An Unusual Way to Spark Romance

It was the end of a very busy and stressful day…or was it?

I looked around at the mess I called home, and wished to just crawl under the covers and sleep for about two weeks. School has been especially difficult lately, and it seemed like the bus would never get clean, no matter how many times I went through and picked up stuff. Now all the children were in bed, and there was still a pile of dishes in the sink.

And I mean, a pile. I have no idea why there were so many, but there were. And I needed to do them before I could go to bed and take a coma.

I looked around and sighed, knowing I was in for a late night. And knowing I also had a lot of other work to do, as well.

I turned away from the sink to work on the floor, drudgery dogging my steps. Some days are just bone-wearying, and this was one of them.

After a bit, I heard water running in the sink, and turned to see My Beloved washing the dishes in the soapy water and stacking them in the drainer. Within minutes, he reduced the pile to zero! I rubbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes, smiling gratefully. "Thank you so much for your help! You just saved my life!" I quipped.

He smiled down at me and laid his hand on my shoulder. "How would you like me to see if I can get you a dishwasher?" he suggested.

My eyes grew round with wonder, and my mouth dropped open. A dishwasher…in a motorhome?? Whoever heard of such a thing? But my husband is always thinking outside the box, and he just might do it.

"Oh, honey, if you did that, I would jump into your arms!!" I exclaimed. He smiled broadly and replied, "Well, we'll see if we can do it."

That was a few weeks ago. And tonight, with much sweat, pounding, and grunting, he installed a small apartment-sized dishwasher in our motorhome!!!

I took this picture on my phone, minutes after it was installed tonight!

And do you know what I did?
I jumped right into his arms!!

After some intense kissing, he said he thought he would like to install another one tomorrow…. ;)

Two Feet From Death

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)
With the tens of thousands of miles we put on our bus, who would have thought My Beloved and I would come face-to-face with death on our weekly date? It is strange to think how commonplace quickly becomes the uncommon, and in an instant, our whole perspective on life is altered.
My husband and I were driving home on the highway the other night from an evening of relaxation, good food, too much shopping, and enjoying each other's undivided attention when I saw the other car.
He was driving right toward us.
As I saw his headlights get bigger, it slowly dawned on me that we were on a four-lane road, NOT a two-lane, and this car was clearly going the wrong way on a one-way street…at about forty miles an hour.
Life can get very messy, very quickly.
Beyond words, I merely pointed and began hollering unintelligible things. My Beloved saw the other car when he was about a hundred feet away and began honking for all he was worth. The other car flew past us at a combined speed of about one hundred miles an hour merely two feet away.
I didn't want to look in the rear view mirror, but I had to. Flashing headlights, brake lights. Finally My Beloved breathed a sigh of relief. "He pulled off the road," he said, looking in the mirror. I was unable to see it, but I was very thankful. I reached over for his hand, letting my fingers feel his strength, his faith, and sighed deeply.
I was still quivery when we arrived home about ten minutes later.
All three of the young children were in bed, sleeping, oblivious to what had happened. I looked at their tousled heads, wondering what the night could have been like…and thanking God that it wasn't.
Why is it that a brush with death gives us a new perspective on life? Why do we wait until we are living on borrowed time before we begin to appreciate life? Eternity becomes vividly into focus, and we see, perhaps for the first time in our lives, what is really important and what doesn't matter at all.
"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." It is my heart-cry, my desire, my quest. Help me, Lord, to always see life from Your perspective, from the eye of eternity.
Death could easily cross that two-foot gap and strip the life from my hands, and it would be gone. I thank God it didn't that day. I've been given more time with my family, more time to serve the Lord, more time to love, and more time to give. It's a wonderful feeling. It's a sobering feeling.

It's that feeling that happens when you are Two Feet From Death.
I have a huge responsibility, and that's to glorify God, giving myself wholly to Him. To enjoy the gifts He has entrusted me with, and to focus my heart on Him, pointing others to Him.
Giving ourselves wholly to God is a full and free feeling, a "throwing it all to the wind," so to speak. But in this case, the wind is not the instability of a breezy air of empty expanse, but the rock-solid stability of the kind and gentle hands of a tender loving Abba-Father.
It's the same heart-cry that our Lord uttered when He threw back His Head, took His last earthly breath,, and cried, "Father, into Thy Hands I commend my Spirit." It is giving our all to Him, trusting that He will take it and lovingly sift the bad from the good, and fill our lives and hearts with His goodness. I know His Will is best. The outcome may be not quite like I prefer it at first, but it is always best.
"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
It's that crucified life – that life of the living dead – that is worthwhile. Those that have realized that we are as good as dead to the material draw of this world are the crucified ones. It is that brush with death that brings eternity into focus. Really, I am already dead. When I gave myself to Christ one day years ago, I died. I died to my dreams, to myself, to my precious vices I held so dear. I died to them all. A vision of death brings a vision of eternal reality. But, oh, that blessed reality!
Always remind me, Lord, of what is real, and focus on that reality every day.
Help me to savor every blessed moment I have – including the trials – because there will come a time when these opportunities will be gone.

Thank You, Lord, that I have been Two Feet From Death….Help me to live for You like there is no tomorrow.

My Cabin Paradise

And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

 

This morning I woke up with the sun pushing its way through my cloth blind in my motorhome and the fresh spring breezes playing around my rooftop vents. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stumbled out into the kitchen to begin my morning routine. It takes me a little while to wake up, even if I'm up and moving, so it wasn't until about fifteen minutes later that I realized where we were parked.

Most times we are parked in a church parking lot, hot asphalt baking even in the mild spring sun. And our motorhome bakes right along with it, so the air conditioner hums to keep us sane even in the springtime.

Not long ago, we were parked in a church parking lot also shared by a host of children, a family of eleven, in fact. It is nice to have a place to park, but it seems these children must rarely get visitors, because if one of my kids cracked the door to the motorhome open even a bit, they were mobbed by a swarm of excited children with seemingly nothing to do but wait for their visitors to come out. Most of the time we don't mind, but for some reason it made the stay a difficult one.

Kind as many pastors and churches are, nothing ever feels like home. For us, home has become the inside of our motorhome, and it can get real cramped real fast.

But this morning I almost thought I felt at home. I looked out the window with amazement, remembering that we are parked at a beautiful Christian Camp. I stared, blinking, out the window. Fields, cows, chickens, a log cabin. A grove of trees, and a flowing creek. Gorgeous bright greenness meets clear blue sky. Later in the day, I stepped out to switch laundry (my dryer is in a bay under the motorhome), and I heard the lowing of cows and the tiny peeps of baby hens and geese. It's nature's paradise. God's paradise. A little bit of Heaven here on earth.

And He allowed me to have it as my own, if only for a few days.

"Explore all you want," the folks told me. "Let the kids run, play, and visit the animals. We know it's tough when you travel, but you guys just relax and enjoy yourself."

After school, the kids and I wandered to the creekside, then went to feed some of the hens, goats and horses. We walked past the fields of flowing wheat and the budding corn. A garden of some sort of sprouts was growing as well. Then as we went back toward the bus, two young boys came to show us a six-foot black snake they had killed. It's a boy's paradise, and an animal lover's dream. The girls instantly fell in love with the horses.

Lord, You've been so good to me, allowing me to have freedom to explore a wonderful place such as this. It is not really home, but I feel fairly certain that my mansion is really going to be a log cabin!

Tickling Your Thinker: Screen Time & Kids?

This week I read that a new study shows that screen-watching children have narrower blood vessels in their eyes than their outside-playing counterparts. (New York Times, April 2011)

The study goes on to say, "In adults, constricted blood vessels in the eyes have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease." If only for physical health, folks, we need to limit our children's computer and TV time.

Spiritually, however, I have found that limited is the key word when it comes to screens and raising our children to love the Lord. In my upcoming book, Lionproof, I highlight the results of an unprecedented study of second-generation Christians who are living for God even after leaving home, and I discovered how vastly important it is to limit electronic entertainment. An extremely high number of the respondents to my survey told me that their parents limited their TV and video viewing. I personally think that sheltering children from the worldly influences is a very important part of child training.

If childhood TV viewing can be either directly or indirectly linked to an increased risk in cardiovascular disease physically, then it stands to reason that a regular ingestion of videos and TV can be detrimental to spiritual health. A "hardening of the arteries," so to speak.

Just a little something to think about.

The Tidal Wave

Those times when it appears that the world is completely falling apart are those times when the precious seeds of the Word of God receive life-giving water which tenderizes our hearts.

 
Once upon a time, there was a young man of seventeen who lived with his mother, father, and brothers and sister. He was a good fellow, but he had very little time, or need, for God. Or so he thought. 


It was the most difficult year of his life in school. Not only was he being picked on mercilessly because of a bad acne problem, he was also having trouble with his classes. Although he was highly intelligent, his grades were poor because he could hardly concentrate on his lessons. But all of that paled in comparison to the tidal wave of trouble that came crashing down on him one day after school.

Arriving home one day, he saw his mother sitting at the dining room table. Sitting. She never does that! He thought to himself when he came in the door. He stopped and gaped at her. It seemed to take her forever to turn a weary, care-worn face to him.


"Mom!" he blurted out. "Is something wrong?" 


Her face contorted, and she slowly told him. "I was at the doctor's today," she said wearily. "I have cancer. I have about a year to live."


The massive wave struck with all its fury, driving him up to his room.


The next few months went by in a blur. Doctor's visits, reports, surgery, radiation. Why, God, why?? He cried. Why my mother??


The Heavens were brass, and his heart ached. He simply couldn't imagine life without her.


He didn't realize it at the time, but God needed to use a forceful wave to reach his heart. Through the months that followed, the water from that tide continued to soak into his heart, and penetrate like nothing else could. For the first time in his life, he began to realize that he needed God.


Seeds were planted through the monstrous surge that began to take root. Slowly, almost miraculously, his mother began to get better, and within the next few months they were relieved to hear the words, "Cancer-free!" Oh, could any words be more wonderful?? He wondered. Soon he would know.


The Lord showed his love to him in many special ways in the aftermath of the wave, and the young man sought God. He needed God. God was real, and He loved him. Slowly, carefully at first, the young man began to crave after the presence of Lord.


It was through this experience, in combination with the Word of God and a sensitivity to Him, that this young man came to know Christ. His bedroom, which was before a sanctuary from the fury of the tempest, became the place of rest and peace for eternity. He got saved a few months before his eighteenth birthday, and life has never been the same!


I must add that all of us who know him well have benefitted from the effects of that tidal wave. In fact, the ripple effects are felt all over the country as the young man, who has grown up, married and has a family, preaches the wonderful love of our Savior all over the country. 


Who is this young man, you're wondering? 


He's now my husband, and I'm thankful that my mother-in-law is the perfect picture of health today!

…and they all lived happily ever after!

What Life is All About

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.

 

While my husband and I were finishing up our weekly financial meeting at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant last night, some other folks came in and took the booth in front of us. It was a man of about fifty, a lady which I assume to be his wife, and their daughter. I was unable to determine her age, because she was shriveled up in a large jogging-stroller sort of thing. I would say she was at least in her older teens, possibly in her twenties.

I watched as the man tenderly patted her on the leg and said some affectionate things to her. Her hands were held very stiffly, somewhat like a claw, and her tongue stuck out of her mouth most of the time. Her eyes looked at him and there was a glimmer of appreciation there.

I tried not to stare, but when I saw the lady, I was surprised. Her features were exquisite and her bearing regal. Her beauty was striking, perhaps even irritatingly so. She was beautiful, and she knew it. Still, I was struck by the dichotomy which appeared in the family.

I noticed how the dear girl simply stared at her mother. You could almost see wonder in her eyes.

The family was served the traditional chips and salsa, and mom and dad began to eat. But she simply stared.

Or was she simply staring?

Her mouth began to work, and very slowly she raised her hand to her mouth, all the while staring at her beautiful mother.

Oh, I wish I could do that! She's beautiful. Does she like me? Mom, do you love me?

Mom got up, and walked away for a few minutes, eyes following her all the time.

What would it be like to just be able to get up and walk?

Mom, is there anything I can do to make you pleased with me?

When I left the restaurant, I walked out using my two good legs and went home to my healthy, happy, loving children. But I couldn't forget her longing stare.

What's it like to walk? Mom, can I just talk to you for a minute? I love you!

Tonight, I was too short with my children, impatient to get them to bed. Now as I'm writing, the tears fall. Did they go to bed staring at me, wishing they could please me? Did they feel that they wanted just a little more time with Mom?

Life is not about schedules, it's about people….

I think I'm going to go see if any of them are still awake.

Tickle Your Thinker

Did you know that happy people are more likely to get married, and married people are more likely to be happy? (Raisinghappiness.com, April, 2011)

And…

Did you know that those who shop daily are more likely to live longer than those who shop only once a week? (msnbc.msn.com, April 2011)

These are some of the recent statistics that have been tickling my thinker this week. Of course, the latter statistic is greeted with great enthusiasm by the thrift store shoppers of my family, and the former statistic I find interesting because I've found it to be true in my own experience.

The lifelong commitment of marriage was intended by God for our benefit, and even for our happiness. God uses such things "for our good always." I know that I have been happier married than I was before I got married.

As for daily shopping, there's nothing in the Bible about it, but it is an amusing statistic. I personally think we could all benefit equally from going out for a daily walk rather than spending money so often. ;)

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