Monday, July 22, 2013

Sometimes it's the little details...

When I got back to my office this afternoon after eating lunch, I noticed that I had a visitor hanging around outside my window.


I'll have to admit that I have never really admired grasshoppers.  They can be pests, and they like to jump on me at the worst times.  They're not scary, but when I'm not expecting one to land on me (and then they do), the reaction is not a good one.  I really enjoyed the opportunity today to examine one a little closer.  My co-workers probably think I am crazy because I was talking to him, trying to get him to move closer so I could take a better picture.  He eventually moved closer but the picture didn't turn out well.  

As I was watching my little friend this afternoon, I noticed his mouth.  There were two little palps on either side of his mouth.  I'm not exactly sure what purpose they serve, or what he was doing while I was watching him, but it made me think.  Before, I always thought of grasshoppers as just pests or insects and thought nothing of swatting them away or squashing them under my shoe.  However, as I watched this grasshopper do whatever he was doing, I was fascinated by the little details I could see all over him.  To think that God would care about the little details on such a little insect (OK, not that little as he was the length of my pinkie finger), to put that much design and thought into something that is nothing more than a pest to most people, is an astounding thought.  If the Creator of the universe cares that much about an insect, then He must care about the little aspects of my life too.  

It's the little aspects of my life that are giving me the most worry this week.  Not worry so much, I have my own solutions to the issues that I know are going to come up.  I have my plans made.  I've been telling myself though, that God doesn't have much interest in my little things.  Most of us seek God when we have a big decision to make, like do I marry this person or do I take that job.  But when the little things roll around, we don't seek Him.  Or I know I don't.  I've never really felt like He would be that interested in the small things.  

My little friend tells me different.  My little friend tells me that God cares about the small things.  My little friend says that God cares about the legs on a grasshopper or the palps by a grasshopper's mouth.  My little friend says that God cares about the way a grasshopper moves and the way he's able to hang onto a hot window for 3 hours in the same afternoon.  So, am I going to give my little worries over to God? Will I let Him use the little things to make me into a better person?  Will I be like my little friend and hang on even when the window gets hot?  I guess I'll find out...

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Best gift ever!

Wow!  I have the best job ever!  Only I guess it's not really a job, because if I messed up at my real job the way I mess up at this one, I would get fired so fast I wouldn't even be able to clean out my desk.  What job is this do you ask?  How do you get a job like this, do you wonder?  Let me tell you.   
 
 
First of all, He isn't looking for the best applicants.  In fact, only one person EVER was perfect for the job. In His eyes, we are all the same. 
 
For ALL have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23
There is NONE righteous, no, not one.  Romans 3:10
 
 
Second, it isn't a job exactly.  It's more of a gift, a gift of eternal life.  There are wages associated with not taking the gift, but it's not any type of wage that I would want.  I would rather accept the gift.
 
For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 6:23
 
 
So why would God want to give the gift of eternal life to imperfect people?  Love, that's why.
 
For God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 
John 3:16
 
 
So how do you get this free gift?  Are there any special requirements?
 
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved
Romans 10:9-10
 
 
But beware!  True acceptance of this gift makes you change and your life will never be the same.    
 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
 
But what happens if you mess up?  Can you get fired or have this gift taken away?  No, He is ready to forgive us again when we mess up, because I mess up all the time. 

 
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
 
So is this gift only for a few people?  No, God intended this gift for everyone. 
 
 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

 
 
There are a lot of benefits that come from accepting God's gift.  It's not always easy and we will mess up and make mistakes, but He promises that He will always be with us, and our eternal reward will be much greater than we can ever imagine.  
 
Questions? Comment here or send me an email at dinaner1010@gmail.com
 
To close, here is just a list of some of the benefits that come along with this gift. 

 
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits
Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 
 
 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
 
Psalm 103:1-5, 8-10
 
 

Thursday, July 11, 2013

On a roll now!

One of the Psalms (exactly which one I'm not sure) mentions remembering what God has done in the past.  Much of the time I am so focused on what He is not doing at the present moment that I forget what He has done for me in the past.  I decided to share one of those times with you. 

When I was in college, I was heading home for summer break one year.  It was probably after my sophomore or junior year, I don't remember which.  I was headed home in my little GMC pickup with all my stuff in the back.  I was coming home down the turnpike.  It was around mile marker 9, almost 40 miles from my house.  My little truck stopped running.  I pulled over to the side of the road.  I tried to restart it but nothing was happening.  This was about 3 years before I had a cell phone.  I'm essentially in the middle of nowhere.  There are no stores close, no homes close.  I had no choice but to start walking.  I had no idea what was going to happen.  I started praying, "God, please send someone, anyone!"  Ok, then I had to rephrase the prayer, "OK, God, not anyone, please send someone safe!  I locked the truck up good, and started off down the road, praying the whole time.  I had gotten no more than 10 yards from my truck when this car pulls over.  It was a lady and her child.  I told her what had happened and she asked me where I was going.  Funny thing, or a God-thing (if you'll allow me), this lady was from Valliant, which is 4 miles from where my parents lived.  She gave me a ride to her house, and let me call my dad.  So God sent someone SAFE to take care of me. 

It's sad how I forget these moments when I get so focused on today.  I feel like one of the Israelites at times, they had seen God do so much for them when He got them out of Egypt.  But how did they thank Him?  By grumbling and complaining and making idols out of gold.  I may not make idols out of gold (I think cell phones/computers and a golden calf could be about equal though), but I do grumble and complain about what I don't have without taking notice of what I do have.  I may not have everything I think I want, but I have what I need.  I need to show gratitude more often instead of grumbling, and confirmation instead of complaining. 

Delusional blog title

I think my blog title is a little delusional.  Ask anyone around you if I have recovered from my pessimism and they would probably tell you "no."  Read my journals and you could tell yourself "no."  Read my statuses on FB, and my tweets, and my entries on here, and I tell you" no" just by what I type.  I find it hard to look at roses without seeing the thorns, if you get my "point."  So, I'm going to make a list of some things for which I'm thankful.  I'm going to use initials for some, just to avoid any weirdness. 

  1. God's mercy
  2. Raeli, Ryan, and Nick
  3. OBU = CN, JB, SN, KT, MP, DJ, LS, and several others
  4. TBC = A, C, C, P, R, M, A, A, E, M, and others
  5. S, B, J, J, H, C, T, P, etc.
  6. BOOKS, especially free ones!
  7. Christian music
  8. Christian friends
  9. Christian books
  10. my Bible
  11. Old friends
  12. my sisters
  13. my crazy family
  14. our awesome family reunions
  15. the fact that I got to see all my aunts and uncles (minus one) within a week this month
  16. weekends
  17. my puppies
  18. my parents, the fact that they are still married after 37 years
  19. Christian upbringing
  20. freedom to worship
  21. babies
  22. the random cats that show up at our house
  23. sleep
  24. sunsets
  25. thunderstorms
  26. people who make variations of Pachelbel's Canon
  27. old family pictures
  28. encouragers
  29. children I can send home
  30. our cooler temps this summer
  31. cold Dr. Pepper
  32. Bible studies that speak to me
  33. Paris
  34. my grandparents
  35. JESUS!
One for each year of my life.  :-)

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Self-Criticism

I have a problem with criticism.  I saw it a lot growing up and apparently it became engrained in my thought processes.  I'm afraid that the prime target of my criticism is myself.  Some of this probably comes from the enemy, trying to destroy what little peace I manage to find.  Most of the time, he is successful.  I take his ball and run with it.  You might say that he hands me a balloon with a little air in it, and I blow it the rest of the way up.  I'm very good at this.  I wouldn't say that I get a whole lot of criticism from others.  If I do, it's constructive, and sometimes I take it fairly well.  Sometimes I'll just add it to my criticism of myself. 

Why am I bringing this up now?  I've been on a criticism roll for a couple of days now.  It kept me up most of the night a couple of nights ago, and I'm afraid tonight might be a repeat.  This is hard stuff to hand over to God.  I know I need to, I know that He is the only one that can take care of it.  But I'm kind of holding on tightly.  I'm afraid to let go, afraid of what will happen if I do let go. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Legend of the JellyFly: Short Family Fables #1


 At our family reunion a couple of years ago, a couple of us older grandkids sat around and decided to create a fake monster to keep the kids occupied for a night.  Since then, we've tried to have a monster every year.  Here is the story of the first monster.  I thought I would share with you.

 
Raeli, Ryan, and Nick are headed to the cabin for the annual Short family reunion. 

Raeli says, “I am so excited!  I can’t wait to see all of the cousins!”

Raeli, Ryan, and Nick arrive at the cabin and none of the cousins are there yet.  They want to go out and play in the woods around the cabin.

Nick says, “Let’s go look for Bigfoot!”

Naner says, “Be careful, guys. Bigfoot is not out there.  But a JellyFly might be out there.”

“What is a JellyFly?” asks Ryan.

“The JellyFly is a monster that lives in the woods around the cabin.  It has an orange eye, and a green eye.  It has giant wings with polka dots.  Their poop looks like giant marshmallows and they throw lollipops at people before they eat them!  They like to eat people wearing blue shirts.  When they get close to you, they start to squeal and make a popping noise, kind of like a firecracker.  You can go out in the woods if you want, but make sure you watch out for marshmallow poop and if you get hit by a lollipop, you might want to run back to the cabin as fast as you can.  Make sure you can see the cabin from where you are.”

Raeli is wearing a brown shirt and Nick has on a green shirt.  Ryan put on a blue shirt.  Naner said, “Be very careful, Ryan.  The JellyFly only eats people with blue shirts on.  Watch out and make sure you aren’t getting hit by lollipops.”

Raeli, Ryan, and Nick head out into the woods.  Pretty soon they see a trail and are headed down into the woods to see what they can find.  Raeli feels something hit her on the head.  “Ouchie!” she yells, and turns around to see what had hit her. 

“It’s an acorn!” Ryan says.  “See, right here.  A squirrel must have thrown it at you.”

        They go on a little farther, and turn around to make sure they can still see the cabin.  They decide to walk in a circle around the cabin.  After a little bit, Nick feels something bounce off his head.  “Ouch!” he cries, and turns to look at the ground.  It’s a lollipop! 

        “Naner is playing tricks on us,” Raeli says.  “I bet she followed us out here, and threw that lollipop.  Let’s keep going.”

They keep on walking in a circle around the cabin. Raeli spots a stick that she knows Ryan will like.  “Ryan, look at this stick,” she says.  “Ryan?”  She turns around to look, but Ryan is not there! 

“Nick, where’s Ryan?”  Raeli asks.  “I don’t know,” says Nick, “but I found some big marshmallows here on the ground.”

“Those aren’t marshmallows!  That’s JellyFly poop!” says Raeli.  “Ryan was wearing blue!  He’s been kidnapped by the JellyFly!  We need to go tell Naner right now!”

Raeli and Nick start running back to the cabin.  Nick hears a squealing sound and tells Raeli to slow down.  As Raeli stops, she hears a popping noise right behind her.   When she turns around, something hits her on the head.  She looks down, and sees a lollipop lying at her feet.  She stoops down to pick up the lollipop, and turns around to show Nick.  But when she turns around, Nick is not there!  Did he get kidnapped by a JellyFly too?

Raeli runs all the way to the cabin to get Naner.  Raeli finds Naner upstairs making the beds.  “Naner! Naner!” she yells.  “Nick and Ryan have been kidnapped by the JellyFly!  We got hit by lollipops, Nick found marshmallow poop, but Nick is wearing green!”

“Oh, no!” says Naner.  “We have to help them! But Nick is wearing green.  I thought JellyFlys only ate people wearing blue shirts.  Why did they take Nick?  We need to go look for them!”  Naner and Raeli head out in the woods to look for Ryan and Nick. 

        Meanwhile in the JellyFly cave….Nick and Ryan are tied up next to an old refrigerator.  There were two JellyFlys!  One was a boy and the other one was a girl.  The boy JellyFly had taken Ryan and the girl JellyFly had kidnapped Nick. 

        “Ryan,” whispers Nick.  “How are we going to get out of here?”

        “I don’t know,” whispers Ryan.  “They sound mad.”

        “Maybe you should tell them a joke,” says Nick.  “Like a knock-knock joke or something.”

        “Oh!  I’ve got a good knock-knock joke,” says Ryan. “How do we get their attention?”

        “I’ll burp really loud!” says Nick. “BBBBBUUUUURRRRRPPPP!”

        The JellyFlys turn around and look at Nick and Ryan.  “I’ve got a really funny joke,” says Ryan.  “Knock knock.”

        “Who’s there?” says the girl JellyFly.

“Boo,” says Ryan. “Boo who?” says the girl JellyFly.

“You don’t have to be such a crybaby about it,” says Ryan.

The boy JellyFly starts to laugh really loud.  The girl JellyFly turns around and glares at him.  “I’ve got a joke,” says Nick.  “Knock, Knock.” 

“Who’s there?” “banana.” “banana who?”

“Knock, Knock.”  “Who’s there?”  “banana.”  “banana who?”

“Knock, Knock.”  “Who’s there?” “Orange.” “Orange who?” “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana!”

“We’ve got to let them go!” says the girl JellyFly.  “I thought you said they’d be funny!”

“I thought they would be funny!” says the boy JellyFly.  He walks over, unties Nick and Ryan, and puts a blindfold over their eyes so they can’t find their way back to the JellyFly cave.  He takes the boys out into the woods to let them go.

Meanwhile, out in the woods:  Naner and Raeli are hollering for Nick and Ryan as loud as they can.  They don’t know where the JellyFlys would be hiding them.  They keep going through the woods, yelling for Nick and Ryan.  All of a sudden, Nick and Ryan come running through the woods, talking a mile a minute about all that they had seen in the JellyFly cave.  They all rushed back to the cabin, and they were very careful about what color they wore the rest of the weekend.