Opportunity to Become God’s Fixer Upper!

If you've ever watched (and, in my case, was addicted to) HGTV's "Fixer Upper" (after five seasons, now only in re-runs), you saw a fun-loving and talented couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, transform old, in need of repair homes into a beautiful work of art. You will also probably know about their Magnolia Market, their family and what their values are about. I had been to their place before, and once was enough, but Bryson pleaded “Nana, can we stop in Waco at Magnolia Market?”

He and his mama have been fans of the show and he knew we’d be driving through Waco. He didn’t have to ask twice because I hadn’t seen the place for a couple of years and since then, there have been several add-ons. Now there’s an on-site bakery, a seed and feed store, and there are picnic tables all over where you can eat your food that is purchased from food trucks. Bryson had a yummy gourmet grilled cheese sandwich there. AND, they have added a fifth child – a baby boy, and it seems their notoriety just keeps getting grander all the time. Good for them!

They became famous by transforming homes that looked hopeless, but it's their example of a loving family that is proving to be the truest testament to their faith. The couple told the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, "Our family has made a commitment to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well. They showed us how to keep our marriage and family centered around God. As for 'Fixer Upper,' we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we've glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day."

Like the Gaines', God takes broken, in disrepair, unwanted and neglected people and through His mighty power transforms them into works of art and beauty. Chip and Joanna helped people find their "before-the-dream-come-true" fixer-upper, then the future homeowners had to let Chip and Joanna perform their "magic" on the home. In the same way, we must give relinquish control and submit to God's transforming power in our lives.

We, too, have the opportunity to be on display as "Parades of Homes, Life, and Blessings". When God is our #1, His blessings will chase us down, and His light will shine brightly through us to a world that needs to see true examples of commitment, faith, values, and love. Like the Gaines', God takes broken, in disrepair, unwanted and neglected people and through His mighty power, transforms them into works of art and beauty. Chip and Joanna helped people find their "before-the-dream-come-true" fixer-upper, then the future homeowners had to let Chip and Joanna perform their "magic" on the home. In the same way, we must give relinquish control and submit to God's transforming power in our lives.

Sometimes, the houses that Chip and Joanna helped select for their clients were so pathetic, that they had to completely demolish the existing structure, and then they were able to start fresh and clean as though the old house was never there. Isaiah 43:18-19 says “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” When we are ready to demolish that old life of regrets, mistakes, failures, tragedies, self-pity, defeat and sorrow, to living the glorious and abundant life that Christ came to bring us, we will be God's "fixer-upper" and show-off what a "Brand New Life" can look like and be.

Maybe you are a fixer-upper. You desire your life to be filled with peace, joy, abundance, healing, and victory? Maybe you'd like your tired, weary and stagnant life to be transformed into life brand new? It can happen because the One Who created us is ready to transform us from the inside out! The makeover we receive is all new and perfect in His sight. It starts by placing our lives in the hands of the Master Transformer. The choice is ours. We can submit ourselves as a fixer-upper, or we can hang on to the shabby house, the tattered clothes and the old way of life. The Lord won't force Himself on us. On the other hand, He will never turn us down . . . we merely need to say, "I'm ready, Lord. Have your way with me! I'm ready to be a fixer-upper!"

Faith, Family, Values, and Determination = Favor and Blessings

On our way back to Dallas from College Station, we stopped in Waco to go to Magnolia Market at the Silos. If you've ever watched (and, in my case, addicted to) HGTV's "Fixer Upper", you know what Magnolia Market, Chip and Joanna Gaines, their family and their values are about.

Chip and Joanna, the stars of the show, owners of Magnolia Market, as well as the interior designers/contractors that take an old, in disrepair home, and make it a beautiful showcase home, are grassroots, family-oriented, and just downright good people who display such love and gratitude in what they do. The old silos in Waco are where they house their store. Shopping, a garden area and store, petting area (goats), outdoor game area, and food (food trucks lined up on the property) are part of the experience. Being there, was like being on the movie set where in their show's episodes, we see Chip telling Joanna "We can buy the silos and put our market here!" I was amazed that the silos are right in the middle of downtown Waco, instead of out in a field somewhere. Their love for their alma mater, Baylor University, is recognized when you drive up and all the parking areas, within a block of the store, charge $10 to park, with the proceeds going to Baylor.

But here's what I love most about them. They are using their platform to reflect their faith. Here are some excerpts from an article I read in "Christian Post".

Every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CST, families all over America tune in to Joanna and Chip taking broken down, but potential-rich houses and turn them into showpieces that are helping revitalize whole neighborhoods throughout central Texas. "Fixer Upper" is being pegged a glimpse into "everyday Christian living" through the lives and work of the Gaines family. Although the show follows their quest of saving homes that look hopeless, it's their example of a loving family that is proving to be a true testament to their faith.

The couple told the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, "Our family has made a commitment to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well. They showed us how to keep our marriage and family centered around God. As for 'Fixer Upper,' we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. We haven't been overtly evangelical, but the rich feedback we have received on family and love all source from our faith. Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we've glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day."

In a video for Baylor University, the college Chip and Joanna met at, Joanna shared her testimony. She revealed that it was not until she trusted God with her dreams that all of this success was able to come about. Growing up as a bi-racial child, both Asian and White, proved to be very challenging for the now mother of 4. Joanna said that from an early age it was always her faith in God that gave her hope for the future. "'Joanna I have a calling for you, you're going to have a platform one day,'" she testified of a time God spoke to her.

In the video she went on to discuss a time she thought she would have to give up on her business for good to raise her family. "I heard God say very clearly... he said, 'Joanna if you trust me with your dreams, I'm going to take Magnolia further than you ever dreamed.'" "Fixer Upper" has been living proof for the couple that what God promised has come to pass."

I shared this "success" story in my post today, because you and I have the opportunity to be "Parades of Homes, Life, and Blessings" too. When we put God in His rightful place in our lives (#1), His blessings will chase us down, and His light will shine brightly through us to a world that so needs to see true examples of commitment, faith, values and love.