Quick on My Toes

By Elaine James –

“Where did you get those cute shoes?” I inquired.

She responded, “Bed, Bath and Beyond.”

Shocked, I repeated “Bed, Bath and Beyond?”

She flippantly replied, “Yeah, that must be the beyond part of the store.”

We laughed. “Wow! You’re quick on your toes. Did you just make that up?”

Most confidently, she chuckled “Yeah”. I had to laugh with her. I never thought of the ‘Beyond’ stuff in that title.

Suddenly as I focused on the beyond of Bed, Bath and Beyond title, I began to put it in spiritual terms; Here, Now and Beyond. The here and now are staples of everyday life, but the beyond is the part I forget to focus on.

First, how many times in my life do I hear a prayer, title or a Bible verse and not focus on each word? After all, a prayer like Our Father, which Jesus taught to his disciples, when simply recited is just babbling to God if I don’t really know who I am praying to and what it is about. The beginning line of that prayer, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,” taught me to adore and praise God.

Second, beyond is eternity or my time after death. Where will I go and why? How could I be living my life daily with the understanding of “eternal security with Jesus in heaven” or “Beyond”? The Our Father prayer goes on to say “Your Kingdom come,” which begs for the eternal security I experience when I focus on the cross and Jesus second coming.

Third, the beyond is not more things I want or have. It is the need God grows in me to be in relationship with Him. The Lord’s Prayer that asks “give me today my daily bread” which is the essential fruits of the Spirit that I need daily.

If I trust in the Lord with all my heart daily I can experience the “beyond” that the Lord freely wants to give me. I was “quick on my toes”; a pun intended by God as I went from shoes, to toes and “Beyond.”

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:9b-13 NIV).

The Blame Game

By Carin LeRoy –

I like to play the blame game in my marriage. My husband tells me I always find a way to fault him for something.

“Are you coming? We’re going to be late,” he’ll say.

“I’m coming, but since you didn’t show me how to work the alarm clock, I got up late” (not that I should have read the directions).

“When can you sew the button on my pants?”

“I can’t find the button, where did you put it?” (even though he gave it to me when he asked me to sew it).

After over 30 years of marriage it’s now become a joke between us. I can always find a way to blame him for something—as ridiculous as it may be. With a roll of his eyes he’ll say, “Well I knew it had to be my fault.”

Well, if I’m full of blame, then he’s full of excuses. He can find an excuse for anything.

“Is there a reason you threw the paper and wrappings all over the garage floor instead of just putting it in the garbage right here,” I’ll ask.

“The lawn mower was in front of the trash can. (Really? Why not push the mower over?)

“How come you didn’t ask if I wanted a little rice pudding, too?”

“Well, you looked pretty content.” (But why not ask?)

I think our little traits go way back to the Garden of Eden when we read God’s questions to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.

“Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?”

Excuse from the man: “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Where was your responsibility in putting your own mouth around that fruit?)

Then the Lord said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Fault-finding from the woman: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Excuse me, but didn’t you pick the fruit and disobey what God said?)
It’s an age-old problem – laying blame and giving excuses. It started the day man and woman chose to sin. We see how mankind has been affected by those beginning days in the garden. In part, my husband and I joke about it in our marriage. But in serious situations, assigning blame or making excuses can have grave consequences. Learning to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand by admitting our mistakes and wrong behavior will bring healing and peace in our relationships. God will be pleased, too.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to take responsibility for my actions. Excusing my sin or blaming others is not pleasing to You. Give me humility and help me to recognize and admit my mistakes in order to create harmony and peace in my relationships.

“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” (Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV).

Things Are Looking Up!

By Cynthia Ruchti –

My mother was a great diagnostician. As a registered nurse, she put the gift into practice both at work—sometimes upstaging the doctors with her insights—and at home with her five kids and anyone in the community who preferred consulting with Mom before calling the doctor’s office.

She rarely misdiagnosed. Some rare combination of observation, instinct, training, experience, and God-directed wonderment caused her to proclaim, “That’s ringworm, honey.” Or, “Your leg cramps? Try taking more calcium.” Or, “If my guess is right, you have Lyme disease.”

I follow in her footsteps in a lot of ways, though I left the medical field (lab assistant) decades ago. In an effort to self-diagnose my recent headaches, I walked myself through a Mom-like problem-solving routine.

Getting enough sleep? Pretty much.

Too much caffeine? Not enough? I’ll work on that one.

How’s your vision? Needing new glasses can cause headaches. Can’t afford the answer to that one.

Wait a minute.

Sitting at the computer more hours than the day is long. Reading. Hunching over to read fine print on websites and blogs.

I’m suffering from an excess of looking down!

Some of that I can correct with some ergonomic changes, and with neck exercises. But the best cure is to spend more time looking up. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.

Life is like that, too. The economy is…down. Gravity drags us…down. People are downhearted, downright discouraged, and downtrodden by the insults of life. But real life isn’t in the dust at our feet. It’s not embedded in the carpeting.

“Look up,” Jesus said, “for your redemption draweth nigh.” That’s how I remember it from hearing it as a child.

A current translation adds an element of headache-easing posture. When the world is swirling, reeling, chaotic, confused, Jesus tells me to stand up straight. “Stand up straight and raise your heads because your redemption is near,” Luke 21:28 CEB.

My redemption and my Redeemer are always near. Up.

PRAYER: Lord, I think I’m beginning to understand better what You meant when You told me You were the “lifter” of my head (Psalm 3:3). Help me live with straighter posture, no matter what the news, the bills, or the doctor tells me. Cause me to live aware that You are near. Up.

“Now when these things begin to occur, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (deliverance) is drawing near,” Luke 21:28 AMP.

Killer Carpet

By Janet Morris Grimes –

“Here. I will lift up this bunk bed, and you unroll the carpet underneath.” I knew when I uttered those words that our method would never work, but there were only the two of us, and it had to be done.

My oldest daughter and I were in the process of helping my youngest daughter move into her dorm for her first semester of college. The furniture was already in place. Even the clothes in the drawers. But we discovered the well-hidden truck that sold rolls of carpet nearby, and decided that carpet was what the room lacked.

The problem, first and foremost, was that the smallest roll of carpet was still too large for the room. Secondly, the brand new furniture was rather heavy. But perhaps because we were a bit loopy from too many trips up the stairs and the late night packing party from the previous night, we were determined to make it work.

In a perfect world, the room would be empty, then the carpet installed, then the furniture placed on top of it. But we weren’t in a perfect world. We were in a dorm room with pre-existing furniture and the hallways too crowded with others moving in to move anything out there.

So, with a borrowed box cutter, we started the process and quickly proved that we had no carpeting experience. It was too heavy to push or pull more than an inch at a time, and ripped out the majority of our fingernails within the first couple of minutes. Thankfully, the left-behind nail particles blended in with the carpet, so we moved on.

There was no place to put the drawers but on the bunk beds, making them even heavier. Inch by inch, we scooted the carpet underneath and cut around the odd shaped column that protruded from the wall. We nearly severed an arm at the elbow, ripped a shirt, and laughed until we cried, but soon, the floor was mostly covered and the crooked parts remained hidden.

Mission accomplished. Until we tried to open the closet door.

Only then did we discover that the carpet was too thick. The door and the floor could not coexist peacefully with the carpet in between them.

So, out came the box cutter and we cut a huge square out in a spot that could never be hidden.

And our shoddy work is now obvious to everyone who enters.

There is something to be said for doing things in the proper order with careful planning in advance. Those who choose to do otherwise pay the consequences.

Lesson learned and still recovering.

Oh I Wish…

Rosemary Flaaten –

Have you ever found yourself wishing you had the life of the rich and famous? Whether it’s the free wheeling love life with the newest most beautiful person or the gluttonous lifestyle that enjoys the pleasures of the moment without concern for any long term consequences. Although I cognitively know that their lifestyle choices will end in harm, I find my heart wandering toward envy of their sinful ways. Immediate gratification—whether its excess amounts of fine wine and rich foods, buying the latest gadget or stealing a look at a pornographic image—provides on-the-spot enjoyment. Throw out self-control, caution and denial. Eat, drink and love for who knows what tomorrow will hold.

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord for there is surely a future hope for you” (Proverbs 23:17) This proverb breaks down in three parts – present, past and future.

The present is the “good times” we see around us and in our interior world we wish we could be free of restraint. Our longing for independence, which we inherited from Adam and Eve, causes us to pursue self-indulgence.

The second part of this proverb is regarding the past. Our ability to fear the Lord develops as we ponder God’s character and take stock of all He has done for us. The awe that develops comes out of the history we have with Him.

The third part of the proverb peers into the future. Hope is directed toward something we do not yet have. Our present envy comes from a lack of retention about God’s goodness and thus our hope is thwarted. We wrongly believe that we must have our desires for pleasure met now or the opportunity will be missed and no more will come our way. But pondering God’s track record will help us to postpone immediate gratification with second rate options and instead wait for the top-notch gifts from His hand.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to believe in the core of my being that Your way is truly life-giving and that the path of sin leads to destruction.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12 – 13 NIV).

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