Buried Treasure

Have you heard the story about the brain surgeon who had a not so brilliant idea?

Wanting to give his fiance a memorable proposal he buried the engagement ring in the sand on the shoreline of Pelican Bay, Fla. Imagine the excitement that he had taking his beloved to the sight that he had so masterfully planned. His heart racing and his bride to be hoping that this is the moment!

They begin to dig, and dig and 10 minutes later they are still digging. Yes, he forgot where he had hid this precious buried treasure! After calling someone with a metal detector the ring was found, proposal given and accepted!

This reminded me that we have been given many gifts that we are called to use and develop. The bible tells the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 where people have been given money and they have been entrusted with it. Two of the people doubled the money, but the third simply buried it in the ground keeping it safe and exactly as it had been given to him.


The master was not happy with the person who did nothing but hide. He had an expectation that what he had given would be multiplied.


God also has an expectation that what He has given us will be multiplied. Scripture is clear that we all have been given gifts. I Corinthians 12:1-12 The question is whether or not we will try them out and develop them!  If you are unsure about your gifts there are many spiritual gift test that you can take.  Test

I urge you to not bury your gifts, but to celebrate them and multiply them. 

Nail Polish

I was looking through some of my older posts and this one just makes me laugh.

The nail polish fiasco!

“I look good!” I thought, as I checked myself out in the long mirror in the hallway. I even had time to do my toenails this morning since it is finally warm enough to wear a skirt and open toe sandals on a Sunday morning. The morning started off great and I was looking forward to co-hosting a new service with my husband. “All the more reason to look the part today”, I was thinking as we went to church.

There is just something about feeling good in an outfit that gives me a little bit of a sassy attitude. I feel more in control! That is until………I was following my husband and he stopped and then suddenly backed up right onto my two newly painted big toes! The polish wasn’t completely dry and all of my hopes and dreams of looking the part of one well put together woman was well (out the window)!! The polish literally backed up like it had skid marks on it. To make it worse the color was a deep magenta and now it simply looked like a bloody mess! I have to admit that I panicked, and almost started to cry!

What just happened? I declared with a scowl, “I’m going home to repaint them before the service!”

My husband looked at me like I was insane! Maybe I was for just a moment! Then I had a brilliant idea to find something that would take off the polish. Naked toes were better than what I currently had. Finding nail polish remover in a church office is not an easy task, I searched everywhere but all I could find was white board cleaner. For whatever reason, it worked enough to clean up my toes. This wasn’t exactly the look I was going for but, it is what I ended up with! My husband asked me later why this was such a big deal, “No one was looking at your toes!” To that I whimpered, “But. I would’ve known!”

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"Luke 10:39-41

Oh, what a Martha I am! I want everyone to think of me as the one who is chosen what is better, but I am constantly fighting with this side of myself! God speaks to me in the midst of my pridefulness and my desire to be in-control.

Forever nail polish will remind me that He is the one that I should be trying to please. That He is the one who knows all of my thoughts and supplies all of my needs. He can use me whenever and however He likes. All He requires is a willing and obedient heart.

Father, thank you for speaking in the midst of my craziness and pride. I am humbled by your deep love and grace that you so freely give. I love how you use nail polish to teach me that you are all I need.

Jann

Monarch Butterflies

I just watched the most amazing video about the Monarch Butterfly.

 You can watch the video here.

Watching the video, the thing that struck me was that these butterflies migrated like homing pigeons. In a beautiful, mass migration, millions of them return to California and Mexico every winter. 


Monarchs's from North America are the only butterflies that make a 3000 mile journey. These butterflies begin their long travel early each fall to make the trek before the weather turns colder which would kill them if they take too long. When temperatures fall below 55°F it makes it impossible for them to fly. If the temperature drops below 40°F they will be paralyzed.   

I have some questions that I would like to ask these butterflies. 

• Why make the long journey?
• What is so special about returning to California and Mexico?
• What happens if you decide to stay home?
• You only get one round trip what makes this so special?

Butterflies aren't the only creatures to make a long migration trip. 

• The gray whale, migrates about 12,500 miles.
• The desert locust, which travels about 2,800 miles.
• The caribou, which travels about 700 miles.

We too are on a long journey but, Life has a way of taking us off course.

Sometimes it is a gradual slipping from the direction that we were heading, other times it is a sudden change or unexpected jolt that pushes us way off the course that we have pledged to stay on. At times it almost too much to take in. 

Sometimes we forget that we are on a one way trek home to Heaven. 

Remember that you have a home in Heaven.

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 

Remember that you are a citizen of Heaven

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

Remember that there is an inheritance waiting for you.

and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

 I Peter 1:4

Remember that the journey may require you stay the course.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Live in this today!

 .

Chocolate Cake

I began learning how to cook in Junior High school.  My mom always let me help in the kitchen and gradually allowed me to be in charge of certain dishes.  Believe me there was plenty of things that my family tolerated as I learned how to cook. During the summer when I had lots of time on my hands, I decided that I would bake a cake and share it with all of friends.

The chocolate cake mix was poured into the bowl then the eggs, water and oil were mixed in. After a few strokes the batter was poured into the prepared pan and then into the preheated oven to bake. Soon the house was filled with the sweet aroma of chocolate cake.  I was so proud of myself! 

After cooling, the cake was slathered carefully with chocolate frosting.  “My friends are going to be so impressed”, I thought proudly to myself. That afternoon I invited Kevin (now my husband) and several friends to enjoy the delicious cake. 

As Kevin took a big heaping bite of the cake it was clear that something was wrong. His surprised face, including puckered lips told it all so well!

The batter that I so carefully mixed together had not been stirred enough.  Throughout the cake were many chunks of dry cake mix!

My inexperience caused me not to know how to properly make a cake!

Inexperience can do that very thing to us spiritually.

• ·      The less we know about the promises of God can effect how much we trust Him. I Peter 2:1-2
• ·       The less experience we have with the presence of God can effect our worship and prayer. James 4:8
• ·       The less we have sacrificed for the kingdom of God can effect how tightly we hold onto our possessions. Psalm 24:1
• ·       The less experience we have in community with other believers can effect our sense of belonging and serving in a body. Acts 4:32

Where do you need more experience spiritually?

Father, help me to recognize where I need to grow spiritually. I do not want to be a child in regards to my faith in you. Reveal to me how you want me to grow. Thank you for stirring my faith into action.

Show me the way

The mid 1970's and I am totally smitten with Peter Frampton! From his curly long locks to his sweet voice, I sing his songs over and over wishing that he would fall in love with me!


It is amazing how those songs, stick with you. This week during spinning class, one of Peter's songs, "Show me the way" was played. It was all I could do not to sing it out at the top of my lungs! Luckily I had a hard time breathing, let alone singing. During the chorus though I couldn't hold it in any longer and began singing, 

I want you, show me the way everyday want you, show me the way night and day. I want you day after day, hey, ohh.

What if we sang like this to the Lord? 
What if we proclaimed, I want you to show me your way, night and day? 
What if we like David pleaded with God?

Show me your ways, Lord,

    teach me your paths. 

⁵ 

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my Savior

Psalm 25:4-6

Contraction Surgery

 "Expand, Contract, Expand, Contract" We say as we show the students in the 2nd grade classroom how to conduct contraction surgery. Next we place our surgical masks on and squeeze our hands into the plastic gloves.  I of course have put my thumb into the pinkie portion! :)  Using the supplies of scissors, bandages, word sheets and markers we demonstrate how to create a contraction. The surgery is to remove the letters that are not a part of the contraction and then to use a bandage to represent the apostrophe. Once we completed the demonstration, the students began to conduct their own operations. It was a riot watching the students in surgical masks trying to navigate the rubber gloves and the sticky bandages.  


The result of this lesson was of course to have students understand that contractions represent two words that have been smooshed together. From the looks of their end product they got the message loud and clear. 


Every day God is trying to show us the lesson of the contraction surgery.  There are many things that we cling to that we simply do not need to be happy. Some of these things are possessions others are attitudes or behaviors.

Warning, surgery may be required and it may hurt a little.

Where is this necessary?

Is it in your

food

fighting

finances

following after.....

friendships

foolishness

fantasies

feelings

freedom

Will you let Him do the surgery?

I have this mental picture of thousands of people with brightly colored bandages representing the surgery that God did in their life. I am sure that many people like myself would have a multitude of bandages because several surgeries would be required.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Workout Accountability

"5 more minutes!" I grumble as I hit the snooze button. Right then, the self talk begins.  

The playlist includes:

You worked out yesterday.

An hour more of sleep will be good for you.

It's too early!

You can go tomorrow.

Not going, love my pillow too much!

Fortunately for me, my husband knows this self talk game that I play so well. On go the bedroom lights, workout clothes are thrown on the bed, and my husband gets fully dressed expecting me to join him. Then he leaves the room to give me time to respond to his sly accountability.  

It works! Groggily I get dressed, stumble into the hall, plop into the car and drive with my husband to the gym. Had he not held me accountable, I would have missed a great workout today.  Thank you honey for turning on the lights! :)

We all need accountability.  

Sometimes we resist surrounding ourselves by people who keep us on the right track.  Somehow we think that we can do it all by ourselves. The sad truth is that whether we are exercising our bodies, or our faith, we  need other people. 

•  We were not meant to do this life thing all by ourselves. Genesis 2:18
•  We can be encouraged by others faith.  Romans 1:12
•  We are accountable to tell others of danger.  Ezekiel 33:6

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

I have been so blessed to have a group of women who have come along side of 

me to spur me on!  They encourage, cheer me on, stop me in my tracks, pray 

me through, exhort me to keep going and occasionally they remind me that I am

 not always right! Thank you dear friends!

Paleo Chicken Guacamole wrap

I have been looking for a recipe to make a tortilla that can be used as both a wrap and a tortilla that won't fall apart, won't taste like a wanna- be and well, be delicious!  I think I found one!  I was visiting the spunky coconut and I found the recipe!  The first time I tried to make it without the wax paper and it did NOT work. This time I followed the recipe exactly and well, let's just say I ate the whole thing!


Chicken Guacamole Wrap
Shredded chicken
Avocado (guacamole)
Salsa
Bell peppers
Cabbage
Tortilla wrap
Spinach


Simply layer the ingredients into the wrap, roll it up, cut it in half and get ready for a happy explosion in your mouth!


What I learned-


Following instructions is important! 
There was a reason that the recipe for the wraps called for wax paper.  When I tried to get around using the wax paper I was hoping to get the same result without following the creators instructions, We do this every time we try to live our lives without the input of the creator. 


The song, We Will Remember by Tommy Walker, helps me to put my life back into perspective.


We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness
You’re our creator, our life sustainer
Deliverer, our comfort, our joy
Throughout the ages You’ve been our shelter
Our peace in the midst of the storm

Father, help me to remember all that you have given me. I praise you for your creation and for and for being the Creator. Forgive me for all of the times that I think I know better. You are the Potter and I am not! Isaiah 64:8

Follow the leader

Directions to the wedding reception were handed out and we were excited to get the party started. I drove and handed off the directions to the very capable hands of my navigator. I was confident that we would arrive at our destination promptly.

• Get on the highway 
• Take this exit
• Turn right 
• Turn Left.

We followed the directions exactly until we noticed that there was a caravan of cars that were also going to the wedding. Without thinking or saying anything, we simply stopped reading the directions and began to just follow the other cars in front of us. As the cars turned left into a community of townhomes, something didn't seem right, but I just kept following the one in front of me. Then in a predictable fashion, the cars all began to make u-turns. We had all been following the wrong leader and we all had the direction!. 

This made me think about how often I have to make some life u-turns.  This happens when I have stopped following God's directions for an abundant life.  It is a quick process that happens when I have taken my eyes of of Jesus, focused on other people or my own desires and when I have not obeyed his plans for my life. Following the wrong leader has led me into some precarious situations. If you are a Christian, there can only be one leader in your life!

The bible has some interesting advice for us.

To avoid following the wrong leader we should:

Focus on God and His word

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things Colossians 3:2

• The word set means- to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for

Read and put into practice His commands

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 

James 1:22

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Romans 2:12

Make a U-turn and follow the one True Leader

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

 I Timothy 2:5

Thank you Lord for giving us your word to lead and guide us. Forgive me for the times that I think I know the directions without checking with you first.  I am so glad that there are u-turns that bring us back to you.

Who is Jesus?

Had to Re-post this one.  

Who is Jesus to you?

I was 10 years old when I first began thinking about who Jesus was. Next to our apartment complex was a Catholic church. Often I would walk over to the church, open the doors and find a quiet spot to sit. The strangely comforting aroma of that holy place still fills my senses. Quietly resting in that space I chatted with God. In those moments,

Jesus was my confidant.

The summer of my freshman year, Dan Webster gave a message to hundreds of high school students. His message was simple and to the point. Jesus has come to save us and to give us the gift of coming into the wonderful relationship with the Father. His description of God as our ultimate Daddy resonated in my heart and confirmed my need for Jesus! In that moment, Jesus was my savior and reconciler.
Today after many years of following Jesus, 

He is mySaviour and Lord
Redeemer
The Holy one
The Prince of Peace
Confidant
Hope
Soon and Coming King

The disciples were asked this question

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Matthew 16:13-14
Many people when asked this question will say that Jesus was

a good man
a prophet
a teacher

Peter was asked who he thought Jesus was as well
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:15-16

C.S. Lewis urged, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (Mere Christianity)

The real question is who is Jesus to you?

Help my sink is clogged!

I truly believe that I can fix most things!  My mom instilled this "can do" attitude into me. There isn't much that I remember my mom not fixing herself.  Partly because we didn't have the money to call someone and partly because there is so much pride in doing it yourself!

Saturday morning I tried to work this out literally! The kitchen sink was clogged. Thinking through my options I mentally made a list: Plunger, Draino, sink snake or pay a plumber.


Grabbing the plunger I went to work on this "simple" clogged sink. Unfortunately with every push of the plunger the water came spraying out of the other side up into my face! There were a few I Love Lucy moments I must admit. 


Draino was then poured into the sink and we waited for the 30 minutes. More plunging occurred and now my thumb had a callous on it. Still no movement. More Draino was added and we decided to leave it alone overnight. Early the next morning I could hardly wait to see if the water had subsided. The water was still there but the sink was really clean!

In a moment of what I thought was pure genius, we purchased a sink snake for less than $10.00. "Easy peazy", "I told my husband as he held the the directions to the snake. "You have to take apart the pipes under the sink before you use the snake" he read aloud. Immediately, I thought, "I can do that!"  After crawling into the really tight space under the sink and taking apart the pipes I began to think about the fact that my backside was sticking out. Yes, I think that I had a plumber's! Using the snake was quite fun. The drill caused it to push deep into the pipe and brought back several chunks of food that was clogging the drain. Each time I was convinced that the clog was gone and that the water would once again flow easily down the pipe. The moment of triumph was waiting for me. I turned the water on and I did a little dance! Yes I fixed it! That is until the water backed up! The truth is that I couldn't fix it by myself!  I thought I could, but it was time to call in the professional!

In a matter of minutes the plumber used his super duper powerful snake and removed the clog. An interesting warning he gave me had to do with egg shells. Apparently when they are in the disposal  they can become dry, clump together and become like cement in the pipes! No more egg shells in the sink!


This made me think of all of the times that I let things clog my communication with God. The same, "I can do that" attitude gets in the way of my relationship. Things that are not dealt with become dry and harden like the eggshells, clogging my spiritual life and blocking the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life. 


For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 NLT


We can only accomplish things when we tap into the super duper power of Christ Himself! Often we try everything else except for going to the professional! 

Shopping Organic

Our family is eating more and more organic foods.  I am attracted to this because the food is grown without pesticides, herbicides, and other dangerous chemicals. A recent study in ‘The journal of applied nutrition’ found that organic produce had twice the nutritional value of conventional produce, and the level of trace minerals and micro nutrients was found to be much higher in organic produce.  In addition, I personally think that Organic tastes better! 

When we eat foods that have less chemicals our bodies have the opportunities to use many more nutrients.  This chart shows the disparity of eating organic VS chemically produced foods.

The iron content in the spinach and tomatoes that were grown organically versus the conventional method is unbelievable! Why would I ever eat non-organic tomatoes or spinach again? It can be difficult to eat this way and more expensive, but ultimately I think it is worth it.


This got me thinking about my life as a Christian.  

• What are the things that Pollute or defile my faith?

Scripture tells us that is is not the things that we eat. Matthew 15:11

• We are defiled by what we do. Psalm 106:39
• We are defiled when we worship things and not God. Jeremiah 32:34

If I know that these things are not healthy for my Christian life then why would I ever do them? It can be difficult to always be thinking if this is the best thing to do or if this would bring God honor, but ultimately It is worth it! 

Maybe it's time that we get back to an "organic" type of faith!