Cocoa Puff Jewelry

Have I told you about the bracelet I once had? It was one of those pieces of jewelry that you get especially attached to. I hadn’t worn it for a few weeks, then one morning I went to put it on, and found that it was so not what it had been before. Gold tone? Not anymore. It had turned all brownish with these leprosy-looking bronzy splotches.

Yeah, I know. I probably don’t have to tell you it wasn’t one of your higher-end bracelets to begin with. But honestly, I could’ve strung Cocoa Puffs together and it would’ve looked better than this thing. Okay, so it probably would’ve stayed crunchy even in milk…but still. It’s just so sad when a good bracelet goes bad.

Life changes faster than the cheapest jewelry. But some things always remain the same:
*God is on the throne.
*If we know Christ, our eternity is sure.
*And there is grace for every disappointment. Bracelet disappointments—and the big disappointments, too. There’s a lot of comfort there.

I’d chat more, but I’m kind of hungry for Cocoa Puffs. Weird.

Only Passing Through

I’m one of those take-no-risks kind of drivers. I’m just warning you, it can be really annoying to get behind me on one of those two-lane roads. I hate to pass on those little roads, no matter how much good, clear road I have ahead of me.

The other day, I was behind a slow-moving vehicle. It was one of those pieces of farm machinery that had machete-looking things poking out the side. No way I was passing that thing. I had enough road ahead to land a small plane and I still wouldn’t go around. It didn’t get embarrassing until someone passed me and the machete-machine in the same go-round, and I realized the vehicle passing us was carrying a prefab home.

I decided to just let it remind me that this world is not my home—prefab or otherwise. No need to get too comfy here. We’re only passing through (though that may take longer on certain roads).

1 Peter 1:17 says, “And if you call upon Him as your Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, then you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence on the earth, whether long or short,” (AMP). The long and the short of it is that this truly is a temporary residence. Living out holiness, conducting ourselves with “true reverence”—that’s the right road at every speed.

And hey, Sunday is the first day of the week—the day Jesus rose from the dead—the day we set aside for special worship. So I think I’ll just decide to be flattered when someone calls me a Sunday driver!

Look What’s Popping Up

Weird things keep popping up out of my toaster. A banana split? Didn’t see that coming. But did you know that Pop-tarts now come in flavors like “Chocolate Banana Split”? No kidding. Even “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.” My teens love them but my adult taste buds haven’t been any too impressed.

The real question is: Is there really any way to make a cookie-covered toaster-breakfast taste like a chocolate banana split? Personally, I’d rather have the chocolate banana split for breakfast instead. Why not go with the real thing?

Surprising things are always going to be popping up in our lives. The real question this time is: How will we respond? In grace with faith? Or in grousing, pouting and foot-stomping?

When the heat is on, I want to pop up by faith in his grace. In the faithiest, graciest, tastiest way. Our Heavenly Father gives us everything we need to respond well by his Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, if we’ll allow him to, he’ll respond for us. And through us.

There’s no substitute. No self-help program or book. No amount of self-discipline. Only through the Real Thing—the Holy Spirit of God—can we respond well when our feet are put to the fire.

Try it any other way and we’re totally toast.

Author, Author

I heard someone say that 86% of Americans want to write a book. That surprised me. Although maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised, since I've heard that most people see writing a book as an adventure. I think I have a little adventure perspective to offer—though actually I guess only 86% of you need to read it.

I’ve written seven books now so I’m starting to learn a few things about the adventure. Let’s think about it. Your average action/adventure/spy/hero-type person who's at work saving the world can show you the scars from their whip marks, holes from a gunshot wound or two and maybe the disfiguring marks from where they got run over by a tank. Writers? We get to show people the scar from our carpel tunnel surgery. They get car chases. We get to tell people about that time one of the wheels feel off the office chair.

I guess it’s really all in how you look at it. When it comes to the Big Book (notice the capital "B’s"), there’s only one right way to look at it, and that’s with a desire to learn from it and to do what it says. Psalm 119:12-16 says, “Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”

God’s Word. That’s where we find real life perspective. And okay, so we may never learn those fancy whip moves or win a shoot-out or tackle a tank—or whatever. But that whole saving the world thing? The One who wrote the book tells us that Jesus already has that one covered anyway!