Hope

We all feel (at least in some part) that we can save the world.

If we just do all the right things, if politics would just go like we want them to go, if we could just eat right, exercise, recycle...then, everything would be okay.

Except that is a lie.

The world is broken. Some of it is our own brokenness.  Anger, lies, unforgiveness, greed...and some of it is simply broken.

I watched "Life" last night on the Discovery channel and all of the fighting, turf wars, fish killed simply through spawning...it isn't the world of a Disney fairy tale where the animals dance and sing nor is it the world of Avatar where everything is beautiful until the humans mess it up. It is a world where there is evidence of beautiful design, but the things in our heart we are most drawn to...love, joy, peace...aren't in abundance in the world we live in.

I think part of the challenge of my early religious training is that the emphasis was put on us to fix it.  It was our fault it was broken and it was our responsibility to clean it up.  The beauty of the Easter story--however--is that God saves the world. 

For thousands of years, the Jewish people gave sacrifices for sin.  Death paid the price for brokenness. (I don't know why life has to be given up to create life, but it always does.) Christians believe that all of those sacrifices were a picture of the great sacrifice that God was going to make on our behalf.  The one that would set in motion the restoration of the whole world. The one where Jesus would be the first to be resurrected of all of us.  You see it isn't enough that God came to live life among us for 33 years to show us His character--which turned out to be different than the social and religious models people lived with of persecution, arrogance, toil and striving. He came and showed healing, love, forgiveness and grace.

Then, when Passover came all of the events unfolded to fulfill the pictures that had been in place since the days of Moses. Jesus becomes the sacrifice for brokenness. Then God raises Him and begins the healing of the world. The law of love enters instead of the law of death.

When Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven He uses metaphors like a mustard seed growing into a big tree or yeast working its way through bread.  It starts small, then spreads through the whole world...organically.  It isn't a "zap." And so we can become the people who bring God's character into the earth just like Jesus did.  And all we have to do is open ourselves and ask to be part of it. It isn't about embracing ideas or beliefs.  It isn't about affiliations or doctrine.  It isn't about how hard you work or how many boxes you can check off.  God can't be put on a worksheet. Embracing Him is the most amazing adventure-healing experience-life change-undoing of the broken stuff you could possibly imagine. It changes everything.

One of the truths of our world is that we are gifted with free will.  We are all free to choose our own paths. God is never so rude that He enters without an invitation. All we have to do is ask. It is as simple as breathing a prayer, and it doesn't have to be elegant.

Success

I am convinced that success looks much more like Cinderella scrubbing the floors of the castle than Cinderella at the ball.

After all, while most of us enjoy feeling like a prince or princess, the reality is that the best things in life come about via hours and hours on our hands and knees with a scrubbrush rather than sitting inertly on a throne somewhere.

It occurs to me that it was no mistake that Jesus rode into town on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey. Not a king riding in on a horse, but a servant who washed the feet of his disciples and said things like: "the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves." (Lk 22:24-27)

True greatness is rarely found in the person letting the clues slip of how important they are; however, it is often found in the one who doesn't need the accolades, because they are more focused at the task at hand than their position in it.

Greatness is never a solo act. And not only do floors get cleaned faster when working together, but working together doesn't need a single person to wear a crown.  Instead it celebrates everyone.  All together.

Calling the Lurkers to Come out and Play | 5 Random Things

Okay Lurkers, your chance to talk back.  Tell me five random things about you.

Here are mine:

1. I love bubble tea from Fat Straws.

2. I decided in middle school that there were few things I could do to make the world better but that smiling was one of them.

3. I think crayons are the best thing ever invented.

4. I've learned in my 40's that a moment of quiet is the most useful gift you can give yourself.

5. I probably wrote this post days ago and did a delay publish.

The Kitchen Chalkboard

I was inspired by Wendy at The Shabby Nest to put a chalkboard in my kitchen.  So much so, that it became a bit of an obsession. (John raises eyebrow here to indicate understatement.)

In fact, Wendy's blog is fantastic.  She is a wellspring of ideas for creating spaces and traditions that celebrate home and family.  Though Wendy and her husband made her board (pictured left), I was definitely going to buy one simply to save on the time factor.  However, the cost of the chalkboard and chalk ink markers was a bit pricey, so John gave it to me as an early birthday present. (He knew I couldn't wait. )

This morning, the red spray paint on the frame was dry and I got to test drive my new toy.  I love the fact that it can continually change and can be used to celebrate special occaisions.  Our house is designed to entertain and feed people, so it seemed like the perfect thing.

If you are wondering where the teacups went, I had to retire them.  Each time we shut the back door they scooted a bit closer to the edge--even though we had lined the shelf with rubber--and so across the past few years there were many casualties.

So, thank you John, for giving me my birthday present two weeks early.  I love it!!!

Redecorating the gliders cage...

Kazoo and Kayla are our sugar gliders.  The thing about gliders is that they are very intelligent and they need new things added to their living space periodically to keep them mentally engaged.

We purchased Kazoo several years ago as an impulse buy. (We don't recommend this.  If you are interested in gliders do a whole lot of homework first. Gliders are more like owning a parrot than owning a hamster.  Hope for Gliders helped us get the information we needed and also connected us with a rescue glider to adopt--Kayla--since gliders do better in colonies than living alone.)

Anyway, we took out all of the toys that had been in the cage previously (except for a Fisher Price Little People boat--which they love).  I built a swing out of a piece of wooden molding left over from a house project. (Four holes drilled in the edges and some rope...tada!)  And we added some artificial plants for them to explore.  I also reintroduced a hollowed out coconut which had rotated out for awhile. (We made the coconut house too which required a lot of elbow grease and a hole saw.)

If you are curious about gliders and want to know more, I highly recommend checking out the Hope for Gliders website:  www.hopeforgliders.com

My favorite part about painting...

Is that it starts out like this:

And over the course of a few days, becomes this...

Commitment

I loved this post by Greg Baird this week...

For years I’ve displayed a little laminated card on my bookshelf that I received from John Maxwell when I served under his leadership at Skyline Church. He used to say that if he gave us something was laminated, we’d better pay attention!

This particular card was entitled “Commitment is the Key”, and it has a statement that goes like this:

Until I am committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole stream of events erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance which I could never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me – the moment I make a commitment.

When I commit myself to what God wants me to do, I’ve found this to be so true over the years. I’ve also found the opposite to be true when I waffle on what God wants me to do.

Dinner with Elsa-the-Poet

Tonight I had dinner with Elsa-the-Poet.  I've mentioned before that Elsa thinks beautiful thoughts and that she is one of my best friends in the universe.

Last night we were talking about everything (as we tend to do) and I asked about a woman we both know who Elsa recently ran into.  As it turns out, this woman is living a life that would paint her as a villain instead of a heroine. I asked Elsa what she thought about it.

Elsa said, "I find the older I get the less I judge."

I like that.

Where have you been all my life?

The first week John and I were in our first apartment in Denver, I knew I was hosed. I officially--on my own--was responsible for dinner.

With limited budget and absolutely no culinary skills, I went to the grocery store and did what any other directionless person would do.  I bought stuff with directions.  To be specific, I loaded my cart with every version of Hamburger Helper available. (John freaked that one of them was a tuna helper). And I bought box spaghetti and a package of chili.

John and I got along fine this way for a number of years. (If you are curious if this is why I became vegetarian seven years into our marriage, you would be correct.)

Luckily early on I met some women when we were in the military who actually knew how to cook and I learned some skills, but the bane of my existence--especially when I was a working mom with elementary school age kids--was always "What's for dinner?"

First of all, food takes up way too much time.  You have to make a list, then go to the store, then actually cook stuff, then clean up all the stuff you cooked.  It's exhausting.  Of those chores, the most difficult one isn't actually clean up.  It is MAKING THE LIST!

Please, please, don't make me think about what to cook.  Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.

This week, Erin-the-Wonder-Woman introduced me to the most magical, most amazing, beautiful thing the digital world has ever delivered.  She introduced me to e-mealz.com. (Check your spelling and don't forget the dash, there are similar sites.)

E-meals plans are only $5 a month.  They are based on where you shop (Walmart, Aldi, Kroger, Publix) and the type of meals you prefer (family of four, vegetarian, low fat, cooking for two) then THEY MAKE THE LIST!!!  Each Tuesday they give you a pdf file with meals for the week that can all be prepared in 30 minutes or less, and the back page has the list with cost of each item divided by WHERE THE STUFF IS IN THE STORE!!! (Okay, not "aisle 3" but the items are grouped by general area).

John and I have done this for a week now and not only has it been easy, the food is delicious.  And it is stuff we wouldn't have normally tried. (John and I are on the vegetarian version for Walmart and John is supplementing by grilling steaks a couple of times a week.)

Tonight I made gumbo served with toasted pita triangles. I have to say, it never occurred to me to try gumbo because I thought it was a  meat-eaters dish.  Here is how easy this was...per my e-mealz sheet after the ingredients list...Heat 1-2 t coconut oil in skillet. Place “sausage” (I used Morningstars Veggie Italian Sausage) in hot oil & brown, adding green pepper, onion and celery. Cook until browned; add vegetable broth, water and seasonings. Heat through; add okra & tomatoes. Simmer for 10 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.  John and I found one meal on the list we weren't crazy about, so we skipped it and put in one of our normal standbys.

I love it that someone thought of this.  And I'm thrilled Erin shared it with me!

God has a name...

I love the story in the Bible where Moses asks God his name. 

God's reply--as recorded in Exodus--is "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you."

And I've been thinking about that lately.

A being so powerful that you can't name Him. He simply is.

The Jewish people have many names for God. Elohim (God), El Shaddai (almighty God), Adonai (master), El Elyon (God most high), El Olam (the Everlasting God), Avinu (our Father)...there is a whole other list that addresses God by aspects of His nature Jehovah Jireh (provider), Jehovah-Rophe (God who heals)...  But when it comes to God's personal name it is YHWH which simply means "to be." (I also love it that the Jewish tradition is not even to say the name because it is too holy. It is the reason it is spelled without consonants. Even in English, many Jewish people will write G-d. The name is never used casually. )

When raised in a religious tradition, it is easy to see God in a box. To limit Him to all the things you learned of Him or all the ways you've experienced Him. To take the list of the things He does and make it who He is. But a God who created the universe is bigger than that. He is more than our ideologies. He simply is.  Like stars or sky or vast ocean He exists. (And it really burns brain cells to think about a being more permanent than stars or sea or sky.)

And it occurs to me that the billions of people trapped on a fallen, broken planet know somewhere in our souls this idea of I AM.  Just like we all experience sky and stars, something in us is aware that there is some big truth we can't quite see. We can lose hope and put a flag in the sand that there is no god. Or we can structure complex systems of getting to him. But I believe I AM resonates...regardless of the part of the planet we grow up on or the religious system in which we are taught.

If God spoke the world in to being as described in Genesis, then it occurs to me His spirit is everywhere.  Like a resonating chord that is constant without fading, He simply is. Part of the fabric of everything. The amazing thing is that He is not distant. A God who would take time to orchestrate the release of His people through one man....a conversation in a burning bush...I AM isn't an ideology. It is personal.

We can ignore it.  (But that doesn't change the fact that it is. )  Or we can engage. (And engaging Him changes everything.)

A fabulous bookstore...

While in Baton Rouge, I had about an hour to kill while Bethany was with her friend and John napped.  So I used the Yelp application for iPhone to see what was nearby.  Based on a recommendation in Yelp, I wound up at a wonderful used bookstore called Cottonwood Books.

Though I love Half Price Books in Dallas, as the store has grown into a chain, it has lost some of the magic it had when it was just a single store off Northwest Highway. Cottonwood Books is a real one-man shop which gives it the "magic" factor.  I was bummed I only had an hour to browse. I found a 1908 copy of St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson--which is in good enough condition to be my next airport classic read.

I also purchased a copy of  Milton's Paradise Regained with a pencil scrawl Jacob Andrews December 31, 1905 inside the front cover. The handwriting is very even and proper like a student wrote it.

Jacob must have never finished the book, because his bookmark--a torn scrap of newspaper--is left about halfway through staining the pages on either side.

There is a treasure hunt factor to used bookstores, and it is different for everyone. That one find that makes you feel like you discovered something valuable that everyone else missed by allowing it to sit on a shelf or under a pile.

Maybe that's why the one-man shops are magical.  Because the treasure seeker actually runs and manages the store.  Because the whole reason they went into business in the first place was for that joy that happens every time they open a box of acquisitions wondering what's inside.

Our Trip to LSU

This weekend, John, Bethany and I took an exploratory trip to LSU. A seven hour road trip.  Just the three of us.  (This photo is of Bethany contemplating her future outside of the tiger habitat on campus for the mascot.)

The orientation information was great and financial aid let Bethany know what her next steps need to be. (She is about 10 points away on her SAT from a scholarship.  She plans to retake.)

While the road trip was great, it left Bethany with more questions than answers.  Not because she didn't like the experience, but because she didn't set foot on the campus and "just know" she belonged there.

While Bethany hung out with one of her friends (who gave her a tour of the dorms and showed her where the mall is) John and I explored Baton Rouge.  Because I'm not a casino girl it took me forever to figure out how to play the slots. (The electronic ones are no fun.  You need a lever like in the movies.) But I finally found a nickle slot machine with a lever and watched it eat my money. (As it turns out, the "free" drinks they give you are REALLY expensive.)  We then picked up Bethany and all went out for Louisiana food and zydeco music. (Which was pretty great.)

So...no big life decisions made, yet.  But we had a great weekend.

Rated M for Mushy

I love, love, love Floydjoy's post today.  Given that Floyd only blogs twice a year, you would imagine if he took the time to do it, it would be a good one.

And yes...he was right, it is definitely mushy.

Here is the link...http://floydjoy.blogspot.com/