Instead of Another Game of Minesweeper

Spa Survivor

2008-01-31T09:56:00.000-06:00

I finally found a Survivor I want to sign up for. It’s…SPA SURVIVOR. Instead of competitions where you end up dragging yourself all across a sandy desert beach, you have to endure a really rough exfoliator. Yeah, that’ll rub you the wrong way.

Competitions could include running with cotton balls between each toe, finding the way to the ladies’ room with a cucumber slice over each eye and trying to get a credit card out of a tight wallet before the nails are completely dry. Tough, I know, but I think I could take it. Why, I’ve even been known to endure a brow-waxing…and that’s brutal, man. I would likely be willing to endure a seaweed wrap with hardly a whine for the right spa survivor incentive. A really tight seaweed wrap even.

Okay, in truth, my spa survivor skills are not all that likely to impress. But have you ever thought about God’s Word as our spiritual day spa? It truly is the most impressive. No brutal brow-waxing or exfoliators. Even when it causes us to see things in our lives that are a bit painful, God’s word always rubs us the RIGHT way.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” That may sound more painful than a brow-waxing, but searching the scriptures, studying them, applying them, meditating on them and making them part of our lives doesn’t simply change the shape of a brow. No, it changes the shape of our lives. As we focus on his word, we can see our thoughts and attitudes lining up with his thoughts and attitudes. That’s when we can find a whole new depth of real, purpose-filled life.

The Bible encourages us not to merely survive this life. Who wants to settle for mere surviving when we can be thriving? It’s tribal or non-tribal survival “thrival.”

So let’s peel those cucumbers off our eyes and look daily into the living, active word of God. It’s grand to thrive! Even if we leave our brows outrageously furry and decide to EAT the seaweed.

The Perfect Centerpiece

2007-10-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

I love, love, love whoever it was who invented the marvelous, miraculous FROZEN DINNER. What a genius! I OWE this person. Everyone talks about those fancy ice sculptures. But me? A frozen family-sized lasagna is a thing of beauty to me. Now there’s a centerpiece you can sink your teeth into.

Anytime I can’t decide what to make for dinner, I go straight for the freezer. I open that magic door and find—oh glorious day—someone has already decided! Those days there aren’t enough groceries in the pantry to put together anything besides some kind of noodle/Dorito casserole, I check that freezer—and dinner is done! Some days I just plain don’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen. No problem. In the freezer dinner is already done! If they made it any easier they would be digesting it for me!

I’m embarrassed to admit how much I depend on my freezer for dinner (though I do try to make sure I do all my own digesting, thank you). And my microwave. My beautiful, beautiful microwave. We’ve never needed a dinner bell. The beep of the microwave signals everyone that dinner is ready. And that beep has become like music to my ears.

Even sweeter music to my ears? The sweet, sweet song of salvation! Our redemption is all about and all through Jesus. When he paid our sin debt on the cross, it was finished—in Jesus it’s already done!

Just take a look at how the Amplified Bible expresses Hebrews 7:23-25: “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; But He holds His priesthood unchangeably, because He lives on forever. Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.”

Jesus saves to the uttermost. Completely and perfectly. Finally and eternally. Sound the beautiful beep, it’s done! He had already decided before the foundation of the world to redeem his children back to himself. And what he decides to do, he does. We don’t have to stew over our redemption. We only have to accept it and live it out.

But speaking of stew, I just heard the microwave sound the dinner bell. Ah, it’s playing my song. Oh and just so you won’t think I’m totally inept in the kitchen, that special Italian sauce I make is never ever frozen. My special sauce is from a jar.

On Deadlines and Chicken Suits

2007-06-30T08:48:00.000-05:00

I’m working like a maniac trying to finish a book in two weeks—finish writing it, not reading it. If I write from sunup to sun-back-up and stop wasting time with trivial things like eating, drinking and sleeping I might make it—well, probably not alive. Maybe that’s why they call it a “deadline.”

It’s funny, but even at the most overwhelming times as a writer and speaker, I never consider doing anything else. Last week I drove by this guy standing in front of a fast food place. He was waving at people as they drove past. In a chicken suit. And I thought my job could be humbling.

You know, the Lord calls us to do whatever we do as if we were doing it for him. And it’s because we are! Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

That changes how we see deadlines and dehydration. It changes how we respond to flapping around in a chicken suit. It means that neither job is more important or even more fulfilling than the other—because it’s our God who makes what we do valuable.

Of course, I do have to admit I was a little jealous of the chicken guy. With what I do, I hardly ever get to wear feathers.

It'll Curl Your Hair

2007-05-30T07:22:00.000-05:00

We’ve never been one of those families that sits around a campfire telling scary stories. Every once in awhile, though, I have to admit I like to frighten my teenage girls with one of the scariest stories I know. And it happened to ME. It’s the story about when I was a little girl…and my mom….gave me…(insert a maniacal “mwah-ah-ah” here)…a HOME PERM. I describe in gory detail how I had to spend several weeks looking like a dandelion, the other cruel children making wishes and blowing on my head. Frightening. Nothing can raise up a fresh batch of goosebumps like a story of evil Frankenstein-ish chemicals and a perm gone bad. What could be scarier than that first look in the mirror? You’re pretty sure you’re so frightened you’re hair is standing on end—but who could tell? After hearing my dandelion story, I honestly think my girls would buy a home lobotomy kit before they would buy a home perm kit.

Didn’t I hear this comment about that bottle of perm solution? “I’d rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me.”

How many people do you know who seem to have found a lobotomy blue light special? So many seem to make every life decision pointedly and purposefully completely opposite what the Lord spells out for us to do in his Word. It’s like mocking his instruction! Now there’s a reason to fear. Proverbs 9:9-12 says, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer” (NIV).

Making life choices contrary to the Father’s instruction brings suffering. But choosing to live a life of obedience results in wisdom, blessing and reward. That life of obedience starts with the good kind of fear. Not the hair-curling kind of fear, but a humble, awed reverence for the holy, holy, holy God.

Knowing, fearing and following him might not guarantee every day is a good hair day, but wisdom really does lead to more wisdom. It’s blessing becoming more blessing. The blessings lead right into our ultimate blessing when we’ll see Jesus face to face. There will be no more evil, no more pain, and no more tears. It’s an eternal life full of love and laughter—and none of our heavenly laughter will be that maniacal kind.

That’s a thought that almost always leaves me goosebumpy. The good kind of goosebumps—not the chemically inspired kind.

I Swing for Ice Cream

2007-04-17T11:44:00.000-05:00

We had an ice cream incident a couple of weeks ago. With two college boys, two high-schoolers and a junior-higher, we have so many ice cream eaters, we buy it in the giant size. It looks more like a washtub than it does an ice cream container. At least it has that handy-dandy red handle.

But for some reason Jordan decided to do some ice cream acrobatics before dessert. Mind you, he’s one of the college boys—and he’s studying math and physics. So I’m not quite sure why the math and physics of it all didn’t occur to him, but he was playing some kind of game with his sister and started swinging the tub by its red handle in a straight-arm ferris-wheel kind of motion. The math and physics came into focus all too clearly when the nearly six-foot boy with the long arm span swung the giant ice cream tub underneath the kitchen light fixture. The flying ice cream knocked the dome cover off and it landed square on Jordan’s head. After knocking a nice knot on his head (which I’m guessing was probably one of those “V-8” math/physics moments), it fell to the floor and shattered into a gazillion glass slivers.

It took him forever to clean up all the glass and by then, I don’t think he even wanted ice cream anymore.

I hate to tell you how many times I’ve caught myself in the same kind of stunt. Not with the big drum of ice cream. But I all too often catch myself forgetting the obvious spiritual truths while I’m totally distracted by the temporary things of the world. Getting caught up in the world’s way of thinking is a sure-fire way to guarantee a head-konking incident in my spiritual future. Those V-8 moments are just a swing away. First John 2:15-17 says, “Don't love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever,” (CEV).

Living in foolish pride and selfish desires? There’s no real joy there—only discontentment and a life that’s fruitless, directionless and unfulfilled. It may even come with a knot on the head. But a life lived with a passionate consciousness of God and a deep desire to walk in obedience brings eternal fruit. It results in sweet satisfaction that doesn’t require the circumstances to be just so-so. It doesn’t require all the world’s frills. And that really is the sweetest way to live!

There’s a sweetness there that doesn’t even require ice cream.

The Beat Goes On

2007-02-27T15:16:00.000-06:00

My 13-year-old son is quite the musician. He’s a guitarist, a trombonist and a drummer. A drummer…who doesn’t necessarily need a drum. He has a drum set, but his drumming certainly isn’t contained to it. The table is his drum. The sofa is his drum. The wall? Drum. The desk, the chair, his sister? Drum, drum, drum. He was baking cookies with me last week and even the cookie sheet was a drum. Okay, actually that was more of a cymbal—but there was still definite drummage.

Daniel drums without even knowing he’s drumming. It’s the percussion that never ends. The other day I couldn’t stand it any more. My left eye was twitching—on the beat. I said, “Daniel! Could you PLEASE stop percussing for five minutes?”

“Sure,” he said without missing a beat (as it were). Then he looked at his watch.

I wonder how many things I do without thinking. No doubt there are a gajillion annoying habits I’m not aware of that are causing eyes to twitch left and right.

Oh, that the Lord would grow me to the place where there are more things I do without thinking that bless than things I do without thinking that annoy. In 1 Corinthians 12:31, Paul says, “But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.” Then he begins what we call the “love chapter.” Love should be a way of life for those of us who follow Christ. Loving others selflessly should happen as naturally and rhythmically as those tap, tap, taps on the desk—loving almost without having to think about it.

Verses 4-7 in 1 Corinthians 13 tell us what that kind of love looks like: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (NLT).

How important is our sacrificial love for others to our Heavenly Father? We’re told in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that we could speak every language on earth—we could even speak the language of angels. But if we don’t love others, even Angel-eese sounds like a bunch of annoying noise. As a matter of fact, it says that without love, even if I’m speaking the sweetest language there is, “I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” The last thing I want to do is cause a twitch in the eye of the God I love.

I want to love others because I do love him. And I want to love consistently, steadily—without missing a beat.

Stand Up for Jesus

2007-02-06T13:10:00.000-06:00

We’ve had revival services going on at our church this week with Ken Freeman (www.kenfreemanministries.com). What a powerful movement of God—awesome!

You gotta love this guy. All the women made sure their husbands were listening when he told us in no uncertain terms that he chips in with the housework. I’m telling you, elbows were flying. Yes, he even vacuums. And lest you think for a second he’s some kind of girly-guy, don’t even—because he told us he had his heart set on a RIDING VACUUM CLEANER.

I didn’t want to mention it to Ken, but I’ve noticed that guys very often have a different idea of house-cleaning than we women do. At my place, when company is coming and we’re in a total lather trying to get our house in order (admit it—most of you only clean when company is coming, too), my hubby and I tend to have a completely different cleaning strategy. I start with the family room. He starts with the GARAGE. Our dinner guests will go nowhere near our garage, mind you, but Richie will make sure it’s clean. After all, how could we possibly have a nice evening with friends if his screwdrivers are out of order?

One thing that’s especially encouraging about revival services is that the Lord uses them to rally us and to remind us that we, the church, should always have the same strategy. Loving Jesus passionately, serving him wholeheartedly, sharing him faithfully—those are the strategies that help us make sure we’re standing up for all the right things. We reminded to be suited up and ready to do whatever it takes to stand against evil and to stand up for Christ. Ephesians 6:11 offers a charge: “Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil” (AMP).

That's where victory is: standing against every evil strategy, standing up for Christ!

Even if we’re eventually sitting down to vacuum.

Manna Mania

2007-01-19T07:39:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered if the Israelites ever tried to get clever with their manna? God provided them with wonderful food daily. But I do remember reading that they got a little whiny about eating the same thing every day. I can picture them moaning, “Oh, the hu-manna-ty”—even though the manna was sweet and tasty. Exodus 16:31 says “it tasted like honey wafers” (NLT). Sounds like dessert to me.
I wonder if they ever tried to get creative. Maybe they tried new recipes. Mannawiches, maybe?

What if they got even more clever and made it into a loaf, then added berries? Wouldn’t that make “Berry Manna-loaf”? Would eating too much of it cause them to sing mellow songs and consider music and passion always the fashion? Perhaps they could’ve kept that Entertainer theme and created a traveling restaurant that specialized in adding other fruit. They could’ve called it the “Copacabana-banana-manna Café.”

Or maybe they were just too busy whining to get creative. I would make fun of them for it, but I’m afraid there are too many times I ask God to provide and then take it for granted when he does. Or worse, I complain about the way he does it. How embarrassing to still be so quick to be full of myself instead of being full of him.

I’m so thankful our God is a God of mercy. He demonstrated it again and again with the whining Israelites. Psalm 78: tells us, “They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, ‘Can God spread a table in the desert?’ Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved. In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities.” (verses 18-19, 23-25, 30, 32, 38a, NIV).

His mercy still shows up in our every whiny inadequacy today. Even after I’ve been too shallow and full of self to recognize him and thank him, he graciously shows me mercy. And he’s faithful to continually remind me to recognize him and to thank him and to crave his presence more than anything else. What a mighty, merciful God we serve!

I think my lunchtime prayer might be a little different today. It’s very likely to be fuller than usual of thanks and praise to the merciful God who provides. And I want to crave him more than I crave lunch.

Speaking of cravings, I think I might have to find some banana bread for a lunchtime dessert. Sounds extra good for some reason.

Coffee Accessorizing

2007-01-02T09:28:00.000-06:00

Remember the days when you could order a cup of coffee in four syllables? A cup of coffee was a “cup of coffee.” That’s it. These days, coffee has been accessorized to triple its original syllablage. Or even more.

Being the accessory overachiever that I am (if only you could see these ear rings), I’m pretty excited about coffees that can be accessorized and enhanced until they’re hardly coffee anymore. I love a shot of this flavor and a dollop of that topping. Sprinkles? Sure. I just have to remember when I get up to the cash register that every syllable is about another quarter to 50 cents. A six-dollar cup of coffee? I tell you, I can do it.

Adding this, adding that—it may be expensive in a cup of coffee, but it can be a great life-thing. 2 Peter 1:5-8 says “Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love. If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful” (CEV).

Now there’s a list of worthwhile syllables we can add! We’re called to keep adding more and more character syllables to our lives. And what happens when we add goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others and love? We show that Christ makes a difference in our lives. We give a testimony with our lives that life in Jesus makes us useful and gives life meaning. Let’s stay alert when it comes to adding those wonderfully worthwhile things to our lives.

Hey, I think I might just stay alert with a Grande Espresso Mocha Carmel Macchiato with extra foam and chocolate sprinkles!

Season's Meetings

2006-12-04T09:40:00.000-06:00

About this time every year I seem to start meeting myself to death. Does it happen to you, too? Here we are, ringing in the season with this Christmas committee meeting and that planning event, then the other get-together—I really am MEETING myself coming and going!

I’ve got so much scribbling on my calendar; it already looks like it’s been through the blender. I’ve got some kind of Day-Timer smoothie here! Visions of sugar plums? I don’t think so. Not unless they’re one of the ingredients in the smoothie.

Before Christmas starts to lose some of its glorious wonder and meaning, I really have to get a hold of my calendar and keep it in check—or maybe just check it at the door.

Don’t you love the awesome message of Christmas the angels brought at that very first Christmas meeting: “Glory to God…and on earth, PEACE.” Peace through Jesus! We don’t have to form a committee—no meetings on this one. It’s the truth. I think I’ll just sit here and enjoy that thought for a few minutes today. Don’t you think it’s so much sweeter than any old sugar plum smoothie?

Pushing Our Thanks Button

2006-11-09T09:26:00.000-06:00

I hope this isn’t too personal, but I have this one pair of jeans I call the “breathing optional” jeans. I was going somewhere the other day wearing the death jeans, and I told my daughter something like, “Now if Mommy passes out, nevermind the CPR. Unbutton the jeans.”

And as a motherly disclaimer, I had to add, “Don’t look directly at that top button. One bad thread and it could put an eye out.” I really would hate it if I had to explain in the ER how my daughter got a concussion or something from a blue jeans button turned bazooka.

Anyway, I was very thankful that we made it home from our little outing without either of us having lost consciousness.

Speaking of being very thankful, isn’t it fun that we’re heading into the season that forces us to think about thanks? The Bible tells us to always be thankful. Always. That’s often.

So I’m making it a goal to be thankful always—for every breath. Especially for every breath that doesn’t rocket a button.

Going to Court?

2006-11-07T14:25:00.000-06:00

How tickled I am that my two college boys are taking the Rhea family "to court" in such a good way. Andrew (left) and Jordan (right) are parked on either side of the cute Katie Porter representing their respective junior and freshman classes at the 2006 Homecoming Gala and Coronation at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri. Katie is the junior girl homecoming rep. I loved getting to snap some pictures of their "court appearance." The entire evening was a royal blast!

Two on the homecoming court from the same family? That has to be some sort of historic event for the college. I know it's an historical event for the Rhea family. As the mother of those two fine boys, I think it's more of a HYSTERICAL event--since I'm so proud I could just cry!

And as the mother of two of the homecoming court guys, I'm wondering if that somehow makes me QUEEN. Not that it's all about me, mind you. But really. Could I get a crown out of this?

I guess I'm a little spoiled, since on the eternal side, Jesus has already made me royal. Again, not because it's all about me. But because he is full of mercy. It's all about him. It's all about what he's done.

And if I do happen across a tiara or two, I know just where to lay them. I love the Revelation 4:10-11 picture of falling down in worship, laying our crowns before the One and Only Worthy One. “And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.’” (NLT)

As proud as I am of my boys, I'm even more thrilled to serve in the court of the One True King. All glory to him!

Chase Down That Car

2006-10-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

Sure, the dog is calm and collected when she's sitting in the sun with my son, Andrew. But just let a car drive down our road. Suddenly she's a foaming car maniac. Gracie got out yesterday and before I could even bribe her with a gajillion doggie cookies, she flew down the road after a car. Why do dogs do that? Does chasing a car make any sense whatsoever? What was she going to do if she caught it? Did she think she was going to wrestle it to the ground and show it who’s boss? "Ha, I am GRACIE THE WONDER DOG and I have conquered the great metal beast in the name of all Dogdom."

I would make fun of her a little more, but I can actually be much too much like her to get away with it for very long. It’s like I unconsciously decide now and then that I’m going to chase down living a good life myself. Yeah, watch me, I can wrestle down that car!

But living a righteous life comes from giving God’s Holy Spirit control—not from taking control myself. If we want to be good people, we really have to understand that we can only do that through the goodness that God gives. Giving him control? It’s better than the best doggie cookies. That’s where I need to stay. Yeah. Sit. Stay.

Hair-ware

2006-10-11T10:24:00.000-05:00

Notice the new pic for my new website banner? I'm excited about (okay, so this is rather shallow) having more froo-froo in the do. Gotta love a hairdo with froo.

I have a friend who has made one of the greatest sacrifices for her husband I’ve seen in a long time. I mean to tell you, I’m deeply moved by her selflessness. Her name is Chris and she’s sacrificing…are you ready for this…the froo in her hairdo. Her husband has a new motorcycle he wants her to ride with him. That means she has to spend an hour or so getting her hair to poof in just the right way, then she has to smash the life right out of the poof with the bike helmet. Oh the humanity.

Personally, I’m not sure if I could make that kind of sacrifice. Give up my lunch? Sure. My favorite earrings? Probably even those. But my DO? That’s asking a lot.

My friend Peanuts (who incidentally, is the one who puts the froo in my do) said she would only make that kind of hair sacrifice if they were riding on the motorcycle—on their way to pick up a very large diamond. And then after she saw the helmet Chris had to wear, she decided it would have to be a diamond HOUSE.

Sacrificing the hairdo is big. But sacrificing our all to our Heavenly Father? That’s something altogether bigger and eternally more urgent. Romans 12:1 gives us sacrifice instructions: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." Not only the hair--the whole body!

Giving him control of every part of our lives is what makes this life more exciting than the wildest motorcycle ride. He knows just how to make the perfect adventure because he knows us so well—right down to the very number of hairs on our heads. Poofed and un-poofed.

Pockets Full of What?

2006-09-27T09:23:00.000-05:00

I was watching my 13-year-old son, Daniel, empty out his pockets yesterday. Oh my goodness. He pulled out the wrappers from three Tootsie Rolls—and then a few seconds later he pulled out four furry Tootsie Rolls. I think he had the entire year’s worth of notes from his history class in one pocket and I’m just sure I saw his trombone sheet music in the other—the music for last month’s concert.

He seemed pretty excited when he found the lunch money he’d been missing. But both of us were disturbed when we saw something that looked like at least half of a science lab. How disturbing is it that there was this big hunk of something we couldn’t identify? How much more disturbing is it that it looked a little like it was frying in its own juices? How even more disturbing is it that he still didn’t throw it away?

I wonder how the kid can even sit down with all that stuff (bubbling and non-bubbling) in his jeans. All I could say was, “Daniel! Son! You need a PURSE!”
It’s funny that he’s carrying around half his life in his jeans. It’s even funnier that he has to keep pulling it all out every day when he changes clothes, and then stuffing it all right back in the clean jeans. Anyone else wondering why anyone would keep stuffing four furry Tootsie Rolls and an unidentified frying object back into the pockets?

It’s even weirder when we let it become a habit to carry around spiritual junk we don’t need, hanging onto stuff just because we’ve gotten used to it. Purse or no purse, if we’re carrying around sinful stuff, it’s past time to get rid of it. And it’s amazing how freeing it is to stop lugging that junk around! Talk about feeling lighter! And it’s exactly how we’re called to live. Not just “encouraged” to live holy. CALLED to live holy! First Thessalonians 4:7 says, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” (NIV)

O Lord, may we learn to rely on your more and more to produce a pure and holy life in us, according to your calling—a life that will magnify and glorify your name!

Can you imagine how many amazing and powerful things we’ll see happen in our lives when we make that our heart’s prayer every time we talk to the Father?

Go ahead. Talk to him about living out the holiness he’s called you to.

And on a lighter note, I guess I’ll go ahead and talk to Daniel again sometime soon about what’s in his pockets. First I want to throw away the handful of furry Tootsie Rolls I saw in my purse.

Dimples Are In the Eye of the Beholder

2006-09-12T08:10:00.000-05:00

Just hours after Allie was born, nurses kept coming into my room and asking, "Is yours that beautiful baby with the huge dimples?" I beamed every time. Yes, that adorable dimpled baby was mine!

Fifteen years have passed and I can still hardly resist the urge to say to anyone willing to listen, "Will you get a load of the adorable dimples on that gorgeous girl?" Allie's such a good sport about it. She never rolls her eyes where anyone can see.

Of course, now that I'm older, I've also found that dimples sort of come in different flavors. Allie's have always been delicious. But the ones I recently noticed on my thighs are not nearly so cute. I backed into the mailbox a few weeks ago and my husband thought the dimpled fender left something to be desired, too.

Dimples may come and go, but the simple dimple truth is that it's not what's on the outside that counts. My legs still get me from point A to point B despite the thigh dimples. My car rolls along perfectly despite the dimpled fender. And while my sweet Allie has the cutest dimples ever, that's not what makes her gorgeous to our Heavenly Father. Even as a mom, I adore the dimples, but that's not what I love best about her. Allie has the most wonderfully tender heart toward the things of God. She has a love for Jesus and for his people that touches my heart in its deepest places. She told me when she was 12 years old that God was calling her to be a missionary and she has never wavered in her desire to serve him and win others. Now that's gorgeous!

In these bodies of flesh (both dimpled and non-dimpled flesh), we have a natural bent toward judging and rating importance by appearance. I can't wait until we see Jesus face to face and we understand fully how little these outsides matter. According to his Word, God looks on the heart.

I think he sees Allie's heart as something of great beauty. Hmm, I wonder if her heart has dimples.

Thrills, Chills and Pain Pills

2006-09-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

Thrills. We tend to get them in different places, according to our personalities, likes and individual pain tolerances. Personally, I get a real charge from a lengthy shopping trip (ooh, did I say “charge”?). My husband would rather smash his thumb with a large hammer than have to make a trip to the mall.

On the other hand, he loves a long bike trip on a nature trail. Heat, bugs, poison ivy and straining muscles I don’t even have? Just bring me the hammer. And a large dose of a strong pain reliever.

Thrills may vary from person to person and from hammer to hammer, but there is only one who should thrill us to our very soul. Only Jesus should be the absolute thrill of our lives. I love the hymn that includes the words:

All that thrills my soul is Jesus
He is more than life to me

Several times a day I have to ask myself if he really is more than life to me. From the shoe sale at the mall to the scenic nature trail, he is the Maker, the reason for it all, he is all of life. No, he’s more than life.

How easily life can become more to me than my Savior. I wish I didn’t have to admit what a spiritual wimp I can become at even the slightest distraction. Colossians 1:17 reminds me that he is more than life—whether I recognize it or not. “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” He IS life. And he is the only one who can direct us to live our lives in the right way. “It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power” (Job 12:10, GNT).

Know what’s funny? Life in his power is the only place to find real thrills. Maybe someday I’ll write my own hymn about it. It could go something like this:

He is my trip to the mall for a giant shoe sale
He is my husband’s bike ride on a long nature trail
He is the most magnificent deep soul-thriller
And oh so much better than any goofy pain-killer.

Find your every thrill and your very life in the power of the Savior. When he is all that thrills your soul, you’ll never need a hammer for anything body-related.

Swimming on the Blackmail End of the Gene Pool

2006-08-31T07:41:00.000-05:00

My mom and my sister Gina came to visit a couple of weeks ago. What a hoot! Let me tell you, you get three women of this gene pool together and we're finishing each other's sentences left and right--whether the other person wants you to finish her sentences or not!

These are women who know me to the bone. Every quirk, every weakness, every stupid stunt I've ever pulled. Not that I have any quirks, weaknesses or past stupid stunts, mind you.

Okay, okay. I'll just go ahead and admit it. Mom and Gina have plenty of potential blackmail material. If you ever see either one of them driving a spanking new car with all the bells and whistles, and if you happen to hear them refer to it as the "Rhonda-quirk-mobile," you can know I'll be making the payments on the thing. No doubt at any moment I could be dog-paddling on the blackmail side of this gene pool!

But do you know what's wonderfully glorious? Mom and Gina have all the dirt on me, yet they've honestly never used it against me. I'm car payment free, as it were. Even more glorious, they still like me!

How like Jesus that is! He had all the dirt on me. That dirt was mine. Yet he chose to clean me up and make me free--all out of his love for me. John 3:16 and 18 in The Message says, "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life....Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted."

Acquitted! Not only did he pay my blackmail tab, he made me new--made it just like I never even had quirks, weaknesses, stupid stunts and everything so much worse. Ephesians 1:7 tells me just what happened to it all: "Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people--free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!" (MSG).

It's a miraculous thing to be so abundantly free.

I'm feeling especially blessed today. I'm eternally free. And to top it all off, I was so blessed to get to have such a way-fun visit with Mom and Gina--a way-fun visit that was entirely blackmail-free.

Of course, wouldn't it just blow my whole analogy to pieces if I found out that the only reason I'm not making blackmail car payments to my mom or my sister is that I've got just as much dirt on them? I don't think I'll ponder that one. I'll just sit here and feel blessed instead.

Find This Hard to Swallow?

2006-08-22T09:56:00.000-05:00

We’re still getting used to having a puppy around the house. I call her a puppy, but I honestly think this creature is mostly GOAT. The other day we had company and Gracie came lumbering into the family room with our guest’s toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. Talk about embarrassing. At least she has good dental hygiene. If we could only get her to floss.

Every morning we harvest the Gracie leftovers from the family room rug. There is almost always a wide selection of sock parts. It’s amazing to me that she can turn one napkin into a half acre of napkin confetti. It’s all faithfully spread across the rug every morning like manna.

This morning, along with the manna, I harvested kindling from three colored pencils (she had already digested about a pencil and a half), and what used to be a package of paper. I guess that means if she happened to swallow anything live, it has enough art supplies in there to complete a nice project or two. I also found half a hair clip and one of my daughter’s new shoes—which now has handy ventilation holes in the heel—plus a shredded pizza box and pieces of what used to be the seven, nine and Jack of hearts. I think she was going for a flush.

One of the worst atrocities happened a few weeks ago when Gracie found Andrew’s huge hot pink loofa (we’ll talk about why my college boy had a huge hot pink loofa another time—suffice it to say it’s one of the big jokes on his college campus).

Andrew had just moved all his things home from college for the summer when Gracie noticed the loofa and I guess figured Andrew brought it home as a little souvenir for her. By the time we found her, hot pink fluff covered the entire family room floor. Oh the humanity. Pink loofa carcass everywhere! It looked like someone had plucked a ballerina. At least it wasn’t a total loss. There was residual shower gel in the loofa and the family room smells a lot less like puppy breath. Nevermind that Gracie is still blowing bubbles.

Paper or plastic? She doesn’t care. She doesn’t even bother to find out if it’s wood, hay or stubble, animal, vegetable or mineral. In shoes she does seem to prefer leather, though she’s yet to meet a shoe she would shun. It’s hard for me to imagine looking at my son’s flip flop and thinking, “My, that looks delicious.” But this pup? She’ll swallow anything.

Sadly, some people will swallow anything, too. But as children of God, we need to be intentional about what we believe. And we need to know why we believe it. We find dependable, never-changing truth in the word of God. Psalm 119:160 says, “Your words all add up to the sum total: Truth. Your righteous decisions are eternal” (MSG).

Earlier in Psalm 119 we read, “With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (vv. 13, 16). Now there’s something worthwhile to let past our lips: his word.

No need to swallow whatever we heard last. We can ever and always depend on God’s truth. And chew on this. He gives us wisdom to understand his truth when we ask. No bones about it—doggie or otherwise. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

So let’s seek the Lord, let’s do our truth homework and ask for his wisdom. No need to let the world’s philosophies “get our goat.” His truth goes down just the right way.

By the way, it’s nice to know you don’t have to be all that careful where you leave your truth homework. It’s eternal homework--the dog can’t really eat it.

Remodeling

2006-08-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

The pic is post-TV interview for "Living the Life" (www.livingthelife.com). I'm the one in the middle wearing the face that says "These shoes really hurt my feet." Next time I'm going to try to remember to always stand between girls who aren't so much cuter than me.

I think one of my favorite things about a TV interview is the make-up part. It’s like getting a make-over. But should I be offended that it took a solid half-hour to do the makeup on this one short woman? “We’re just enhancing what’s already here,” she kept saying. Never mind that she was mixing the makeup with something that looked exactly like a little tiny trowel. Enhancing? I think it was more of a remodel job. I’m just glad she fought off any urges to yell something like, “Hey, Harv! We’re going to need the belt sander, some heavy-duty mortar and an extra nail gun!”

Not that there aren’t times I wouldn’t be perfectly content with a bit of a remodel. My foundation seems to have settled at least a little. I have to wonder about my structural integrity. A little brick work, a little landscaping, maybe a sheetrock repair or two might just work wonders on this old house. After all, somewhere along the way I seemed to have picked up a few more bricks than my foundation could comfortably hold. I even asked the makeup lady about knocking off a few of these chins, but she just laughed.

Ever feel like you need a life remodel? A new addition here, a revamping there? Maybe you’ve strayed from the original blueprint, spiritually speaking. It’s easy to feel that way any time we lose focus of our real purposes in life.

Our real remodeling transformation happens as we allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in our lives. 2 Corinthians 3:17-19 says, “Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (NLT).

Now there’s a make-over! Through the Holy Spirit we can have a heart make-over that’s perpetual—constantly building structural integrity of the soul. And that’s real integrity. Even better, when the make-up job is finished and we’re ready to look into the mirror, guess who we’ll see. Jesus! As we allow the Spirit to do his make-over work in our lives, we become more and more like our Savior. How perfectly beautiful to have the mirror reflecting HIS glory! It’s a life make-over gives us ever-increasing joy and hope.

As for the physical make-over, I’m not putting my hope in that. Of course, I’m not totally dismissing the belt sander idea either.

Back to School

2006-07-26T18:06:00.000-05:00

We’re gearing up for going back to school. That means the kids are making their way through the various stages of grief. They spent the longest time in denial. I think they assume that if they pretend it’s still June, none of the grownups will notice the calendar. I really can picture my kids trying to pull that one off. Imagine them picnicking, camping and working on their tans in the two-foot January snow. Dog days of winter? That doesn’t seem right.

Nope, no matter how long you hold your breath under water at the pool in your attempt to keep summer from ending, eventually you do have to come up for air. I got a clue the kids had made it all the way to the acceptance and heavy-duty mourning stages when I took all the pruny people shopping for back to school clothes and they all asked for black armbands.

Me? I’m coming to understand something about school more and more all the time. It’s never out. I don’t know at what point we learn it, but we do seem to finally grasp the lesson that after we’ve learned a few things, we learn enough to know that we never stop learning. (Speaking of back-to-school learning, please don’t ever, ever ask me to diagram that last sentence.) I probably shouldn’t mention to my children that in the big picture, school is never out. I’m picturing them running and screaming. And I certainly don’t want to have to fish them back out of the pool. Again.

Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom” (NLT). There’s wisdom in staying in God’s School of Learning. And great satisfaction, too. Making the most of our time is learning to keep learning—not wasting various appendages on fall-denial frostbite. It actually hurts much less to keep growing. As a matter of fact, there’s satisfaction there. And joy! Verse 14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives” (NLT).

Singing for joy to the end of our lives? That reminds me, too, to spend my time wisely. It reminds me that I’m getting nearer the end of life all the time. No getting around it. I’m getting older. But no matter how old I get, I’m still learning that I have so much more to learn.
So I’m challenging you to not only grow old along with me, but to learn along with me. Be cool. Stay in school!

Incidentally, I’m also finding as I get older (and this is one of those unrelated and not exactly joyous discoveries) that I’m pruny without staying under water at the pool.

“And It Was Good”

2006-06-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

“Mom, I noticed I was really good today.” I remember trying to fight the chuckle. At least I made it sound more like a cough. I think he bought it. It’s just that a five-year-old’s idea of good and a mom’s idea of good are sometimes oh so wildly different. I thought, Where was he when I was doing laundry and had to pull six worms out of the pockets of his shorts? (Two were still alive.) Did he not even notice that sucking Jello through a straw was not my idea of a good time? Did he still think convincing his brother that he was adopted was a good thing? Of course, if he meant that he hadn’t done any lasting property damage and that he hadn’t committed a single felony all day, then, sure, I guess we could call this a “good” day. And at least I never got bored.

Instead of saying what I was thinking, I managed to respond to with, “You do lots of good things every day. Did you know I like having you around?” I really meant it. That had to be a gift from God. He is so good.

Speaking of good, I love the account of creation. Talk about good! As a matter of fact, the first chapter of Genesis is full of “God saw…and it was good” accounts. “Good” in the Genesis context means, “exactly right for the purposes intended.” God had a really great week.

I can’t imagine anything sweeter than getting to the end of this life and hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In five-year-old-ese, I think it could probably be translated, “I noticed you were really good.” Not good in my own goodness, but good through the borrowed righteousness of Christ and empowered for good deeds through his Holy Spirit. That thought is sweeter to me than even the longest stretch of worm-free laundry. I can’t think of anything more glorious than hearing him say that I was “exactly right for the purposes intended.”

It spurs me on to the good works he’s planned for me to do. I don’t think sitting around watching soaps and popping chocolates all day was ever part of God’s plan. Genesis 2:15 says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” Tending and keeping was probably no small job. It had to be at least as tough as raising a five-year-old. But working for him is “good.” There is blessing in good deeds and blessing in hard work. Laziness was never part of God’s plan. Boredom either.

My Vacuum's Lost Its Suckage

2006-06-03T09:54:00.000-05:00

I had a little wrestling match with my vacuum cleaner this week. It was doing the wimpy-clean thing--you know, where you have to get down on your hands and knees and hand-feed it every little fuzz ball and potato chip crumb? If I'm going to do that, I might as well not have a vacuum cleaner. I could just pick up the fuzz and chips and throw them in the trash myself, couldn't I? Cut out the middle man.

Anyway, the thing had lost all its "suck-ocity." So I got it in a headlock and looked underneath to find out why. I found a little piece of sock, a length of yarn that could've been an entire sweater in another life, a hunk of rug from the kids' bathroom and a bunch of those little plastic price tag things. No wonder it didn't want to work! If all that stuff doesn't affect a vacuum's suck-ocity, I don't know what will.

At least it gave me a little reminder. When we let our minds suck up the wrong things, we can't expect them to work the way they're supposed to. There's so much garbage on TV, in magazines—everywhere. If we let our minds suck up trashy stuff, we shouldn't be surprised when we have a hard time dwelling on the things we're supposed to. We're told in Philippians 4:8 what kind of things we're supposed to think about: "Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise." (CEV)

There's lots less wrestling with our minds when we remember to fill them with the right things.

And personally, I'm also going to try to remember not to let my kids use the vacuum any more.

Vacation Season

2006-05-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

Vacation season is approaching. Gotta love it. We always have a great time on our family vacations, but there are challenges that are unique to that week or two. I think the challenges are probably timeless, don’t you? Of course, I do hope Jesus in his travels from town to town never had to say anything like, “No, Peter, I can’t make John stop looking at you.”

But can’t you just hear Noah: “You guys knock it off. Don’t you make me pull this ark over.”

Or the children of Israel asking Moses for the gajillionth time, “Are we there yet?”
Or how about the wise men on their journey to see the newborn king, “We’re not stopping again. And I thought I told everybody to go before we left.”

But you know, all unplanned pitstops, death glares from the front seat and refereeing “who’s looking where” aside, we’re all travelers all the time, really. We’re on this earth for such a short while—just passing through. We need to understand the purpose of every moment. And that purpose is in Jesus. Take a look at 1 Peter 1:13-19 in The Message: “So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, 'I am holy; you be holy.' You call out to God for help and he helps--he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.

“Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb.”

This life really is a journey we must travel with a deep consciousness of God. I want to remember to make the journey in a way that honors him.
Because he really is looking at me.

Remain a Vegetable?

2006-05-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is probably the kind of story you don’t hear every day. I was doing a book signing at our local Christian book store, and they had all kinds of great contests and give-aways. My assistant was there helping me with the signing, and low and behold, she won the giant blow-up Junior Asparagus! Yes, the Veggie Tales guy. And he was as big as me. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more thrilled over winning over-sized blow-up vegetation.

When the event was over, she put Junior in the passenger seat of her pickup. I had to laugh as I saw her driving off. I think she buckled his seatbelt, but I was still imagining the call: “I’m sorry to inform you, Mrs. Rhea, but your friend was in a terrible accident. She’s going to be okay, but I’m afraid her passenger…will remain a vegetable.”

Don’t worry, remaining in a vegetative state is okay if you’re already a vegetable. “Remaining” can be a good thing. Jesus instructed us, for instance, to remain—to stay in, abide in, hang on to—his love. How? By doing what he said to do. He tells us in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.”

Remaining a vegetable is good for a vegetable. Remaining lovingly obedient to Christ is good for a Christian. You’ll love what you discover in your remaining. It’s joy! In the very next verse, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Not half joy. There’s complete joy in remaining!

By the way, and just so you know, Junior remains in his vegetative state. And while he may not be the chattiest passenger on the planet, since that book signing, my assistant hasn’t hit a single problem driving in the car pool lane.