Life with Christ

Bunny Foo Foo

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On the way to church this morning a rabbit ran in front of my car. He made it to the other side of the road safely just as my car reached him then he suddenly did a 180 and went right back across. This time sure I would hit him I pressed on the brake and yelled “Whoa Bunny Foo Foo!!!!!!!!” Much to my relief he narrowly escaped my left front tire. After that I started to giggle about what had come out of my mouth. “Bunny Foo Foo…” really? One morning several weeks ago during the school year I was taking my two daughters to school and heading on to my work. There was a bird sitting in the middle of the road and not moving as my car approached. At that time I stated “Move flower!” Yes you read that correctly. It was a bird and I called it a flower. My daughters were thrilled with my mistake and I had no good explanation as to why the word flower escaped my mouth instead of bird. It made me think of the movie Bambi when he called the skunk flower.
It is in these spontaneous instances that what comes out of our mouths reveals what is truly in our hearts and minds. Apparently lately flowers and bunny foo foo’s are on my heart. You may find that delightful or just plain weird. Personally I am not sure what I think of it, but it is better than something foul. It has not always been the case for flowers and bunny’s to spill out of me. We tend to spill out what surrounds us. There have been times through company I have chosen or just simply who I am around in my work place that foulness and complaining has been a continuous bombardment. As I have been faced with surprising circumstances guess what came out of my mouth. Even when foulness was not integrated into my language within normal conversations in an emergency foulness flew out.
The “Whoa Bunny Foo Foo!” proceeded by our Sunday school lesson today from 2 Corinthians 5:15-21 and the pastor’s sermon from Romans 12:9-13 were all used by God to integrate a lesson even deeper within me. To be in a continuous state of fellowship with God, to be a representative of God’s love at all times, to surround myself with the example of Jesus by studying God’s word and through prayer, and to allow God to work through me through the power of the Holy Spirit at all times. When foulness comes from me it is when I am focused on me. When my focus is on Christ it will be love that flows from my words and actions.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Beauty from Life’s Deepest Wounds

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When cleaning up the yard this spring I actually contemplated retiring this old planter. If I move it the bottom is going to literally fall out. Actually finding beauty in the rusty decay of this small metal wash basin, I decided to try to make it last at least one more year. As the weather grew warmer a green sprout started to grow from one of the large rusted cracks. It didn’t really resemble a weed so I made the resolution to wait and see what the green sprout grew into. Much to my delight it is one of the annuals I had planted last year. How exciting it has been to watch the bright yellow puffy blooms from last year appear completely unplanned by me. There was enough of a remnant of a root or possibly a seed that survived a harsh winter in this old decaying pot. As I have watched this plant bloom from the brokenness of my old planter it has made me think a lot about our broken messed up lives. No one can escape life’s trials as we all have them. Sometimes it is the consequences of our own choices causing our wounds. Sometimes it is the choices of others that wound us. Then add life’s normal progression of losing loved ones. Learning that this world we live in is not fair is an addition to our brokenness. The amazing thing is that before God even created the world He had each and every one of us planned. Within each of us He planted a seed of His glory. When that seed becomes rooted in Jesus, God’s only Son, there is a beauty that blossoms out of our brokenness. As we turn our broken lives completely over to Jesus’ love and forgiveness. When we turn from our sin and set our eyes on Him. The seed of God’s glory that He planned so long ago becomes rooted in Jesus. That seed then begins to grow and to blossom. As we allow His purpose and plan for our lives to play out there is a beautiful peace that is beyond description. God can turn any ugliness of our lives into beauty. No one is too broken or messed up that God cannot bring life and hope from the deepest of wounds. Eventually this pot will have its final day and will no longer be able to stand. As our bodies will one day take the final breath. It is at that time that if our seed is not rooted in Christ that it dies, forever separated from God. Until our final breath we have the opportunity to accept Jesus and become firmly rooted in Him.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 61:3 “and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Colossians 2:7 “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Jeremiah 17:8 “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Oh Where Oh Where has my Little Sock Gone

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My creative outlet has been focused on a project for Father’s Day and for scavenger hunt clues for a slumber party these past couple weeks so the blog has been a bit on the back burner. A friend of mine just gave me a topic suggestion of lost socks and now after having twelve girls staying in our home for one night there are all sorts of lost something’s around here. Socks, undies, towels, shoes, and swim goggles to name a few random items found so far. My friend is single and still has the infamous sock mystery in her own home she said. Where do these socks go? As a mother I am so relieved that the fashion has changed to the little anklet socks that are bright in colors and do not have to match. In fact you can even purchase socks now that do not have a matching friend. In this household it isn’t always such a mystery of where our socks go with having a dog that loves to eat anything that smells like feet. I shall not mention the other things this weird dog loves. We also find the socks in random places. Pockets of jeans, behind the dryer, in toy boxes, under the couch, in the couch… There are sad little socks lost to never be worn again across our beautiful globe and most definitely across these wonderful United States of America. Sometimes you see a lone sock or even a shoe along the roadside. Now how in the world does that happen? Socks seem so insignificant until you have a blister rubbed on your foot or wear a pair of shoes without socks. Enclosed shoes worn without socks become putrefied very quickly within the Lucas family. The worst smelling shoes award were a pair of soccer shoes and socks that had been worn to play a soccer game in the rain. The shoes and socks were left under the driver’s seat of my car without my knowledge. The next morning it literally smelled like a small animal had crawled in my car, died, and decayed overnight. For the most part losing a sock doesn’t get me too bent out of shape. Now there have been frantic searches for a matching soccer sock on game days that gets the entire family focused on one measly stinky sock. This mother learned very early to always buy at least two sets of each color of uniform socks. Even then that is not always enough to prevent the last minute soccer sock panic.
My friend’s suggestion got me to thinking and studying God’s word more intently on what it means to be lost. It is a Christian term that I know I have been guilty of taking for granted that everyone knows. The Christian terms of being “saved” and “lost” can be quite confusing to anyone who hasn’t been raised in church. As I think of terms we just haphazardly throw around it is no wonder the world doesn’t understand.
In the bible Jesus says in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” He made this statement for the benefit of critical on lookers as he called to Zacchaeus the tax collector to come down from the tree and asked to go to the house of this so called “sinner”. When researching this verse I learned something new about my own bible. There is no Matthew 18:11. In all the times I have read the book of Matthew I have never noticed the missing verse. In some scripts this verse Luke 19:10 was quoted here as well, but upon researching original Greek scripts this verse actually does not translate into this section of the bible so many newer translations have simply left it out. It is a process called textual criticism that is a tool in testing the accuracy of the scriptures. In Matthew eighteen the concept of Jesus seeking and saving the lost is there as He tells the parable of the lost sheep. Matthew 18:12-14 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wonder off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” This discovery brought an even greater discovery and reassurance of how God has protected His ancient word. No other ancient manuscript has been copied so many times in so many different languages yet maintains nearly one hundred percent accuracy despite the fact that “to error is human”. He divinely used human beings to script His word and continues to use us to share and copy it. He has protected this roadmap to life and the history of His plan time and time again through countless efforts for it to be destroyed or to be taken out of context.
The same love and protection of the scriptures God has applies to every single human being. What does it mean to be “lost”? What does Jesus need to “save” us from? God had created mankind to be his friends yet he wanted the love and trust of the relationship to be mutual. For us to have “free will” to choose God’s friendship and to trust Him. Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to eat from the one tree that God had warned them not to eat from. They had free reign of all the other food in the paradise God had placed them in. There was no pain, sickness, guilt, shame, or sadness. As soon as they had eaten the fruit of the tree God had told them not to the result was immediate. They immediately felt the burden of guilt and shame. They tried to hide from God and started passing the blame from themselves Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent. All in all it was each of their own personal choice to do the one thing God their creator and friend had asked of them not to do. From that point on every human being has had this bondage of guilt, shame, and sadness. Not a single one of us is free from our sinful choices. We are a slave to our choices, addictions, bitterness, and selfishness. Our sin has caused separation from God’s love, companionship, friendship, and protection. The Old Testament provides the history of God’s plan to provide the perfect sacrifice to cover the separation our sin has caused. The New Testament reveals God’s one and only Son, Jesus. God in the flesh came to earth and led a sinless life. He was the pure and perfect sacrifice that covered our sins that separate us from God. Once again God has given us the choice. First we must realize that we are lost. We are so much more important than a sock or a sheep as in the parable that Jesus told. To God each and every one of us is worth the pain and suffering endured on the cross. He calls to each and every one of us separately and personally. When we choose to believe and allow Jesus to free us from the pain of our burdens it is the most freeing experience that is possible for mankind. So often we have no idea of the weight that we try to carry and the joy that we are missing. We can choose to become bitter by our circumstances of sins inflicted by others on us or by the consequences of our own sins or we can choose true life through Jesus.
We don’t have to be a lost sock. We can forever be paired with Jesus to fulfill God’s plan for our lives for eternity. It is our choice to continue to carry our pains in this life and to die separated from God forever. Or to start living a life free from our burdens right now and have the promise of eternal life. When death comes for a believer true life begins with no more pain, tears, or sorrows.

Easter, not just a Holiday

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As we enter into our Easter celebrations this week I can’t help but reflect on what Easter means. At the age of five one Sunday afternoon after church I remember hearing a voice louder than anything I could hear with my ears yet it was still and soft. The voice of Jesus was simply saying “Anita you need me.” With the pure faith of a child I went to my mom and told her I needed to ask Jesus into my heart. That afternoon we knelt by our 1970’s yellow and brown floral couch and I prayed to ask for forgiveness of my sins and for Jesus live in my heart. At the age of five there was not a true grasp of sin, Jesus was my best friend and I loved Him and knew that His love for me was greater than any kind of love. It was that simple. As I grew fears started to creep in. At the age of nine we moved to a new town and I desperately wanted to make friends and fit in. It was the first time in my life that I started to fear rejection. As pride, selfishness, vanity, and fears grew within me I started to focus more on pleasing the world instead of God. There was a time in my life that I lived a double life of acting out the church charade, but in the meantime strived to please my friends and sought after their approval instead of God’s. Of course with stepping outside of God’s protection there were consequences, guilt, shame, and pain that came along with my own way of choosing the paths in my life. You see I had no idea what my weaknesses were as a child. As a child I had no idea how very wicked and selfish my own heart could be. (Jeremiah 17:9) As we think or state out loud the “I would never do’s” Satan is listening very closely and at the right time will place the temptations and circumstances in our paths to test the “I would never do’s”. (1 Peter 5:8) It has been through my mistakes that God has shown me the depth of what Jesus did for me and for the world. You see God loves us so much that He sent His only Son Jesus, God in the flesh, to pay the price for our sin. (John 3:16) The realization that Jesus took every sin of mine and of all people upon Himself on that cross is mind boggling. It is a love that is so personal to know that despite my mistakes He loves me and calls me by name. At the age of five He already knew there would be a time I would try to step out on my own and test the teaching of the Bible. He called to me anyway. It is through my mistakes that I realize how I deserve nothing but death. (Romans 6:23) Because of God’s grace and mercy I have the gift of an abundant joy in life here on earth no matter my trials and eternal life in heaven when the time comes for my last breath. Easter is the celebration that Jesus is God. That He proved who He said He was by conquering death and raising again. He conquered sin, death, and brings true peace to the lives of those who truly give their all to Him. Our pastor discussed tonight how Satan wants to expose our sins and weaknesses to use against us. God allows our sin and weakness to be revealed so that we can give it all to Him. When we surrender our weaknesses to Him He then can refine us into the person He created us to be. He then can show us our true purpose in life. So Easter is a time to reflect on a love greater than anything this world could ever offer us. Jesus is alive and He is personal. He wants to be our friend and reveal to us the beauty our lives can have through having a relationship with Him.

How the Sin in my Heart is like that Black Bra on my Cart

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A few years ago when my two daughters were younger I often found that my time to do our family shopping was after nine o’clock in the evening.   Working full-time as a nurse, church activities, dinner, homework, the ever daunting task of laundry, the time after the girls were in bed seemed the best time to shop for the family food and staple items.  One winter evening I bundled up and traveled on down to our local Wal-Mart to purchase the family necessities. This particular store is strategically arranged with the pharmacy, beauty supplies, and pet supplies at the polar opposite corners of the store from the milk, cleaning supplies, and paper products. With a lot of shiny objects in the middle to distract us mommas.   This particular evening my cart filled quickly with large items like paper towels, laundry detergent, and toilet paper. Feeling distracted like a squirrel as I passed the clothing department I thought “Oh I need some new undergarments!!” Something I truly loathe spending our hard earned money on. As I perused these isles my indecisiveness and frustration of spending money on me ensued. I fail to remember if I actually bought a brassiere that evening. A very significant event happened within that bra isle. I decided to turn my full cart around mid-isle. Not an easy task in the narrow passageways lined with products.   The brassieres were displayed in the manner of using peg boards with hooks at this particular location.   There were long slinder silver hooks hanging ever so delicately in the balance of these peg holes. You might have already guessed. As I turned the cart caught one of these delicate hooks. The hook then turned to an amusement park slide for the bras sending them to the floor.   It must further be noted that the brassieres were arranged smallest sizes up top of the display with the largest cup sizes gracefully adorning the bottom of these series of peg hooks.   Of course it was a bottom hook that I displaced with the largest cup sizes now scattered onto the floor.   It must also be noted that the color happened to be black.   Black undergarments at times may carry the reputation as a bit more risqué’.   Quickly looking around to see if anyone noted my clumsiness I started to toil with the question, “Do I pick them up or just move on before I cause more damage?”   Of course I would not have slept that night if I had just left my mess so I squatted down in front of my cart, fixed the hook back into its proper place, and hung the bras onto the hook. There no harm done and back to shopping.

Now I do usually have a list when shopping, but even with the words in front of my eyes I still forget or I remember items that I forgot to put on the list to begin with.   A reason for retailers to strategically place items on end caps and in the checkout isles in hopes to increase purchases by us forgetful mommas. This being said I ended up tracking back and forth through the store a couple more times due to items being as scattered as my brain.   While pushing my cart along I could not help but notice some stares.   The feeling of people looking sometimes can be extremely powerful. While scurrying along with my full cart I passed a middle aged man. He sized me up from top to bottom and had the creepiest, most perverse look on his face. Of course my thoughts immediately went to “What on earth is his problem?   I have a winter coat on all buttoned up, little to no makeup left at this time of time of day, I could not look that good, gross!!” As I continued to shop with my full cart I remembered gum.   Gum is a necessity to me for those coffee breath or too many onions on the salad moments.   I passed another man.   This man was a bit younger yet looked at me in the same creepy up and down way.   My thoughts then go to, “Momma must be looking good tonight. Girl you still got it!!!”

Finally finishing my shopping I proceeded to the checkout lanes. I began placing item after item onto the counter. Once the cart was empty I pushed the cart toward the checker so that I could pay for my purchases. It was at that moment that a strange movement caught my eye. After doing a double take there it was.   It was as if the world went into slow motion and with a deep drawn out voice I utter “IT’S A BIG BLACK BRA!!” Laughter then ensued, the kind of laughter in which there is no sound nor air movement at all. My mind is the type that thinks of situations in funny animation, in song, or as both.   The bra was not only hanging, but also dragging the ground so it had a swinging and dragging motion as it traveled as the figurehead at the prow of my shopping cart.   In my mind it took on full animation with eyes and a mouth that spoke with a French-like accent. I envisioned that bra dancing at the end of my cart screaming and singing, “I am free!!!   So this is what the rest of the store looks like!!!   I was enslaved by the snare of that hook and now I am freeeeeeee!!! Just look at meeeee!!!” Then the vision of those two men in particular came back to me. Realizing that it was me that appeared to be the perverse one quickly humbled me from my previous line of thinking.   Of course still trying to breath from my non-sound and non-breathing type of laugh I go to the front of my cart, snatch the bra and hand it to the cashier.   Bless her heart she sweetly asked “Would you like me to ring this up for you?” Still consumed by laughter I shake my head “No”. Had I not had a winter coat on it would have been more evident that the size was not appropriate for my needs.

Through the years God brings this story to mind again and again. He has used this silly incident in my life to teach me so much about myself, His Word, and my own heart.  How often does our own sin in our life cause a sinful reaction in others?   We then respond with yet another sinful thought or action.   I could not see that bra on my cart due to all the “stuff” filling the inside of my cart. Of course it was purely a crazy accident that the bra was there in the first place, but as we go on I will explain that sometimes that black bra can be from what we have placed in our lives and hearts.   We may have sin that we are so calloused to that we have no idea it is there, but everyone around us can see it.  My first sinful reaction to the first man was that of judgment.  Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?   How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”   The second man my heart became full of pride and vanity. Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”   It wasn’t until I completely emptied my grocery cart that I was able to see the error of my way and why I was getting the reaction from others that I was.  The same goes for our hearts.  As we give more and more of our thoughts, addictions, habits, cares, worries, struggles, idols, our everything to Jesus the more He reveals the truth of our own heart.   He will love, heal, and forgive any darkness of sin (the black bras) that we have if we just give it to him.  As that bra had been ensnared by the hook we are ensnared by our sin.  There is no greater freedom found other than surrendering it all to Jesus.  1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”