What a trip!

I am blessed.

I just returned from an amazing weekend in the great state of Kansas.  I was with great friends, old and new,  enjoyed yummy food, and I spoke there as well. :)

When I come home from a speaking engagement, I know two things: 1) my kids will have had a great time with their dad and  2) the cleaning of the house is not a priority on such weekends.

I have explained to my handsome husband that I would rather have two happy, fulfilled kids and a dirty house over neglected kids and a sparkling abode.  The kids LOVE dad weekends.  He is a really great dad who fills with fun the weekends I am gone.

But why does it have to be one or the other?

It happens in the church all the time.  People concern themselves with the preservation of the building and neglect those who need care.  In contrast, some are concerned about saving people, but treat the house of the Lord (including other believers) with disdain or indifference.

Nehemiah, the great official turned wall builder said it well:

So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts." - Nehemiah 13:11

I need to maintain a balance between loving God, ministering to the lost, and maintaining care of His people.  But first, I have some cleaning to do...

Have a great week!   Amberly

Gym nauseum

My daughter went with me to the gym today.  The is the first time she is old enough and willing to get up at 5 in the morning at the same time.

We both came home with red, sweaty faces and smiles.  When my husband asked about the workout, Judah spouted off all the stats: number of miles, number of calories, time, etc.

I said, "It was great to spend time together."

She tried to recover, "Yes, that too..."

She is not alone.  In fact, she came by it honestly.  Often times, we get caught up in the "stuff": the schedules, the task list, the calendar, the errands, the logistics, and the expectations.  We miss the relationship, the connection, and the opportunities that each moment holds.

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

The logistics are not a bad thing, in fact, in the above verse, the Psalmist takes delight in the fact that God will provide some details, but the reader needs only read three verses before in Psalm 16 to understand how to gain perspective and balance: "I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." 

Going to the gym is good.  Burning calories is good.  Missing out on connection by valuing tasks over people (and God) is not so good.

Make it a great week and know that I am praying for you!

Amberly

Clean Sweep

I was more than half-way through emptying the dishwasher before I realized that the soap dispenser never opened in the last load.  The dishes were squirted with warm water and dried, but the most important component of the process of dish washing never employed.

I HATE emptying the dishwasher, but I abhor having to try and decipher which were clean and which were dirty dishes erroneously put away as clean ones.  Ugh.  Never mind; I threw every dish that could have come within 400 feet of the dirty dishes posing as clean ones in the sink for a good hand washing :)  Disgusting and time consuming.

The dishwasher went through all the motions, but with dissatisfying results.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1)

I want to be an effective change agent in my community, my classroom, and my home.  In order to avoid strictly going through the motions, I must be powered by love.  If not, although things may appear to be effective, the long-term results will be dissatisfying.

Have a great week and know that I am praying for you. 

Lead with love.

Amberly

Blown Away

Amos 4:13 "For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!"

 

It is windy in Bakersfield today.  I think it is due to the fact that I wore a cute little skirt today and I am having to do my best not to replicate the scene in "The Seven Year Itch" when Marilyn Monroe's skirt flew over the subway grating.   There is no doubt that the sight of me trying to hold down my skirt, walk like a lady, and pull a cart behind me is comedy gold.

 

I have never liked wind.  It messes up my hair, stirs students into a frenzy, and makes me fret about contracting Valley Fever.

 

And yet, the above Scripture reminds me to remember the One who stirs it up.  He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and apparently, all-stirring.  This Scripture evens promises that I might be privy to some of His thoughts.  But I have to accept the fact that He is both stalwart and steady ("shaped the mountains") and impossible to fully understand ("stirs up the winds"). 

 

The next time the wind blows in your neck of the woods, remember how good He truly is.  And in the meantime, pray for my hair...

 

Amberly

 

 

Break A Leg...or a Wrist

This weekend, in the midst of preparing for BCHS' production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", my son, Josiah suffered an injury.

He went on a golf cart ride with a teenager who was helping out in the production.  He and the young man driving were having a great time (probably giggling and goofing around) when the young man decided to take a quick turn that Josiah did not anticipate.  Josiah literally fell out of the cart.

The result: scraped knees, scraped elbows, and a sprained wrist. He just did not anticipate the next move and it threw off his balance.

Have you ever had that happen to you?  A job change?  A demotion?  A failed marriage?  An economic downturn?

Sometimes, it is easy to lose our balance in such a situation.  It is easy to feel hurt, bruised, and a little bitter.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21.

I take great comfort that even when our pride is bruised and our plans sprained, God's purpose is prevailing.  Winning.  Higher.  Better.

Have a great day and know that I am praying for you!

Amberly

Be seated

I never thought I would say this aloud (or write it for others to mock), but I really enjoy the spin class I take twice a week.

Each Monday and Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. (yes, I typed that correctly.  For those of you who know me, this is a feat equal to the parting of the Red Sea that I am up that early.  On purpose.  On a regular basis.), I join a plethora of others as we bike to music.

Today, we tried something ghastly harrowing Satanic new.  We stayed seated the whole time.  No standing, no major adjustments.  Sitting.  The whole hour.

I thought my body was going to revolt. My instructor reminded the class that such an exercise is a mental game.  I was going mental alright.

I feel the same way about sitting still.  When Psalm 46:10 reminds me to "Be still and know that I AM God...", it seems like Chinese water torture for me to do so.

Then my instructor said that such activity is a healthy departure from the norm and challenges our bodies.  I was challenged alright.

I made it.  I survived the whole hour.

I cannot remember the last time I practiced being still with God.  I need to put that on the list of exercises to do this week.  However, I am hoping that "being still" does not mandate "being seated" because frankly, that is not happening today.

:) Have a great week!

Amberly

Peter Out

I love Easter.

We had a wonderful, albeit unorthodox (no pun intended) Easter.  We went to a sunrise service at a local church, came home, shared baskets, went to Magic Mountain, rode four roller coasters, and then attended a late lunch at the home of friends.

There was something in the sermon that I have been chewing on since yesterday morning.

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

The Apostle John always calls himself the one that Jesus loves.  Jesus has a way of making every single person feel like the favored one. However, in the account from Mark, the angel said, "But go, tell his disciples and Peter" about the resurrection.  Why was Peter singled out, do you suppose?

Peter's last recorded actions included denying Jesus three times.  He was riddled with guilt, disappointment in himself, and shame.  And yet, with one command from the angel,  Peter was forgiven, reconciled, and honored.  "...his disciples and Peter".  Peter denied being a disciple and yet Jesus does not deny him the hope of resurrection.

God is so good.

When Peter's own words of denial no doubt echoed in his brain, God's message of love and inclusion replaced them. 

I am so thankful for the hope of the resurrection.  I am also thankful that God forgives me when I deny Him with my actions and go my own way.  Peter's story is a great reminder of God's passion for His people and reconciling them to Himself.  It is my story as well.

Blessings on your week!  Amberly