“He’s a Big, Fat Idiot!” April 9, 2012
It wasn’t too long ago that I overheard a kid yell this about his friend. I sat back and watched to see how the adult in charge would handle the situation. I am fairly certain that if I was the one dealing with this child, I would go into an explanation of how we aren’t supposed to call each other names and how we should be kind to our friends, which is true.
However, the man in charge at the moment got down right on eye level with the offender and simply said, “Yes, we are all big, fat idiots!” I was momentarily shocked at his answer and wondered if dealing with kids had finally usurped his reasoning abilities. Mr. then began to explain to the child that because we are all big fat idiots, we need Jesus. That, my friends, is one of the best explanations of the gospel I have heard in a long time.
I wonder if today is simply a typical Monday and fact that the Resurrection occurred changes nothing in your life the day after Easter.
I wonder if it already lost on us that we celebrated the fact that Jesus died on the cross because we are all big, fat sinners. I wonder how many of us are so enamored with the “big, fat idiots” around us that we have forgotten that we are like Paul, and the worst of them all.
Full and Fat April 1, 2012
I don’t need God. I have so insulated my life that at any given time, I am pretty self-reliant. I know in my head that I need Him, that life is not complete without Him, but there are days that I hardly give Him attention after my Bible readings are finished.
If I am hungry, I get something to eat.
If I am cold, I grab the nearest blanket or turn up my heated mattress warmer.
If I have a headache, I reach for the aspirin.
If I am thirsty, I grab a Diet Dr. Pepper.
If I am lonely, I text a friend.
If I am tired, I turn off all the lights and take a nap.
When I have a need, I find a way to fulfill it.
I have been in a place that I needed Him to make it through the next minute but I am not there right now. Honestly, most days I just plow through and don’t necessarily need Him.
Something radical must be done. I don’t like living this way. I know better.
Tomorrow, I am embarking on a journey. I am creating a need for Him in my life. I am choosing to do without some things so that I can force myself to need Him.
Let me explain, imagine I cooked Brad the most fabulous of dinners (I know, unbelievable, I told you to use your imagination for goodness sake) picture steak, steamed veggies, potatoes, and a wonderful dessert waiting on him when he walked in the door. A feast for him of pure deliciousness waiting for him but he didn’t know I was cooking (he is used to this NOT happening) so he grabs some McDonald’s on the way home. He is very full from the yucky McDonald’s but sees the great meal I have made for him and pretends to enjoy. However, no matter how good my meal is(we are still pretending), Brad is just full and has little room for the goodness I have prepared.
This is me!! I am so full from the junk that even when I try to focus on God, I am too full.
This type of living is no longer acceptable to me so I suckered a few friends into doing this with me. Starting tomorrow, we are following Jen Hatmaker’s example from her book 7 and eating seven foods for a month. I can’t even think about next month, it involves clothes, one of my favorite indulgences. You thought I was crabby last month? Just wait till 7 is in full swing.
I am tired of being so full of junk that I miss God.
Are you?
We’re Moving March 3, 2012
Brad made me a cool website and I am moving all my blogs over there! Please check it out and let us know what you think, then do me a favor and click on the “subscribe” button on the right hand side.
Click here to check it out. I just posted a new blog on being crabby – have any of you ever been crabby?
Job February 23, 2012
The Bible is full of books that at particular times in our lives speak to the very depths of our souls. Job has been a lifeline to me for many years. Job has given me a voice to my sorrow and an answer to my questions. Job was the ultimate grief book for me. I had the priviledge last night to teach out of Job for our Gorgeous Bible Study last night.
I pray that the book of Job speaks to you the way it spoke directly into my parched heart.
Better Than a Hallelujah February 21, 2012
I sat on the edge of my couch, nervously waiting for the ten o’clock news to air. I had never really cared much about watching the news, it usually depresses me. However, this night was different because the news was telling a piece of our story. A big part of my heart was about to be on display for audiences to view. I held my breath as I watched picture after picture of Jake appear on the screen. Then came the video, thirty seconds of Jake playing in the pool and I silently watched that particular video for the second time ever. My uncle had just found the small video of Jake and we just watched it for the first time last week. Not even writing my book prepared me for my reaction to seeing him move again. I have only seen pictures since he died and watching him splash in the pool was painful.
Telling our story has brought back so many memories that I had shut up tight and I woke with a burdensome heart this morning.
Memories blinded my vision and left me breathless.
I felt the weight of grief pushing me back in time; a time when Jake was alive and splashing in a kiddie pool.
I lived in the past for a few minutes and then crawled out of bed and to my coffee. I started my day, silently thankful for new mercies each morning.
After I dropped my oldest off at school, I drove back home as the sun began to rise. As I watched the sun rise, hope arose within in. The God who created the sun holds me. The God who spoke that very sun into existence knows my name and collects my tears in His bottle. As I focused on the Majestic God I serve and sang Amy Grant’s “Better Than a Hallelujah,” a different reaction occurred inside me. My song was no longer “a mother’s cry in the dead of night” but a whispered, broken hallelujah with the rising sun.
Immediately I knew there was something “better than a hallelujah”
a broken hallelujah.
