Making God Chuckle

My "new" Loaner tiller 

God is so funny. 

Don’t believe me? Then you should have listened to the conversation He and I had earlier. He has a great sense of humor. 

Thankfully He also has patience with me.

Recently I have been showered with some amazing little gifts from God.

1. Our fridge was too small and turned everything to ice, so God gave me a larger newer one for free.

2. Our washer and dryer decided to go out, we were given new ones, $150 to be paid when we can….whenever… how cool is that?

3. I love to garden, but had no tiller to prepare the soil. God gave me a loaner tiller for as long as I wanted one.

I am grateful for every single gift. I have celebrated God’s faithfulness at every turn. He is awesome the way He gives. Sometimes He is funny too.

While moving in the fridge my husband tore a hole in the flooring. Twice. The whole “hole” experience showed me I have some work to do on my attitude and on patience. When I mentioned it to my husband as I apologized for losing my temper, he was pleasantly surprised I noticed my issue. He had been living 18 years with my inability to stay calm and not blow my top when things went sideways. Poor guy. His patience and mercy are just two of the reasons why I love him.

The tiller, well the tiller is so big and powerful that I have no idea what I am going to do with it. I tried to use it today and I nearly ran into a wall, (it is self-propelled) and could not figure out how to make that thing do what I know it can. My small patch of garden is only 10’x11’ and the tiller from front to back is nearly five feet long! Making rows is harder than it sounds. For those of you who have no idea how to run a tiller, do not judge me and for those of you who do, I will take your help anytime.

I may not know how to handle it yet, but I will figure it out. Why? Because I want to be a faithful steward of what God gives me and I have plants coming that have to go into the ground ASAP!

But right now, as I stare a half done till job in my front garden, I feel like Adam when God found them in the garden after the fall. I want to pout and blame Him for my inability to do the job. I want to say “It’s the tiller you gave me Lord”

In reality, it is me. I am the issue. God is using tillers and refrigerators to show me more about myself and what I need to work on. I just wish I was quicker on the uptake so I could learn what I need to and move forward. 

So while I struggle to learn to use a tiller and whatever lesson there is here, I am sure there is a bit of chuckling in heaven going on as my Father looks on in amused fashion with "Oh Dayna...." on His lips. 

I have a long way to go, but patience is definitely on the list….

Has God ever used blessings to teach you a lesson?

Find Your Inner Creative

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

A Crafty Situation 

I remember watching my childhood babysitter's son, Bryan, whittle away at wood for hours. He always carried a knife and a piece of wood in his hand. I was fascinated by the rhythmic slicing and the meticulous nature of wood carving. 

I have shared with you before that I like to sculpt. Perhaps some of my fascination can be traced back to watching Bryan hone his craft. 

Creativity is something we all admire in some form or another. We admire musicians, actors, writers, and artists. Sometimes though, we forget we were made to be creative too. 

We need to remember that God designed the universes and all that is in them: from the largest star to the smallest micro-organism, then He made you and I in His image. No wonder we aspire to be creative. 

If you are anything like me, you often may not feel very creative. You may in fact think you are not creative at all. 

I have been known to say "I don't craft." While that may be true, that is not the only outlet of creativity I have. It is only one I admire because I am not good at it. 

Have you felt the same? Have you thought "I am not a creative person"? 

This is not true. If you find a new way to clean up stains on your carpet, you are being creative. If you write a poem, or short story, you are being creative. If you are good at creating seating arrangements for church banquets you are being creative. If you are balancing a budget for your family and trying to meet all the bills, save money and create moments of recreation for your loved ones, I guarantee there has been some creativity used there. 

Sometimes we discount our own creativity because we are too busy comparing it to others'. We should not do this. It discounts God's purpose in you and it puts you down as His kid. If you believe you are not something God says you are (remember: made in His image) then you are choosing to believe a lie. 

That has the enemy written all over it. Choose instead to remember this: You have something to give. Everyone does.  

I was reading Exodus 35 just a few minutes ago, and I saw something amazing I want to share with you. This passage is about creating the dwelling for God: the tent Solomon's temple would be based on hundreds of years later. 

"All of you who are skilled in crafts should come forward and make everything that the Lord has commanded: the dwelling, its tent and its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its posts, and its bases, the chest with its poles and its cover, the veil for a screen, the table with its poles and all its equipment, the bread of the presence, the lampstand for light with its equipment and its lamps, the oil for the light, the incense altar with its poles, the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling incense, the entrance screen for the dwelling’s entrance, the altar for entirely burned offerings with its copper grate, its poles, and all its equipment, the washbasin with its stand, the courtyard’s drapes, its posts, and its bases, and the screen for the courtyard gate, the dwelling’s tent pegs and the courtyard’s tent pegs, and their cords, the woven clothing for ministering in the sanctuary, and the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons for their service as priests. The whole Israelite community left Moses: everyone who was excited and eager to participate brought the Lord’s gift offerings to be used for building the meeting tent and all its furnishings and for the holy clothes. Both men and women came forward. Everyone who was eager to participate..." Exodus 35:10-22a (CEB) 

Find Your Inner Creative

Not everyone has the same gifts and talents. The people who made the tent were probably not the same ones who carved the beautiful wood work, or sewed the priest's garments. 

We are all uniquely designed and uniquely gifted. But every single one of us has something to offer God. Whether it is filling up the washbasin, or weaving fine clothe, the people were eager to do even the little things with a good heart and with excellence because they were doing it for God. 

There is creative juice flowing in you. You just have to find it. Once you do you only have to answer one question. Now what will you do with it? 

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Like what you read here? More great content is available several times a week, but I understand how busy you are. That is why I offer a free newsletter that sends you an email of the same great content straight to your inbox! You won't have to worry about missing a thing. I will never share your information with anyone, and if you sign up today, you can get a free copy of my children's eBook The Gardener and the Sapling: A Modern Parable. Click the link below and subscribe now!

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How do you express your creative side? (Leave a comment below) 

 

My Failure as A Parent: The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Sometimes being a parent is not fun. 

There are moments, like last night, that I want to run screaming from the building pulling out my hair along the way.

My kids can be demanding, they can be obstinate, and they can be difficult.

They are, after all, part of my gene pool.

My dad always said grandchildren would be his revenge. I get what he meant now.

The fight between my youngest was over something insignificant. I could not care less about the "thing" she wanted. Her attitude was what affected me the most. She thought she deserved an equal amount of something. She had a right to that thing, and somehow her "rights" were being ignored.

My anger flared, because I know just how wrong she was. Not because I am always right, but because I have been in the same place as her and I know how important it is for her to "get it".

She felt entitled. This entitlement attitude is dangerous and one we have not tried to cultivate, but somehow my children have developed.

This got me thinking....

How often do we come at God like this?

We are His children. His kids can be demanding, obstinate and difficult.  They are, after all, part of the fallen world and like their father Adam.

How often have we heard, "I am mad at God?" or "God doesn't hear my prayers" or "If God loved me, He wouldn't have let my wife die."  Similar statements have been uttered countless times in countless variations.

These come from a place of entitlement. Entitlement is dangerous.

Entitlement says "I have the right to be given something".

The Nature of Gifts

Before we were in Christ we were dead.

The dead have no rights.

Everything we receive from God at this point (while dead) is a gift. Then when we come to know the saving grace of God through Christ we are alive, but since we are bought with a price, we are not our own and we still have no rights. Everything we have is still a gift.

For our gifts we should be thankful. Gratitude is a skill. It is not an easy one to learn. Why? Because you can not be grateful and humble at the same time. It is a lesson God is teaching me through my children right now.

I guess my heart is being checked, and it has come up short. If I could rip it out of my chest and wash it under a waterfall I would, but even that would not be clean enough for my God. He deserves the best me. Thankfully, He provided the remedy.

He washes me white as snow. He examines my heart, and if there is a spot or a wrinkle, He washes me again with His love and Word.

He corrects His children because He loves us.

This Too Shall Pass

I will survive the latest uproar with my kids.

I will also endeavor to teach them this lesson: First, we are not owed anything, and second to be grateful for what we have with a humble heart.

I will also press in so that my Father can show me where I fall short, and pray that I have a contrite heart along the way.

Thank You

Thank you for letting me rant. You let me drag my pain and rawness out in front of you. My life is not pretty in these moments and it is made up of more of these moments than you know. Writing this story down and sharing it with you has let me work through it. It has helped remind me of all the times when I have "got it" and how God has changed me in the process.

My hope is that by sharing, you can be changed too. I am praying for you. Please pray for me.

Join the Conversation

Does God use your kids to talk to you?


Like what you read here?  More great content is available several times a week, but I understand how busy you are. That is why I offer a free newsletter that sends you an email of the same great content straight to your inbox! You won't have to worry about missing a thing. I will never share your information with anyone, and if you sign up today, you can get a free copy of my children's eBook The Gardener and the Sapling: A Modern Parable. Click the link below and subscribe now!

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Valentine's Day Gripes

Okay- it is Valentine’s Day and I don’t know how to say this, but I am not a fan.

Too many young ladies grow up thinking that today is about some ultimate “fantasy man” fulfillment. That on this day, as if by magic, doors will be held open, chairs will be pulled out and romance will ooze from the pores of their significant other.

When this does not happen, there are broken hearts, bruised egos, and in some instances, broken relationships. Don’t even get me started on the people, both men and women, who think that Valentine’s Day can only be a good day if you are in a relationship, or at least “hooking up” with someone. Otherwise it is a pit of despair and despondency.

Let’s talk about relationships, what God says and how it applies today.

First, brotherly love for one another is necessary before any romantic love is ever alluded to.  Because we are free, a sign of that freedom is our love for one another, and the quality of that love. I John 4:7 says love one another for God IS Love, and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God.

Now, I know that I may rock the boat here too, but there is no dating in the Bible, and I don’t believe in it. I am not saying that arranged marriages are the only way to go. I believe that when you really follow God, He lays your path straight and as your prospective spouse follows God, their path is straight and it will merge with yours for a season. Dating without the intention of marriage only leaves both your hearts and your bodies vulnerable.

The only example I can give you is this- my own life. My husband, Randy, and I met when he was home from Bible school around Christmas. He had been asking God about a wife (he was 24 at the time) and he felt God direct him to read the story of Esther. The celebration the Jewish people had after all the high drama was done, included gift giving, so it made Randy think that at Christmas time is when he would meet the person he would marry.

God did not tell me that. I had to be won. First, we became friends, and that was easy enough because we had several friends in common. But it was months before I was ready to even consider a relationship with Randy and then the only reason I thought “maybe…” was because I felt safe with a long-distance relationship. (His Bible school was in Dallas and I was four hours away.)  Through letters, cards and phone conversations we got to really know one another as friends, and I knew where he stood with his feelings and commitment level because he told three months into our friendship “No matter how old we are, as long as you are my friend and in my life, I can be happy, what I cannot do is lose you completely.”  Pretty heady and romantic stuff, but needed.

I say it was needed because of this: God patterns all of our relationships by His standards. We love Him because he first loved us, well; it is the same for a man and a woman. When we know, I mean really know, that a man will not love another and that he will wait for love, THEN we can love him in return.  That is why it is so crucial that we keep ourselves pure and blameless before God, saving ourselves for marriage. SEX IS FOR MARRIAGE- not Valentine’s Day or Prom night, or because your curious and everybody is doing it.

It took three months of Randy pursuing me, before I agreed to more than friends, then six days later I agreed to be his wife. That was nearly 18 years ago. Our marriage has sometimes worked, sometimes not, but three things have held it together, and will continue to hold it together for many years to come.

The first is that we both have relationship with God.

The second is that we are committed to love one another, even if we don’t seem loveable in the moment.

Finally, the third is that we respect each other.

No matter our differences, and there are many, we are after all human; we afford each other the respect the other deserves because our spouse is God’s child. We were each bought with a price and he is worth more than I could ever pay for if I damaged him.

 So as another Valentine’s Day comes and goes, remember this: God does not want man to be alone, but there is a season to everything and if this is not your time, it will come. If you are already married, commit to love. Move forward in love and respect one another. Do not get caught in the trap of the world’s ways, but love one another the way God intended. Like Christ loves the church- completely!

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember that love is an ACTION verb.