What I’m thankful for, 2009 edition

A new Chevy Impala
My old car lasted as long as it did

Redemption
“To Seek and Save” is completely rewritten and finally up to snuff
Unconditional love

Repairmen who arrive when they say they will
Free lance contracts
Having more time to be myself

Tenderness on tough days
New Living Translation
A writing space,  complete with wood stove and cowboy accessories

New teachers for the 20something Connection Group
References
A new job

Pen pals
Frontline Flea and Tick Control
A great interest rate

Family, no matter what
Being published in Chicken Soup for the Soul
Celebrating Dad’s 90th birthday

Curl spritz
Being flu-free so far
Volunteers

FEMA legislation
Saying hi to friendly faces in the hallway between church services
Faithfulness

Called To Write Conference and winning the devotional contest
Friends who watch and pray with me
Friends who tell me to get over myself

Max Lucado books
My street is one of the first cleared in a snow storm
Dad’s auction bargains

Fresh healing for old wounds
Dark days that help me see how bright the light shines
Bananas that are perfectly ripe

Veterans
My 401(k) is rebounding
Chris Tomlin songs

Sermons that are dead on
Strangers who catch runaway dogs and bring them home
Baking

God has a plan for it all and it leads to victory.

“Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:17-18

 

Reflections: Alero had a great ride

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “Woo-hoo! What a ride!”

That’s how the Alero lived and when we careened around the corner and screeched to a stop at the car lot, there was no doubt that it had given every last drop of life. The little green puddle underneath was proof.

Purchasing the Alero had been one of the biggest financial decisions of my life. Or at least it felt like it at the time. When car shopping in 2001, I visited dozens of dealerships and drove hundreds of cars. I figured out what I wanted but was so disgusted by car salesmen, couldn’t bring myself to commit.

One summer afternoon, I determined to visit the big event at the mall, where all the car lots bring in their vehicles under tents and balloons. It seemed like the easiest way to visit a lot of dealers with the least hassle. I distinctly remember heading out and being overwhelmed at the thought of visiting with more greasy salesmen.

“Lord,” I prayed, “I just want to find a 2000 silver, four-door Alero for $12,000.”

Country music gets happy and sober

It can be hard to find a good heart-breakin’ song when you need one.

Used to be, you could always count on country music for some tear-in-your- beer commiseration. These days, though, it seems like Nashville took a dose of happy pills. You can’t turn on the radio without hearing a guy in a cowboy hat crooning about how peachy keen life is.

One of the biggest hits of the summer was a patriotic tribute to fried chicken:  Salute the ones who died, so we can have the things we love … like our chicken fried.

There’s also the song about the kids in the yard selling lemonade. One fella talks about how he likes mustard on his fries and rocky road ice cream. Bard Paisley extols the virtues of his iphone. Everything is fine, according to Josh Turner, and mama and daddy are coming over for a fish fry.

This is country music, the brand that gave us honky tonk angels and drinking my baby goodbye?

Take it to the bank

A flutter of paper in the yard caught my eye. Likely another piece of trash that blows through a lot these days on the fall winds.

I picked it up and couldn’t believe what I had found! It was a $50 bill!

Right there, it said $50. On the blue paper. With the Monopoly stamp. It wasn’t really a treasure, it was trash after all.

I held it and wondered what if a real $50 bill had blown into the yard. Oh, the visions that danced through my head as I imagined all the things I’d do. They were just dreams, though, because this little blue bill would be worthless at the mall.

Monopoly money is easy to spot as a fake, but we often get deceived by other counterfeits. Satan is masterful at disguising sin as something valuable. We chase busyness, thinking it makes us productive. We strive for riches, thinking it will buy security. We seek fame and attention, hopeful it will make us feel worthwhile.

But when we go to cash in, we make the sad discovery that the world’s promises are only Monopoly money.

Lately, I have been convicted that too often, I just do what feels right when I must do what is right. Feelings are deceptive, but God’s word is true.

That’s truth you can bank on.

“This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16

Chicken Soup for the Soul released!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from the Dog releases today nationwide.

Open it up and there on page 188 is my story “Being A True Buddy.”  I got my free copies yesterday and it was quite a thrill.

I shared a copy with my neighbor lady,  a fellow dog lover with a Yorkie named Duke. She called after she had read it. “You didn’t tell me it would make me cry!” she admonished.

Then she asked if that was a true story. Absolutely. That made it even sadder, she said.

It was, indeed, a miserably sad day when Buddy died. I cried like a baby, even though I was 32 years old. It came at the end of a period that had been very difficult personally. I remember feeling as though I had reached rock bottom and would live the rest of my life there.

But, what do you know! God who is rich in mercy shone a ray of sunshine into the dark corners of my heart. Hope was restored and blessings I never expected have been poured into my life.

As I unpacked the Chicken Soup books and received congratulations from friends, I thought how the blessings of this story were born out of such a sad time. I needed that reminder. The last two months, although not as severe as a few years ago, have been draining. At times, I wondered if my heart was destined to dwell in the sadness. I believe, though, that just as before God will use this to bring about something wonderful.

Rock bottom hurts, but to the Master Engineer, it is a solid foundation on which to build His glory.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2

One Word: Twitter

This started with a facebook post by my friend Jeanne. The challenge was to answer a number of questions about yourself (That’s what I love about facebook — it’s so interested in me, always asking my opinion!) This questionnaire was unique in that you could only use one word for each answer.

It proved a fun challenge to summarize myself so succinctly.

Then I logged in to my twitter account.  I had previously declared, in a public manner, I had no intention of being on twitter because:

1. I don’t have anything that interesting to share.

2. I don’t want anyone to know what I’m doing every minute of the day.

3. I don’t want to know that many details about anyone else.

But then…. I heard about celebrities who had their twitter identity stolen by others who secured their name first. Just in case someone wanted to co-opt Susan Mires’ identity, I enlisted the assistance of the newspaper’s college intern and entered the twitter universe.

At first, I didn’t tell anyone and faithfully tracked all of four friends I knew on twitter.

Then, this one-word concept captivated me. I’ve started to update my twitter status by condensing my entire day/mood/activities/state of mind/closely held opinions into one single word.

A writer not using words is like an artist not using paint. Or just one color. At a time. It’s an experiment, it will be fun for a while. I will allow myself to use up to three words if it’s a single thought, such as “looking up.”

So, if you’re on twitter, please let me know so I can follow you and if you’d like, follow my single subject tweets.

“God is heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Ecclesiates 5:2

Book Review: Never the Bride

I won Never The Bride by Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge from my writing friend Melanie Dickerson.

From the title, it was obvious this book would be relevant to my life.

Jessie Stone is 34 and never married, a fate worse than death. She is engagingly realistic, a romantic short on romance. Yes, she can change her own flat tire, but she’d really prefer to have a man in her life to do it for her. Her career is advancing, but her heart isn’t in it. She’s infatuated with a guy who she’s convinced only needs a little time to see they are made for each other.

Then God shows up — in the flesh. He is a little younger and more handsome than she expected, but He acts like God when He tells her  to surrender her dreams and let Him write her love story.

The thrill and frustration Jessie experiences as God demands her attention will be achingly familiar for those who have been single too long, or anyone who has had a dream denied.

Never the Bride is true chick-lit, with present tense writing and fun characters, but it is weightier than most in this genre. The portrayal of God in the flesh is not always believable, but certainly causes you to consider His presence in a different way. Jessie’s story ends with a romance, but unlike most romance stories, the story suggests not everyone’s story will end the same.

This was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. Pick it up and be prepared to laugh, as well as ask probing questions about God’s sovereign work in your life.

Lighten Up

My red purse was getting very heavy.

It couldn’t have been from all the money it was carrying. Stuff just seems to accumlate in a purse, all of it essential to daily operations. I figured it was because I was carrying a wallet inside, when most of my recent purses had a wallet made into the side of the purse.

On tax-free weekend, a day of intense shopping, I decided to ditch my regular purse since it had grown so heavy and would undoubtedly bog down the bargain hunting expedition.

Then one day, I stood at the counter after ordering lunch, the heavy purse plopped up on the counter to give my shoulder a break.

I glanced down and the light glinted off something inside the bag. What could that be? I reached in a pulled out a wrench.

The wrench had been a prize at a training session for small group leaders at church. The associate pastor, to emphasize the tools needed to teach, had given away tools as prizes. Naturally, my prize had been tucked in my purse, but forgotten.

Ditching the wrench, my purse and I are back on friendly terms and I practically skip down the produce aisle it feels so light.

A spiritual pack can grow heavy with burdens you don’t even know you’re carrying. Even some picked up like a tool, you might think it will be useful some day. Worry, regret, fear, a sense of entitlement. It may be time to lighten up.

^“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Spliced back to life

It’s haying season on the farm and Dad was busy when I was up to visit this weekend.

He was getting ready to splice a belt that had broken on the hay baler. It’s an interesting contraption. Lots of little metal teeth are placed in a vice and the broken rubber belt is placed over it. Then the vice is closed and the metal teeth clamp together. The belt is once again whole and put back to work.

I wouldn’t be surprised if every belt on Dad’s baler has been spliced at some time or another. The big belts spin around, sweeping up grass to churn it into a one-ton hay bale. Although the metal seam makes it obvious which belts have been repaired, the spliced ones work just as well as the others.

It is hard for me to grasp sometimes how God can truly forgive and heal us.  I know His Word says he washes us clean and makes all things new, but in the grip of pain it’s hard to believe God can really take a broken mess and ever make it feel right again.

Out in the hayfield, Dad has the belt repaired is making another round with the hay baler. What if the spliced belt could remember that time it broke, when it fell off the baler in a useless heap. What if it felt the pain of getting stitched back together. What if every time it spun over the roller, it was reminded of that scar. What if it felt inferior to the other belts because of its past.

It doesn’t make a bit of difference.  It has been restored and is just as good as when it was brand new.

Our sins, our mistakes, simply the experiences of life can cause us to be broken.  Sometimes it’s not even our fault. As long as we’re on this earth, we’ll bear reminders of some of those. But God, who is rich in mercy, still has a plan for us. His love splices broken hearts back together and makes us productive in his kingdom.

“Jesus personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” I Peter 2:24

What Wal-Mart does right

Wal-Mart used to be the place everyone made fun of. Now, it’s what everyone wants to be.

Target is plastering ads with claims that it has the lowest prices. They renamed their store brand “Up and Up.” How that is supposed to convey “low prices” I don’t know.

Like most Americans I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart. Lately, though, I’ve been shopping there more, yet another result of the economy. Despite all the things there are to despise about it, it is the No. 1 retailer in the world for a reason.

I’m in Middle America and a female, which puts me in Wal-Mart’s key demographic. Here’s why I think they’re successful:

1. Low prices. “No kidding!” you say. But the key is you know Wal-Mart will have the low price, not just specials on an eclectic blend of items. Maybe you shop around a few times, compare notes, but time and time again, Wal-Mart is the winner, so you just accept that they’ll have the bottom dollar every time.