Month: March 2015

Beautifully Simple

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unnamed[1] (23) - CopyThe dogwood has always been a favorite of mine.  I love its pure white, and the elegance of its blossom.  At a time when all the colors of spring are out, it looks even more white than it would otherwise.  And of course there is also the legend of the dogwood tree being the tree that the cross of Jesus was made from.

I had an experience today with a customer that was equally simple and beautiful.  Early this morning an older man came into the store, and before I could greet him, he took a note out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me.  Now, in my previous employment (banking), that would never be a good sign!  But at Chick Fil A, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.  I read the note, and was amazed.  It said:  Chicken biscuit.  To go.  Senior Coffee.  Thank you.

I looked up at him, and he was pointing to his ear, and shaking his head, and smiling.  In other words, he was deaf.  And because of that deafness, apparently he had never learned to talk. So he had a note. A small, handwritten, crumpled note that indicated he had used this before. I was so blessed by both the simplicity, and the humble attitude he had.  I would gladly have let him order everything on the menu and carried it out to his car.

God used this today to remind me that we can approach Him the same way.  We don’t have to use fancy words, or churchy expressions, or “thee” and “thou”.  We don’t have to come to Him with reasons for what we want/need, or anything else.  We can just simply ask for what we need, and remember to say thank you when we’re done.  After all, that’s what happened when Jesus met a leper (Matthew 8:1-3) and when a ruler approached him about raising his daughter from the dead (Matthew 9:18 & following).  They made their requests simple and from the heart, and Jesus had compassion on both of them.  Of course, God is not bound to honor every request we make, He has His will for each of us.  But He will ALWAYS listen, and we can ALWAYS ask…and He will NEVER judge us by words we use when we do.  To God be the Glory!

Fighting Inflammation

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Although I absolutely love being back at Chick Fil A, my knees, legs, and feet are NOT having a good time….at all!!  I have developed osteo-arthritis, and I have a bone spur underneath my right knee.  Which was not a big deal, really, when I sat all day in front of a computer.

Now, however, I am in constant search of advil, aleve, tylenol, you get the picture!  4 hour days are not easy, but they are doable.  The longer shifts are still a constant fight between my knees and my stomach – as in, I can only take so many Nsaids before trouble begins.  So, I have a counter full of other remedies…epson salt, epson salt/lavender/camomille bath stuff, Blue Emu (yes, really) pain relief gel, etc.  I have tried three different knee braces, and not one of them fits my currently chubby upper thighs!  Believe me when I say “one size fits all!”  and “adjustable to any size!” are empty promises.  And I have two pair of heavyduty comfort wear shoes.  I’d say I have spent at least $150 trying to make working there not just possible, but relatively painfree.

Yesterday, however, I was reading an article about arthritis and inflammation, hoping for some new enlightenment.  And, DUH! I have spent all my time and efforts on curing the symptoms of my disease…and haven’t been paying attention to eliminating a lot of the cause of the disease.  And other than the weight issue that I wrote about the other day, there is the issue of inflammation. Caused by diet, in great part.  As in, I can help my own cause.  Which, I admit, I already knew some of, but was not willing to want to “remember”.  There are foods that I can avoid, and of course foods that I can add, to counteract the inflammation in my own body.  So I am studying, and working out a plan.  Some will be easy (adding fish oil) and some will not (adding walnuts, minus the brownies I usually put them in)!  But actually doing will be MUCH more effective than treating the symptoms!

And of course, God is using this to teach me something!  Inflammation happens in my spiritual walk, and in my daily life too.  There have been times that I have found myself miserable, frustrated, worried, or upset.  I can look back to those and realize that I had allowed “inflammation” into my life – gossip, bitterness, anger, sin, pride, and other hurtful things.  I have been in places where my spirit was damaged, not lifted up.  I have participated in activities that caused my heart to be in more pain than my knees ever thought about!  I have listened to the world, and allowed its influence to inflame my environment and keep my eyes off Jesus.  And I also have a shelf full of rememdies – like my bath stuff – that only addressed the symptoms.

The answer?  While I am overhauling my diet, I am going to be overhauling my environment!  I want to be inflammation free, and I believe God will help..anyone want to join me?

How Do You Play?

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I am not a March Madness kinda girl.  I like baseball, am PASSIONATE about college (only) football, but there is no need in my life for basketball.  Sorry, but it’s true.

However, this morning as I was getting ready for church, a coach was being interviewed after his team won a very close game..down to the wire close.  He was asked what particular strategy his team had used for this game that might have helped them win.  His respnse was this: “we don’t go out and play with the attitude of how can we keep from losing.  We go out with the attitude of how can we WIN”.

How refreshing it would be if we were to use the same strategy in our spiritual lives!  Too oftem today I meet-and occasionally am one-Christians who live and work as if the war has slready been lost.  We say things like abortion will never be repealed, people will never quit living together/drinking/using drugs (or any other thing) and we need to hold on to what little we have left and just pray for God to come soon.

Really?  Does that sound like people of an “and yet!” God?  No!  That same coach went on to say that his team goes out with the expectation that they WILL win and they plan from there.

Well ok..it works for them!  But how much more confident would they be if they KNEW they were going to win?  They would play with no fear, no stress, and no hesitation.

As we prepare for this week, Holy Week that leads up to Easter, I am asking God to remind me every day what this werk means-that God WON!  I dont have to approach my life or my ministry with the “playing not to lose” attitude! I have the complete assurance because of Jesus that I can have a “I can win”attitude..because HE did!  So if you are a born again believer, trusting in the cross for your salvation, join me in approaching this week with a winning attitude. I believe that is the best way to honor the sacrifice HE made!

Diorama Living

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DSCN0498Robert, my hubby, retired back in October and has ben able to resume his favorite hobby, model car building.  It is therapy, relaxation and fun all wrapped into one, and he is very good at it.  This last model he bought a different case for it, one that included diorama pieces to go inside the model case with the car.

Dioramas are defined as “a model representing a scene with 3 dimensional figures, often in miniature”.  Sad to say in my childhood years and school projects, they very seldom represented an actual scene very well!  But in this model, there are extremely realistic pieces made of plastic that Robert glued to cardboard, etc and the resulting scene is amazing.  It looks completely real.

Just like this model, there are days that my spiritual life feels like a diorama.  I am in my usual places, doing my usual stuff, and saying all the right words.  I read my Bible and pray, smile at people, and go through my day looking totally normal.  Only I know the truth – that there’s very little “real” going on.  And I am not alone.  I see people every day who say they are ok but they aren’t.  I wait on customers who smile at their wildly energetic children, and yet their eyes say “i am SO tired of dealing with all this”.  I know of other people who look like the perfect couple, and their life is full of distrust and lost love.

There are times that we must do that in order to keep jobs and/or not be arrested for acting out on those feelings! Unfortunately, we have taken that habit of “hiding” into every part of our lives.  It can be very risky to be more real, less plastic.

AND YET!  God has called His people to be genuine, authentic examples of what life with Him is all about. We can’t do that if we pretend that we have everything under control and are always doing great.  So next time you feel the need to say “fine” when asked how you are doing, remember this picture.  And remember that people who really know you or see you every day will know when the “diorama” is on display!

Lose the Weight, Already!

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I am loving my new (old) job at Chick Fil A.  It has proven to be a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun as well.  It has also allowed me to reconnect with old friends, and make new ones.

HOWEVER.  I am almost 5 years older than when I last worked there, and about 10 pounds heavier.  Sigh.  I don’t mind being the next-to-oldest employee they have…most of my coworkers could be my children.  But my knees mind terribly!  The days I have a 3 or 3 1/2 hour schedule, everything is great.  But there are 2 days a week when I work either 7 or 8 hours.  And Chick just replaced the rubber floor (which is not as hard on feet) with a standard tile.  And like today, I come home walking funny and soaking my feet immediately after getting home…not to mention the Tylenol and Advil I take to stay at work.

Which brought to mind something I had read, and it basically says for every one pound you lose, it’s like taking 4 pounds of pressure off your knees.  That same study says that if you lose 10 pounds, you are reducing the pressure on your knees by 48,000 pounds for every mile walked!  That extra weight also causes an early breakdown in your cartilege because of the extra pressure.

Like many things, this principle also applies spiritually.  There are many people I know – myself included – who still carry excess emotional/spiritual weight that hinders us in our journey with the Lord through this world.  My knee pain causes me to limp and walk like a 90 year old when I get off work, and it slows me down while I am there.  It takes me a good hour after work to recoup and be ready to do something else.  The regrets and baggage of the past do the same to our spiritual walk.  That extra weight keeps us “limping” through life, not enjoying the walk, and not accomplishing all that we could because we are slowed down by carrying it.  It also can tear down our future ability to be effective by breaking us down.

So, in addition to a renewed commitment to lose weight, which you may not need to do, I am also making a renewed commitment to lighten my spiritual load, by dumping some major past issues, and looking ahead to what God still wants to do with me.  As Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14 “….but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…”  Anyone want to join me?

No is Only a New Yes!

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Ok, yesterday I got the verdict from my unemployment hearing, and the answer was no…as in nope, you deserved to be fired, and you were, and we owe you no money.  That’s not actually what the letter said – it was all official and said I was disqualified…which is still a not so nice way of saying no!

My initial reaction was the above, along with the thought that my previous employer’s human resource department was sitting around celebrating.  It would also have been very nice to receive 4 weeks of unemployment, and it would have taken away the “sting” of giving 3 1/2 years to them with such an abrupt and untimely dismissal.

AND YET!  That no really means that I am done with my former employer, once and for all, and will now just see them in the rear view mirror of my life, fading away.  Yay!  Also I know that in spite of all the stress and pressure of that job, I would never have walked away from them, because of the salary and benefits that I thought I could not live without.  The job was killing me, but I was making huge money and couldn’t see past that – I thought I had to make that sacrifice.  God knew that, and so He forced me to leave!

AND YET!  For every no, there have been at least two “yes’s”.  Yes to having another job, parttime.  Yes to less blood pressure medicine.  Yes to more time to write.  Yes to a happy work environment, where I can directly impact people.  Yes to watching Him meet every financial need that I have.  Yes to a uniform that keeps me from the constant struggle of having enough work-worthy clothes.  Yes to more time for ministry.  Yes to having a testimony to share of God saying no to me, and thriving in spite of it!

So, if you are in the land of “no”…the place where it seems there will never be another yes…or the place where it seems like the whole world is against you, and you’re not sure about God…relax!  The Scripture is full of promises that God has made to His children, that He intends to keep!  Start looking out for those “yes’s”, and the “no’s” will fade away!  I am living proof of that!

Positive Air

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My hubby has a wonderfully wacky sense of humor, as this photo shows!  A few years ago I had to start using CPAP at night 100_1061because I was snoring “loud enough to wake the neigbors!” and I was basically spending my nights trying to breathe, instead of sleeping.  This is also known as sleep apnea, and it can lead to being forced to sleep in a separate bedroom from your hubby, and oh yeah, a shortened life.

For you who don’t know, CPAP actually stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure,and the process basically ensures that you have a continual airflow all night, keeping you from snoring (the non-medical explanation).  And of course since Robert thought I looked hilarious with it on, he wanted to make sure my stuffed animals did not feel left out!  He left this for me to find one day after he left for work, and it very much made my day.

So I began to think about what would happen if we all had CPAP.  No, not the machine….but continual positive “air” around us. It is a scientifically proven fact that children thrive in a positive atmosphere, and the best teachers try to make that happen.  But in today’s world, it is very hard to hear as adults about the positive. As a matter of fact, we have even taken that very word and made it negative – as in, “I’m positive that won’t work out”!

Science has also proven that being positive brings great health benefits to the person practicing it.  And in my particular job, it is “commanded” that I be positive to my customers and to my co-workers…it is just simply expected.  That doesn’t mean I live in denial of those customers that may try my patience and all my goodwill..that’s just not going to happen sometimes after the third “oh wait I also need….” as I retype their order again.

However, overriding all this is that the Bible has a lot to say about being positive in a negative world.  Proverbs 15:13 says, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance”, and Proverbs 16:24 also says that pleasant words are sweet to the soul (paraphrase mine).  So, let’s practice some CPAP in our worlds – and when it’s tough to do, remember I Corinthians 5:57 “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory…!”

Go Ahead – Make Their Day

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It can happen in an instant.  Someone is in your line, looking like one of any other faces, and then you notice….notice anything….notice SOMETHING!  It can be their shoes, their hair, their jewlery.  It can be a crisp bright blue shirt on a bisinessman, a necklace on a woman, or an awesome hair flip by a teenage guy!  All these things happened at work today, and I noticed and AND I said something to all 3 of them…a compliment to them.  And I got positive, wonderful smiles (the man), a quick thank you (the woman) and a second “just for me” filp (the teenager)!

It’s amazing, isn’t it??  All three of these were just so proud to be NOTICED!  In our techy world of #’s and plastic and self serve, we all enjoy being noticed.  Not made a big fuss over or anything, just acknowledged..that we are there, that we count, that we are still appreciated.  We want to know thst people still know how to talk to each other..and that we are worth talking to.

And why is that so important to us as Christians?  Because you can’t tell me about Jesus if you can’t even tell me good morning.  You can’t tell me there’s a God who wants to know me f you don’t believe I am worth eye contact. Is the picture becoming clearer?

God made each one of us in His image and unique.  Some of us are more unique than others, lol, but still! And if we are born again believers in Him then we are commanded to show His love to the world to attract others to Him.  We can’t do that if we aren’t paying attention to those around us.

So for Heaven’s sake – literally! – go ahead…make their day!  Notice people, compliment them and then watch their faces light up, and their hearts OPEN up to what God wants to say through you!

Pink Shoes and Ponytails!

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One of my favorite parts of being back at Chick Fil A is waiting on the children.  They are always so excited to be there, and you never know what they will say.  Today I had a delightful little girl, around 4 or 5, with these adorable sparkly pink shoes that lit up when she bounced, which was often.  She had a ponytail and a big pink bow on it.  Right after her I had more little girls with pink shoes, and I was surrounded by happy!

I started thinking about how children come in, and approach our counter, and us.  They are very proud to place their own orders, and they are filled with confidence that their order will be heard and filled.  If we don’t serve something – like the pancakes a little boy wanted today – then they are disappointed, but they move on and choose something else.  They have parents hovering nearby, and they know that if something goes wrong, the parent will help them out.  And they ALWAYS want dessert!

I wondered what would happen if I could translate their attitude to my walk with the Lord and especially my prayer life.  While I know prayer should be entered into with reverence, I wonder if sometimes I shouldn’t BOUNCE into God’s presence!  Either overjoyed with blessings, or excited to be there, but definitely with a heart full of joy.  And what if I always came with full confidence?  And with the expectation that my request would be heard and answered, or if the answer was “no”, that an acceptable answer would be made known?  What if I accepted “no” gracefully from the Lord, and then MOVED ON??  I could also try asking for dessert!  I am sure God doesn’t mind when I ask for things that I want sometimes, and not just what I need.

And the best part?  The Scripture says that when we can’t “order” our prayers, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us (Romans 8:26) just like those parents in the background. How awesome! May God help us all to not always be so serious, but to “enter His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4) – and occasionally a bounce!

Can I Have An Order for your Name?

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OU_logo[1]Being back in the world of “quick service” (NOT fast food!) has been quite an adventure to say the least.  A lot of what I used to do there has not changed, but just enough has to keep me on my toes and/or totally missing the mark!

One of the new rules for me is to get a name for each order, especially during rush times, to help identify the customer when the food is ready.  After about an hour of purely hectic lunch time, I found myself asking my next customer, “Can I have an order for your name?”  I had evidently waited on one customer too many to keep up with, and it was hilarious.  We also have table markers for guests, and they are identified by color and what food is pictured on them.  I was handed a meal to take to a customer, and was told “red nuggets”.  All I heard was nuggets, to which I promptly told my co-worker, “There’s no nuggets on here!”  More laughter, this time from my co-workers!

But I realized something. Although I am still “new” at this process, and the faster I go right now, the more mistakes I make, my co-workers are very gentle and helpful in correcting those mistakes.  One day it will be second nature to me, but not right now.  God spoke to my heart about that, and I thought about what a perfect correlation there is to the church in this.

One major way the church is failing today is in taking care of new believers, and helping them grow into long-lasting relationships with Jesus.  We want to “hurry” them through the process, and make them mature instantly.  We rush them through things that we know how to do, and sometimes even place them in a teaching role, all before letting them train and learn.  Then when we leave them on their own, mistakes happen because they just don’t know!  But a lot of times as fellow church members we are not gentle or helpful.  We tend to be judgmental, and not take the responsibility for “bearing with each other in love”.  We don’t mean to be this way, but when things that are second nature to us – like daily Bible reading, prayer, and attending church – are not followed exactly or correctly by those new to the faith – we are shocked.

So, as I learn more about my job, and am trained, I am asking God to make me more aware of those around me, especially at church, and make sure I am DOING some training for them as well.  Disciples are made, not born, and I have a responsibility to help that process happen!