Laundry, Ringtones, and other spiritually significant things

First, I need to brag.

My little Shae did this. By herself. With no help at all. My little 6-year old Shae. The same little 6-year old Shae who goes into absolute hysterics when her brothers don’t acknowledge her new dress looks pretty. (Which, basically, NEVER happens.) She may well have the highest pitched whiny voice ever to be heard, but boy, can she fold some clothes like a pro. 1st grade boys, take note. She likes to cook, too. ☺

But now onto the subject of this post. Which still happens to be about little miss Shae.

Oh, and my Blackberry.

Ever since my free month of “Don’t Stop Believing” ringtone expired on my phone, I haven’t gotten another one. Honestly, my phone rings a lot, and usually during times I don’t want it to. So I have been keeping it on vibrate 24-7, as not to disturb the peace in various places in and around Charlotte. But the downside to that is that I miss a lot of phone calls in the process.

So after retrieving my 27 voice mail messages the other day, I decided it was time for a new ringtone.

The dilemma ensued.

What song should I get? Another awesome 80’s tune? A top 20 hit I secretly like dancing to but have lyrics that aren’t suitable for…basically anyone?

And then it hit me.

I could hear Shae from the other room, reciting what has become somewhat of an anthem in my house as of late, it’s been said so many times. The Hannah Montana “Hoe Down-Throw-Down,” to be more specific. Those of you who know it, know what I’m talking about. It’s rather…(and strangely)…addictive. It involves words said with a southern drawl…specific motions to the words…and a whole lot of sass. Shae qualifies to say it on all counts.

And so she was, “hoe-downing, throw-downing” once, again. I smiled when I heard her, the sound was so familiar and so sweet.

And that’s when I decided to make it my ringtone.

So now, when you call my cell, I hear the sweet sound of my high-pitched 6-year-old saying, “Pop it. Lock it. Polka dot it. Country fry it. Hip-hop…cross the floor…” I’m not sure the general public will appreciate hearing it like I do, but I don’t care. I love to hear the sound of my sweetheart’s voice, regardless of the particular content.

It made me think about how much God loves to hear the voice of His kids…how when He hears our particular and specific “ringtone,” He delights in the prospect of the one He loves being on the other end. I thought about how I smile when I hear that sweet voice of the one I love…and how He must smile when He hears his child’s voice when we place the call to have a conversation with Him.

It is the simple aspects of God’s character that I often lay down and saturate myself in. His pure and undying love. His joy in His children. His devotion and care.

These are things I relate to.

And now, as if it didn’t before, this pitchy ringtone from my sweet little 6-year old, Shae, has even more significance.

Oh, and did I mention she can fold a mean load of laundry?

Settling for Less

Given the fact that I never thought I’d ever own a pet in the first place, I certainly never thought I’d see the day where I gained any type of spiritual inspiration from an animal. But friends, the day has arrived.

It happened this morning as I was chastising our family dog, Maggie.

With much work needing to be done, I sat down to focus at my desk. Typing away, I felt the familiar feel of fur on my legs and feet, a sure sign that my little 7 pound papoo was around. Since bringing her into our family at Christmas, I’ve come to appreciate the feeling, if not take comfort in its familiarity. But on this day the deed was done with a completely different motive than to show owner love. It wasn’t because she wanted to be near me. It wasn’t even because she likes being confined to small places or that she wanted to curl up in a ball at my feet and nap.

Instead she was lurking. Looking for something.

Sitting under my desk is a decorative trashcan, typically way too full of shredded paper, opened envelopes, and various other junk I don’t want. To Maggie’s delight, my trash happens to be her treasure. She loves to stick her nose in the trash, pulling out whatever is on the top and can be easily clinched in her teeth and brought out.

Usually, it’s paper.

But it doesn’t stop there. Because when she grasps the paper with her teeth, she runs away quickly, knowing that if I catch her, the paper will be retrieved and put back in it’s place, and the game will be over. In which case, she (sadly) won’t get to delight in the delicacy of a former tree. Sigh.

This morning, as she dipped her nose into the trashcan, clinched a discarded and torn Target receipt in her teeth (like a toy from one of those money-wasting arcade games with the pinchers that never grab anything), and ran with her treasure and for her life, I finally had enough and told her so.

“Maggie! You frustrate me! Why in the world would you want to eat paper from the trashcan when you have a full bowl of good food in your dish, just waiting for you to eat it?!”

I don’t know why I chose today to exhort her. It’s not like I think she understands me any better than any other day or that I think she will actually stop doing it. (Short of taking her to doggie behavior school, which I have no plans to do. ) But everyday I watch her grab the trash from my trashcan and eat it. And every day it frustrates, confuses, and bothers me.

Today was no different. Except for when I heard myself say out loud what I had been thinking for months, I saw its irony.

And how much it reminds me of what we, as believers, do.

How we grab at the less flavored…the less healthy…the least choice options this world has to offer instead of choosing the staple…specifically chosen…nourishing things God has waiting on us.

We sink our teeth into the familiar – those things we are used to having – doing the things we are used to doing. They are ultimately unfulfilling. But still, we choose them.

And we run.

We run with them, knowing somewhere inside that they don’t work for us. We run with them, knowing that if and when we have to give them up, at least two of us won't feel very good about it in the end.

It’s a silly illustration with a very real spiritual application.

It’s the issue of I want what I want when I want it. I will do what I’ve always done because it is familiar, not because it works for me. I settle for something because I am unwilling to wait for better.

Friends, let’s remember that while the things offered by God may not be as familiar, convenient or easy for us, they are by far the best option with the most lasting results. How much it must pain Him to watch us go after such bland delicacies of the world when His selections are so far superior.

Now if I could only get Maggie to appreciate the difference. ☺

Temporarily Sweet

When I wrote my last status update on Facebook, …“it’s temporary, ya’ll,” I wasn’t thinking about anything but the star tattoo I have adorned on my foot since the second night of our family beach vacation. The caption matched the new profile pic I posted, one of my stubby 5-toed foot and said star. In case you’re curious…
I wrote the update/caption after wondering if any of my ink-rejecting, conservatively wired friends would palpatate and think I’d lost my mind at Myrtle Beach and gotten a real one (tattoo, that is) when they saw the picture.

Not yet, friends. Not just yet. ☺

But when I cracked open my Bible this morning and read this passage in Job, I couldn’t help but see the irony in my own words…

“Like something rotten, human life fast decomposes, like a moth-eaten shirt or a mildewed blouse.” (Job 13:28 The MSG)

Ok, first let me say what you’re probably thinking……ewwww.

Not the typical word picture I enjoy when looking for nourishment from God’s Word. But as always, truth greets me everytime I open my Bible, whether it be something that soothes my soul or stirs it.

Call me crazy, but I think I know what Job was thinking. I think what he’s trying to say here is that “it’s temporary, ya’ll.”

Not just spray-painted on tattoos, of course. Someone schooled at the Hard Knock Academy would not be so trite as to be referring to that.

Instead he is talking about…that thing called…life.

I should know this from my own personal experience, especially since I just returned from a long weekend in a place I called home for 13 years of mine. I’m long gone since my residency there. I’ve since made a new home for myself in a different part of the country and different time zone. But at the time I lived there, it seemed like I might live there…forever.

Between the tattoo and the thoughts of my recent trip to a place I called home, I find comfort in the spiritual application.

Strangely enough, both have reminded me that my life here on earth is temporary. I have no idea how “temporary” for me is measured on days I am breathing, but it really doesn’t matter. Amidst all the “don’t knows” of my life, the one thing I am as sure of as the fact I am math challenged is that I am not staying put here forever. One day I’ll be gone. So will you, by the way.

As hard as it may be to fathom or admit, neither you nor I was put here on this earth to be a wife or a mom or a friend or a child or an attorney or a neighbor or a church-goer or a cousin or a really good person. My personal opinion is that God is gracious enough to give us those beautiful “roles” in life to allow us to endure the scratches and dents this world bestows on us while on the journey. (Kind of like ice cream made shots from the doctor a little bit easier to deal with, when we were kids…but even better.)

But friends, that’s really not why we are here.

We are not here to make ourselves more convenienced and comfortable, as awesome as that feels.

We are not here to saturate ourselves in fun to the exclusion of remembering our greater purpose.

We are not here to rest in our roles and make ourselves feel better by doing the occasional “good thing” for others.

We are here to make a difference in our circle of influence for God. We are here to do what pleases Him, shouts His fame, and impacts someone’s eternity. We are here to serve as He served, and give people a reason to see life with Him as better than life without Him. We are here to be used by Him for His purpose and His glory – alone. It is an exciting privilege.

It is also a beautiful one.

But the beauty of the temporary doesn’t end there.

Because temporary also means that the aches and pains we feel…the cancer that touches our lives…the difficulties…won’t last forever. (This one's for you, Kris.)

It means that the hurt we experience when someone doesn’t want us around anymore will also leave.

It means that the challenges…the uphill battles…the scramble to make it…the injustices…the negativity of life…will one day be gone.

And it means that our loves…our losses…our beautiful days and our sad ones…our great choices and our really poor decisions…won’t mark our lives permanently.

Because…well…it’s temporary, ya’ll.

So long after my tattoo fades…long after my book writing career is over and my beautiful roles in life change…even when my circle of influence gets smaller and the numbers on the calendar get higher…

I have something sweetly permanent to look forward to.

Dear Springfield...

Hi friends!

I am back, after a several week hiatus from posting. Thank you so much for coming back to hear what’s on my heart! I am traveling to Springfield, Missouri, on Wednesday for a packed week of speaking, book signing and attending my 20-year high school reunion! I am so looking forward to all of it, even though I will miss my family while I am gone. As I sat tonight and reflected on the coming days and going “home,” I couldn’t help but think about all the things God has done in my life to bring me to the point where I am today. I started writing a normal post…but it kind of evolved into something else, so I went with it. Please keep me in your prayers this week, as I share a message with many of my friends and peers from years ago about how God has changed my life. And in the meantime, here’s my post…a letter to the place I used to call “home.”


Dear Springfield,

I am just three days away from seeing you, again. I have to admit, I am hugely excited and a tad bit anxious. What will you look like? Will I recognize you? Will you have changed? My guess is yes. I know I sure have since the last time we were together.

The last time you saw me I was a young woman with a heavy heart. My father had just resigned his 13-year position with a church he knew and loved. I loved it, too. I guess that’s why I cried so much when we got in the car and drove away. At first, there was relief. Ministry was so hard, and it was nice to just be Lisa and not the “preacher’s daughter” for awhile, even under the circumstances. But then it was just weird. I wasn’t sure how to be Lisa anymore, I had been that other preacher’s daughter Lisa for so long.

But I digress.

The point is that I am coming back to see you, a much different Lisa than when I left. Oh, I am still the same girl who detests lima beans, wears uncomfortable shoes, and has never really liked her hair. My tastes in music haven’t much changed. But my heart? Well, let’s just say that there isn’t a big enough word to describe what’s happened in there.

I can’t wait to share it with you.

I know I’ll remember things about you when I see you. After all, I spent 13 years of my life with you, so I SHOULD know you, at least a little. But I’m really not sure if you will recognize me. I’ve changed that much.

When you knew me I thought for sure I knew everything I would ever need to know about life and then some. I hoped the world revolved around me, and I was pretty sure it did.

When you knew me I didn’t realize that I didn’t need to waste my time doing things that wouldn’t benefit my life. I did so many of them, I didn’t really keep track.

When you knew me I was under the impression that I needed to be thin, wear the right clothes, and get the right person to love me to feel endorsed.

When you knew me I had no idea that I could love a God I could not see so much that I wouldn’t need to see Him to know He is real.

When you knew me I didn’t really know myself. Thought so. Hoped so. But didn’t.

So you see, coming back to see you now, after all these years and more than a few life experiences, is an amazing thought. I’m excited to see you. But in the back of my mind I also wonder if you will make me cry. We made so many memories together.

But I am ready to see you, again. I am ready to look back on my life then and praise God for my life now. I am ready to make eye contact with people I love and may not ever see again, this side of heaven. I am ready to share the message of my heart – the message He has pressed on my heart – one of hope through hurt, faith through fire, and the love of the One who covers everything in between.

I don’t come back to you a perfect woman. You’ll see that right away. But I do come back to you a woman who knows who she is, understands where she’s been, and lives for the Jesus who brings her joy.

Thanks for letting me come back and see you, again. It will be sweet to reminisce with you and remember what we shared.

An Honest Blog

I have learned, over time, not to try to write something significant when I don’t have it on my heart to write.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that God is not showing me anything. I would misrepresent the past few weeks if I were to imply that. But it just that there are those times that so much is in my heart that I am not sure exactly how to let it come out and have it make much sense to someone else. It’s in those times that I just have to acknowledge that I may not write the kind of blog I really want to sit down and write – one that is pressing on my heart and flows with great meaning and some sort of spiritual insight is offered to the reader. Today is one of those times and this blog is not one of those {greatly insightful} blogs.

I’m trying to be ok with it.

Because, you see, my blog and blog readers are important to me. It took me a long time to be willing to share my heart in such an honest way with people who could access it any time they wanted by a click of a mouse. I resisted it, wildly, at first. But it has truly been one of the most amazing blessings in my life – between the people I have met and the ones who read anonymously but share in my life, and everyone in between. All of you mean a great deal to me, if I haven’t told you so lately. ☺

And so, I don’t want to let you down now that you’re here.

I’ve thought about taking a blogging break, simply because I would rather not have you coming here to expect something to be worth your time to read and instead get sporadic details about my crazy, busy life when your life is crazy, busy, too, and you sacrifice something to even show up here in the first place. But my heart just won’t let me do that, for some reason. So I hold on to this blogging thing I love, praying for wisdom to know when and if to pause from it for a season.

But that day is not today. So for today (which I’m learning to live for), here’s what I’m gonna do.

I’m gonna just be honest and say I am very stretched right now – emotionally, physically, spiritually, creatively. My role of wife and mother to three has not stopped since adding a title of pastor’s wife, church launcher, She Seeks coordinator, and author of a forthcoming 3rd book, et al.

I’m gonna admit to you that I am way behind in my email correspondence, a fact those of you who have written to me and haven’t heard back already know. (So sorry, friends. ☹)

I’m gonna tell you that I am frustrated at the relationships I want to pour more into but can’t, simply because I am responsible to do things that effect more than just me.

I’m gonna acknowledge that I have spent a good bit of the past two months asking God why in the world He has so much for me to do and why in the world He seems to think I can do it.

I’m gonna tell you that I am tired. And, by the way, so is my brain.

I’m gonna just tell the truth about my very crazy, busy life. I’m not gonna sugar coat it or make you believe I am able to juggle all this seamlessly and without any tears, questions or blown off steam. (Thank you, treadmill ☺)

I know you can relate to me.

So know from the get-go that I’m not writing anything in this blog that will blow you away with insight. The simple and not-at-all clever title of this blog should have tipped you off to that. But since I have already determined that you relate to me (assuming, yes), I do want to share with you a few things God is reminding me of, in the midst of all the craziness of my life in the hopes that they may be of some help to you, as well. They are my spiritual silver linings, and they are in no particular order or clarity.

1) Don’t take daily time with God out of the equation, just because it seems like it would, at times, be easier to. {I need Him, not the other way around.}

2) Do what I can do and acknowledge what I can’t. {Which happens to be a lot these days.}

3) Be ok with sacrificing things and even, people, for the most important relationship in my life. {Admittedly, this is a tough one for me.}

4) Remember what this whole life thing is really all about. {Temporary highs and lows with a steady and sure eternal end.}

5) Please God and let everyone else think what they want. {Another tough one for me, but I'm slowly getting it.}

6) Cry, if needed. {There’s a reason that lump in my throat is there.}

7) Know that I won’t ever go anywhere or go through anything that will take me off His radar screen for even a second. {I still can’t fathom the fact that I am always on His mind. So are you, by the way.}

8) Look for things to get rid of that don’t facilitate growth in my relationship with God and keep me from personal health and wellness. {This requires wisdom, friends. It also requires courage.}

9) Appreciate people who love me. {Honestly, sometimes I’m not sure why anyone would want to hang out with me.}

10) Pray like crazy. {Period.}

And yes, there are more. But because I am trying to exercise numbers 2, 8, and 9, I simply must make that all for now. :)

While it may not be what you came by here expecting, I pray that you found something in this post to encourage you today…this week…right now. It’s a crazy, busy life for us, friends. But if we live with #4 in mind, we can make our way through all the madness life inevitably brings. For I am convinced that sometimes it takes all the madness life offers to bring us to the point where we have no other choice but to start looking up. Oh, it's good when we do that.

“Blessed be the Lord— day after day he carries us along. He's our Savior, our God, oh yes! He's God-for-us, he's God-who-saves-us.” (Psalm 68:19 The Msg)

HomeStretch

Hi friends!
I am finishing up some writing for a new book project and have almost met deadline. I will be posting later on this week, after I can clear my mind enough to come up with something to blog about. Hey -- maybe I'll try something like prayer. Think God would give me a post? I'm counting on it.

Love you, my faithful blog readers!

Let's Do Something Together

If you boil it all down, THRIVE CHARLOTTE is built on the 1st and 2nd commandments…

~Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength…

and

~Love your neighbor as yourself.

Based on our own experience, Pastor Scotty and I happen to believe that most of us haven’t gotten these two concepts down very well, so far in our Christian life. The truth is that we see in ourselves and others where some of our ideas, traditions and yes, even good-old church policies have actually gotten in the way of doing life with God in the way He intended in the first place. The result of which is some really good church-going people walking around really dissatisfied with life. And even worse than that? They haven’t a clue why.

We have been there.

So now, we want to help people THRIVE in these two commandments. It is our strongest belief that when we do, the good intentions of believers everywhere will actually become a reality and no one will have to talk us into personal holiness.

We aren’t about the bigger and the better. That’s been done and done, again. We are about scaling all that back and trying something simple like…I don’t know…maybe just doing what the Bible says to do.

Love God – Love your neighbor.

It’s about spiritual community, first with God, then spilling over to others. Which is why THRIVE CHARLOTTE’s “tagline” is made up of just 4 simple words.

Let’s do something together.

We started living out this tagline on week one that THRIVE had a pulse, with the shoe thing. Now on week 3, we lived it out, again, when 60-something people from ages 11 to 65 met on a traditional Sunday church morning to go and serve food, sort clothes and provide a service for a portion of the growing homeless community in Charlotte. It was 7am, chilly outside, and the incentive certainly wasn’t a custom THRIVE koozie, since we don’t have them. But people showed up, enthusiastic and eager to tackle their THRIVE LIVE mission.

Were I to go into everything we experienced that day, this would be an excruciatingly long blog for you to read. But because I suspect at this point I may still have your attention, please allow me to simply hit the highlights. For the bigger picture is much more important than the all the precious details we will forever take away from this 2nd Commandment experience.

The first amazing thing was meeting Sister Rosa. Sister is the 5’4” dynamo who runs the Harvest Center and runs it like a tight ship. She doesn’t play and doesn’t want you to, either. Meeting her, I certainly didn’t want to! As we gathered in an upper room, she told us about her experience growing up on the very streets she now ministers to. She didn’t try to pretend she had always lived a neat little Christian life, tied up with a neat little Christian bow. Instead she was, just…real. Raw. A take-no-bull kind of girl, and I liked her. A lot.

Almost right away, she had us working, doing everything from sorting donated clothes to chopping potatoes for the lunch we would also serve. With all of us scattered about in our black, green and white THRIVE t-shirts, she made sure to let us know that if we were going to wear such a bold claim on our bodies that she was going to hold us to it. “If you’re not thriving, the best thing you can do is take off those shirts right now,” she said with a half grin. All of us took her exhortation seriously, and none of us wanted to be the one who didn’t prove it true.

And so we worked. All of us. We sorted and chopped and served. One of us sang. (Props to Jamie Morgan and his cool pick-up band) Pastor Scotty preached.

I could see the skepticism on faces as my hyper-sanguine pastor/hubby got up on the purple satin curtained stage to speak. After all, most of them were not used to a short white man in ripped jeans and a goatee preaching to them. But it didn’t take long to change their minds. Because in the next 30 minutes that Pastor Scotty spoke, God’s spirit fell. The message was powerful, and so was the response.

At the very invitation to come to Jesus, 20+ people raised their hand and prayed to receive Christ into their heart. For a moment, our physical and social differences didn’t matter. We were all in the presence of an Almighty God. And it was beautiful.

On a personal note, I prayed with a woman named Jessica that morning. She had beautiful brown eyes and skin to match. It was the softest I have ever touched, except for my babies when they were infants. I might not know that except for the fact of what she did. While I was praying with her, with my hands resting on her shoulders, she took one of them and placed it, open palm, on her face. I could sense the lump in my throat when she did, and I felt it’s significance to both of us. With my hand resting now on her cheek, I could feel her hot tears spilling onto my hand. The truth is, they were spilling out my eyes at the same time.

I thought about our obvious differences. We were two very different women, I suspected. But as is the need of all humankind, we both needed God in a very raw, very real way, which bonded us in a significant way. After we finished praying, I looked into her eyes and she looked in my heart. For a minute, we trusted each other, though neither one of us had reason to. She called me, “Maam.” I told her I wouldn’t forget to pray for her. She asked me if I would remember her name. I told her I would.

With this experience fresh on my mind, upon my return home from the Center I read a quote by one of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning. It made me think about the THRIVERS who showed up that day to serve and summarized my feelings about what I experienced at the Harvest Center, perfectly.

{Get ready for pure genius, readers.}

“The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea. When it imposes itself on mind and heart with the stark reality of ontological truth, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, and who you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you, and what makes your heart happy.” (The Furious Longing of God)

I know this quote is true because I have seen it for myself.

Going to the Harvest Center, I watched 60+ people do something unique, different, uncomfortable, and maybe even, heart breaking. And yet, no one asked about childcare or compensation or recognition or really, even, safety. No one asked when it would all be over and they could go home to their cushy couch for a regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon nap.

In fact, when we were though and our “duties” were done, no one got up to leave. There was a strange sense of excitement and fulfillment in the air, as well as the desire to linger just a little longer. Maybe we wanted to serve some more. Maybe we wanted to meet our own needs by staying. All I know is that I saw a look of joy and peace on the faces of THRIVERS, ages 11-65, who had, on this particular day, lived out the 2nd Commandment.

Don’t tell me people aren’t willing to step up and serve.

Don’t tell me people don’t want to be challenged.

Don’t tell me people won’t join hands with other ministries to do something together for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I don’t believe it because I’ve seen it done.

With one flamboyant Sister, 60+ t-shirt wearing THRIVERS, and a great and mighty God at the helm, originator of the brilliant concept of Kingdom-minded teamwork.