“Your Little Lights Aren’t Twinkling…”

If you know me at all, you know that 50% of what I say is movie quotes that have been woven into my normal conversations. My husband does the very same thing, which makes us almost have a language of our own at times (unless you’ve seen the movies enough times to recognize the quotes).

There are six movies in my top five movies of all time (I know…) and most of the quotes come from those. Especially Christmas Vacation. In fact, quotes from Christmas Vacation are so over-used in our family that it’s really kind of ridiculous…embarrassing even! I love that movie! This year alone I’ve already watched it 5 times and it’s not even the middle of December yet.

One of my favorite parts is when Clark can’t get the exterior illumination to light…all 25,000 bulbs. Clark’s father-in-law points out the obvious, “Your little lights aren’t twinkling…” and Clark answers, “I know, Art, and thanks for noticing.”

I love exterior illumination!! At our house we are much more subtle with the outside lighting, but I’m 100% in favor of other people being completely out of control with it!
I love to notice people’s decorations when I’m driving, especially at night.
It always makes me feel happy…
It even makes me feel connected…

In fact, it makes me feel like I can identify all the other Christians in the world that way.
I want to believe that every single bit of exterior illumination marks the houses of those who believe that Jesus is Lord and that this is the season that we proclaim His power and then we set about living it out loud for the whole rest of the year.

I want to believe this: “Oooo! Pretty lights! They’re celebrating the birth of Jesus.” “Oh, look! They are believers, too!”

Yes, I know that there are a high percentage of non-Christians who are celebrating the secular side of Christmas and that they do in fact have exterior holiday lighting.
Yes, I know that I sometimes live in “Alyssa Land”: a world where all is good, everyone knows Jesus, and everyone loves Christmas as much as Buddy the Elf – but for all the right reasons. Deep down somewhere in me, I know that isn’t real life. But I love to pretend.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if that were true?
Wouldn’t it be amazing if all the lights shouted to the world that the people in those houses loved Jesus…and if you needed help or encouragement or a miracle that those were the doors upon which you should knock?
Wouldn’t it be amazing if the people in every one of those houses went on to live as Christians every single day till it was time to put those lights up again?
Can you imagine?

As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always." -T. S. Monson

Can you imagine if we all really lived out this quote every single one of the 364 remaining days of the year? Every year?

What if we left those lights on all the time, year round, to mark our houses so that other believers could find community and non-believers could seek solace and compassion there?

I know everyone will take them down. I guess we will, too, so as not to be the basis for that line in Redneck Woman. But you can bet that I’m going to make an effort to live a life where my lights are twinkling “the whole year through”…where my lights twinkle as much for the Cousin Eddies & Ruby Sues of the world as they do for my family…where I extend grace equally when trees go up in flames, dogs and squirrels destroy the house, or crazy cousins park worn down RVs in my driveway (maybe not as much for emptying the tank into the storm sewer…) as I do when all is well with the world.

It’ll be hard, but I’ll try.

How about you? Will your little lights be twinkling?

Question: How will you live Christmas “the whole year through”?

This Old House

A few days ago I had to run an errand that caused me to drive past the house we moved out of almost 3 years ago.

It looked nice…well cared for… But it was mine for seven years and yet it didn’t look like me at all. I’m glad I didn’t see the inside. I’m sure it’s clean. I’m sure they’re taking good care of it. But I’m sure it would be even less recognizable to me than the outside is.

We built that house. We poured our hearts and souls into it, we nurtured every bit of it, and we painstakingly chose every interior and exterior detail from finishing the basement to adding molding in every last spot, from the landscaping to the back porch we added on.

It’s strange to drive by a house you once lived in…like you know it like the back of your hand and find it completely unrecognizable all at the same time. It creates this strange disconnected connection that I can barely explain.

I drove away feeling grateful for that house…it was perfect for us at the time…but grateful to not live there now since it doesn’t seem to fit me anymore. I felt even more grateful, though, for our current house…it is perfect for us right here, right now…and I think it looks like me & it certainly feels like me.

It made me think about our lives as we grow in relationship with Jesus. As we move from “unbeliever” to “believer” we change in some big ways. Our old selves are as unrecognizable as the house I describe. We can look back on our time before having a personal relationship with Jesus and not even relate to that person we were before. It’s still the same “house”, but what inhabits it – or WHO inhabits it - has changed significantly!

Because of Jesus we are changed.
Because of Him we are made new.
And when we pursue Him daily, we continually grow and evolve into the people that He created us to be.

And just like I felt about our old house, we can be grateful for who we were, where we were at the time, but even more grateful for what we’ve become in Christ, having grown to fit His image of us.

May Christ forever dwell within you!

Question: How have you changed as you’ve grown in relationship with Christ? Do you even recognize your previous self?

To 6th Grade Boys Everywhere…

Dear 6th Grade Boys,

We, your mothers, want to remind you of a few very important life lessons. These are lessons that you just have to accept, so don’t argue with us (you won’t win anyway). This is just how it is, and the sooner you learn and accept the following, the easier your lives will be.

1.) Deodorant DOES NOT help stink that you already have! It’s as simple as right & wrong, up & down:
Soap is for stink you already have.
Deod is for stink you don’t want to get.
We simply can’t explain this anymore! So, every time you take a shower and rid yourself of your previous stink, you MUST reapply new deod as a stink-preventing measure! End of story!

2.) Wrinkly shirts make you look like you don’t care. And maybe you don’t. But like it or not, you’re now at the age when it will serve you well to at least act like you do!

3.) You have to wash your face! We don’t care if you don’t want to or you don’t like it. When you don’t, you get pimples. Yes, we mothers do love you enough to pop them…for 12 years now we’ve run the gamut of blood, puke, snot, & urine. Trust us, a little pimple poppin’ ain’t gonna scare us away! So you have a choice to make: us chasin’ you down with toner-laden cotton balls or you can take care of it yourselves.

4.) We’re not expecting you to be like some of those adorable, charming, melt-a-mother’s heart 12-year olds that we see on TV sometimes, but we do expect you to master and use 3 or 4 social phrases such as “nice to meet you”, “great to see you again”, “I _______ (play baseball, play the trumpet, am interested in U.S. History…) – thanks for asking.”, and “I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”

5.) Think something and know why you think it. Even if you don’t agree with your brilliant mothers on everything, take a stand and be able to defend it! We want you to be leaders, not followers.

6.) We’ve taught you manners. Could you at least use them sometimes so we know you “got it”? Whether you’re the President or simply invited to the White House someday (as we know you will be – you’re just that fabulous!), you’ll need to know which fork is for salad, which spoon is for dessert, and to chew with your mouths closed!

7.) We know you love bathroom words…words that describe bodily functions…words that gross a mother out. We know it, even though we don’t like or understand it. But there IS a time and place, for the love of Pete…and the dining room table at Grandma’s is not it!

8.) You are now at the age when you must take personal responsibility for your own faith, your relationship with Jesus Christ. We’ve tried our best. We’ve taught you right. We’ve told you how it is. We’ve taken you to church. We hope you understand now that your actions and beliefs have consequences…eternal ones. Now it’s time for you to take the reigns. We want you to long outlive us, have decades of happy and productive lives. But if you die tomorrow, you’ll have to stand at the feet of Jesus and answer for yourselves. Be clear about what you believe…and if you’re not, talk to someone who knows biblical truth. We say this not to be harsh, but because we love you more than life itself. We know this is some heavy stuff, but our first and most important job is to love you. Our second is to tell it to you straight. We want you to spend your eternity in Heaven with Jesus…nothing matters more.

No matter how tall you grow, how much armpit hair you get, and how deep your voices become, you’ll always be our babies. Nothing you could ever do would change how much we love you…unconditionally…and for all time.
Love,
Your Mothers

40 and ????

Well, I’m almost a week in. The big 4-0 came and went last Sunday and the world did not stop turning. It’s not like I’m depressed or stressed or on the verge of a mid-life crises (though I can’t be sure…).

These questions loom for me:
40 and fabulous…or frumpy?
40 and fearless…or frightened?
40 and have it all figured out…or full of it (!) ?

Maybe I’ll never know. And maybe I’m a little of each of those, depending on the moment, depending on the day.
I really hope that at age 40 I am not at the half-way point, but that is not for me to know, and I think this is the underlying reality check that causes people to stop in their tracks at these milestone birthdays and contemplate:
What did I do in the first 40 years that really matters, and what had I better get moving on starting today, right now?

In some ways I think I’ve done OK.
Yet in some ways I think I have not begun to scratch the surface of becoming who God intends for me to be.
And I wonder…is that my fault, did I stunt my own progress? Or did God not only plot my path, but also my days in which to land at each marker?

I realize the introspective nature of these questions, even the heaviness at times, but if we don’t ask, evaluate, and analyze how will we have any sense of the continuum on which we travel?

In the first 40 years I know that I have done some important things.
I also did some stupid stuff.
And I literally thank God that it’s not too late to have some great big plans for the next 40 years…to make sure that the answers ARE fabulous, fearless, and figured out, to teach some more kids to read, bring some people to Jesus, change some lives, give away thousands (let’s get crazy and say millions here, God!), raise faithful boys who live out their passions and dreams, grow old with my soul mate, embrace my friends, inspire others, shake the system & rock the boat, leave a legacy, …and change the world.

Age has no relevance for God.
Look at Abraham and Sarah and Noah.
(Side bar: Hey God, by the way, it is A-OK if we skip the childbearing at 90 business! I can NOT imagine the stretch marks from that! Whew!)
Amazing things were done to further the Kingdom of God, things that we still very much feel the ripple effect of today, by them and many more.

I just want to make sure that in the next 40 years (and beyond), everyone I come in contact with is better for having known me, and that I am the hands and feet of Jesus in my community, the face of Jesus in the crowd every single chance I get.

Gotta go! The clock is ticking, and I have to do nothing short of changing the world for the Kingdom of God!

Question: What will YOU do in the next 40 years to change the world for the Kingdom of God?

Shock & Awe

I love to shock people.

Not in the “I just went and had my body completely pierced and sleeved” kind of way…
More in the “you think you have me totally figured out and you so do not, mister” kind of way.

I’ve been told I am a little high maintenance. A little complicated. A tough nut to crack.
Fine by me.
How boring would life be if we were each a Myers-Briggs ESFP? I enjoy being a complex INTJ. It is, after all, who God made me to be…for a reason. And if you know anything about Myers-Briggs and those 16 personality types, you know that my personality isn’t one known for enjoying shock value.

I am absolutely too straight-laced. Therefore, people don’t think I’m funny, so I love to surprise with an off-the-cuff funny remark.

I am extremely opinionated. I keep those opinions to myself a lot of the time so as not to cause too much eyebrow raising, but sometimes I love to listen long and hard, saying nothing, as though I might not care…or know…only to interject my opinion at the perfect moment backed by cold, hard fact.

I love to be an original and despise being copied. Just when someone thinks they have me figured out, I love to do something completely to the contrary just to keep them guessing. (For this I probably do need counseling, referrals welcome…)

But here’s my favorite: I love to shock people with the truth of Jesus, with the love of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus, and when they least expect it.

I love to shock people by doing things that are so far outside the lines of the secular world in which we live that the non-believer, or even the believer, on the receiving end is so stunned they don’t know how to respond.

Just today I had to call a company about a problem and speak to the customer service rep. I was really concerned about a breech of confidential information and the woman took care of it quickly and put my mind at ease. As we hung up I said, “You have no idea how you have helped me today. I hope God blesses you in return for how you have blessed me.”
Ya cudda heard a pin drop….
“Um, wow…thank you so much, ma’am!” was her response. Clearly she doesn’t get much of that blessing stuff at her job.
Jesus meets customer service…

A few days ago I had to call a credit card company that was trying to send me a card & all I had to do was activate it, except that I didn’t want it. I realized that they had us listed as a pending application, which “Mr. Chad McCool Envelope System” did not want on his credit. Good little Discover Card worker that she was just really wanted me to go ahead and open that account in case I ever needed it…even though I was telling her I didn’t need or want it.
I had no choice but to pull out the shock and awe!
Oh, to have seen her reaction would have been priceless when I said, “Well, we are trying hard to live by the rules of Kingdom Finance and part of that for us is following the methods of Dave Ramsey. We’re working hard to pay off all of our credit card debt and cut up our cards (!), and any other debt, so we can even start to work on the overwhelming task of paying off our mortgage in short order. It’s really going to take a lot of hard work and discipline to do all of that and continue to give like we want to. I know that your job is to extend credit, but I just really feel God laying it on my heart to be strict in this.” She laughed at me. (Hey, it ain’t the first time…and it won’t be the last!) Then she told me that she’s watched Dave Ramsey on TV a couple of times. I thanked her for helping me make sure that card didn’t become active and told her that God would bless her for helping me stay on track. I could feel the shock and awe reverberating through the phone line!
Jesus meets 1-800-discover.


Recently I made a call to a utility company. I explained that I bypassed all of the automated choices because none applied. I had to talk to a real person. I explained that I was calling so that I could pay both the current bill and the overdue bill of a family whom I knew could not pay their own. At first the man on the other end could not even understand what I was trying to do. He kept asking me who I was with, what company I was from. I kept responding with varying versions of “I’m not with any company. I’m one of a really small group of people who likes to go around paying other people’s bills.”
When he still seemed to have a bad case of shock and awe, I finally said, “I’m with Jesus.”
He very slowly answered, “We don’t get a lot of that.”
Jesus meets the utility company guy.

I hope that day that I was the vehicle for God to move for that family. I also hope I was a witness to Jesus being alive and active in this world to the guy on the other end of the phone. Very powerful stuff if I was able to do both.

Now these are some of those stories that I’ve mentioned I hesitate to share, but my dear friend Julie has convinced me that sharing it is where the real leadership is.

But here’s what you absolutely must know:
This is not about me! This is about God. Focus on God. Shock and Awe for God, by God, because of God. And it has nothing to do with me other than the fact that I am daily trying to be His hands and feet out there in my very own community, directly impacting one life at a time.

Jesus will show up anywhere that you take Him.
Oh, I know He can get there on His own, but He’s waiting to see how we’ll pack him up and carry Him with us everywhere we go.
For years I’ve been praying the prayer of Jabez. My territory IS being enlarged. But the world is full of noise and distraction and sometimes it takes more than a whisper to get people’s attention.
Sometimes it takes full-scale warfare.

Sometimes it takes shock and awe to shake the system, to sufficiently rock the boat…
…but WOW, the stories…the power of God in it…the legacy…the eternal significance…

WOW!

Question: Where have you taken Jesus today? How have you shocked and awed in His name?

Vera

I had to go to the Wal-Mart Vision Center today. I was already not thrilled to be going there because a.) I had a mile-long list of other stuff I needed to do today, and b.) I’d already been there twice and couldn’t get someone to understand what I needed/wanted (or I couldn’t articulate it so that they could).

Already not excited to be going there, my less than stellar attitude collided with complete impatience when my friend and partner in rescuing the poor and down-trodden called to say we should meet for lunch. “I can’t…I’m at the Wal-Mart Vision Center”, I explained. Her response was “that’s a pretty darn good thing, cause I’m on my way to Wal-Mart to buy shampoo right now!”

She’s a spontaneous sort of gal…I have a lot to learn about that…so out the window went the to-do list for today, but based on a sermon a few weeks ago, I thought that God would be proud if I could be a little less rigid in the name of authentic relationships.

Little did either of us know what He had planned for us today…

With no one really understanding my needs yet in the vision center I was forced to wait for no reason, but just listen to what God did during that wait time:
**My friend paid for her stuff and came and sat with me.

**We watched a lady, who maybe wasn’t the most fashion-forward, try on some super-cool and ultra-funky glasses…her whole face lit up. Her confidence grew. She knew her cool factor rose about 50 million points in that moment. We both told her she HAD to get them. Then we eavesdropped while the worker told her the price and we prayed (yes, I do mean literally) that she’d be able to buy them. I was prepared to step in if need be. Every person deserves to feel good about herself.

**Everyone in the whole joint looked grumpy…now I wasn’t too thrilled about being there myself at first, but once you’re there you have a choice to make: suck it up and make the best of it, or wallow in it. I choose the first one…AND I’m pretty much going to make you go to that happy place with me…Your light (or darkness) can absolutely change an entire room. (Google “Fish” by Lundin, Paul, & Christensen if you need a little help with that!!) So….friend and I started talking to the people around us, talking a little louder, talking with a little more animation, talking with a little more laughter. And the whole room changed. (This little light of mine…I’m gonna let it shine…)

**As they called me back I thought, “that wait wasn’t so long”…(because I changed!)

**The doctor, a different one than last time, not only listened, but solved my issue quickly (LOVE that!). Upon leaving, smiling broadly, I said, “Thanks so much for really listening to me! I truly felt heard…and that was the kind of customer service I was looking for.” …Compliments are meant to be spoken…

AND here’s the real kicker:

**My friend struck up a conversation with the “Have A Nice Day” lady on the way out (I don’t think you can call her a greeter when she’s at the exit saying goodbye…). Her name is Vera. We've never met this woman, mind you. She was a sweet, darling, little old thing…maybe in her late 70’s. As we spoke with her, really listening…so she would feel heard…we learned that she loved her job at Wal-Mart. She never wanted to quit, but she might have to quit because she can no longer see to drive. She told us that she loved working, and she had just put her dog of fourteen years down and she cried every day about it (talk about speaking straight to my very own heart!). She told us that if she couldn’t come there to work she’d be so lonely and would probably “sit down and die”.

WOW!

You can argue with me six ways from Sunday on whether or not God hangs out at Wal-Mart, but you can never convince me that the two of us were not supposed to talk to this woman.

In the course of our short conversation with her, we’d arranged transportation to and from work starting next week if it turned out that she really did need it. We’d proved someone cares. We’d validated her work ethic. We’d shown her friendship. We’d let her know that age is just a number and that no one has to “sit down and die” if he or she still has the desire to make a difference & spread a little joy! And we’d witnessed about Jesus in Wal-Mart.

Jesus. In Wal-Mart.

WOW!

And we left with tears in our eye, knowing that He orchestrated the whole darn thing for the good of those that love Him, for the opportunity to be presented, to see what we’d do in response, to make available to Vera His hands and feet.

I have many stories like this. I’ve hesitated to share many, believing that my works should be anonymous. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe if we all talked a little more, supported each other a little more in these kinds of efforts, challenged each other a little more, the world would be a different place.

Keep your eyes and ears open…the Veras are everywhere and God is just waiting to see what we'll do!

Question: What can you do today to witness, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to an unlikely person in an unlikely place?

Our Reward Is Not On Earth

It’s almost freaky how over the last several months I’ve had this recurring conversation with people. Each exchange has been due to its own special set of circumstances, and each has involved different people, but the overall theme remains the same.

The over-riding question that has prevailed is this:
Why do things always work out for people who stink? Cheat? Lie? Steal (company time & resources)? Do the wrong thing? Take the shortcuts? Take advantage? Are lazy? Why…yet it always seems to work out so well for them…why?

Why? WHY??? And why then especially when there are those of us out there bustin’ our hineys every day, doing the right thing, working our fingers to the bone, telling the truth, playing by the rules, paying our taxes, helping others, trying to make a real difference, giving to church, going to church, living right and yet we can’t seem to catch a break?

WHY?

The flippant, easy answer is this: Life ain’t fair, sister! So suck it up and deal with it.

But I think we do ourselves, our friends and colleagues, and especially our children, a real disservice when we reduce it to that.

I think the answer lies much deeper than that…I’m willing to bet my every worldly possession that it is because our reward is not on earth. It’s not like I’ve known this or been as sure as I am today about this for my whole life. In fact, it has taken lots of reading of scripture and praying and thinking over the last 39.999999 years to fully grow into it, but I am really, really sure now.

There are plenty of instances in which to contemplate the concept:
(And I don’t mean for these examples to sound judgmental…I’m just sure we’ve all witnessed at least one of these where it wasn’t based on judgment, but on cold, hard fact that this is what was happening.)
Why does the person at work seem to get rewarded over and over even though she doesn’t play by the rules?
Why am I working so hard with such little gain, while I watch her get ahead by cheating and lying?
Why did I do the work, but she got the credit?
Why is she favored when she so blatantly lacks integrity by cheating the company?
…and of course there are the obvious ones…
Why did he die young when he was such a good person?
Why does one neighbor’s family struggle financially when they always do the right thing, but another neighbor’s family has everything they need and more, yet they are so nasty to others?
Why does she, of all people, have to suffer with cancer?

From being passed up for things I worked hard for in school all the way to a very specific instance with a co-worker a couple of weeks ago, this question has come up in my life over and over again. So maybe I write this now as much to remind myself as anyone else…

The only answer I’ve got is that our reward is not on earth. Our reward will be in Heaven. And while the here and now sometimes FEELS like an eternity, it is merely a blip on the screen. But what we do now, during that “blip”, determines where we get to live…with whom we get to live…for what really will be eternity.


I wish I had more…but these are my insights and totally my personal takes on it:
**The phrase “we reap what we sow” has eternal implications!
**Satan likes people who don’t live right, who don’t play by the “rules”, so he makes sure that he sets them up well to live the following lie: there are no negative consequences for your actions. (This helps lure more people to him.)
**God doesn’t actually promise that life will be sweet and rosy because we believe in Him. He promises that with a new life in Christ we will have eternal life and will never be without Him. He promises that eternal life with Him will be paradise and it is worth waiting for.
**God is hoping to see that we’ll hang in there, that we’ll stick with Him, that we’ll believe His promises, no matter what. He wants to see if we are easily dissuaded or if our words (claiming we follow Him) and our actions (actually following Him) match. He wants to see how easily we give up and throw in the towel.
**God is testing our integrity and our worldliness…testing us to see if we’ll “sell out” to instant gratification at some point.
**Adversity can, if we choose to let it, cause us to become better, stronger people. God also hopes we’ll use what we learn from our experiences to help others, especially our children who are looking to us to see why they should remain on the straight and narrow.
**God will reward us greatly in eternity when time after time he sees us choosing the right actions and the right attitudes when we know there is no earthly gain.
**He is keeping a record, a “report card” of sorts, and He will have a student-teacher conference with us about it someday. On that day all justice will be served for the many things we did right…and the many times we fell short of His glory.
**Every single thing…yes, every last little thing, no matter how small it may seem…that you do in His name is adding to YOUR cache of treasure in Heaven.
**God sees all of the works that you do, the true intent behind each one, and the depth of the core of your belief in Him and love for Him.

Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in
heaven.”
Matthew 16:27 “He will reward each according to his works.”
Matthew 19:21 “You will have treasure in heaven.”
Luke 14:14 “You will be blessed…for you shall be repaid at the resurrection.”

I can often be found saying the following two statements aloud to myself (apparently I need a lot of reminders):
1. The high road is a lonely road, but it is the one I choose to take.
2. My reward is not on earth.

That’s all I’ve got…no other answers…but I’m really sure that I’m right. And I’m really sure that it’ll be worth it.

If you only read one more book in your lifetime, read A Life God Rewards by Bruce Wilkinson. One of the most poignant things he says (and there are many) is this, “Our eternal destination is the consequence of what we believe on earth. Our eternal compensation is the consequence of how we behave on earth.”

Personally, I’d rather “suck it up and deal with it” even though “life ain’t fair”, trusting in God’s every move, choosing the lonely high road over and over again, believing in a wonderful loving Savior, so that I can secure my rightful place at the Feet of the Throne.

Of course when I get there, one of my very first questions to Jesus will be, “Remember X at work (can’t type the names or the situation here…)? What the heck was up with that? Cause, man, did I get the short end of the stick on that one!!”
I sincerely hope He’ll explain and follow up with, “Hey, girl…how you handled that…well done, my good and faithful servant! I knew your heart then and I remember it now, and it contributed to your storehouse of treasure.”

My prayer for all of us:
Dear God, help us stay on the straight and narrow even when it seems like the tougher path. Help us hold fast to Biblical truths, and help us find strength in Christian friends who will encourage us to keep running toward you even when that’s not the easiest or most convenient thing. Give us the stamina we need to cling to you instead of being wooed by the instant gratification of this world. Help us to be patient now so that we may spend a beautiful eternity with you in Heaven. And most importantly, give us the insight and the honesty to use our life experiences to teach our children to do the same. Amen.

Question: Do you believe your reward is in Heaven…I mean really believe?

Are We There Yet?

"Are we there yet?", "Are we there yet?"

It surprised me that the question kept coming despite the fact that my twins are 11 and knew full well that while driving through Alabama on our way home from Florida, we were still states, and hours, away. We had been vacationing in the Florida pan handle, and had gotten to experience that wonderful, white, sugary sand, and sunsets even more beautiful than I remember seeing in Maui.

Living in Indiana, I'm reminded often of how life-giving the crops are that farmers grow here, how we produce materials such as limestone and coal. But living in the non-coastal, flat Midwest, I forget the power of the tide, the roar of the waves, the pull of the undercurrent, how spooky-yet-soothing it sounds at night. Every last bit of it is so gorgeous, so awe-inspiring and it all reminds me of the sheer force of nature.

Some call it Mother Nature.
I call it God, revealing himself through nature.
It’s a tangible way that God makes himself visible and available to us.
It’s a tangible way that He gives us some of His beauty, His creativity, His love for us, His force, His tenacity, His brilliance, if even just a glimpse.

While making the drive home to Indiana, we experienced some severe weather: wind, rain, lightning, hail. We listened anxiously to the radio as we approached the area just south of Nashville and the announcer told of tornadoes having touched down around Murfreesboro, TN. Those tornadoes were the cause of at least three deaths and multiple injuries ranging from minor to severe.

But when we drove through Murfreesboro, just about 2 hours after those tornadoes hit, everything was calm, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining.

It seemed so sad to me that people had just died a little while earlier due to the dramatic power of nature, their families maybe just all being notified by now and certainly still feeling that initial shock and pain, but nature had "moved on" to something so calm and beautiful having left them in its wake.

As Chad drove, I looked at every detail, noticing the signs of the dichotomy we were witnessing. I asked him out loud, "Don't you think it seems ironic, strange, that people just died, died, as a tornado literally tore through here just a little while ago, tore dreams and lives apart, but what we see now is just all of this gorgeous new spring life?" I was pointing to all of the blooms and blossoms.

Chad answered in the poignant way he always does, "I guess it's because life and death are so closely related."

You are so very right, my dear...so very right.

The power of God, displayed in those examples we were seeing in the force of nature, is just a mere drop in the bucket of what God can do. And it struck me as we heard about the lives that ended, that we also saw new life: fresh spring-green grass, new green leaves, calm spa-blue sky with wispy white clouds, gorgeous purple buds on trees ~ all of this beautiful new spring life that we are barely beginning to see farther north in Indiana.

For those of us who believe in Christ Jesus, death is not the end.

Luke 24:The Resurrection
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.


Life and death are so closely related. From death springs forth new and abundant life.
We can experience, while being alive in flesh and soul, the death of our old lives, old habits, old ways, old sins, and be born into a new, fresh, free way of existing in close relationship with Jesus here on earth.
And at some point we will die a physical death through old age, disease, an accident… yet our souls will await new bodies, perfected, made whole again, and we will have the joy of living forever on an earth made new with our Lord when He comes again.

1 Corinthians 15:51: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

Luke 20:36: And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.

Revelation 21:4: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Romans 6:2-11: We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 John 5:13: I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 4: 13-18: It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.


This is what God offers us in His amazing power displayed in the birth, death, resurrection, and ascent of Christ.

Because of Christ's resurrection, our death...yours and mine...is so very closely related to life.

Because of Christ's resurrection, our own personal winter will turn to eternal spring paradise.

Because of Christ's resurrection, our ultimate destination is to dwell with our Lord. It's just that we'll need to wait a little longer till we get the answer to the question, "Are we there yet?"

Just rest in the assurance that one day we will be.
And for all of eternity.

Got Joy?

Got joy?

I do!

…Way down deep!

It overpowers everything, every other emotion that I have.

And because of it I have to use a lot of wrinkle crème! I have the potential for lots and lots of laugh lines and crows feet...because I smile constantly!

Do you remember this old Bible School song:
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Where?
Down in my heart to stay.

That’s why I smile all of the time!

Joy is my over-riding emotion… In fact, it overflows and I like it that way. It’s a good place to dwell, and I can’t keep from smiling! Sometimes my face actually hurts from smiling so much! My joy wells up, bubbles over, oozes out.

And I’ve been this way for quite a while, though I just really realized it not too long ago.

I’ve realized that I have joy when I am happy, joy when I am glad, joy when I am excited.

You may be saying, “Big whoop, lady! I don’t get the big deal, aren’t you supposed to be joyful when you are happy?”

Well, you’d be surprised!

I’ve known a lot of people who were happy about a particular circumstance, but deep down they were depressed, or angry, or disillusioned, or had a chip on their shoulder. I’ve known a lot of people who were all kinds of positive emotions, but those emotions were tied to a particular person or event in their life, and when things weren’t going well with the person, or when the event or circumstance came to an end, the bitterness welled up and overflowed.

See, I am also filled with joy, joyfulness, joy overflowing when I am upset, irritated, exhausted, sad, mourning, confused, and just down-right ticked-off.

And because of JOY, even when I feel those negative things, they don’t last long and they don’t run nearly as deep as they would otherwise ~ I’m just sure of it!

From where does my joy come? My joy comes from the Lord. (My take on Psalm 121:1…it actually says “help”, but I really like how it reads with the word joy subbed in!)

I guess I really realized all of this a few months ago after something kind of big didn’t go my way and I was pretty down about it, yet at the same time I felt an overwhelming sense of joy. In that moment it dawned on me: that is what the old Bible School song is about. It’s one of those simple little childhood melodies that we sing without thinking about the true and deeper meaning.

But HOW, you may be wondering, just exactly does one acquire this joy of which I speak?

Three ways, I believe:
1.) Continually praising, even through the crud.
This very well may involve asking God for help, and I am quite sure that it will certainly involve practice. You to have practice becoming your own best spin-doctor. When things are cruddy, convince yourself of any aspect of good, because it is there if you look hard enough. Someone in a seminar once taught me to “change the story”, meaning instead of cussing that horrid driver that just cut you off, you say “oh, that poor man, I hope he gets to the hospital in time…as fast as he is driving, his wife is obviously in labor!”
Well, the more you “change the story”, the more you start to automatically think like that, and the more you practice praising God, the more that will be your natural reaction, your natural way of thinking and praying, thus your natural state of being will become positive and joyful. Try it. For the next 30 days. I triple-dog dare ya! What’s that worst thing that could happen? It may just change your life!
Romans 5: 1-3
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance."

2.) Being obedient.
God tells us to be joyful in Him, to delight in Him, to bask in the goodness and glory and hope of Him.
If we are really believing, really studying His word, seeking His truth, and living by faith, our joy can not help but grow. Nothing can compare to the home that awaits us in Heaven!
God commands us:
Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
So if we are following His commands, we are at least making our very best attempt to do just that; delight ourselves in Him.

3.) Accepting His gift.
Jesus was born so that we may know this joy. That’s the only way we can get it, but all of us can have it. All of us. There is plenty to go around. Regardless of past mistakes, previous blunders, mishaps big or small. Regardless of age, race, background, which side of the tracks you grew up on… None of that “stuff” matters. You are forgiven.
All you have to do is take the gift, accept the gift, open your heart to the gift that God has given you in the miracle of this baby, yet king, sent to save the world and to fill it with joy!

From a great old Christmas hymn:
Good Christian men rejoice
With heart and soul and voice
Now ye hear of endless bliss
Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this
He has opened heaven's door
And man is blessed forevermore
Christ was born for this
Christ was born for this…

Christ was born to save
Christ was born to save

My Christmas wish for you: May you know the true JOY of a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus, down in your heart to stay!

Question: Have you "Got Joy"? If not, what will you do to work on getting it?

A Tale of 2 Women

You might be familiar with a couple of hip biblical chicks, Mary and Martha. I probably would've been friends with them had I been alive then, though I would like to pause right here and now to thank God for having the good sense to know that the particular era of no hot shower, Ann Taylor Loft, or Kenra 25 (for keeping the angled bob perfectly angled) would not have been an ideal time for me! (I love how He so knows what He is doing!!!)

In case you are not familiar or have forgotten, allow me to refresh (I am paraphrasing here):
Luke 10: 38-42
There were these 2 sisters who lived in Bethany, named Mary and Martha. Jesus was passing through and Martha opened her home to Him and to the disciples. As any good hostess would do, she was prepping the meal, getting out the good dishes, probably stashing those stacks of mail she hadn’t gotten to under the kitchen island… Anyway, she’s in the kitchen scurrying around like a chicken with its head cut off. Meanwhile, Mary was off in the other room listening to Jesus talk. Martha was getting a little hot under the collar as she was going crazy & sis is just sittin’ around, so she tattled on Mary to Jesus, hoping He would lay down the (carpenter’s) hammer. Jesus, being so true-to-form, lovingly redirects her, and reminds her that actually she is the one who needs to re-think the plan here. "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

That one thing is, of course, Him.

Now I am sure we'd be friends, those girls and me...they were strong women who were ahead of their time, and I like that. You know chicks didn't get a lot of "air time" back then, so that's cool. But also, I see so much of myself, have so much in common with them. Mary with the whole “thinker” thing going on (I love nothing more than sitting around thinking…I just rarely make time to do it!), and Martha, always doing…I bet she never sat down either! Surely we would've hit it off while scrubbing dust out of the clothes with a big rock down at the stream. (Oh God, thank you, thank you that I was not alive then!)

I have to believe that both women were spiritually gifted. Among other gifts, Martha obviously had the Spiritual Gift of Hospitality. I’m sure she had a lovely and warm home and always made people feel welcome.

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus in total humility, drinking in His every word. Surely she had the Spiritual Gift of Knowledge.

Allow, if you will, one of my favorite thoughts:
You know how most it is often portrayed that people have an angel sitting on one shoulder and a devil on the other...they whisper words of encouragement/discouragement, good/evil, right/wrong, at the person continually?

Well, I don't have that. (You may have read in an earlier blog post where I said that I have always been a goody-two shoes...maybe I grew up with The Angel of Guilt on one shoulder and my entire extended family on the other...staying on track isn't hard when you keep thinking "would my grandma be proud of me at this moment?")

I was somehow blessed...or cursed, depending on how you look at it...with MARY on one shoulder and MARTHA on the other! They sit upon my shoulders and scream (not whisper) words of get-things-done/take-time, run-run-run/slow-down, do-more/do-less, say-no-to-one-more-thing/you-haven’t-done-enough.

This is a theme that runs continually through my life, but is glaringly evident at this time of year when there is so much to do and such and ambiance to create. Yet all I really want to do is curl up under a blanket on the couch, no lights on but those on the tree, soft carols playing, fire in the fireplace, smells of my Yankee Christmas Eve Candle filling the house, reading a the story of the birth of the baby Jesus in the Bible and pouring over every Christmas letter and picture.

Ahhhhhhhhh….doesn’t that sound wonderful…like heaven on earth?

But here's how the real story goes:
Last week I was (hmmmm...word choice...) a stressed-out basket case trying to get my house all decorated for Christmas before a meeting I was hosting. Along with finishing the decorating, there were some gifts to get ready for the meeting, food to make, and because I’d be busy with that all evening, phone calls and emails I needed to take care of beforehand. Then the doctor’s office called and they did need to see my son after all, ASAP. How was I possibly going to get all of this done?

The list was endless and time was running out!

“The Shoulder Girls” as I like to call them, were perched a-top my collar bones, arguing with each other worse than Paris and Nicole when they had their famous 2-year feud!

My modern-day visual interpretation of the Shoulder Girls:
Mary: I picture her as a simple, sporty-though-refined, straight-forward girl. She sits on my right shoulder. I imagine her with a simple, yet stylish black knee-length shirt dress, in a wrinkle-free fabric, and practical leopard-print flats. She has long black hair pulled back in a chic pony.

Martha: The much fussier of the 2…or as some might surmise, high-maintenance…sits on my left, zebra-print sweater dress from Ann Taylor Loft, long strand of pearls doubled around her neck, black tights, black boots. She feels fabulous in this outfit…I know because I wore this exact combo just this very day! In my mind she has a choppy light brown crop with very well done highlights.

They sit upon me most of the time and banter back and forth. When I finally decide to relax and take it slow, which is rare, Martha is ranting in my ear about all that I should and could be doing.

When I am working through that to-do list and multi-tasking like a maniacal Franklin-Covey devotee, then Mary is chastising me for not living in the moment and stopping to meditate, pray, read, and recharge.

I often feel like I can’t win as these girls present their cases to me and their on-going closing arguments!!!

I really want to be like Mary (laid back and in the moment), but I am wired so much more like Martha (giant type A), thus the constant fighting it out between the Shoulder Girls.

On this particular day of the meeting I mentioned, Mary won…it just all couldn’t get done! I had no choice but to shove the un-hung Christmas ornaments into the corner, light the un-decorated tree, and we all shared a good laugh about my imperfection. I had a great time that night, relishing in the people and the moment!

And I don't want it to be perfect and all Martha-y just so I can look good to other people.
...if you that’s what you think you are missing the point!
I want it to be perfect to show the people in my life that they are worth going the extra mile, that I love them enough to go out of my way, to go overboard.

But I am learning that Jesus just calls me to make time to be with those people, to laugh with them at my lack of perfection, and to tell them that I love them...and they will feel it and know. I don’t have to DO everything. I can actually sit down and listen to Jesus speak to me.

That’s all He wants me to do anyway! The jury is still out on whether or not I can actually pull it off, but I will give it my best shot going forward.

So I guess this Christmas, with all there is to do and give and host and bake and wrap and ...........
I challenge you and I challenge my own self to live out those Martha moments if we simply must, but to just hurry up and get them over with, get them out of the way. Only then can we be what He is really calling us to be, which is Mary, sitting with Him and the others that we love, 100% focused on the moment, listening.

For that choice "is better, and will not be taken away..." (Luke 10:38-42)

Question: Are you more like Mary or Martha? In what way? Do you need to make some changes?

To Be The Star That Shone Upon You

What would it have been like to have been there? To be part of the birth of Jesus..the magic...the miracle....

In my wondering of that very question, I wrote this a few years ago...
May the miracle of the birth of the Christ child dwell in your hearts this Christmas and throughout the New Year.


Oh, to be the star that shone upon you,
Or the straw beneath your skin,
The blanket wrapped around you,
Or the manger you were in;

The air that swirled around you
On that ancient, silent night,
To somehow, somewhere be there,
What must it have been like?

Was your every cry like music?
Was your breath like golden thread?
Your pillow like a throne
For Your Majesty’s sweet head?

Or did they even notice
In the silence of the night,
That all had changed forever
As heaven came to life?

Did they realize the magnitude
Of all that your life meant?
The birth, the death, the resurrection,
And finally the ascent;

That all of this was given
That sweet night in Bethlehem,
Because our God so loved the world
That we were given Him.

-A. McCool 11/04


Question: What would it have been like to have been there? Would you have liked to have been part of that night that changed the world forever? Why?

Enough

In my opinion everyone should have a personal mission statement.

You may think I’m crazy, but frankly, I don’t really care! (I quit worrying about whether or not people thought I was crazy long ago!).

I hesitate to print my mission statement here because I think it is highly unique and confidential and only for my immediate family to see at this point…they know all of the thinking behind it. My mission statement has to do with, among other things, my purpose on earth and my passion for quietly easing the pain of others through works and philanthropy.

See, the key word in that last sentence is quietly…I want to be anonymous…don’t want anyone to know…just between me and the “Big G”!

But I bring it up today for a reason.

At church we have just finished a series call “Shake the System”. (Soooo good!) The series has talked about (in real basic terms I recap here) the fact that as Christians it is sometimes easy to become overwhelmed with the enormity of the needs of this world, so we justify our lack of jumping in by thinking we can’t do enough to make a difference. But God calls us to do whatever we can, no matter how “small” and to keep at it, influencing others to join in our cause. Pretty soon that ripple effect takes over and we’re rockin’ the boat, people!

I have long been accused of being a “goody two-shoes”, but I sure do LOVE rockin’ the boat for the Kingdom of God! THAT’S where I like to rebel! (By the way, I quit worrying about being called a Goody two-shoes long ago, too! There are far worse things to be called!)

As I have prayed a favorite prayer of mine over the last several years, the Prayer of Jabez, God has answered it in so many ways that I never would’ve expected! (That God, He’s like that, ya know! ...always keepin’ ya on your toes!) My territory has been enlarged in countless ways. Ways that are subtle & ways that have practically knocked me on my rhinestone-encrusted pockets!

For awhile I thought I could only make the kind of difference that I want to make with the great big stuff. I would like to give huge amounts, enormous amounts, through philanthropic acts, but the resources just aren’t there yet… Almost a year ago my friends Donna and Lisa reminded me that just doing it, doing something is what is important…and their words have sent me on a journey that is unexplainable in human words.

I look for these “encounters” everywhere.

But it is those subtle ways that I mention that are the things that make me go hmmm…. (which reminds me of a great song from the 80’s, but I digress and possibly need Ritalin!). In those subtle opportunities are big chances for service & growth & witnessing & giving & helping all in the name of Jesus…but they are also big chances to miss it altogether! To not even see the need or to think it is too small to matter or to think, “that one is easy…someone else will get it”. Or as they talked about at church, to think “that one seems scary and I want to be safe not brave.”

This is heavily on my mind today because I drove through “moneyland usa” where I live around noon today to get my beloved Burger King Diet Coke (king-sized) for a whopping (Burger King pun intended!) $2.06.

Sidebar: You might be praying for me about this as I am in the “weaning” period right now….A.) What is Diet Coke? I mean, really. That thick brown bubbly liquid can not be good for me! And B.) I decided awhile back that I can be doing something MUCH better with that $761+ a year. That could buy a lot for someone in need and it has really been on my heart!

As I pulled in the shopping area, I saw a man. He was standing on the corner. Freezing. Sign in hand that read “Will work for food”.

You’ve seen the type yourself I’m sure, a million times on busy corners. I always give them some money.

I know all of the arguments…but I always think “what if”.

What if it really were Jesus standing there, hungry, freezing…would I drive on by?

Well, I’d bring Him home with me if it really were….

How would you know?

Thing is, you don’t know…He’s not gonna make it that obvious for you to figure out!
But I could hear my overly-protective-of-his-only-child father in my head, so bringing this particular gentleman home with me today without hubby here was maybe not the best option.

So what do I do? What do I do?

I pulled into the drive-thru and started talking to God. (Always a good option when you don’t know what to do, by the way!)

I said: God, I don’t know this guy’s story, but you do. I have no work that I can offer him, no job for which I can hire him, so I can’t really do anything lasting at this particular moment, but I can’t shake the feeling that I was supposed to see him and do something. I have $2.06…in quarters and pennies, no less…again, not that helpful…so God, not to be bossy here, but ya got about 3 minutes to put a clear thought in my head about what action I am supposed to take.

And he did.

Something simple, appropriate, and that because it was God-driven, felt absolutely right.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matt 25: 35, 40

I talked briefly to the man as I handed him the hot lunch that I bought for him with the debit card that, thank God (literally) I had on me. As I drove away tears were streaming down my face. I prayed for him and I said to God, “Did I do enough, was that enough?” The clear answer back was, “Yes. You did something. And for him, right now, right here, that was enough.”

I hope this December 1st that maybe if only for a split second, I was the face of Jesus for that man, the face of God incarnate who was born to deliver us all…maybe he now has hope, if only a tiny ray, and maybe that tiny ray is … enough.

Question: What will you do the next time you see “the man on the corner”? Will you ask God to help you know, undoubtedly, that is was enough?

Come, Lord Jesus, Come

Come, Lord Jesus, Come...

Can you hear it in your head?

The praise song I mean?

...great song...but that is not what I am referring to here...

I mean literally...

Yep.

The Rapture.

Been praying for it for a while now.

Open heavens, angels, 7 golden lampstands, thunder, locusts, seals, scrolls, emerald-encircled throne, trumpets, 24 crown-wearing elders...the whole 9 yards! Seriously! (You can read all about it in Thessalonians & Revelation if you are not familiar...)

Why?
A.) I'm exhausted!
I have a lot going on... wakeupgoteachkindergartenfor3hourscomehomeworklikeamaniacfor3morehourspleaseJesus
helpmefindafewminutesforprayerandmeditationwalkdogboyscomehomefromschoolgetsreally
loudstartrunningthemaroundtobasketballspellbowlbaseballdohomeworkcookdinnercleanitup
meetingatchurchmake5deliveriescallsevenpeopleturnonthecomputer20emailsdownloadthat
actuallyalldoneedrespondingtohelpwithhomeworkmassagehusband'sfeetfallinbedgetupdoitall
overagain...
(No breaks between words here to drive home the point that during my day I often do not have time to catch my breath, eat lunch before 3:00 or wee-wee!)
and frankly I don't know what will slow the pace short of just shuttin' the whole operation down.

B.) There is a lot going on in the world today that I can not explain:
God calls me, and all of us, to Shake the System (shake, baby, shake), and I am trying my darnedest as are most of my Christian friends. I know that every bit of what we do honors the God of Justice that we serve and still, no matter how hard we try, there will still be those who suffer. If I think Jesus is making a slow descent (meaning I feel He's on His way), I won't give up and stop fulfilling my purpose...I'll just know that some serious help's comin'.

I don't mean to make light here.
And I know He is not planning "the big entrance" just because I am exhausted....
It's just that I'm not afraid.
I mean, I have plenty of unanswered questions that I have been researching in my Book 'O Truth (Bible)...it's where all the good secrets are, but I am not afraid.

Things always remind me of songs...the lyrics of another great one:
Come to me all who are weary
And find rest for your soul
Come to me all who are burdened
I will lead you home

Lesson already learned years ago:
Whatever it is, it'll be in His time not mine!
I guess in the meantime if I want to find a little rest for my oh-so-weary soul I need to go hunker down with The Good Book.

So Dear God, not that you (of all "people") need my permission, but you can go ahead and come anytime now...I mean I'm ready...though I'm guessing you want to "press in" on all of us a little more firmly first.

And I will do my best to press on. Rev. 2: 3 "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary."

Hmmmm....to endure that kind of mental pain and anguish (ya know, the locusts and all) just might take a new pair of animal print shoes...

Rev. 22: 20 "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

Question: Are you ready? Are you afraid?