It's just so Jr. High!

In honor of the first week of school, a re-post from a few years back...

I am one of the lucky few in the world. I actually get to spend at least 8 hours of every day smack dab in the middle of Jr. High. I can almost hear you gasp in amazement. I know, you are jealous. You wish YOU could spend each day knee deep in drama, hormones, pimple cream and books. It's almost like living in a green house of emotions! Nothing is ever minor. It's just one big life crisis after another. It's just so - Jr. High!

Truthfully, I don't think I've ever met anyone who would willingly go back to their life during the Jr. High years. Just the mention of the words are enough to make grown men shudder and seemingly confident women break out is a cold sweat! It's almost as if when they escaped that time period they were set free! The one thing they knew was that they NEVER wanted to go back.

I recently asked my students what were the toughest parts of being in Jr. High and the answers ranged from pressure from parents to pressure from friends. They deal with mean girls/guys and tests and tough teachers and fickle friends. They are tired and excited and bored and frightened....sometimes all in the same day. In addition, the expectations of those around them seem to, at times, overwhelm these young teenagers. I think every day must be one constant battle of learning who they are and what they can and cannot do. They feel more grown up than they are and yet at times lapse back into being just a kid. They try to wrap their minds around lessons in math, language, history, computers and science all while juggling moods that can be far more frightening than the Tower of Terror roller coaster ride. Oh, and just to make things more interesting,  they are surrounded by hundreds of others dealing with the very same things. Oh yeah, Jr. High is one wonderful/rough place to be.

So often I want to tell my students to just hang in there. Jr. High is NOT the real world. It will be over soon! Yes, they may be dealing with difficult people, even difficult teachers, but it won't last forever. Before they realize it, it will be over and they will move on. The things that seem so huge today won't even be a blip on the radar of their lives in a few years.

And then I heard it. That nudging voice of the Lord inside me saying "That's what I've been trying to tell you." I am still stunned when I think of the simplicity of those words because right then it hit me....it's all just "Jr. High."

The things I am dealing with, which may be tough, are still really just a stage of life. They will pass far more quickly than I realize and I'll move on. My goal is heaven...that's what's really real. Everything else is just Jr. High. Once we reach heaven, we'll be able to look back and see just how Jr. High it really was. We'll see things we wished we'd known then that we know now. We'll see places where we were doing better than we thought, and we'll see things we wish we could have changed. We'll realize we were surrounded by others who were going through their own Jr. High. Mostly, we'll look back and realize - we don't want to ever go back!

Life is definitely much better now than it was in Jr. High....and that gives me hope. If my life now, even with all it's trials, is that much better than Jr. High; then how much more wonderful must heaven be?

For me, this has been such an eye opener. Almost every day, I find myself laughing and saying, "It's all just Jr. High." Graduation day is going to be something else!

1 Corinthians 13:12 (Amplified Bible)

For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].

Letting go of how....

I am a fixer. When I see a problem, it is my first response to try and figure out how I can help or make things "right" again. In my defense, I am a teacher and "fixing" things is what we are expected to do. When a child struggles, it's our job to figure out how to re-mediate or fix the problem so that the child can succeed. So I have a double hit - as both a woman and a teacher I feel like somehow it is my responsibility to fix pretty much everything around me.

Then I became a mom and while at first I thought I had a handle on this parenting thing, the longer I did it the less I realized I knew...and the less I seemed to be able to "fix." 

When they were little, I was somehow able to deal with the skinned knees, the temper tantrums or even the struggles with school. After all, I was bigger than them and their mom so of course it was my job to "fix" it all. Now that they are adults (or close to it) the less and less I seem to know. In fact, the only thing I now know is that I don't know much at all! And yet still I try to fix....

I recently heard a message by Priscilla Shirer where she was talking about the children of Israel facing the Red Sea and it really hit home. Like the Israelites, I have felt lately as a parent like I am facing some insurmountable obstacles and the enemy is getting ready to completely do me in. I heard the Word of the Lord to stand still and see His deliverance, and while I believe Him, I also started trying to figure out HOW He could do it. I started to try to "help" God and figure out HOW He was going to fix this mess.

Perhaps He wanted me to take some wood and build a raft and help carry my family across. Maybe He planned for me to kill the Egyptians with unbelievable strength as I displayed my skills in hand to hand combat.  Maybe He would give me the funds to build a bridge and somehow delay the enemy long enough for me to build the first bridge to ever cross a sea. I bet He has planned to send someone to convince my enemy that they are wrong to try and destroy my family. The one thing that probably DIDN'T occur to them was that the sea would completely part from the other side and not only would it make a path wide enough for my family and friends to cross over, my sandals wouldn't sink into the mud...in fact they might even get a little dusty as I walk across on dry ground. 

Nope...that never occurred to me. My mind just couldn't wrap around that "how."

C.S. Lewis once said, "I gave in and admitted that God was God," and if I could add my own part to that, "and He doesn't need my help to figure out HOW to fix things." My job is to simply STAND and trust that no matter how it looks, God can be trusted to do what He promised.

With my children, this can be hard to believe. After all, I love them more than life itself and I honestly do want what is best for them. I find God's promises for my family and then I do my best to try and figure out HOW those promises will come to pass (and what I need to do to hurry along the process.) And the results are worry and fear. That doesn't sound much like a God kind of life to me.

Then the other day I felt like I heard what God was saying to me. "Let go of HOW and just trust that I am true to the promises made to you." 

I have said before that my children don't belong to me - they never have. I'm not talking about the fact that they are adopted. Even if they had been born to me, they still would not belong to me. They are His children. I love them with every part of me...and yet God loves them more. I only want the best for them and will do my best to provide...and yet God KNOWS what is best for them and has far more provision than I could ever have. I may think I know how to "fix" things, but all I have is some duct tape and band-aids. He can make things completely new.

So I am learning to let go of HOW and learning to just stand and watch as God parts the Red Sea in front of me. It may not look like anything is happening, and at times it looks like I will only watched the dreams I once had be destroyed, but the wind is blowing and that sea is parting and the enemy that is breathing down my neck I will "see no more forever." My job is to stand on His promise and trust in Him.

Will the victory look like I thought it would? Probably not...that's okay. God fixes things much better than I ever could. I look forward to one day being able to share the story with my descendents of HOW God parted the Red Sea and I was there to see it!

Exodus 14 (The Message) (Emphasis mine)
^10-12 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them!
They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’”
¹³ Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.

¹⁴ God will fight the battle for you.
    And you? You keep your mouths shut!”

^15-16 God said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground.

^17-18 “Meanwhile I’ll make sure the Egyptians keep up their stubborn chase—I’ll use Pharaoh and his entire army, his chariots and horsemen, to put my Glory on display so that the Egyptians will realize that I am God.”
^19-20 The angel of God that had been leading the camp of Israel now shifted and got behind them. And the Pillar of Cloud that had been in front also shifted to the rear. The Cloud was now between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The Cloud enshrouded one camp in darkness and flooded the other with light. The two camps didn’t come near each other all night.
²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawaters split.
^22-25 The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters a wall to the right and to the left. The Egyptians came after them in full pursuit, every horse and chariot and driver of Pharaoh racing into the middle of the sea. It was now the morning watch. God looked down from the Pillar of Fire and Cloud on the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He clogged the wheels of their chariots; they were stuck in the mud.
The Egyptians said, “Run from Israel! God is fighting on their side and against Egypt!”
²⁶ God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea and the waters will come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots, over their horsemen.”
^27-28 Moses stretched his hand out over the sea: As the day broke and the Egyptians were running, the sea returned to its place as before. God dumped the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned, drowning the chariots and riders of Pharaoh’s army that had chased after Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
^29-31 But the Israelites walked right through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall to the right and to the left. God delivered Israel that day from the oppression of the Egyptians. And Israel looked at the Egyptian dead, washed up on the shore of the sea, and realized the tremendous power that God brought against the Egyptians. The people were in reverent awe before God and trusted in God and his servant Moses.

It is (still) well....

* I wrote this two years ago today, and in His faithfulness and mercy, when I needed it most, God brought it across my screen again to remind me - He is in control and more than able to keep that which I committed to Him.

Today I had the privilege of seeing my oldest child, my daughter, be baptized. I wanted to say awesome privilege or amazing privilege or precious privilege but none of these words come close to what I felt. A new beginning for my child, this child, for which I prayed....

My daughter made a decision when she was a small child, but in the years since....well, let's just say they have been rocky at times to put things mildly. I would watch her over the years and realize something was missing. I wanted to "fix" things, but I just couldn't.

Diagnosed with Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome when she was about 10 years old, this sweet child had 3 holes in her heart that could have caused her death. Thankfully God allowed us to "catch" it and she had surgery that repaired those holes. She was declared "healed - as though it never happened." The doctor told us we didn't even have to put it on medical records because it was as if those "holes" had never existed. I was so thankful, but while I knew her physical heart was now healed, her spiritual heart still seemed to have holes in it...and I didn't know what to do.

I prayed. I gave her back to God...over and over again. I watched as she made decisions that hurt both her and those around her. And I was helpless to do a thing.

Then this summer at camp, my daughter made a decision to give her "heart" to Christ. SHE made the decision, not as a child, but as an adult. She made that trip to the cross...and she was made whole. She came back and let our pastor know she wanted to be baptized. Today was that day.

I admit my eyes filled with tears when I saw her up there, but I'm not a really "emotional" type. Well, that was true until after the baptism when we sang the old hymn, "It is well with my soul."

When we sang the part, "My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!",  my heart and eyes both filled to overflowing.

I think there is only one feeling in the world more overwhelming than knowing that your sin is nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. It is that your child's sin is nailed to the cross and she no longer has to bear the weight of it in her life. She can go forward into her life FREE! That is the most precious feeling I know.

I've always known that Samantha was not mine. Oh, I don't mean because she is adopted. She didn't belong to her birth mother either. She belongs to God. And now...SHE has decided that she belongs to Him with all her heart...a heart made whole in Him. She is declared "healed" through Christ - as though it never happened.

While she will always be my daughter, she is now so much more. The "holes" have been filled by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...and it is well with my soul.

3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

lessons from the children...

This week I registered my tiny baby boy for his senior year of school. I have to admit, I am pretty much a mess. I still can't figure out how I got here...just yesterday I was dealing with a kindergartener who didn't want to leave mama's  classroom so he had a major meltdown before school. He wanted to stay with me. Senior year registration was quite a different scenario. 

We drove to school in different cars. He met me in line and obviously wanted to "get this over with" so he could get his schedule, and pick his parking spot. I was merely a necessity with a wallet and the signatures he needed to complete the process.

We did get him registered some of his friends came up to me to say hello. I thought back to the year I had taught a number of his friends while he was just down the hall in my co-teacher's class. That was the year he warmed up to the idea of having a mother who was a teacher because his friends actually LIKED me. I remember the spontaneous hugs I would get from him when he was in middle school and my heart warms...and breaks at the same time.

Now, he is a senior. He is pretty sure he is ready to be on his own. Oh, he still loves me, but I'm certain he'd prefer if I stayed in my corner and didn't come near his world....unless of course he needs something. I know he does still want me there sometimes because the other day I was making some plans that he thought might mean I would miss a part of one of his football games and he was visibly concerned. What? You mean you won't be watching me? I have to be watching and cheering, just not interfering! LOL!

But from what I understand, this is a part of having a teenage boy. He is growing and getting ready to leave the nest and this is a part of the separation process. But it doesn't mean I like it.

Then I started to listen to that small voice that says, "Pay attention."

I started to wonder how many times I have been just like my son.

Have I gotten to the place when I only talk to my Father when I "need" something? Do I speak to Him out of necessity and forget to give those spontaneous hugs that warm my Father's heart? Have I reached the point where I think I'm "grown."

I am thinking I need to go back to being a child myself. 

When I got home, I saw a precious video of a child and his father. The little boy was in his little car seat just talking away to his dad and playing his tambourine. Some of you may have seen this on facebook. He was basically preaching and talking to his dad with every breath.  

The more I watched this video, the more I decided this must be what Jesus meant when He said we needed to come as a little child. The conversation, the laughter, the way the child quotes back words to his father that I have to believe his father first said to him. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said to come as a child.

This week I registered my child for school for the last time. The next time we do anything like this, he will be entering college and a whole new experience for both of us. Through it all, I will relish those rare moments when my son spontaneously turns and gives me a hug or actually INTRODUCES me to one of his friends as though I am someone he is proud to love, rather than someone he HAS to. 

And I will do my best to learn to do the same with my Heavenly Father. 

I want to become as a little child....because I'm starting to understand how much it warms my Father's heart.

Matthew 18:2-4 Modern English Version

² Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, ³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

 

too much salt...

Today's blog is the result of another one of those random thoughts from a morning run. In writing it, I had to do a bit of research on salt and I found the following article that I will refer to throughout. “Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them.” – Unknown

Today as I ran, I tried something a bit different and instead of music I listened to an audio version of the Bible, which brought a question to mind. Why are so many audio versions read by someone with an English accent? But that thought never really developed other than the question of why. It was a verse that many Christians are familiar with that really started the wheels turning - "“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Matthew 5:13

With every plop plop of my foot, I thought about that verse. We are to be the salt of the earth. Salt is so important in so many ways, but almost immediately I got a different picture. I had read an article earlier about how Christians need to be sure to share God's love instead of simply judging those around us, and suddenly I had a somewhat funny mental image in my head. Picture a "salt prank" where someone has loosened the lid on a salt shaker a bit too much and everything in the bottle comes pouring out leaving a very disappointed and hungry person! It was then the wheels really started turning.

Too often I am afraid I have been guilty of pouring out everything I know, or think I know, and overwhelming those around me. I can be pretty salty - but that's not always what is best. A little salt used wisely can go a long way. That's also when I started thinking of the different types of salt. I prefer using sea salt because it seems to have a milder taste. My son prefers regular "table" salt. Then of course there is rock salt - got a tiny grain of that in my home-made ice cream once....let's just say it did not make for the yummy dessert I was hoping for.

Since I know very little about salt, the rest of this blog will refer to the article I mentioned at the beginning and my "random thoughts" that go with it. I am not including all the salts compared within the article, just the more common ones.


Salt is arguably the most important ingredient in cooking.
Without it, most meals would taste bland and unexciting. (See - as Christians we make the world more exciting, not boring like many would have us believe!)

What is Salt and How Does it Affect Health?

Salt is a crystalline mineral made of two elements, sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl).
Sodium and chlorine are absolutely essential for life in animals, including humans. (The World needs Christians, even if they think they don't!)

They serve important functions like helping the brain and nerves send electrical impulses. (Make your own connections here.)


Salt is used for various purposes, the most common of which is adding flavor to foods. Salt is also used as a food preservative, because bacteria have trouble growing in a salt-rich environment.

Refined Salt (Regular Table Salt)

The most commonly used salt is plain old table salt.
This salt is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed. (This is the kind I saw in my mental picture. Highly refined but with a lot of the nutrients removed! You get the picture.)

The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances called anti-caking agents are added so that it flows freely. (Hmmmm - sounds a lot like those who want to congregate within the church walls instead of going into the world that needs salt!)

Sea Salt

Sea salt is made by evaporating seawater.

Like table salt, it is mostly just sodium chloride.
However, depending on where it is harvested and how it was processed, it usually does contain some amount of trace minerals like potassium, iron and zinc.
However, keep in mind that due to the pollution of oceans, sea salt can also contain trace amounts of heavy metals like lead. (As Christians, we must make sure we are not contaminating the salt with pollution of attitude!)
Sea salt is often less ground than regular refined salt, so if you sprinkle it on top of your food after it has been cooked, it may have a different mouthfeel and cause a more potent “flavor burst” than refined salt.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt was originally used for religious purposes.
Jewish law required blood to be extracted from meat before it was eaten. Kosher salt has a flaky, coarse structure that is particularly efficient at extracting the blood. (Kind of wonder if this might be the type salt referred to in Matthew.)

The main difference between regular salt and kosher salt is the structure of the flakes. Chefs find that kosher salt, due to its large flake size, is easier to pick up with your fingers and spread over food. (It should be EASY for God to pick us up at any time and spread us around to share His Word.)

Kosher salt will have a different texture and flavor burst, but if you allow the salt to dissolve in the food, then there really isn’t any difference compared to regular table salt.
However, kosher salt is less likely to contain additives like anti-caking agents and iodine.

Differences In Taste

Foodies and chefs primarily choose their salt based on taste, texture, color and convenience.

Bottom Line: The main difference between the salts is the taste, flavour, color, texture and convenience.

Which Salt is The Healthiest?

I looked long and hard and couldn’t find a single study actually comparing the health effects of different types of salt.
However… if such a study were done, I highly doubt they would find a major difference. Most of the salts are similar, consisting of sodium chloride and tiny amounts of minerals.
The main benefit of choosing more “natural” types of salt is that you avoid additives and anti-caking agents that are often added to regular table salt.
At the end of the day, salt is salt… its main purpose is to add flavor, not nutrition. (Again - you can make your own connections here.) 

So, what is the main idea of this "random thought" Simply that we need to get out of the salt shaker and into the world....but we also need to be careful that we don't "dump" all that we've got when at times all that is needed is a pinch. 

Just another random thought from a morning run....and I'm still wondering why they keep using people with English accents to read to me. 

The prefix makes all the difference...

The following is from about 4 years ago, but I find that sometimes I need to re-read what I wrote so that I don't forget the lessons I learned during that time.

 

Perhaps it's because the beginning of school is just around the corner...(I'm sorry for that reminder to all my teacher friends)...or perhaps the Lord is trying to show me something. Either way, I woke up this morning with a word rolling around in my head - complete with thoughts on its meaning and how different it can be simply by the addition of a prefix.
 
The word is "courage."
 
The dictionary definition of courage is this: courage – noun

1. the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
—Synonyms
1. fearlessness, dauntlessness, intrepidity, pluck, spirit. 
—Antonyms
1. cowardice.

I have heard it said that courage is not the absence of fear, but it is facing that fear and going forward anyway. To me, courage has always meant strength.

But this blog is really more about what happens to the word "courage" when you add a prefix...see, I told you it was related to school.

If you add the prefix "dis" to the word "courage", you get a totally different picture. "Dis" means

1. "lack of, not" (lack of courage) ; 2. "do the opposite of" (opposite of being courageous); 3. "apart, away" (apart from courage).

If you add the prefix "en", you get this: “to cause to be in” ( to be "IN" courage );  "cause to be, make" ( to make courageous ); "put in or on" ( to put on courage ).

There's a lot of words out there that fall into both categories - unfortunately it seems that more fall into the "dis" category than the "en" one.

The Bible talks a lot about courage and encouragement. You can follow this link to see just a few of the verses - (Courage). One of my favorites is Psalm 43:5 - "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." While it doesn't use the words "courage" or "encouragement", it definitely is talking about them. You could almost substitute discouraged for disturbed!

In 1 Samuel 30, you find David encouraging himself: "...But David encouraged himself in the Lord" (1 Samuel 30:6 KJV). If you read the entire passage, you find that this was no small task. They had just returned from battle to discover that their city had been burned and their wives and children taken. I'm not sure I would have had the strength to do as David did then.

I have recently been thinking that we all have a mission in life - to encourage those around us. Sometimes we manage to do that...other times we do not. Encouragement isn't just a bunch of "happy sounding" words. To encourage is to speak TRUTH into situations...it is to somehow strengthen those around you....and that is sometimes a little painful.

This summer I've been hitting the gym on a regular basis and I'm learning a thing or two about strength training. There are times when my trainers (Thanks Tamesha, Nan, and as of today - Bentley!) tell me to do something that is downright hard! All the while, they are pushing me (encouraging me) to go a bit farther than I think I can. They smile understandingly when I complain and then tell me to do another set. They don't let me give up. They are helping me get stronger...building me up. I'm thinking I'd like to be like them - only as a spiritual trainer. I want to encourage those around me, and myself, to push beyond our comfort zone. I want to see us all become strong in the Lord and in courage.

My question in all this is a simple one - which prefix am I? Have I become an ENcourager or a DIScourager. Since God encourages us and the devil discourages us, I need to know who am I working for? Do the words of my mouth strengthen those around me or feed their fear? Which prefix will I choose to be? Which will YOU choose to be?

Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."


THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION:
1. Which prefix am I? EN or DIS?
2. Do I seek to strengthen those around me daily? Do I purposely use not just empty words, but TRUTH that builds up?
3. What about the words I say to myself; are they words of faith or failure?
4. Find at least one verse that builds you up and meditate on that today.


More quotes on courage:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

Albert Einstein

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.
Mark Twain

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Winston Churchill

You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
Abraham Lincoln
How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.
Benjamin Franklin

One man with courage is a majority.
Thomas Jefferson

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
Ronald Reagan

Surrender and the empty robin's egg...

Yesterday when I was walking in my yard picking up stray twigs that the storm had knocked down, I spied something small and blue in the grass. You can imagine my amazement to discover it was a perfect robin's egg. At first I was saddened at the thought of this egg falling from the nest and trying to figure out how to get it back in without leaving my "scent" on it, then I realized it was empty. 

Perfect and empty.

That robin's egg was still on my mind today as I started out on my run, but something else was on my mind as well...the word surrender. 

With all that is going on in our nation right now, the word surrender might be taken the wrong way. Those who know me know that while I HATE confrontation, I'm not one to back down from a fight if I feel it's necessary. That's why the word surrender seemed like an odd word to meditate on while I ran, but meditate on it I did - that and the empty egg.

I pretty much understood the surrender part before my run even started. It's about surrendering to Christ, not the world or the battle at hand. With each plop of my foot on the pavement, I thought about that egg, that empty egg. I began to pray that I would be filled - heavy even with the Holy Spirit so that the "storms of life" wouldn't be able to toss me about like the wind had tossed that little egg out of the nest. I wanted to not just "look" perfect - I wanted to be filled.

That's when I started thinking about how we pray for those who don't agree with us that they will come to know Christ, that they would desire Christ more than anything else. More than their own desires. Then the thought hit me. Do I desire Christ more than anything else? I am praying that others will desire Christ more than pleasures of the world, but am I doing that myself? Do I desire Christ more than finances, freedom, even family, or am I willing to simply look perfect on the outside but remain empty within?

Freedom is on everyone's mind right now. The freedom we enjoy as a country, the freedom to be whoever we feel we are supposed to be...but what if I surrender my freedom? What if I give up MY rights to Christ and say "I surrender." I have no "rights." I do not belong to me.
Daniel did what was right in God's sight and for it he got the lion's den. The three Hebrew children did not bow to other gods (keep in mind, the ruler didn't say they couldn't bow to God, only that they had to ALSO bow to his statue) and for their stand they got the fiery furnace. And God delivered them all.

I'm not sure what surrendering to Christ will hold for me in the future, but I'm certain it is worth it. I don't want to be an "empty egg." 

Speaking of the egg, there is more to the story. As I walked along, I accidentally dropped the egg onto my driveway. It broke immediately! It was empty, and now broken. That reminded me of the verse that says  " Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Matthew 21:44) Stone, Rock, The Word of God. As I read the news, I want to ask myself daily...am I willing to fall on the rock myself before I answer the questions I see?

One more thing has been running through my mind the past couple of days with all the "love wins" phrases being tossed out. It's a quote from Forrest Gump. "I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."

1 John 3:16 (NIV)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Who knew that for me, the surrender flag would be robin's egg blue.