A Tale of Two Faces

By Rhonda Rhea –

I was looking through family pictures the other day. I love oohing and ahing over the pictures of all my kids when they were babies. I did, however, make an interesting observation in several of the shots that included the entire family. When the kids were babies, my husband had a mustache.

And I didn’t.

Woah, not a pretty turn of events, I must say. I wonder if we could make a bad reality show out of it. Something like “Where’s Their Hair Now”? Or even better, how about “Trading Faces”?

If not a reality show, at least a poem. I’ve noticed that traumatic experiences often send writers into bouts of poetry. For some of us, it’s really bad poetry. My proof:

Electrolysis or lasers?
Should I go ahead and tweeze it?
Sugars, waxes, creams or razors?
Should I heat it, blast it, freeze it?

Maybe chemicals will get it,
Gotta look at all the facts.
I can simply wax poetic,
But maybe I should simply wax.

I decided it was time to end the bad poem when I realized there were too many words that rhyme with “pelt” and not enough that rhyme with “weed-whacker.”

All “Extreme Makeover, Face Editions” aside, it’s not a bad thing to stop and think about our spiritual faces. Have you ever met a two-faced person? Have you ever been one? Behaving one way at church, showing a totally different face at home, on the job or at school?

We need to always put our best face forward, as it were. Hypocrisy is one of the Lord’s pet peeves. We’re told in 1 Peter 2:1 to stop all that nonsense. “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (NIV). The New Living phrases it like this, “So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing.” Anytime we find ourselves acting as pretenders or two-faced back-stabbers we need a makeover in the most extreme way. And on all our collective faces.

Jesus said in Mark 7:6, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:  ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (NIV).

It doesn’t even really matter who has the furriest upper lip. Whatever my lip condition, I never want it to be out of sync with my heart. I’ve given my heart to Christ. That means my lips and my mind, my motives and my actions, are all to be His too. And when we have secret places of hypocrisy in our lives, they interfere with our worship. After all, there are no secret places that are hidden from Him. He sees our hearts. Isaiah 66:3 says, “The acts of the hypocrite’s worship are as abominable to God as if they were offered to idols” (AMP).

Enough duplicity. We need to get rid of every two-faced tendency. I want to look forward to meeting Jesus face to face with great eagerness and expectation. Face to face. Not face to face to face.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

The Dog Ate It

By Rhonda Rhea –

Anytime it takes me an entire half hour to write out my to-do list for the day, I know it’s a day I’m likely in for some hullabaloo. That’s what hullaba-happened yesterday. I’m not the most organized cookie on the block. The to-do list helps keep me from wasting my day flitting here and there without accomplishing the things that are most vital. So I built my list and numbered each item in order of importance. Okay, since organization is not my best thing, the list was on a napkin. But at least I made it. In a few hours I had a couple of items checked off with about a dozen more to go. Still overwhelming but I was making progress.

I figured I could make faster progress if I had coffee, so I went to whip up a pot. Here’s my to-do list tip for the day:  If you’re going to put your to-do list on a napkin, at least make sure you put something on top of it so it doesn’t float off the desk. By the time I got back with my coffee, the dog had run away with it. She was under the table in the dining room. Shredding.

The next part of the hullabaloo involved an intense chase scene. I fished most of the list out from under the table and a few pieces out from between LuLu’s molars. A half hour spent on a list that was suddenly coleslaw.

LuLu was trying to look innocent. Maybe she was even trying to help me. No to-do list means nothing to do, right? Isn’t a good shredding even better than a few checkmarks? Still, the list of all the work I was trying to accomplish at home was dog chow. The dog really did eat my homework.

It was a good reminder, though, that there are times when all those things on the to-do list need to give way to things that are most vital. It’s always a good test for me when I have deadlines up to my eyebrows and I get a call from a friend who needs a listening ear. Or even when my kids want to play a game. Am I willing to shred my own agenda when the Lord might have a different one in mind? If there’s something that will bring Him glory that’s not on my to-do list, am I willing to trade my list for His?

Colossians 3:2 says to, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV). Then a few verses later, we’re given this reminder:  “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Whether in word or deed, whether on a napkin or over the phone—or even playing tiddlywinks—I want my agenda to ever and always line up with His.

Of course, we’ll have trouble playing tiddlywinks. LuLu ate them. I think she thought they were baked beans. Which I’m guessing she thought would go well with the coleslaw.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

A Piece of My Mind

By Rhonda Rhea –

I thought about giving somebody a piece of my mind the other day. Then I thought, “Know what? I really can’t spare it!” I tend to suffer a bit of a brain cell shortage as it is. Why should I give any away when I need every piece?

But isn’t it amazing how some people know just how to find our anger buttons…and then they jump up and down on them?

I don’t wonder for a second why there’s so much in the Bible about relationships—heavy on the patience and forbearing and forgiveness and the go-the-extra-mile kind of love. I think so much of Scripture is dedicated to relationships because our Heavenly Father knows they can be oh so hard. Let’s face it, people can be jerky. And even when they’re not, sometimes I am.

So I guess this is just a little charge for all of us today. Let’s love each other. It’s our calling. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). Jesus gave it in the form of a command, not as a suggestion. And according to our Savior Himself, we wear our love for each other as a Disciple ID badge. We can show the world that Jesus makes a difference in our lives.

It does require extra humility and patience. But there’s nothing like living in obedience, and living in a way that promotes peace with God’s people. Paul instructed in Ephesians 4:2-3, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (NIV). Hmm. Peace of mind instead of a piece of my mind. Not a bad trade.

Sometimes loving others involves getting rid of our own bad habits, impatient attitudes and short fuses. Ephesians 4:31-32 spells it out: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV).

Difficult? Sometimes. But we not only have the forgiveness of God as our inspiration and the life of Christ as our example, but we also have the Holy Spirit living inside us, giving us everything we need to love others in His name. There’s hardly anything sweeter than enjoying obedience and the sweet bond of peace He gives when we love His people.

So, giving someone a piece of my mind? That makes less sense all the time. And if the Heavenly Father ever does some kind of brain cell inventory and I come up short, I don’t want it to be because I gave someone a piece of my mind. That would just be too embarrassing.

Now losing my mind, that’s something altogether different.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

Scratching Where It Itches

By Rhonda Rhea –

I confess I don’t have the greenest thumb on the block. As a matter of fact, I was thinking it might be easier to just give up on all other greenery and grow a poison ivy garden instead. Except that at this point I’d have to start from scratch.

Scratch? Get it? Anyway, I decided it would probably be better not do anything that rash.

That’s because we really do have to be careful what we plant. We will reap what we sow. It’s right there in Galatians 6:7. And according to the verse that follows, not only should we be careful what we plant, but we’re told if we choose to live only to please our own sinful selves, we’ll reap a harvest of death and decay. I think I’ve grown that kind of plant before. But when we’re talking about what we’re growing spiritually, we’re talking about an especially ugly garden. Eternally worse than poison ivy. Don’t even bother with the weed-whacker. Round-Up won’t cut it either.

Take a look at the passage: “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10 NLT).

I love how Paul rounds out his point in verse 9 with the big “so.” “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.” He lets us know that the harvest kind of thinking and learning to live to please the Spirit instead of the flesh leads to staying energized in doing good things for the Kingdom—to not give up. And that leads to a harvest of everlasting blessing.

Our gardening time here is short. We need to stay on task. Second Timothy 4:2-5 charges us to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (NIV).

Instead of catering to the poison-ivy-itchy-ears of those who simply want the easy way, and instead of letting them distract us, we’re called to keep our heads and to steadfastly keep on working in whatever ministry God has called us to. The passages in Galatians 6 and 2 Timothy 4 are the kinds of sound-the-charge verses we can put to memory. They can remind us all along the way to stay tenaciously resolute in our service. It’s then that we can become more and more the kind of Christ followers who don’t just tickle itchy ears, but truly scratch those eternal itches.

So, ready to write down those passages? First you’ll need some scratch paper.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

Hair Peace

By Rhonda Rhea –

Have you ever gone to a lot of trouble to get the perfect hair look? You gel, tease, mousse, iron, spray—everything just short of taking it to the kiln at the ceramic shop for a good firing. You finally get the exact hair look you’re going for, then you take your hand mirror and back up to the bathroom mirror only to find a frightening hair disturbance in your blind spot. Some call it a hurricane; it’s a giant swirly with a large eye. As a mother of five, I’ve often let my kids wonder if I had eyes in the back of my head, but I honestly never wanted any evidence.

The other day I found a major meteorological occurrence in the hand mirror. It started in the northernmost hair regions and moved slowly but steadily to the south, wreaking hair destruction and devastation all along the path of the storm. No doubt a category five. Maybe we would call that a “hair-icane.” Okay, maybe not. But how in the world can I keep my head when my hair is gusting at break-neck speed? Time to board it up and put the whole mess in a ponytail?

It happens in life, too. Everything is going fine. Clear with only scattered challenges. Then suddenly a storm sneaks up on you from behind. It’s one of those high pressure systems that develops without much warning. Before you know it, blast the storm sirens, you’re in the middle of a giant swirly.

Those kinds of disturbances happen to everyone at some time or another. Thankfully, we have a Savior who gives us peace in the midst of the storm. As we trust Him, He can speak the words “Peace, be still” into every life and into every situation. It may not necessarily evade the hair instabilities, and it won’t necessarily make the storms go away, but it can certainly help us weather out the struggle. Every struggle. His peace is all we need to make it through.

So don’t be surprised when a swirly struggle hits. No need to have blind spots, spiritually speaking. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (NIV). You can keep your head if your mind is fixed on Jesus and your heart is fully relying on and trusting in Him.

Let His peace rule and your day will feel so much sunnier. In every atmospheric condition.

And in every shampoo and condition too.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

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