What do you see in the mirror

I discovered a new phone app called AgingBooth.  I have had so much fun with it.  I have aged everyone in my family just to see what they would look like with a few years on them.  We have had many laughs.  It reminds me of a poem I read a couple of years ago that goes something like this:

A very wierd thing has happened.  A strange old lady has moved into my house.  I have no idea who she is, where she came from or how she got in.  All I know is that one day she wasn't there and the next day, she was. 

She manages to keep out of sight for the most part but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her.  Whenever I look in the mirror to check my appearance, there she is completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body.

You get the gist of it. We have been studying the book of Romans and I taught the lesson on transformation.  I asked the question "If you look in the mirror, who will you see?"  Will you see you? Will you see a new person?  Will you see a reflection of Jesus Christ?

We put so much emphasis on how we look on the outside but Christ is more concerned about who we are on the inside.   True transformation is a process, we can't use a phone app to transform us into being "christ-like."  That is my goal, to daily grow in the Word, to live a christ like life, and to be a reflection of Him.  I guess I could begin by asking "What do you see when you look in the mirror?" I've been thinking about that for a couple of weeks and this morning, God really spoke to me with one particular verse. 

I have to remind myself that while our outer being may eventually waste away, I can not concern my self with that old lady that keeps visiting my mirror.  I have to to strive for this one thing..."When I look in the mirror, do I see his likeness!" 

And I-in righteousness-I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Psalm 17:15

It's in my way

I am not very computer literate.  I have difficulties and struggles with technology if it goes beyond email.  I often have to call someone to help.  I discovered something fun on my computer that allowed me to change my curser.  I saw "cursor mania" on my tool bar so I activated it.  It gave me a choice of any cursor I wanted so I chose a Bible.  As I maneuvered through my new documents however, I found this "new cursor" to be bothersome and it impeded my view of the words I had typed.  I caught myself saying "That Bible is getting in my way."

It brought me to the idea that too many people can live by the standards of this age and choose to remain there because "the Bible gets in their way."  You see, if we are to become wise, we are to get into the Bible not get rid of the Bible.

What society sees as compliance and acceptance is judged by our culture's standards not God's.  God's word says that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in his sight.  So, when referring to the Bible, why dont we say "just lead the way" instead of saying "it's in my way!"

Do not deceive yourselves.  If anyone of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom os tihs world is foolishness in God's sight.  1 Corinthians 3:18-19

No U-Turns

During my daily route to work, I traveled through a familiar but congested road.  FM 1960 is a stretch of road that leads to many places.  In my travels, I make a left turn from 1960 onto Farrell Road.  Unfortunately, the light at this intersection is exceptionally long.  Being that it was always between 5:15 and 5:30 in the morning, drivers often circumvented the red light by getting in the next lane where the light was green, crossing the intersection and making a quick u-turn to get back onto Farrell Rd.  However, I would always sit and wait.  Guess what?  When the light eventually turned green and I went, I would usually catch up with them at the next stop. Red lights are put in place to manage traffic and allow it to flow better.  Many may view them as inconvienent and a barrier. 

In our walk with Christ, we may encounter red lights.  Those times in our life that just seem to stop us.  Maybe we lost our job, or we lost a family member, divorce or broken relationship and we have to stop and wait on God.  The question is will you stop or will you make that u-turn and do things your way.  When you find yourself in a place of waiting on God, fully trust him and know that that He is in contol.
Use that time to see God work...you can only do that if you wait.

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!  Isaiah 30:18

Drop your baggage

In June 2009, I accompanied my son on a school trip to New York.  During that trip, we took several tours.  One of those was a tour of Ellis Island.  In the tour, we learned that beginning in the 1800's, many immigrants passed through Ellis Island while entering the great land of America.  They came from all parts.

In order to get through Ellis Island, each one had to go to the registry room to get processed.  "The first stop" said the tour guide "was to come in and drop their baggage."  No one made it to the registry room carrying any baggage.  It made me think how amazing it is that God says he will take our baggage. No need to carry that self-imposed, heavy baggage that we bring with us.  It must have been difficult enough to those coming into Ellis Island to a new land and now they were being asked to leave all their baggage behind.  So it is with us sometimes, we carry that baggage with us falsely believing it supports us and often making it our is our sense of security.  God says to give it him, leave it behind and He will not let you fall.  So if you're still holding on it's time to let it go...drop your baggage.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.  He will never let the righteous fall.  Psalm 55:22

He never sleeps

Last night I found myself sleeping alone as my husband was on an overnight trip.  My son slept quietly in his own room. I found that I could not sleep and finally dozed off at 1:00 AM.  Thirty minutes later, I was wide awake.  In my bedroom, I have a projection clock which is the best gift in the world.  I have had it for several years and I love it because the moment I open my eyes, the time is reflected on my ceiling.  That's why I can tell you I woke up several times throughout the night beginning at 1:30.

You might be asking why.  Well here's how I justify it.  My husband was gone and I was responsible for my son.  I double checked all the doors, made sure the alarm was set, had my "attack dog" in my bed and had all my lights in place. When I would check on my son, he was unaffected....he was sleeping soundly. 

It made me think about a friend that I worked with a few years back.  I came into work one day and told him a story of sleeplessness. He responded by saying "God's word says He does not sleep...there's no need for both of us to stay awake."

Here I was feeling like I needed to "stand guard" over my house which contained one of my most precious gifts-my son, and God has already said "...he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."  That is why it is so important to be in God's word so that we know what it says.  Although I remembered Psalm 121 from quoting it in Spanish years ago, I let my insecurity get the best of me and let the enemy rob me of my sleep. 

Next time, I have a choice...stand guard and protect my household throughout the night causing me to lose sleep or trust God is covering the night shift and sleep soundly.  My choice is made because He never sleeps!

He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:3-4

I couldn't believe he knew me...

My organization consists of 5400 law enforcement officers.  It would be difficult for the leader to know or have a working relationship with every single individual.  As such, the organization is divided into smaller groups led by four leaders that answer to the Chief.  Those individuals are responsible for large groups of employees and it would still be difficult to know every single officer.  An employee once told me that one of those leaders who is pretty high up on the chain of command came up to him and congratulated him on a nomination for Instructor of the Year. 

The employee relayed to me that he was so surprized that the leader did this because the employee had never worked under him.  "He knew me and I never worked for him, how did he know me?"

God's word says that we are engraved on the palms of his hands.  As many as are in the earthly population, he knows you by name.

Can the mother forget her baby and have no compasison on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. 
Isaiah 49:15-16

What's done in the dark...

The other day I watched a dvd of a Tyler Perry play called What's Done in the Dark.  I loved the message of the play.

Last night was Halloween.  My husband and I don't usually acknowledge Halloween by giving out candy.  We usually volunteer to work a fall festival at the church I attended as a child however, due to it being a school night, there was no festival yesterday so we went out to dinner then came home.

Of course, we could not turn the lights on.  Our son had gone out to dinner also and we came in and sat in our living room in the dark.  Our living room is at the front of the house with large windows so we sat on the couch and watched the people in the street.  We could see everything that was going on.  We saw all the kids in costume, the parents, and even a few dressed up dogs. 

A car pulled up and parked in front of our house with a group of high school kids.  Although they could not see us, I recognized them as living at the back of our community and as members of our church.  It was easy to identify him as he wore his letter jacket and that settled all doubt.  We sat and made comments like "look at that child running in the middle of the street-where is the parent? or "look how dangerous those kids dangling from the tailgate of the truck" or "that car is going way to fast in this neighborhood." We saw individuals walking across our grass, pulling and tugging costumes, and dropping candy wrappers everywhere.

These individuals had no idea anyone was watching them.  I turned to my husband and told him "that is how we are in life."  We think we are hiding from God, think no one is watching, we think we are getting away with things...in the dark.  The rest of the title to the play is Whats Done in the Dark...always comes to the light!  We may think we are getting away with sin because no one is watching, but even in the dark, God knows who his children are and he knows what we do. Nothing goes unseen in the eyes of God. 

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Hebrews 4:13