Taking Chaos Captive, part 3

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My last two blogs  focused on accepting and embracing the chaos of live.  It is now time to move on adapting to chaos and taking the ideas from previous readings and applying them to daily living.

In light of previous information, the next step is honestly asking yourself which of these strategies work for you?   Free yourself from comparison!  Perhaps only one thing has resonated with you.  Take that one thing and customize.  Your personality will dictate exactly what it will look like in your own life.

For example, there are certain “chores” I prefer not doing, such as cleaning toilets.  I don’t really mind mopping floors or laundry, but toilet cleaning is on the bottom of my list.  Because I know that I generally will avoid unpleasant tasks, I put this one first.  Many of us have heard this before, but hearing it and doing it are totally different!  I find my bathrooms are much cleaner by making this simple adjustment.  This practical task is accomplished more often now that it is on the top of my list. 

Another way I insert my own personality into these ideas is by wearing something I love to do tasks I am avoiding.  There are days I don’t mind grocery shopping and others where I cannot bring myself to get out the door.  On days like this, I wear a favorite pair of earrings or jeans.  I do this because it makes me feel better about myself if I am wearing something special.  This is the reason why men do not understand the fitness clothing industry!  Women are not content to work out in nasty basketball shorts and sweat stained t-shirts with holes.  Why?  Because if we feel good about what we are wearing and how we look, we are more likely to work out harder and longer.  So, if I wear something I love to the grocery store, the job doesn’t seem as bad as it did before! 

These are just a few examples of how my own personality dictates how I use the practical ideas I have given to you.  Only you can decide which ones will work and how they will work.

As we accept that there will be chaos in life, we must remember that God is still moving in and through us.  He is more concerned about His creation (you) than your circumstances (chaos).  Embrace the fact that you cannot do it all and that you need others in your life to help you.  Set healthy boundaries and stick to them.  Benjamin Franklin said, “Resolve to perform what you ought, perform without fail what you resolve.”  Finally, adapt your system and let your personality shine through it.  Give yourself grace and mercy because failure will come. 

I leave you to ponder this topic with the words of a holy God:

Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, “This far you may come and not farther; here is where your proud waves halt?” Job 38:8-11 (NIV)

Here is where the waves halt, and here is where the chaos is taken captive.

Taking Chaos Captive, part 2

My last blog focused on the fact that there is always chaos in life.  The only way to have order and control of this chaos is the accept it, embrace it, and then adapt to it.  God still moves in our lives when chaos is present, in fact He could be allowing it to draw us closer to Himself.  Once we accept the fact that chaos is around us and allow God to us it, then we can begin to implement practical ways in which to actually embrace the chaos.

There are many tools I use to help me embrace the chaos of life.  However, before I can even begin with the practical solutions I have to realize that  I cannot do life alone and neither can you!  I need people in my life to help with practical things.  Colossians 3:15 says, ““Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace” (NIV).  I am a member of a body, not the sole part.  In order to have peace, I have to have help!  When I am faced with a daunting task, I ask myself this question, “What can only I do in this situation?”  Once I have answered, then I begin to delegate the rest.  Lists are one of the most practical tools in which to do this.  Post lists in common areas so others can see where you need help.  Assuming the dishwasher will be unloaded because the dishes are clean is probably a disastrous thought.  This is an example of a chore that someone else can do to free you up to do something different, but you have to make it known that it is needed!  Put it on the list!

I have a menu planning list and a pre-printed grocery shopping list that I use weekly.  These lists save me time by allowing me to play a weeks worth of meals and then shop for the items need for each of those meals.  Once I have all the ingredients, I can switch out meals depending upon our schedule for the day.  If I don’t feel like making tacos for dinner on Monday then I make spaghetti instead which was scheduled for Thursday.  I can make the switch because I have all the ingredients.  This does take some pre-planning and initial thought, but in the ends saves me a great deal of time.

Another time saver for me is my Life Binder.  This idea came to me a few years ago when I became so discouraged at the end of each day feeling as if I never accomplished enough.  I would go to bed at night and think about all the areas of my life that were not addressed and feel as if I had failed.  One day the Lord challenged me to sit down and categorize my life into seven areas.  These areas then became the sections in my Life Binder where I make notes on each of them and keep them in one place.  My binder is sectioned like this: Personal, Bethlehem Chapel (my church), School (we homeschool), Home, Ministry, BONDED Women’s Ministry (I am the leader of this ministry). 

This binder has helped me create mental space by allowing me a place to empty my brain!  Ben Franklin said, “Let all your things have their places; let all part of your business have its time.”  Now, I have a place for all my lists.  My binder also allows me to work daily on each major section of my life.  I do this by actually setting an alarm on my phone for a specific amount of time and working within one section of my binder at a time.  I have learned that I do not multitask well, in fact, I do not think it is even possible to do more than one thing at a time.  One of them will suffer.  Working on one section of the binder at a time keeps me focused on that specific section and I have found that I accomplish more in half the time. 

A secondary binder that I use is my Holiday Binder that makes its appearance in October.  This binder, replaces my Life Binder for the holiday season.  In this binder, I have everything I need in one place for the holidays.  Here are some examples: calendars, Thanksgiving meal planning sheets, Thanksgiving grocery shopping lists, recipes used for holiday meals, left over labels, paper table decorations, coloring pages for small children, Christmas wish lists for family members, gift giving pages, thank you note record, Christmas card lists for giving and receiving, holiday memory keepsakes, Christmas gift tags.  I have personalized these pages over the years to suit my own needs and even given complete binders as gifts.  Again, everything I need for the holidays is in one place.  Search the internet for examples of these types of pages.  The ones I use are no longer in print. 

The last practical tool for embracing the chaos of life is setting boundaries.  I do not work outside of my home, yet I have office house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Establishing a work day for myself keeps me accountable to my family.  In fact, my youngest daughter is my phone accountability partner.  If she catches me on my phone after 5 p.m. she will ask me what I am doing.  If I am answering an email or sending a business text, I am reprimanded!  It can wait until tomorrow!  I will not begin answering email or texts before 9 a.m. because that is my time to read my Bible, pray, and hopefully exercise.  Honestly, it doesn’t always work like this, but I certainly do try!  I am fortunate enough to have an office of my own in our home which helps me establish that boundary of “work” mode as well.  However, if you do not have an office, find some place in your home or even just a tote bag where you keep your mobile office and let that help distinguish that “work” mode for you as well.  Once the bag is put away, it stays put away! 

Embracing chaos is part of taking it captive.  Review the practical steps above and see which of them  work for you.  Next time, we will discuss how to adapt some of these practical tips. 

Taking Chaos Captive, part one

I was a strange child!  Growing up in Missouri I learned early on to appreciate and fear thunderstorms.  Stormy Saturdays were some of my favorite times, especially in the spring.  On these dreary and darkened days I would lock myself away in my room and organize my closet!  Not the expected response, I understand!  My love for organization and order began then and was largely a result of living with a very spontaneous father and oppositely grounded mother.  Dad would throw a trip together and I watched as my mother struggled to make it happen all at the last minute.  I have since learned to embrace my Dad’s carefree lack of planning and my Mom’s careful planning. 

Another organizational marker for me was after I was married and living in Texas next door to an Army drill sergeant.  One day, I found myself needing to borrow something from him.  As I followed him out to his shed, I had no idea the glory that was about to be revealed to me.  Opening the dismal shed, he stepped inside and put his hand instantly on a clear plastic bin that contained the item I needed.  My mouth gaped as I looked around me at the pristinely stationed clear plastic bins stacked floor to ceiling.  Each one was labeled notating its contents on the outside.  He had no difficulty finding the item.  From that moment on, I decided I was going to do things very differently! 

Now to my confession, I have many areas of my home and life that are organized and probably about equal that are extremely unorganized.  For instance, I am a recovering self professed pack rat!  Our garage is full of boxes containing memories and mementos that I cannot seem to part with.  This is my summer project!  Do not mistake me for an expert or one with strict or legalistic ideals about organization.  I am just like you, looking for any place I can bring control and order to the chaos of my own life.   This all begins with the realization that I must accept, embrace, and adapt to the chaos of my life in order to take it captive.

First, I have to accept that there is chaos and there always will be chaos as this is the nature of a fallen world.    My definition of chaos is a created state of mind that causes confusion and disorients the purpose of the mind.  Practically speaking, the purpose of the brain is to control all bodily functions, however, it also sorts, filters, and categorizes information.  God has given us our own laptop to use for His glory.  When I begin to become overwhelmed by my thoughts, I have to stop and ask myself if I am creating an environment that is breeding confusion and disorientation.  If the answer is yes, then I know the chaos I am feeling is something that I have created and never Godly because I Corinthians 14:33 says that God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 

Second, in spite of the chaos around me God is still moving.  He works in and thru me in all ways and in all experiences, including the chaos of life.  He is more concerned about his creation (me) than my circumstances (chaos).  In fact, He could be allowing some of it in order to reveal something to me about myself or I could be creating it by not allowing Him to be in control. 

Watch for part two of Taking Chaos Captive for practical tips to embracing the chaos of life.

The Hope of Christmas

Hope is a word used carelessly.  The phrase “I hope you have a good day,” escapes my lips daily.  At the time the sentiment is sincere but quickly fades from my memory as my own life steps into the spotlight.

The following quote is from the Encyclopedia of the Bible; “Hope has been defined as ‘desire accompanied by expectation.’ Hope, however is not always expectant.  One may have hope with little or no expectation.” To hope with little or no expectation at all seems to be more of a cultural definition rather than a Biblical one.  This holiday season reminds me of the true definition of hope.  His name is Jesus and He is the hope of Christmas seen in the babe, the blood, and the cross.

The Christmas story is familiar but what I often forget is the reassurance given to us long before the actual birth.  My favorite scripture, Jeremiah 29:11, promises a plan and a future for our lives, one that brings  hope.     The coming of this hope was foretold by Isaiah as he declares in chapter 9, verse 6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. . .” (NIV).  The proof of this prophecy comes when the King is born heralded by the heavenly host to the shepherds and also to the Magi several years later.  These shepherds were ordinary men going about their ordinary day when  suddenly, there is an interruption.  God uses the ordinary to display the extraordinary and He humbles the extraordinary so the ordinary may be revealed.  The Magi were men of privilege and highly revered, yet they too were humbled and led by a star to an ordinary child. 

His blood promises us redemption as seen in Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood. . .”  We are reconciled to himself as seen in Colossians 1:19-21.  The proof comes with the shedding of that blood and in the working of it to cleanse and to purify.  An ordinary substance, common to all man, achieves extraordinary results when shed for sinners. 

We cannot have Christmas without the cross and the promise of hope that it brings through eternal life.  Hebrews 9:12 says, “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”  An ordinary event we are all destined for is death, yet because of His death we can have an extraordinary eternal life.

The babe, the blood, and the cross all work together to reveal the hope of Christmas.  It is not dead, nor does it slumber.  The first chapter of I Peter, verse 3 tells the good news, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in his great mercy h has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and never stops at all.”  -Emily Dickinson

Puppy Lessons

It is week two, I think wearily to myself, only week two!  Our puppy, Piper, has made our hearts her home, however, I find myself increasingly less and less prepared for the arrival of her needs.  She is a baby, I keep telling myself, remember those days?! 

Here are a few things Piper has taught me this week:

1.  I am not nearly as prepared as I thought I was!  Granted, I had all the puppy gear, but I am    more vulnerable in the area of patience at this point.  My perception of myself has been          much higher than my situation is revealing. Ouch!
2.  No matter how much organizational armor I put on, Piper is slowly chipping away at each        resource.  It has become evident I do not have enough "margin" planned or scheduled in            my daily routine for the unexpected. The hilarious part of this is I am scheduled to teach an organizational workshop in the spring. Now that is hilarious!
3. The value of each hour is important,  especially when on is removed due to the unexpected.  I need to make the most of each hour and what I have planned for that particular hour.
4. I have forsaken my notebook.  What notebook you ask?  My response. . . THE notebook.  Essentially, it is my brain on paper, keeper of every carefully crafted list,  and the Yoda to my Skywalker!  Seriously, this notebook is my daily organizational guide and in conjunction with the timer on my iPhone, keeps my sanity in check.

I could go on; instead, here are the spiritual parallels to the above points:

1.     No matter what preparations I make in life, there will be situations that I did not expect.   There will undoubtedly be someone who disappoints me or does not follow through on his or her word.  My response must be loving and gracious.  God is indeed working on my weakest area, which is mercy.

2.     There will be times when the organizational pieces I implement to survive my life, have to be put aside to make space for the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit.  Unless, I budget time in my schedule and allow Him to move, I will miss His arrival, as the Pharisees did when the donkey brought Jesus to town.  I need to practice making room in my “to do” list for Him and to open my eyes to His hand when He moves.

3.     This point mirrors point number two.  My time is valuable.  God has given to me 24 hours in each day to do something for Him.  Once again, I need to shift my focus from what is happening directly in front of me to how it can bring honor and glory to Him and the role I am to play in that. 

4.     Many times I begin my day with my notebook rather than the book of notes that God has given to me.  When I start with the Word, my day takes on a different shape.  The interruptions and annoyances of life are still there, yet my attitude towards them is different because I am seeing them through the lens of Christ. 

This is where I stop for today because my iPhone has alerted me that my writing time is finished!

Things Are Never as Bad as They Seem

Once when one of our daughters was facing an unfamiliar experience, I gave her a nugget of my vast wisdom.  As the tears flowed, I looked loving in her eyes and said, “Don’t worry sweetheart, things are always worse than they seem.”  At that moment we both burst out laughing!  You see my error.  We have laughed about that as a family since then and even say it from time to time as it has become one of mom’s “quotables.”

We all know the original saying is, “Things are never as bad as they seem.”  I wonder at times if this is really true.  Do not misunderstand this observation as I am simply being honest.  Are things as bad as they seem? Perhaps that is the point.  Hmm. . .

When I am fearful about something or find myself overly stressed, I ask myself these questions, “Are things as bad as they seem?  What are my expectations of the outcome?”   From there I try to formulate an answer.  For example, in the middle of trying to train our new puppy not to jump on everyone and everything or bite like a piranha, I begin to feel as if this just is not worth the effort.  She is never going to do what I want her to do and I begin to have visions of a 50 lb dog knocking people and things over while she has a death lock on someone’s arm.  From there, I imagine my kitchen table replaced with a chain link dog run because I cannot control her behavior.  This leads to never eating another family meal together at the kitchen table or have any guests for dinner because the table no longer exists and it is not socially acceptable to serve food in a dog run!  One thought spirals out of control to the next leaving in its path a trail of anxiety. 

When I allow my own mind to “think” or “wonder” over potential outcomes, positive or negative, my anxiety level increases.  Let me explain.  When I make a decision as a leader that affects others, my tendency is to focus on their response.  Before any action is carried out, I try and think of all the possible outcomes of my decision.  These could be positive responses or negative responses that I receive.  Next, I begin to shape how I carryout my decision around those assumptions.  This quickly begins to gnaw at the original intention of the decision and I begin to doubt my original plan.  This is a problem and brings me back to “Things are never as bad as they seem.”  Sometimes, they are worse!   Other times, they exceed our expectations!  Either way, this process of thinking always leads me to anxiety.

What does the Bible say about anxiety?   Most Christians have Philippians 4:6-7 memorized,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

Three words jump out at me: prayer, petition, and peace.  When I make decisions I need to be asking if I have prayed about it.  Seems simple enough, but many times I find this step missing.  Prayer removes the anxiety of the situation because I have the mind and heart of God.  The response of others does not matter because I have prayed therefore, He will provide.

The word petition means to ask.  This goes along with prayer.  If I do not want to be anxious about something, then I need to ask God to help me.  I believe there are times when He allows me to feel anxious because I have not invited Him into the situation. 

If I have prayed and asked specifically from God, the next step is peace.  Jesus is the only one who can grant the luxurious gift of peace.  We have free access to it, but we must ask for it, or petition, then accept it.  That last part is difficult for me.  I want peace, but accepting peace means I have to trust His hand.  I love how The Message communicates the above verse:

^6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

How I need for God to settle me down! 

How a Hostile Place May Be an Open Door From God

How a Hostile Place May Be an Open Door From God

Escape Hatch

The first Sunday of the New Year, my husband, Bill, preached a sermon about probability vs. possibility.  He made reference to the coin toss at the beginning of a football game.  There is a fifty percent chance the coin will land with heads facing up and a fifty percent chance of tails facing up.  Kind of a risky way to begin 2015!

His text for this particular sermon was Luke 5:17-26 and revolved around the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof by his friends to receive  a healing touch from the Master’s hand.  There was a fifty percent chance he would succeed counterbalanced with a fifty percent chance he would fail.

We all have an escape hatch and there is a fifty/fifty chance we will engage it in any given situation.  When we find ourselves desperate or in trouble, there is that “go to” thing that rescues us!  Just like an ejector seat in old airplanes, we can catapult ourselves to safety in seconds using our escape hatch.  For some, the escape hatch might be prayer, that is certainly my goal, but in all honesty at times it is my last resort rather than my first.  Others may escape through the hatch of addictive habits or isolation.

When I think about an escape hatch, I visualize myself in turmoil. I press my escape hatch button and reach for the lever of my ejector seat. Suddenly there is a break in the clouds over my head as an exit appears.  The sky above me is clear and quiet.  As I release the lever of my seat I am propelled through the opening, I immediately absorb the quiet and calm that now surrounds me.  Chaos is  far behind.  

Today my thinking was challenged as I listened to my pastor preach!  The paralytic man needed to be healed and his desire was to walk again.  The goal of his helpful friends was to carry him on his mat through the crowd so he could see Jesus face to face.  Seems like a good plan; believe, show up, move forward, rest in the Master’s presence.  However, he was denied passage by the crowd of people who also had the same goals.    I wonder how he felt at that moment.   Disappointment would not even begin to describe the swirl of emotions I would have felt in those circumstances.

Then, someone had an idea!  How about the roof?  Can you imagine that conversation?!  Someone verbalized the bold idea and undoubtedly someone immediately challenged the successfulness of the idea.  Sounds like life, doesn’t it? 

We all know the rest of the story and this unconventional pathway to Jesus, but look closer.  This crippled man’s escape hatch was not the normal way.  His point of entry was actually to be lowered through a hole in the roof into a hostile environment!   How many times do we expect Jesus to lower us into exactly what we are trying to get out of?  Not very often.  However, that is just what He does at times.  He places us right in the midst of what we fear in order to shift our eyes above what we are afraid of.  All of a sudden, we see Him clearly and what He is doing above the situation.  In essence, we have to be lowered in order to be lifted because we can’t physically see Him over it all!

When I focus on what I see in front of me I find myself easily consumed.  If Jesus continually lifts me out of this place, I never learn how to abide in His presence. The word abide means “to reside in a particular place or way” (Encarta World English Dictionary). If I am constantly pulled from the difficulties of life, then how can I ever truly learn to reside with Christ? 

Join me in this prayer:

Lord, keep my eyes focused on You and You alone.  When my flesh desires relief from the pains of this world and my natural reaction is to want “out,” give me the strength to let go of the escape hatch lever.  Train my ears to hear the comfort of Your voice and direct my eyes to where You are.  Provide the strength I need when I realize that Your location could be right in the midst of what I am most afraid of.  Reassure my spirit that You are with me and give me the confidence to be lowered in order to be lifted. 

A Stone to Remember

It was one of “those” times.  A time we would rather forget; one that despite our recovery, we choose to ignore.  No one is immune to experiences such as these.   Painful occurrences can be of our own choosing, other times we are blindsided by the choices of others.  Nonetheless, they happen and we are left with the aftermath of pain and brokenness, doubt and fear, guilt and shame.

Then Jesus comes!  He bandages our wounds and tends to our scars, yet they remain.  We can forgive, but it is difficult to forget.  How long must we rest and heal?  Are we supposed to forget?

The answers to these questions are given on an individual basis.  Each one of us requires a different length of season for healing and rest after a traumatic experience.  We cannot ignore the need for rest because Jesus has commanded us to do just that,  “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NLT).  That seems easy enough, but what about the “forgetting” part?

In the fourth chapter of Joshua, after the Israelites crossed the Jordan, God  instructed Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to remove twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River.  They were to go before the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and wait until the priests were in the middle of the river.  There they were to remove the stones from the exact spot where the priests stood.  This sounds like such an odd request, but the reason becomes clear in verses 5-7, “Each of you is to take up a stone . . . to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” 

I feel as if I am in a river of turmoil sometimes.  Perhaps the Jordan is symbolic of life as it ebbs and flows.  Portions of the river are deeper than others.  What I forget is that the deep places of hurt and despair are covered by the Lord and He can stop the waters right where they are.  The river continues to flow, but for a brief moment when the water stops and He overshadows  my pain, as the ark hovered over those stones, I am instructed  to take something away to commemorate  that time, a stone to remember. 

Many times we assume that when healing comes our memories should be erased.  However, we cannot forfeit recall for resolution.  God wants us to commemorate seasons of difficulty and celebrate His sovereignty.  Our mind must dwell upon His attentiveness to our difficulties and how we are changed in the midst of them rather than upon the challenge itself.    These are the  stones we need to celebrate and remember.

 

The above stone  is  from the Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR.  It is a permanent marker to memorialize the tragic sinking of the U.S.Navy schooner Shark.     Etched on the surface are these words, “The Shark was lost, September 10, 1846.”  The entire crew survived although the schooner was a complete loss.  The event has long past, but the memory lives on and is a testimony to God’s saving grace and mercy.  That stone needs to be remembered. 

This picture is of a stone garden at the Japanese Garden in Portland.  It is truly a garden of just rocks, however, each pattern set in place has purpose and meaning.    These stones cause onlookers to recall certain memories depending on the particular pattern that they form.

We rest and remember because we are instructed to. Pull out a stone from the deep waters, etch something significant on it, and display it for all to see in the beautiful garden of your life

Dress What You Got and Make it Hot!!!

Well, my birthday is this week!  Now, this isn’t a shameful way to prompt well wishes, although I will gladly receive them, it’s just that I have been thinking.  Birthdays are just numbers, or really accomplishments.  This week, I have achieved the number 48 and it doesn’t scare me one bit!  Oh, I realize I have now progressed to my “late” forties, but who cares!  Well, actually, I do!

Like most women, I have yet to attain complete satisfaction with myself.  I suppose I am still waiting for all the planets to align!  Not going to happen!  So, here is what I have decided, I am not perfect, won’t ever be and don’t want to be, so for now, I am going to dress what I got and make it hot! 

Let me explain . . . if I analyze myself for too long, I begin to focus on only the negative  or undesirable things about myself.  For example, mercy is not my gift.  When they are sick, my girls ask, “So, how many days of sympathy do I get?”  Pretty pathetic!  I am not proud of that, nevertheless, it is reality.  I can learn to be better at that, and I think I have, but there is always progress that can be made.  For now, I am going to allow that lack of mercy to be dressed and viewed for what it is while I continue to work on it.  That, ladies, is hot because it is honest.

Another example; of the many physical flaws I can find with myself, the one that drives me the craziest is the flab!  That annoying giggle I feel when I walk or run on the treadmill.  Drives me crazy to see that muffin top spill over my beautiful skinny jeans! Doesn’t matter how much the jeans cost, the spread is still there!  Well, here’s the deal, it is there, so I am going to embrace it,  for now.  However, while I am working on it, I am going to dress it because I got it and make it look as good as I can! 

At this point, if you are still reading at all, you are wondering, “Where is the spiritual context for all of this vanity?!” Please do not remind me that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting!  I get it!  Well, our theme for the Her Voice blog has been “Sabbath.”  According to Webster’s, that word literally means to rest from work.  It dawned on me a few weeks ago how much time I spend obsessing over things that are a complete waste of time.  No one else even notices the things I focus on, am I right here?!!! If I am truly going to observe and embrace “Sabbath” in my life, then I need to bring these areas into submission and allow the Father to cover them for me. 

Suddenly, my attitude has changed.  I am no longer focusing on these “trouble” spots in my life because my attention is drawn to the effort to change them rather than the results or lack of results.  This is where I find my “Sabbath!”  Rest comes easily when I embrace ALL God has given me because these things are mine. 

Change never comes as quickly as we want it. Rest is many times elusive.  The process is always where the Lord manages to take hold of us and make something truly beautiful.  Dress what you got ladies, because it’s ALL hot!