Monthly Archives: April 2010

What Jesus Christ is Not

When I don’t get enough sleep, I tend to be grouchy.  When I don’t get enough nutrition, I tend to be snappy.  And when I don’t get enough down time, I tend to be cranky.

But sometimes (and this may come as a shock to some of you…) I am just straight up moody.

For absolutely no. reason. at. all.

And it’s in those moments that I am most thankful for the following truth recorded by the author of Hebrews in his closing words of encouragement:

“Jesus Christ is the same

yesterday

and today

and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8 (New International Version)

For further context, go read the first chapter of Hebrews.  Be sure to pay close attention to verses 8-12.

In other words, Jesus Christ…

the only Son of God,

the Holy Lamb sacrificed for our sins,

the Word of God and God Himself,

the High Priest,

the Sovereign Lord,

the One seated at the right hand of God,

the eternal King of Kings and Lord of Lords  

…is not moody.

Quite the contrary, Jesus Christ is eternally secure and faithful.

A Day at the Ranch

This past Saturday, nine of us from the young singles class at church spent the afternoon at the Lazy 5 Ranch.  It was SO much fun!

The Lazy 5 Ranch is an animal park located in Mooresville, NC.  Between the petting area, caged animals, kangaroo exhibit, and 3.5 mile safari, they have over 750 animals!  You have the option to either ride through the safari on a horse-drawn wagon or (for a far superior experience) drive through in your own car and at your own pace as we did while feeding the animals along the way.

Before we had the opportunity to get our cameras ready (or even blink or breathe for that matter…), an over-zealous creature with antlers decided to steal one of our feed buckets after we had barely passed through the safari gate!  This left the four of us girls with only one feed bucket to share with the animals for the remainder of the safari, but we managed.

On the safari, we saw…

 Llamas.

 

 

 

Lots of llamas.

 

 

Deer.

 

 

Zebras.

 

The brochure technically says not to feed the zebras. 

However, when people decide to ignore the brochure and feed the zebras anyway, there is always the potential that at least one zebra will steal the bucket (they are strong!) and proceed to stand in the middle of the road, not caring in the least that a car (or two, or three, or four) would like to get past them.

 

 Water buffalo.

 “Oh, where’d we get them I don’t know, but everybody’s got a water buffaloooooo.”  (Silly Songs with Larry?  Veggie Tales?)

 

This particular water buffalo (who was literally dripping with water/mud/filth) was on a mission to stick his very large head through the window of the boys’ car behind us.  We may or may not have driven ahead to avoid the exact same occurrence and then stopped to watch their fate.  Since it wasn’t our car that was being muddied by an oversized water buffalo head, it was pretty hysterical!

 

A rhino.

 He literally didn’t move.  Ever.

 

 Giraffes.

 

 

Don’t let that first look of disinterest fool you…they were quite happy to humor our feeding-through-the-sunroof attempts.

 

And they enjoyed it!

 

 [more] Llamas. 

 They were pretty much everywhere – there were even a couple of babies! 

And they were all super friendly!

 

 Ostriches. 

With their deranged-looking eyes and disturbing desire to peck, we pretty much kept the windows rolled UP when they were passing by.

In the zoo area, we saw:

 Lemurs…with their precious babies!

 

 Camels.

 

Goats.  How cute is this little one??

 

 Or these little ones??

I WANT ONE!!  Maybe the HOA wouldn’t notice…

 

 Sheep.

 

 Beautiful birds. 

 Anyone have a clue what this is??

 

 And kangaroos!! Again with the adorable baby/joey!!

 

In case you didn’t notice, this doesn’t quite add up to 750…there were LOTS of other animals as well including longhorns, buffalo, peacocks, and prairie dogs (one of whom even managed to escape his exhibit and make a home for himself elsewhere), to name a few. 

If you’re ever in the Mooresville area and have some free time, I highly recommend a trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch!

On Dropping the Bible…or Not

Not too long ago I went to pick up my Bible and a commentary from my nightstand.  Because of the way I grabbed them, I couldn’t balance both.  One of them had to go, so guess which one I dropped?  

Yep.  I dropped the Bible.  God’s Word. 

As a kid, that would have cost me some serious points in Bible Drill tournaments…

But in the moment, it made me stop and think.

 

I struggle with time management.  Big time. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have a wacky obsession with planning.  I manage to keep track of planners, calendars, to do lists, post-its, and a pda; all serving their own important purposes, of course.  Yet the struggle with time management still lingers.

Lately, though, it seems what I would prefer to label as a struggle with time management is, in reality, much more of a struggle with priorities.  Sounds more daunting, doesn’t it?

When life gets busy, I tend to cut corners in (or altogether ignore) certain areas that I shouldn’t…both in the big things and the little things…even in spending intentional and focused time studying God’s Word. 

But rather than depending on the latest method of organization, in my attempt to reprioritize, I am again and again drawn to the same rather simple truth:

“But seek first the kingdom of God

and His righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33 (English Standard Version)

Context: This verse is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Specifically (and appropriately), this verse is right in the middle of Jesus instructing us not to worry.  Check out the surrounding text!

Easier said than done?!

While I am by no means prepared [or qualified] to offer a lesson in time management, I think I can safely say that seeking the Lord first through a consistent intake of Scripture is absolutely essential to keeping our priorities straight.  Especially when life is pulling us in a million other directions and we begin to feel unbalanced.    

In the words of Oswald Chambers,

“It must be God first, God second, and God third…”  

So the next time you’re presented with the choice, don’t follow my example.  Try dropping the commentary instead of the Bible.  Though it may not be losing points in a tournament, when God’s Word is dropped, there is still a serious cost.

A Bird’s Nest

A few weeks ago, I started hearing birds chirping as I was getting ready for work in the mornings.  The chirping was so loud that I thought there might be birds in the attic, but I only noticed it in the mornings, so I didn’t give it much further thought.

Several days after the chirping began, my roommate informed me that there was a nest in the wreath (which may or may not be a leftover Christmas wreath…) on the front door.

 

Much to the disapproval of the momma bird (who sat in the tree right outside the front door and fussed the entire time), I looked in the nest and found these…

 Two eggs!

After a few days of warily walking out my front door to check the mail for fear that the momma bird would either (a) fly into the house or (b) peck me to death for disturbing her carefully crafted nest, I looked again and there were six eggs.

I was starting to get concerned that the eggs hadn’t hatched yet, but tonight I found these…

 Baby birds! 

And they’re so ugly they’re almost cute.

It’s Official

I have braces.  Oh my!

After the first 48 hours, here are my initial reactions (in no particular order):

Brushing my teeth makes me want to cry (I mean…ouch!), but I do it anyway. 

When it comes to what I eat, I’m completely paranoid.

Who knew flossing could be so complicated???

Biting into food is not a good idea yet…hello, pain!

Chewing is challenging.

The use of utensils is apparently a skill to be relearned (and preferably soon).

Straws are fantastic.

Clear brackets rock (even if they are only on the top)!

Two years feels like a long time.

Thank goodness for milkshakes!

So from those of you who have experienced braces, any words of wisdom or advice?

Be Still and KNOW

 

 

I don’t know what’s going on in your world, but the last couple of weeks have been stressful and exhausting for me.  My heart is weary, my mind is overloaded, and my neck muscles are tight with tension.

So it is with a deep sense of humility that I approach this topic knowing that the message is directed straight at me. 

As I was praying late this afternoon, I was overcome with the realization that I have [yet again] been relying on my own resources to deal with my current stress.  And the following verse immediately came to mind:

“Be still and know that I am God. 

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10 (New International Version)

Relax.  Rest.  Be Still.

Know that God is God.

Worship.  Praise.  Exalt.

Have a few minutes to spare?  Go read the entire chapter surrounding this verse (Psalm 46).  If you’re feeling at all overwhelmed, I think you’ll be encouraged!

There are many aspects of God’s character that we can name with confidence:

            God is good…

            God is holy…

            God is love…

            God is just…

            God is faithful…

            God is sovereign…

…among others.  And these are all true.  But when you’re running on fumes, sometimes it’s enough to simply rest in the promise that GOD IS.

In response to Moses’ question regarding what he would tell the Israelites about who had sent him,

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14 (NIV) 

And that was enough.  “I AM WHO I AM.”  God is.   

Now I feel the need to consecrate my heart to the Lord, confess my wandering and unsettled spirit, and rest in the absolute knowledge that GOD IS.

Will you join me?

Fun Find: Felt Snap Pouch

When I was little, every once in a while my family would go visit my Great-MeMaw.  And without fail, at some point during our visit, my brothers and I would each get 100 pennies.  She would even count them out one by one.  My older brother would get one, then I would get one, then my younger brother would get one…and so on until we each had 100.

It was the highlight of the trip!

And to make it even more fun, we would always get a small container to hold the pennies.  I don’t remember what containers the boys would get, but Great-MeMaw would give me a coin purse or a small trinket box.  I always LOVED those purses and boxes.  I still have my all-time favorite: a glass heart.  It wasn’t big enough to hold all the pennies, but I didn’t care.

I guess I haven’t changed too much, because when I found these felt pouches on etsy, I was immediately drawn to them.

  

I purchased a couple as Christmas gifts for friends, but just couldn’t resist getting one for myself, too!

I mean, really…how cute are these characters?

The mushroom is mine!

And the back of each one has a fun star detail in the corner!

Well made, so precious, and great for a smile!