When Life Throws a Curve Ball

By Carin LeRoy –

Ten months ago, my husband and son picked out a rescue puppy. When they brought him home, he was cute, tiny and covered with interesting little markings. At nine weeks, he only weighed nine pounds.

I asked my husband, “What is he? How big is he going to get?”

“They said he’ll be a medium-sized dog and won’t get too big. He’s part Australian Shepherd,” my husband said.

“Well, I hope not,” I said, “I don’t want a huge dog running around the house.”

“Naww,” he said.

The dog soon began to gain weight and grow like a weed.  I knew we were in trouble when the exterminator came to our house said, “Oh, he looks like he’ll be about 70 pounds.”

I worried even more when my son’s friend came in the house and said, “He looks like he’s part Saint Bernard.”  By six months, he weighed 50 pounds. Now, at ten months, he’s 78 pounds and still growing—not exactly what we thought we were getting.

We now have a small pony that runs around the house! When he is excited, his tail can swipe items off the coffee table, whack a grand baby in the face, or knock the paper you’re reading from your hand. His favorite pastimes are to lick toes and loyally follow your every step. He likes to dig holes, eat my flowers and leave his muddy footprints on my hardwood floor.

But I choose to look at the bright side: He’s very friendly; he loves the yard, and he never barks. We can leave him in the yard for hours and he won’t bother the neighbors.

Life will always contain the annoying and the unexpected. So when life throws you a curve ball, look at the bright side!

“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of his life God has given him under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15 NIV).

Peg Leg Spencer

By Aubrey Spencer –

Our nine-month-old daughter started crawling recently. We were beginning to wonder if that was ever going to happen. It’s not that she wasn’t mobile the last few months. In fact, she’s been getting around quite well using her unique method of movement, the “sit, lean, and scoot.” Needless to say, it’s been amusing. As I’ve watched her scoot and crawl about, I can’t help but to reminisce about the crazy crawl our son had when he was a baby.

Oliver was on the move right from the start. He had places to explore and things to get in to. He was busy. (He’s now three and a half and hasn’t slowed down one bit.) He had the ability to crawl normally, but he seemed to prefer the “peg leg method.” Picture it – crawling around in typical form except for one crazy, stiff, straight-as-a-board, left leg. It was quite amusing to watch that little crawler we nicknamed “Peg Leg Spencer.” And just like it is now with our daughter, Ava, it was fulfilling for us to watch him as he figured out the world around him. He was inquisitive, excited, and very busy. He literally never sat still.

Thinking back to him as a crawler makes me wonder, shouldn’t our lives be like that as Christians? On the move, with a world to explore and a difference to make? We should be busy and excited and desperate to share Jesus with the world around us. It doesn’t matter if we have limitations; we can still accomplish great things for Him.

Doubt that thought? Just remember “Peg Leg Spencer.” All we need is one good “leg” to stand on. One “dream,” one “talent,” one “desire,” one “purpose,” one ” ___”(you fill in the blank). Just imagine what would happen if we, as Christians, couldn’t sit still any longer.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to remember that You can do so much with so little. Help me to be active for You, using whatever abilities You’ve given me in order to glorify You and to share Your good news with the world around me.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…”(Colossians 3:23 NIV).

Freckle Check

By Hally Franz –

Ahh, the sun! I love it! While some folks love their MTV, I am in dire straits without my vitamin D. Although I savor the sun’s heat and light, I finally learned that my skin does not. After at least a dozen baby oil-induced burns as a teen and young adult, I gave up on tanning. I have been bathed with vinegar-soaked cotton balls and gummed up with aloe direct from the leaves. One sunburn sent me to the emergency room, earning me a tetanus shot. My last notable burn occurred on day one of my honeymoon cruise, when, within two hours, I burned my entire front side sunbathing on the ship’s breezy deck. Not cool!

When the sun is high in the sky, and my aging freckles brighten and sometimes meld into one, I am reminded that it’s time to see the dermatologist. I go annually just to check on all the skin damage I’m left with after my misspent youth. It’s time to make that appointment.

I feel like I am always making appointments. In the spring and fall, I make appointments to have the carpets cleaned and the bugs exterminated. I make eight appointments each year for teeth cleanings. Then, I make more for my kids’ orthodontic treatments. Women my age are supposed to have a couple of exams each year. I schedule both of these for the same day. It’s like a day at the spa, only in reverse. Haircuts, lessons, meetings and fun—it all has to be scheduled.

This is a situation we all face today. We are lost without our planners and BlackBerry Smartphones. My husband has a highly-technical scheduling instrument. He calls it his “pocket brain.” It is a paper-version calendar that he typically acquires just before a new year begins, sometimes as a giveaway at a local business. Most of us have some system for scheduling and organizing our lives.

While I am busy making and keeping appointments, God has booked me for the most precious one I’ll ever experience. When I became a believer in Christ Jesus, was baptized, repented and my sins forgiven, He arranged for our meeting at some future date. I can talk to Him anytime now, but my face-to-face meeting with God is reserved and confirmed. Though I don’t know when that will be, He does. He’s marked the date, and that’s one I don’t have to worry about.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Thank You for the assurance of salvation and eternal life that Your word provides. While our earthly days are congested with appointments and obligations, we are guaranteed a glorious meeting with You in heaven.

“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20 NKJV).

Transformation

By Aubrey Spencer –

I have recently been doing some redecorating in our home. To be honest, I redecorate a lot. It’s kind of my hobby. Not many people share my desire to constantly change things up. In fact, those who know me well often think I’m crazy for the number of times I’ve repainted rooms or rearranged furniture. But I just can’t help it. I love transformation.

One project I’ve been working on in particular is the painting of our three and a half year old son’s bedroom. His newly, but not yet finished, orange bedroom. He is completely nuts about the color orange. So the transformation has begun to create for him an orange and white horizontal striped bedroom. (Don’t cringe – it’s going to turn out great!)

Unfortunately the process has not been particularly pleasant. The two coats of orange paint I have already put on the walls are not covering what was previously there. I’m afraid it’s going to be a four or five coat job and that’s before we even get to the white stripes! (Maybe I’m starting to see why people think I’m crazy.)

It sure would be easy to give up mid-project. To assume it will never come together. To throw my paint roller away and say I’m never again working on another project. But I won’t because I know the outcome. I can see the finished product in my mind. So, during this daunting process I keep reminding myself that no matter how long it takes, I will keep painting. The room will eventually be finished. The hard work will be worth it.

Transformation will happen.

I can’t help but compare my paint transformation project to my walk with God. It’s so similar to how God transforms me. Layer by layer by layer until, eventually, He’s created a completed project in me – to become more like Him. It can be daunting. It can be difficult. It can seem impossible. Transformation isn’t easy. And I can be resistant. I can only imagine how many times the Master Painter has wanted to give up on me mid-project. How many times He’s wondered if I’m ever going to “come together.” Thankfully though, He never gives up on me. You see, He has the finished project in mind. And, He keeps working on me layer by layer until transformation happens.

PRAYER: Father God, I am so thankful that you see the outcome. I trust that You are creating something beautiful in me no matter how daunting the process can be. I realize that it is quite a project transforming me into Your image. I don’t change as easily as I should. But I am so thankful that You don’t give up on me. Thank You for seeing what I can become and saying that I’m worth the effort.

“And we all…are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).

Distracted

By Cynthia Ruchti –

The conversation—the mom’s side of it—might have started like this:

“All buckled up, kids? Good. Hannah, stop poking your sister. You did, too. I saw you. Jenna, just because she poked you does not give you the right to take her juice box. Hannah, don’t just grab it back. Ask for it nicely or it’ll…spill. Here’s a paper towel. Two. Three. Get it quick before it stains. Now, you two, settle down. We have a long trip ahead of us. No, we are not there yet. Why don’t you read the books Grandma gave you? There, that’s nice. I don’t know what that page says, Jenna. I’m driving. No, I don’t know what that page says either. Driving. Oh, look! A cow! Let’s count cows. No, you may not get out of your car seats so you can see better. Because I love you, that’s why. And because it’s the law. How about let’s sing. Good. No, no, please, no, not that one! Please pick a different— The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the— What colors, Hannah? What? Oh, red and blue lights. Yes, they are pretty, aren’t they? Mommy’s just going to pull the car to the side of the road and see what the nice policeman wants. And you two are not going to sing while he— Oh, Jenna! Get your finger out of your nose. Hello, officer. License and registration? Sure. Spare juice box. Spare bottle of Advil. Spare diaper. What’s the problem, officer? Distracted driving? Impossible. I wasn’t texting!”

How distracted do I let myself become on issues that really matter, like safe driving? Relationships? My relationship with the Lord?

How many times do I let the mundane interfere with the profound?

PRAYER: Lord, I need You to help me not be driven to distraction, but driven to my knees, fully focused on You. I want You to have my full attention. Anything else spells danger.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).

« Previous Page — Next Page »