I Hope You Dance!

My friend Kathleen sent me this, thought it was beautiful...

Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
And everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
Both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
Or by pressing lightly in one direction or another;
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,
attentiveness from one person (me);
And gentle guidance and skill from the other (God)

My eyes drew back to the word G U I DANCE.
When I saw 'G': I thought of God, followed by 'U' and 'I.
'God, 'U' and 'I dance.' God, you, and I dance!
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust Him to lead.

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I was reading Psalm 30 when Kathleen sent this to me. I was thinking about how God sings over us and invites us to dance with Him. He is a gentleman He does not force us to dance. He called to me; held out His Nail-piereced Hands many times before I accepted His invitation. My only regret has been that I did not say 'yes' sooner. Choosing to wait for His Guidance, to follow as He leads, has been the best decision of my life.

Psalm 30:11
You turned my wailing into DANCING;
You removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with JOY
that my heart may SING to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I give you THANKS forever.

If you get the choice (and we all do!) to sit it out or dance, I Hope You Dance!

No Fear

Fear of the known;
Fear of the UN-known;
Fear of the future, what looms ahead?
Fear of the past, what's behind, but perhaps catching up to us?
Fear that propels us into action, forward momentum;
Fear that keeps us stuck, in quicksand, immobilized;
Real Fears, Imagined Fears, Persistent Phobias;
There’s nothing to Fear but Fear itself…oh really?
Slogans you hear; T-shirts you see that shout “NO FEAR”
Tattoos and piercings that silently whisper “Hey you, be very afraid of me”
Fear of so many unfinished things, loose ends that we must tie up,
today, now, get to it immediately, hurry up, RUN, faster, faster...
Fear of falling behind and not having the strength to get back up.

This a working woman's fear: Not enough time to do it all well.
Lord, help us let go of our desire to do everything perfectly.

Oh, we may get it all done, little red checkmarks, done, done, done;
but at what expense to our physical, emotional, mental health,
not to mention.... JOY.....DO YOU REMEMBER JOY?
Remember what it felt like the first day of spring break?
Remember when ice cream didn't add extra chins?
Remember when new freckles were cute, not cancerous?
Remember relaxing, resting, resisting the urge to do; and just living?

FEAR STEALS OUR JOY! Fear is a thief; a liar. When we run, crazy-busy, our joy evaporates. At first, it feels good to get lots of stuff done, but there has to be more to life than doing. When we loose touch with that child-like joyful state, how do we get it back?

THE OPPOSITE OF FEAR IS FAITH! We can re-anchor our hope in God's Reliable Word, instead of our unreliable feelings! Feelings put us an emotional roller coaster, God's Promises help to settle and restore us. What does God's Word say about FEAR?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did NOT give us a spirit of FEAR.... but of Power, Love, and Self-discipline.

Lord, help me surrender this fear to You. I really don't want to carry this weight anymore. Help me to admit that I can't, but you can. All things through Christ who gives me strength!Help me to bring my problems, sorrows, worries, regrets and fears to the foot of The Cross and then Help me to leave them there, knowing that You are trustworthy and responsible for things that are just too big for me:

What we give over to God, He’s responsible for; What we choose to hold onto, we are responsible for.

When the truth of that statement grips you; you'll release fear as if it were a hot potato!

Lost & Found

Psalm 36, 5-8, from The Message:

God’s Love is METEORIC,
His Loyalty is ASTRONOMIC,
His Purposes are TITANIC,
His Verdicts are OCEANIC;
Yet, in His Large-ness NOTHING GETS LOST;
Not a man, not even a mouse, Nothing slips through the cracks.

Ever misplace stuff?

Ever loose a brand new roll of stamps, one sock from a favorite pair, a key chain full of jingly keys, a vitally-important document, or your cell phone (ever lost your phone more than once in the same week?) Me too, last week as a matter of fact.

Ever do something really dumb like put the milk in the pantry and then wonder if its your mind you may have lost?

Ever say to yourself, I better put that in a safe place? That's a troublesome one for me. Whenever I assign an extra-special place for something, then, I pretty much know I'll never see it again ... unless of course I come across it while searching for some other lost thing.

I grew up in an Irish Catholic home where different Saints were assigned to specific jobs. St. Anthony was frequently summonsed to our house. He was the "finder of things" and we had that poor patron saint working overtime, 24/7. There was even a little song that you sang as you rooted through drawers and turned the house upside down in a frenzy. It was meant to calm you down and help you to remember that God is in control of all things, it went like this:
Dear St. Anthony,
Please come around,
There's something that's lost and cannot be found!
You know where it is, won't you show it to me now?

It usually began as a happy little sing-songy ditty, that eventually escalated into an angry dirge as you began to imagine all of heaven staring at the lost object but not showing it to you!

What if YOU were in charge of everything in the universe?
What if YOU had to keep it all properly filed and under control?
What if YOUR task list included "seeking and saving lost people?"
How would YOU do with that one, day in day out? Yiikes.

Now that I've been found, I find that I don't always have a lot of patience and perseverance for "the lost." I tend to forget that I was once a wretch too, till Jesus found me. God you are so good, so infinitely long-suffering, H-E-L-P us Lord, only YOU are perfect.
Re-mind us that we are ALL lost without You, Jesus.
Even in Your Large-ness, Nothing gets lost.

Help, Ya Know I Need Somebody!

When Jesus rose, He FIRST appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had driven seven demons. Mark 16:9

Mary Magdelene was an eye-witness, to the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus invited a woman, a former prostitute, an outcast plagued by demons, into His inner earthly circle.

Can you imagine what Mary's life was like before Jesus came to town?
Can you imagine Him choosing her to be one of His closest followers?
Can you imagine how upsetting seeing her with Him, must have been to the Right-wing Politicos? How utterly scandalous!

No doubt, Mary Magdalene had been used and abused her whole life; tossed to the side, discarded, unimportant. Then, miraculously, Someone, The Savior, heard and responded to her lifesong:

Help, Ya know I need somebody,
Help, not just ANYBODY!!! Help, Ya know I need someone, H-E-L-P!
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in any way. But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured, Now I find I've changed my mind and I've opened up the door. H-E-L-P!

Our prayers don't need to be fancy. We don't need to sing well or write a #1 hit to catch His attention. Jesus responds to an open door and a humble call for H-E-L-P!
Imagine the gratitude Mary must have felt after being freed! She must have hung on her Savior's every Word, watching, waiting, wondering what He would do next. Letting Him lead the way, trusting Him to know what's best and resting in that. How amazing it must have been for Mary Magdalene to walk around with Jesus as He helped people.

~ Do you think she observed how His Eyes truly saw the over-looked?
~ Do you think she observed how His Ears heard the cries of children?
~ Do you think she observed how His Touch healed the un-touchables?
~ Do you think she observed how His Words lifted the weak and lowly;
and upset the high & mighty?

Now think about this... Jesus has given us EVEN MORE than the gift of observing Him.
Yes, we have a record of His earthly actions in The 4 Gospels and it is wonderful to be able to read about Him there... but He left us even more....
He sent The Holy Spirit to come and live inside of us! When we cry out for H-E-L-P and admit our need for a Savior, He comes to the open door of our hearts and sets us free.

No longer just around us, God wants to get closer, through the power of His Holy Spirit He loves us from the inside, out. And, That is amazing love!

He is so vast; yet, so intimate. He keeps everything in the universe in motion... from black holes in distant galaxies ... to black holes in human hearts ... only His Perfect Love fills the void. Help us Lord, the Somebody we all need is YOU, Jesus.

He is Enough

My Grace is sufficient, My Power is made perfect in weakness 2 Corinthians 12:9

Is God ENOUGH for you?
In times of heartbreaking sadness, financial loss, or physical distress (weakness), we cry out to God. When we are weak, we remember that God is Strong and Sufficient. We pray: “Almighty God, You CAN help us, You CAN do anything, so please get us out of here pronto! Put out this fire, heal our friend, replenish our bank account, make everything ‘good’ for us again (today if possible.) Amen.”

Why do we forget God in good times, but desperately seek Him in times of trouble?... How fickle we are! But, we expect God to come through for us immediately!

If He CAN…well then....Why Doesn’t He?
God may allow great pain in our lives so that we will learn the lessons of greatest importance:
KNOWING JESUS is the most important lesson we will ever learn! Jesus already knows & loves us intimately; but, often we fool ourselves & fail to love. It is through tough trails that the Lord reveals to us what is truly in our hearts. Sometimes we discover that we've been lying to ourselves.
We may say "He is Enough!" but what about our walk? Will we step into a fiery furnace or step out of our comfortable boat when He calls us to come? Do we really trust God? OR, Do we subscribe to a "JesusPlus+ Insurance Plan," by that I mean are we really still controlling the show, but then adding a prayer for Jesus to bless our mess. Who are we kidding? God knows when He is Our Everything, and when He is simply an "add-on."

Where is your confidence rooted?
This seems to be "The Question" that God is asking American Christians today. A lot of things are being shaken up in our country right now. Have you ever considered that God’s Hand may be doing the shaking? He wants to truly be our Sufficiency; I wonder if He is asking us, "Are you looking to Me or to your 401K for security? Does your portfolio include any treasures stored up in heaven or are you preoccupied with sheltering your earthly nest egg?"

He sees the whole panorama of our lives, envisions the whole pie that is "us," cooked to perfection, finished and fragrant. Perhaps today’s ‘slice of life’ is filled with cherry pits and bitterness, but someday He will say "Well done!" ...if we stay in step with Him. Lord, we want to rely on Your Finished Work, not our own strength, make us pleasing to You, set the temperature, cool us down when we get angry, heat us up if we get luke-warm. Help us rest in what You are creating.

You've probably heard it said that we are 'human do-ings,' not 'human be-ings.' We love achievement, love to measure things, love to see results: Did we hit our sales quota, loose 10 pounds, balance the budget this month? If we don’t like 'our numbers' we will scramble to fix them. Lord, teach us to go with the flow, help us to put away our measuring tapes, and just be. Jesus, You are Enough. Holy Spirit guide us into all truth. Self-sufficiency is a myth, we are NOT sufficient. We need a SAVIOR, WE NEED YOU JESUS, Teach us about the Sufficiency of Your Grace.

None of My Business

Your opinion of me is none my business, I live for an Audience of One (paraphrasing The Apostle Paul.) "We live by FAITH, not by sight...we make it OUR GOAL to please Him." 2 Cor 5:7,9 NIV

Why, O Why, do we REALLY do what we do?
We sometimes get so busy that we forget "our Whys."
We stop stopping, to ask why: What’s my TRUE motivation here?
Just like the Energizer Bunny, we just keep going and going … putting one Nike-clad foot in front of the other, running … in a hurry, but WHY, toward what end?

Sometimes my motivations are obvious.
Sometimes they are hidden in some dark recess of my heart.
Sometimes I’m not even sure what I’m up to...OR why I'm up to it!
How can this be? It’s my brain, my heart, my life… I'm in control of myself, right?

I used to believe I was in control of…well…everything, everyone, and pretty much whatever was going on around me. I looked around and saw that life was good (and if it wasn't, I fixed it.) Yep, I had set myself up as my own God. But, if a relationship went haywire, or if a big deal started to tank, I’d think, O God help me, beam me out of this mess, (mostly though, I relied on me, just adding the God-talk for extra insurance.)

I’m a people-pleaser by nature, toss in my sales & marketing background and I can be quite adept at manipulation. No big, bad lies, mind you… just careful, colorful wording to better-illuminate my key points, be relate-able...speak the language' of the audience at hand, set the stage, sugar-coat any ugliness, be selective with the facts when the whole truth may be 'complicated or unpleasant.' Why all this “massaging of words,” rather than straight-talk?
Because I had a desperate need to be loved and respected, didn't want to offend or alienate anyone. We all want to be liked, but my need was a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10. And I didn't even see it! I just thought hey, I like people and people like me! OPO (Other People’s Opinions of me) formed the core of my self image. If someone didn’t like me, then I must be a failure, so I'd better get busy, do whatever it takes to win them over.

You may be thinking, hey I think I do that too, hmmm maybe I’m an OPO-addict too? Is there a 12-step deal for this, what books should I run out and buy? There is ONE BOOK that changed everything for me. I started reading it about 10 years ago when Jesus came into my life. He is The Change-Agent. He began a major remodel on me the instant I said yes to Him; but, change in the area of OPO has been gradual... 3 steps forward, 10 back! When I start looking around instead of up for feedback, I'm sunk. That old familiar trap door opens and in I fall, unless I stop and ask The Lord to give me His strength.

I have had seasons of walking so closely with Him, reading His Word daily, then for some stupid reason I start self-directing again. Can Jesus change everything about a person upon their acceptance of Him? Yes, but for most of us acceptance is just the 1st step of a life-long process. Every morning the decision is ours, to yield... or not.
Strong-willed women require extra helpings of grace. On yielded days, days when I am still, and remember that He is God… then, I know for sure that His Opinion of me is the only one that matters. He is The Lord of my life He has an everlasting love for me, and He says that I am His Treasure, His Pearl; and He is mine. God wants to hear from me and help me. It seems too good to be true, but I know that it is True….not just for me, but all who seek His Face.

When I start wondering what people think of me, I open my Bible to one of Paul’s Letters. Paul achieved worldly success as a young man; then traded it all for the cause of Christ. Paul concluded that other’s opinions did not matter a hoot…and,not only that, he said OPO, other people’s opinions of him were none of his business. How about that! His only care was Christ… how freeing!

What if we all spoke the Truth, simply and lovingly... without defending ourselves, or manipulating others? What if we all truly lived for Christ Alone, An Audience of One!
Lord, let people's opinions of me be none of my business.
Lord, let pleasing YOU be my business and the motivation for everything I do.

24/7

Do you have a TV program that you love to watch? Since I live in an all-male household, much of our family viewing is testosterone-driven. I watch a lot more blood, guts, and action than I would ever elect to watch on my own.

Case in point: my husband, son, and even the dog….all love 24….

For the first few TV Seasons I resisted watching, choosing to read a book in another room as I abhor violence on TV. But, I’d loose my train of thought as that annoying, high-decibel digital clock on the show would blare before every commercial. AND, what a rip-off! it’s like they took that ticking 60 Minutes stopwatch and put it on steroids. O, maybe that's the point? But 60 Minutes informs us about our world; and with 24 there’s no redeeming value! Right?

Then, I would overhear my husband say, “Wow 24 is amazing, this show makes my heart race!” And our son would reply, “Yeah, in other TV shows they don't pick off the main characters; but on this show you never know who’s getting blown up next, no one is safe!” (oh, great, I d say to myself, just great!) Even our dog, Jackson, would sometimes charge at the TV, as an unexpected explosion would shatter the silence. This would result in hysterical laughter as the dog would run to the front door, searching for the cause of the noise. Then, they’d all settle back into the couch with their comforters, loving life and enjoying an evening of TV together…. without me!...(without un-compromising, stubborn, lonely-in-the-living room, self-righteous, me.)

Lord, I don't like violence on TV, but I want to be with my family, help me, what should I do?

1- First, let me say, that bending and compromising can be a bad.
Wanting to be “in with the in-crowd" can pull us into a world of hurt ... drinking too much, sleeping too little, over-eating, unchecked spending. We warn our kids about peer pressure; then, there we are trying to keep up with the Jones’s! I guess it never changes; but, here’s how it starts: something we would normally abhor, we begin to tolerate… just a little... because we don’t want to miss out, or be made fun of...and so we reluctantly go along...and before long we are joining in... seduced, trapped, possibly imprisoned by a bad habit.
This is not what I am talking about here

2- Are there good compromises we are called to make? Have you made many lately?
When is the last time you put personal preference aside for the sake of another? Ever gone fishing with your husband, even though worms make your sick? My husband loves to BBQ, it relaxes him after working all day and makes him happy to cook meat, so I go with it; although I eat more of the salad & veggies, that a whip up to go alongside the carniverous entree. And, with our son, I have stopped complaining about his messy bathroom, because, well, I want him to really hear me when I have a serious complaint, and not be nagging 24/7. And, the dog, yes, many bad habits, but I choose to overlook annoyances, because he just loves me so much. The Apostle Paul, tells us that love does that...love overlooks offenses, love causes us to put the needs of our family first.

Here's the BIG QUESTION: How do we know when to stand our ground, and when to compromise our position so that we align with others, uphold them, and keep the peace?

ANSWER: We pray about it. We ask God to help us, show us, enable us to stand tall or bend our stiff necks. We have supernatural help available to us, but we do need to ask for it.

I believe that God wants us to be engaged with our families. I am "girly," I don't like a lot of "boy stuff" but I want to be with my family as much as I can. When I stopped to ask God about the stuff they like on TV, I believe that He confirmed that I should be with them. And, when we are in His Will, He does not dissapoint us. It may take time, but he rewards those who anchor their trust in Him.

Last night I realized that I have turned a corner and gone from tolerating 24 to actually enjoying 24! (Yep, Jack Bower, Chloe, and Bill how can they be the only ones left at CTU? and, that FBI Crew what a bunch of clueless agents! Should the new President intervene in the African genocide? The moral dilemmas presented in that show have been running through my mind all day.) I truely can’t wait to see what happens next. Yes, there's some violence; but there's violence displayed on 60 Minutes and CNN and in our world right now.... look at me, here I am defending 24, I am a convert, now!...but, I can't take credit, God did it.

I believe this is how God’s promptings work. Often we don’t really want to compromise our time and volunteer at church, or chip in to help a neighbor; often we want to watch what we want to watch, do what we want to do; but when we are obedient to God’s Will He often brings unexpected pleasure out of what we thought would be a chore. Our God is a God of surprises and hidden treasures. He amazes me continually!

I guess that PEACE AND CONTENTMENT do begin at home, hanging with the fam watching 24 instead of doing my own thing. Here’s a scene from last night, the cinema of my life:

My 60 lb. dog sits on my lap, as if he were a toy poodle, except he sheds, has bad breath and blocks my view of the screen, (but, I do love him dearly, he just wants to be with me!)
My thin husband plops down beside me with a bag of cookies, offering me bites of food that'd destroy all my work at the gym, (but, I do love him dearly, he just wants to be with me!)
In comes my son drinking a Diet Pepsi, the last one in the house. I thought I had hidden behind it behind the tomato juice….I say nothing, (because I do love him dearly, and he knows not what he does! I was saving that soda for me) O well, I wouldn't have it any other way…. Life is sweet and God is so Good! He helps me overlook offenses, (especially when the vast majority are not intentional.) We are all just trying to love each as best we can.

Lord, You just want to be with us, and You want us to stay tuned to Your Channel. Teach us to stand unwaveringly for YOU, prompt us to be flexible with others, especially family. Keep us looking up for answers. Help us make small Godly choices in our home, help world leaders with big the big decisions facing them today on this planet of ours. I wonder whether 24 isn't closer to the truth than some of the stories covered on 60 Minutes. Teach us to pray in all things and to look for the unexpected rewards that follow obedience to Your Will. Take us on a delightful detour as we get out of our own way and learn to walk by Faith with You... we ask this 60 Minutes of every hour, 24 Hours of every day...tuned in to you continually each moment of every week... ticktock, ticktock... direct us Lord, 24/7.