho
• The Fighter - feat Ryan Tedder
• Survivor/I Will Survive - Glee Cast
• Because I'm Awesome - The Dollyrots (yes, that's an actual song!)
• This Is Your Life - Switchfoot
• U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
• Good Life - OneRepublic
• The Champ - Nelly

My sixth grader would also tell me that no "Awesome Rock" mix would be complete without "Remember The Name" by The Rising Tied.  :)

Some songs are silly - some are serious - but all of them give me a little lift in my step and remind me that I AM awesome... just like you.

And if that doesn't help boost your self-esteem, consider that GOD looks at you and sees not your flaws, but an amazing masterpiece that He created:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; 
      you formed me in my mother's womb. 
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made! 
      I worship in adoration—what a creation! 
   You know me inside and out, 
      you know every bone in my body; 
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, 
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; 
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you, 
   The days of my life all prepared 
      before I'd even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16, The Msg

Like the video states at the end:  you are more beautiful than you think.
And, as GOD reminds us through His Word:  You are fearfully and WONDERFULLY made.  

Own it.

A Squashed Sandwich... Part 2 of "A Fork In The Road"

This post is a follow-up to "The Fork In the Road" Discussion.  If you haven't read it yet, you should probably read that first. :)

----------------------------------------------------------

There was a girl in my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes in elementary school who, every day at lunch, would reach over with her fist, hover over someone's sandwich or bag of chips, and then slam her fist down - crushing the food flat underneath.  Since each grade level at my small school only had 15 kids in it - half of them girls, you pretty much HAD to sit with this bully (let's call her "Hester*") or face sitting alone in the cafeteria.  At least, I was safe in the knowledge that Hester was an equal-opportunity squasher; by statistics alone, I had a 6-in-7 chance of keeping my sandwich intact.  But at least one day every couple of weeks, I knew that I'd be eating squashed peanut butter & jelly - or have to forgo lunch altogether.  :(

I was thinking about this as I talked to people about my last blog post on purity and forks.  That post was largely concentrated on people who CHOOSE to have sex in high school (or younger - *sigh*), but I was reminded by more than one person, that there are too many girls (and boys, even) who have had sexual behaviors forced upon them without their consent.  I remember hearing statistics in my junior high sex education class: that 1-in-4 girls would be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.  (That was the mid-1980's).  And I remember looking around at my classmates thinking, "Surely that can't be right? - That would mean that, statistically, 2 of my female classmates could face that sometime!"


The current statistics are even more sobering-- and have moved to 1-in-3 vs. 1-in-4.  According to RAINN, 44% of rape victims are under age 18.  Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.  And there is an average of 207,753 victims of sexual assault each year, aged 12 and older.  Approximately 2/3 of all assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, and 38% of rapists are a "friend" or acquaintance.


That means YES - quite possibly, that girl you sit next to in chemistry class... might be dealing with a friend-of-the-family hurting her.  The withdrawn girl on the bus... could be being molested by her uncle.  That "promiscuous" girl that everybody "knows"... may just be acting out because she has been raped already - so she figures why bother "protecting her virtue."  The goth girl who pushes everybody away... she is trying to be as "ugly" as possible so she won't be raped again.


And it's even quite possible that one of your friends - someone to whom you share your secrets (the boy you are crushing on, the math test you failed, the normal everyday angst of high school) has been stuffing down her own horrible secrets of abuse so that she can forget... just for a minute... and feel "normal" by listening to your "problems."  It is quite possible that you'll never know what horrors your friend faces each evening when she gets home from school


These kids-with-secrets didn't ASK to be raped... or assaulted... or abused.  Like my lunchtime sandwich smashed by Hester's angry fist, they were attacked by ruthless bullies who get off on the "power" of hurting other people.   And I imagine it would be easy for them to think that God does not care about them.  Like Jenny in Forrest Gump who prayed "Dear God... make me a bird... make me a bird so I can fly far, far away (from her abusive father)," these kids might be wondering WHY God allows this pain and suffering to happen at all.


I don't want my next words to sound empty or condescending or out-of-touch, but I truly believe that while God may not have unleashed a bolt of lightening to smite your attacker, He was with you - each horrible minute - crying with you and helping you endure... and survive.  While He will not stop a human, one of His children, from making a free-will choice, He is heartbroken when one of His children commits such an evil and horrible act upon another.  At the same time, he feels every ounce of pain and suffering and shame you experience.  God, as Jesus, felt pain, hopelessness, embarrassment, heartache, sickness, suffering, and more at the hand of Pontius Pilate and his angry mob.  And every day, when people are cruel and inhumane to other people, I believe he feels double the pain - the pain of the victim as well as the pain and brokenness of the deranged or sick perpetrator of the attack(s).


While God won't interfere with anyone's free will, I believe, if you ask Him, he will gladly offer strength, healing, peace, and comfort - by placing other people in your life who will lift you up and support you as you deal with certain horrors and memories.  You were NOT alone then... and you are NOT alone now.   Surround yourself with kind and caring friends and family - you don't have to continue to stuff down these secrets... because the people who truly love you will support you and allow you to unburden your mind to them.


And while you may feel dirty or soiled like the Sharpie'd up forks from the last blog post, I believe that when you give your life to Jesus, and when you give your burdens and your secrets over to God - not only does He clean your fork... He gives you a whole new one.


To the people who read this who are holding horrors in their minds from their childhood or after, I pray that you will find strength and peace and healing.


Most sincerely,
Mags


PS - April is Sexual Assault and Awareness Month.  To find out how you can help, please visit RAINN and read about 7 easy ways you can support Survivors of Abuse.




*Not her real name... exactly.

Guest Columnist: Tia Thomas & God on the Highway

My friend, Tia Thomas, wrote a most wonderful devotional that I've been given permission to reprint below.  It totally follows this blog's theme of opening your eyes to seeing God in everyday, ordinary places; she found God on the highway of all things!!  I hope you enjoy her story - and please consider leaving a comment; I know she'd appreciate reading your encouraging feedback!!

I Found God On The Highway

by Tia S. Thomas

Yesterday, as I was driving down the four lane, I saw a man and a blind woman walking along on the shoulder of the road. With one hand, she was tapping along with her cane, with the other, she was holding his elbow. Cars sped past them going 50+ mph, less than 3 feet away. It occured to me how scary it must be for her to hear those vehicles bearing down on them, so fast and loud. But still, she walked. And then it occured to me, how much she must trust him to guide her. One wrong step, and she would be in the path of the traffic. One stumble, and she would tumble down the bank on her right into the creek below. But still, she walked. Forward, into unknown darkness that lie ahead of her. Her source of security was her hand on his elbow. The thing is, he could see where they were going. He saw the path, he saw what was ahead. She just had to trust him, hang on to him and most importantly - go where he led her. If she pushed him away or went against his lead, she would have been in serious trouble.

Then, it occurred to me, that is me. That is all of us. We are blind to what lies ahead. We can't see the future. We tap along with our plans, our preparations trying to anticipate what lies ahead, but the truth is, life is far too unpredictable and dangerous for us to rely on our plans and preparations. What we need is a guide who can see what is ahead and we can trust to lead us to where we are going. 

We have that. But why do we try so hard to push Him away? 

We try to forge ahead on our own, tapping along in the way we think is best. But He can SEE when we can't. All we have to do is take his arm and trust Him. We have to trust Him completely though, follow him no matter what - one wrong step, one stumble and we will tumble off course and it will hurt...big time. The traffic is bearing down on us and it is scary! We can hear and feel it all around us.  Satan is throwing things at us left and right. We can't see them coming. They take us by surprise. We ask, "Why did that happen?" God says, "I saw it coming. I led you out of it's path but you pulled against me."

Oh, and why were they going down the shoulder instead of the sidewalk?  The sidewalk would have been smoother, easier, right? Yes, it would have been, but further down the road, they needed to take a right. If they had been going down the easy path, when they came to their turn, they would have had to cross through a very busy, very dangerous intersection. By taking the more difficult path to get there, they were able to avoid an even more difficult situation down the road. She couldn't see that, but he could. That also happens to us. Sometimes, things are difficult, bad things happen. There are holes and obstacles in the path that God is leading us along, we ask "Why didn't you lead me around that God? I'm following you!" He says, "I didn't lead you around it, but I am leading you through it". Maybe, just maybe, God is leading me down a difficult path to avoid an even more difficult future.

Could that be it? 

I can't see it, but He can.

I Found God in a Puzzle...

I'm part of the Christian Women's Bloggers Network on Facebook.  There, Christian bloggers can network, increase exposure to our respective blogs, and read some FANTASTIC blogs from other Christian authors.  I read one today that really got me thinking.  It was a short devotion called "Broken For Whole" and talked about how God wants us to come to him, broken, so that HE can heal us and make us whole.


It got me thinking about puzzles.  My kids love puzzles, but they approach them VERY differently.  Jack is the logical one.  He turns all of the pieces over (this may seem obvious, but wait until I explain his brother's methods!), separates the edges and corners, then sorts the remaining pieces by color before even starting the puzzle.  He begins working from the outside-in, glancing at the puzzle's photo often as he methodically matches up the pieces.


Luke, on the other hand, dumps the pieces into a random pile.  He hardly even turns them over let alone sorts them!  His eyes scan the haphazard heap and he grabs two pieces that seem to match by either their puzzle-y edges or their colors and then puts them together.  Click!  They fit!  He continues on this way, barely looking at the puzzle photo, building the overall picture from the inside-out!  My husband and I really don't even understand his thinking (our brains work more like Jack's) and can't fathom how Luke sees the connections between the pieces the way that he does.  But this crazy method works for him. ;)


Either way... the end result is the same:  the puzzle is completed.


But what if you finished your puzzle and found that one, lone piece was missing?!!  What if you spend hours and HOURS sorting and scanning and comparing and working to finish this multi-hundred-piece puzzle only to find that one piece wasn't there?!!!  It wouldn't matter that the puzzle was "ALMOST" finished - it's still missing a piece!!!


That is your life without God.  Unfinished... incomplete... really, kind-of a waste of time, actually!  Because all of that working and and living and trying is fruitless if you don't include God in your life!  Life is hard enough; you need ALL the pieces!  


Furthermore, just like the HUGE differences between the ways that Jack and Luke each complete a puzzle, your life journey is going to be unique.  I started this blog because I was sure that there had to be other people out there who were floundering and frustrated with not finding God in the "ordinary" places... in church, in private school, etc.  My methods and experiences to placing that final piece into place (CLICK!) were along a twisty, windy road with many, MANY dead ends.  I'm just grateful that God is patient... and never gives up on one of his children. :)


If you can't see the whole picture, then perhaps you are missing a crucial piece to your life puzzle.  God is the final piece!  And with God, your life-puzzle becomes more than just a jumble of mismatched pieces... your life becomes a MASTERPIECE.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

------- Additional Note -------

If you've read Nicole's original post and then mine, you still don't have all the pieces... because my friend Cindi wrote a follow-up to this about trying to do things your own way withOUT God and how the pieces just don't match up.  Be SURE to read on HERE NEXT!  It's a fabulous conclusion to this idea!

I Found God in Falling Skies...

I'm constantly looking for a Buffy-replacement.  So far, nothing has matched my all-time favorite show, and most shows I end up liking don't make it past one season (No Ordinary Family, V, etc.).  But, I've found new one on Sunday nights on TNT that I am loving...!!  It's called Falling Skies with Noah Wyle.  Alien invasion, great action, and intriguing characters are just what I like... and I discovered a happy surprise while watching it... There's a Christian character!  And for once, she's not a freaky religious caricature of what a Christian is truly like!!!


"Lourdes" (played by Seychelle Gabriel) is a pre-med student whose college education was interrupted by the alien invasion of the Skitters and Mechs.  She helps in the clinic of one of the resistance bands, and routinely (normally!) displays her Christian faith in each episode.  We see her pray before each meal, openly discussing her faith to the other characters (even if they don't agree - or even have any faith of their own), and... my favorite... when she prays over photos of each of the missing children posted to a bulletin board.  She doesn't preach - she leads by example, and she doesn't back down when other characters make fun of her or dismiss her faith as "pointless."


This character does what we, as Christians, should ALL be doing... letting her actions show others that a faith in God will give us strength in the hard times, enable us to see outside of ourselves to help others, and though our everyday, ordinary actions, show how our faith in God has transformed our heart, our mind, and our actions.


People are usually leery of those "freaky, religious people" infiltrating the workplace or social settings outside of church.  I confess that I have a BIG freak-o-meter, myself!  I can't stand meeting pushy religious people who seem to be play-acting their faith.  The trick is to be "normal" - to "naturally" share your faith in small, authentic ways... to gently lead others by example.  God can change someone's heart; He doesn't need you do do His job.  But you can open a door by being the kind of person who represents God authentically with honor, integrity, and honesty.  There is a great article about naturally sharing your faith in the workplace HERE.


Falling Skies is not a religious show.  It is a show with guns and bad language and survival in a post-invaded world.  There is violence, and fear, and grief, and hard choices... the alien-invasion part may be make-believe, but the human feelings are common in many situations in our real-life world.  But God makes our life better when we let Him work through us naturally... in everyday, ordinary places... and allows us to lead others to Him.


What can you do to share your faith naturally?

The World Is Not a Stage

 ¹ "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. ^2-4"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

 ⁵"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

Matthew 6:1-5 (Msg)

You can win more people to Christ with your everyday, ordinary behavior than you can preaching at them.  Leave the preaching to the Pastors, and lead by quiet example.  Your example just might be the one thing someone else needs to come to know Christ.

Take care of you and yours,

:) Mags

God Heals.

A friend a link to this wonderful video on Facebook - it's about a little dog, Starfish, who suffered years and YEARS of horrible abuse before she was finally rescued and adopted by her forever family:


Think of all of the suffering this little pup endured... all of the painful days and undoubtedly sleepless nights... how the majority of her little life was probably miserable. But by the love of a family who wouldn't give up on her, she was able to run and jump and sleep peacefully for the remainder of her life.

When I saw this, I immediately thought of how God heals us. We can have years of doubt, anger, sin, isolation, questions, baggage, misery, and bad choices. We can literally be broken like the fragile bones in this little dog... Yet when we ask God into our hearts... when we reach out to Him.... His love and peace and understanding fills us with a healing that cannot be rivaled. Our sins are forgiven (again and again)... Our questions are answered... Our doubt, and anger, and isolation, and misery are enveloped by Him with a love that is so mighty it can heal our wounded hearts and minds and souls.

Psalm 103:3-4
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion...

God heals... no matter how severe our wounds. And I am so thankful for that!

Hoping that your wounds feel a little lighter after watching the video,
:) Mags

Karoke Tuesday: Our God by Chris Tomlin

My oldest son started playing tackle football this year. They are an expansion team: everyone is brand new to the sport and are playing other teams who have been together for 2 or 3 years. Needless to say, we've lost every game so far... haven't even scored a touchdown yet. But we're hopeful! Hopeful that they'll continue to work and practice and learn the skills necessary to be competitive... or just make one goal. :)

Sometimes we feel like this just with life... Beaten down at every turn... Defeated in every game. We wish that we had that one secret weapon that would help give us the edge over whatever is battling us on a particular day.

That's why I like this song so much! Because Chris Tomlin's "Our God," reminds us that in our everyday life, we DO have a secret weapon to help us jump the hurtles! We have the most powerful and knowledgeable teammate of all... GOD! God is on our team! And this song reminds us that

...If Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

There are a lot of fan videos on YouTube - I decided to post this one because this author matched up Bible verses with the lyrics of the song... a solid reminder that it is Biblical TRUTH, that God is on our team... every day, every hour, every minute.

Some days... are tough days. Some days are full of loneliness, or sorrow, or despair, or pain. It's on those days, especially, where you have to hold on to the FACT that God is FOR YOU. God is on YOUR TEAM. And if God is on your team... however can you lose?

Find the complete lyrics, and listen to a sample HERE.
Another great YouTube video that features the song lyrics is HERE.

:) Mags

PS - Your comments and feedback left on this blog are GREATLY appreciated!

Email Inspirations: Finding God At Intermission

My cyberfriend, Tricia, gets these amazing daily devotions delivered right to her inbox. Then she posts them in my Scrapbooking With Faith online group. I'm snagging a few of them and posting them here as well because they are just wonderful and inspiring. I may also use "Email Inspiration" Days to post some other great devotionals that I receive as well. These aren't my words, I'm just passing on a good bit of food-for-thought. Enjoy! :) Mags

Intermission by Sharon Jaynes

A few years ago, the epic drama, Gone with the Wind, was re-released in theaters all across America. This digitally enhanced, chromatically improved icon took us back to a time in history when American was experiencing a paradigm shift. My husband and I thought it would be important for our teenage son to have the Gone with the Wind experience on the big screen so we purchased three tickets and then settled in for what we knew would be a long evening.

After about two hours, we got to the scene where a sullied Miss Scarlet, deserted by Rhett, stood on a hilltop with Atlanta burning the background, collapsed to the ground, and slowly pulled herself into an upright position. With fist held high, she declared that she would make it through this trial and "As God is my witness," she proclaimed, "I will never be hungry again!" Then the curtain fell, and Steven turned to me and said, "That was a strange way to end."

"Oh, but look," I replied. Then he saw the words "intermission" imposed over the curtain.

"You've got to be kidding," Steven said.

"Nope," we're only halfway done."

You know, I've identified with Miss Scarlett on several occasions. Sometimes life just gets so complicated and it seems as if dreams have been snatched away by some foreign rebel force. My previous way of life is up in flames in the background, my man doesn't understand, and my friends have all run for cover. What will I do? Where will I go? Is this the end!

Then as the curtain falls on this scene in my life, I think to myself, this is a strange way to end. But I look again and see God pointing to the screen as if to say, This, my child, is not the end. It is but the intermission. Get up. Take a break. Stretch if you must. But the movie of your life is not over yet.

Looking back in the Bible, many men and women came to a point in their lives where they thought it was the end, only later to discover it was merely an intermission. Elijah hid in a cave thinking his ministry was over. Moses herded sheep in the desert believing his dream to rescue the Hebrews was dashed. Jonah made his bed under the shade of a plant and lay down to die. The prophet Samuel groveled in depression after his charge, King Saul, disobeyed God and lost his reign. Each of these men thought it was the end, but in reality, it was only an intermission. God wasn't finished with the drama of their lives quite yet.

I don't know what you're facing today. Perhaps your life has taken you to an unexpected place. Perhaps, like Moses, you've made a poor decision that resulted in you running from God and from man. Perhaps like Elijah, you've allowed someone's threats to put fear in your heart and you're in hiding. Perhaps like Jonah, you've obeyed God, but feel duped because your obedience didn't bring the results you'd hoped for. Perhaps like Samuel, you're depressed because someone you oversee (a child, for example) didn't turn out like you had hoped. With your dreams burning in the background, perhaps you've stood on the hillside with fist raised in the air making declarations to God.

If you see yourself on the screen, can I encourage you sit down, take a deep breath, stretch, and regroup. The story's not over yet. Perhaps you're just at an intermission. As someone once said, we shouldn't put a period where God put a comma.....

I Found God in Punctuation...

*FYI - This will make a lot more sense if you read the post from June 1st - the Email Inspiration about God & Intermission.

I LOVE to read - always have. When I was a little girl, my mom starting paying me $1.00 per novel to read to get me interested. I believe this started around 2nd grade... and by 4th grade, she had to stop because I was depleting her of all her money...!! :) I love how I can get "IN" the book - oblivious to the outside world - lost in a tale of suspense, thrills, mystery, romance, science-fiction, magic, or whatever other genre might be housed between the cover and end-page of a particular book.

I've read some clunkers too. Books with poor plots or characters - Books that have bored me. Books that have disturbed me. But no matter the type of book - the grammar, spelling, and punctuation have got to be on point...!

Consider the period. The END, that's IT, Period. Or the exclamation point: HOORAY! BRAVO! SURPRISE!! The question mark: Wh-at? Who? HOW? And the comma... giving us pause... with the promise of more to come...

The little dot or squiggle in or at the end of a sentence conveys volumes.

Someone once said, "We shouldn't put a period where God has placed a comma..... "

Wh-at?

High School graduation is a good example of this. A lot of Valedictorian speeches includes references to the END of an era or the BEGINNING of our lives... a form of period. But graduation is more like a comma... a pause... a transition. Not a grand finale.

Same with hardship. Sometimes we have catastrophic, awful, heartbreaking things happen to us. Things that make us sure that our life is over... Period. But God may have just placed a comma in the story of your life... not that period. God may gearing up to use that hardship for something wonderful... just you wait and see. The story of your life is not over... so don't put a period where God has placed a comma. :)

"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:4-6 NIV).

I Found God In The "Lost and Found..."

At the end of the school year, the "Lost-n-Found" bin at school is just overflowed with items: Jackets from those days that started with chilly mornings but gave way to warm afternoons... Gloves and Hats that were discarded during recess... the latest "craze" toys (Bakugan, Pokemon, Pogs, etc.)... Notebooks and pens and keychains... Of course, the really "PRIZED," lost possessions never seem to show up in the Lost-n-Found. Things like lost iPods, money, homework never make their way to that Rubbermaid tub.

And often, these lonely, lost items are never reunited with their owners. Coats are outgrown, gloves and hats are long-forgotten (until next year's snowy day). The contents of the tub are donated to Good Will where they will find new homes.. and ironically, might end up in some other school's Lost-n-Found the following year.


Can you imagine if that Lost-n-Found bin was full of people? Lost people... not the directional-peanuts (like myself!!) who cannot even be easily guided by Google Maps... but the spiritually lost people who are ever searching for the one thing that will give their life meaning. The ones who, maybe, just go through the motions by saying all the "right" things or meeting all the "right" people. Perhaps these lost souls even go to church - but, again - like me for many, many years - never FEEL God or faith or comfort or His presence. For the lost, church is just a building filled with posers or pot-luck dinners.

But consider the story of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-9)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Jesus is like the ultimate detective... diligently searching out those who are are lost. He doesn't give up on you. He has endless patience. He is always welcoming. And when you turn to Him, He will accept you with open arms.

...We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again;

he was lost and is found. (Luke 15:32)

I Found God In Dessert...

Believe it or not, today is National Chocolate Chip Day. In my opinion, it's about time someone gave official kudos to this little nugget of chocolatey goodness... :) But it did get me thinking about dessert...

Psalm 34:8 says

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of taking refuge in Him.

We had a Women's Event at our church a few month's ago with a dessert-y theme. The keynote speaker lended some wonderful thoughts to ponder on this verse...

God is good. All the time. While people experience illness, loss, grief, or other hardship that can make it nearly impossible to face each day, God can take that hardship and use it for good.
When trauma or hardship enters your life, there are two choices: You can run TO God... or you can run FROM God. Running TO God can give you comfort... support... peace... and no matter what hardship you endure, God can use your story for good.

I've mentioned before that my neice, Julia, died after only 6 days of life. My in-laws are currently working on this year's Charity Golf Outing. This is their main source of funds for the yearly scholarship, and the 2nd scholarship will be awarded any day now! In the wake of their unspeakable grief, Tim and Stephany never turned away from God... In fact, they ran to Him with their sadness and sorrow. God was able to help them find a way to turn their loss into a blessing for college-bound students. And, that's just the scholarship fund...! They have also lended their support and experience to numerous other families dealing with the loss of an infant or unborn child. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of taking refuge in Him.

I've dealt with a brain tumor. There really isn't anywhere ELSE you can go with a brain tumor except to God. Nothing was in my power to fix. I couldn't even comfort my husband or family because I had no idea if this would kill me or not. But God was with me and my family. He comforted David when he was at his lowest point worrying about me. He guided the doctors' hands during the surgery. He gave me strength through my physical therapy. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of taking refuge in Him.

God is like dessert.

But better than dessert, you can drown your troubles in Him without worry for extra calories...!

I Found God in 'Breaking Dawn...'

I am a Christian.
I also LOVE fantastical tales.
One of my favorite series of books is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

And yes, it is a book about Humans, and Vampires, and Werewolves.

But the point of this blog is opening your eyes to God's way of weaving Himself into everyday, ordinary life, and I have found God in many fantastical stories - Twilight included.

I really believe author John Granger's thesis on fiction: That all humans naturally resonate with stories that reflect the greatest story ever told-- the story of God who became man... [and that] parents wanting to share the Christian message of love's victory over death, of our relationship to God the Father through Christ, even of Christ's two natures and singular essence [can find it in many fictional tales... naturally woven throughout the stories].
~Looking For God in Harry Potter, p. xix

In this particular case - I notice a distinct similarity between a scene in Meyer's 4th book, Breaking Dawn, and one who accepts Jesus into her heart:


*NOTE: if you are a Twilight Fan and and haven't yet read Breaking Dawn, this contains spoilers of a BIG nature. Please stop my post, go read the book, and then return! :)




When Jacob (a werewolf) finally "imprints" (find his soul mate), the change in his mind, body, and soul is described in this manner:

My shaking jerked to a stop; heat flooded through me, stronger than before, but it was a new kind of heat - not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was - my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self - disconnected from me in that second - snip, snip, snip - and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing - to the very center of the universe.

I could see it now - how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was... [the girl] ... that held me here now.
~Breaking Dawn, p. 359-360

What if you changed a few words?
What if the catalyst for that change was not a mere person (or vampire or whatever) - but Jesus Christ? It would read something like this:

[I felt] a new kind of heat - not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone when I accepted Christ into my heart. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was - my love for my family and friends, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my stuff, my self - disconnected from me in that second - snip, snip, snip - and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing - to the very center of the universe.... To God.

I could see it now - how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was... God ... that held me here now.

Proverbs 3:5 (The Message)
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

Two things I get from this:

1. That God can speak to us in my ways - through many different venues. I find him in Harry Potter, Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. - places where others would deem unlikely, but places where God knows He can find me.

2. When you open your heart to God's love, the ties that bind you to Earthly "things" are severed. And, the new "steel cable" now tethers you to Him and the truths of His Word.

The safest way to navigate the tough and tricky journey of life, is to secure yourself to One who created this Life in the first place. The glowing you will feel is worth it.

♥ Mags

Credits:

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger

Verses from http://www.biblegateway.com/

I Found God In A Thread...

Our church is doing a WHY? study - 6 "big" questions about God, Jesus, and Faith.

On Sunday, Pastor Tom discussed the big "WHY?" question of "Why Should I Trust The Bible?" and the thread of consistency found within the Bible:
- a volume containing 66 books,
- written via 40 different authors,
- living in different location,
- in several different languages,
- across a couple thousand years,


We live in an era where even the most amazing technology and skilled technicians can't even accurately translate a book into a movie (i.e. The Firm, Flowers in the Attic, Twilight, Harry Potter 3, etc.!) when the book they are referencing is right in front of them! Yet the Bible has maintained its authenticity and consistency over the years and across numerous translations!

To illustrate this thread of consistency, Tom's wife, Kay, stood up and recited this song by heart called "HE IS" - written by Arron Jeoffrey:

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus He's our high priest
Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is Salvation's choice

Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and Second Samuel,
Our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of
Broken walls and lives

In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon,
He is the lover's dream

He is, He is

In Isaiah, He's prince of peace Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful

In Joel, He's the spirit's power
In Amos, the Arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah
He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zachariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the sun of righteousness
Rising with healing in His wings.

He is, He is

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from Heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from
The curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon
He's our mediator and our faithful pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick
In First and Second Peter,
He is our shepherd
In John and in Jude, He's the lover
Coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings, and Lord of lords

He is, He is

The Prince of peace
The Son of Man
The Lamb of God
The Great I Am

He's the Alpha and Omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
And when time is no more

He is
He is

Throughout the Bible runs a thread of consistency. One that holds it together - solidifies it - binds it. As a kid, I believed that the Bible was just a collections of stories... of fables to teach all of us a lesson or two. It hasn't been until the last few years, that my mindset has changed to include the faith that the Bible is not just a collection of poignant tales, but a manual, written by God. The words may have been penned by man, but the verses themselves are God-breathed. When you are searching for an instruction-manual to this crazy thing called life, you can find tips, tricks, wisdom, rules, guidelines, and more in this single book.

Recently, our family visited the Creation Museum in Kentucky. I plan to write about it in detail in a future post, but one video clip about fossils and the history of dinosaurs struck me; it said:

"Rocks and fossils don't come with tags on them, telling us how old they are. Scientists reach different views about the past, not because of what they see, but because of their different starting points: autonomous human reasoning or God's Word... Our conclusions about the world are affected by the decision to trust either the words of the eternal, perfect God or the words of temporal, fallible men. [Either way] there is an element of FAITH at work in every interpretation of scientific evidence."

Purposefully changing your mind to the faith that the Bible = Truth changes the way you see the entire world. It IS, in fact, life-changing. :)

If you'd like to hear the messages from our church, they are download-able from the Christ's Church at Mason website. The sermons are on a week-delay, so likely the sermon on "Why trust the Bible" will be available after Feb. 22 (2009). But the other messages in this series are posted now.

HERE is the link!

Pastor Tom is an amazing speaker and so is David Ray, (who also does one of the sermons) - I think you'll enjoy what you hear!

:) Mags

I Found God in Proof...

Over Christmas break, our family watched all three of The Santa Clause movies. My favorite part is in the first one where Bernard, the elf, explains to Tim Allen's character why children can tell he's Santa when he doesn't even believe it himself. Bernard says,

"Seeing ISN'T believing...

BELIEVING is SEEING."

Isn't that true about faith? Faith is believing in something you cannot see, hear, or touch - yet believing all the same. And once you believe - your eyes are opened to all the proof that you were looking for in the first place. Watch this video to see what I mean:

Open your heart. Then open your eyes.

You will "see" what you've been looking for this whole time.

Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, "Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark.

John 12:44-46 (The Message)