:. lessons & questions .:

Such a busy few weeks. So many jumbled thoughts. So many huge life-lessons.
Without going into any detail, here are a few things I've learned lately, along with new questions that have cropped up:

• Just when you think you have a bit of free time ahead, God can step in and remind you that your 'free-time' isn't 'me-time'. Your days belong to Him. And He probably has a very good idea of how that time should be used.
• It is sometimes easier to serve complete strangers than those closest to you.
• My patience definitely has limits. Does it count for anything if you are loving on the outside . . . but CRANK-EEEE on the inside?
• I had no idea just how selfishly I live my life. Putting others first is easy to talk about, but much harder to DO, day after day after day after day after day after day after day.
• I'm definitely not a fan of pity-parties. But how often am I guilty of that very thing? (Pity, party of one?)
• Little children are a joy, a delight, a sweet aroma. They easily fill up an emotional tank that has been drained dry. What would I do without my grands?
• How do Jesus' words that we are to become like little children mesh with the above statement? How do you recapture the guileless ease with which little ones live life?
• How do you show Jesus to a dying world . . . when you're busy with your own to-do list?
• How do you come to the place where you want what God wants, more than your own agenda?

And finally:

• What would I do without my children? Yes, my grands are a delight, but my kids are a blessing that cannot be measured. Thanks for all the love, you guys!

:. smiley waving black guy .:

I saw Smiley Waving Black Guy this morning. Perhaps you've seen him around; if you live anywhere near this side of town, you can't miss him. He walks most places, always has a HUGE smile on his face, and waves at every passing car.

I don't know if he's crazy . . . or just really, really happy.

I hadn't seen him in awhile, but I caught sight of him from a few blocks away. And I realized how happy I was to see him. I love that guy. His smile is contagious; his happy, wild waving never fails to put a smile on my face. Of course I always wave back, and that makes him smile even more.

There's just something wonderful about seeing all that joy and friendliness emanating from another human being. (And yes, the thought has crossed my mind that perhaps Jesus has decided to walk these streets.)

Thanks for the day-brightener, Smiley Waving Black Guy. I'm going to do my best to carry a bit of your attitude today.

:. live it .:

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

FORGIVE THEM ANYWAY.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

BE KIND ANYWAY.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

BE HONEST ANYWAY.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

BE HAPPY ANYWAY.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

GIVE YOUR BEST ANYWAY.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

IT NEVER WAS BETWEEN YOU AND THEM ANYWAY.

~ Mother Theresa ~

:. the dichotomy of independence .:

On this Independence Day, a word about dependence.

As a nation, Americans are fiercely and proudly independent. We value our freedoms (and rightly so); we relish our pioneer spirit. We take orders from no one; we are proud to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. "Don't Tread On Me" . . . "Give me liberty or give me death".

It's the American way.

But despite the slogans, despite what we may think, we are not free. We are all slaves. God Himself said so.

"A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."

~ 2 Peter 2:19

"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

~ John 8:34

The Bible makes it clear that we are either slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness. Through Jesus we can be set free from sin, but many of us choose to remain bound with those chains. How foolish, when the alternative gives such great reward:

"Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

~ Romans 6:22

No, we're not really free, we are slaves. We also aren't really independent. We weren't created to be. John Donne had it right:

"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; . . . any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind."

Even Jack Shepherd famously said, "If we can't live together, we're gonna die alone." [Ed. note: Yes, I still miss Lost.]

The Bible tells us over and over that we are to bear one another's burdens, serve one another, love one another, meet together, pray together, and on and on. Those things definitely negate any idea we may hold of independence from our fellow man.

And then, of course, like it or not, believe it or not, act like it or not, each of us is entirely dependent on the One who created us.

So on this Independence Day, raise the flag, shoot off those fireworks, and consider:

"If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed."

~ John 8:36

:. imagine .:

Imagine for a moment that you just won the lottery. Let's make this an even better scenario: let's say the winning ticket was the very first one you'd ever purchased. And let's say the jackpot was 180 million bucks . . . or whatever amount was enough to last you the rest of your days, even after the IRS took their (grossly unfair) cut.

Imagine how you would feel.

Imagine the feeling of paying off your bills - mortgage, car, school loans, credit cards, what have you.

Imagine knowing the good you could do with all that money: charities, people in need, helping out family members and friends.

Imagine how it would feel to never have to worry about finances again.

Imagine knowing you'd never again wonder how you're going to put food on the table, or make it till next payday, or pay that enormous heating bill.

Imagine being able to buy anything your heart desired.

Imagine how that would feel.

Now imagine that obeying God made you feel that same way.

"I rejoice in following your Word

as one rejoices in great riches."
Psalm 119:14

Imagine what that would be like.