Random Question for Friday

My favorite Starbucks drink is a Chai Tea Latte.

It is heavenly.

What's your favorite Starbucks drink?

New Car

I've been talking about my car adventures on this blog. Well...the car that I had the windshield wiper adventure with has finally departed.

Permanently.

I was driving to go celebrate a friends birthday and the car started smelling like burnt hair (so help me, burnt hair!) and...the steering wheel start smoking. Awesome.

Prior to this, I didn't think that was possible. Now I know.

Anyway, after I got home, I decided it was time to move on to bigger and better things. It was time for a new car.

So...I begin to shop around. Now, I'm not really car kind of girl. If it's safe and reliable...I'm good.
But then I started to see all that was out there and I began to be tempted to buy a pimped out car that I clearly couldn't afford. I almost made a stupid decision so I could look good in a car.

I think this is true in our lives too.

We start out with our values in place. We know who we are and what we'll do...or so we think. Then we see what other people are doing...and even if it goes against our values, we feel tempted to be like them.

Drawn in by what we think will make us look good.

But the truth is, if we give up our values, we usually end up in over our head (just like I would have been if I'd chosen the pimped out car-yikes!).

So stick to your values. Stick to what you believe in. God will work out the rest.

BTW-This girl got herself the basic package of a barely used 2008 Honda CRV at price she could afford. I kept to my values AND got myself a great car. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

Weakness

Weakness.

It's not something we like to talk about. Hey...did I tell you how weak I felt yesterday? It was awesome!

But the Bible says when we're weak, God is strong. I never really got that until last week. Until something happened that exposed my weakness.

And I was lost.

So I did the only thing I could do. I ran to God. I told Him what a mess I was and that only He could do something about it. And He came through in a way and is still coming through in a way that I'm in awe of.

It made me realize that I'm such a mess, and I'm nothing without my Savior.

If you are weak right now, run to God. Tell Him you can't fix it, but He can. And I believe He'll come through in a way that will leave you breathless at His wisdom and grace.

Hitting the Wall

There's a phrase in running that describes when a runner hits the hardest part of their race.

Muscles tighten. Body aches. And you begin to feel the blisters forming on your feet.

Ideally, you want to hit the wall closer to the end of your race than the beginning. As I write this, I have blisters on my feet, my hips and ankles hurt, and I'm a little tired from running a half-marathon this morning. Thankfully, I hit the wall at about mile 11 on a 13.1 mile course.

But that doesn't mean it was easy.

The tough thing about hitting the wall is you want to move faster but you can't. You feel good endurance wise, your mind is OK, but your muscles just don't seem to want to move.

And you have a decision to make.

You can quit and start walking. Or you can push through it.

Here's the thing...if you quit and start walking the race actually becomes harder (trust me...I did that on mile 22 of my one and only full marathon and it was not. a. good. idea.).

Your muscles tighten up more and when you you try run again it fells like hot needles poking your feet and legs.

But if you choose to push through it, your legs actually end up relaxing a little bit. And your pace might be slower, but your legs and feet ultimately feel better.

I think the same is true in our walk with God. Sometimes we hit a wall. We want to go forward, we want to move, but we just can't. Things seem to move at a snail's pace.

And you have a choice.

You can quit. Give up and start walking. Maybe even walk away from God. Or you can push through it. And trust me, when you push through it, the run is easier. The burden lighter.

So, if you've hit the wall, push through it. You'll come through it with some aches and pains, but it's worth it every time.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to stretch out my aching legs :)

Race Day

Tomorrow I'm running in a half-marathon. I like to run. It's challenging and stress relieving all at the same time. I also go to a Bigges Loser style class that forces me to weight train.

Because I hate to lift weights.

What do you like to do for excercise? What do you hate to do?

Random Question for Friday

I don't watch a lot of TV. In fact, I couldn't tell you about any sitcom on TV right now. But I do have one favorite show. It's The Biggest Loser.  I love the fact that people have the opportunity to change their lives and break free from something that's been holding them back.

So...what's your favorite TV show right now? Why do you like it?

The Robber of My Life

Everyone has a thing that steals their joy.

The thing that sometimes makes them not want to get out of bed in the morning. The thing that robs them of living their life the way God intended them to. Mine is fear and anxiety.


Fearful of bad things happening to the people I love. Fear of the future. Fear of being alone.

And it robs me of my security. I’ve been reading a book by Beth Moore about insecurity and she tackles this subject towards the end of her book. Admittedly, the process God took her through would not work for me. And that’s cool because God made us all different. But what I did get out if it is that I REFUSE to let fear and anxiety rob me of what the day holds for me.

God’s got plans for me. I’m not dead yet, so that means He’s got stuff for me to do.

And how can I possibly hear His voice and do what He’s telling me to do when I’m in the corner rocking back and forth like a mad woman?

So…I made a choice today.

I chose not to fear. I chose to believe God is in control. And I refused to let fear rule my life.

And guess what? Those feelings of fear and anxiety went away immediately. I think it’s because I’m a fiery kind of girl when I want to be and I decided that I’m just going to take it anymore. I’m not going to let Satan use fear to rob me of my life. This is a HUGE step for me. I know I probably have more to learn but I know I’m headed in the right direction. And that is a huge comfort.

So, what’s the robber of your life? What stops you dead in your tracks and causes you not to live the way God wants you to?

Hope

I was talking with my close friends yesterday and the subject of hope came up. Hope is something that we all need...but rarely keep. Mainly because our spiritual enemy, Satan, is a thief. He's constantly waiting around the corner to steal our hope.

So how do we hold on to our hope?

Hope that God will answer your prayers for the child you and your spouse want.

Hope that you'll get a job when you tried so many other times.

Hope that you'll find the person God has for you to marry.

Hope that your kids will follow the Lord with all their heart, even when you see no signs of it.

Hope for...fill in the blank.

We get up every day and choose to believe that God loves us. That His plans for us are good. Even when we don't feel it. Even when we're so weak, we can't imagine God coming through for us.

And we pray.

Not those formal prayers that we think God would want to hear. But the tear filled, gut wrenching prayers, as we pour out our hearts to God. In my experience, when I do this, a peace seems to come over me. And slowly...sometimes really slowly...hope starts to grow in my heart.

And  I begin to believe that God can do the impossible. And that no matter what happens, God will work it together for my good (Romans 8:28).

What are struggling to hope for?

Running in the Rain

So...I'm training for a half-marathon. It's not the first time. In fact, I've trained for many of these. And for the most part, they've been about the same.

Until yesterday.

It was raining steadily and me and my training buddy needed to run our last eight mile run before a race. We thought we would go to the gym and run on a treadmill but instead we decided to do something different. Maybe a little crazy.

We could run in the rain outside.

And so we did. Yes, we got soaked. And yes, we probably looked a little crazy. But you know what? It was fun. It was adventurous and completely out of ordinary. It got me thinking...how many times do we step outside of our comfort zones? How many times we do something just for the sake of having fun?

Doing something different will sometimes seem crazy. But trust me, the adventure is worth it.

When's the last time you did something different and stepped outside of your comfort zone?

BTW-There was no thunder or lightening while we were running. I may be a little crazy...but I'm not stupid.

Looks Don't Matter or Do They?

Some friends and I were talking the other day about beauty. And we asked ourselves a tough question.

Are we lying to girls and boys when we tell them that looks don't matter?

Because the truth is...they do. At least in the real world. If you look at statistics, attractive people usually get the better job, more attention, etc. Then we got into the conversation that went something along these lines...

How come you see a princess with a frog but never a froggette with a prince?

(Yes, I realize I just made up the word for froggette to describe a female frog.) But seriously, how come you see a beautiful woman with an averaging looking man but you almost never see a good looking man with an average looking woman? We asked the question and the room fell silent.

We had no answers. Nothing.  And personally, I still don't have any answers.

That's why I'm putting these two questions to you. Do you think looks matter? Why do you think we see more beautiful women with the average Joe, but rarely see a good looking man with an average Jane?

Shifting Sand

“My faith is like shifting sand
Changed by every wave
My faith is like shifting sand
So I stand on grace.”
-Caedmon’s Call


Sigh. These song lyrics are so typical of my faith. Some days I believe God is good and that His plans for me are great.

Other days I have doubts. Doubts of His plans. Doubts of His faithfulness.

And today was one of those days. I hate it that I feel that way. So I make a choice. Even though I don’t “feel” it, I choose to believe His character. And trust that God’s grace will cover the places in my heart filled with unbelief.

“I do believe! Help my unbelief.”
-Mark 9:24 Man with a sick son.

Do you ever have days like this?

A Word that Stings

The other day someone referred to me as a single. And the word stung. And I couldn’t figure out why. I mean I’m all about Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, why does this bother me? So…I did a little searching inside my heart and I realized something.

It wasn’t the word itself it’s what the word actually means.
Alone. Not together. Single. Not double.

It’s as if the meaning of the word reminds me of how alone I am. And that stings. Now let me be clear, I not one of those PC police who slaps a ticket on the words people say. I don’t care what people call this demographic. And I refuse to walk around being offended that people refer to me as single. I’m just talking about the way I felt at the time someone said this to me. I don’t know if it will sting the next time someone says that to me…I sure hope not.

But just to be safe, I’ll prefer to call myself and others like me as unmarried. At least for now.

Has this ever happened to you? Someone says one word in reference to you and it stings? Or am I the only one?

The Teenager Inside Us All

They say that inside every man is a little boy. And from my experience, I believe it. Not that it’s a bad thing, unless you’re a grown man and still living at home. I take that back. In this economy, you may be wise (or forced) to do so…but I digress.

But few talk about the thirteen year-old girl that can often rear it’s ugly self in grown women.

My friends and I were talking about this last week. We asked ourselves why we get so upset when a man, even a man we aren’t interested in, can say something to us and we get hurt or angry. But a girl can say the exact same thing to us and we’ll confront her or just write her off as a…well you know.

It’s like all of the sudden we become this emotional thirteen year-old girl and anything a man says to us melts us to pieces or gets us so angry we wants to rip the guy’s head off his body.

As we were talking, I decided to lay out my theory. I think that women have to stop placing our value on what a man (any man…even the one we wouldn’t date if he was the last guy on earth) thinks about us.

It’s dangerous to our self-worth and unfair to men.

It puts so much pressure on them. Can you imagine if you knew that every word you said could potentially cause the guys in your life to have a total global meltdown?

Yikes.

I also think that men need to be guarded in what they say to women. It’s one thing to give your buddy a hard time about what he wearing or what he just said. It’s is an entirely different thing to give a woman a hard time. You. just. don’t. do it. Trust me, even though she may not show it, she’s either seething or crying on the inside (depending on her personality).

That’s my theory for what’s it’s worth. Am I right or way off base?

Fasting

The staff at the church I work at fasted for the first 21 days of January 2010. Some of us (including me) did the Daniel fast (fruits and veggies only) and others are doing an all liquid fast (the brave souls). This whole fasting thing is somewhat new to me. This was only the second time I’d done one for a long period of time. All of us did pretty well…in the first couple of weeks. But by the last week we started to look like the stranded cast from the TV show Lost.

Here are some of the things I fasted about.

• God’s direction of the timing of launching the blog you are currently reading
• Praying for close friends and family members
• My church and church staff
• Government leaders
• People who need healing
• Praying for a future spouse

 Fasting is somewhat of a beautiful mystery to me.

We deny ourselves something, we spend increased time praying and seeking God, and He shows up in a mighty way. I looked up some stuff in the Bible about fasting but still have questions. It seems the people in biblical times often fasted for decisions, healing, God’s power to save them, and repentance. But did they just fast from food? And why does God honor fasting?

Have you ever fasted? If so, what did you do? And for those of you who have studied this, what have you found out about fasting?

Change

There are some people who hate change. It terrifies them and makes them wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Me, I kind of like change. As long as it’s good. And sometimes I’ve even found myself wanting change because I’m bored or unhappy.

And that’s where I get into trouble.

Because of the way I feel I’ll try something new without even asking God about it just because I want change. I’ve never done anything drastic but I’ve seen friends change jobs, move to a different state (and then move back) all because they felt a certain way.

Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t risk or try new things.

But I think it’s got to be led by God and not our feelings. I think if those of us who aren’t married yet were honest, we want to be married.

And we’re not.

So we think if we change jobs, change churches, move to different state, then we’ll be happy and we won’t feel bad. And then we get to that new job, new church, or new state, and after the newness wears off, we find ourselves feeling the same way we did before.

At least that’s been my experience.

I believe we need to start letting God guide our decisions and when we do I think we’ll experience two things. Change. And being in the will of God.

The change may not come in our outward experiences but the change will come in our hearts.


I guess what I’m saying is that we need to let God lead us to change. The next time you’re feeling a little restless, ask God if it’s the Holy Spirit prompting you for change or it’s just your emotions leading you astray. I know that’s what I’m doing right now.

I sense God is leading me and preparing me for change.

I know some of the details but others I’m completely in the dark. And I’m waiting for God to show me the way. It’s hard not to let my emotions get in the way but everyday I give it to God and ask for Him to move me in His way and His time. (Side note: Proverbs 3:5-6 is a great verse to read and take to heart when you in situations like this).

Have you ever made a change out of emotion? What happened?

Has God ever led you to make a change? What happened?

Competing with Dumb Girl

The other day I was with a group of friends. We were talking about the Bible. And one of the girls there started playing dumb. I’d seen her do this before around men but this time it really got under my skin. I knew she knew the answers but all of the sudden she had a high pitched voice and didn’t know a darn thing.

And the guys there just ate it up.

Now before you all are too hard on this girl, I’ve seen many women do this. And in my circles, it always seems to center around what they know about God, the Bible, and their Christian walk. I know they know these things because we’ve talked about them one on one. But when the opposite sex comes around, it’s like these girls are back in Bible class 101 and they don’t know Abraham from Moses. What was my reaction to all this you say? I did what any self-respecting modern woman would do.


I decided to play dumb too.

I know I’m making all you women proud. I actually said I didn’t know something when I really did. I kept my mouth shut about a scripture that really spoke to me and almost acted as if I’d never heard it.

And guess what? It worked (sort of). I got the attention I wanted but at a price.

I gave up who I was and what God had done in my heart. When I got home, I was ashamed. Why did I do that? Why did I basically lie? The truth is, I felt like I couldn’t measure up. I couldn’t compete with her feigned lack of knowledge so decided to join in too.

So I cried out to God.

I basically said “Hey. I thought Christian guys wanted a woman who could talk about her faith and what God's taught her. But all I’m finding is guys who only feel comfortable around a woman if she knows less about God than they do.” Pout. Pout. Then God spoke to me.

Don’t deny what I’ve done in your life to impress men.

Ouch. See, it wasn’t about what men wanted in a woman. It was about my reaction. It was about me being true to myself. See, I’m not a super talkative person. I don’t have all the answers and often say so. But when I do know them, I need to share them.

Even if that is seen as a threat to men and they are intimidated.

Someday there will be a man who’s not intimidated by a woman who is comfortable talking about what she knows about the Bible or anything else. And that day, my friends, will be a very good day. So…what is it that you feel you just can’t compete with when it comes to men and women? What is your reaction to it?

Question for you

My pastor recently preached a marriage and relationship series all rolled into one. And I think that’s not only hard to do but rare in churches these days (Note: I’ve heard Perry Noble at Newspring Church has one out there. I haven’t seen it but I heard it was awesome). Most churches have a marriage series where the unmarried people check out. Or they have a dating series where the married people check out. Or worse, they never talk to people who are unmarried and all they do is focus on marriages which is something I’ve never understood. Don’t get me wrong, marriages are in trouble. But I would argue that if you focused on people and relationships before they get married, you would have a lot less marriages in trouble.

I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, here’s my question. What does your church do? Has your pastor ever had a sermon series talking to both married people and unmarried people?

By the way, here is a link if you want to see my pastor's sermon on this topic.
http://www.lifechurch.tv/message-archive/watch/once-upon-a-marriage

Movie Star Illusions

I was having a conversation with friends the other day and two of them were telling me about a movie they had just seen. Then one of them said, “Oh I just wish I could have a strong man like him. The movie made me want to have someone like that”. Or something along those lines. Now what she said wasn’t wrong. But it got me thinking. I think women tend to watch romantic movies and long for a man just like the one in the movie they’ve just seen. But there’s one problem.


Those men aren’t real.

They’re a screenwriter’s ideal of what a man should be or an idea of a man they know will make a good movie. As a writer, I’m naturally inclined to be imaginative. So, a while back, I used to long to be in the movies or books I would read. And actually be a little sad that I wasn’t a part of them or there wasn’t people like that who really existed. I know…there’s meds for that. Then God smacked be upside the head. That is not reality. It never was and never will be. And it’s dangerous to compare fictional characters to the real, fallible humans that actually exist. So ladies, let’s stop comparing the men around us to the men we see in movies and read about in books. It dangerous because you’ll never be satisfied with anyone because you’ll always be holding up everyone you meet to an ideal that doesn’t exist.

Now to the guys. Thought you’d get off the hook huh?

Now, I’m not a guy so this is going to be based on observation so if I’m off base here guys, feel free to correct me. The women you see in movies and magazines do not exist. They have had hours of make-up and hair dressers to make them look like that. And the women in the photos? Can you say digitally altered? Now, let me tell you the real scoop about real women. We get zits. The shock! And get ready boys…we look different without our make-up on. Not bad different…just different. The horror!


What I’m really trying to say to both men and women is this…the ideal you see in the movies, or books, or magazines is not real. It’s not real in character or looks. So stop comparing it to the real thing. If you don’t, you may just miss out on God’s best for you because your so busy comparing them to an illusion that never existed in the first place.

Have you ever been trapped by illusions you’ve seen or read about?

Google is for Single Girls

You’re probably looking at the title and thinking what in the world does this title have to do with anything?


Let me just tell ya…

So…after putting it off way too long, I decided that my windshield wipers needed to be replaced (especially after I had a near accident on the highway because I couldn’t wipe the rain off my car but that’s a whole different story). I got off the first part of work to get it done since I had zero time before a rain storm was supposed to hit the area. And in Oklahoma…we take our weather seriously. Mostly cause it’s so unpredictable. So…I got into a well-known auto store to buy windshield wiper blades hoping that it would stop my driver’s side windshield wiper from going way to far left and getting stuck on my front mirror…yes…I said my front mirror.

Everything went fabulous.
Heck, the nice guy at the register even put my blades on for me.

Awesome. Problem solved. Now back to work.
Not so fast.

As I drove out of the parking lot, I decided to try my new top of the line windshield wiper blades. Swipe. Swipe. Clunk. Clunk. Panic stricken, I see that my driver side windshield wiper is still going way far to the left and still getting caught on my mirror. Ugh. I couldn’t really afford to go to a mechanic. So…I decided to forge ahead and try to figure it out myself. Oh dear. Luckily, my parents’ home was just a couple of miles down the road. I dialed my mom and told her I was coming over. I arrived and did what any single girl who doesn’t know an engine from a battery cable would do.

I googled it.

And lo and behold, my answer was there! It was just some screw loose at the bottom of the windshield wiper. Awesome, I thought. No problem. So I went out to hunt for the screw. And without much trouble…I find it. But it’s this hexagon shaped thing and I have no clue what tool to use to tighten it. So…I call my dad at his work. Our conversation went something like this.

Me: Uh…what tool do I use?
Dad: The socket wrench
Me: The socket what?
Dad: You know, that tool that is in my black tool box.
Me: Yeah…um…what does it look like?
Dad: It’s metal and…
Me: Oh…I found it. It’s got those circle things you attach to it. How do I use it?

Dad gives long explanation.

Me: I don’t get it.

Dad: Yeah…um. It can be hard to describe. Listen…try and use a wrench. You know what that is?

Me: Yeah…it’s that thing you can use to tighten stuff.
Dad (with not much confidence): Yeah…that’s the one. Let me know how it turns out.

For the record, once I hung up I did try to figure out the socket wrench. After about 15 minutes, I gave up and tried the regular wrench. With a lot of hard work and prayer, I tightened the darn thing and fixed it by myself. And that’s a huge accomplishment since I know zero about tools and cars.

After all was said and done, I thought two things.

Thank God for Google. And God, please send me a man that can mess with this stuff. I don’t like it one bit. So…if you’re married be thankful for the stuff your spouse does for you that you can’t do. And if you’re not find a really good friend (or family member in my case) that has enough patience to help you out. Just sayin’.