Our lives are being watched

We are a watched society. From the parking lot at Walmart to the traffic camera on the corner our coming and going is being logged. If you look closely at some department stores you will see a small sign notifying customers that they are being watched in the dressing rooms! Yup, we are constantly being monitored and watched. The sad thing is it is not for our safety or to give us peace of mind but to monitor the wrong. Speeding, shoplifting, workers theft and more. All this watching reminds me of the 80's song eye in the sky by the Alan Parson Project.

The modern day "Eye in the sky" Google-Earth can track every nook and cranny on the planet, including your home. To get a good idea of just how well the "Eye in the Sky" can see, just take a look at the nature filming of Planet Earth. The cameras that were used from 30,000 ft. can zoom in so close to the animals, that it looks like the camera is only a few feet away. The detail and technology is amazing. And for some it is alarming.

Our lives are being watched!

George Orwell's greatest fear has become a reality! He wrote warning about Big Brother watching our every move and it is a reality today. But what most people don't realize is that from the beginning of time mankind has been watched and even more so an accurate record of each word spoken, deed done and thought conceived has been recorded. The "Eye in the Sky" is not some satellite being maned by human and subject to human errors. But the Great God of the Universe! And from these recordings our eternal destiny is judged.

Our lives are being watched!

The bible tells us that there will come a day when the books will be open and all will be judged by their content. Revelation 20:12 What is in those books, how did they get there? Ecclesiastes 12:14 tells us "God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Every detail of life will be reviewed, including my thoughts (something "Big Brother" could never read) and actions. That is a sobering thought! Everything I say, do and even think is being written down in the book of Remembrance. There is a recording angel more accurate than a court stenographer writing what you just thought!

Whether you believe it or not.

Our lives are being watched!

Whether you like it or not.

Our lives are being watched!

But the good news is this, the sacrifice that Jesus made on behalf of you and me covers our bad deeds. The blood of Christ is a magnificent eraser that eradicates sins from our records and allows us to stand before the judgment throne without guilt. It is His sacrifice and righteousness that we accept on a daily basis that frees us from the fear of accountability. We are told that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and our confessions of wrong are thrown into the depths of the sea never to be remembered again (Micah 7:19). The psalmist says as far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us. This is good news...no this is GREAT news.

"our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God's wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which "angels desire to look," and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find the cross of Christ their science and their song. Desire of Ages p. 19

What to Wear Part III

[C]lothe yourselves with kindness ….
Colossians 3:12

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!" What a falsehood! Many of unkind words hurled at me in childhood had tattered my ego, shattered my self esteem and damaged my self-perspective. Whether it is our words or our deeds the lack of kindness is killing people all around us. Some die slow, painful, emotional deaths and some suffer quick destruction. All at the hands of unkindness. Kindness is the restorative power, the source of healing and life - it is the garment tucked in the closet of a well dress Christian.

[C]lothe yourselves with kindness ….
Colossians 3:12

Every "suicide prevented" story in Chicken Soup books was prevented by the act of kindness. Oftentimes small acts of kindness. Now that is power! Power to change lives. Incredible power to save lives and prepare souls for eternity.
Think kindness isn't all that great of a power? Consider the influence of Jesus' kindness and the effect it has had on human existence now and evermore. The kindness and tenderness as He chose to die for a hateful murderous, sinful people (myself included). His kindness held Him to His cause as they beat Him, spit on Him, ripped His bread from His face and then viciously nailed Him to the cross. It was kindness that held Him on the cross...rose Him from the dead and causes Him to return for His beloved. Kindness is the ultimate power and triumphant force of God.

We have been commanded to [C]lothe yourselves with kindness. Are you following the divine command? Have you been too busy to wear any kindness lately? Do you take it on and off, depending on your mood, or who you are with? Sometimes we are least kind to the people we love the most. It seems we save our kind behavior for people we don't see very often, as though it were in short supply. We all really need to show kindness to everyone around us. God has plenty of it, so wear it proudly. You will look terrific!

[C]lothe yourselves with kindness ….
Colossians 3:12

What to Wear Part II

Part II of "What to Wear"

[C]lothe yourselves with compassion ….
Colossians 3:12

The first garment is compassion, which can be describes as a deep feeling of sharing the suffering of another. It is not hard to find suffering people around you these days. Everywhere you look there is pain and suffering. If compassion was to be a skirt it would be a maxi mini or pants that have been cut to daisy dukes; in other words we are very short on compassion in this world. So short that we tune it to watch other peoples pain on daily talk shows, buy tabloids to see the latest pictures of stars falling back into rehab and even revel in the desperate fictious antics of suburbian wives. Yes, compassion is a rare commodity. Are you aware of the suffering around you? Not the global suffering, but the pain and sadness of those around you in school, work and even home? Do you care?

Someone has spread a terrible uncompassionate lie! The lie is that crying is a sign of weakness and those who cry or show their pain are weak and pitiful. We often turn away, even run way from others pain with disgust and contempt. We have falling for the lie and shed ourselves from the ability to care and show compassion.

It seems to me that all too often we are all too quick to blame people and judge them without stopping to think of what they are going through or what made them the way they are.
Don't you think compassion would look good on you? Do you have it hanging in your closet, waiting to be put on? If you put on compassion you won't be so quick to condemn or judge. We'll give people room to make mistakes. We ourselves will have the greater capacity to forgive and grow.

So how do can you put compassion on? Remember that everyone has their own battles and sufferings, no matter how good they try to make their lives seem. When you see someone acting is way that makes you cringe in disgust or anger we should pray for them. That's right pray for them. You will be amazed how much more compassionate you will feel toward them and the suffering around you. So remember to:

[C]lothe yourselves with compassion ….
Colossians 3:12

Next we will unfold the second garment in this special wardrobe, kindness.

Kickaboutist

nud·ism (ndzm, ny-) The belief in or practice of going nude, especially in secluded, sexually mixed groups for reasons of health.

Because I am not a nudist and do not promote it for reasons of vanity and modesty (as well as temptation), I have become a devout Kickaboutist. What is a Kickaboutist you ask? You already maybe one and not know it.

(kik)-(about)-(ist) Is a word that I created to describe a person who believes or practices wearing clothing that is loose, comfortable and often time mixed matched, especially in the privacy of their own home for reasons of mental health.

I believe that every one of us deep down inside are kickaboutist. How many people really enjoy wearing tight confining clothing in the name of fashion? How often do we all long to loosen our pants after a big meal or take off the neck tie?

A true kickaboutist takes off the street clothes they were wearing as soon as the get home. The reach for their favorite sweatshirt, t-shirt and sweat pants. For me it is my favorite pajama bottoms and big oversized t-shirt. I love to kick about the house doing the daily chores, playing with the kids, watching TV in my comfy kick bouts.

Most kickaboutist are not comfortable answer the door or going out for the mail in their kick bouts. You see kickaboutist are not fashion unconscious - but comfortable conscious.
You can know your level of friendship by the way a kickaboutist reacts to your visit. If they change into "more appropriate" clothes, well then you are really just an acquaintance. If they don't change but make a comment like, "Oh, I am sorry I look like a mess." then you are a friend. If they don't say anything and comfortably sit and chat with you are a "close" friend. If you drop by to watch TV, work on a project or just settle down for a long conversation and the kickaboutist offers you some kickabouts….then you are best friends! An intimate friend will offer their own kickabouts to you!

When a kickaboutist travels he or she always make sure they take along at least one set of kick about to where in their hotel room or around the house of family (when it is a stay at home day). And often time will take one less "regular" outfit if needed to make more room in their suitcase.
Being a kickaboutist is not a passing fad for the fashion unconscious but a state of mind. It is the desire to be comfortable in your own home. To shuck off the public fashion requirements of what is cool, hip and acceptable and just be.

There is a difference between a kickaboutist and a slob in whom there is a danger is becoming if you take kickaboutism to the extreme. You know you have crossed the line if your entire wardrobe consist of kickabouts, and you comfortable going out in public in kickabouts. The common mantra for a slob is "I don't care what I look like or what people think of me." But the mantra of a kickaboutist is "I am in my own home and I am going to be as comfortable as I want to be."

Remember the definition: a person who believes or practices wearing clothing that is loose, comfortable and often time mixed matched, especially in the privacy of their own home for reasons of mental health.

If you examine your home dress attire you will soon see you too are a kickaboutist. I truly am and comfortable with it!

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

ABCDEFG - Hooked on Phonics did not teach me . . . anything about this word! If English 101 shared more of these wonderful word puzzles, maybe just maybe I would have been a english major. I do know that this 15-syllable contrivance is a phobia. But a fear of what? When you break down the word it looks like the fear of hippos and monsters that are equipped! I would be afraid of a monstrous hippo that is well equipped…especially in the spring!

A word like Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia should not present fear but respect and wonder of the unlimited use of the english language. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

I am not afraid of long words..bring them on! I like long words…words over 13 letters or more. Words are powerful tools! And the longer your tool the better! So I challeng you to get out your short tools and sharpen them against some new impressive words. If you would like to lessen your Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia or chances of ever contracting it I challenge you to submit to me one or two long words. What qualifies as a long word? 13 letters or more. I will start the list with the longest word in the dictionary:

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
(WOW that is 45 letters! [and a real word too])

Alright show me what you got and don't be afraid!

Personal Pondering on Motherhood - Part II

THE MOTHER LOAD
*Personal Pondering on Motherhood - Part II

We live in a day when what you do equals who you are. A woman's worth is determined by the value of her work and the amount she accomplishes. And if your work is constantly unfinished or coming undone, is exhausting or with tangible reward, you question your worth. If your a mother and only mother, society says you don't work. And even if you mother while lawyering, punching numbers, nursing or running a home business, the mothering part of your day isn't valued as "work."
Nope, mothering is not considered a job. It is a biological status. Like womanhood and childhood. You mother. Around the clock. In the wee hours of the night and then again at the carck of dawn. When you are sick and when you are healthy. Whether you feel like it our not. You mother. But society tells you that you don't work as a mother. The task of raising and tending a family is not valued by the world. Nor is mothering valued as a skill. However, check out this classified add! (Could/would you apply?)
WANTED: HOUSEWIFE/MOTHER
Applications are invited for the position of manager to a lively team of demanding individuals.
The successful applicant will be required to perform the following functions: companion, counselor, financial manager, buying officer, teacher, nurse, chef, nutritionist, decoration, cleaner, driver, child care supervisor, social secretary, and recreation officer. Applicants must have unlimited energy and a strong sense of responsibility. They must be independent, self-motivated and able to work in isolation without supervision, able to work under stress, and adaptable enough to handle new developments in the life of the team, including emergencies and crisis. They must be able to communicate with people of all ages, including teachers, doctors, business people, dentist, teenagers and children. A good imagination, sensitivity, warmth and an understanding of people is a must, as the successful application will also be responsible for the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the team.

HOURS: All waking moments and a 24 hour shift when necessary

BENEFITS: No guaranteed holidays, no sick leave or maternity leave. No worker's compensation

PAY: None. Allowances by arrangement from time to time with the income-earning member f the team. Successful applicants may be allowed/required to hold second job in addition to the one advertised here.

Although the work schedule for a mother is a bit challenging: twenty-four a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, with no weekends or holidays off. Some people would balk at such impossible hours, but not mothers! God has given us an inexplicable strength-strength beyond our own strength-that allows us to tend to the multiple needs and cares of our loved ones. Like the Energizer bunny, mothers keep going and going despite midnight feedings, sleepless slumber parties, overdue science projects, broken curfews and broken hearts.

[We] can do all things through Christ who is our strength.

Philippians 4:13

Personal Pondering on Motherhood - Part 1

The Toughest Job in my Life!

Personal Pondering on Motherhood - Part 1

I have done and been a lot of things in my life. I have worked as a courier, counselor, teacher, professor, firefighter, martial arts instructor, personal trainer, missionary and more. I have sweat buckets and pulled muscles digging in the blazing sun of South America. I have chocked on clouds of ominous thick smoke as I helped keep the violent flames from consuming everything in its path (including me). Yet, the hardest thing I have ever done, the most difficult task I have endured in this life time, the most mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally challenging job I have ever done….is being a Mother!

Erma Bombeck likens motherhood to that of stringing beads. We go about our daily routine, stringing one brightly colored wooden bead after another, feeling pretty good about ourselves and what we have gotten done. We assume we are accomplishing so much. But the illusion of productivity is shattered when, at the end of the day, we look down at our string of beads only to discover that there is no knot. The once-stung beads are now scattered all over the place, and we have to start over!

The job of mothering never ends! When do moms get to finish anything? We can't finish a meal without getting up and running to the stove or refrigerator. We rarely get to finish a thought before somebody needs something and we have lost our concentration. Our nights are interrupted by cries to be fed, or a wet bed, or a sore throat. Twenty-four-seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year for eighteen plus year's mother's are on call. The job of mothering is never a completed assignment even after our children are grown.

Since our work is constantly unfinished or coming undone, it is the most exhausting job in the world with implications that go beyond the day to day into eternity.
Yes, it is easy to see that mothering is the hardest, most important job in the world. Nothing can compare to the demands, the responsibilities, the disappointments and the rewards of motherhood. I want to remind you to never forget your worth as a mother ! Or if you are not a mother…Your mother's worth! It is the hardest job on earth!

What to Wear Part I

Yesterday I spent the day in my overstuffed walk in closet that was bulging with all kinds of possessions that where mindless tossed or hurriedly shoved inside because company was coming or I was just being plain lazy. I pushed clothes into the oversized black garbage bags that were older than my kids and have been out of style and back in style and out again. My skinny jeans, my semi-skinny jeans, my after baby jeans even my favorite maternity jeans. Clothes that represented the past and memories that I did not want to let go. However, today I was letting go.
Since it is nice in quite in the closet my mind started to ponder on style (which I do not claim to have any of) and fashion. I began to wonder. … What should a woman of God where? What type of a wardrobe should a Christian wear? There is a lot of controversy on this subject…I mean a lot!
I found that there is a special wardrobe designed just for Christians. Yes, you head me right, Christians need to wear a specialized wardrobe (under the armor of God)-one that sets us apart from others and identifies us as people who serve Jesus Christ. I don't mean a uniform, or some strict dress code. The wardrobe I am talking about is found in Colossians 3: 12-14:
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

These are the special garments intended by God for each of us to wear, and we have a unique opportunity to be lights in this darkening world by learning how to wear these beautiful clothes. I am going to take my time to look at each part of our wardrobe and learn how to dress my inner self with these garments that I have been commanded to put on. Join me as I journey through the wardrobe closet of God and learn how and what to where to shine in this darkening world.
Stay tuned: the first piece of clothing will be compassion.

Personal Ponderings On Motherhood Part 3

PRICELESS
* Personal Ponderings On Motherhood III

Real-estate developer Donald trump makes at least a billion dollars a year. The highest paid profession in the US is said to be an investment banker making a whopping $200,000 - $300,000 a year. A study conducted by Edleman Financial Services in 2001, tried to identify the many occupations that a typical mother might hold over the course of one year. After the examined the salary data supplied by the U.S. Bureau o labor Statistics, trade groups and human resource and staffing firms they estimated that a mother's worth is about $507,000 per year!
Yes, you read it right, $507,000 a year! Here is a breakdown of the various typical tasks performed by a mother and the corresponding average salaries:
Animal Caretaker ………………………………….$17,500
Executive Chef ………………………………….... $40,000
Computer Systems Analyst ……………………. $44,000
Financial Manager ………………………………. $39,000
Food/Beverage Service Worker ……………….. $20,000
General Office Clerk……………………………... $19,000
Registered Nurse ……………………………….. $35,000
Management Analyst …………………………...$41,000
Childcare Worker ……………………………......$13,000
Housekeeper ………………………………….......$9,000
Psychologist …………………………………... $29,000
Bus Driver …………………………………....... $32,400
Elementary School Principal …………………. $58,600
Dietitian/Nutritionist …………………………..$41,600
Social Worker ………………………………… $30,000
Recreation Worker …………………….............$15,500
The Edleman study suggests that since a mother wears many hats and is on duty twenty-four hours a day, she deserves a full-time annual salary for at least these seventeen positions. This figure does not even include retirement, health, and insurance benefits that workers in the above positions typically receive, the figures should actually be higher!
While the Edleman study is on the right track, the truth is there are some things money can't buy. Few can duplicate the following incalculable items:
Getting up during the night for feedings or illness …………Priceless
Telling stories at bed time ………………………………… .....Priceless
Cuddling and snuggling on a cold winter day ……………...Priceless
Kissing a boo-boo …………………………………................ .Priceless
Making a favorite meal just the way the like it ……………. Priceless
Sharing the love of Jesus ………………………………….....Priceless
The list is as long as you make it. There are many priceless moments and memories that a mom shares with her children and children have with their mom. Yes, it is true; there are many things money can't buy.
Katherine Butler Hathaway put it this way,
"Everybody knows that a good mother gives her children a feeling of trust and stability. She is the one they can count on for the things that matter most of all. She is their food and their bed and their extra blanket when it grows cold in the night; she is their warmth and health and their shelter, she is the one they want to be near when they cry. She is the only person in the whole world, or in a whole lifetime, who can be these things to her children. There is no substitute for her. Somehow, even her clothes feel different to her children's hands from anybody else's clothes. Only to touch her skirt or her sleeve makes a troubled child feel better.
Yes, the worth of a mother is beyond that of dollar and cents…it is priceless!
"Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her..... For her price is far above rubies."
Proverbs 31:28,10

Better Now Than Later

Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task which NEEDS to be accomplished. This can lead to feelings of guilt, anxiety, inadequacy, and depression. For many things in life procrastination has a high potential for painful consequences. Putting off until the last minute the research for that 20 page term paper - only to discover that you have to inter-library loan your books and it will take 3-4 weeks to receive them! Or worst yet, after hanging out with friends, watching the whole trilogy of your favorite movie, or organizing your sock drawer (doing everything else but the job) you find yourself frantically pouring over your computer only to have it crash before you hit save!
Painful are the consequences of procrastination. Although most things we procrastinate are not life or death - there is one thing that millions of people keep putting off. Putting off for a "better time", when they get married, have kids, settle down or have a life threatening experience. So what is the big hurry? What is so important that it can not wait? God warns us that "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2) NOW! Not tomorrow or someday but now. Why now? Because Life is uncertain and tomorrow is not guaranteed!

Bill and Joe were best friends growing up - Bill's family was fragmented and broken by divorce, alcoholism and drug abuse. Joe grew up in a Christian home with Christian values but Joe liked to drink and fight. One day Bill asked him, "Don't you believe in God anymore? Don't you want to go to heaven and do all the things you told me about?" "Well, of course, "Joe said." But I want to have fun while I am young. Maybe a little later when I am older, than I will really give my heart to the Lord." A few nights later Joe was at a drive-in-movie theater, and a gang fight broke out. In his attempts to jump out of the way, he jumped into the path of a stay bullet. It went right through Joe's head. Bill was there when they the doctor disconnected the life support systems. Joe never gained consciousness; he died in the state of procrastination.
We all plan to change someday at a more convenient time. Unfortunately, very often that day never comes.

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!

One of Satan's most successful tactics in stealing your eternal life is not telling the world there is no God; or that God does not love you or that you are too "bad" to be saved. No the greatest lie is to tell you that you can deal with salvation later. Procrastination…putting God off!

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!

All you have to do is look at the statistics that the IRS puts out that indicate most people don't file their taxes until the last minuet. The real procrastinators put it off way too long and have to file for an extension. Some of the most impressive people I know are terrible procrastinators. But the danger is, you cannot procrastinate with your relationship to the Lord. You can not file for a time extension when the Lord comes!
Don't procrastinate any longer. Everything in the Bible says today, now, immediately. Nothing in the Bible says, come to Jesus when you are in the mood or when it is convenient, because the devil will work things out so it will never be convenient to come to Jesus and make the changes. The best time to listen to God's voice is when you hear God's voice.

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!

2 Corinthians 6:2

What is Eternal Life?

Now this is eternal life: That they may know you, the only true God; and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.
John 17:3

How clear is this?! Eternally life is truly about who you know. And there is a level of that knowledge. We are not to just know of God or acknowledge his existence. "Know" suggests a very close intimacy, just as a husband and wife are intimate in marriage (Genesis 4:1). It indicates experiential knowledge (walking and experiencing his presence in your life), not theoretical (believing he exists and occasional prayer).

In Amos 5:4, God exclaims, "Seek Me and live!" He is saying, "Turn to Me and My way of life; seek to know Me," not "Search for Me," because He has already revealed Himself to us. He is saying, "Seek to know Me by living the same way I do." That is how experiential knowledge of Him becomes an intimate knowing of Him. Because He will walk with such people (Amos 3:3) I have longed to know Him intimately! Here is what I found.

Who is God? Or should I ask What is God?
Key Text: God is LOVE (I John 4:8, 16).
In our world today love is one of the most abused words. I love my dog, I love basketball, I love Indian food, I love my kids, I love that color, I love my husband, I love that show, I love God. The devil is in the business of devaluing and watering down language and its meanings especially the words that describe God's attributes. But God IS love…not just loving. The very fiber of his being is LOVE - His nature, His core, His existence is LOVE.
I like to think that I am a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend. But the word loving describes an action or verb - Not who I am…for I am not LOVE…but loving. The greatest most charitable person you may know can only be described as being loving…but never has there been a human being that encapsulated LOVE as the core of who or what they are. Only God is LOVE.
So what is love?
I Corinthians 13 hangs cross stitched on my wall and I have read it a myriad of times. It states:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
If I substitute the God's name in place of love I see Him more clearly.
God is patient
God is kind
God is not wanting of anything we own or posses.
God is not a bragger
God is not proud and arrogant, rude or self-seeking
God is long suffering….he does not anger easy
God is forgiving
God is not happy with the evil he sees around him - but seeks to rectify it
God is truth
God is our protector
God is trustworthy
God is our hope
God is always calling and perserving (pressing on) to complete restoration.
This is the God of Love. This is the God who is Love.
This is LOVE and this is God,
because God is Love.
However, I caught something I never noticed before in this passage that sums up completely who God is.
Verse 5 says: "[Love or God] it is not self-seeking. Or Love does not seek it own. This is the biblical essence of love: Love is the principles of putting others first. Not a feeling, emotion but a principle. Love is principle of putting other's first.
God is love - His very nature is to put other's first. So think about it…if love is the principle of putting others first what would you have to have in order to love? You have to have OTHERS! So God created "Others" to love -
Because He is LOVE!
You were created to be Loved by Love.

HOW YOU DOING?

As I walk through another normal day, the people I run into smile and greet me warmly. They all ask the same question and I respond with the same answer. Even strangers throughout the day mumble the question not really wanting to know - but ask out of mechanical politeness. These four words really don't mean anything in our society today or at the most it means you have just entered my social space and I am obligated to say something. So out of the mouths of many comes, "How are you doing?"
Very seldom do we really want to know the answer and very seldom does anyone ever tell you the truth. The response is usually "Fine, thank you" and you?' Then we move on with our day. I started to think about this mechanical response, almost a knee jerk reaction or interaction and realized that we are not all right. We are all hurting deep down inside and we (me included) are too busy, too disconnected, too occupied with "US" or "ME" that we cautiously hope others won't answer the question honestly. I don't have the time, energy or interest in really knowing is the message we send each other.
Then I decided to ask this question to God. When I asked God, “How are you?” He answered honestly. “Most people don’t even take time to think about me, let alone ask such a question.” “Those who think of me have various skewed opinions on how I am doing.” Some see me in heaven far removed surrounded by lovely clouds and singing angels too busy to listen to their problems. Some see me angry and causing devastation on this fallen race throwing lightening bolts of disgust. Some see me as unattainable, out of reach, disconnected, some sadly don’t see me at all – I will tell you the truth. Here is “how I am doing.”
I cried today, over the hundreds of funerals. I wept as a watched thousands fall victim to the lures of drugs and alcohol. I sobbed at the millions of children being raped, neglected and abused. I feel the pain of the families ravaged by divorce and loss. I lament because so much of this sadness is a result of the gift of free will and choice. (1) My heart is crushed for every where I look my children are so blinded from the truth of my love. (2) I whisper I love you to every living creature on the earth but they can’t hear me. (3)
However, I also smiled today when thousands of beautiful babies were born, when hundreds received the recognition they prayed about in response to their hard work and perseverance. But the true highlight? I partied in heaven over just the one who gave his life to me. I sang over the one who will be joining me someday in her new heavenly home. I cried tears of joy and threw my arms around her as I welcomed her into my family.
So you ask “How am I?” It is tough waiting for the time to come and rescue my children (4), to wait to end this battle between myself and the enemy of every soul. I long to be vindicated for the actions or non action I have been accused of. But I must wait until everyone has a chance to choose who they will serve. I must wait until all hearts have made their final decision (5). I wait patiently and lovingly. Meanwhile, I am doing just fine.” I have a heart divided with sadness and happiness and am encouraged to know that one day it will be only filled with HAPPINESS (6). So I am doing fine thank you, “how are you doing?”
(1) Joshua 24:15
(2) 2 Corinthians 4:4
(3) Jeremiah 31:3
(4) 2 Thessalonians 4:16
(5) II Peter 3:19
(6) Revelations 21:4

HOME SWEET HOME

HOME SWEET HOME

The grey concrete hammers my feet and riddles my body with exhausting intensity. The sun seems to be shining only on me…but not that balmy summer warmth sunbathers enjoy. It was a brutal heat aimed to destroy my hope and crush my joy. I was standing in a line that permeated with the smell of body odor, urine and booze. The long line of men, women and children swayed in the merciless heat. Although I felt so alone, my young mother and two sisters huddle around closely. Daily we would stand in this rotting line of hot bodies and drunken sorts in hopes of getting a place to shower, eat and sleep safely.
I was twelve and homeless. The surrounding scenery of those days were filled with people sleeping in cardboard boxes, pushing shopping carts that held everything they owned while holding out their hands to strangers passing by. I learned to look the other way, to keep my eyes forward and my broken family closer. The days were unpredictable never knowing where the hard streets and blistering sidewalks would take us but everyday they led back to the hot, crowded sidewalk outside the homeless shelter.

Although the details of those days still live in my memory, I have been so far removed from that time, making them like watching a scene from a TV show. God lifted me and my family out of that life and gave me a hope and a future that he promises us all (Jeremiah 29:11). I have been given a life filled with a godly husband, beautiful kids, supportive family, good friends and a beautiful home. I live a very contented life, far from the homeless twelve year old I once was.

So I thought. Just recently, I was reminded that I am still “homeless.” This world is not my home. God showed me that we all live, spiritually speaking, in our cardboard boxes, some fancier than others, and if life is only about what we have in our shopping carts, then we will remain homeless, or as Jesus observed, “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:17. So many of us are pushing our shopping carts around fooled by thinking they are full of things that can bring us happiness and if we can just get that “one more” thing we will be fulfilled. We are lulled into building additions to our cardboard boxes competing with each other to see whose boxes are bigger and better. We all fall for the idea that happiness can be found in this world by our things, boxes, buggies and bags. We are tricked into thinking these cardboard mansions are all there is. “The purist of all happiness”. “Home sweet home”.

Yet again God reminds me this world is not my home. I still remain homeless. He reminds me that Jesus will come back someday and take me home. To my real “home sweet home”. To a home that cannot even began to compare to the most elegant, palatial cardboard boxes of this world. My heavenly father whispers the gentle reminder to not get comfortable here for I am sending your Brother Jesus to take you home. Jesus is coming to take me to the mansion that God has prepared just for me. God reminds me, “My mansion has many rooms, room enough for anyone who chooses to hold lightly to the things of this world and invest in the eternal”. A home awaits us where gold is used to cover the streets and precious jewels are the walls. Our eyes have never seen anything so beautiful our minds cannot even begin to imagine the majesty of our real home! Until then I am homeless.

While I am away from my real home, I cannot be surprised if things get tough or if happiness is not found in my lifetime. We have not been promised happiness on this earth, only a peace to deal with the pain and suffering in a fallen world – a world that is not our eternal destination or a world that is not our home. If and when things get difficult here, it is because we are all homeless. This is not our home. We will be home soon, but if we try to make this world our home, we will forever be frustrated and ultimately devastated.