Need an Alignment?

"It’ll get better” “I don’t need to seek out help” are things I have been saying the past few days with this terrible neck pain I am battling. In Matthew 5:39 it says, “Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also.” Right now, I fear I would not be able to obey that command as I can not turn it in the other direction. Just as our physical bodies need to be taken care of and checked on with dr.’s and chiropractors from time to time so that we can stay in ALIGNMENT and work to our full capacities; our hearts and minds need to be daily seeking out help for SPIRITUAL ALIGNMENT from God’s word. If we go through our lives thinking, “It’ll get better” without actually asking for help to make it better the problems typically seem to get worse. So it is in our spiritual lives. I sinned/messed up today but it wasn’t that big of a deal, it’ll be fine and will work out it’s kinks in time. One wrong that goes by without being taken care of by our Heavenly Physician can end us in a pile up of unfortunate pain that takes a long time to recover from. We ought to be going for a daily physical to God’s office as He is always there 24/7 (holidays as well), and ask Him to align us for that specific day!! John 14:13 says, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." When we faithfully stay in line with God and His word it becomes easier and easier and more of a desire and full ableness to obey Him each time! I imagine if I were to go to a chiropractor and have him fix my neck I would be able to function better physically, avoid this problem erupting into a bigger one and be able to then obey the “turning my other cheek” verse! I’m just praying that if I do make an appt. tomorrow and am then able to turn my neck completely that it doesn’t set me up for being slapped in the face!!

Low on ink?

Having full access to our printer/copy machine at home often causes me to take for granted the luxury I have at the very touch of a button. I expect it to copy when I push the copy button and print when I hit print. That is its’ job, but today when I began to make a copy I was given a notification saying, “ink cartridge is low, please refill”. I ignored it and just kept pushing the button crossing my fingers it would display the words dark enough to get by with. After a few times of doing this and papers shooting out less and less more readable I decided to just quit what I was doing and go on to something else instead of reaching over in the cabinet, picking up the new cartridge and replacing it. In my mind, it wasn’t “bad enough” yet to reach out for help. Surely I can STILL get a few more papers the next time I use it. How often is it that we are encountered with situations where we need to be producing better communication or presentation of God’s word with someone and we find that our ink cartridge is running on low? We may even look over on the shelf and notice the BIBLE sitting right there, easily accessible and we ignore the pricking to pick it up and use it to refill our souls and help us be a better friend, spouse, parent, testimony, and communicator. I often try to get by with just saying enough to where someone can still hear and or see what I am trying to relay, but there is not enough “ink” to back it up and make a real impact and difference in the quality of what is being shared. Why is it that we wait until we have wasted too much time trying our own way and come up with barely readable printouts to open the Bible or that ink cartridge and use what is right in front of us to help solve the problem? In Psalm 46:1 it says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. We have the great benefit of having God right at our fingertips for the extra strength and refill we often need, but what good is it if we do not reach out and take hold of it and do something with it? By leaving the Bible where it is at, or the ink unopened still sitting on the shelf we deny ourselves of the blessing that would come from utilizing what we have been given! We find ourselves settling for less than best, and end up with more problems down the road. Imagine if you waited to fill up your gas tank in your car EVERY time until it completely ran out of gas and had you stalled on the side of the road? We would not be able to use the excuse of, “well, there just wasn’t any gas available to refill with”. On almost every corner we pass gas stations with tons of gas just sitting there waiting to be put to use, but once again, does us no good if we aren’t pulling in and filling up! I pray that I do not neglect to change out my cartridge and keep my tank filled throughout life’s journey, so that in turn the end result is clearly able to be comprehended and the vehicle can continue to function properly! The next time you feel God pushing your print button or stepping his foot on the acceleration pedal of your life, be sure your printer is stocked with ink and car is on FULL so you can better glorify God with the pages produced and not be stranded on the highway instead of being at the destination He was sending you to. No more “just getting by”, rather, let’s “Reach way up high”. Don’t let yourself believe that “it isn’t bad enough yet”, because if you do then you may never experience the blessing that “this is the BEST yet” can offer you!

"To Tee Off" or not to...

Balancing, in our human concept of what that term means is not always the easiest task to achieve, but I have been inspired by God's "burning bush" enlightment in my backyard in the past 2 days as I have encountered and watched the progress of what began as a "golf ball on a tee" (mushroom beginning to form) flourish into an umbrella shaped creation. When I first noticed it I wanted to go grab a club and swing at it to see how far I could make it fly out of my yard, but something stopped me as I looked around and noticed it was THE ONLY mushroom/golf ball growing out there. As I stared at it today in full bloom form and contemplated on what it originally was 2 days ago in my mind I realized that I often am "myself" wanting to swing the club for immediate self gratification, thus, eliminating the potential for growth and an "umbrella" shelter for others that God can mold us into becoming over time. In James 5:7-8 it says, "Be PATIENT, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its' valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. " The "umbrella" mushroom is currently still balancing on the stem in my yard, only because it was given the opportunity to continue its' growth and it now serves as a reminder to me that in my life I may often feel like I am a mere golfball balancing upon life's demands awaiting a club to come along and knock me off course and eventually putt me into the hole, but because of God's patience with me and ability to see the potential of who and what I am to be in this life and His decision to let me progressively bloom to be a shelter for the people and "blades of grass" underneath me/around me I am able to not feel so alone in this backyard of ONLY grass blades, being the "only" mushroom standing. For where one is planted and grown, many more will sprout! As we go through life sometimes feeling like golfballs that need IMMEDIATE hits upon the head to take us to a random spot on the course, let us stop instead, pray and ask for patience that we can remain balanced upon the "tee"/stem of God's grace and timing in our lives and that He will indeed amaze us by directing us, more often in nonround golfball shapes, so to show his Awesome Power, to the HOLE IN ONE!

HOP TO IT!!

The question (to my friends' 7 yr old son today) was simple. The answer, GIGANTIC.
"WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL TODAY?" "About the golden toad." THE GOLDEN TOAD?? TOADS ARE SLIMY AND STINKY... WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?" "down deep in the water somewhere but there aren't many of them." "THAT'S AWESOME, WHAT ELSE DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THEM?" "we have to get 6 checks in class for being good before we get to learn another thing about them, so we are all working hard to get the checks because we WANT to learn more." "YOU MEAN YOU DON'T GET A PRIZE OR STICKER OR CANDY IF YOU ACCUMULATE 6 GOOD MARKS?" "nope, we get to learn more."
How often do we actually do what's right so we can be taught something in addition to what we already know causing us to become wiser?? How many times have we done the right thing JUST so that we can get a reward from the prize box?
In I Peter 2:2 it says, "Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." I know the bible speaks about grey hairs being a sign of wisdom, but I truly believe God speaks volumes through children of all ages and all hair colors!!! :)
I knew nothing about a golden toad and more then likely would never have researched it this evening, let alone EVER if this child had not brought such significance to it. His answer caused me to WANT TO LEARN MORE about this cool toad and now I have more factual knowledge in my head "hopping" around! Before that all I knew about toads were that they were slimy, bumpy and one had peed on me when I was a kid!
Just as my friend's son is striving to follow what is right so he can in turn become even brighter then he already is, so we all ought to be purposing daily to walk in Jesus' footsteps and do what is right, not so that we can rack up points or "good jobs" from those around us, but so that in our obedience we can be molded and taught more and more lessons along life's journey. I have a feeling that even the world's smartest GOLDEN TOAD scientist STILL does not know EVERY LITTLE INTRICATE LAST THING about the golden toad, namely because God created each species and thing on this earth with such detail that it would take forever to truly know everything that God knows about it. Not to mention they are a very rare species that if they are still around have been hard to locate in recent years and some have even stated they believe them to be extinct. But, just because we will never be frog/toad experts on this earth and until we enter Heaven will NOT fully understand God in his fullness and be made "perfect/like new" does not mean we should not be staying quiet in the hallways, raising our hands before talking, showing respect to our teachers/friends, finishing our homework when it is given to us, not shoving or pushing in line, reading our Bible and asking God to show us new things, Praying for those around us, keeping a close eye on what things we let into and out of our lives and Following each of God's commands so that we can (get our checks) and in the process continue to learn more and more and be given more joy each time we do what's right! Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
As we hop around day to day doing thing to thing trying to learn from books, professors, friends and the news stay alert to the SIMPLE words that you hear from your children or someone else's. They are the future and although as adults we are training them, they too have much to teach us along our path. I am greatful that God spoke to me through such a young heart. It opened my eyes to be aware that not only "do I hop around like a frog way to often not stopping for a moment to take in a breath and receive peace or insight", but, I also have way too often found myself doing what is right so I can simply just dig dig dig in that treasure box for a prize instead of learn learn learn what I need to be taught!!!! So, stop digging so hard and start obeying more....If we dig too deep we may become buried way far under ground and become "extinct!" And, honestly, THAT'S A SLIMY STINKY PLACE TO BE...

FREE Glue for me and you

Last year about this same time Cade's teacher sent home a note asking for glue stick donations. For whatever reason at the time I felt compelled to go out and buy 60 of them. I mean, I wiped the shelves clean, I was very determined to supply this need she was asking for. How often do we rush to meet a need for someone but we do it with the pretense of hoping to get a thank you or some sort of recognition? Fast forward an entire year and we are in a new grade, new school, new teacher and I get the very same note three days ago requesting glue sticks. I thought, "perhaps this is my calling since I do not go in and volunteer for stuffing friday folders and am not ever able to chaperone fieldtrips, etc..." I'll STICK to getting the glue. har har. So there I am standing in the school supply aisle staring at a massive pile of 3 sticks for a dollar thinking this is an amazing deal and I begin loading them into my basket. It wasn't until I got down ON MY KNEES and saw at the very bottom of the bin there were packs of 4 for a dollar. Funnily enough I actually sat there for a good 5 minutes hesitating whether to get the 4 pack as they were a more generic brand and the labels weren't as appealing as the three pack colorful ones. At that moment, I wasn't concerned about the product or whether it would be as efficient, indeed I was worried about the appearance of my purchase. Ironically I was in the dollar store not the fancy school supply store with the name brand ones to begin with, so I literally was having a moment of pride making a decision of which generic brand the teacher would think more highly of me for getting instead of considering the quantity and realization that she wasn't looking for a pretty label or a fancy name, her overall goal was to supply her students with the tools necessary to complete their projects, thus causing them to advance their learning in her class with the hands on cutting and glueing activities. I began to think of my own life as a "project" per say that God was/is working on and each day I spend more time with Him I can feel his scissors cutting the unneccessary edges off. I honestly believe that at times I have picked up the scissors myself and not only cut uneven jaggedy edges, but have chopped things in half and then been left to feel like there could never be enough glue sticks to piece it all back together. I was in walmart last night and just happened to be in the school supply aisle and I knew I had not gone there to get glue but Cade has asked many times at home if I would replace our home supply of it as we have been out of the liquid bottle kind for months now. I have put it off so many times and just walked past it. There again I found myself standing there for over 5 minutes contemplating if I should get the bigger bottle that was an extra 57 cents more or the regular sized one? I picked up the big one, put it in the cart, then looked back and noticed a 6 pack of glue sticks for 2 dollars! I started to throw those in the cart too and quickly changed my mind about the bigger bottle and got the cheaper one instead. Erica, why are you going on and on about glue and what kind you bought/didn't buy??? It's as if at the moment when I was deciding whether to get it or not I once again was pridefully thinking about myself. Not with the appearance of the label but in my cart I had also picked up 2 tops off the clearance rack and somehow I justified to myself that I needed that 7 dollar jacket and 4 dollar shirt more then I needed the bigger bottle of glue. When, in actuality the clothing is an appearance thing and will probably end up at the bottom of a drawer or back of a closet, whereas art projects the kids could do with extra glue would be much more memorable in the long run. In I Samuel 16:7 it says that "man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart." Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
I was given the privilege/blessing to attend a Beth Moore event today and wouldn't ya know it, GLUE came up in her message (not sure if anyone else heard it, but God was definitely speaking it to me). Why is it that we can daily go about our business with torn pieces hanging off of us as we are 24/7 standing in the BIGGEST school supply aisle and yet we still hesitate to reach out to God the Ultimate Sealer and Mender of our rips and tears? We get distracted by the pretty colors and the clearance racks of uneccessary items that we load into our cart and we miss out on receiving a fuller blessing in the process. God is a neverending supply of glue that in Proverbs 18:24 says he STICKETH closer then a brother. If we are not ON OUR KNEES searching below the surface and using his adhesive then we will soon discover that the HUGE WONDERFUL PACK OF 4 we are trying to last us on our own will soon dry out or be gone and we are left standing there unfinished projects that are clinging to selfishness, pride and the inability to allow Him to complete a work that He has to do in each of us. Just as Cade's teacher sees the end result of the art she has planned for her class and admitted her need for glue so God Himself sees the work of art that we are and can continue to become if we stop hesitating to squeeze from his abundant tube of stickiness!~ It's not only overly abundant and neverending it's FREE.
I had intended on purchasing 10 packs of glue for his class but because I let pride set in and appearance take over I ended up only getting 6 packs and bought a nice gift bag, teacher note pad and well done sticker pad to throw in with the GENERIC UGLY LABELED glue sticks in hopes that she would overlook that they weren't the fancy ones when I could have supplied her with 4 more packs of glue thus enabling her to accomplish the goal she had set out to do. Gift bags, ribbon and pretty labels are nice and thoughtful but just as she did not require them God also does not. He just wants us to be humbled before Him with or without a pretty label and lay aside the tissue paper and extra frillies that are hindering us from fully becoming His Masterpiece. What is it that is taking up space in your bag that you could remove and replace with something more substantial? How much longer will we walk around with slices hanging off of us refusing to let him glue us back together? Each of us are only given certain amounts of time on earth and if we waste it or do not make the best out of what we have been given for strength and help then we may never find ourselves hanging on God's refrigerator and hearing Him say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."
Lord, I praise you for designing us each uniquely and seeing a future plan for us all. I pray that we would look to you for all of our needs and that we will each allow you to continue working on us so that the plan you have for us can indeed be played out in our lives and glory can be brought to your name through our willingness to Stick close to you and remove the items that we are using to fill a gap. Take our pride and selfishness and replace it with a daily contentment and joy in you Father God. May we always be reminded that you are not only an adhesive for us but a writing utensil to place our thoughts down, paper to write it onto, an eraser and whiteout for when we make mistakes and a measureless ruler of love that we can use on a daily basis as we continue to learn from you, the greatest Teacher/Ruler of all times. May our ears be open to hear when you are speaking even in things we may deem insignificant, Lord I fully believe you can teach us so much through the smallest things and we often overlook seeing or hearing something you are asking us to do or showing us to see because we let ourselves get in the way...remove the obstacles even if we ourself are one and replace them and our fleshly thoughts and desires with you, you, you... May we not keep this knowledge of your abundant supply of goodness and help to ourselves but rather would we share it with others so that they too can become God's Masterpieces. I ask these things in your name, Amen.

Free of Debris

There lay a few crumbled chips, a leftover sausage from last night's pizza, a few specks of dried up crusted bread and chocolate speckled remains from a brownie. This table would look so much more presentable if those things were not there causing a mess. It's so easy to just brush them onto the floor underneath the table and chairs and think, "Oh, I'll get em later with the vacuum." Often what happens though is we forget to sweep and remove it all right away thus causing buildup down below. Over time if it's left there it can get embedded into the tile/carpet from walking on it, kicking it aside with a foot or moving the chair on top of it so it isn't as noticeable. It's not until we get down on our knees and assess the real issue at floor eye level that we see how much more work we have caused ourselves now. Not only do we now have to spend extra labor and time moving each chair and scooting the whole table over to sweep up the crumbs we may notice stains that weren't there before. Perhaps if we had wiped the table crumbs off into our hand or rag and thrown them out when we first noticed them our mess wouldn't be so difficult to clean up. How often do we brush our crumbs off our own tables in our lives hoping no one will get down and see what lurks beneath the surface? Often we can fool those around us by presenting a surface free of clutter and crumbs but God has xray vision and sees through to the underneath side. In Psalms 32:5 it says, "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to HIDE my guilt; I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD, And you forgave me, all my guilt is gone." In the moment we decide to stop trying to hide the crumbs on the floor or under a rug God can come in and sweep them away and his suction power is far greater then A DYSON and his power to remove embedded stains far outweighs RESOLVE STAIN SPRAY. Once we are cleaned below the surface it is then that we can start again with daily washing of the table after each meal and immediately throwing the crumbs away as opposed to letting them stick around. Just as we need to get on our knees to see the mess if/when it accumulates, Jesus speaks to us us in Ephesians 3:14-21 and says, "For this cause I BOW MY KNEES unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. that he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by the spirit in his inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length and depth and height. And to know the love of Christ which passeth all knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Amen. "
wipe the crumbs and heartaches off the tables into Jesus' hands so in turn we can avoid having to call upon Him for an overwhelming mess that needs a deeper cleaning. Let's strive to keep our carpets and our tiles free of debris!

Removing the bubble

I pulled it out of the middle console and brushed off the dust that had settled on it and plugged it in and proceeded to turn it on and had confident assurance that I could tell it to TAKE ME HOME and as it has in the past it would do again today. As I went to push the button on the screen it did not take me to the next step where I could choose what direction I wanted to go. It was then I noticed there was a water bubble floating back and forth inside the screen which had thrown it's system out of wack and it was incapable of doing it's job for me. Even after being aware of this I continued to push it harder thinking if I just push it a certain way it will activate for me and indeed get me to my destination. After countless tries I took it down and put it away and sat behind the wheel in a parking lot not having started out yet on my drive home. Thoughts invaded me of, "I'm in an unfamiliar area, I hate being lost, esp without a working navigation system and if I dont' get home soon I will miss picking up the kids and will be driving around in circles wasting gas and eventually get stuck in friday rush hour traffic. I decided to pick up the phone and call my friend and share with her that I needed her to guide me back to the main road. If I had not called her I would probably still be driving in circles around the Univ of MD campus or possibly taken a wrong exit onto a toll road (which would of been not good since I used all my quarters in the parking meter!).
I got to thinking, how often is it in life that we rely or depend on a man made product or other people's advice to direct our way and give us assurance to feel safe and capable of finding where we are supposed to be going? If we sit in the drivers' seat of life on our own and aren't willing to scoot over and give God the wheel we often attempt to navigate where to turn, what choice to make, and contemplate how we will get "there" and sometimes we do not even know where "there" is and instead we find ourselves in the middle of NOWHERE. We begin seeking help from broken maps and worldly advice that results in us driving in circles and losing valuable gas and energy in the process. In Psalm 32:8 it says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you and watch over you."
We can rest assured there are no water bubbles or malfunctions in God's navigational device he has created for us (THE BIBLE), we simply need to "turn it on/open it up and read it". Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths." This is not to say we can not take instruction or advice from someone, because God indeed does place certain people in our paths to sometimes redirect us or hand us a flashlight when we are lost in the dark. We just need to check that what they are saying to us is truly from God and not from just them. In Proverbs 12:26 it says, "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." I've had my Garmin/gps system in full working condition before and it still took me on a wild goose chase doing uturns, going in circles and taking me out of the way to get me to my destination. I've learned to hand write out directions to most places I am going now because I am aware that placing trust in something/someone that "seems trustworthy" is not always as helpful as the box, sales person or friend giving advice is assuring you of.
Just as I have been writing out bible verses and sticking them on the front door as reminders and I have a notepad of a few verses on it so that when I get into situations where I'm not sure which way to "turn" I can read one of them and trust that what it is saying is indeed helpful and something I can be assured of because it is from God and not man. The more we read God's map and scroll through his gps system that He so freely offers us we become more aware of where His THERE for our lives is and whose directions/advice we can accept and whose have bubbles in them. God has a plan/destination/purpose for each of us and is even willing to drive us there Himself if we are willing to scoot over, hand over the wheel, take him out from the middle console that we have been keeping him in, clean off the dust we let accumulate and push the button on the screen that says, "Location: Wherever you take me Lord." It might not be a 5 minute drive to get there but if we follow his route/let Him guide us through our life we will be able to more easily avoid potholes, traffic jams and the fear of being alone and lost in unfamiliar territory. Next time you find yourself on a road or in a parking lot not even sure of how to start out and unaware of what direction you are going simply call up to God's 24 hour roadside assistance and let Him debubble YOUR system so you can get where He is wanting you to be.
I am happy to say that because I sought out directions today from someone whom God placed in my mind to call and ask that I made it safely home in time to get the kids and I avoided traffic and top of everything else learned a new route to a place I had never been before. Stay alert to God's voice, road signs and lessons he is going to continue to teach us as we follow him on the path He has set out for us. Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."