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. :)

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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  The withdrawn girl on the bus...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.

I Found God on the Clearance Rack...

I love a good bargain!  I have a cozy winter fleece (that heavier Sherpa fleece material) that I once found for just $2.00 on the clearance rack at Kohls.  It makes me smile every time I get to wear it - because it is one of my favorites... and it was so ridiculously cheap...(and because wearing it means it's finally really COLD... my very favorite weather!).


But while I love to find massively discounted "THINGS" on clearance, I certainly wouldn't want a PERSON to feel that they are so "worthless" that if there was a people-clearance rack, they would be on it.  I saw this quote today on Facebook:

If you're not being treated with love and respect, check your price tag.  Perhaps you have marked yourself down.  It's YOU who tell people what you're worth by what you accept.  Get off the clearance rack and get behind the glass where they keep the valuables!  Value yourself more... because if you don't, no one else will!

We all have times when we feel worthless, low, cheap, or on that clearance rack.  Sometimes it's the result of how we let others treat us - or how we treat ourselves.  But God views EACH of us as unique and priceless... each of us matters.

What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.

Luke 12:6-7 (The Msg)

You have worth.
You are valuable.
You are PRICELESS.


So if you are feeling like you've been placed on the clearance rack, how have you gotten there?  What can you do to get off?!  Stand up for yourself!  Pray for wisdom in your choices, strength to deal with others' un-Christianlike behaviors, and the peace of mind to follow through with what you know is right.  Surround yourself with Christian friends - people who can love and support you... and treat you right.


You have worth.
You are valuable.
You are priceless.
And God loves you.


You don't belong on the clearance rack.  NO child of God belongs on the clearance rack!  

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.

Psalms 139:13-16 (The Msg)  

So stop letting people walk all over you!  Stop letting events "happen" to you and start being proactive in living the life God has planned for you.  Whether that means disengaging yourself from bad influences, or taking control of your finances, or ceasing the endless train of bad decisions you've been making.  God has big plans for you... so start praying and talking with God to find out what those plans may be!  You know He has your best interests at heart - and that He considers YOU to be so precious, so valuable, and so loved!

“God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God, He created them. Because you are made in God’s image, you are a reflection of His glory and valuable. God loves you and made you to be like Him."

Genesis 1:27

You have worth.

You are valuable.

You are priceless.

God loves you.

Act like it.

Thinking of you today,
:) Mags

I Found God in Fake Rabbits...

One of our pastors told us this story on Sunday:
A pastor went to visit a home.  At the house, lived a retired greyhound racing dog.  As the pastor waited to talk to the family, he decided to talk to the dog.  "Why are you retired?" he asked.  "You look to be pretty healthy." 
The dog looked at him and said, "I am healthy.  But I quit."  
"Were you not any good?" asked the Pastor.
"I was very good.  I won the races many times," replied the dog.
"Were you treated poorly?"
The dog considered this.  "Conditions for a greyhound are not the best," he admitted. "But that's not why I quit."
"Then why?" asked the Pastor.
"Because," answered the dog.  "The 'rabbit' I was chasing wasn't even real."

Think of all of those greyhounds... chasing that fake rabbit.  Around and around they go thinking that they will be successful... thinking that they will snag that bunny.  Yet every time, the race suddenly ends, the rabbit disappears, and the dogs shake their heads in confusion.

"It was right there!" 
"I almost had it!"
"Just another second...!"
"Why are we stopping??!"

How many times do we chase fake rabbits?
How many times do we work, and work, and work for something only to see that it wasn't nearly as good as we thought it'd be?   A new car... a promotion... expensive clothes...?  How many of us remember the days in high school or college where we were encouraged to make "Goal Lists?"  Where will you be in 5 years?  In 10 years?  How often did these lists include things like I will be the boss of my company....  I will make a 6-figure salary...  I will have a big house and nice car....

I once had a neighbor who moved away because she wanted an "executive house" -- a house that reflected the stature of her husband's very "important" job.  Nevermind that her current house had 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a screened-in back porch, and really cool neighbors*. (*wink)  Ignore the fact that her only child had already left for college and it was just her and her husband.  The need for something MORE overshadowed being grateful for what she already had.  And how long would it be before the new "executive house" was suddenly not flashy enough...?

Mark 10:17-21 talks about the rich man who wants the "secret" to getting into Heaven...

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

   ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

 ²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

 ²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

 ²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

If God came to you today, and told you he could give you a ticket to Heaven right now IF you would give up everyTHING to follow Him, would you do it?

I think for most of us, including me... that would be very hard.  My mind would be racing... trying to weigh the pros and cons of a "sure thing ticket" vs. keeping my stuff and finding another way...

Fortunately God isn't exactly say that... but He is telling us that STUFF can get in the way of our relationship with God.  It could be physical STUFF like overspending on your house, cars, vacations, etc.  It could be the poor choices you make with your time, talents, and money.  It could be the secrets you keep:  adultery, cheating, porn, addictions.  While all of this STUFF might make us feel safe or in control, it becomes a substitute for trusting God.  As our pastor reminded us:

Until you LET GO of what possesses you, you will never be FREE to follow Jesus.

My husband and I are big fans of reality TV - and the Hoarders show is especially disturbing.  These people are plagued with an addiction that forces them to collect STUFF:  be it food, supplies, or animals.  They are tormented with the feeling that there is never enough... and it leads them to unspeakable living conditions.

While we may not stockpile 300 cans of green beans (unless you're one of those Extreme Couponers and it was a really good deal...), we still have our own Hoarding issues.  We hoard our THINGS:  our TV's, our cars, our electronics, our hobbies, our money.  And while God doesn't need us to dump everything, He does want us to put our stuff into perspective.  

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 

than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:25

He who dies with the most toys... still dies... and leaves one heck-of-a garage sale.

NONE of our THINGS will get us into Heaven.

So be generous.  Use what you need.  Share your blessing with others.

And, stop chasing the fake rabbits.

:) Mags

Come Awake!!

I LOVE IgniterMedia's videos - they are just amazing and touch your heart. Yesterday I watched their latest one, "Come Awake!" and I can't get this song out of my head:




Like the video says, "I don't know where you are.... But I know what you can become." Christ is here for each and every one of you - COME AWAKE - and let Him in. He will work miracles in your life.

Today at church, a man from our congregation stood up and gave his testimony. Included were his difficult struggles with alcohol and drugs and included more than one visit to prison. This man "looked" like you and me. And while our own demons may be different/easier/lighter/worse/deeper, everyone has times where sin gets the best of us. Everyone had times where they feel unworthy of love... or like no one can possibly understand what they are going through.... This video reminds us that there IS someone who understands. Someone who has LIVED through the human trials and tribulations, pain and suffering... Someone who not only died a painful death - but who CONQUERED death to rise from the grave.

COME AWAKE.
Let Him in.

He will work miracles in your life... and the potential is endless.


♥Mags

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...!

Of God and Sin and Men and Basketball........

My husband and I spent last week in New York City with our good friends, Stephanie and Nathan. We had purchased two tickets to the Big East Basketball tournament (15 games in 5 days, baby!) - and while the husbands attended most of them (the gals shopped), there was an evening when Nathan scored two extra tickets, and we all went together.

Steph and I "people-watched" far more than we watched any actual basketball... and I must say, it was much more interesting... Midway through the game, a young couple came down and claimed the seats two rows in front of us. Immediately there was a ripple amongst most of the men around us (Our -husbands excluded... and we're so proud of them!). The girl was very skinny in ultra-tight "skinny" jeans, with long dark hair, and an average-looking face. But what set her apart was her surgically-enhanced bustline that was bursting (thanks to a push-up bra) out of her shirt that had the top 5 buttons undone.

Now, I say the girl was "surgically-enhanced" for this reason - if God had given a girl that robust of a busom that defied gravity so absolutely, most girls would cover themselves out of sheer embarrassment. But when a gal PAYS for something, she will likely do everything she can to show off the assets and make sure people know she got her money's worth. This girl was deliberately showing off her womanly parts to the world and often stood up, leaned over, at one point, even started patting her own rearend (no kidding!), or adjusted herself to make sure that she drew stares. And stares, she did receive...

Men in a 10 yard radius were reduced to their most primitive selves - slobbering, leering, and turning their necks so far that we thought many of them would require a lengthy chiropractic session to straighten out their spines. Forget the dribbling on the court...! We had dribbling and drooling men all around us!! Here are some of the characters we noticed...

• "4 Sleazy Dudes" - Group of 4 guys right behind us - late 20's/early 30's, post-college guys but who became nearly incoherent except for oggling eyes and phrases like "like to get me some of that" and "did you check out her rack?!" When she started patting her own backend, one nearly dumped his beer on me, he was leaning forward so far!


• "Mid-Life-Crisis Man" who sat across the aisle and a row below her with his two buddies. His neck is definitely out of alignment for all of the craining he did. Plus, tons of obviously lewd gestures and tongue-waggling in her direction as he envisioned all the porno-type thoughts he could come up with and share with his cronies.


• "Clearly A Grandpa And A Pervert" - Guy well over 65 years old with his buddy sat in our row. He was up on his toes to look down her shirt more than once.


• "My Girlfriend Doesn't Have As Big A Set" Dude who sat with his girlfriend directly in front of "Boobalicious." He spent most of the game turned completely around pretending to talk to his date but eying the magnificent display the whole time. There were many "pretend" reaches to the floor behind him for his water bottle so he could get a closer..... look.

What's wrong with this picture....? Several things!

1. The Girl has self-esteem issues, big time. She is thinking that her self-worth is derived by how men react to her, but isn't realizing that these men are only reacting on the most basic of levels... No one is thinking of her "as the girl I'd introduce to my parents" - she is reduced to the "skanky girl who might get me laid." Here is what God says: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Or The Message version which is a bit more specific: There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.
   



2. This girl's behavior has now become a stumbling block to the men around her. It is quite possible that some of the leering guys struggle with addictions to pornography (my money's on "Mid-Life Crisis Guy"), and her lack-of-outfit just throws more images into their permanent "Mental Rolladex." God says in Romans 14:13 - Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. Obviously she is not responsible for everyone else's problems, but there are SO many poor messages being sent out with this attire... there doesn't seem to be anything positive about it!
   



3. This doesn't mean "Girls: don't be cute." Beth Moore put it best when she said, "Ladies, you can be cute! You go out and buy the cutest outfit you can find... but COVER yourself!" You can be pretty, or beautiful, or flashy, or cute WITHOUT being skanky, or lewd, or tacky... or be nicknamed "Boobalicious!" Our friends with a teenage daughter have the "4 B's Rule" in their house. For their daughter, it's NO boobs, NO butts, NO belly, NO bra strap showing or she can't leave the house. This would seem like a NO-BRAINER... but a lot of today's fashions leave a tons of personal skin exposed and on display!

In man's defense, not ALL of the guys around were a drooling mess. The two men right in front of us (who could have had an excellent view) seemed to be quite UNcomfortable with the whole thing and were looking anywhere BUT at her... Our dear husbands actually seemed oblivious to it all as they were totally into the game (until we told them about it and they started watching the surrounding crowd). But the majority of the men around us did not represent their gender well! And I felt sorry for them.. and for their wives... or their daughters... or their girlfriends... or their mothers... all of the women in their lives who had just been disrespected by their behavior.

When I was a kid, my Mom used to tell me to "pretend she was sitting on our shoulders" when we were out and about... that whatever we did or said - to ask ourselves if Mom was watching... would we still be doing that particular thing... (My brother often looked at her and used his fingers to flick off the "imaginary Mom" off of his shoulder... but I digress...!)

While your Mom might not always be with you, there is a parent figure who IS always watching you... God sees your stumbles and falls... your good days AND your obnoxious ones. And while He loves us and forgives us, He can still feel disappointment in our choices. I screw up daily... by the hour, sometimes! ... but I one of the things I pray for is for God to help me be a better person/mother/wife/friend/Christian tomorrow than I was today. And in order to actually accomplish that, I have to make better choices.

How's your behavior lately...?

Are you representing your gender well?

Your family well?

Your Creator well?

Take care of you this week,

:) Mags

I Found God In Regret...

IgniterMedia (authors of "The Don't Song" and "Proof") are quickly becoming some of my favorite inspirational people. They're released a new video "REGRET" which lists regrets that people have had over the last year (people they polled). You can watch below:

"We often mark our pasts by the regrets we have. Whether its trials we encounter, the disappointments we endure, or the unhealthy habits we foster, we each have lingering regrets in our lives. We allow ourselves to be burdened by our pain, scars and shame forgetting that Christ came to set us free. ~IgniterMedia

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

Whatever your regrets over the past year, you do not have to hold onto these burdens any longer. Today is a new day - and you can start fresh in making decisions that honor Christ, that show you are a good Steward of God's blessings, that put your priorities in order.

How will you honor God today???

Karaoke Tuesday: All I Can Say by David Crowder

At the end of December, I attended another funeral for an infant and helped, with my Sunday School class, to serve a funeral meal for the family and friends. The family discovered on December 23, just three weeks before their due date, that their son had died in-utero. And sadly, on Christmas Day, the Mom went into labor, and Rowan silently entered the world.

Too many.... too many baby funerals around my life. I don't know why... I don't know if it's all the processed foods that have mutated our genes and chromosomes... Or if we're breathing poison air... Or... I don't even know... All I do know is that I've either attended or known about at least 6 infant funerals in the last three years.... Samuel, Francis, Julia, Nathaniel, Kayla, Rowan. And aside from that, I have too many friends who have struggled to even get pregnant - only too find that some glitch or defect in someone's body prohibits this... and their attempts either result in miscarriage or are thwarted completely. We even dealt with an early-term miscarriage between the birth of our sons, Jack and Luke (I figure that child was likely our girl...!). :)
These [at best] disappointments and [at worse] jagged holes of grief can leave a person feeling spent and alone. I found another wonderful song by David Crowder that seems to address this. Of course, I heard it during Worship when our friend, Micah, sang it during Communion time (You rock, Micah!) :)


LYRICS - "All I Can Say"

When we face tragedy or grief or grave disappointments, it so easy to feel alone and abandoned. But God never abandons us. No matter how heavy our "cross" - when we feel like we cannot go another step, God is there - walking with us, talking our burdens, crying with us, sharing His strength. Sometimes, we are too wrapped up in our own issues to even realize that God is with us. Sometimes, we cannot see Him through our tears. Regardless, He IS with us - every aching step... every joyful leap. The peaks and the valleys, He is with us. God did not promise that a Christian's life would be "easy," but He did promise to always be with us. We are not alone. It may be too much for "you" to handle...but it's never too much for God.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

You are not alone.

I Found God in Alexander & His Terrible Day...

Note: I actually completed this entry late last night... but in fitting with my lousy day, my connection to the Internet failed on the desktop computer and I could not post it...... of course. *sigh*

Today I am defeated.

My head hurts.

My eyeballs hurt (who even knows why??).

I've got snot.

My laptop has just been reformated for the SECOND TIME in 7 days, and right at this very moment, a remote Dell technician is reinstalling programs on it.

When he's done, I'll still have at least a week's worth to time required by me to reinstall all of my own programs.

I'd lay my head down and cry... but I've done that already... and it just led to more snot.

One of my very favorite childhood books was Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Here is just the first page:

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there's gum in my hair, and when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard, and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running, and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Page, after page, it continues...

On the way downstairs the elevator door closed on my foot and while we were waiting for my mom to go get the car, Anthony made me fall where it was muddy and then when I started crying because of the mud, Nick said I was a "crybaby" and while I was punching Nick for saying "crybaby," my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy AND fighting.

I AM HAVING A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY! I told everybody.

No one even answered.

Alexander continues chronicling his awful day - wishing all the time that he could just ESCAPE to Australia because surely in a place that far away, things must be better... At the end of the book, when his mother is tucking him into bed - and things are still going terribly for him, his mother tells him that "some days are like that........even in Australia."

No matter where we live, some days just stink. Some days leave us feeling like the BUG squashed on a windshield - defeated and spent. It is those days when prayers are most needed. Praying (shrieking?), "GOD...HELP ME!" doesn't mean that God is going to swoop in and fix things up for you all nice and neat (but, OH, how I wish he would!). It does mean that God will lend His strength to you so you can keep your priorities in order and deal with whatever obstacles are in your way. I know that today, my patience is short and my temper is huge because I'm feeling sick AND frustrated. I know that this 4-and-a-half-hour online/phone call with Dell is just the first of many hours of getting my laptop back the way I want it to be. It stinks, for sure. But it's not God's fault. And it's not the end of the world. Other people have bigger things to deal with than a little bit of snot and a busted computer, and I'm fortunate to just have those two things on my plate right now.

So I guess my big word for today is "perspective." Some days we just need to crawl in bed, pull the covers up over our heads, and wait until morning. For me, today is one of those days... But I have hope that my tomorrow will be better - and either way, I know that with God, all things are possible, and He will be my source of strength.

I Found God In My Blackberry...

I have a new phone... a Blackberry Pearl... and not much else makes me happier than a new tech toy!! I've had this phone for about 2 months - enough to figure out how to use about 75% of it, and one of the features is the calendar. I can fill in the calendar either on my phone (slow!) or in Microsoft Outlook (much faster!) and sync the two together. I've discovered that my phone will "chime" about 15 minutes before any activity or event that I've logged into the phone - alerting me to the fact that I'm supposed to be somewhere or doing something in just a few moments.



My husband's phone displays his calendar as well... but I notice that he is more weary when checking his calendar... the resigned sighs as he looks over the meetings in his workday... the heavy eyelids as he grapples with the amount of work he needs to accomplish that day...



...And, I started to wonder about God's Blackberry... it must be chiming ALL of the time!! There must be rings and alerts going off every second... sometimes many simulataneously!

Chime! - Appt. with Mary and family today at 8AM - she's having a mastectomy.
Ring! - Divorce Care Group meets at 7PM
Ding! Ding! Ding! - Church services... just about everywhere... Sunday...8AM... 9AM...11AM...
Alert! - Little Jimmy fell in the well!
Buzz! - 7,043 families have requested travel mercies this week


Does God ever roll over some morning (does He ever sleep? And does he have a Westin Hotel "Heavenly Bed?") look at his Blackberry and just sigh, "Today is going to be a b-u-s-y day..." Some days, there are HUGE catastrophes in the world... plane crashes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, terrorists, train derailments... events where there are mass-casualties, and MANY people are calling out for mercy, or help, or in despair, or pain all at once.

The idea that our God can handle all of these major events - events with hundreds or thousands of people calling out for help at the same time - should help us rest easy that our God can also handle our small issues... our "smaller" prayers for help in the day-to-day tasks of our life. God says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) He does NOT say "Come to me... those of you with 'big' problems..." - but rather He invites us ALL to come to Him with our burdens and trials.

God's Blackberry IS alerting Him to our needs all of the time... but fortunately, He does not get weary or tired of us coming to Him. He wants us to seek Him out - He craves a relationship with us, His finest creations. Your problems are neither too small nor too large for Him to handle. And once He is on your side, as it says in Philippians 4:13, "I (You!) can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." :)

This week, take one burden and pass it on to God... He's watching his Blackberry for a message from you.

♥Mags

I Found God In The Garbage Truck...

I'm not sure we all fully appreciate our garbage collectors... 

We drag out all of our trash: our smelly food leftovers, broken down boxes discarded from fun packages, wrappings and trappings from holiday gifts, crushed soda pop cans, snotty Kleenexes... a whole assortment of stuff that we just want someone to "make go away." Our garbage collectors come (for a fee, of course, but when you really think about what they are gathering up, it's probably not near enough!) and take all of that garbage away. You don't have to think about where it's going (unless you are hyper-environmentally-conscious). You don't have to worry if it will come back and appear strewn all over your front lawn. In a few moments (they really are quick!), all of your trash has disappeared... gone... *POOF!* 

What if someone could do that for our mental garbage? Wouldn't that be amazing?! What if Someone could slip in to our minds and lift the burden of our worries, our anxieties, our pain, our past, our frustrations, our quirks, and all the little annoyances that plague us daily? What if that Someone would come to us... not just once a week like our garbage collectors... but daily... even each moment if we asked. This Someone would be at our beck-and-call to collect the trash that has built up in our heart and soul. Even better - the cost of this garbage collecting service would be my personal favorite price: FREE!!! How amazing would that be?! Like a mini-trash can waiting on our shoulder to collect all the stuff that beats us down. 

When you are Christian... you have that Someone. His name is Jesus Christ; He is Lord. He is both the Father and the Son - the creator of Heaven and Earth and has lived in human form. For Someone to accomplish that miracle... don't you think he can help you purge the garbage from your mind, heart, and soul?

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. ~Matthew 6:34

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ~Matthew 11:28

If you have too much garbage in your heart... too much baggage in your mind... too much trash in your soul, consider calling the ultimate Garage Collector to come and take your burdens away. He will help lift you. He will empower you. He will save you. You will be able to feel lighter - and able to conquer the things that have driven you down. Whether it is something small and petty... or large and cumbersome... God can help you. 

Often, I try to handle everything in my life all by myself.  I like to control things - and yet, so many things that I try to control are actually OUT of my control.  I get angry, frustrated, and OH. SO. TIRED. In the times that I truly S T O P and ask for help from God, it is then that I feel less aggravated, less weary.  Sometimes, I have to remind myself to ask for help again and again - I have to ask God to just take all of these garbage worries and garbage anxieties and garbage thoughts from my brain.  I lean on Matthew 11:28 - so that I can rest in the promise that God is big enough to handle my worries and problems.  

I can rest free of the mental garbage that God takes away.

 Have a blessed day, 

:) Mags