The Wrapping Is Thrown In The Trash

My sons and I went to a baby shower on Saturday.  I’m not sure why, but I had been thinking it wasn’t until next week so when I opened the invitation to check I went through a little bit of a mental scramble as to what to bring as a gift.  I quickly found a tutorial for a stuffed owl that I could make with fabrics I already had and went to work.  I also made a cute print for the baby’s wall.

I was alone in the house with my boys so there were plenty of interruptions, but I did get the gift finished.  You’ve had those kind of interruptions before right?  You know when they dump an entire bag of chips out on the shag rug.  Ok, that’s not exactly accurate.  What really happened was they shook the bag hard sending the chips flying in the air and then proceeded to dance around in the rain of chips and crunch them under their precious little feet.  

Several interruptions later I realized we were running late.  So I got the boys ready as quickly as possible and woke Chico up from his nap.  We rushed out the door on our way to Target to buy a frame for the print I had made, ran through Target, and got the boys back into their carseats.  

By this time we were really, really late.  So I started to try to wrap the gift but it was windy and the paper was flying.  It was a mess.  

I got into the car and considered just driving home.  I looked over at my ridiculously semi-wrapped gift and couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.  I tore off the wrapping paper and tied a ribbon around the bare shipping box.

I decided it was more important to be there than to have a perfectly wrapped gift.  I decided the paper and ribbon would be thrown out anyway, because what was inside the box was what held value.

This is all very similar to what’s been going on for me internally.  I’m wanting to leave the wrapping paper aside.  I want to give from what’s inside me.  I want to speak the truth of God without having to wrap it up all pretty and soft to make it more appealing to everyone.  I want to get past the superficial.  I want to open my eyes and help others to open theirs to see.  

I want to show up.  I want it to be me.  I want Him to use me.  Not a prettier, quieter, different version of who I am, but who I really am.  I may not be poetic.  I may be a little socially awkward.  I may say things that sound harsh.  But I prefer to speak the truth the way it is, with my own voice, than to water it down.  

I want to shout it at the top of my lungs.  Church wake up!  Open your eyes!  Be wise!  

So for the moment I will speak or write what He speaks to me.  The truth His Word has given us.  And I will be faithful in that.  I’ll keep at it.  I’ll write.  I’ll speak.  And I won’t be quieted.

Join me?

Get the word out. Teach all these things.  And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.  Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching.  And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed-keep that dusted off and in use.

Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes!  Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don't be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.

1 Timothy 4:11-16

Multitudes On Mondays

73.  birds in flight
74.  tiny hands that help
75.  lego dinosaurs who’s tails break
76.  “boy” flowers
77.  cousins
78.  childhood imagination
79.  legos
80.  work for my husband
81.  fuzzy slippers
82.  a full car on it’s way to church
83.  celebrating new life on it’s way
84.  friends who care

Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. 

Thank him. Worship him.

Psalm 100:4

Scripture Sunday

Dirty Boys

My boys get dirty.  I’m not talking about cute little dirt smudges on the knees of their pants.  I mean DIRTY!  As in covered from head to toe.  As in they grab handfuls of actual dirt and pour it on their own heads.  They get dirty.

So we wash faces, hands, and little bodies around here.  We teach the boys to bathe and brush their teeth.  And we don’t let them outside right before we go anywhere.  

But while those are essential parts of parenting, they mean nothing if don’t teach them about inner cleanliness.  

So we teach them about sin and obedience.  We teach them about honesty and integrity.  We teach them about good and evil.  We teach them about asking for, receiving, and giving forgiveness.  And above all we teach them about Jesus’s sacrifice and the salvation he offers.

Because it makes no sense to clean the outside of the cup and leave the inside dirty.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Matthew 23:24

The "Boy" Flower

Grande gave me a flower.  It’s blue.  It’s plastic.  It’s made out of some sort of construction toys.  It’s 100% BOY.  He made it for me.  He asked if I would keep it.  He wanted me to put it in my hair.  It was a gift.  Days later he still asks where I have my flower.  I love it.

There’s something about boys.  They use what they have.  Give them some dirt, they’ll make roads.  Give them a stick, they’ll make a gun that converts into a sword, and then converts into a horse, and then converts into a baseball bat.  

It reminds me of a little boy with five small loaves of bread and two small fish.  He used what he had.  He offered what he had.  And the Lord used it to feed a multitude.  

I find it interesting that the loaves and fish were called “small”.  Almost reducing the already diminished ability they apparently held to feed the crowd.  I wonder what “small” things we have lying around waiting for God to use them in GREAT ways.  

What are our loaves and fishes?  Are we ready to offer them to the Lord?

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

John 6:9

God said it clearly to Moses when he asked him what was in his hand.  He had a staff and if you don’t remember all the amazing things God did through that staff you may want to read through Exodus again.  

Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.

The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.  Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

Exodus 4:2-4

So now the question is posed to you.  

“What is that in your hand?”