Month: February 2017

“I don’t always know what I want, but I do know what I don’t want.”   Stanley Kubrick

Randy and I watched the movie “Hell or High Water” last week, and there was one scene which I loved because it made me laugh out loud.  The waitress played her part with such authenticity.  The lawmen in this scene, were in a restaurant and the waitress asked one question, “what don’t you want?” They were obviously confused, so she explained by saying, “This restaurant only serves steak and potato. That’s it. You can have squash or broccoli as a side – which one don’t you want?”

I started thinking about all the times I have thought I wanted something whether materialistic or spiritual.  I want a new outfit, I want a new car, I want a better prayer life, I want to know more about the Bible, but what don’t I want?

When I am with my grandkids, I hear those words, “I want” a lot.  Usually it has something to do with material things.  The only time I hear, “I don’t want” is when we suggest something with which they don’t agree such as early bedtimes or baths.

As we approach Ash Wednesday, I want to share  a list of things I “don’t want” in my life instead of things I want.  I “don’t want” fear, envy, impatience, bitterness, resentment, doubt, self pity, pride, worry, or guilt. I “don’t want” to ever feel the need to make excuses for myself.  I “don’t want” to be negative or compare myself to others.  I “don’t want” to ever feel unworthy as we are all wonderfully made.  I “don’t want” to give up on my dreams or to discourage those around me who are dreamers.  I “don’t want” to find myself unable to forgive those with whom I harbor bad feelings for something I feel they have done.  I “don’t want” to live a day without a smile or laughter.  I “don’t want” to forget to tell people that I love them and am grateful for them.  I “don’t want” to regret anything I might have said or done. I “don’t want” to let go of precious memories of people who are no longer here.  I “don’t want” to live without Jesus in my life.

As we enter this season of Lent, I “don’t want” this world to go another day without the knowledge of a risen Savior.  I’m giving up “wanting” this year for Lent and substituting things I “don’t” want.

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently there were many trees cut down on Willeo Road next to our neighborhood to make room for a new Senior Living facility.  I love trees, and it saddened me to see them go!  I kept hoping they would spare the old oaks, but that wasn’t to be. These trees were lush and green on the outside and looked healthy with no visible signs of decay.  Once the wood was cut and stacked, I saw what I could not see from the outside -some of them were sick on the inside and thus dying from the inside out.

Experts say that other than the usual fungus, bugs, or bacteria, two things are mostly responsible for a tree’s decay.  The first is scars left by different ordeals during the years such as blunt force trauma or storms. The second is weak branch unions which means the branches aren’t securely attached to the tree trunk which is its source of life.

I’ve heard it said that you should “Never judge a book by its cover.”   People tend to put forward their best by showing others their “outside” self while inside they are dealing with scars. They are smiling on the outside while inside they are dying under the worry, disappointment, and fear in their lives.  I know several people who are dealing with scars, and when I see how hard they work to present a “happy” outside, it breaks my heart because I know the inside turmoil they face.

If branches need to be securely attached to the tree which gives it life, it makes sense to me that we need to be securely attached to our Heavenly Father who give us strength and enrichment for our lives.  It’s easy to think all is well when in fact, we are dying on the inside without the Father’s sweet touch and love.  We need to attach ourselves firmly and completely to the tree of life, Jesus Christ.  He can help us deal with the scars and keep the union strong.

“But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.”  Romans 8:10

“Think of all the disappointing or bad things that have happened to you.  Be comforted by this, God did not take His hands off the wheel of your life for a nanosecond.” Proverbs 31 website by Joni Ereckson Tada

When I think of wheels, two kinds come immediately to mind – the wagon wheel and the wheel of my car.  Recently as I was following the Parsons family on their blog, I was reminded of another wheel – that of a sail boat or a boat of any kind.  This family of five sails with Dad as Captain, Mom as Admiral, and three children as sailors. Their recent sail had all the drama, problems, and joys of a novel.  I had no idea the skill it takes to manuver a ship when you must sail at night or through the bad storms that will most certainly come at sea. I never thought of engines that don’t function properly or auto pilots that are disabled.  I prayed for them all the time because I love them, but also because I was afraid for them just reading about their adventure.

In the midst of the problems,  I always felt, as I read their words, the complete confidence they had in their skill, the assurance they felt through prayer, and the example they set by being so positive all the time. These qualities are needed to be an example of Jesus to others.

It is often hard for me to give up the “wheel” of my life to God.  I think by grasping it tighter and being more determined, I can change things and make everything turn out the way I think it should.  The song “Jesus Take The Wheel” comes to mind.  It would be so much easier to trust God with the uncharted territory that lies ahead.

The wagon wheel is much like our life and God.  God is the center and the spokes are our lives.  The spokes all meet in the center in order to make the wheel roll.  Our lives need to be centered in God to make things work according to His plan.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”  Matthew 7:12

I heard this week that Kyle Shanahan, the Offensive Coordinator of the Falcons lost his playbook during a media blitz.  The playbook is defined by Webster as “a stock of unusual tactics or methods; a notebook containing descriptions and diagrams of football plays.”  This doesn’t sound important to me, but I bet it is to Kyle.

One would think that on the week of the biggest game of the year, Offensive Coordinators would guard something like this a little more closely.  The media says it was a “classic mix up” as someone mistook Shanahan’s bag for theirs and left with it.  I guess we will see if in that “mix up” the other team was able to get the information they needed.  Hopefully, they aren’t guilty!

It made me think of life and playbooks.  What are the rules?  What’s fair? How far will people go in bending the rules?  God has given us the ultimate playbook and yet we try to bend His rules in every way imaginable.  We sometimes lie, we cheat, we even steal, but we qualify these actions in our own mind.  Are we just as guilty as someone who might take a playbook before  a big game?   Aubrey Bruce said, “People spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace, yet they say to God ‘leave us alone we have no desire to know Your ways.'”

I hear a lot of talk in football about making halftime adjustments. An adjustment is “a small change that improves something or makes it work better.”  I wonder if this will be necessary for the Falcons on Sunday?  In life, as in football, there are so many times when adjustments need to be made to follow God’s path for our lives.  Sometimes adjustments work, sometimes they don’t.  When we have to make an adjustment in the way we are living, it only seems logical to look to God for the right play from His Playbook.  Then, we can avoid the “classic mix up.”

Rise UP!!