Humility Sure Looks Good on You

It's time for a self-examination of conscience and attitude during these times. I say that based on the scripture that seems to come up daily in someone’s blog or post: “If MY people who are called by MY name, would HUMBLE themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways….” (2 Chronicles 7:14) Many of us get on the bandwagon and put in our two cents worth about how we should be handling “Black lives matter” and other national topics of debate. If we’d do this or if we’d do that or if we’d stop doing that, peace would reign supreme again. But, 2 cents worth and beyond -- came directly from God in that scripture.

I live in a safe and comfortable community, so it’s easy to be in an overly confident mode. I’d like to think that someone said to me: “Humility sure looks good on you!” But, Lord knows, I have had moments of being over-confident and self-assured. But, then, God reins me in if that turns to conceit or arrogance. I have been brought down several notches when I have come across less-than-humble. I have eaten many slices of Humble Pie. It’s not all that tasty, but it's always good for me.

This blog was prompted when I read this email from an online ministry: “Only a fool would become complacent in the midst of danger. Stay alert and be watchful. Refuse to allow yourself to be overly confident or self-assured. Humility is a good look for you. The enemy is seeking whom he may devour, so "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

I have been thanking God for such good health during these C-virus times. Maybe, even a little bit prideful about it. Then, on Thursday, after a shingles shot the day before and, unlike the first one I received, this one had a very negative reaction to it. First, my arm hurt so much that I couldn’t lift it. Then I started having flu-like symptoms, achy all over, felt like I had fever, and started thinking “Is this from the shot or do I have the C-virus?" Seriously! Oh, how the enemy attacks our minds! I self-prayed for me, took two pain reliever tablets and thanks be to God, the next morning, I was walking on sunshine, in sunshine and taking pictures of sunshine again. Oh, happy day!

To be humble is to gratefully recognize our dependence on the Lord -- to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our health, our abilities, our blessings are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. We can be both humble and fearless. We can be both humble and courageous. Jesus is our greatest example of humility. While on this earth, He repeated that His strength came because of His dependence on His Father. He said: “I can of mine own self do nothing. I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father Who has sent me” John 5:30.

We're being reminded to keep a watch out for those times when pride sneaks up on us and we get full of ourselves. God is awesome in the ways He brings us back to taste some Humble Pie. Okay, I've confessed and I’ve asked God to please let me know BEFORE He has to pull out the "Humble Pie". I think I'll do my best to avoid that dessert and keep my eyes and heart open, in case God needs to offer me another slice!

Would You Like a Slice of My Humble Pie?

So, if you follow my posts, you probably saw me dressed up in an elf’s costume for the recent ginormous “Happy Birthday, Jesus” Party for the homeless and impoverished at the Dallas Convention Center. That costume was once a Peter Pan costume that I made for my University of Manitoba Halloween office party 25-years ago. It’s been a keepsake for sure and I’ve worn it a couple more times for Fall Harvest parties. I added the red fabric this year to make it appear elf-ish and to add a little length to the shorter version!

Rewind to that early morning at 4:45 am when I arrived at my children's home to ride with them to the Convention Center. Their VIP parking passes meant they could park right outside the door of the arena, so it was worth it to take the early morning ride! Arriving at their home, Denise had her famous, yummy breakfast burritos made. But, alas, when I took the first bite, the juices of the burrito made their way to the front of my costume – three splotches! YIKES! I proceeded to remove them with a damp cloth then used their blazing hot hair dryer to dry the spots. Little did I realize I was holding the hair dryer on the polyester fabric and burned three holes into my beloved Peter Pan aka elf costume. Immediately James 4:10 resounded in my ears:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Staci's red sweater went great with the costume, and I continued to hear God’s voice loud and clear.

You know what – not one time did I think about those holes while I was with the homeless people. I only got smiles and compliments from them, especially as I was loving on them and keeping them patient as they made their way through crazy long lines. I was humbled and I was lifted up by God’s children.

So, I'm getting the message, and I think I'm eating some "Humble Pie" because I never want what I do, and why I do it, to bring praise to myself, but to THE ONE who deserves ALL PRAISE. Seriously, when I think about how unlikely that I would be so blessed to be passionate and relentless about spreading the Good News, I MUST raise my hand and point to THE ONE Who is worthy of ALL PRAISE!

I know that when I purposely live in an attitude of humility, it will be HIS bright Light shining through me, and NOT my own. And, oh, that's what I want. I don't ever want to get in His way.
1 Peter 5:5-7 says "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

The simple discovery of humility and servitude is where some of my greatest joys have been found. Applause isn't the reward. The reward is being able to serve, and seeing others have "aha" moments when they see HIM instead of me. It's HIS LIGHT I want them to see in me.

Okay, I've confessed, and now I've finished my "Humble Pie". I think I'll avoid that dessert from now on, and I'll keep my eyes and heart open, in case it looks like God needs to offer me another slice!

Eating Humble Pie a Slice at a Time

Yesterday was a big day for Lexi and I as we were flying to Orlando to meet up with her Mom, Dad and Payton who had been in Charlotte, NC for the weekend. On the way to the airport, we were boasting about being such seasoned travelers – that to fly in an airplane was as common to us as riding in a car. Me, being a private pilot, as well as both Lexi and I having flown commercial so many times that we’ve lost count, we talked about how some of our friends are so nervous about flying that they work themselves into a frenzy just at the notion of flying. So, of course, we knew the ropes….right? Wrong!

We were delighted that we were approved for the TSA Pre-Check line so we knew that we didn’t have to take our shoes off, jackets off or even my computer out of my bag. When we sent our bags through security to be scanned, Lexi realized she had left her boarding pass in the bin. The TSA agent said, “Sorry, then I’m going to have to get you to take your shoes off and put them through the scanner, and you’ll have to go through the x-ray scanner. At the other end, the TSA agent stopped her because her purse was held for inspection. She had left her water bottle in her purse, and when they swabbed her purse out, the scanner read out “explosives detected”! Oh me! And if that weren’t enough, she had a large size sun screen bottle in her carry-on bag that had to be thrown away, which meant her suitcase had to then be swabbed. At this point, the female agent did a full pat-down on her from head to toe.

And, even with TSA Pre-Check, they held up my bag because I left the computer in the bag. Oh, indeed, we were highly sophisticated, experienced travelers. Apparently, NOT! Twenty minutes later, we were finally through the security check. Oh, but it doesn’t end there. We boarded a 767 that was full to overflowing and we walked through in the middle of the crowd only to walk too far to the back. Of course, seats 13 A & B were toward the front of the aircraft, not after row 20, so then we had to swim upstream to get back to our seats. And to make matters worse, our bags were too large for the bins, but alas, a sweet flight attendant saved the day for these two “seasoned” travelers.

Both Lexi and I agreed, God was giving us a gentle lesson in humility that tasted just like Humble Pie. We got the message, loud and clear, because we never want why or what we do, to bring praise to ourselves, but to THE ONE who deserves ALL PRAISE.

To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord -- to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. We can be both humble and fearless. We can be both humble and courageous. Jesus is our greatest example of humility. While on this earth, He always acknowledged that His strength came because of His dependence on His Father. He said: “I can of mine own self do nothing. … I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father Who has sent me” John 5:30. James taught: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” James 4:6,10.

The reminder is to keep a watch out for those times when pride sneaks up on us and we get full of ourselves. How awesome is God in the ways He brings us back to the reality of the taste of Humble Pie. "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” 1 Peter 5:5-7.

Okay, I've confessed, and now I've finished my "Humble Pie". I think I'll avoid that dessert from now on, and I'll keep my eyes and heart open, in case it looks like God needs to offer me another slice!

It's All About Him......NOT ME!

It's All About Him......NOT ME!
In years past, my Christmas traditions started right after Thanksgiving. I loved this time of the year so much that I decorated every bedroom with its own fully decorated, lit tree. The inside and outside of the house looked like a Christmas Store. I had several nativity sets throughout my house. After all, I wanted Jesus to be prominent amidst all the Santa Clauses and snowmen. I had a huge village of little houses and ice skating pond, trees, churches (lots of churches). I made dozens of cookies and candies to share with family and friends. I handwrote and mailed a flood of Christmas cards with my family's picture on it. That was a "must do" every year -- getting the family Christmas picture at Thanksgiving. I purchased way too many gifts. I spent hours and hours shopping for just the right treasures to give. We squeezed in Christmas parties and programs into all the other "must do's". Despite my best intentions to make Christ the center of our Christmas, hyper mode was my mode of operation for years. Does that sound familiar to you?

I never felt guilty about the flood of activity and way-too-much-attention to so many details. I loved this time of year so much that I gave it ALL I had. The family traditions were so dear and precious to me. It was a work-out, but at the end -- we had made so many precious memories, and it was worth every effort. But, this year, my story takes a big turn.

Since I sold my home in Tulsa and, at my children's urging, making a temporary decision to live a "vagabond" lifestyle (going from my children's homes, mother-in-law's home and friends' home), until at least February of next year, my "normal" is no longer the same. My way-of-thinking is certainly having to make adjustments. My "way" isn't the way when I place myself at the mercy of the schedules, environments, cultures and lifestyles of friends and family. I never knew the "single" lifestyle until my sweetheart graduated to heaven. I guess I didn't realize how it had affected my outlook on responsibility to and for others again.

So, I'll admit, my faith journey that was somewhat ideal because it was MY faith journey now includes the faith journeys of others, which means my ideals and my desires must submit and become secondary to others. As I type this, once again, I've heard God's voice saying "Trust Me! I've got this. This is part of my plan!"

So, as I sit here eating my "Humble Pie", I've come back to what the PRINCIPLE THING is supposed to be. I've recalibrated my thinking to HIS thing. A widow friend of mine gave me wisdom a couple of nights ago. In her Widow's Group, she told me there were a couple of gals who had no intentions of decorating their homes this year. They weren't wanting to put forth the effort. She told me she scolded them. She said, "Is Christmas about YOU, or is it about the birthday of the ONE who gave His life for us, Who came here to earth so He would understand us and die for us so we could live forever with Him? Don't decorate for you.....decorate for Him!"

I loved that. My life, this season, my wants, my desires -- shouldn't be about ME. Everything should be about THE ONE whom we celebrate so I'm determining to keep my focus on Jesus' birthday. I even started my Christmas baking yesterday for me, us AND Him!

When I attend several more performances of the Christmas program at my daughter's church, it will be in honor of celebrating He Who this Christmas is about. I will lean in to the real sweetness and tenderness of this season, and turn my attention to the STAR of this story, Mary's baby boy that grew up to be my great I AM. "I AM" is my protector, my healer, my strength and my joy giver, my way-maker, truth-finder and my peace-provider

If you've been like me -- whether in an utter frenzy-mode to this point, or in a little whiny mode about the changes in your life and even disappointments about things being different than they once were, since it's His birthday.....we get to just show up and celebrate Him. No matter how we decorate the house for His party, it is still ALL ABOUT HIM, Who is ALWAYS the life of the party. And He has come to give life to all the people at the party. And, when we lean in even closer, we'll find that the LIFE of the party holds out Himself as the gift that keeps on giving. And the gift tag? It has our names on it. Oh, what a relief it is!

How About a Slice of Humble Pie?

When I saw this program at the Advent by Candlelight event last Monday, I noticed, right away, the word "HUMBLE" above my name.  Actually, it was the title of a song that was sung before I spoke, but I thought "God are you trying to tell me something?"

Just a few minutes later, I felt my knit skirt....and there was a hole in the side (I'm thinking a moth's work of art).  I asked my friend to go with me to the ladies room so we could see if the hole would show while I was on stage.  Thankfully, I had a longer top on, so it didn't.   When I got to the stage to speak, I told the ladies that I was going to take a "selfie" of me with them in the background, but when I saw "HUMBLE" above my name....I figured God was whispering "Gotta' work on the humility, Girl Friend!"  LOL!  Yes, they laughed.

The next day, I looked at the photos taken that night.....and if God needed to speak the word "HUMBLE" to me again, I saw that I had on a navy blue skirt instead of the black one that I planned to wear.   (Maybe they loved my humor and heart so much, they didn't notice.)  OH ME and LOL!

So, I'm getting the message, and I think I'm eating some "Humble Pie", because I never want what I do, and why I do it, to bring praise to myself, but to THE ONE who deserves ALL PRAISE.  Seriously, when I think about how unlikely that I would be so blessed to be so passionate and relentless about spreading the GOOD NEWS, I MUST raise my hand and point to THE ONE Who is worthy of ALL PRAISE!

I know that when I purposely live in an attitude of humility, it will be HIS Light shining through me, and NOT my own.  And, oh, that's what I want.  I don't ever want to get in His way.   St. Peter put it so well....."All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5-7).

The simple discovery of humility and servitude is where some of my greatest joys have been found. Applause isn't the reward.  The reward is being able to serve, and seeing others have "aha" moments when they see HIM instead of me.  It's HIS LIGHT I want them to see in me.  

Okay, I've confessed, and now I've finished my "Humble Pie".  I think I'll avoid that dessert from now on, and I'll keep my eyes and heart open, in case it looks like God needs to offer me another slice!
#HumblePie #RewardInServing #HumbleYourselves