Pinterest is evil and other truths about me...

Pinterest is evil. Not because of its electronic nature, or because of its content. No, it is evil because it steals my time in huge chunks. I have a few interests that I love to cruise for, but mostly, when I am waiting in line or bored or just plain ignoring my to-do list I saunter through its maze of wonders in search of "Snark" that relates to me.

It is also something that God calls me to. No, not posting wildly inappropriate e-cards. That isn't what I mean. Sharing parts of me that are imperfect, flawed, sinful and snarky - That process is important to me, and believe it or not, it is important to God. He wants me to take myself less seriously, He loves to hear me laugh and He wants us to know that no one - NO ONE - deserves a pedestal. Well... Except for His son. But you know what I mean, right?

The thing about exposing one's flaws to the world and then laughing about it is simple. Once they are out there, flapping in the wind like so much excess skin on a running Bassett hound, they are much less powerful to our inner psyche. Once you share with the world that you are not the picture of perfection that you think you are (and yes, you are the only one who thinks it looks perfect), that Voice that taunts you inside, it loses its power over you. You become a lantern beaming out the rays of God's all-accepting love through all those holes of imperfection.

Today, I am thanking God for my struggles, for my sins, for the problems that won't leave my side. Those things, are great teachers of God's patient love. They remind me that I need Him, that He loves me despite of my awful behavior and the murderous thoughts I think in the post office Que. The flaws I have poke holes in the desire of the Enemy to keep my light under a basket. When I shine them forth, I steal his power over me and I fly in the face of my own pride. It also takes me down off my own rickety pedestal and puts me among those that need to know the love of God on a much more personal level.

Take a little time today to poke some fun at yourself. After all, you have a few hours to sink into the Pinterest-time-continum, right?

On Floating (Wherein All Feet Are NOT Firmly On the Ground)

I feel lighter today. I can't always explain it when this sensation hits me, but it is one of absolute freedom. The picture says it all... At one point in a horse's stride, there are no feet on the ground, everything is airborne and they float, if only for a moment. I am in that instant in time today and it is glorious!

I do too much. It is no one's fault but my own and I am coming to grips with it, day by middle-aged day. I realize that if I am to do the things God is asking of me, I have got to let go of the things He has not called me to. I have to allow myself the freedom to say, "Someone else will do this better." It is excruciating for me to admit. It is a hallmark of mine to do LOTS of stuff... I admit I have been doing much of it for all the wrong reasons. I have craved accolade, acceptance and awards. The irony is, I can never gain those things because I am horribly overbooked and the end result suffers for it! Nothing gets done well when I try to do everything...

I am reluctantly trusting that God is at the root of my next steps. It hasn't been easy. I am still struggling with the desire to take it all back and say, "It's ok... I'll do it. It really isn't as bad as I thought..." Why do I do that? Is it shame at feeling like I failed? Is it pride that I think no one can really do my job as good as I can? Is it the insanity of exhaustion? Or is it the Enemy hoping I will stay mired in my routines and not step out to do the things that God is asking of me? I shudder to think I will succumb to any of it, for any reason.

The difficulty lies in asking another for help, primarily because I am ashamed at the mess I have created. I have procrastinated and delayed and done a half-assed job. Now things are in a shambles and I need help to clean it up. To allow someone into my mess, even if it is only a perception of mess, is to admit that I am a failure. It is almost unbearable. In my denial, not long ago I caught myself lecturing a friend on their inability to allow others to help them... Hmmm. I had to step aside to dodge the lightening bolt. I will call that an epiphany!

When I cannot possibly see another way out, I can't let my "but" get in the way. If I look up and then look around, I may just find someone in the vicinity with their hand up hoping I will pick them to be on my team. I can't be so prideful to think only I can handle it, only I should be involved, it is my mess and no one should have to deal with it but me. The Enemy wants me to think that way. He's desperately hoping I won't ask for help. After all, it is so much easier to defeat just one weakened Christian than a team of them working together for the glory of God!

Take a moment, look up, then look around. Is there someone who wants to help you in your trial? Who are you to deny them their gift to you? After all, that gift is coming directly from the hands of God who wants more for you! Let go, get light and float right into His purpose for your life!

Photograph courtesy of the talented Eli Paulsen. Contact me for more information on her work.

Not My Department

"Mom?'" My teenage daughter wanted to talk to me... Before I skipped a step and started dancing about the room I took a chill pill and a deep breath. Don't move too fast - She might change her mind.

"Yeah?" I answered nonchalantly (I hoped).

"Do you know any false Christians?"

As usual, her question hit me like a sucker punch from behind. False Christians? Was I even equipped to answer that? It was too late to even make like I had all the answers. She is a teen now and I am arguably the stupidest person on the planet. I better not squander this opportunity to make at least some sense on the subject. I spit my Bubba-teeth out for this one...

"I guess my first question is: what do you mean by false Christians?"

"You know, like there are these kids at my school..."

She went on to describe a Christian club at school that has gotten into the habit of being exclusive with its membership. They mean well, but in their desire to be Godly they shut out kids who are on the edge, who don't look the part, sound the part and can be swayed into behaving badly because it's a natural part of just being a teen. That rebellious, "Don't tell me what to do or how to act" kind of reaction. Would I call them false Christians? No. In fact, I am certain that their love and devotion to Christ is what drives them to make silly claims and decisions about their fellow students. Unfortunately, I know quite a few of these folks in my adult life. I am one.

The conversation with my daughter got me thinking about my own perspective and how it looks to the outside world. I have often told my kids, no matter how big or old my body is, I make the same silly decisions as an adult that a teenager, grade-schooler, or even toddler would. At my core, I am still God's child, and sometimes that comes with an immature attitude.

The kids my daughter was referring to have only part of the equation as do some adults in the same situation. Christ does call us to associate with our fellow Christians regularly, going to church, meeting in study and pursuit of Christ-knowledge, getting together to help out our community by building houses, cleaning up our neighborhoods, etc. He wants us associating with each other to make us stronger, keep us accountable and enlightening us to differing perspectives within our circle of close friends. What He doesn't want is for us to do is decide that only our circle will do. Christ wants us to be open, soft, pliable to the plight of others. Christ wants us to reach out to those not in our comfort zone. If we truly love Him as we should, we cannot be tainted by unbelief or somehow lose our salvation because we kept company with someone who doesn't live the way we do.

Christ Himself associated with some pretty rough characters. He was found with prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers and, at the end, even outright criminals. Christ didn't exclude them. He alone understood that the roughest of folk can come to Him (if even at the last moment) and believe in the need for their own salvation. Not that I am saying we should head out into the inner cities and start sleeping in the streets or put ourselves into obviously dangerous situations. What I am saying is don't make an assumption based on race, creed, looks, clothing, sexual orientation or music choice that the person sitting next to you doesn't want or need or even already love the Lord. You cannot pretend to know the intent of someone else, unless they outright tell you so. You cannot make an assumption based on the outward appearance when God alone is the one who looks into the core of man to determine their heart condition. Don't even try. It will only hurt you in the end. It will out you as one with the more desperate need of forgiveness.

See, the Judgement Seat has room for only one butt, and it is God's. When we try to crowd in there, asking the Creator of Heaven and Earth to scooch over, we make a mockery of the matchless grace He sent to us in the form of his dying, bleeding, bludgeoned Son. He doesn't need our help. He already knows everything He needs to know about our neighbor, our pastor, the gay couple down the street, and ME. Yes, He knows all about me and my issues. The times I have been exclusive, hateful, judgmental, self-righteous and spiteful. All of it. So I have to be very careful when I start tossing around all those pretty polished stones in my house full of glass... I could break a window!

The Parisees thought that they could trip up Christ on this subject. They figured no guy could be this good, except of course themselves... So they set out to ask Him a "stumper", as it were. One of them very smugly approached Jesus as he was teaching one afternoon and asked of all the things that He was preaching, which one would get him eternal life? Jesus turned the tables and asked the "Scholar" what he thought the answer was. In Matthew, Chapter 10 the imposter student replied, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence - and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself." (MSG) Jesus of course commends this answer, as it is correct. (I myself wonder if our Savior isn't imbued with a bit of heavenly sarcasm here, but that could just be me...)

Now the "student" attempts the real trickery. In Verse 29 he pipes up, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?" I can almost hear the sneer in his voice and the expectant hush that fell over that crowd. They all turn to watch as Jesus settles in for one of the most memorable and universal examples of just what "neighbor" really means in a biblical sense. He launches into the tale of the Good Samaritan. Now I could go into a complete history lesson here on how antagonistic the relationship between Jew and Samaritan was. I could give you all the pat answers to the reality of what Christ was pointing at. Do I need to? I don't think so.

What I will say on the subject is this. First: read the chapter for yourself, (Matthew 10:30-37) and make yourself the Samaritan and the man who was robbed a person that you are currently having some very big difficulties with or a general group you have strong opinions about. Really test yourself here. If you think all murderers should go to Hell, put them in the man's place. If you are certain that all homosexuals are doomed to an unforgiven life, stick them there. Second, realize that you are probably not the Samaritan, but one of those guys who walked by and did nothing. Sting a little? It should. It stung me... Now, after you are fully embarrassed by what side you really fall down on, understand that God wants us to step out of the seat of judgement and trust that He knows each persons heart better than we do. Trust that He has that part all handled and our only command from the very beginning has been to simply love His creations. That included all of this creatures. It means that you are not to decide that God doesn't love the murderer, the thief, the homosexual, the liar, the cheat... It means that you are to decide that He does, because that alone is true. We have two directives from Christ's mouth: Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and body and love our Neighbor as ourself.

Love.

That's it.

Love 'em as if your whole being and happiness depended on it, because it does. If you want God to be merciful with you, be merciful with others. If you want God to forgive you, first forgive your brother. Then forgive your enemy. Then pray for them both to be blessed by God. (Crap... I hate it when God does this. This hurts.)

Realize that truly loving others as we love ourselves means that we must juxtapose ourselves into the seat of the defendant, not the prosecutor. It isn't our job to make those decisions. Don't be a door-mat - Christ wasn't. Just realize that under the green hair and the leather jacket is someone's daughter or son (is that a boy or a girl???) and that most definitely God loves them just as much as He loves you. After all, once you quit staring at their outsides, if you could remove the weird makeup or the odd choice of bedfellows, you may just discover they are a lot like you. And me. Some of the roughest treatment of innocent men has been handed down by those who profess to love God. Just ask Jesus. He'll show you with His own Hands.