Road Trip!

My sweet friend Katie (yes, she's always sweet) and I are heading on a road trip today. It's been planned for months, but the timing couldn't be more perfect. We're heading to Greenville, NC. My old stompin grounds. I have mixed emotions. But, I'm oh so thrilled to be able to see my old roomie who is now expecting her first precious baby!

We're heading 4.5 hours away in order to go to my old church's women's event. Four years ago I attended this event for the first time, all by myself, just hoping to hear something. I was in college and feeling lonely. Oh, I had friends and we were close, but I was lonely from keeping my Savior from the depths of my heart. I longed for His embrace and didn't know it. So I went, for 2 days, all by myself, and sat....and cried. Lysa Terkeurst spoke for that event and she crushed me. It was a kind, sweet, tap you on the shoulder at the perfectly right time kind of crush. Her story spoke right to the depths of that place that needed filling, but she wouldn't fill it...she simply touched it and let God do the filling.

Here's the ironic part.... I now live just a hop skip and a jump away from Lysa. Her Proverbs 31 Ministries home base is just around the bend from my church. So yes, if I really wanted to see her I could just go on a quick 30 minute drive. But this trip isn't just about hearing Lysa speak again. That's kind of like the excuse. The 4.5 hours is what Katie and I need. Time. Time to sit together, undistracted, and talk....or be silent. That's the thing I like about her most. We can say everything or nothing and still feel like our worries have been heard because after all, its God that does the real listening. It's also God that does the real talking and I'm so thankful to have a friend that listens to the Holy Spirit in our times together. Not just for her own sake, but for mine. So many times she'll speak right to the heart of what I need to hear simply because she lets God talk right through her to me.

So...yes, we're driving 4.5 hours to talk, listen to Lysa a little, and then talk for another 4.5 hours coming home the next day. Give us a break...we're women, and we've got a lot of words to use up! I'm certain our husbands will thank us later.

Openhandedness

Generosity. (and the cursor blinks...and blinks)



I don't have a clue how to start this one, but it's heavy on my heart. Just yesterday Pastor Rob opened our hearts to a passage that speaks (and most certainly does not beat around the bush) about robbing God, Malachi 3:8-10.
   "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. 
   "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
   "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that you will not have enough room for it."
Southbrook folks, remember this? (shake head yes) If you don't, then you were either not at church or unconscious for an hour. Both of which mean you should check it out now.

I titled this post Openhandedness because when I searched for synonyms of Generosity it was one of the many that came up. I find it awfully easy to understand generosity in terms of it's synonym, that I cannot rob God of anything if I have an opened hand and quit clutching that which is not mine. It's not rocket science. Generosity isn't an above and beyond kind of word that only describes a few special people. It's not something to strive for one day. If you have a hand, you're fully resourced. It's simply letting go, or opening your hand, to the things that God provided you with in the first place.

I find it awfully ironic as well that once my hands are opened and giving back to God the things that are His, it is also much easier to receive His abundant blessings in response to that obedience. After all, if I stretch out my clenched fists and say, "Alright God, take what's oozing out between my fingers." Isn't He more likely to say, "Well, now that I've cleaned up your scraps, looks like you don't have room in your hands for me to give you anything back." And we seriously sit and wonder why we aren't receiving God's blessings? Uhmm, hello?!? When you learn to open your hands and outstretch your arms, then He'll give you the blessings that only those with openhandedness can even attempt to hold.

When You're Bored

Yesterday, just like always, immediately following breakfast I grew bored and wondered what I was going to do with allll of my day while Phil quickly realized that Saturday morning cartoons weren't an option. :o) We decided to really get to work on the kitchen. We're in the midst of a cheap overhaul. Rather than the quite large figure that Lowes gave us (a comma was involved), we've been able to create the same effect for the simple price of 2 cans of paint.  Before parting ways we reminded each other that the usual jam sessions during work projects wouldn't be happening without a radio...it was almost a pep-talk to ourselves. With Phil outside sanding cabinet doors and me inside elbow deep in painting cabinet interiors, the morning was growing even more boring. Not 30 minutes later I heard the gravel driveway crunching and Phil starts talking with someone out front.

I walk out to find 2 older women on the porch and a 3rd man still sitting in the car. The scene was familiar to me, we had encountered a similar one at a friends house last year. The two women, as sweet as can be, came with a simple message and handed us each a small magazine. Ironically, mine was all about social media. This opened an entire conversation that I'm certain they weren't ready for about our 7 project and the truths surrounding why we were doing it. Cutting out excess in order to deliberately make room for God's whispers to be heard and His heart to fill ours. The conversation continued to a message they came to share that I simply can't agree with because it's just not biblical, but their curiosity about the decisions we have recently made was undeniable. We talked a bit more about the concept of a cluttered (but sadly typical) life that gets in the way of God. They left a bit later, hoping to come back and talk more another time.

Now, I'm not naive, I do realize that they'd love to come back and talk about their  message. I don't really think they're chomping at the bit to hear more about this crazy 7 thing. But any other time I'd most likely dismiss everything, even their presence in front of me, and just try to get back to work. Letting the noise of the radio drown out any further thoughts. Instead, Phil and I realized the door that was opened. We gladly shared how Christ was working in our life at the moment. We also spent the next 30 minutes after they left digging in the Bible, testing all of what we heard, and confirming their false message. You see, when you clear away some clutter and are willing to let God use your time, He'll most certainly deliver....and sometimes right onto your doorstep.

Day 1

No, I'm not updating daily for the next 7 months...I just didn't have a catchy title for this post.


Two things:

1. Silence is scary. Seriously. Without tv or internet, my entire morning was spent eating breakfast and wandering the halls of my home. I didn't know what to do with myself. There was no tv or radio in the background to fill space and my mind had nothing to wander to without facebook as an option. Not to mention we live in the sticks, so it's already creepy quiet to begin with. Finally I heard my phone ring when a sweet friend called to see how the first 10 hours of this whole thing was going...realizing she couldn't just text me the question. I was so thankful to hear her voice and put an end to the silence. By that time I had realized that a "to do list" was in order. While I had numerous things that clearly needed to get done, I explained to her that part of me simply wanted to revolt like a little child and not admit how much soul-sucking time I had previously wasted on media. As if sitting on my rump in front of a turned off tv and a closed laptop was truly proving anything...

2. I cheated. Yup, already! On that list of things to do, I needed to plan a trip to the grocery store. But, you see, I don't just go all whilly nilly with this...I'm a planner because I'm an ultimate forgetter and a hopeful saver. If I don't it write down, I will not remember to get it. On top of that, I plan meals out for the week, search for deals, and (yup, you guessed it) use coupons. Realizing that I always throw away the paper circulars and instead search for store discounts online....I faced my first 7 dilemma. Rather than sending myself into shock, I made the executive decision to use foodlion.com in order to expedite this process and continue on my savings streak. So sue me. Next week I'll keep the paper...