Two Seconds

"We have to worship God in the difficult circumstances, and when He chooses, He will alter them in two seconds."
Oswald Chambers

God has brought us to the point at which we now find ourselves. The question is, do we try to find an escape hatch and treat the last few years as nothing more than a closed chapter in our history together? Or, do we hang on a little longer, knowing that all the hours we've invested in this passionate cause have been, as we suspected, our training ground for what lies just around the bend-two seconds away?

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
James 1:5

Chicken Soup Courtesy of Patton

“Our job is not to figure out the how. The how will show up out of a commitment and belief in the what.”

–Jack Canfield

Wow, this is a powerful quote! Who would have guessed that Jack Canfield, the architect of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books had a General Patton streak?
I happened to see this quote today on someone else's blog and it struck a chord in me for a couple of reasons.

First, when I woke up this morning, I was headachy, tired and a little groggy. I couldn't remember what day it was and when I did, I was not a happy camper. I've been trying to put together a large project at work and as my deadline draws closer, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

When the Lord first gave me this vision, I was thrilled and immediately saw myself at the top of the mountain-my goal accomplished.
But, this morning, I saw tiny little me back at base camp, staring wearily up at the summit, wondering why I started this climb to begin with. As I ate my breakfast, I entertained the liberating thought of telling my boss I was calling the project off.

Imagine my surprise when, shortly after arriving at work, I began reading a colleague's blog and saw the Canfiled quote waving like a matador's crimson cape in the page's margin ! God was crying, "Toro!" (Loose translation-"What you heard at breakfast was a bunch of bull from the Devil himself !" I guess God uses Chicken Soup not only to comfort the body, but to soothe the spirit as well.

You see, God never says, "Oops!" He gave me this vision and,along with it, the ability to see it through. I know the guy in the red suit (Satan, not Santa) would just relish the opportunity to deprive me of the blessing of completing this project,not to mention keeping the Lord from getting all the glory again!

Back to the quote. It says, don't worry about the "how" of your project. Commit yourself to the project itself and the "hows" will solve themselves. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:19) If He gives me a vision, He, in His graciousness, will equip me with anything I need to see that vision through.

All that ?

Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? How about rub your tummy and pat your head simultaneously? It's all about multitasking, isn't it sistahfriend?

Ever since the women's lib movement of the 70's sold us the "you can have it all' bill of goods, we have no choice but to multitask. That is unless we sprout more arms and being a creationist, I don't see our species going in that direction anytime soon !

Seriously, though, getting back to that women's lib thing, what ding-a-ling came up with that?


I watch old shows like "I Love Lucy" and I think Mrs Ricardo had it pretty good. Get Ricky's breakfast, send little Ricky off to school and spend the day cleaning and churning out clean clothes for everyone. Sit down, have a smoke, play some bridge with the women's club and have a home-cooked meal for the band leader when he came home. Ah, the simple life.

But, we had to have equal rights, careers, TV dinners, McDonald's and daycare. Heck, we even demanded and got our own cigarettes ! You've come a long way, Baby.

But wait, I don't remember voting on all that stuff ! Here's my version of women's lib:

There are some days when I am so rushed and overscheduled, I don't even know what day it is.

I fight the clock so much, I'm considering flying to Washington to testify against Daylight Savings time! How dare they take those 60 minutes from me-that is a perfectly good hour and I've already got plans for it too.

There are some nights when I am so exhausted I could cry and so mentally wired, I can't sleep. I've found myself asking the Lord to come to me in my dreams and give me the answers to the problems I couldn't solve the day before. (Sometimes He does !)

When my son was born, sixteen years ago, my husband and I decided I needed to be a stay at home mom. We had a five-year-old starting school and we had waited nearly 6 years to have our second child so that I could stay home for awhile.

I remember being 8 months pregnant with Joshua and asking some Christian friends for their counsel on whether or not I should quit my job.(At the time, I was making $13 an hour.)

I said, "Whenever I pray about this, the Lord keeps giving me the scripture that says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) Our good friend, Doug, replied, " Chris, who do you think put those desires there in the first place?" He also reminded us of the verse that follows, "Commit your way to the Lord , trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. " We had to make this choice for our family and then trust the Lord to keep His promises. And He did.

I treasured every day I spent with those children. My family was my first ministry and I reveled in that. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the housework, and cooking and grocery shopping because I knew I was in God's will.

The Lord has taken us down a different path and I've been working part-time for the past nine years. I have homeschooled my son since Kindergarten. He is now a junior.

My point is that I still treasure the time I spend with my family, but it isn't as carefree as it used to be. I still have to do the laundry and cook and shop for groceries along with planning our school lessons and deal with job issues. I am blessed to have a job that I love and all of our needs are met.
So I CAN have it all, right?

Well, if ALL means exhaustion, mental fatigue and a constant whisper in my ear saying that someone at home or work didn't get my best, then yes, I am the proud owner of ALL.

Any woman who says she loves leaving her baby with someone else while she goes off to work, or that she is more fulfilled because she has a career, is either lying or kidding herself.

In fairness to my gendermates, I understand how difficult it is to make a living. It takes 2 incomes to eat out, have a yearly vacation or give your kids a happy Christmas. I know this.
I'm just asking for women to admit that maybe our moms and grandmas had it a little better-not easier, mind you-just better.

Holy Red Light !

" Be ye holy; for I am holy. "
1Peter 1:16

The other morning I was sitting at a red light, my mind already lost in the jungle of what lay ahead that day. As I started across the intersection, my daughter calmly said,"You do know the light's still red, right?" As God would have it, there were no cars headed my way and I repented to the last half of the intersection.

Twice last week, I inadvertently entered the carpool lane on the freeway onramp when it was just little 'ol me in the car. I asked for forgiveness and prayed the Lord would not strike me dead before I got to work. (Obviously, he granted my request.)

Yesterday, I told a small lie to get out of an unpleasant commitment.

No, you're not reading an excerpt from The Enquirer. (I'd be confessing to People magazine for one thing-I do have some class.)
I am making my sordid life public for 3 reasons;

1. After searching high and low, I just can't find an altar at which to offer my sacrifice.
2. Living in a small apartment, and working for a church has left me with neither the space nor cash to keep any livestock to use for said offering.
3. To remind myself and whoever is reading this that my Father still loves me.

I try everyday to be holy, but I frequently mess up. Heck, donuts are always holy, but even they can often be crummy too. (Go ahead and groan !)

I was watching this old sitcom called "Family Affair," in which Uncle Bill spends hours trying to get his 6 year -old twin wards to keep quiet and stay out of trouble , so he can get some work done. (He's an engineer, so in this episode, he was blueprinting an extension to the Great Wall of China or something.)

Anyway, he finally decides to send the kids go off to camp for the weekend . Both he and his manservant, Mr. French, find themselves miserably lonely for the kids and eventually venture to the camp to bring them back. The first thing the kids do when they get home is break an expensive Ming vase. Though, Uncle Bill's work is once again interrupted, he smiles when his nephew asks, "Aren't you mad?" Uncle Bill's reply: "No, I'm not mad . It was just a silly old vase."

Before he sent them away, Uncle Bill wanted the twins to behave like adults. Not an easy task for 6 year-olds , but the kids tried because they loved their uncle and desired to please him.

I love Jesus and my strongest desire is to please Him, but boy, am I glad that when I break the laws of the California Highway Patrol, He gives me grace. I'm also thankful he keeps local Law Enforcement distracted long enough to miss my criminal activity.

Under my right wing

There is a website called Glassbooth that encourages folks to take a quiz that will tell them which Presidential candidate has views that most closely align with their own. Sounds simple, right? Should eliminate all the confusion, right?

I took the quiz and found out that to the left of my conservative right wing beats the heart of an Obama girl. Mmmm. My family say I've hidden this well. I wasn't sure I could wear the "O" proudly, so I took the quiz again.

O! Wow.
There it was again.
Last night KCAL 9 announced that on their website they had a similar quiz to "help you find your candidate in '08." Yeah I went there...

I was stung by a Huckabee. I must re-register with the Schizophrenic party!
The problem is that the questions on these 2 quizzes are worded completely differently. The KCAL quiz is much more black and white (or should I say red and blue?) The Glassbooth quiz is less distinct .

Red or blue? I'm in a purple haze! I'm beginning to think I should've gone with my first instinct, my gut feeling, my strongest emotion, and supported Jon Edwards-he's so cute!

Maps

I read this quote today that really inspired me. It went something like this:



Maps encourage boldness. They're like cryptic love letters. They make anything seem possible.-- Mark Jenkins, "To Timbuktu"



I have no idea who this Mark Jenkins is or even where Timbuktu may be, but this quote spoke to my heart for many reasons. Have you ever spread out a big map on the floor and plotted out your family's vacation? Everyone chimes in about what they'd like to do or what relatives they want to visit (or not visit). The parents excitedly plan what wonders or landmarks they'll suprise the kids with. And the whole family is anxiously awaitng the adventure that lies ahead. Everyone is filled with an expectant hope that their group will reach their destination.

As a Christian, I know my final destination is Heaven. But I am so excited each day to "plan" alongside the Lord how the hours will be spent, serving Him. Of course, sometimes my "to do" list gets ahead of God's. I know that while I am jotting down busywork on my notepad, most of the time the Lord is smiling to Himself, thinking ,"she has no idea what I have in store for her today." I've learned to be flexible about my plans and daily goals, because I know that if I let God do the driving, He might surprise me with a sidetrip on my journey; and His sidetrips are always better than anything I could ever have planned on my own.

There is a Bible verse that proclaims, where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) I believe the Lord calls on us to have a "map" for each day. He wants us to have a vision for how we can best accomplish the tasks He has called us to.

I've met some folks who are content to go through life with "no maps"- no direction or goals in sight; satisfied to just move from moment to moment, being tossed around like a piece of kelp floating in the Pacific Ocean (wow, I waxed dramatic-that's unusual for me:0)

But if you're a kelp, you really don't know or even care where you end up. You are pretty much a victim of the wind, the tides and the strength of the waves. A lot of kelp end up beached on the shore: helpless and dried out.

I prefer to have Jesus as my GPS. We've got the map spread out and He's invited me to pick out some stopping points (Wallyworld?). But, I'm looking forward to the surprise sidetrips!






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