Over-Achievers Unite!

   I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person who loves to get things "off my plate", well before they're due.  I pay my bills early, turn in homework on time, and am constantly in search of ways to keep the world at peace.  As you can imagine, this can become quite and unnecessary chore and an even dangerous way of life.  Realizing that it may have something to do with control and knowing that control usually reveals some kind of fear, I have learned to back off and take things a bit more in stride.  Having said all that, I recently realized that I may not be as "healthy" as I thought, when it comes to striving.

   A while back, my car registration was due.  It was a rare moment, when I had an extra amount of money in my account, so I paid it right away.  Months went by and I began to wonder why I hadn't received my tags.  I got busy, but eventually I reached the point when that "little voice" became so loud that I stopped all activity and made the dreaded DMV call.  You know the one... the "please hold for the next available customer service representative" call.  I dialed and waited, paid bills and waited, painted my nails and waited, and waited, and waited.  When a live voice finally answered, I explained my situation and she told me that my stickers had not been sent because I needed a smog test.

Shoot!  How did I miss that?  I was so excited to get something off my plate that I didn't even notice what all I needed to do to reach the desired result.  Still busy, it took me weeks to be able to get my car smogged.  Once done, I breathed a huge sigh of relief at having accomplished, once again, the task at hand.  I waited.  Nothing came in the mail.  Back to the phone for a second call to the DMV.  I sincerely hoped I wouldn't run out of brainless activity to keep me busy while I sat on "hold". 

Suddenly the glorious, human voice answered.  This time, she explained to me that my tags weren't sent because the smog test had been done so late. 

"You now have another registration payment due."

"You've got to be kidding.  It hasn't been a whole year yet."

"We send out notices two months early, so in our eyes... you're late."

She had just hit my "justice button".  I knew that it rarely benefits anyone to argue with an employee who is only following directions.  I asked if this was the last surprise I would encounter if I paid-by-phone.  She assured me it would be.  I paid and continued my vigilant "wait" for the tags to arrive.  Several weeks later I drug myself to the phone and pulled out a children's coloring book, which I fully intended to fill up, as I prepared to sit on hold, once again, with the DMV.

My call was everything I expected (side note: expectation often opens doors to self-fulfilling prophecy!).  This time I was informed that there were several "late fees" and "charges" involved with my case.  Dang!  I waited for the written notice to come in the mail before making any further payments.

In the mean time... I was pulled over for speeding.  That was, in itself, a rather weird event that I won't go into at this time.  The officer noticed that my license was blocked by Tiffany's wheelchair rack and that I didn't have a current registration in my possession.  I thought she was going to get a cramp in her fingers by the time she finished writing all my mistakes in her ticket book.  What a day that turned out to be.

Being the pro-active person I am, I went home and looked up on-line traffic school.  Come to find out, they offer a comedy course (which, by the way, isn't funny at all!).  When my ticket came in, I paid the fine and took the traffic school course.  Time lapsed and here we are, the week of my court date.  I found an officer, yesterday, and pulled over to ask him to sign off on the registration part of my ticket.  He did.  I decided to pass the time by explaining to him about the traffic school and fine I paid.  He asked me why I did either.  I told him I did it because that was the expectation, according to all the notices I was receiving.  He let me know that the speeding and license plate placement were both just verbal warnings and the registration would only cost $25 to file, now that it was signed off.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Don't get many tickets, do you ma'am?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Are you an over-achiever?"

"Are you prophetic?"

OK, so the last question I didn't ask out loud.  This week I need to drive down town to explain the whole humiliating mess to yet another employee.  I do hope they don't put me on "hold".  By the way, today Jeff met the nice officer who explained my ticket to me.  It's a good thing the officer remembered me from yesterday.  It made it much easier on Jeff as he received his first "fix-it" ticket.

Things That Make Me Go Hmmmm.

Today I was making some no-bake "Energy Cookies" from a recipe I received on Facebook from my friend Annie Jones-Henson. I will list the recipe at the end of this article. As I mixed the ingredients together, I thought... What if I replace some of the ground flax seed with chia seed? Chia is the new "everything" seed. This is when I began to go hmmmm.

How do you supposed things like eating chia seed is discovered? Did some unfortunate child decide to eat their chia-head Christmas present from Aunt Hazel? Did he become instantly "regular" afterward? Did he break out with amazing strength and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound?  What other strange discoveries do we have that make you wonder about the person behind the epiphany? Eating oysters and finding a pearl is something that immediately comes to mind. Who would dive that deep into the ocean, pick up an apparently ugly rock, pray it open and eat the snot-like substance in the center only to discover that it was not only delicious, but it contained a small bead that would look lovely on his cave dwelling wife?  What about the people behind the T.V. show "Criminal Minds"? How messed up is their imagination to dream up the details of each episode (it is one of my favorite shows, by the way).

The other day I was combating ants with a home-made bait. It called for boric acid. Apparently, the ingredient I keep far away from my own body and wash my hands thoroughly when finished handling it is the same ingredient found in a common laundry detergent. Did someone discover that boric acid kills ants before they realized how clean their white were after dragging them through the potion, or did all the ants drop off their children when they dressed him in his sparkling clean outfits?  Maybe some things aren't meant to be thought about so deeply.

This morning I was reading a book about John G. Lake.  He confronted a man who was comparing Christianity to Christian Scientology.  The man reasoned that Christian Scientologists find scientific reasons for people being healed while Christians believe that healing can come through miraculous means like a Christian laying his hands on someone and praying for healing.  John G. Lake praised him for his findings, but then asked, "You recommended divine healing in one breath and denied its potency in the next. You have attacked Christian Science and arraigned them at the bar and condemned them, without giving to men a tangible way to which the healing of God might be brought to them. Why do you not study and practice Jesus Christ's own way of healing and so make your ministry constructive?"

That is definitely something that makes me go hmmmmm.

Energy Balls (my version)

2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup chia seeds
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix, roll into balls, enjoy (no baking).

A Day of Surprises

This morning I went about my day in the usual way... Suction and feed my daughter, water the garden, feed the chickens...  I noticed something weird when I was out in the chicken yard. One of the chicks was missing.

It may be important to note that today is Sunday. On Sundays, I'm usually in a hurry so we can travel an hour to get to church by 10:30.  I don't notice much of anything as I dash around doing chores on this particular day, so it was strange that I notice one missing chick in a field full of birds.  I opened the gate and took a look around. No sign of the little critter. I began to wondered if we had some kind of monster sized gopher coming up at night and eating our young fowl. I turned to leave and then spotted it's little camouflaged body stuck under some wire at the edge of the coop. Apparently, the chick had reached under to grab some tasty morsel, just out of its reach, and got caught on the fence. There was no way of knowing how long it had been there, but it was splayed out flat and looked like it had put up a good fight for its life. I gently reached down and pulled the wire back to dislodge the tiny little thing. It was then I heard a sound come from its seemingly lifeless body. The chick was still alive.  As I said, it was Sunday and we were rushing. I brought the chick in, put it in a box, prayed for a full recovery, finished getting ready, and left for church.

My husband, and I, travel an hour to church because we've found something that we hadn't been seeing in our local area. We see power! We attend a school at this church that teaches us how to love others by demonstrating the love of Jesus to them in a way that changes their lives. Let me give you an example of what happened to us at lunch today.

Because we have such a long drive, it is our custom to go to lunch after the service. Jeff, Tiffany and I were enjoying the air-conditioned atmosphere at the restaurant, on this 104+ afternoon, when Jeff and I began to feel like there was something God wanted to do with our waitress. This may sound strange to most of you out there, but often times God will put a thought into the heart of his kids and it's an invitation to join Him in His work, just like Jesus did. This is what was happening to us. Jeff began by asking the waitress if she knew that she was a woman of integrity. She looked puzzled, but thanked him for the compliment. As soon as he said that to her, I remembered several things she had done with us that demonstrated that point. I shared them with her and she began to realize that it might be true. Our lunch went on and it began again. This time, I felt like I was hearing a still small voice say, "Ask her what she uses her tips for."

"I'm not about to pry into a stranger's personal business!"  You know those conversations you have when you're trying to talk yourself out of something?  "It's offensive.  You don't just ask people that kind of stuff. It's none of my business!!!"

I wonder if God thinks I'm funny when He talks to me and I respond like He's the idiot. The thought continued in my head until I was at the point of thinking abstract things like if I should tip her double what I usually do because she might have a need for it. I also thought, what if she used her tips for something I didn't approve of? What then? Do I withhold the blessing because I did think her cause was just? 

The still small voice echoed in my head again, "Ask her."

When she came back to our table, Jeff asked the girl if she prayed. I was so wrapped up in the conversation I was having in my spirit that I was shocked by his question.

The girl looked at him, and she answered, "Yes."

"God wants you to know that He hears your prayers," was his response to her.

She began to tear up.  That's when it happened... Out of my mouth came words I had never expected to say out loud, "What do you use your tips for?"

The young girl looked into my eyes with tears pouring down her cheeks and answered, "I use my tips for the thing I've been praying about.  My rent.  I'm coming up short this month and my hours were cut.  I don't know if I can make rent."

Isn't it fun when God hears your prayers and send someone into your life just to tell you it is so?  The conversation continued and we were able to truly care for this young, beautiful girl. She asked our names and we found out hers. When we were done eating, she came over to our table and told us that a couple of women in the table next to us had paid for our meal. What a wonderful surprise! This is something we often do for others when we go out to eat, but it is rarely done for us without our knowledge.  Suddenly it dawned on me. The conversation God was having with me about the tip wasn't only for our young waitress's benefit, it was for mine. God was preparing me. Our lunch had been covered, so we now had full freedom to just bless this girl. I asked her to bring me a bill so that I could leave her a tip. She told me the tip had already been paid as well. I told her we would like to bless her again.  I looked at Jeff and he told me the amount that had come to mind. It shouldn't have surprised me that it was the same amount that came to mine.  We left a huge monetary blessing, gave her hugs and went on our way.  We giggled all the way home about how much fun we had with God at lunch.

By the way, when we got home... the chick was standing and drinking and has since rejoined the flock outside. Now, this is the kind of Christian I love being. People with the heart of Jesus walking in the power He promised we would.

Rest

We live in a very busy day and age.  Families are spending their time with jobs, school, electronics, scouts, sports, friends and even ministries. By the time evening comes, everyone is exhausted, and rarely do they want to spend time together. After all, they've usually been with people all day.

In our life, we have all kinds of activities that eat up our day and energy. We have a 44 acre ranch with crops growing and animals to care for. My husband is a contractor. His time is spent bent over or driving long distances. I'm a caregiver. My day includes lots of lifting and time spent on another person's needs. Both, my husband and I, are in school, ministries, and have lots of hobbies and projects to fill whatever time is left over each day. Rest could be illusive if we didn't spend intentional time finding and treasuring it.

 One of the things Jeff and I do most every night is we spend about an hour or so, before dinner, talking about and sharing our day. For you, this kind of activity could be a great time to find out what interests the people you live with have. It's a wonderful opportunity to give yourself permission to be still, to pay attention to the surroundings you (and God) have spent so much time, energy and money creating. How many of us are so busy that we never even notice our own home until someone comes to visit?  How many of us truly know what makes each person in our family happy or fulfilled?  Do you even know what your family's favorite colors, desserts, or places to visit are?  It's no wonder we often feel discontented. Maybe we need to spend a little time finding out how we actually connect with each other and how to rest.

New Jacuzzi

Recently, we got a "wild hair". We live in an area that is very warm in the summer and cold in the winter. I thought a pool would be an ideal answer to the summer issues. The only problem... money.  Usually, we can do just about anything we want with a little time and planning, but a pool seemed to be an expense that rested just beyond my ability to imagine.  Jeff's answer, a jacuzzi.  He explained that it didn't have to be heated in the summer and would provide a great muscle relaxer for him in the winter.  To me, that was a great expense as well, but he found one on Craig's List and was able to pick it up even cheaper when he met the owner face to face. One jacuzzi, a few pavers and pieces of wood later... we had a new and creative way to relax.  After dinner jacuzzi. What a way to prepare for a night of sweet dreams.  I would encourage everyone to become a professional person of rest. You'd be surprised how much you can get done tomorrow when you wake up refreshed.

Spring Chicks

    Last Christmas, Jeff bought me an egg incubator. A friend of mine borrowed it and said it didn't work very well. I decided I would try it for myself.  Three weeks and two days ago I placed over 30 eggs into the small Styrofoam container. I carefully watched, using a flashlight, and saw the white and yolk of the egg transform over the week. By week two, there were little critters moving around inside with big dark eyes. In the later weeks it was hard to track progress because the chick grew so fast and took up so much room inside the egg that each egg just looked dark. I felt like I had lost contact with my tiny friends.

   One day I turned the heat up a bit because it seemed to be a little chillier than usual in the box. Big mistake! By the time I went back, the interior temperature of the incubator had risen to, what I was sure was, a very dangerous degree. They had gone from a tropical paradise to a blazing desert.  That's when it happened. I began to entertain the first of many doubts as to the success of my mission.

   Today is Sunday. Last Friday I should have seen eggs hatching. Nothing happened. Something interesting transpires in your mind when you are anticipating something good but what's in front of you doesn't line up with your expectations. I began to doubt. Then I started remembering every negative thing that had happened... The incubator didn't work for my friend... I had overcooked the tiny chick wombs... Some of the water/dye had dripped on some of the eggs... the list was quickly becoming overwhelming.  Friday came and went and nothing happened. Saturday was equally uneventful and I began to plan for the worse.  I now can see how easily I am swayed by circumstances that are right in front of me. I believe what I see, or choose to look at, rather than the possibility of what could happen. My husband sensed my impending doom and secretly prayed that God would grant me the desires of my heart and fulfill the dreams I have for this ranch.

  Late Saturday afternoon I noticed that one of the eggs looked like it might have a crack.  Hours went by and nothing happened. I laid down to take a nap and I was sure I heard peeping. Sometimes I hear things that just aren't there in the natural, so I thought this might be one of those times. I would watch the eggs off and on for hours and once I thought I saw an egg rock.  Sometimes I see things that just aren't there in the natural too, so I figured I was just tired and decided to go to bed. I got up several times during the night and still no activity, but I was pretty sure I was, in fact, hearing peeps. I couldn't think of anything that makes peeping sounds in the dark of the night, so I became hopeful once again.

    This morning I could see one egg actually hatching. I turned on all the lights and began to talk to the little guy (or girl). The chick responded and moved even more. We began a conversation of encouragement, me to him and him back to me. The more I talked, the more he worked. I looked at the other eggs and had an amazing thought. If I have the mind of Christ and he could bless or curse something (like a fig tree) and that tree responded according to His words, and if greater things I would do (according to Jesus' own words), then what's to stop me from speaking to the rest of these eggs? So, I spoke! I declared that I have dominion here in this area and these are my eggs to steward. I came up with all kinds of positive statements to override the negative ones that had previously occupied my mind. I had stopped thinking about the eggs and started to imagine them as chicks. Suddenly, another egg wobbled. Then I spoke directly to the one that had been cracked from beginning, but had not moved since. I told him it was OK to come out and I heard the chick peep and then "pop", off shot a piece of his shell. I would say it was like magic, but I prefer to use the word miracle.

    Now I'm sitting here writing, when I should be getting ready for church. One chick is out, the next is on it's way and there are several tiny peep holes appearing in many of the other eggs. I will choose to focus on what God is doing here on my ranch today instead of what isn't happening. I will count my chicks, as they hatch, and count it all joy!  I also just might apply these principals to my daily life and remember to have the mind of Christ, and all His possibilities, when I pray for people who are sick and "appear" like there is nothing happening.  What have I got to lose? But I, indeed, have everything to gain!

All they know is my voice and my hand...
Kind of like my relationship with God

Angels

I had an experience several months back that still comes to mind many times a week, so I thought I'd record it here and see what kinds of phenomenon other people are running into around the world...

One rainy morning, very early (about 4:00 a.m.), I was sitting in my living room, reading. Suddenly, there was a knock at my front door. I was startled and went to the peep hole to see who it was. I saw a man, in uniform, and a sheriff car parked behind him. I opened the door and was afraid of the news he might carry. Was one of my grown children in trouble (or worse)? Had one of my animals escaped and caused havoc on the highway? Was there an intruder loose in the neighborhood? It's amazing all the questions that can process through your mind within seconds. I opened the door and the man said, "Did you call 911?"

What an odd question. Not because of it's nature, but because it was no where in the realm of thoughts speeding through my head at the time. His question totally caught me off guard. My answer was "No", but then I wondered about my husband who was still asleep in the bedroom. Was he, in fact, asleep or was he experiencing a heart attack and could only use his cell phone to get help? Before the series of unthinkable possibilities could begin to play in my brain, I thought I'd better get them under control and check out his condition myself.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked the officer. It was pouring rain, by this time, and something about him felt safe. He came in and stood on our rock entry while I went to check on Jeff.  Odd, I thought, why doesn't he search around the house in case I was actually being held by some monster and had to lie about calling 911 myself?

Jeff was groggy, but alive and well, tucked safely in his warm bed. I didn't check on Tiffany, because I knew she wasn't capable of dialing 911 herself. "Everything seems to be fine," I told the man standing in my living room. He explained to me that sometimes phone lines have a weak place in their connection and it can cause a 911 message to be sent out to officials. Hmmm. I had never heard of such a thing.

The man seemed satisfied that I was safe and now informed. He left with no further conversation or advice. I sat down to process what had just happened and noticed some peculiarities that still stand out in my mind today. 

1) The man standing in the rain had beautiful dark hair. He seemed Hispanic and his hair was full and nicely coiffed. I realized he had not been wearing a hat. Did I mention that it had been pouring rain at the time of his visit?
2) I don't recall having any Hispanic sheriffs in our small town.
3) The man's uniform was clearly visible because he wore no jacket. Who stands in the rain with no jacket?
4) The man stood on my rock entry for several minutes while I checked the house. There was no puddle where he had stood. No wet footprints to mop up. Nothing that indicated that I had just had a visitor on a very rainy morning.
5) Our buzzer that notifies me of someone is driving down our road never sounded. Not when he came, and not when he left.

I had a strange feeling that my visitor may have been something more than a sheriff. If he was, in fact, some kind of supernatural being sent to give me a message, then maybe I'd better check out what he said. When Jeff work up, I told him about the possible broken line and sure enough, there was a place that needed repair. I went online to read further about phone lines randomly dialing 911 messages when they were damaged and found nothing.

So, what does this all mean? Was I in some kind of danger that needed an angelic presence at that moment? Was he some kind of messenger that just wanted to alert us to household repairs that needed attending to? Was there an important call coming soon that I shouldn't miss? Was God just being a good Daddy and showing me that he sees me and my needs?  I don't know, but I am convinced that this wasn't any run-of-the-mill sheriff's visit.