They're gonna love you!

A few weeks ago Kevin and I attended a new member class at our church. It was the first chance we've had to get to know anyone there and I was both excited and nervous. It's like it was the first day of school. I took special care to look nice, got there early, chose a seat near the front. As the instructor passed out the class info packets I thought to myself, "Soon they're going to be asking me to teach this class. These people are going to love me!" Not long after I started to smell something. It was faint, not horrible, but definitely off. I thought maybe it was coming from the lady next to me. Or maybe the breakfast food that had been provided. Or maybe it was just really old carpet. By the end of the class I decided it must have just been Parker's diaper. It wasn't until we got into the van later that I realized the smell was coming from my sweater and was, in fact, dog pee on my shoulder. That's right. Dog pee. On my shoulder. Don't ask me how it got there. Oh, and did I also mention that halfway through the class I looked down and noticed I had neglected to fasten one side of my nursing bra from earlier that morning? Madame Urine Half Bra. Yes, they're going to love me. My life is a circus. But you know what, it's a wonderful circus and a most sovereign ringmaster reigns over all of it. I have three dogs. They pee on my clothes. And my furniture. I have four boys who also tend to pee everywhere. We are rarely on time and I yell a lot. But praise the heavens, God takes me anyway! And so I did go back to that class the next week and the week after that because even if I did have it all together, which I don't, it's the fact that God wants me there that matters most. He does not require my hair be combed or my clothes match or that I am on time (though don't get me wrong, these are GOOD things). He simply asks that I just be willing. Don't let a little pee on your shoulder stop you from that. When God is calling it doesn't matter what might be trying to get in the way. Do it anyway. Trust me...they're gonna love you. XOXO...Kelly

God was at Joann Fabrics last weekend. I think He was looking for a good spring cotton...

My heart has been heavy lately with so many of the things going on in the lives of my friends and family...so much so that I was driven to Joann Fabrics one Saturday evening just to escape my thoughts for a while. I do love me a good trip to the fabric store. All the fabric is so neat and so pretty. It's not sewn all over and ripped up yet like when you've tried twelve times to get your quilt lined up and think you might just pitch it across the room. I once took Kevin to the fabric store with me. It was a lot like when he took me to Radio Shack only with more fart noises. So, again, I do love me a good trip to the fabric store ALONE. And since I was alone I was in a much better position to eavesdrop on all the conversations going on around me. Well, I wasn't really eavesdropping per say, but it's quiet in that store and you can easily hear what people are saying. I was browsing near the home decorating bolts when I overheard two older women chatting at the pattern book table. They were sharing their experiences of losing a son and a grandson. One of the women said, "People always want to know why, but I know my grandson will be there waiting for me when I get to Heaven. I don't really need to know why." As she spoke it became clear I was no longer listening to the words of this woman but hearing the voice of God. A strange peace fell over me as I leaned into the assurance of my Father and, aside from how He was responding to so many of the things I have been praying about, I was immediately struck by how THERE He was. Smack in the middle of Joann Fabrics...God was there. And when I least expected to hear His voice there it was, too. So in case you need the assurance today, God is out there! His timing is perfect. His wisdom is absolute. And His love for you....it is overwhelming. God is out there, friends.  AMEN.  XOXO...Kelly

Got milk?

I often leave the supermarket without milk and this is why. There is no room in my head for milk. I have to keep track of whose turn it is to sit in what seat in the van, which Skylander characters we have and which ones we need (shout out to my good friend T. Hook on this one...she knows what I mean), who used the shark cup and/or Hotwheel plate last, how many days ago Blake wore his favorite shirt to school before he can repeat it, whose turn it is to pick the movie, and where the Lego guy with the orange helmet went but not the orange helmet with the stripe on it because that's not the one we are looking for. See...no room for milk. Along the same lines, I can walk from the kitchen to the living room and not remember why. So much of it is a symptom of having four kids, but a lot of it is just the inability to focus. Well, let me rephrase that...an inability to focus on the appropriate thing. I've been amazingly focused on revamping our kitchen island for several weeks now, but that's not getting the laundry done. Or milk in the fridge. And so it goes with our spiritual lives. We allow so many things to pull our eyes away from God and then we look up one day and wonder how we  came to be standing in the metaphorical living room of despair. We can't even remember how we got there. "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that sinful nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace" Romans 8:5-6. Life and peace. I love it. It means never coming home empty handed, being assured that whatever brought you to the living room is full of God's will. It can be so hard to focus sometimes, but our actions tend to follow our thoughts. And just like if all you're thinking about is Skylanders then you are bound to forget the milk, if your thoughts are set on sin then your life is bound to miss out on spiritual peace. Lord, let the Proverb be my prayer today. Let my eyes look straight ahead, fix my gaze directly before me. Help me to focus on the goodness of Your word and experience the peace of Your will. Amen. XOXO...Kelly

The heart matters.

Oh, those tricky Ten Commandments.  They're hanging everyone up these days.  I love what Dr. Tony Evans had to say about it on the radio one afternoon.  In Deuteronomy 5 Moses is summoned up the mountain and comes back down with the Big Ten, which includes #6...thou shall not murder.  Fast forward several hundreds of years later when Jesus says, in Matthew 5, not just those that murder will sit in judgment of it, but anyone who is even so much as angry with his brother is guilty of murder.  Jesus is taking God's law beyond just the action of our hands and is looking at the condition of our hearts.  What a funny concept.  How many times have I "bitten my tongue" with someone and patted myself on the back for it?  As if not saying all of the negative things I was thinking would somehow make me a better person when what Jesus is saying is I shouldn't be thinking them to begin with.  Or the guy clenching his fists at his side to keep from punching someone.  We applaud his self control, but should any of us really be longing to deck another person in the first place?  Oh, don't get me wrong.  Our brothers and sisters do not always make it easy on us.  But if we're to take God's word seriously then we have to try.  The fact is our hands and mouths are completely unreliable.  All it takes is one bad day and our bad thoughts become bad words, bad actions.  Our self control goes right out the window.  We can sterilize our environments as best we can, control our circumstances to pose no threats, but until we can affect what's going on inside of our hearts we stand no chance at peace.  Valentine's Day is coming up and everything around us seems to be exploding red and pink glitter, shiny hearts and stuffed teddy bears.  We're thinking lots about the people in our lives that we love.  What about the people we don't?  As I buy my requisite boxes of chocolate this year in honor of all the ones I have no trouble adoring, I'll be saying an extra prayer that God helps turn my heart around for the ones I do.  XOXO...Kelly

Trash days are now Tuesday and Friday.

I saw a sign in HomeGoods the other day that read, "Start each day with a grateful heart." It's been an unusual season of change lately in the Long house, much to pray about. For example, did you know they changed our trash pick up days?  Nearly five years of Monday and Thursday and all the sudden I'm being forced to put the cans out on Tuesday and Friday. If you're thinking that doesn't sound like a big deal you'd be right. But I am an impatient prayer. When I ask God to settle something for me I want results right away. Opening up your community newspaper to find a change in your weekly routine is like adding insult to injury. But still I sit. Waiting. Perhaps that's why the sign in the store struck me so. It was for me a quiet reminder to be patient and in my waiting to be grateful. In fact, the same community newspaper which recently rocked my trash-disposing world also included an article on dealing with change, reminding its readers to stay active and remain optimistic.  I've always thought of gratefulness as the Christian answer to optimism. It's not just seeing the glass (or trash can) as half full, but praising God for whatever the glass is half full of. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24.  It is the Lord's day, every part of it from the time we rise in the morning to our rest in the evening. I am grateful for that, that His arms are around me during each struggle, each celebration. So whether it's Monday or Tuesday, I'll take the trash out like I'm supposed to, try to be patient, and remember all that I have to be grateful for in the meantime. XOXO...Kelly
     

I am the Lorax

Last weekend we watched the new Lorax movie with the kiddos.  It was delightful, I must say.  Such a good message and a welcome change from all the Star Wars, TMNT and GI Joe we usually watch around here.  Oh, and football.  When is that over?  Anyhoo...I love the song at the end where the people of Thneedville are all singing and decide to let the little truffula seed grow.  "Let it grow! Let it grow! You can't reap what you don't sow!"  That line has been stuck in my head since we watched the movie and it occurs to me it may apply to more than just tree planting.  I know in my own life I am often very impatient for rewards I haven't necessarily worked for.  I want to know more, but don't study.  Be healthier, but don't exercise.  Have more money, but don't save.  Enjoy a better community, but don't get involved.  Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" (Matthew 9:37).  He wasn't talking about truffula trees either.  There's so much good to be gotten when we put forth the effort!  Even if it's just smiling at the noticeably bored person behind the cash register at McDonald's...before AND after they get your order wrong.  What we sow with the power and love of Christ behind us we will reap in harvest greater than we could ever need.  This is God's promise to us.  Oh, Mr. Lorax, you marvelous and mystical defender of the forest, your message rings loud and clear.  Help me, God, to put aside my excuses, my misgivings and my pride and simply let it grow.  XOXO...Kelly

It's a win-win.

When I was in elementary school, I spent Tuesday afternoon's at the home of our family friend, Kay Burley, while my mom led my sisters' girl scout troop. Getting to hang out at Kay's house was a young kid's dream come true because the Burley's had both a trampoline in their backyard and a copy of Mel Brooks' movie "Spaceballs". Whether the weather was good or bad you were guaranteed something awesome to occupy you for the afternoon. I am pretty sure I thought the Burley's were the luckiest family I knew. Well, next to the kid on Silverspoons maybe who had a ride on train in his house. But the Burley's were the probably the luckiest real people I knew. I would deliberate the whole way to their house....trampoline or Spaceballs, trampoline or Spaceballs....knowing that either way I couldn't go wrong! It was a total win-win situation. Oh, to be a kid again! Today I celebrated my 33rd birthday, which is by no means old, but still seems a long way off from those Tuesday afternoons in elementary school, afternoons so full of assurance that whatever my choice goodness awaited me. The choices have become a little more complex since those days. Houses, kids, jobs. But blessed be the Word of God, the assurance of goodness has stayed the same! "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever" Psalm 23:5-6. The Lord has taken care of me! He has delivered me in good and in bad and brought me to His side time and time and time again. He reminds me that His goodness awaits me in whatever I do when I seek Him first. I am humbled and blessed to know this assurance. I want my children to know it, my family, my friends. So as I close the door on year 32 and open a new one this is my prayer for all of you, that you would rest in God's goodness and mercy tonight and every night. And just in case, I'll have a copy of Spaceballs waiting for you. XOXO...Kelly