It's So Beeeeautiful

Have you ever sat outside near one of those bug zappers on a warm summer night? The warm air is teeming with bugs. The light from the bug zapper attracts the bugs but it isn't the light that kills them. No, the transformer that is hooked to the wire grids is what kills the bugs upon contact.

It's funny how cartoons portray the trance these bugs get in when they "see the light" and can't take their eyes off it!

Check this out before you read any more: http://youtu.be/TTUQyEr-sg0

 I thought of this video clip this morning as I was reading John 1:4: "In him was life, and that life was the light of men."

Are we not the same way bugs are when we see someone with the light of Christ in them? It's like their life draws us in (actually it's the genuine love of Christ working inside them that draws us in). It's like we have been refreshed spiritually by being around them.

And then there's life...the "wire mesh" hooked up to that transformer (our enemy) that has the purpose of killing, stealing and destroying (John 10:10) us.  We have to maneuver through the wire mesh on our way to the permanent light when we get to see Jesus face to face!

But think about YOUR light; the light that shines within you. Some bright and bold, some with "low wattage", some barely flickering and some completely snuffed out.

Our lights shine brightest when we are closely connected to the power source (God). There's those retreats where we get a power surge and shine brighter than ever but the longer we stay away and don't tap back in to the power source, the less likely our light shines brightly.  And that's a fact Jack!

People can spot a bright light a mile away and that's when you know someone's been close to Jesus, by the "light" you radiate from your daily life...and people, like bugs, are drawn to it!

So maybe it's time to sit and stare at The Light.  Maybe it's time to get in His Word.  Maybe it's time for a fresh encounter with God so our light can be recharged.  Then, He will set us on a lamp-stand so He can use us to attract others to His marvelous light!

"Shine your light, and let the whole world see, the glory of the newborn King"

Easy As 1, 2, 3....NOT!

I'm an instructions/recipe follower because I know if I don't follow the instructions/recipes, whatever I'm trying to accomplish will probably fail.

I start with step 1 and venture on instead of starting with step 2 or 3. I mean that's how it's written, right?

I know this example seems silly but what if we first put our dirty clothes in the dryer and when the buzzer goes off, we then stick them in the washer. After the washer stops, we get them out, wet and soggy, and put them on to wear them for the day. Not only does it feel gross, but chances are it's going to put us completely out of our peace because we are either going to be too hot and musty, or too cold and stuff.

James 4:7-8 gives us step by step instructions too but oftentimes, we get them out of order: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

First, we have to submit ourselves to God. Give in to God's ways. I can tell you from life experience, His ways are so much better for me; mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. People think that a Christ-followers life is dull and boring but I have found it to be the complete opposite of that! I've had more adventures in the last 10 years that far exceeded my first 30 years on planet Earth!

Second, resist the devil. Now here's the hard part...resist our own desire to do the wrong thing!  To lie, cheat, steal, murder (with our tongues when we say bad things about others), gossip, drink in excess, etc. It's our human nature to do those things but we have to make a conscience effort to NOT do them!

Lastly, come near to God. Easy to say, not as easy to DO! We come near to God by praying, reading His Word, worshipping and praising Him, serving others when we really have better things to do with our time. Make time for Him...instead of getting on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram first thing when our eyes pop open, how about crack open our Bibles and spend a little QT with the One who created you, gave you the breath that fills your lungs, and woke you up this morning.

Three steps that will change our life. And we are instructed to follow them step-by-step so we will have the abundant life He created us to have! I'm all in...let's do this thing!

A Little Holiday Rambling

As I sit quietly on this Thanksgiving morning while my family sleeps, I begin thinking about this holiday season.  This is the first Thanksgiving in 16 years that we haven't spent in Kentucky with my in-laws.  Between Wayne's work and the messy road conditions of travel yesterday, we opted to stay in Alabama and have thanksgiving with my family.

My mind now forwards to tomorrow and all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping that begins for many, or at least it has been that way for me the last 16 years.  Many of those day after Thanksgiving mornings, my sister in law and I would scurry out the door well before dawn in order to get those fabulous "door busters" the commercials advertise "we don't want to miss".

But as you can tell, this year is going to be a little different.  Not just in the fact that we aren't in Kentucky, but in the fact that I'm not heading out in the frigid morning air to collect on the biggest deal.  I want Christmas to be a little more simplified beginning this year.

We often run ourselves in the ground shopping for our kids and loved ones exactly what they want...a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre, a laptop, a pair of Uggs, a composite bat, a gymnastics mat, an iPad, to name a few.  It would be easy to drop $1000 on each child in about 2 hours but is that the message I want to send to them?

As I was talking to a friend yesterday about all of this, she shared a story with me that "stuck".  She said she remembers always getting chocolate covered cherries and a new pack of underwear from her grandfather and at the time, she wasn't all that appreciative mainly because she hated chocolate covered cherries!  But that memory stuck out in her mind more than any other gift she was given every Christmas.  "It was simple but I knew it was all he could do so I always thanked him," she said.

So why is it we feel as if we need to go take out a loan to give our kids the best of the best?  Have you ever thought we might be the ones who are setting them up for failure in their adulthood?  Am I teaching my girls to expect their future husbands to give them the best of the best when they get married because their parents tried to?  Do they think they will have to have top of the line name brand things when they enter the working world on entry-level salaries?

I've heard, and I've even said, "I want better for my kids than I had" but what was wrong with what I had?  Looking back, I had a pretty amazing childhood and turned out to be okay as an adult.

Maybe it's time to scale back on all the spending this Christmas.  Maybe it's time to consider the homeless man that will spend his Christmas on the street struggling to keep warm with no blood relative around.  Maybe it's time to be content with what little we do get instead of being disappointed in what we don't!

I think Jesus would drop His head and weep at the sight of what we've turned Christmas in to...a "wish list" where we expect most of what we've "wished" for.

By all means, please don't think I've turned in to Scrooge, because this is my favorite holiday season of all but I think we've lost perspective of what Christmas is all about!

Peace.

A Little Bit of This and That

1.  I wish there were more fonts available other than the seven given on this blog.

2.  I have joy in my heart again this morning...I've been feeling beaten down lately.

3.  I am thankful for close friends who don't mind letting their walls down and who I can let my walls down and be real with...those friends are few and far between.

4.  I hate days when I don't like what I am wearing...they make me feel blah and I don't like feeling blah (I don't feel blah today)!

5.  I am going to eat lunch at the school today with my youngest because I missed parent lunch earlier in the week!

6.  Apparently God is working on my sweet child because I received this text from my youngest this morning in a group text:

7.  Life isn't fair but what Jesus went through wasn't fair either so we just have to deal with it and thank God for His grace!

8.  I am jamming out on Pandora while typing this blog!  I love Hillsong Live!

9.  I have given up Facebook for a little while because it was consuming too much of my time...therefore I am blogging because I can't "be quiet"!

10.  I am going to Mooreville, Mississippi tomorrow morning.

11.  I just decided I was only going to do 10 random facts so I'm out of here!

Hope you all have a super blessed day!

Raising Girls 101

I think if you hold the title of "Dad" or "Mom", you can agree with me that raising kids is H.A.R.D.  It can be a whole lot of fun but it can get real messy too sometimes.  I am blessed with 3 wonderful girls (one who a "step" but I feel like she is my very own).  And I've been at this "parenting" business for the better part of 14 years and one would think the more you do it, the better you would be but that has not been the case with me!  

In my "profession" as a youth minister, I am constantly checking Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and the like to see what not only MY personal kids are up to, but I like to keep tabs on what my spiritual kids are up to as well!  So yesterday as I was lurking on Facebook, I ran across a blog that was addressed to "teenage girls" here http://givenbreath.com/2013/09/03/fyi-if-youre-a-teenage-girl/  and quite frankly, I agreed with most of what Mrs. Hall said.  Yesterday afternoon, I even read the blog to both my girls (ages 11 and 12) because it addressed something I have been talking to them about a lot here lately...their attire.  I will not allow "booty shorts" and low cut tops because as they have heard me say over and over, "it is very unbecoming" and often sends the wrong message to boys.

I shared a story with them last week as we were talking about what we were all going to wear to the Casting Crowns concert and I want to share it with you out there in "blogland".  I would like to claim I came up with this story on my own but I didn't.  I heard Justin Lookadoo tell this story at a youth retreat a couple years ago and it was one of those stories you never forget.

There was a guy that always wanted to be a cop.  He had dreamed of being a cop since childhood.  So before he pursued his lifelong dream, he thought he might "try it out" first to see what it felt like to wear a police uniform.  So out he went and bought a police uniform at a local costume store.  Once home, he tried the uniform on and it fit perfectly.  He decided he would go out and walk the streets just to see how it would feel if he were really a cop.  So he made his way down the busy street and after only one block, he witnessed a lady being mugged and upon seeing him, she yelled, "Officer, officer, please help!"  Caught up in the scene and forgetting he was dressed as a cop, he stood there stunned not realizing the lady was speaking to him.  Finally, he realized she was addressing him to which he replied, "Lady, I'm not a cop, I'm just DRESSED that way."  While he APPEARED to be a cop, he was just a young man who at the time, was a clerk in a department store.

Now you may be wondering what in the world that story has to do with raising kids but just hang tight for a couple more minutes.  

You see, our girls are dressing in "booty shorts" and low cut shirts which they think looks "cute" or "hot" because they are wanting to attract boys or be "popular" because that is what society has bombarded them with.  Think about it...when was the last time you thumbed through a magazine or flicked through the channels on your television and didn't see some scantily clad person advertising the latest "trend"?  But what message are our girls sending out to the boys when they put these clothes on themselves?  

Before too much longer, my girls will be dating age and I do not want them setting themselves up for something they could of possibly avoided.  I don't want them dressing in hopes to grab the attention of the opposite sex and portraying something they are not.  Just like the guy that dressed as a cop; if their attire is skimpy, then they will probably portray themselves as skimpy and be placed in situations that they are not ready for.  There are some guys out there that go for "skimpy", but that is not what I have prayed for for my girls.  And I can tell you from experience, once you make a name for yourself, it is not easily erased with people. 

Now with that said, God can redeem ANYONE, ANYTIME.  So in rebuttal to the first blog by "Mrs. Hall", a mother addressed her with this response here http://putdowntheurinalcake.com/2013/09/dear-mrs-hall-regarding-your-fyi-if-youre-a-teenage-girl/.  

I agree with both moms, but it is MY job, as a mother, to parent my children and use the judgement God has given ME to tell them what is acceptable attire and what is not.  And far too often, parents give their children too much freedom in selecting their own attire.  But not only that, there is little to no parental involvement in their "online shenanigans" as to what they post and what they text.  It takes a little extra digging sometimes, but isn't it worth it to protect them from some of the same mistakes WE have made?  We, as parents, can not let society tell us it is okay to allow our kids to post or text things because "everyone else does it".    

Until next time.....

Picking Back Up Where I Left Off

You know, a blog can be a dangerous thing, especially when we are angry.  But it can also be a good thing too, after we've calmed down, had time to process a volatile situation and share what we have learned through the grace of God. 

Two weeks ago I ordered Mark Batterson’s, The Circle Maker, and was more than excited about reading it.  UPS delivered it last Tuesday and as soon as I got home, I began devouring the pages.  I wouldn't finish many pages without stopping and applying what I had read to prayer.  I walked circles inside and outside my house praying.  The Holy Spirit even prompted me to go to another friend’s house and pray circles around her and I obeyed.  While at her house, we began talking about what was going on in her life and I shared with her what the Holy Spirit had revealed to me while praying for her.  She said everything I said was confirmation for her because God had already spoke to her about the things I shared.  It was a short but great visit and I was on fire for my new prayer life.

I came home, fixed dinner for my family and read more of the book.  It was smooth sailing Tuesday night.  Wow, I thought.  I felt more “holy confidence” that I had in a long time…I guess the same way the Israelites felt as they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground and crossed on over into the Promised Land.  But little did I know, that was the calm before the storm.   I will not go in to detail about the rest of the story but I will tell you this.  I fought Satan the next day.  It was a sucker punch to the gut and the wind was knocked out of my sails.  I found myself flat on my face in the Sanctuary of the church sobbing (sorry Altar Guild…I think I left some mascara on the carpet in front of the altar rail) asking God why?  How could something get so twisted and turned and hurtful toward someone who tried so hard to follow Him?  And as I lay there trying to catch my breath, I heard God whisper ‘I will bless them when people mock them, persecute them and lie about them and say all sorts of evil things against them because they are my followers’.  I had heard that verse many times but Tuesday morning, I saw the verse come to life.  By the way, that is Matthew 5:11 (I had to look it up).

And that is only one of many verses God spoke to me over the next several days concerning this event.  In my flesh, I wanted so bad to lash out and hurt them for hurting me but in my spirit, I knew I was to keep my mouth shut.  Vengeance is God’s, not mine.  And normally when something like that happens to someone I know, I don’t react in such a way but you know what else God revealed to me in all this?  He is giving me a heart to see people the way He sees them because I had asked Him to break my heart for what breaks His heart…and He did.  You see, those weren't MY tears being shed, those were God’s tears being shed because one of his children were being made out to be something they aren't.  And isn't that just like our enemy?  His main purpose in life is to kill, steal and destroy and boy was he all over this.  God spoke to me and shed light on several different things during this ordeal (another one being the purity of my heart needing some more work) and I have been journaling and meditating on things.

So you may be wondering what I did after all this happened?  I will tell you one thing I DIDN'T do……pick up that book!  Nope.  If I had encountered such opposition from Satan for 40 something pages I had read, then I certainly wasn't going to continue on because that’s just asking for it, right?  So for the next 5 days, I just read my Bible and another book about youth ministry.  I wasn't about to pick that book back up and start again because I wasn't sure I could withstand another attack by the enemy.  I mean just the thought of it brought tears to my eyes.  So yesterday, my pastor asked me how far I had gotten in the book because I was so excited about reading it last week.  I was real honest with him and told him I wasn't sure just when I would get back to it because since reading those first 40+ pages, I had been under attack.  He said, “You can’t let a little opposition from the enemy stop you Dana.  Pick it back up.” 

I guess I needed a little “spurring” on because I rustled the book out of the bottom of my bag and opened it to where I had stopped.  And the words lept off the page and into my spirit.  If I hadn't picked it back up, then I wouldn't have read this next nugget of gold:

In order to experience a miracle, you have to take a risk.  And one of the most difficult types of risks to take is risking your reputation.  The greatest chapters in history always begin with risk, and the same is true with the chapters of your life.  If you’re unwilling to risk your reputation, you’ll never build the boat like Noah or get out of the boat like Peter.  You cannot build God’s reputation if you aren't willing to risk yours.

My reputation isn't perfect.  I have screwed up some major things in my life and I guess that is why I try not to be as judgmental of others.  God loved me in spite of my mistakes and has thankfully used those mistakes to make me wiser.  He has used my past messes and turned them into messages to help others who are traveling the same road I traveled.  And you know what, He will you those people to help others who haven’t traveled that road yet but will in the future.  God has a way of humbling us so we ought not think too highly of ourselves and too lowly of others struggles…because our (or our kids or grand-kid) reputations may be on the line!  But God changes our reputations when He changes our life.  As I share some of my struggles with people, they are amazed because I seem to “have it all together”…well, I don’t.  I’m travelling the same road as many of you except I now choose to walk beside Jesus instead of doing it my way.

Until next time…….

Pack Your Bags and Get Out of Here

I was talking to a friend yesterday about a recent trial she had encountered.  We talked about how there is so much guilt when we fall but as they say in Celebrate Recovery, the failure isn't in falling, the failure is staying there instead of picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and getting back on the right road.  

When we do fall, if we are lucky, we will feel remorse.  We know it is something we shouldn't have done but we did.  And it is after the fall that we are so fragile.  It is during those fragile times that our enemy sees an opening for attack because our minds are so vulnerable.  But don't think that's the only time the ol nasty devil will attack, he is a master at constant bombardment of our minds with our past mistakes.  

"Remember when you ....... (you fill in the blank with something you regret)?  I just want to remind you not to do it again," we "hear" in our minds.   Has that ever happened to you?  It has me, TONS of times.  A couple years ago,  God led me to a scripture so I would recognize where the "voice" in my head was coming from.  

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more...Hebrews 8:12.

The "I" in this scripture is referring to God.   God forgives us of our wickedness AND REMEMBERS OUR SINS NO MORE!  For years and years, I thought that "voice" in my head was God reminding me of something I did so I wouldn't do it again but let me point out something: you can't remind someone of something if you don't remember it!  God isn't a liar and when He says he doesn't remember it no more, well, He doesn't remember it no more!  That's a fact Jack!  Let me say that again: how can someone remind you of something when THEY DON'T REMEMBER IT?!?  They can't!  

It is our enemy, the slimy little serpent; the one who comes to kill, steal, and destroy, that wants to remind us of our past mistakes.  It is his nasty ol self that plants regret, sorrow and negative thoughts in our minds so we will stay in bondage to our past.  But let me share another little nugget of gold with you: John 8:36 reads "So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, YOU ARE FREE INDEED!  Those chains of regret that have been bound around your neck (and in your MIND), well, those heavy suckers are GONE!  You don't have to live in your past IN YOUR MIND because you, my friend, are a NEW CREATION (2 Corinthians 5:17).  

So when those dirty old memories begin creeping in, speak the word of God to the devil and remind him that you've been forgiven and if God remembers it no more, then neither do you!  So tell the devil to pack his bags and get out of your mind because no longer are you bound to your past because you are FREE!  This takes hard work and discipline to overcome what I call "stinking thinking" but YOU CAN DO IT!  How do I know?  Because I did and if I can do it, ANYBODY can!!!  Let today be the first day in which you evict the devil from your thoughts and live in the freedom and victory Christ died for!

Until next time...