New Experiences...Hankuna Mata!!

17. What was the last new thing you tried? The journal prompt of 17 February 2014. The new thing I tried on this day was sanding.

My first experience with sanding with an electric sander and I might add without my husband’s supervision <woot-woot>. Don’t panic, I had supervision after all I had a p-o-w-e-r tool in my hands. The task at hand was my friend Rebekah’s dresser. The dresser belonged to her late father and she was going to chunk it! My heart hurt hearing that news. I am a daddy’s girl and I would never chunk anything that belongs to my late father that was in my possession. I would not have it and I could not let her; so I had the 17th off thanks to President’s Day. So with p-o-w-e-r tool in my hand, face masks in a baggy and with the confidence to save the world by refurbishing this dresser my dear husband dropped me off at Rebekah’s house. I am not sure if he laughed when he drove off or not. Since he knows me and my handy skills he probably did, but I still love him.

The before

If it were up to me to complete this project solo, I would have spent the day on Google reading about Sanding Tips, checking Facebook, then watching Sanding Tutorials on YouTube, then checking Facebook, then...you get the idea. I would then get up and find that my husband had already accomplished what I was trying to learn how to do; it is a pretty good trick. The only thing is I don’t learn anything in the process, well I do, but I don’t get to act on it. Enter my sanding mentor Rebekah. These are the things I learned about sanding:

• You don’t really need a mask since the sander has a little bag that catches all the dust particles, but if you have the sniffles and it is windy outside the mask will catch your sniffles and you won’t have to stop every few seconds to wipe your nose….ewww I know. 
• It takes time to see the progress.

Lion King - Hakuna Mata showed up on our wood! It was a miracle!
Did you know Hakuna Mata is a Swahili phrase that translates "no worries"

• When sanding off layered spray paint and latex paint, it is okay to go against the grain to get the paint started to chip off, but then you have to go back and sand it with a finer sand disc so that “it is as smooth as a baby’s butt” as Rebekah says.

Dresser was complete with Sharpie pens and stickers too.

• There is a button on my husband’s sander that you can push and the sander will keep sanding and you don’t have to hold the button down the entire time, my thumb was ever oh so thankful after hours of holding it.
• That gunk builds up on the sand discs and periodically you have to stop and knock them off. 
• While it is not that fun you can always add squats or tighten your tummy to maximize the time and health benefits.

See! I learned quite a bit about wood grain, gunk buildups on sanding discs, and sanders. Just so you know, my sanding mentor, said we did a great job sanding and accomplished much, even though I ended up with a sanding headache.

Through the sawdust God was faithful as He always is to take my every day encounters and bring spiritual application to my life. The dresser was dirty and beat up from all the tornado debris and at first glance one might even call it junk, but the owner, knew it had value that you could not see. So the owner made a choice to take time to make it beautiful. It would have been easier to throw it away, but now with time, elbow grease, and a bit of “pruning” if you will, it will be made new and useable.

A work in progress....a later post...we will give the big reveal

Just like that old, dirty dresser, before Christ, we too, were dirty and beat up from sin and the world, but our owner knew we had value even though we couldn’t see it or others might not have seen it, but He did. He takes the time to clean us up, and while it isn’t comfortable He goes against the grain putting us in situations that challenge and hurt, not to be mean but through it He is knocking off the layers of scum we get ourselves in to and training us to rely fully on Him. And over time we and those around us see progress as He makes our lives a beautiful and living testimony of His grace. The button on the sander reminded me that when I stay in tune with Him, He takes over and takes care of everything, I just come along for the ride; but when I take control and hold down the button, I get weary and tired. While the “pruning” or “conforming” process we go through is not fun or exciting, we can add spiritual exercises like faith and trust and through that we will maximize spiritual benefits that bring surpassing value to our lives. So that is what the Lord showed me as I stood and sat sanding hours on end, He is always faithful to show me something all except for the masks to catch the sniffles there was nothing spiritual about that.

Something else new...Rebekah's Taxi Cab Service

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11 - Now that for sure is Hakuna Mata!

OKC Thunder, Morgan Freeman & Bass Pro Shop

If boys skipped, these two would be skipping. Bumping in to each other and laughing (not giggling) is the boy form of skipping, just so you know. My brother and his wife are OKC Thunder Season Ticket holders and they happen to be very generous; hence, tickets to the Feb 5 OKC Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game…hence, happy boys “skipping”.

But let’s not jump ahead because I want you to savor this experience with me from the moment we picked up my great-nephew RJ, Jr., who happens to be the same age as my youngest son. Their conversation started off all business-like, you know talking about the weather and how they found out they were going to the Thunder game. Next, as I was driving, I heard a distinctively smooth, deep, familiar voice, to what I thought, what is Morgan Freeman doing in my backseat? No joke, for a moment I thought I had been transported in to the Evan Almighty movie and God Himself was speaking audibly to me. However, reality came to life, when the voice said, “Hi. I am Morgan Freeman.” Once “Morgan Freeman, a.k.a. RJ” started mimicking Morgan Freeman there was no shutting him up, he then begins to narrate my driving skills! 

They each have the gift of making each other laugh. I don’t know if I told you this, but if you ever visited my house, while Jayden was a toddler/young child and you are a funny person, you were probably warned not to make Jayden laugh too hard. When he laughs hard something weird happens…okay something gross...he throws up. Well RJ made Jayden laugh so hard, I thought he was going to barf and Jayden made RJ laugh so hard, I thought RJ was going to bounce through the roof or break a chair.

As you can see their gift of laughter in full action.

Then the conversation went to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, WWF, Teen Titans and Minecraft…and then we arrived. This is when the “boy version of skipping” occurred, I was practically running to keep up with them. Then one of them farted; that was the end of it! I had to demand to lead the way, no flatulent back draft for me. Just so you know, girls don’t fart, we toot! At least that is what Heather Dorsey’s Haidyn taught me.

We finally arrived and parked and began our trek to the arena and boy did I get my exercise in trying to keep up with these boys. We were going to take the elevator but there was a wait and they did not want to wait so we walked, climbed stairs, walked some more and climbed more stairs. I think I got my exercise in for the day. We stopped and took a few pictures and did the Thunder Photo booth before taking our seats.

Right before halftime the boys wanted to get their caricatures drawn. Once the artist finished the masterpiece, the first response came from RJ, “I look like a gurrrl!” and “Jayden you look fat!” “I don’t like it!” “Don’t put that on Facebook! I don’t want people liking it!” to “Don’t show my dad!” Jayden said that is the purpose of Facebook is to get likes and be popular. Technically, this isn’t Facebook, like I have said before this blog is read only by eleven people, maybe twelve. My first thought was caricatures from Fat Albert. Every time I look at this picture, I laugh so hard!

Hey...Hey...Hey!

When the Thunder Girls came out RJs hands went up to his eyes, he said they had cooties. They probably do, but I don’t think he would have got them from the 300 section; but I am glad he didn’t even want to look. Jayden didn’t care to look either; he had more fun trying to pull RJs hands down.

RJ has really long, healthy hair and I am pretty sure I seen many women coveting it. Once we made it to our vehicle we ended up sitting in line to get out of the parking garage at least 15 minutes before I could escape to the north end of the garage where the line is practically no line. Once out RJ declared he needed to go to the bathroom. Jayden said, the one thing he always gets asked; why didn’t you go before we left? He said, I didn’t know it was going to take so long. So I asked can you wait or do I really need to stop and he said, STOP! Stop at Bass Pro, I know where they bathrooms are in there. It was 9:56 p.m. I said, I don’t think they are open. He said, yes they are! Stop! So Jayden and him ran up and talked the guy in at the door in letting them in to go to the bathroom. Jayden said the guy asked where there parents were and fortunately for RJ, Jayden said out in the car and he didn’t give him some crazy fictional story which he would do just for fun.

I could have given RJ an Academy Award for his impersonation of Morgan Freeman. You should ask him to do his Morgan Freeman impersonation for you it is quite amusing. I am sure many of us have wondered or thought does God's voice really sound something like Morgan Freeman's voice. While God has given Morgan a great voice, I personally doubt he sounds like the Almighty. I know from scripture that God’s voice is much more powerful. Did you know that by His voice the deer give birth? And strips the forests bare? (Psalm 29:9) Now that IS crazy powerful! And He is my Father!

³The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Psalm 29:3-4

Word of the Year - Part One

There is a new a bandwagon out there replacing New Year’s resolutions; yes, I know we are in to the second month of the year and I am just writing this; but I did jump on this bandwagon two years ago and didn’t even know it! It stuck and I love it so I am going to share it with you. Ready? Throw those resolutions out the window because reality is and statistics tell us only 8% of us keep resolutions, and bring in [drumroll please]…Word of the YEAR. Don’t you love it? You pick one word or better yet, pray about what word to focus on for the year and listen to what the Holy Spirit says. Then post the word somewhere you can see it daily, and as day to day to life happens, keep that word in the front of your brain to help you know how to respond. Be prepared if you pray about it because you will get a word that will not make sense to you; or at least that was my experience.

Good news is it is still not too late to jump on this bandwagon. In fact, the first year I begin, we were already in March 2012 and I had not even heard of this new trend; but the Lord very clearly through scripture reading, prayer and life put the word “Steadfast” in my life. At the time, work was becoming a place of dread, the best way I know how to explain it is imagine you have graduated high school, college and graduate school; you begin a career and have much success for decades; then a new boss comes on the job and you are send back to Kindergarten to start over because nothing you do is right. Every project, presentation and email is scrutinized – or – just plain ignored and the project or presentation dies due to lack of feedback or approval. It was one of the most difficult times in my career; but things changed and are MUCH better now.

I thought the reason “Steadfast” was given to me was because I needed to be still and know that He is God and remain steadfast in my work. So I did, even though I felt it was time to move on and find a new career. While God did come through on my work through my steadfastness it wasn’t His reason for my word of the year. You see, I thought my job was the reason and purpose for my word and it may have been partially true, but He had so much more for me. After all, His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He showed me the real reason for my word of the year and it was something I totally didn’t realize I needed, but He knew. In fact, I thought I already knew it, but I secretly struggled if it was really true…His steadfast love for me…a wicked sinner.

Through His Word, prayer and His people, He shouted, usually when I hear Him speak to me it is through a small and gentle voice, but this truth, His steadfast love for me, He shouted! My heart leaped and I lowered my heart in unbelief and gratitude realizing for the first time that indeed He truly LOVED me, for who I was and am. I mean I knew it, factually, that He loved me, I’ve read it, I’ve sung it but I didn’t know, KNOW it, my heart didn’t know it (or accept it)….but it does now.

“Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your truth.” Psalm 26:2-3

Test and tried…Yes.

Heart and mind examined…Yes.

His Love ever before me…Yes!!

Walk continually in His truth… Yes, Lord let it be.

The beauty of this word love (NIV) and lovingkindness (KJV) in the original Hebrew translation is “mercy,” “lovingkindness,” “steadfast love,” “compassion,” and even “goodness”. The Hebrew word is “chesed” and is one of the thirteen attributes of God that Jewish sages derived from the study of God’s revelation to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. (Source: Hebrews4Christians.com)

⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Me a wicked sinner…forgiven and saved by MUCH grace. Through this “Word of the Year” experience I also learned that words in our realm of thinking are defined by Webster and sometimes ourselves; but words in God’s realm take on a whole new meaning and often a meaning we had no idea we needed. My next post I will share again about the second word he has given me.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

How to Get a Keurig

The day has come that my husband has gone to the dark side. Why did he have to give me this news on a Friday morning, when I am heading out to work and had not had yet one sip of coffee? I can think of no other reason other than pure evilness. I wanted to crush him, how dare him? It will consume my thoughts all day at work. As he was making my morning coffee, he nonchalantly proclaimed that he was going to stop drinking coffee for the month of February and replace it with green tea. 

This is him handing me my cup of coffee; okay maybe not him, but this is how I envision it.

This is not only un-American, but not humane! What was my reply as he handed me MY cup of coffee? It was very spiritual, “Well I am NOT going to do that, because I haven’t prayed about it yet!” Then I went on to defend my only vice! “I don’t drink, smoke, or chew or run with those that do!” and I still have not warmed up to the idea; so “Good for you!” and off to work I went singing these boots were made for walking.

Till death do us part….

As I drove to work with my commuter buddy Matt Chandler from the Village Church, I begin justifying my love for coffee, at least I don’t drink it all day like I did in college…at least I don’t drink four cups a day anymore like I did a couple of years ago…at least…at least…at least…then Matt said he, too, was doing a coffee fast, as they prayed as a church about expanding and building a larger facility so they could get away from doing nine, yes nine services! The only coffee fast I want to engage in is finding coffee fast! After all, I was reminded by Pinterest and courtesy of I Love Lucy, that most of the world problems can be solved over a cup of coffee.

See you can tell world problems are being solved here

I am blaming Facebook for this coffee fast; after all, it is where I am pretty sure he read an article from there that said drinking coffee is unhealthy. So what does one do when they want to defend their position they go to Google, these were my favorite.

One opinion (not scientific), against any and all caffeine, evil…evil…evil:

http://www.fastmetabolismdiet.com/but-i-need-my-coffee/ 

Another opinion (not scientific) for benefits with really cool pictures of coffee, I almost thought I could taste and smell it brewing (see I am an addict; however, I prefer the term “devoted”):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/coffee-health-benefits_n_4102133.html  

Mayo Clinic – finally someone with some sense:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/coffee-and-health/expert-answers/faq-20058339

 

After reading a few more scientific studies and articles, I warmed up to “maybe I could just cut down to one cup a day; instead of the two I currently drink”. Then the enemy said, “Do you really want to brew a pot of coffee for just one measly cup?” Yes, he used the word “measly”, and I agreed and said, “That is why we need a Keurig.” See how a woman’s mind works? A woman highly stimulated on two cups of java?

Could I do just one cup a day? With a Keurig I could…and my conniving husband could have his green tea too! This friends, is how we got our Keurig.

It's been a beautiful experience!

And so my final decision for myself is what the Mayo Clinic article refers to as “everything in moderation” (except for smoking, don’t smoke) so then one would have to define “moderation”. After all, everything I have read about coffee it is a great source of antioxidants and may cut down Parkinson Disease risk. In this article that list out the caffeine content for coffee, tea and soda. It recommends cutting back if you consume more than 500 mg a day; and currently with my two cups of generic brewed coffee I am consuming about 190 to 400 mg a day. I will define that as moderation. So boom! I am okay and I still get a Keurig!

  

There is something about holding a hot drink in my hand and the warmth the sliding down my throat to my belly that makes me have such strong attachment. I can’t get this verse out of my mind that says, “Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with cup after cup of java [emphasis mine], okay so it doesn’t say that, but it does say “flood you with blessing after blessing”, same thing, right? 

My all-time favorite coffee cup

Do you drink coffee? If so, how much? Do you have a Keurig? If so, what is your favorite drink? Do you have a favorite coffee cup? What is it? 

For sin shall not have dominion over you;

for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 6:14