Authority

One Sunday after Church, I was sitting eating with my youngest son, thinking about how in just a few short minutes….the mad week of running and not getting one night at home…. would give me a break by being able to stay home…. and ….veg!!!

After getting home and settled in to my recliner…. I received a text from my oldest son that said….. James (my grandson) has a football game at 4:30 today!

Oh well…. I thought…why not!  Who needs a day off….?   Football games are just about over and I have only gotten to go to one of his so…
After a …shorter than my body was needing or wanting period of time in my recliner… I was in my car heading to a 9-10 year old football game !

It really was a pretty, pretty day to be outside!   My 3 year old Granddaughter was enjoying the outside as well, as she ran in the wide open spaces around the track so…. a lot of the ballgame I watched walking the sidelines.

I never understood the game in-depth… my knowledge of the game goes like this….
You have two teams….. (I couldn’t tell you how many are supposed to be on the field at one time though)
They start the game on the 50 yard line.
They run the ball…. throw the ball…. kick the ball.
A touch down is a score and it is worth 6 points.
A Field goal… 1 point… but a run gives you 2 points.
4 Quarters…
A halftime.
Two arms in the air from the Referee means….. SCORE!
AND…….
If they throw a yellow flag… someone is in trouble….!

Now…. I see that little flag fly in lots of games… the reaction to those flags vary…..
Sometimes the player will walk off hoping that they wont call them for it….
Sometimes a player will throw their hands up admitting…..yep…it was me…
Sometimes either the player or the coach will storm the ref and argue at the top of their lungs…
….. and sometimes… the flag was thrown because one of the coaches stepped over a line by getting a little too mouthy.

Apparently…. that is what happened at the game Sunday.   I didn’t see the circumstance… didn’t see the flag thrown……but I watched the coach as he ran off of the field…. around the field… and after some strong words with the coordinator of the ballgames …. walked out of the stadium and continued to watch the last of the game on the out side of the fence.

I got to thinking about the situation….I wondered what he said… or what he had done to be bad enough to have gotten thrown out of a little kids ballgame.   How long had he been an agitation to the game, the kids playing the game, the fans….. the referee!     The thing I was really amazed at however,  was how a big man….and he was a big man…. could be made to actually leave the game….the Stadium…. by a man who was nearly half his size by simply throwing a little yellow handkerchief size piece of material on the ground, blowing his whistle and declaring he must leave the stadium!

He left….because of the authority the referee’s position gave him on the field.  The uniform…. the whistle….the Referee Association….. and that little yellow flag…. made a declaration to everyone in that stadium that he had that authority….and what ever he says…. goes… whether the coach or anybody else liked it or not!   It may have been ok to have questioned a call…. but… when it came down to how he questioned it or a matter of disrespect, the referee had the right to exercise his authority and do what he deemed necessary to keep order on and off of the field.   So with one swift movement…. the yellow flag came out of the pocket and into the air….. resting at the foot of the offender…. declaring enough is enough and off the field he went.

Too many times I have had those loud and obnoxious voices yelling at me from the sidelines in my life.   Those voices telling me that I am not worth anything.   Telling me I will never amount to anything, that I can’t do this or I should be doing that.    They yell Failure…. ugly…. loser…. sickness…..poverty…. loneliness…. depression.   Louder and louder they seem to get until it begins to interfere with my game of life on and off of the field.
Then I remember… I have been equipped!  I have been given a Whistle….. and….I have been given a little yellow flag.
I have been given Authority!

Luke 10:19 in the Amplified Bible says:   Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

Authority to call a penalty on those agitating voices that have come to distract my ability to reach my goal.  Authority to declare enough is enough.  Authority to eject those agitating voices out of the game…. out of the stadium… out of my life!

The Whistle ….. has been blown!
The Flag has been thrown!

It now lies at the feet of the offender…. and I use that authority given to me by Jesus to declare to the enemy and his lies…..

You’re outta here!

Listen For The ” But”

Has your Mother… or anyone really….. every told you to “clean out your ears”?

Maybe because they have tried to tell you something and have had to repeat it …. over.. and over… and over….and you still can’t comprehend what was said.
Maybe it was because you were exercising the “gift” of selective hearing….
Maybe you were so “tuned in” to what ever you were doing at the time you just “tuned out” everything else!
Or…. maybe we are just getting older and don’t hear like we used to.

You may have heard several Jokes involving a sometimes minor “miscommunication” that are really were quite comical.
oh….. why not….. I’ll post a few …. just to get the point across of course….

A man was bragging about his new hearing aid and how great it was and how well he could hear with it. His friend asks what kind is it and the man responded 12:30.An old man goes to his doctor and says, “I don’t think my wife’s hearing is as good as it used to be. What should I do?”
The doctor replies, “Try this test to find out for sure. When your wife is in the kitchen doing dishes, stand 15 feet behind her and ask her a question. If she doesn’t respond keep moving closer, asking the question until she hears you.”
The man goes home and sees his wife preparing dinner. He stands 15 feet behind her and says, “What’s for dinner, honey?” No response. He moves to 10 feet behind her and asks again — no response. Five feet, no answer.
Finally, he stands directly behind her and asks, “Honey, what’s for supper?”
She says, “For the fourth time, I SAID CHICKEN!”

Three hard of hearing dudes are standing on a street corner.
First hard of hearing dude says, “Brrrrr, its windy!”
Second one says, “No…it’s Thursday.”
Third one says, “Me too, let’s go get a drink.”

ok….well I am sure by now you have gotten the point…anyway…This morning I was reading in my Bible….  Matthew 17.
I read when the Disciples were not able to cure the boy with Epilepsy…. where Jesus rebuked the demon…. and when He was given the question of  why they could not drive it out He then told them ….” Because of the littleness of your faith (that is, your lack of firmly relying  trust.  For truly I say to you, If you have faith (that is living) like a grain of mustard seed,  you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you” (Matthew 17:20 AMP)

I ponder over that a little while thinking about the “pity party” I had just had the day before and then thinking how God has probably given out many deep sighs directed right at me for questioning His work and timing in my life.  ….. I prayed “Lord… increase my faith” as I read farther.

Verse 22 ….. When they were going about here and there in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is going to be turned over into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised (to Life) again on the third day.   And they were deeply and exceedingly grieved and distressed.

I have read that verse…heard that verse in Sermons and in teachings but today what jumped out to me was the last line…. And they were deeply and exceedingly grieved and distressed.
They had just been told that Jesus…. would be turned over to the hands of men and would be killed…. And they were deeply and exceedingly grieved and distressed.

In the NLV it says it this way….
The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of His enemies. 23 He will be killed, BUT on the third day He will be raise from the dead…….

Wait…. didn’t they hear the next part?……. The BEST part?…….and He will be raised (to Life) again on the third day!
Did they miss that part …. the “but”…..and that was why they were deeply and exceedingly grieved and distressed?

We are so funny ….. We tend to grab hold of the bad news way to quickly and forget that there will ALWAYS be a “but” somewhere in every situation we encounter….
That “but” means that we can…. and should … disregard the importance of everything that came before it…..and focus on what comes after the “but”!
Yes….It may be a fact…. that you lost your job…. you can not pay all the bills this month…. that the Dr. said there was little to know hope …. that your children have turned away from God… that The Son of Man is going to be turned over into the hands of men, and they will kill Him…..

BUT…..

Hang in there…. keep believing….keep standing on your faith…. and listen for that voice that finishes the sentence of your life that says…

BUT……

He (your situation) will  be (HAS ALREADY BEEN)  RAISED to LIFE again………!!!

 

 

 

Inconveniences or Interventions?

 

Basketball is now in full swing now that school is back from the Christmas break and with it being the last year I will have a High School student playing I hate to miss any of them.   I also know that those bleachers seem to get a bit more uncomfortable by each passing year I sit on them, so….. after getting to the gym too early and having to sit through 1 or 2 extra games before my son plays the last one…. I decided the other day that I would have plenty of time to drive out to the other end of town to a herb shop and still make it to the game in plenty of time.

Although Joplin MO is not a huge city… 5:00 traffic can start to get congested and it took me about 20 minutes to get to my destination and after finding what I came for I decided I sure didn’t want to try Main Street or Rangeline to go home so found the back road and cut through town.  I had not been down that part of town for quite a while and parts were still pretty barren from the Tornado that went through almost 2 years ago and it seemed to be hard to get my barrings on where exactly I was…( oh… sounds good to have something else to blame it on other than my lousy sense of direction … doesn’t it ?)

Finally…. 7th Street… I know where I am!
I turn onto 7th and begin to think that I should stop in somewhere and get something to eat so I wont be so hungry after the game and therefore blow the diet I began a week before.  There is a Sonic right outside of town that I usually stop at but notice the one on 7th that has a drive through… for some reason that drive through intrigued me even though I always hate that people use it when ordering more than a drink… but I had a brain freeze I guess and so I turned around and made my way to the Menu and speaker to place my order.

As I mentioned… I am on my diet plan and therefore Carbs are off-limits.  So I order my 44 ounce drink and a #1  Hamburger… no bun… and no cheese.   The Sonic at Stones Corner are used to my strange order but this one seemed to throw them off and she asked me several times to repeat the order… Questions like….No bun?  ……. No Cheese?…… Do you want the vegetables?  …… would you like Mustard, Ketchup or Mayo?… ok your order comes to 5.39 please drive forward.

I drive forward and sit behind the car in front of me and begin to calculate my timing on how I am running to get to the game on time.  Although I had time I begin to think of the possibility that the game before Colin’s game ran way early and I may miss the tip-off tried to creep into my mind but I reassure myself that there was no way that happen and pulled up to the window to retrieve my order.

The little lady opened up the window and  asked me…. “Now… what did you order?”  I said…. “I had the naked hamburger” so I didn’t have to go through the whole order again figuring she should be able to recognize it on the screen.   She shut the window so she could look for the order then after a few moments opened the window and said…. “we have lost your order…. it just disappeared off of our screen….. that has never happened before!”   She then informed me that she would have to take my order again and re-ring it up….
so…… once again…I told her that I would like a #1 hamburger…. no bun….no cheese….yes I wanted the vegetables…. and Mustard….!
“Did you have a drink with that?”    “Yes…. a 44oz Coke Zero with Cherry and Vanilla.”

She closes her window and I hear her holler back to the kitchen my order and after several minutes….. holding up the drive through….. I get my order and proceed on my way.  Well that was weird I thought.   Good thing I had settled in my mind that I would still have plenty of time to get to the gym to see tip-off or I might have really been upset.
After about and extra 5 minute delay I maneuver through the after work traffic…. I remember looking at my clock on the car as I passed the place I work and notice that it is 10 till six and Heidi is still with our last patient of the day…..
Wow…. Julie must have been running late tonight…..I thought….
Finally…. I make it out of town and on my way for the 30 minute drive to the game.
About 5 miles out of town I come up to the new Round-about they put in around October at the intersection of 43 and 96 in hopes to cut down on the many traffic accidents that have happened there over the years.   As I manipulate through it I notice a car that is sitting inside one of the curbings…..I notice a lady sitting inside the little red car….. people standing behind it….. the front of the car smashed in…. steam from the fluids still spewing from the front of the car….. a vehicle on the East and also one on the West of the road… and no emergency vehicles have arrived yet….
Should I stop?
Should I call 911?
Will I be in the way?
I decided they had enough help and that I should go on.

My mind began to run a course of events and thoughts…
“So much for a safer intersection”….
“That wreck must have JUST happened …. surely no longer than about 5 minutes ago because there was not even a first responder there…. steam still coming off the engine…good thing it isn’t real cold tonight…. I should text my friend Heidi who would pass through here very shortly that she should take a detour…. because the emergency vehicles would no doubt have that intersection blocked by the time she gets there.

I was well past the intersection when it dawned on me….
When have you ever heard of an order….. vanishing off of a screen at a fast food restaurant?  Why did that happen?  Why tonight…?   That little order miss-hap set me back …. what?….. about 5 minutes?
What if I had not been detained?
I would have been IN the round-about at the time that accident happened!

I checked the accident report the next day….
The wreck happened at 5:50!!!!

Grateful?
EXTREMELY!!!

He Truly watches over us!
The next day God gave me this Scripture….

You who love the Lord , hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
Psalm 97:10 NLT
Thank you Lord for Inconveniencing me!

Cain and Able

We have heard the story hundreds if not thousands of times and we….well…. maybe just I have not really …. I mean really dug into the many hidden lessons tucked inside.
Oh well sure… we know that Cain got mad at his brother…. because we all know he was jealous … because God accepted Abel’s  offering and not his… so he killed him…. then God sent him away with a special mark so no one would kill him.

I taught this to my Sunday School Class on Sunday.   It really is the neatest thing to “think” you are just going to relay a story in a lesson in the simplest form …..and God shows up and starts bringing things to the surface…. oh… not for the Jr High kids…. but for me!

So the lesson starts out by just reading the Scripture in Genesis, Chapter 4.
AND ADAM knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord.2  And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground

So…. they each had their own “profession”…. their own place in life.   One was a Shepherd … and one…. a Farmer.

3  And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.4  And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, 5  But for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed.

Now I have heard many reasons why God did not accept Cain’s offering, but let me give you my take on it…. (not a new gospel… just a different angle for you to chew on).
The Scripture says…. that Cain brought to the Lord “an offering”….. but Abel brought “of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions”.
This says to me that Abel’s offering was from the best part of his flock… of his profession… of his resources…He gave to God with a thankfulness of all that had been given him.
With Cain however….it is recorded as simply….. “an offering”.   No adjectives or expanded text to describe the offering  which says to me…. It more than likely was NOT the best he could have done.   NOT the first fruits of his crop….. NOT out of thankfulness but more than likely out of a ….. well… I have to give Him something but I am the one who did all the work and I will keep the best part.

6  And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected?7  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

I am sure that this was not the first time and offering had ever been given to God.   I know they were not kids….. and were old enough to have seen their parents give offerings of thanks…many times as they grew up.   Like those of us who have been to church since we were young.   We know the “routine”…. we know when it is time to be quiet… when  it is time to sing… we have seen the offering plate passed several times and have heard the Word taught about right and wrong……. unlike those who might have never been to church who have a learning time and a grace period.

Cain knew what was a right offering and what was not.   Did it matter that it was an offering from the ground and not of blood?   It doesn’t really say it was a sin offering so I am going to say…. No.   I do not think that is what mattered anymore than the offering of a widows mite or an offering off your income that could amount to thousands of dollars.   God knows your resources…. and He doesn’t expect you to give like your neighbor…. all He wants is that you give ….. from your heart.

He asked Cain why he was angry.    Was it God’s fault that the offering wasn’t received?   Was it really Abel’s fault that Cain’s offering wasn’t accepted?   He told him basically… “you know right from wrong….you knew what the acceptable offering would have been and you chose not to give that.   The fault then is on You…. not anyone else… just you!   …and. if you do not get a grip on that…. and you continue to do wrong…. sin…. trouble… is going to be waiting for you…. and it will destroy you.”

8  And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Cain refused to listen…. refused to accept the responsibility of his own actions.  He let it fester.    He became more and more focused on how bad Able made his offering look.  That God has always liked Able better than me.    If only I had gotten to be the Shepherd and not the Farmer….. Then I would have been able to give a better offering… pleasing to God…He sure does think he is all that……sucking up to God like that.   How dare he make me look bad.

Instead of repenting…. and doing the right thing…. he chose to get rid of the so-called competition he created in his mind.   If Able was gone… then his offering….. his service to God….. would look good….with nothing to compare it to.  He would not have to raise his standard of living or the quality of his giving.    But….. sin has a price… and this one left him to be cast out of the land and the home he knew… to leave the presence of the Lord….to be as a fugitive and a vagabond with no permanent home.    And yet… God still loved him so much that he sat a mark upon him that would protect him from being killed.

So…. this in itself was a good lesson.    We closed the class with prayer like we always did…. went to a fantastic Church service…. then went on with our day……
…..and then….

As I lay down to get ready for bed…. God begin to teach me a lesson from the very lesson I had given that morning.
He told me that there were times that I was like Cain.
OMGosh….!   NO WAY!!!!

Then he showed me….that I have looked at others with jealousy…. envy…. for no other reason than their “offerings” in life…. in their walk with God…their success…. was making my offerings look very unacceptable.   I have found myself beginning to place blame on the same things Cain did…..That God has always liked “Able” better than me.    If only I had gotten to be born into a family who had more money….. were strong Christians….were smarter… prettier….. Then of course I would have been able to give better offerings…… pleasing to God…They sure do think they are all that……sucking up to God like that.   How dare they make me look bad.   I pray…. I teach….. I give offerings…. I …..

But…. do I give the “First Fruits”….”the fat portions”…. the best of what I have to offer?    The answer is……NO….. not always…
…. and just like Cain… I know better… I have been raised and taught in the “right and wrong” ways so there is no one to blame for my “unaccepted ” offering but myself.   It is NOT Gods fault…. It is NOT the “‘Abel’s” who are around me…. it is NOT my finances or my circumstances…. it is NOT that God loves me less than He loves the “Abel’s” in my life….

Simply put… it is MY fault…
Now…it is my choice….
Deal with it…  change it…. make it right…
OR
Let it fester until I am cut off from the presence of God…..

I think we all know the answer to that one !!!

A Cherry Flavored Dum-Dum

With all of the posts and pictures I have seen on Facebook of my friends kids and grand-kids’  first day of school this week, I began thinking about my kids’ first days…. This was actually my youngest sons “last” first day of School…. and MY ….. “last”  first day of school as well.   I have 2 sons, 12 years apart, so needless to say I have been doing the “first” day of school thing for several years…..24 years to be exact!   THAT is a LOT of first days…

Several of those First days never turned out how I had imagined them in my head.   When Justin, my oldest, went to his first day of Kindergarten I just KNEW that I would have to pry him off of my leg because he didn’t want me to leave him….. or… that I would have to get him occupied doing something so I could sneak out unnoticed.

We walked into his classroom that day with all those nice new school supplies stacked so neatly in his little cigar style school box,  his Big Chief Tablet and his nap rug with a big smile on his face and a worried look on mine.   We looked around at all of the colorful posters on the wall…. the welcome to school theme on the bulletin boards…. the books, chalk, erasers and the big teachers desk …..We met the teacher……and then finally…. we found HIS name on a desk!!

Wow…. look that is YOUR name Justin!!!  His eyes grew wider with the realization that the teacher…. or someone …. knew his name and saved him a special spot of his own.   I then helped him arrange his supplies in his desk….of course…. his idea and mine about how it should fit, didn’t seem to be the same… but…it was HIS desk.  As my little 5 year old sat down in his first desk of his first day of his school career, I began to prepare him of the fact that I was going to have to go to work…. that he is going to have to stay here….. all day…. by himself…. but he is  big boy…. and I will be at Grandmas to pick him up after I get off of work to hear all about his first day of school!!!

It was like he was in a trance or something as he said…. “ok Mom…. I’ll see you later….”
Surely he didn’t hear me…. or understand me… probably in shock or just trying to be brave for his mom…. so as I stood up I repeated to him that I was now leaving... that I have to go…that he is going to have to stay…….all day…… by himself…..

“Ok Mom…. bye… love you too…. “

As I slowly backed  my way to the door I repeated…”Goodbye Justin…. I’m leaving now”…. to each he would reply with that cute little grin of his and a quick little wave…. “Ok Mom….. bye….love you too!”

As I got into my car, my emotions jumped from
Sadness…. my baby is in school… all grown up now…. not my baby now…life is going to be different than it was….
to:
Pride… what a big boy he was today… he didn’t cry or pitch a fit at all… he just marched in there like a little man…. sat down … ready for a brand new adventure….
to:
Unbelief….OMGosh…he didn’t even care that I was leaving…..he is not even going to miss me even a little bit…. he doesn’t love me any more…..!

Now….. the BEFORE School started…. the few weeks before enrollment….the day we had to go to the clinic and get the required vaccinations … now THAT was a different story!

We pulled up to the clinic and he really wasn’t sure WHERE we were or  WHY we were there….. I wasn’t about to tell him that because the thought of a “shot” and a needle…. was not something I wanted to deal with before …. during …. or after our visit.
Needless to say…my arm…. my neck…. my leg….. was grabbed and held on to very tightly from the time his name was called by the lady in the nurses uniform and the door was shut behind us……until the time that Cherry Flavored Dum-Dum was in his mouth and we were safely out of the little room, sitting in the waiting room for the necessary amount of time that would confirm he had no reactions.  The fact that this was for his own good and he was now,  inoculated from some very serious and life threatening diseases, and not simply a torture procedure was far from his thinking.

As we were sitting there…. we could hear a car pull up and through the closed doors of the clinic…we can hear a faint…… wail…. I assumed that maybe a child was hurt … or possibly just wasn’t happy about something that had happened in the car.  As the door of the clinic opened the “wail” became more of a scream… there was an urgency to the scream… along with the begging words of please… please ….please…. don’t make me do this… the bargaining of I promise …I promise…. I promise…that were trying to be blocked out by the father who was trying to answer the receptionist questions.

I was VERY glad at that moment that we had gotten here BEFORE she did!!!

It was very apparent that the very building… the front door… the whole atmosphere of  the Clinic was a source of bad memories for this little girl.  She had been there before and had a very bad experience and that memory was very much still etched deeply in here mind….. Or…. she was told hours or minutes before her arrival why she was coming here and what was going to happen to her when she got here…. The very thought of the pain and discomfort of a Dr or a Nurse… poking her with a needle was more than she could handle…

As all these memories flooded back to me…. I thought….
I bet some Non-Christians…. Non-Believers….. Non-Church goers have this same mentality of Church.

Some …. like Justin may not have been told where or why we are going and until ….. the door closes and the man dressed in the Preacher clothes begins to make things uncomfortable for us…. sticking us with sharp pains that hurt…. deep…and until we are outside in the foyer… shaking hands with people that were so glad we came did we finally realize…. it didn’t really hurt that bad.
….and then there are those who have either been there before and have been hurt…have had bad experiences there in the past….or have heard all the horror stories of what they will do to people like them if they ever even walk into the building….that pulling into the driveway throws them into a panic state.   Screaming…. begging… promising to do ANYTHING but make me go in there!

Are we apart of that memory?
Am I apart of that memory?

I believe…. that we might want to keep this analogy in mind the next time we invite someone or we see someone new walk into the doors of our church… treat them gently… hold their hand… let them grab on to the arm…. or leg…. of your strength, for comfort and reassurance, that although it may be uncomfortable for awhile… it will get better… easier….. the pain will lift after awhile and will be replaced with the comfort of knowing that they have been inoculated from a very serious and life threatening disease …..

….. and just maybe….just…. maybe…..a Cherry Flavored Dum-Dum to boot!

If I Had My Druthers……. ;~)

Years ago,  my 5-year-old son and I were moving into a new house around 30 miles away to a town my parents were living in.   Of course, like most things, the timing of the paper work from banks, real estate offices, closing offices and myself, all had different agendas.   It really wasn’t a major issue until it came down to the wire when school was going to start in just a few days and I didn’t have my house.
Questions began to fill my head….
Do I enroll Justin now?    Or… wait till we get there for sure?
Am I going to have to drive 30 miles every morning to school then turn around and go back the way I came to go to work?
Do we just stay with my Mom and Dad until we get moved in?
What if something falls through and I don’t get the house…….?

Well Praise God we closed the week before school started, but that meant I had to hurry and get things moved in like…. Pronto.
With the help of an old church bus my dad had converted to a camper several years ago… I had already packed several boxes of things and stored them in there weeks before.  Since it needed to be brought to Mom and Dads now, we might as well ……..kill two birds with one stone.

Once down there we made numerous trips back and forth between my new house and theirs, loading and unloading, box after box of …. stuff.     That evening,  I remember sitting in a chair taking a break from the day when my dad looked at me and said….“you look like you have been rode hard and put away wet”….What?

Over the years, I have heard several “old” or “odd” sayings come out of my dads mouth…. but that one,  I had not heard before.    Those sayings often dated him or pin pointed him to that geographical area he grew up in, down in good old Southwest Missouri.

Of course, now that I am older and much more “citified”, living in a little town that has a staggering population total of 800ish …..(not so sure they haven’t included the dogs and cats in that total)…… I am far above using that kind of slang…..  ;~)

It is truly “funny” how those old sayings…. those old ways…. can get ingrained into you and you have no idea when they are gonna slip out….
Sayings like:
I put it “over yonder”
I left it in the “back forty”
What are “Y’all” doing later?  (FYI: Spell check considered that a word !)
I……“reckon”
Well….“If I had my druthers”
Needless to say… I get some odd smiles out of people who don’t know me when these slip out now and again….. and if I catch that look….it reminds me that …. well….I’m different…and I had a different up  bringing…. and then ….I just smile remembering where I came from.    I remember the values I was taught. My roots.   My heritage.

I have talked to many people who…… “aint from around these parts”….. who have their own way of talking.
Some, put the emphasis on syllables that I never knew were in a word.
Others use $500 words scattered in their sentences that have me pulling up the dictionary app on my phone as soon as I get the chance to find out exactly what they have just said to me.
Some have heavy southern drawl while others from up north do that special thing they do with their “O’s” and their “R’s”.

We can determine a lot more from our conversations with someone if we really listen to what or how things are said.
Just by listening to someone, for a relatively short period of time,  we may be able to find out if they are shy….or if they are strong and confident.   We might be able to tell if they are a Democrat or a Republican if given the right subject matter.  We could find out if they are a KU Fan or a MU Fan……a career person or a stay at home Mom or Dad.

I wonder, sometimes, what people see and hear out of me in the few minutes of dialog I may have with them…. whether it be in the work place…. a High School ball game….Church…. or in the check out line at the local market….What can they determine from my words or my actions?

Do they assume that because I am in high heels most of the time and dressed up that I am a business woman?
Do I look ….. approachable?
Do the words that come out of my mouth say that I am from Missouri?  ……. From Southwest….. Missouri?
Do I seem to be a “nice” lady…….Polite?
Do My Words reflect my beliefs….?

Those little phrases that are ingrained in me…. my new heritage…. my roots….. those “old”…. and sometimes “odd” sayings I have heard my Father God say…. do they slip out while I am talking?    Those words should pin point the geographical location of my heart to anyone… who knew me or not.    Would they be able to walk away from me and say to themselves…. “There is something different about that lady…..I know she must be a Christian”.   Would I know…. where your heart was from….. by just a few short sentences in passing?

Maybe not….We are quick to judge and are quickly judged …not always taking into account of struggles or hurts someone may be facing at the time……but if given only a brief few minutes with someone who we may or may never see again….to leave an impression …..

I reckon …. I would like for every one of  Y’all ….next door…. or over yonder…. in the back forty ….even if you aint from around these parts…..to know without a shadow of a doubt….. that this little lady…. although her words may not be always cultured and refined…. they would always reflect the heritage of my Father God no matter where I am…..not matter my circumstances……my heart would give away its geographical location….

if I had my druthers !

W-A-I-T-I-N-G………………………………

Sometimes…….well actually, more times than I could probably count on both, my hands and feet, as well as yours….I have been talking to someone about something very casual and seemingly unimportant … or… ministering to them about a very real struggle in their life…… when out of my mouth comes the exact words that Ineeded to hear concerning something I was going through at that exact time!
God is pretty sneaky that way!
I have often wondered if it was as noticeable on my face, as it was in my spirit, when that revelation happened.   It is like a great big **** DUH**** slaps me across the head as those words  flow effortlessly in what seems like  slow motion  across my lips!

This Morning was one of those times.   I was sitting at my computer checking email on one screen and scrolling through Facebook on another, when up pops a Personal Message box.  The message said:

” Morning to ya, I sure do wish you would let it rain already, lol. Man it is a test of all farmers right now. I wonder what the Lord has in store???? I know He is up to something BIG!”

So….. I began to write a reply….. I typed:
“I have put my order in ….. just have to wait… like a fine restaurant vs fast food…. takes longer… but it is soooo much more satisfying“

SMACK!!!!

Ok God…. I hear You loud and clear!  Even though I wasn’t looking to be ….or….expecting to hear anything Spiritual out of that very general statement concerning rain…..I sure got the message loud and clear.
I typed in slow motion…..
“I have put my order in“……. (nope… you’re not done…. when you place an order…. what do you usually have to do?       WAIT)
“just have to wait“………(there is more…. don’t send it….How do you like to wait?   I don’t…..even in the drive through I don’t like to wait very long….. but…..)
“like a fine restaurant vs fast food“…….(Yes? ……oh no….. here it comes….. the “****DUH**** moment!)
“takes longer… but it is soooo much more satisfying“………(now….. you can send it!)

Yep….. there it is…. in black and white…. written….. not spoken… so I can reread it as many times as needed in order to let it truly soak in.   Since they are “my” words…. I cannot read anything in between the lines… or say it was a misprint…. or reason it away like I could if it was said by anyone else…. nope…. Crystal Clear and ringing Loud and Clear in my inner ears are the words I need to be reminded of!

“ like a fine restaurant vs fast food…. takes longer… but it is soooo much more satisfying“

Sometimes….. a fast food hamburger is all I need.  Time restraints…. like a lunch break for work during the week….. gives me  instant satisfaction and fills the need I have at the moment.

But…..Going into a nice restaurant…. One that has real tablecloths on the table……One that has ambiance……you will find that you are going to have to:

“WAIT” to be seated ….
“WAIT” to get a waitress…
“WAIT” to order…..
“WAIT” to get your food…..
“WAIT” to get the check……and
“WAIT” to pay the check…..

Why do we think it is ok to “WAIT” at a fine restaurant and not in the drive through line at McDonalds????
I think it is that we have placed a higher standard and expectation on the dine-in restaurant.    We know that we are  going to pay a higher price for the quality of the food and the service so we are more than happy to sacrifice that time, as well as the money, on those occasional splurges we have to treat our friends, family or ourselves.
We also find that our “Waiting” is hardly found to be an inconvenience.   Conversations move from subject to subject as we fill the spaces between the time we arrive till the time we leave.
Relationships are deepened……  Families grow stronger…….  Stress is relinquished…… We actually leave the restaurant with not only our basic need of daily nourishment being taken care of…… but, we received much more satisfaction than when we first walked in,  or if we had just grabbed a hamburger and fries through the drive through……. all because we had to “WAIT”!!

When we pray for things we either need…. or want…. what kind of answer do we want?
Some…. honestly, will not take much time…. like a drive through window we will find the answer pretty quick, and it will meet the need we have at the time.  Quick and to the point.
Others…. however…. are more intense…time worthy…..
We find that we have to “WAIT”…….. and “WAIT”……….and “WAIT”………!
While I “WAIT” however…. that time spent is not wasted!
My Relationship with God ……. deepens!
My Faith grows…… Stronger
My ways….. relinquished.

When the answer does come….. I will find that it will leave me more satisfied than if I would have gotten it before its time.
James 1:4(amp) says……But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed with no defects, lacking in nothing!!!!

That is what God spoke to me this morning in the middle of my Personal Message about rain!

Sooooo……..
Yes Lord….. I am willing to “WAIT” for the Best of the Best …. the Real Tablecloths……the perfect answer to my prayer that you have planed for me!