My Son Found God In His Teeth...

Obviously, I've been a terrible blogger... as it's been 2 months since my last entry.  I've had some great ideas, but I've let myself be distracted with other stuff.  Nothing more "important" or anything - just stuff.  


But I wanted to share with you an ongoing story my 8-year old has been telling me.  I think it shows how God can speak to us in "everyday, ordinary places."  Luke started his musings after a standard trip to the dentist.  The next morning, he says "Whenever we get a cavity, it's like when we sin against God.  The cavity just grows and grows with our bigger sins.  Then when we brush our teeth or go to the dentist and have our teeth all fixed up, it's like God's grace - when He forgives our sins... and our teeth are nice and clean again."


They say God speaks to us in mysterious ways.... I don't feel inspired at the dentist, myself.  I feel tense, grumpy, and sore!  But my sweet son saw a link to God's grace with the swipe of the dentist's toothbrush; the dentist's chair is certainly an everyday, ordinary place.


And that's what this blog is really all about.
Keep brushing,
:) Mags

What Does a Bald-Headed Cleaner-Guy and Jesus Have in Common?

We have this walk-in shower that is all one piece (floor and walls) - the engineers that designed it tried to create a no-slip surface by subtly mottling the floor.  I don't know about "no-slip" (get some conditioner on it, and it's quite slick!), but those little divots sure get dirty quickly... and are nearly impossible to clean!


Enter the Mr. Clean Magic Bathroom Eraser... (*pause for Superhero music):

With a little effort, the dirt that has fused itself to my shower floor "magically" disappears!  What's interesting is that the little white brick started off looking like this:

But now looks like this:

Aside from the fact that it's NASTY, notice that after it removed? absorbed?  all of the stains (leaving my shower floor sparkly-new again), the sponge-like pad is deformed... dirty...broken... completely used up.  

JESUS did that for us.

Jesus was like the brilliantly-white, new Mr. Clean Magic Eraser who came down to earth to clean up our mess.  By the time His task was complete, He was tired... broken... and completely used up.  He was the "Magic Eraser" to our sinful lives.  And, because of Him, we can be shiny new each day... every time we ask for forgiveness.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

 ... What we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-19ish (MSG)

I'm thankful that every day (every hour or minute if I need it!), I can ask for forgiveness and receive it.  I can be washed clean with Jesus the "magical eraser" of sin.

:) Mags

Karaoke Tuesday: I'll Take You Back by Jeremy Camp

Jeremy Camp is rapidly becoming one of my new favorite artists... I love how he's redone some old favorites as well as created some new material. One of the songs that I particularly like is called I'll Take You Back.

If you're a regular on this blog, you know that the story of the Prodigal Son is probably my LEAST favorite Bible story because I've often felt that I most closely emulated the older son... the one who stuck around and did everything "right" only to watch his younger, screw-up brother get welcomed back with a feast. It has only been in the last few months that I've been able to view this story with new eyes - seeing clearly my own imperfections and how, in God's eyes, I resemble that Lost Son much more closely that I'd care to admit....

Considering that...

• I took a completely break from church from 9th grade until I got married - only "church-shopping" for a permanant Sunday location because it was important to my husband...
• That even after I was married, I insisted that we only actually attend church very other weekend (one week "on" and one week "off" was my motto!)...
• And that even when attendance became a weekly routine, I found it just another avenue to visit with my friends... I didn't feel God there at all... even sitting between the gorgeous stained-glass walls of our sanctuary, I never felt anything in my heart other than the urge to get the service over with as quickly as possible. This went on for a decade. I may have been physically present in church, but I was not mentally, emotionally, or spiritually there at all. In effect, I was lost.

It was only 3-4 short years ago when we visited our current church. On our second visit, I found what I had been looking for. (You can read about it here.). Finally, I was not lost anymore.

And that's one of the reasons I love this song.... Because no matter now long it takes you, no matter how twisted the path you take, God will always, ALWAYS welcome you home:

Lyrics for "You Take Me Back" HERE.


I fall... He picks me up.
I curse... He gives me better words.
I cry... He comforts.
I search... He shines a light to guide my way.
I screw up... He forgives me.
I get lost... He finds me... always... again, and again, and again, and again.

As much as I hate to admit it, the Prodigal Son and I aren't that much different after all. And lucky for me, God has room for ALL of his prodigal sons and daughters. :)

If you'd like to hear the song, you can HERE on LastFM.

Karaoke Tuesday: "Britney" by Bebo Norman

Below is an excerpt from an interview with Bebo Norman on his song, Britney - copied from CCMagazine.

“Britney” is a song about what our culture says and does to young women these days. It’s a collective apology for the struggle girls face growing up too fast in today’s overly adult-oriented world. The song confesses, “I’m sorry for the lies we told… We took you into our arms then left you cold/I’m sorry for this cruel, cruel world… /We sell the beauty but destroy the girl.” It’s about the lies we tell them about fame and money and what’s beautiful and what will give them life. It’s an apology for those lies. But more than that, it’s an invitation to the truth about a God who is bigger than the pain this world so often leaves them in.
I was up late, couldn't sleep, watching some news channel, when yet another story about Britney Spears came on. My first instinct was to scoff and write it off, but then there was this freeze-frame shot of a look on her face of utter and absolute despair and confusion and brokenness—a look that I recognized. And I remember thinking “This girl is a child of God.” Suddenly, I saw her story not as something to mock, but as a real-life tragedy that is desperate for redemption and hope—a story not so different from any of our stories. Take away all the lights and cameras, and it’s really just a narrative of a girl so clearly in need of love, so clearly in need of the redeeming love of our God.

And suddenly, all I wanted to do was just apologize, over and over. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...on behalf of this fallen world, on behalf of our consumerism that so consistently devours what it wants and leaves the remnants in the wake of the search for the next fix, on behalf of believers, like myself, who mock and hurl stones rather than scribbling a message in the sand.

I think that night I saw her through the eyes of Jesus for the first time. I imagined what Jesus would say to me in my darkest hour and realized that those are the words we should speak to this world, to this culture, and even to Britney Spears in their darkest hour. “I’m sorry. Hope is here.” –Bebo Norman

This song is amazing! I didn't even realize it was about Britney Spears at first - I was just struck by the lyrics themselves and how they can apply to so many people - even me. It's so easy to cast the stones... poking fun at someone else who looks different, smells different, dresses different, acts different, or speaks differently... talking about someone behind their back (or blatantly in front!)... judging others for their choices... There used to be that childhood saying that "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Sadly, we realize all too quickly that the quote is a falsehood. Sometimes, words hurt much more than a stone; the words we use have the potential to leave scars that can last a lifetime.

Currently, I have a subscription to People magazine - it was a gift last Christmas, and I've noticed more and more, how sad I feel for these celebrities when their personal garbage is strewn all over the newsstands for us to gape at. Easily, I can judge them - for their ridiculous choices and behaviors that have led them to whatever current mess that is written about. But this song reminds me to have a little more sympathy and a little less judgement. Because when you compound all of the millions of people in the world who witness a celebrity's mistakes and blunders every day via TV or magazines, you realize that it must be so frustrating to have all of your life (the good times and the bad) displayed for the masses just because of the line of work you chose.

I found a fantastic Fan Video on You Tube using this song... The song, itself, is about 4 minutes - but the last 2 minutes include some bonus footage that you wont want to miss. I hope you have time to watch it all.

Song: Britney
Artist: Bebo Norman
Album: Bebo Norman

Karaoke Tuesday: "I'm Not Who I Was"

It's interesting... I had an entire post about this song ready in my head based on what I thought this song was about (what I had gotten from it, at least!). Then I read the lyrics - and saw a video from the artist on his intentions, and I realized that we were on different paths...!

But isn't that the great thing about music? That it can inspire different feelings in different people?!

Today's song is "I'm Not Who I Was" by Brandon Heath. I took from it the changes that occur inside you when you start to really "feel" Christian (or for those people who felt a sudden transformation: who are "born again.") The person that I am now is so much different from the person people knew in elementary school, or high school, or even college.

I smile to myself because a feed to this blog shows up on my Facebook page, and I figure that people who haven't seen me in a while will be rolling their eyes and saying, "When did Maggie get all religious?" or "Was Maggie always some religious weirdo?!" They know the girl who could cuss like a sailor and who was known to say (regarding the midnight Christmas Eve service), "It's the same old story... WHY can't they liven it up with a laser light show or something?!?!"

*sigh*

It is funny though, how transformed you feel inside when you finally find your Faith... And those changes in your heart and mind inevitably lead to changes on the outside as well. Some things are slower to change than others... I still have to work on my potty mouth sometimes. I'm still impatient. Judgemental. Prideful. But I feel like a different person than I was then... and it's not just the increase in grey hairs! :)

Now apparently Brandon Heath was leaning in a different direction when he wrote this song:


He was looking back at people from his past - people who may have wronged him in some way and against whom he still held a grudge. I can identify with that too! :)
I think I've mentioned before that I was a "kick-me" kid in elementary school. A year behind everyone age/maturity-wise, a year ahead academic-wise... not a good combination for surviving the social game of high school! It's easy, when you've been a target, to hold onto hostility and anger towards those who made you feel inferior... small... unloved. Lord knows that I've got some residual hostility, but allowing yourself to forgive others is a blessing from God. Brandon Heath mentions that his favorite line of the song is this:

Well the thing I find most amazing In "amazing grace" ... Is the chance to give it out

Is there someone in your life who needs your grace? Or do you need to extend a little grace inward and forgive yourself for something? Take the opportunity to be "Christ-like" and to give it out. Because if you have felt the transformation of your Faith, then you are like a new person, and this new person can forgive.

Song: I'm Not Who I Was
Artist: Brandon Heath (http://brandonheath.net/)
Album: Don't Get Comfortable
LYRICS
Listen to this song and other by Brandon Heath here: http://brandonheath.net/music.php

Karaoke Tuesday: "This Is Your Life" by Switchfoot

What's on your iPod?
Mine is packed with everything from Christian contemporary to Rock... Techno to Broadway musicals... 70's to 2000's... some grunge... some heavy metal... some bubblegum pop. I know all of the words to Metalica's Nothing Else Matters, Paula Abdul's Cold-Hearted Snake AND the entire High School Musical soundtrack... And I've found in writing this blog, that you never know where you'll find Divine inspiration!

This week's song is This Is Your Life by Switchfoot. It asks a simple question:

This is your life. Are you who you want to be?

WOW... that actually makes me feel... uncomfortable...

It's not asking "Are you WHERE you want to be?" "Where" would imply some status or accomplishment that I could easily shrug off with a careless, "Yes, I want to publish a book one day, but I've got time, right?"-kind of answer. Or "Sure... I might go back to teaching.. Who knows?"

Asking me "WHO I want to be" is an entirely different matter altogether...

Who DO I want to be, anyway?
I want to be honest.
I want to be funny - I love to make people laugh.
I want to be free of worrying about what people think of me.
I want to be a good mother... no... a GREAT mother.
I want to be a loving wife and best friend to my husband.
I want to be caring. I want to think of others ahead of myself.
I want to do right by my family.
I want to be thought of as "Christian."

Am I all of those things? Wellllllll... sometimes? Some days, I'm lucky if I achieve even half that! And although each day I start fresh trying to be those things, I know that my own pride, or arrogance, or preoccupation with my own activites often gets in the way of just WHO I want to be.

And each "failed" day builds up on me... weighing me down with it's garbage. That pile of regrets, and apologies, and guilt just builds higher and higher until it knocks me off of the path I've been trying to follow.

Switchfoot reminds us that "Yesterday is dead and over" - implying an alternative: to let go of the baggage and garbage that clouds our minds and hearts. That's easier sung about than actually done, isn't it?! But it just so happens that there IS a way to dump that garbage out of our souls:

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

God knows that often we either come running to him shrieking "HELLLLPP MEEEE!" or come crawling to him crying in our exhaustion and despair. Fortunately, He scoops us right up and offers us comfort from the terrors or troubles that have knocked us down. With his ever-renewing Band-Aids of "forgiveness," He picks us back up and walks with us through our bumpy journey of life.
But he can't do our LIVING for us.
We are free to make our own decisions and our own mistakes. And it's those mistakes that sometimes have us looking back over our life wondering "What-in-the-Hades happened to me?! This is my life?!?! Are you serious?!" It is at that point where we must grab on to that free will God has provided us, and make some choices that put us back onto the path God intended for us to follow.
This IS your life: Are you who you want to be?
And if not, what are you going to do about it?
♥Mags

The Lyrics
Song: This Is Your Life
Artist: Switchfoot
Album: The Beautiful Letdown
Hear it on Last.FM!

I Found God In Some Cursed Pants...

I have these cargo-style, khaki Capri's that I just love. They are comfortable... They wash well... I don't have to iron them. They don't need a belt. They match anything. They have extra pockets - including one along the side of the left knee that can hold an entire standard-sized paperback novel! These pants are great! I wish I had bought more of them... but I don't even remember where I got them... possibly off the clearance rack at Kohl's (which would add another "plus" to these pants... CHEAP!).

But these pants are cursed.

No matter where I wear them... or for how long... I will spill something on them... some sauce or condiment that will not wash out with a normal washing... or even with Spray-N-Wash! The first time I wore them, I dribbled honey mustard on the leg. Honey Mustard does NOT come out easily! Four washings later.... a bottle of Shout, a bottle of Spray-N-Wash, the Carbona Stain Wipes, and finally bleach (which tinted the khaki into a creamy-white vs. a light-khaki brown), and I had my pants ready to wear without a stain.

Then came ketchup...

Then oil from our favorite Italian restaurant...

Then chocolate kisses from my 4-year old...

Then mud...

Then grease...

The pants have been bleached so many times... eventually, they might fall to pieces right off of my legs!

But still I wear them.
And still I stain them.
And still I continue to bleach them out - erasing the stains...

Isn't this a lot like our relationship with SIN and God? Like the cursed pants, we are susceptible to stains - aka "sin." Every day, we start out fresh... and if you are like me, you might make it through breakfast "stain"-free. But eventually, something will happen in the day, and my good intentions become moot when I sin in some way or another.

Thankfully, God has a powerful, all-purpose cleaner called "Forgiveness." You cannot buy it at a store... in fact, this Forgiveness has already been paid for... so it is available to you at my favorite price of "FREE!" - and without an extra cost for shipping & handling! To receive Forgiveness, all you need to do is ASK God for it! Tell God for what stain you are requiring Forgiveness, and He will expedite delivery of the Forgiveness! Viola! Your stain will be erased! You will be back to your old fresh and clean self!

There is a graphic with a prayer that makes me laugh every time I see it... largely because I can identify with it so well! I don't have the original author (so if you know it, please leave it in the comments so I can give proper credit!), but here it is:

The trick with Forgiveness is in the ASKING for it. The recognition that you have sinned... that you cannot eliminate this stain by yourself... The submitting to God and acknowledging that it is only with His Forgiveness will you be made clean. People screw up all of the time! God knows and understands this! He knows that there is no amount of "good works" or "penance" that people can ever do that will negate all of the dumb decisions we make on a daily basis! So He sent his only Son to Earth... to live and die for each and everyone one of us. It gave us a lifetime supply of this soul-cleanser called Forgiveness... and I, for one, am grateful for it!

Fortunately, unlike the pants... I am not cursed... I am forgiven.

Have a blessed day,
♥Mags

I Found God In "The City..."

Don't think less of me, but I went to see Sex In The City with some girlfriends last night. It must be a testament to God's power because in the midst of a movie filled with broken commandments (coveting, adultry, lying, lust, etc.), He was able to carve out a small niche with a message about forgiveness.

Without giving anything away, I'll tell you that in the movie, Miranda is angry at her husband, Steve, and has not spoken to him in about 6 months for a betrayal. For a separate reason, Carrie becomes angry at Miranda, and after 3 days, Miranda is begging Carrie to forgive her for what she has done to hurt her best friend...

Carrie asks "WHY? WHY should I forgive you after only 3 days when you haven't forgiven your own husband after 6 months?"

Miranda tries to counter with "It's not the same thing..."

...To which Carries replies "Forgiveness is forgiveness!"

Forgiveness. Is. Forgiveness.

That can be so hard for us, can't it? We put "weight" on sin all the time... a little white lie isn't as bad as a bold-faced lie... Lusting after another in your heart and mind isn't as bad as cheating with your body... Dishonoring your parent because he/she really deserves it is oooooo-kay....

But in the eyes of God, sin is sin... and forgiveness is forgiveness.

There is a story about forgiveness in Matthew, Chapter 18. Peter asks Jesus, "How many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replies, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven."

Our pastor once said that Jesus isn't telling us to only forgive 490 times and then on the 491th transgression, give up. He's really telling us that we must forgive our neighbor again and again... as much as it takes for the forgiveness to be authentic. Sometimes, that even means forgiving someone all over again, each day, until you feel it in your heart.

*Sigh*... that's so hard!!! :(

But before I start whining about how "that is too hard to do..." or "that person doesn't DESERVE my forgiveness...," perhaps I should think about how hard it was for Jesus to endure the suffering he did even before he was nailed to a wooden cross... the pain he endured, the humiliation he suffered... all so that you...

and you...

and you...

and me...

could have everlasting life in Heaven. Did I deserve that gift? Do I behave in a way every day that shows I DESERVE that sacrifice? I just told you that I spend nearly 3-hours watching a movie glorifying gratutitous sex, didn't I?! No excuses here - I wanted to see the movie. I'm a super-flawed individual who's trying each day to be a better person tomorrow that I was today (which means based on yesterday's activities, I have no where to go but up, right?!).

Lucky for us - God's forgiveness doesn't come wtih contingencies or restrictions... all we have to do is ask Him. And if we are behaving in a Godly manner, all another person should have to do to receive our forgiveness... is ask.

It's not easy... but worth it. Do you have someone in your life who needs your forgiveness?

Have a blessed day,
:) Mags

I Found God In UN-Fairness...

Our church is doing a sermon series on Six Things I Want My Children To Remember. This past Sunday, the discussion focused on Life Isn't Fair!

I thought it was very interesting that, apparently, nowhere in the bible, does God say that life will be fair for each of us... God tells us that He will be there for us, that He is with us, that we can turn to Him in times of trouble. He does not say that he will make life fair and square for each of us!

I remember that when I whined as a kid about something being unfair, my Mom would always say, "Life were fair, I'd look like Bo Derek!" Boy, she sounded like a broken record after awhile (and I didn't even know who Bo Derek was anyway), but that lesson was demonstrated to me throughout my life, over and over. I'm sure you can find many examples in your own lives when you felt that life wasn't treating you fairly - and life will continue to be that way. Learning to accept and move on with your life when unfair things happen to you is a critical skill to surviving this world!

During the Sunday sermon, my thoughts flitted to my LEAST favorite story of the Bible... the story of the prodigal son. I know and understand the main points to the story:

1. That God will take you back no matter how far you stray,
2. That forgiveness will be extended to you when you ask for it,
3. That if God can forgive even your greatest transgression, surely, you could forgive your own neighbor for a wrong-doing.

However, I always found this story frustrating... because in my life, I would consider myself to be "the other brother..."

"The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!"
Luke 15: 28-30 The Message

I've often felt like that "other brother" felt... anger and aggravation towards another who flaggrantly disregarded "the rules," did whatever he or she wanted, and then expected to be "saved" again and again when it didn't work out. I struggle with this story often because of those feelings. But this sermon on unfairness spoke to me... It wasn't "fair" that the prodigal son could squander away his inheritance and still be welcomed back with as much love as the son who stayed and toiled for his father.

BUT, perhaps forgiveness is more important (and more valuable) than fairness.

And if we're whining to God, the Father, about life not being "fair" - instead of my Mom's answer of "If life were fair, I'd look like Bo Derek," couldn't you imagine God frowning at us and saying (in a Godly-way, of course!):

"If life were fair, then my perfect, SINLESS Son would not have been
arrested,
stripped,
whipped,
and crucified
to ensure your eternal life!"

Kind of hard to argue with that logic, isn't it?! :)

BECAUSE life wasn't fair,
BECAUSE Jesus took our sins upon His shoulders,
BECAUSE He gave up His life for us...

WE are given the amazing gift of eternal life.
WE are forgiven.

THANK GOD that life isn't fair!