Stench

Stench....even the sound of that word gives me the creeps. I never knew the true meaning of the word until my husband and I returned from being out of town. Maybe I should start at the beginning....

While out of town with my husband on business, I made one of my usual phone calls home to make sure that everything was going alright. When my son answered he told me that a skunk must have gotten into the garage because he could smell it. I asked him how long he had been noticing the smell and he told me that it had been two days. TWO DAYS? He then proceeded to tell me that he really smelled it when our dog came into his room. I immediately knew the problem, our dog must have cornered a skunk and got sprayed. Think about it....this had been going on for TWO DAYS! Skunk spray is like an oil and resists being washed out without some special care. My son said he had no idea what to do about cleaning the dog. I told my computer smart son that he should find out on the internet (duh!). He and his friend found a recipe for cleaning the dog and went to the local dog wash at midnight. Needless to say, the dog was improved (not totally gone) but the house continued to smell.

We are now at the point where we come home from the trip. We opened the door and....YUCK! We hurriedly ran into our bedroom and shut the door. It was all for naught since we had to come out eventually. It was a stench that hung around for a long time (at least to me). It goes away eventually but during the time...oh my!

In the Old Testament, God comments on the aroma of the sacrifice. He called it a "pleasing" aroma. Why? Because the sacrifice was done in the correct way. When we offer God our sacrifice (whatever that may be, be it time, money, serving, etc.) do we do it in a way that will bring a pleasing aroma to God? Do we grudgingly give of our time, money, service, etc.? Are you sending up a pleasing aroma to God or is it a stench in His nostrils? Knowing how bad a "stench" can be, it is vital that we joyfully and willingly give God the best sacrifice and done in the right way. In order for me to remove the stench from the house, I burned candles, sprayed, and aired out the house. In order for us to remove the stench from God's nostrils, we need to ask for forgiveness for our attitude and for giving a poor sacrifice. After all, God gave us a way to remove the stench from our lives when He gave His Son. May all your (and my) sacrifices be a pleasing aroma to our Lord.

Summer

I love summer. This summer, however, has been disappointing because of the cool weather. These cool summer days have me asking, "Global warming?" But that is a topic for another time.

Why is it that summer seems so short? I have heard that what makes a day, week, month, year or season seem so short is the amount of things we have to do during that time. When we are bored, the days seem to drag by. Once in a while, I would love to be able to spend a day in a good book and just sit back and take my mind to foreign lands, adventures, mystery and suspense. But, unfortunately, I have a job to do (custom sewing) and just when I think I can take a rest, more orders come. Don't get me wrong, with so many people out of work, I'm grateful for the opportunity to make money. As with all things, when you have the money you don't have the time to do projects around the house and when you have the time, you don't have the money. I guess that no matter what position I'm in, I will just have to be content.

I have found that vacations can be just as hectic as staying home; same tune, different dance. This year we went to Branson, MO. We went to see some shows and took it easy. I had the chance to actually read and finish a book! Now that's a vacation for me. But now that I'm home, I have been inundated with work. I guess that idle hands are the devils playground (or so I've heard).

So summer is speeding by. Soon it will be Fall. I actually heard an advertisement on TV last night for back to school stuff! I noted that in some of the stores, they're stocking up school supplies. Yikes! Didn't the kids just get out of school? Summer is speeding by and the media is taking it away! So...enjoy what's left of your summer, spend time getting to know your children again (not the terrors that you have to prod to do homework), and realize that time spent relaxing and pondering God's wonderful creation is time well spent. Maybe, if we take time to be still, summer will slow down.

Is a Christian Apolitical?

In a comment left on one of my blogs I was asked how I could be a Christian and yet speak out against President Obama. At first it bothered me but after processing the comment I came to one conclusion, yes I can speak out against the policies that are clearly against God's policies. I'm not a racist or bigot because I speak out against the downward spiral that our nation is taking. It is, however, my responsibility to stand up for what the Bible says and the way we should be living our lives, not a government mandate.

I am appalled when there are those from our nation that have the audacity to " put down" our country on foreign soil. This is the best nation on earth and I am proud (despite what Michelle Obama has said) of it. I am also proud of the office of the President of the United States. If President Obama were to be treated disrespectfully when on foreign soil (as what happen to the former president) I would be one of the first to stand up for him. But...I have the freedom and the right to speak out against his policies. One is known by their actions. I don't need to know President Obama personally to know that he is on the edge concerning his christian views because of his actions in the role government is taking in our lives. This is my right as a citizen and a christian.

God brings kings and rulers into positions of authority to serve His will but nowhere does the Bible say that we can't speak out. If only the christians of the 1930s would have spoken out about the dispicable things that Hitler was doing to the Jews, maybe he wouldn't have gained so much power. We cannot, as christians, stand by and watch our nation erode away morally and spiritually by going along with policies that God despises. Our nation, and complecent christians, will one day face judgment for where we are going. So...should a Christian be apolitical? I think not.

Pattern for Living

I learned how to sew in an 8th grade home economics class. We each had to make a shirt waist dress to wear for a fashion show of nothing but those dresses. Imagine. In high school, I made some of my clothes and did some minimal sewing while in college. I would always follow the pattern to the "T" so I wouldn't make a mistake. It wasn't until years later that I started to do custom sewing for money.

Custom sewing is a far cry from the shirt waist dress pattern on which I learned to sew. Many times I receive a picture that a client has found in a magazine or one that the decorator has designed for which I have to actually make a pattern. I have many "sewing for the home" books that do help but sometimes I have to step out in faith that what I am making will be what everyone wants. Praying always helps.

How many times do we try to live our lives without a pattern attempting to make one of our own trusting that things will go well? If you're like me, and I'm sure there are others, it's all too often. God gave us the pattern for our lives in His Word, the Bible. Now, we may have the pattern in front of us but decide that the directions don't need to be followed and think our way is better. That kind of thinking is what gets us in a mess. The seams of our life just aren't matching and the garment that we thought we were making is all off kilter. How easy it would have been if we had just followed the directions. Well...we can read the directions but until we proceed in making the garment, we have no idea of how valuable they are. Reading the directions in the Bible help us to prepare for our ministry in the world. We know which parts of the pattern fit together and are able to do the job we are asked to do. In the long run, the finished garment is our own salvation and reward for paying attention to the directions.

Is a Christian Apolitical?

Isn't it amazing how fast our shrubs grow once the weather gets warm? It's a blessing and a curse. A blessing because new growth shows that the plant is healthy but a curse because, left unattended, they can become overgrown and unsightly. So now we have to get down to work and work hard cutting back and pruning until the shrubs are returned to their former manageable and beautiful shape.

As we go through life, we continue to grow in God's word. We serve in our church, attend Bible studies, and try to live our lives the way we can please God. That's the blessing of life. But there are times that we need to be pruned and brought back to a right relationship with God. It's not easy to go through the pruning. We face hardships, pain and sorrow. Sometimes we feel like we have been pruned from God rather than by God. But take heart, once the dead wood of our lives is taken away and we have been returned to our "beautiful shape" we will be stronger in our faith and closer to God.

So the next time you are out trimming the bushes, remember that God is constantly pruning your heart because He cares that much about you.

I'm Going Home

I was on my internet Christian faith board and one of the posters said that she would be gone for a while since she was “going home”. This poster is married with children but going home to her meant going home to her parents. Isn’t it strange that when we think of home, we often think of mom, dad, and the security of their love? It’s like giving you a warm fuzzy hug.

When Christ spoke of home, He was talking about going home to His Father as well. He is now preparing a place for us to reside when we go to live with Him. When you think of heaven, do you think of it as a place of refuge, a place of love or do you fear that home? The Bible talks about heaven as a place of perfect peace and love without any worries or sorrow. Now that’s the kind of place I want to call home!

Sometimes, when we think of dying, we hate to think that we will have to leave our earthly home. In actuality, this place that we think of as “home” is not the home we should desire. I know there are many who think of their earthly home as a place of bitterness and grief but take heart. In I Peter 2:11, we are referred to as strangers and aliens in this world. An alien is a sojourner, one who is not affiliated with the world but just passing through. If we understand that what we call “home” only is a temporary dwelling place, then our heavenly and eternal home becomes all the more desirable. I know that when the Lord calls my name that I will be “going home” and will rejoice in being there!