Repellent

Everyone is focused on “Perfect Storm,” Hurricane Sandy. I’m not sure what is perfect about a storm that wreaks havoc on one-third of our nation’s population, but I'm praying for those left in its wake. Even here in West Michigan, it’s been a Mary Poppins kind of day with whipping winds and spitting rain. Driving home today, I had my windshield wipers on delay mode. Watching the rain dance off my windshield reminded me of an action I took last time I hand washed my car.

I’m a person that loves to wash my car in the driveway. I get huge satisfaction squirting, soaping, scrubbing and buffing. There’s nothing like seeing a car go from dusty dirty to gleaming shiny. Occasionally, part of my routine includes the additional task of treating my windshield with rain repellent. If you have never done this, or had it done at your local car wash, you really need to try it. It’s amazing! One application of rain repellent lasts for weeks. Instead of rain splashing and smearing on your windshield, rain drops dance and race off your windshield like track stars!

Repellents keep rain off our windshields, mosquitoes off our bodies and bugs out of our homes. If we are wise, we use repellent for our safety, for our health and for our sanity. Paul writes about the ultimate repellent for a believer in his letter to the Ephesians. I’m sure you have heard about this repellent. It’s better known as The Armor of God. Read it here, from the NIV, in Ephesians 6:

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

To repel rain, use a glass treatment. For mosquitoes, use bug spray. For spiritual protection, don the armor of God. Be wise. Wear it every day.

Going Bananas

I get joy from the simple things in life. Little things. Normally unnoticed things. Today, my joy was my banana. Now, not all bananas are created equal. Far from it! For me, Chiquita bananas beat Dole or DelMonte bananas, hands down. Besides the texture and flavor, I like the little stickers that Chiquita puts on their bananas. This morning's banana sported a sticker that announced, "Raised with Tender Loving Care." Today, it showed.

Normally a banana is my mid-morning snack of choice during the work week. Usually, I peel my banana, hold it in my left hand and eat it while keying data into my computer with my right hand. Not today! Today, after I peeled my banana, I instantly noticed its perfection. It was beautiful. Not a blemish, not a mark, not a meely area existed on this amazing piece of fruit! I commented such to my coworker, who, while thinking me totally crazy, did indeed agree!

Take a look-see for yourself:




















Now, I had no idea that I was in for this treat. Before I peeled this banana, it appeared to be an ordinary banana. Sure, it looked about the right yellow to be ripe and not hard and bitter tasting. The peel had a few blemishes and dark spots that accompany your typical banana.

Take a look-see:

You just know it, don't you? You're right! I spotted God in
my morning banana. Transfer the peel to our human flesh. Most people are pretty ordinary. Looking, I mean. I know I am. When we look at people on the outside, we see blemishes. A few wrinkles. A sprinkling of gray hair. A crooked nose. Cracked teeth. We think what we see is what we get. Far from it! God created us, you and me, to perfection.

In the midst of praising God for his greatness and holiness and hugeness, David speaks of human creation in Psalm 139:13-16 (here, from The Message):

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out, you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made; bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."

Don't ever believe that you are ordinary. God created you to be extraordinary! Perfect in every way! God placed a sticker on you that announces, "Made with Loving Care!"

A Vacant House

Today I helped my husband. He owns his own sprinkling business and October is a big month for system winterizations. I think it's fun to watch the sprinklers pop up and spit out their last water for the season. The stream of water eventually turns to a ghostly mist that dances in circles and signals a clear line. My job is to watch zone after zone complete this process and ensure that all heads retract back into their homes in the ground.

Our customers this afternoon were a pair of condominium complexes. We were on the second complex and I was being a good worker, staying diligent to my task. But as I waited for a zone to clear, I spotted a nest on the ground. It was a wasp nest. An empty nest.


Well, of course, once something in nature captures my attention, I need to learn more about it. It seems that wasps build their nests just like we build our houses. It's the place to raise a family. Makes sense to me. After a summer of life, all the wasps die, with the exception of the Queen wasp. Their houses are left vacant. Empty.





Unfortunately for wasps, that is the end of life. I'm glad I'm not a wasp!

The Bible tells us that our bodies are houses, or temples even! At the end of our earthly lives, we will vacate our houses, but unlike wasps, we will be given new homes, heavenly ones. Imagine that! In Corinthians 5:1 (NLV) we read, "Our body is like a house we live in here on earth. When it is destroyed, we know that God has another body for us in heaven. The new one will not be made with human hands as a house is made. This body will last forever."

What a comfort to know that when we wear out our earthly bodies, God is ready with new, improved, eternal bodies! Eternal, as in FOREVER! I may not be ready to vacate this "home" just yet, but when the time comes, what a deal I'll be getting on my trade-in!

Did you hear the one about...?

One of my work friends sent me a joke today. It was a good, clean joke. One I would call a "groaner" joke. With the ease of email and the internet, jokes can be shared with just a few keystrokes. At my previous job, we loved circulating blonde jokes. Our target was one of our coworkers who happened to be a blonde. She took no offense at the jokes; in fact, she shared some of her own because she was nothing like the subjects in the blonde jokes. She was intelligent, sweet and reserved. 

We learn jokes early. Even preschoolers thrive on a memorized "knock, knock" joke they love to recite to anyone within earshot. Unfortunately, for most teens and adults, the jokes we share take on a malicious tone. These jokes make fun of ethnicity, occupation and intelligence. I'm ashamed to admit that I've told or listened to these jokes far too often.

Scripture talks a great deal about the tongue and our speech.

Proverbs 11:12 - "Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue."

Proverbs 12:18 - "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Proverbs 15:4 - "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."

James 3:9 - "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness."

Lately, I've become more aware of the power of the spoken word. I am renewing my commitment to follow Jesus' example. Jesus embraced and spoke up for the outcast, the outsider, and the down and out. So I am trying hard to think before I speak. For me, this is nearly impossible! BUT, so far, I've learned the joy in sharing a word of encouragement. I've seen the smile in response to a compliment. I've experienced the blessing from an act of selflessness. I have a long journey in front of me, but what a companion I have alongside me!

Psalm 15:

Who can live in your tent, LORD? Who can dwell on your holy mountain?
The person who lives free of blame, does what is right, and speaks the truth sincerely; who does no damage with their talk, does no harm to a friend, doesn't insult a neighbor; someone who despises those who act wickedly, but who honors those who honor the LORD; someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts; someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against an innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble."

The leaves are talking

Fall reminds me of how much God loves us. Think about it. He could have created trees to bear green leaves all year long. He could have made trees bear green leaves and then drop those same green leaves in the fall. He could have simply made evergreens with no leaves at all. But no; God, our amazing Creator, gifted us with an annual fall feast for our eyes. I am looking at that feast as I sit in my cozy family room gazing out our front wall of windows. Even though the day is dreary, rainy and downright nasty, I can’t keep my eyes from soaking in the colored burst of brightness.

Leaves get me thinking about how human life parallels the life cycle of a leaf. Really. No kidding. Allow me some leeway here.  Let’s go back to spring. Spring brings about new life. We wait in anticipation for the buds covering those bare trees to bust out into full foliage. We watch those buds for what seems like weeks until suddenly, almost overnight, the world is green.  Those buds transform into fully developed, mature leaves. Over the summer, we seem to take the leaves for granted. We really don’t notice them until we seek refuge in their shade from the heat of the sun. Then we wait. And wait.  Sometimes we dread the coming change of seasons. Sometimes it just plain sneaks up on us and catches us unaware. Either way, fall is upon us, and with it the beauty of the trees. Some trees display golden leaves. Some show orange. Some carry red. Others simply burn brown. But there is no doubt about it. They are all beautiful. At the end of their stunning display, they shed their leaves to end this cycle of life.

And so it is with humans. Think of a single tree as a couple, man and wife. Yes, God told man to “leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). One tree, if you will. After some time, in pregnant anticipation, the couples awaits the birth of children. Babies. The buds. Those babies, in the blink of an eye, almost overnight, grow into adults. Full, mature leaves. For a season, life moves on, seemingly with a sameness, but all the while with a purpose that may go unnoticed. As we age, we bring the world a variety of color in our talent, in our occupation, in our service. The fall season has arrived. If the world pays attention to the wisdom of the aged, they are blessed with an abundance of knowledge. Knowledge of love. Knowledge of life. Knowledge of Jesus. Knowledge of our Savior. One by one, the aged pass into glory. My hope is that you have taken the time to relish in their beauty, in their wisdom and in their love.

The leaves are swept away, but the promise of new life is on the horizon.

Young or old, God tells us we are to listen, to learn and to educate.  From Titus, chapter 2:

2 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶ Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

The leaves are talking. Are you listening?

Getting fit...

It was my birthday recently. I have an early October birthday, for which I am grateful. I totally love the fall and the changing of the seasons. I'm not a stickler for gifts, and in my family we don't make a huge deal out of birthdays, but my dear, sweet aunt knows a gift I love. Although she knows that I know that she knows, she wrapped my gift anyway. And so I received this gift that I love...double dipped chocolate covered malted milk balls. From the Holland Peanut Store. Actually, I'm not fussy. I will take either kind. Milk chocolate. Dark chocolate. Doesn't matter. Even a mixture of both. And so it was with the gift from my aunt. Two plus pounds of double dipped chocolate covered malted milk balls. I actually have one stuffed in my cheek as I write! Oh, how I love sweets and oh, how I love to eat!

Unfortunately for me, when the calendar turns to October, there is this other event that also occurs. It's an event I dread. It's this thing that we do at work. It happens every year. Or at least that's how I choose to remember it. This thing is called "Walktober." It is what its name implies. It's a month where we are encouraged to walk, as individuals, or as a team. The minimum log amount is thirty minutes a day, the maximum sixty. This event is part of the Wellness program that encourages healthy lifestyle choices. Don't get me wrong; I understand the concept. But for me, I want to sit and eat double dipped chocolate covered malted milk balls. I do not want to walk. I know that sounds pathetic, but it's the truth.

The interesting part of the month of October is how this walking program pans out. Thinking about walking and setting aside the time for walking is what I actually dread. Once I'm on my way, walking through Window on the Waterfront or walking the wooded path on our property, I am actually enjoying myself. It fits with my love of fall and the beauty of nature. So while I'm walking, I ask myself, "What's your issue? You actually enjoy this!" And so continues the cycle throughout the month. The dread. The love.

Now I must confess, I often do the same thing when it comes to my personal devotion time. Don't misunderstand; I don't dread devotions, it's just that Bible time seems to take a backseat in my life if I'm not intentional about my time. It's hard for me to think about and plan devotions into my daily schedule.  Over time, I've learned that, just as in my quiet walking time, once I relax, open my Bible and immerse myself in The Word, my love for God and his truth amazes and delights me.

I realize that I need to incorporate a spiritual wellness program in my life to stay fit for life. Fit for God. Fit for service. Fit for eternity. Paul in his letter to Timothy, encourages him to do the same in 1 Timothy 4:7-10 from The Message:

"Exercise daily in God - no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we've thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We're banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers,"  

Will you join me in God's fitness plan?

Footprints

I confess. I love the sun. I love the beach. I will rearrange my schedule to soak up a few rays. In these ever shrinking days, I am trying to squeeze out all the beachy-ness I can. Last Saturday, Lake Michigan called. I answered. I rolled up my jeans, kicked off my sandals, climbed the dune and joined the crowd. Of seagulls, that is. They were my sole companions. The sight that greeted me was breathtaking. Crisp, blue sky. Whitecaps. Driftwood. Footprints.

In the soft, dry, sandy area, footprints were a mass of chaos. Here. There. Everywhere. Leading nowhere in particular, like a throng of humanity lost with no sense of direction.

And then, along the shoreline, a single set of footprints were visible. They made a path with a straight and steady gait, clearly a walk with a purpose.

Such it is with our world. The mass of humanity searches for meaning and direction in life. The lost follow the lost. The noise of our world tries unceasingly to block out the message. Thankfully, there is a voice that rises above the static if we are willing to listen. We can follow the path of life with a straight and steady purpose, dancing along the way.

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 17:5 “My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled.”

Set your compass. Kick off your shoes. Place your feet in the footprints. Feel the wonder of the sand between your toes and follow the path of life.