May My Heart See...

Nothing like a 21-foot fall to turn your life upside down.   That’s how our week started.   One of our sons fell at work, 21 feet off scaffolding.   He backed right off.   Backed right into life changing, horrific, yet merciful mud.    Merciful mud?   Yes, I say “merciful” for he dislocated one finger, broke his shoulder blade and two bones in his back.   Merciful for obvious reasons:   he did not lose consciousness, no surgery was needed, he can still walk – you know things like that.    Needless to say, his life will never be the same.   Nothing like a 21-foot fall to show your true colors.   My son’s, amazing.    My husband’s, glorious.   Mine, not so pretty.   I have always known about and loved my husband for his steadfastness and his “rock-solid” faith.   None more than I do now.   When I think back on his servant-attitude, compassion and devotion to my son and his family during the last week, I am still in awe.   He was there.   Period.   He did what needed to be done, from

I’m a recovering addict.  There I said it.  I’ve had this addiction for years.  I’m not proud of it.  In fact, I’m ashamed.  But its time it came out.   Hello, my name is Debi, and I’m narcissistic.   My addiction:  me.        For you see, a me addition is all about me.   My way.  My turn.  My happiness.  My self.  Me.  I have had this “addiction” a long, long time - since I was born, in fact.                   Psalm 51:5 says:  Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from                           the time my mother conceived me. A me addiction is sin.  Plain and simple.  It’s totally against God’s will.  I’m trying to think of one scripture that supports it . . .  (thinking, thinking . . . . ).  Nope, can’t.                Philippians 2 says:  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain                       conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,                       not looking to your own interests but each of you to the intere

Sometimes, I just want a start-over, don’t you?  Doesn’t everybody?  I mean, the times when I say the wrong thing, or hurt someone.  Or maybe when I go the wrong way, or go too far.  Going back – starting over – seems ideal to me.  This could be every minute, every hour, daily or even totally.  What about when that thought was “so wrong”.  I’m not thinking like that again, I’m going to change my way of thinking (or at least try to).  Or how about I start over when I won’t listen to gossip anymore or at least I won’t add to it (that’s a hard one!).  I can start over daily as I change my habits to “praise-ful” ones instead of “whine-ful” ones.  Once the whining begins (even in my mind), I can try and back er up and think of something I am thankful for.  I've done this - try it, it gets easier as you go. My cousin is starting over in a totally big kind of way.  Their house was being remodeled and they found some foundational issues and they had to tear it all down and star

I have found myself to be in a “wrong” frame of mind lately.   I don’t know what triggered it.   Is it because I’m older and its easier to think wrong instead of right?   I’m talking negative thinking here.   Its like the “wrong” outweighs the “right”.   Maybe it’s the people around me, or how the world is.   I don’t know. But I don’t like it.   And I don’t think God likes it either.   Let’s just say its not good for me and its not good for those around me either.   It’s like when Eve was in the Garden of Eden.   With all the beauty around her, the bounty right at her finger tips, why did she only see the ONE THING she couldn’t have and dwell on it?   Why not see what she did have and savor it?   You see what I mean? When I look at my precious family, I see what went wrong, instead of all the good things about them.   When there is a difference of opinion among friends, I dwell on the “difference” instead of the lifelong friendship.     I can blame this on many things, my sin

Today is my wedding anniversary – 36 years.   We will celebrate with the kids Wednesday night, grilling juicy Lucy’s.   Can’t wait! I don’t know about you, but every year when my wedding anniversary comes up, it’s not really the wedding day I remember, but the marriage - the years it took us to get “here”.   “Here” being the operative word.     I don’t want you to think we have “arrived” when I say, “here”.   Here is a place I am okay with, in fact, I love.   Here is all the changes our relationship has gone through – some good, some bad – but all have brought us “here”.   Here is not the culmination of all our days, but the journey.   Does that make sense?     And what a journey we have had!   I am sure you have had one too.   Every marriage is a journey – a learning experience of sorts, don’t you think?         Last weekend , God showed me an excellent “example” to learn (and live) by:   I ran to the grocery store and while I was putting my bags in the car,

Okay, I know you all know the story and have heard it a million times.  I’m talking about the story of Mary and Martha – Martha is the busy one and Mary is the one who just wants to sit and listen to Jesus.  I have been studying this story in my Wednesday Women’s class and it got me to thinking.  Wait, maybe you don’t know it – let’s recite it here again.      From Luke 10:                 As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a                woman named Martha opened her home to Him.   She had a sister called Mary,                who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.    But Martha was                distracted  by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him                and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work                by myself?   Tell her to help me!”                 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many       

This is a post from March of 2013 - a good one for Holy Week I'm thinking.  Are you a doer?    By that I mean, are you task-oriented?   I am.   I . . . do.   What I don’t get done, someone else has to do.   You know what I mean?   I have TONS of projects in my head that need to be done.   Pray for my husband, please J ! As a Christian, being a “doer” is a good thing – most times.   I mean there is work to be done in the church – and the church NEEDS doers.   “The harvest is plenty, the workers are few “   you know that verse.   So, I’m needed as a doer.   Being a “doer” completes me.   It’s who I am.   But in the kingdom of God , as far as grace goes, there is nothing to be done.   I can’t do anything to get grace or to earn it, so to speak.   Grace has nothing to do with me.   It has everything to do with God.   So, as far as grace is concerned, the job is done already.    It is finished. But wait, what I am supposed to do then?   Just sit here?   I gotta do some

Have you ever realized that what you wish for isn’t what you should have?   Or the “things” you thought would make you “happy” were the EXACT opposite of what really does? I found out both of these statements to be true in my life recently.   That is, I found me some “joy that makes no sense”.   Its funny, really.   If you ask me what brings me joy I would say my family, my besties, parties and a good root beer float - stuff like that.    But this joy I recently experienced didn’t have any of that.   Its all weird, really.    It just goes to show how God works in mysterious ways and we really don't even know our own hearts.  At least I don't, anyway.   Its so comforting to me that even though I don't have a clue, the God of the universe, The Great I Am, my Shepherd and King, He knows me and loves me so much that He works everything out for our good - and then brings joy in the midst of it all !  That just blows me away.     How can I explain this joy?   It mak

Valentine's Day is all about hearts, right?   Well, have you ever heard of a fleshy heart?   Anybody know what that is?  Flesh in scripture usually means "worldly" (or so I thought).  But God, through the prophet Ezekiel, says:               I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.   I will remove            from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh . Ezekiel 36:26-27   Okay - well, so there must be a different meaning here - that's what I'm thinking.  God will give us a “new heart”.  He will remove our heart of stone.  I certainly understand the part about getting rid of my heart of stone.   I totally need that.   A heart of stone, one so set on its own way and totally not movable.  Self ish (when the emphasis is on self, its "ish") - hard, probably a little callous.   Yes, I want to get rid of that! But a heart of flesh?   Isn’t that weak?   I mean, flesh is . . . . flesh-y – easily bruised, like pu