Friday Favorites...

I know there are a lot of blogs out there that do some fun posts on Friday and since I’ve been a little MIA lately, I thought I would go ahead and join the Friday Fun Bandwagon.  I’m starting this out this week because tomorrow is the first day of August, which is one of my favorite months.  And here are a few reasons why:

1. My Birthday!  Yep, that’s right.  I kind of have a love/hate relationship with my birthday.  I don’t mind getting older, but for many years I had really bad birthdays (grandma had a heart attack and stroke on my 17^th and then there was the year that my mom, husband, and son forgot – and no, it wasn’t a joke).  However, I’ve still always looked forward to my birthday.  Isn’t there just something fun about being silly and enjoying the day God placed you on this Earth?

2.  School supplies.  I’m SUCH a weirdo, but there is just an amazing joy that comes from shopping for school supplies.  When I was in school, I loved it, too.  I didn’t care about starting school, but I loved the school supply shopping (more so than clothes shopping).  Now that we homeschool, it’s even better because I get to make my own school supply list!  And if I happen to add a couple fun binders and pens that end up being too girly for my son to use, then I guess I’ll take them off his hands.

3.  Weather.  Yes, August is still hot.  And humid.  And miserable.  But there is hope in August, right?  You know that after August comes September then October.  The end of the oppressive heat and humidity is in sight.  It’s just around the corner.  Don’t believe me?  Look at all the pretty sweaters that are now in stores.

4.  Back to School Planning.  Now, this isn’t to be confused with school supplies although, there is a bit of overlap here.  Being the nerd that I am, I love sitting down with my calendar and planning out our school year.  Where are the 3-day vacations and weeklong breaks?  What are we going to study first semester and what will wait until the spring?  This is my jam, y’all.  I’m a planner and I love it.  It is hard and takes a lot of work, but it is oh, so rewarding.

5.  For The Love.  Yes!  It is finally here.  The book that I have been gushing over and quoting to all that would listen, yeah, it comes out this month.  18 Aug, to be exact (one week after my birthday!).  Seriously, this is book is awesome.  It melds the idea of being a Kingdom people with lots of humor and presents it in a real way.  The good news is that you don’t have to wait until August to buy it.  You can preorder it here now! 

This concludes this week’s faves.  What are some of the things that you are excited about this week?

Victory in Inches...

Oh, goodness! This could be the theme of my life. It's a phrase that the Hubs and I coined a while back during a particularly tough duty station. There was rampant wickedness and horrible situations and a lot of issues in our family. We really didn't know where to start or how to fix things. So, we just jumped in and followed Jesus. And things began to change. Little by little, here and there, things got better.

That's when we started using this term, Victory in Inches. There were no huge, life shattering moments, it was just the little things that were happening slowly, over time until one day when we turned around we could see undeniable progress. 

So, here we are again. There's a huge task before us, major house renovation and a major change in lifestyle (hello, homesteading!). I'm glad the Hubs knows where to start, because I certainly don't. And start, we have. Things are going, moving forward, but it seems that it is at a glacial pace. I'm the kind of person who goes for a walk in the morning and wonders if I'm skinny and healthy yet. 

Because of this, I am struggling with this project. It's one of the biggest of my life and certainly the biggest of my marriage. So, we definitely need to take our time and do it right. That's what I want. But I also want it done and want it done now. This is the part of me that I'm having to crucify daily. 

However, there's that other part that keeps sneaking in. The part that's telling me that we aren't making any progress and it's all for naught. All this sacrifice, all this work, it's just spinning our wheels. Oh, how easy these thoughts come. How easily my mind conjures the negative aspects and feeds on them. This is what I'm currently combatting. Every setback, every missed deadline is feeding into this line of thinking. 

This is why I have to occasionally do a "moto check." I have to stop and turn around. I have to make myself look at where we started so that I can see how far we've come. It's not drastic and it looks far worse now than when we started, but there is progress. Slow, steady moving forward. Victory in inches. It's not pretty yet and it isn't comfortable, but it's necessary.

For any person, in any stage of life, it's so much easier to focus on the negative aspects, to spend our time looking at how much is left, rather than what has been accomplished. But we can't live there, in that place. That is not our home.  No, our call is to live in the victory and hope that has been promised to us. When it is difficult and discouraging, we have to remember to take the time to see where we've been and how far Jesus has brought us. Because even when the victory comes in inches, we are still gaining ground. 

How the Church should Respond

I don't claim to be a theologian or an expert in Christianity, the Bible, or God, but I am a faithful follower of Jesus, a member of one of His churches, and a student of His Word and Teachings.  And I'm angry.  And disappointed.  And concerned.

So much has been happening in our world lately.  I don't need to name it.  I'm sure most are aware; it's hard not to be aware.  I had to take a large break from social media for a few days just to try to keep myself sane.  I have so much on my heart and I didn't want to become part of the problem that is so upsetting.

I have seen so much conversation in the last few weeks, but I'm not exactly sure what all is actually being said.  I have friends on both sides of any given event.  I see those who are trying to turn certain events into a call to arms, a political agenda, or a direct hit to their religion, or advocating those who do.  It is easy to see why social media makes a great platform for such things.

Now, I'm not dissing social media because I love social media.  Facebook makes keeping connected to friends all over the world a reality and gives me a chance to keep in touch with family now that I live far away.  Twitter is just fun and funny.  Instagram allows me to post as many pics of food as I please with little to no guilt!  I think social media is fabulous and all about how you use it and using it responsibly.

With all that being said, I also think that social media is a great place for discussion on relevant and timely topics.  It's a great way to weigh in on what's happening around us and to occasionally vent our frustrations over such things.  However, it is also a great way to incite a cyber riot.  With access to so many and so little repercussions, it is easy to gain a mob mentality.  With the ease of merely 'liking' a status or 'favoriting' a tweet, it is easy to click or type before you think.

THIS is what is dangerous.  When you have someone type something out that sounds good and your fingers move before you can really think about it, you are in danger of just following along.  I have read some really great things from a lot of people lately that sound like they are in line with what Jesus has taught.  However, we need to make sure that we aren't depending on just what sounds good.  We have to think and discern what is Truth.

There is also an issue with many spouting how awful things are today, and I guess they are.  But really are they any worse than in previous times?  Things will never be perfect here, not until Jesus comes.  However, we have to look at history and no matter how far back you look, you will see evil and how God's people dealt with that evil.  

The things that are happening in our generation are not new in the grand scheme of things; they are just new to us.  And I have to admit, our pride, our hubris, has caused us to believe that this is special for us and that we, as the church, especially in America, are under a special charge today.  We believe that we are the first to deal with sin (because when you boil it all down, that's what it is) and sin on this scale.  We aren't and these sins aren't even new!

I fear that we are letting ourselves be distracted and have been for a long time.  We are worried about fighting on so many fronts and letting ourselves believe that it is our job to fight these wrongs in the first place that we are missing the places where we are truly called to fight.  When we expend all our time, effort, and energy to speak about political issues and forget the widows and orphans, then we are directly working against the commands set for in the Bible!  When we spend more time typing furiously and debating strangers and friends on Facebook, we are forgetting that there are those that are hungry, thirsty, and naked standing in our presence and we can't even see them.

We are also missing out on teaching the future generations of the church, some more than others.  We may make sure that they know the stories of Noah and Jonah and all the other "Sunday School" stories and we make sure that they are getting taught proper doctrinal salvation, but what then?  After our children have become believers of Jesus, what do we do?  What do we model?  If we continually repeat the same "children's Bible stories" throughout their childhood and never expound upon them, where do we end up?  A 10-year old can be taught the same story as a 5-year old, but if it is at the same level of depth, then we are doing a great disservice.  

We must make sure that our children, as well as ourselves, are growing in holiness, sanctification, and God's Word.  We have to seek this depth; we have to work at it.  We have to help our children see this depth and see us model it in our own lives.  This is how the church combats these evils.  We live out Truth and teach it to those in our charge, whether children or students or people in our life that we have influence over.  This is the call of God's church.

Me & the Ocean...

Can I just tell you how much I love the ocean?  Because it's a lot.  I mean it.  I grew up in a land locked state, but it was right along the Mississippi river, so I saw water a lot.  It's always been a bit of a comfort.

Fast forward several years to when I married a young sailor in the US Navy and then being around the ocean became a serious thing (other than a short stint in the Mojave Desert, but we don't talk much about that).  When my son was born in Northern California, I had a view of the water from my hospital room.  

While living in Rhode Island (our last duty station), I literally lived on an island, which meant I crossed over the water constantly.  And even though it was almost always too cold to swim (I AM a southerner after all), I loved going to the beach, whether rocky or sandy, and just hanging out.  I loved going to Cape Cod in the winter or finding other fun spots to hang out.

However, three years ago we moved from RI to Tennessee.  Another landlocked state.  Now, there are a few lakes with decent beaches, but I'm an ocean kind of girl.  I just like to see it.  And it's been two years since I spent any time near it.

Now I am in Florida (I am a bit partial to the Pacific, but I'll take what I can get).  I haven't gotten to spend any time near the water, but driving all the way down to the bottom of the state gave me enough glimpses that I have realized how much I missed it.

I don't know if I'll get to spend much time actually on the beach this trip (this humidity + a broken ac), but I am thankful to be able to see it and enjoy it.  It is amazing how much the little things can mean so much.

Deconstruction is hard...

As I sit comfortably in a nice, cool living room in a beautiful, fully finished home, I do feel a little guilty.  As I posted just a little while ago, we are in the midst of restoring our very own little farmhouse (with lots of 'potential').  Right now we are smack in the middle of the deconstruction phase.  And let me tell you there is a lot to demo.

Yet, as I sit here in comfort and blessedly using the wifi, the Hubs is currently 'roughing it' by living in the house while tearing it apart.  He's got his tent and a little kitchen area set up in the living room (we won't get into the bathroom situation, but he does have a solar shower).  He doesn't mind at all.  He even kind of enjoys it.  That helps mitigate my guilt (I'm house-sitting for friends while he roughs it and Chas is at Singing School).

Today, I went out to visit and help where I could.  As I looked around, I was terrified (and not just because of the bugs buzzing around outside).  I couldn't help but think of all that the Hubs was tearing up and how awful it all looked.  I knew that this was going to be a lot of work and that gutting a house was never pretty.  But this looked worse that I had imagined.

This is the kitchen.

I knew there was a lot of work to be done and a lot that had to be torn away (eventually, the entire kitchen is going to be completely removed from the house and redone).  Knowing was one thing, seeing it in progress was something completely different.

The is room was formerly known as the bathroom.

So, I had my freakout moment and the Hubs sat me down and began talking to me.  I wasn't hysterical, but I was kind of having a meltdown like a 2-year old.  He asked why I was upset.  I told him that it just seemed like house was in a horrible state and that it was never going to get done.  Things were so much worse than we had thought and planned.  We'd never get done and never be in budget (told ya I had a flair for the dramatic).

Random detritus in current bedroom #2 (eventually to become pantry & utility room)

As I unloaded, the Hubs just smiled and told me that this wasn't near as bad as it looked.  Yes, there was a large mess (the dumpster was just unloaded, so we can get this cleaned up a bit!), and things looked worse, but that was just one step of the process.  And it is a very hard step.  You see, since the entire house isn't a lost cause, we have to strategically remove the rotten and damaged parts, not just destroy the entire structure.  But once that is done, we'll rebuild and repair the damaged areas and building always goes faster than deconstructing.

I have reflected on that this afternoon.  It makes a lot of sense and I understand why it's the case.  But does this just work for houses?  Isn't it hard for us to strategically cut out the rotten or diseased portions of our life?  Doesn't it look messy and seem like nothing good will ever come from it?  But how wonderful is the rebuilding stage!  It's amazing how once the damaged parts are removed and we allow God's Holy Spirit to come in and fill those spots and begin that work of remaking us, things begin to take shape again.

I know that we have a long road ahead of us.  It may not be pleasant and it will be hard.  However, I have to remember not to just focus on the mess that's before me, but to look at the entire picture.  I think I need to do this in all areas of my life, as well.  It's easy to focus on what's being removed and not focus on what is being built  That's why we must keep our eye on the prize that is set before us and encourage one another so that when one is struggling, there are others there to help carry the burden.

A Note to Women About Shame

Recently I have talked to two different women on two separate occasions and heard stories from their past.  One woman explained to me that she had no problem talking to people of the church about her past, after all, it was all stuff that had happened and there was no point in denying it or pretending it didn't exist.  The second woman admitted things from her past and was quite ashamed.  She told me that she rarely talked about it because she was so ashamed.

When talking to the first woman, I was bolstered.  I talked about some less than stellar moments from my past and how, although I didn't consistently proclaim them, I tried not to shy away either.  Because if I didn't admit my checkered past, then how could I adequately describe Jesus' grace, forgiveness, and redemption?

In the discussion with the second, I was deeply saddened by her grief and shame.  I was reminded and reminded her of the women of the Bible who had less than glowing pasts (and presents, in some cases).

Mary, Jesus' mother, was an unwed, pregnant teen.  Can you imagine the conflict within her?  Here she was counted faithful by God Almighty, called to bear His Son, and yet, she had to deal with some of the looks and opinions of others?  My main take-away here is the fact that if I am adhering to God's will and doing as He would have, then the opinions and rejections of others are no match!

Mary Magdalene was a woman who was possessed by (seven) demons.  Can you imagine the shame that she may have felt after being delivered from that?  But we have no record of that.  We have stories of her following the one who redeemed her, ministering and remaining faithful.  There was no time for shame.  She had work to do.

Composite Magdalen, Frans Francken II, 1637

The woman caught in adultery wasn't condemned by Jesus or stoned.  She was forgiven.  She went on her way with the command to, "sin no more."  Isn't that all we can do?  When we repent and are forgiven, we must make sure that we have truly turned away and no longer commit that sin.

Then we have the story of the Samaritan woman at the well!  Oh, how this story moves my heart.  She had everything against her.  She was a woman and a Samaritan.  She had had many husbands and was currently living with one to whom she wasn't married.  Yet, Jesus still talked to her, forgave her, and commissioned her to go and spread His message.  She wasn't disqualified because of her sin.  No, it was because she had been forgiven much that she was able to love much!

You see, the Bible is full of people with horrible stories in their past, both men and women.  We can't forget our past because it is part of us.  It has shaped us and created who we are.  We can't forget, but we also can't let it rule us or let it hold us back.  We have to see it for what it is.  It is a small part of our beautiful story, part of God's ultimate story of redemption.  If we have nothing to be redeemed from, what need have we of a redeemer?  

So, Sisters, please don't let your past continue to hold sway and shame over you.  Don't let it guide you and hider you from the work that God may be calling you to.  Be as free as Jesus has called you to be when He released you from the bondage to sin.  See your beauty in Him and let that be the greater part of your story! 

And don't forget Rahab the harlot was grafted into the very lineage of Jesus Himself.

Got Perspective?

The Hubs used to teach a class called Biblical Leadership for future military officers. He taught the class for over two years. Early on, a young man came in and told a story. 

He was in training, doing calisthenics in a sand pit while being sprayed with a fire hose (it is much more intense than it sounds). During this session, he was maxed out. Tired, hungry, homesick, low. It's kind of the point of this kind of military training. They break you down and then rebuild you. However, this kid was on the verge of just quitting, walking away from all of it. But as he was thinking this, he looked up and saw a rainbow in the water being sprayed on him and his fellow officer candidates.

It reminded him of God's promise not to destroy the world with water again and that made him realize that he would not be destroyed there, no matter what the DI's threw at him. It was a lesson in perspective. 

Due to the transient nature of that base, new candidates cycled in and out pretty often but that story remained. Those that heard the original candidate tell the story would continue to ask for prayer for perspective each and every time we met. As they graduated and moved on and new people came in, the hold-overs would ask for prayers for perspective and every so often the Hubs would tell the story again. To remind those who were being torn down that it was okay. They wouldn't be destroyed there. 

It was one of the main lessons we learned during our time at that base. But oh, how quickly we forget! It was only 3 years ago that we left that duty station. 

And, yet, here I sit. Exhausted, tired, and low. We've had a rough couple of days. We are in the process of gutting and remodeling a 100+ year old farmhouse. Because of this, we've moved almost all of our household goods into storage and are going to be nomads this summer. (At least Chas & I, Hubs will be working on the house) 

So as I sit in a small room that is filled with luggage, a futon, and Chas' sleeping bag on the floor, I'm tempted to lament and feel awful. I am tempted to start the "Woe is me" lines. 

But I have to remember my perspective. I have to keep my eye light, as we're told in Matthew 6:22. I am blessed. We have a house. We have some amazing friends who are letting us stay with them (such a blessing!). I am going to visit my parents for the first time since Christmas. There is so much more positive going on than negative. 

As if God knew that I would be tempted to let the exhaustion and sorrow take over, He gave me this Saturday afternoon:

Now, I just have to remind myself of His promises and remember my joy!