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!

Living on the Light Side

I'm down in the hills of Texas for a few weeks and when it's dark here....IT'S DARK. I keep a flashlight with me when I venture out at night. That made me think again about Star Wars. Two years in a row, my family and I caught the latest Star Wars flick. Star Wars is a big deal to us – so much so that my 10 year old grandson wanted to turn in his Christmas gift from me so he could order the latest Star Wars costume. We did. He loves his costumes and light sabers and even my 16-year old, Payton, is a Star Wars junkie – with his room in all kinds of Star Wars memorabilia. The Star Wars craze always makes me ponder the notion of the “Light Side” versus the “Dark Side”. The Jedi were major practitioners of the Light Side, and were the mortal enemies of the Dark Side of the Force. Light versus Dark – that’s been mankind’s opposing forces since the very beginning of time.

In the creation story in Genesis, God “speaks” things into existence “Let there be light….” It’s a sign of God’s creative power that every single word He utters, brings forth something new, vibrant, and wondrous. Then Adam and Eve fell to the voice of the “Dark Side” when the enemy tempted them and succeeded, that caused them to be banished from the beauty of the garden.

In 1 John 2:5-7, John writes “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is LIGHT and in Him is NO darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” That’s the difference between the LIGHT side and the DARK side. You can sure tell that jealousy, hate, bitterness and anger caused Anakin Skywalker to go wrong and turn to the Dark Side. It’s quite possible, when we examine our hearts, we won’t find that we hate anyone. But every little thing that we allow to remain in our hearts can have a “dark” effect on us. We might not be in darkness, but we certainly might find ourselves in the “shade”.

The beginning of this new year is the perfect time to clear out those things that hinder the LIGHT in us. Let’s open ourselves to His healing and empowering light. When we declare with the Psalmist in Psalm 21:1 “The Lord IS MY LIGHT and my salvation, who should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge, of whom should I be afraid?” – then there will never be a shadow of doubt which side we’re on, and all the dark forces that try to draw us to their side, will never win! The FORCE (the LIGHT source Whom lives within us) Who comes with peace and calm, will always be in us and with us.

May THE FORCE – God’s LIGHT Source -- be with you!

This is the Day the Lord Has Made

THIS IS THE DAY the Lord has made!   It was God's from the beginning and it is still the DAY He made -- so let's be joyful in it!

I've watched my newsfeed this morning, I've seen countless photos of cute little kids all ready to go on their first Trick or Treating experience, lots of photos of Halloweens past and some quite spooky costumes donned by fun-loving grown ups.  I know they are all decked out for the holiday fun.

Not to take away any fun from anyone, but the older I get, and the closer and more intimate I've become with my Savior, the sweeter and more peaceful my journey has become.  Oh, how precious that is to me in this season of my life.  I steer clear of darkness -- and I'm consistently drawn to THE LIGHT.  So in writing this post, it's not to judge anyone's personal convictions, but I just feel I must share mine.

When I was a child, Halloween was one of the two days a year that we got lots of candy (Easter being the other). I would usually dress up in some  homemade costume -- like a hobo or my pj's -- none were ever store bought and I and a friend would go door-to-door "soliciting" in our neighborhood.Yes, I went trick or treating as a child and yes, I turned out alright. However, our world around us has changed drastically since I was a child.  

My church always had a Fall Harvest parties where we'd go all dressed up in "fun" -- not gory or sinister -- costumes.

We took our kids trick or treating -- it was my husband's and my goal to help them bring in as much loot as possible. They only knew Halloween meant fun dressing up and getting lots of goods.

But over the years I've become more aware of the origins of Halloween and have become more troubled in my heart about this "fun" day.  So much so, that I steer clear of Halloween festivities that celebrate this day.  I'm posting this because God's Word has transformed my life, so much so that I truly determine to be His fully devoted follower in every way.  I'm simply sharing these words for you to ponder and consider as you celebrate this day with your sweet, innocent and precious family.

Whether you celebrate this day with your family as a Fall Harvest or go door to door trick or treating, study to show yourselves approved to give your family the best, most blessed options.  Perhaps it may open the door for you to discuss the origins of tricks, treats, witches and jack-o-lanterns as well as the abundant incredible life that comes from our Savior!  If you're celebrating today, know what you're celebrating......celebrate LIFE!

1 Thessalonians 5:22  "Abstain from every form of evil."