When We Forget Who We Really Are

Because our souls need reminding...Here's a re-post from 2011:

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite

my verses for the king.

Psalm 45:1a

They charge through the back door wearing their toothy smiles and holding out their arms, ready for great big hugs from this Grams. 

For a moment, while I inhale their youth, I catch a glimpse of their father - a slight resemblance - in the shape of her face and in his silly, boyish smile. How marvelous!

 Wriggling out of my arms they dive into the toy box and Sister quickly emerges with a noble theme. She proudly dons a princess crown, happily announcing her royal presence throughout the kingdom. Suddenly, Brother yanks the sparkling royalty from her head. Arms flail, tears flow, and the little prince and princess misplace their own identities.

There are times we misplace our identities, too. Maybe someone yanks our rightful place out from under us or someone steels our innocence and then walks away. Sometimes though, we're our own worst enemy - adopting those labels others slap on our backs - until we forget who we are and whose we are.

We need reminding that we are sons and daughters of the King in need of a great rescue.

The King rescues his children

 In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:5

            Throwing colored paper, stickers, and magic markers on the table, Mother and I rescue the moment by transforming the dining room into the Royal Crown Factory. Their eyes fix on my hands as I trace and cut out two pointy, cut-out paper crowns. Busy hands and active imaginations quickly transform these plain shapes into sparkling creations. Smiles reappear across their little royal faces as they once again crown themselves prince and princess.

Restoring our identity as sons and daughters of [God] the King takes more effort than simply donning a cut-out paper crown. But, when we allow God healing access to our hearts, he restores completely.  

(Join me for the rest of the story over at {re}fresh? Meet you there? Just click here.)

Helping Our Kids Recognize God's Love

 

…God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5b

Valentine’s Day conjures up fun childhood memories like: red and pink construction paper hearts, paper-lace doilies, lollipops and chocolates. Oh, and remember taping heart-shaped mailboxes to our school desks?

I treasured every classmate’s Valentine’s Day cards as if they were meant just for me, ignoring the fact that every classmate got the same or similar message. I’d read and re-read every card and tack each one to my corkboard above my bed as a reminder of their affection.

Holding my newborn son, I wondered how I could ever communicate God’s affection for him. It wasn’t as easy as sending him a red heart on Valentine’s Day or giving him a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Of course I would show him God’s love through my own affection and care, but how would he concretely know the love of an invisible God?

(To read on, click here.)

Does God Play Favorites?

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings..." Psalm 17:8



 

Let's be honest, we all have our favorites - we like one thing better than another. We prefer blue over green, corn over cauliflower, summer over spring, bugs over baby dolls, and.... well, you get the idea.

 

When it comes to our kids, however, we simply cannot choose one over the other. How can we when they're part of us - a mini me or a mini him - created in our image? Wouldn't that be rejecting ourselves? But, it is possible to make each child the apple of our eye - to know they are precious in our sight - because that's how God treats us.

 

Yes, God plays favorites:

 

"For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his alotted inheritance...

He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,

like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft." Deuteronomy 32:9-11

 

(Pssst! Meet me over at the Christian Children's Authors blog with many more of God's favored ones, won't you?)

When You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up



Photo from bleacherreport.com

"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber."

Psalm 121:2-3

"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!®"

We've all seen that popular commercial for Life Alert® - that handy device that alerts the authorities when a senior adult is in danger or needs their assistance. Those devices save lives when used properly, but for some seniors their forgetfulness or pride hinders them. Sometimes it's both.

Forgetfulness can be helped with helpful reminders and repetition. We can strategically place notes around the house, reminding them to wear those devices. But pride? Now that's all together different. There are no reminders we can place on their night stand or taped to their bathroom mirror that cures pride.

At eighty years young, many seniors want nothing more than their independence. Bravo to those who are healthy enough to maintain that, but for those who cannot, pride is tougher to combat. I've witnessed this so many times within and outside our family ties. Whether it be a foot that slips or their memory, seniors tend to hide. They'd rather stay where they are, marked-up and needy, than push a button on their Life Alert® or the phone and admit they need help. Eventually, someone finds them calling, "Olly, Olly oxen free!" Game over.

Isn't that the way we are with God, too? Senior or not, when we slip up in our faith walk, our pride gets the best f us and we hide from God. Instead of hitting that Life Alert button called prayer, we run away and hide. Oh, I don't mean we run into the closet or crawl under the bed, be we still hide. We choose to sleep in instead of rising early and spending time in prayer. We ignore our Bibles on the nightstand for days or we skip church until our conscience clears.

Maybe we don't hide in such obvious ways. For some of us, we might go through the motions of prayer, reading God's Word, or attending worship services, but we choose to ignore our wrong doing; we pretend it didn't happen. We think, in time, we can forget about it and move forward.

Funny thing though, unless we do confess our sins, we don't move forward. We stay stuck because we're expending too much energy on hiding.

If we've fallen and we want to get up what should we do? Hit the button on your spiritual Life Alert®:

• Call out to God in prayer - He's always on high alert, waiting to hear from you
• Admit your wrong doing and confess it - Jesus came to save, not condemn
• Ask forgiveness from God and any opposing party- it leads to freedom
• Seek a Godly accountability partner to help you walk through this, if necessary -we're not meant to live life alone
• Surround yourself with a community of faith - where two or more are gathered in His name, God shows up

We all slip and fall and need help sometimes. God, our Creator and Maker of heaven and earth, the one who never slumbers waits for us with open arms and a grace-filled heart. No need to hide.

Distracted at the Drive-In

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4 

Packed with cars lined sided-by-side for endless rows, we backed our truck between two cars, just right of center of the drive-in movie screen. The first warm summer weekend draws the crowds early giving everyone ample time to settle-in.

Like a mini campground people  hoist themselves up into their truck beds, onto their car roof tops, or near their open hatchbacks and create their own outdoor oasis. They come fully equipped with beach chairs, blankets, bug repellent, sweatshirts, coolers of munchies, mugs of coffee or soda, and  a variety of preshow entertainment - anything from card games and board games to frisbies and footballs, newspapers and books. The Red Sox game softly echoes through the lot as we all anticipate nightfall and the start of JAWS. (We live in New England, what would you expect?).

As darkness crouches all around the crescent moon rises front and center above the screen, silhouetting the trees against the midnight-blue sky. The countdown begins and the images flicker against the screen luring our attention away from still life and into the action.

But that beautiful moon distracted me - captured my attention - until it disappeared behind the horizon. And I thought, is that what it's like for God when He watches us? Do we captivate His attention even when there's so much action all around us?

"The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." Psalm 14:2

Scripture says God searches the whole earth, looking for those who seek His face. Isn't that like us with our children or our grandchildren? We could be in a huge crowd with lots going on, but somehow we just can't keep our eyes off them. We love recognizing our likeness in them and how it plays out in their personalities, their physical characteristics and interests. Why would it be any different with God? We are his creation, his children, after all.  

Abba,
When the world gets loud and distracting and we feel lost in the crowd, remind us how mindful you are of us; how captivated you are by our beauty - your creation. Draw our attention to you that we might seek your face and find you. Amen.

A Sloppy Wet Kiss

"...God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

Like a young girl in love experiencing her first sloppy wet kiss, my heart skipped a beat. I stood there speechless and amazed by the depth of his affection. I wasn't looking for anything--never asked him to prove himself--he just surprised me with a precious gift. Every girl loves a good surprise.

At first I didn't recognize the gift. It wasn't beautifully wrapped or tied up with a curly bow. It wasn't anything I'd asked for, but it was perfect. He presented his gift through an unsuspecting sister-in-faith. Funny thing was she didn't know she was offering his gift to me either. She just needed help--help that I could easily give.

I questioned whether I should accept it--afraid he'd mistaken me for his true love. How could he possibly love me this much? What did I do to deserve such a lavish gift? What did he expect in return?

So, I paused and listened to his heart speak. It told me I didn't do anything to deserve his love or his gift. He simply loves me. That. Is. It. No expectations, no strings attached--just pure, inexplicable, unconditional love.

It took a day to sink in and suddenly it was like "heaven meets earth with a sloppy wet kiss." Overwhelmed by his extravagant love, he wins my heart and I accept his gift and we dance and dance and dance.

The song above, How He Loves by John Mark McMillan, explains my heart today.

I pray God lavish you with his extravagant love, surprise you with his affection and win your heart. If you like, won't you encourage our hearts today and share with us how God shows his love for you?