Mining Michelle

I caught a bit of the Democratic National Convention last night. I confess I don't follow politics closely, but conventions are a fascinating look into human nature. I wonder why people react as they do and why certain phrases stir them. I am captured by the ability of the speakers to set a tone and change momentum. As the cameras scan the audience and I see individuals completely tuned in, I wonder what it is about a speaker that makes one believe them.

The one that got to me last night was Michelle Obama. She walked out to the podium gracefully and unafraid, delivering a polished, articulate speech. She assured us she and her husband are just like you and me. She promised with Barack at the helm, there could be a better tomorrow for our children and real opportunity for which America stands.

What struck me is that her message is not new--Barack Obama (or fill in the blank with your politician of choice) is the person to lead this country. With hard work and perseverance, we can have hope for a stronger America. Hasn't this been the same speech of political candidates for decades?

Yet people ate it up. Why?

We're all looking for hope, in any form, from any source.

An entire convention center applauded her message (some in tears), even though they know the game of politics and the strategies involved. They know her words were calculated carefully, meant to produce a specific effect (and Mrs. Obama did her job very well), yet they got sucked in just the same. Why?

We all want something, someone to believe in.

Her speech stirred something in me too, not necessarily her message, but the way she was able to have the room in her hands with such simple words. I possess the greatest message of hope the world has ever known. I know the One who never disappoints and can always be trusted, the One we can truly believe in. Why don't I produce such emotion in others as I talk of Him? How can I communicate this message to the hearts of those around me?

What does Michelle Obama have to woo the hearts of people that I do not?

Yes, I understand she has a huge platform with which to deliver her message that I don't, but I couldn't help noticing some of her qualities I often lack, things like confidence, well-preparedness, determination, fearlessness, eloquence and passion.

I learned a lot from Michelle Obama last night. She made me examine myself and my work ethic. What must I do to step it up a notch and impact people with real hope and God's love? What does God require of me?

You know I'll be mulling that over for days to come.

Do Overs

Type a few sentences. Save. Type a few sentences. Save.

It's my habit. I've learned it the hard way. I always type a few sentences, then save.

And this morning, while I was working on a project whose deadline is closing in too fast, I went through my normal routine. Type a few sentences. Save. Type a few sentences. Save. At the conclusion of the morning, I saved the document one more time, took a break for lunch, came back to the computer, saved it again for good measure, e-mailed it to my "editor" (my husband), then closed the file. But right before the file whisked away, I noticed the time saved didn't match the current time. Uh oh.

You guessed it. Somehow, don't ask me how, please say it isn't so, my morning's work was lost. I searched every file on my computer and turned up nothing but an alias of a previous copy, one minus a few PAGES.

I was so upset I couldn't concentrate. I tried remembering and came up with bits and pieces all out of order. My spirit was defeated and weary. I pushed myself to reconstruct for about an hour and then couldn't take any more. I was so frustrated. And angry.

And a little mad at God. (Doesn't He have the power to control these things?)

But then a verse kept running around in my head--To the faithful you show yourself faithful...Though my time alone at home expired I forced myself to the computer amid the rat race of the day. I did a few errands, picked the kids up from school and sat at the computer, started dinner and sat at the computer, took my son to an appointment, then sat at the computer, ate, cleaned up, did a little laundry and sat at the computer.

And though I know what I have isn't exactly what I had before, I think it works. I have something to show for the day. It hasn't been wasted. My eyes are tired. My head hurts and I'm ready for the day to be over, but my spirit is at peace and I know this worn out lady will sleep very well tonight. God showed Himself faithful and I am thankful.

He who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Amen!

For more Thankful Thursday posts visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

I Survived

Well, we did it.

We moved the lad into his dorm room, said our goodbyes, drove the two and a half hours home and are still alive and kicking to tell about it.

My heart doesn't feel as heavy as I thought it would today (perhaps it's because my eyelids are instead) and I am truly thankful for God's provisions and the many assurances of His care. I won't bore you with the gory details. Suffice it to say...

God is good.

Very good.

Indeed.

Thank you, friends, for your prayers for this mama hen whose first chick has flown the coop. You have helped tremendously.

And to my dear son--I am so stinkin' proud of you. I know you'll do great. I'm trusting your words--"It'll be FINE, Mom." I believe in you. I see God all over you. I love you. Go get 'em!

(Okay, NOW the tears....)

It'll be fine.

Praising

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

"His Eye is on the Sparrow" by Civilla D. Martin

You are the God who knows, the God who sees and I sing Your praise. Thank You, Jesus.


For more Thankful Thursday posts visit Sting My Heart.

No Shrinking

“Problems can slow us down temporarily
but they don’t have the ability to stop us.
Only we have that power.”

~Wayne Cordeiro~

She was drug by a horse as a 20-year-old, causing her to nurse a bad hip most of her life, only to have it replaced over fifty years later. She told stories of sitting up all night with her young asthmatic son, before the days of breathing treatments and steroids, just praying he'd keep breathing. She spent many days caring for her dying husband and had a leg amputated in her eighties. Yet she kept plugging away, making the most of life, enjoying her family and baking for them in the early hours of the morning, on one leg, no less.

When I asked her how she did it, how she got through so many tough times, she gave me a confused look, shrugged her shoulders and said, "What else are you going to do?"

Smart woman. The alternative to pressing on is to stop, to quit and do what? Wallow in misery? Waste away in bed? Hide your light?

When life gets hard, I want to escape. I daydream about lying on warm, sandy beaches or being snowed in at a cozy mountain cabin, with plenty of time to sleep and read and enjoy my husband. But running away doesn't remove the problems. Fantasizing only intensifies the longing to be removed from trouble.

God's call to endure is really a gift, making us move past the pain and on to better things. Though it feels like drudgery sometimes, it is His grace, forcing us to look beyond what is before us, telling us to seek the divine, the impossible, the beautiful. When we are able to do so, we build hope. And wonder. And purpose.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Hebrews 10:36-39

Hope comes from believing, knowing God will get you through, understanding in any moment He has the power to change you or the situation, trusting He knows what is best, believing a miracle could be just around the corner. Do you see the beauty in that? Do you see the childlike faith and wonder? Don't you want it? Don't you want to be wowed? Don't you crave the magic of God's hand? Don't you want to live life with a sparkle in your eye and a gasp at the ready when God shows Himself?

I will not shrink back and be destroyed. I will press on, believing the impossible. I will trudge through the problems, allowing myself a brief rest if necessary, but going forward in the end, knowing God will make all things beautiful in His time.

"What else are you going to do?"

Will you shrink back and be destroyed? Or will you press on and believe, with HOPE?


To read more impressions of this quote, visit Karen at In Love W.I.T.H. Jesus.

Pondering relationships

You find yourself drawn to a person. There's a pull that makes you secretly hope to run into the them and live through the awkward conversations that eventually lead to a good relationship, but also a fear of letting them see who you truly are ('cause what if they don't like you once they really know you), which sometimes causes avoidance. You hide behind responsibilities and busyness so as not to seem too vulnerable or needy. And then there's the possibility the other person doesn't feel the same way about you. Ouch.

Maybe I think about these things too much, but I find it fascinating to ponder how relationships are formed. Don't you ever wonder about this stuff?

What makes us stick our neck out to approach another?
What have we missed out on because we weren't willing to put ourselves out there?
How are emotional ties built?
What makes you decide to risk it and pursue a person?
How do you know someone is safe?
What causes you to know you can trust someone?
Is that awareness built slowly through experience or do you just know?
Can you truly know another person's heart?
Is it possible to adequately express yourself to those you love or does their love for you make them believe the best about you even when they don't understand?
What makes you give someone the benefit of the doubt to believe the best about them?

Even after the relationships are formed, trusting someone always involves risk. People will let us down. They can't know everything that runs through our heads or our pasts that affect our responses. So why do we take the chance? What do we see in some people that gives us the go ahead?

I am drawn to people for many reasons:

The Spirit of God is evident in their life.
They are willing to ask the tough questions I mull over.
I admire something in them and wish I was more like them.
They think deeply and discuss issues articulately.
They are a blast to be around.
Conversation is easy and goes beyond surface issues.
They seem to respect and appreciate me.

What about you? What makes you take a chance on a person?

Trusting With Hope

There's been a cloud looming over our house all summer.

Our oldest is moving to college. In one week.

Don't ask. Just glance at the time of this post and you'll know how Mom is doing with it.

And yet while I've been stressing, God's been working. He's slowly turning my son into a man.

While I worried about his job situation, God showed him how to conserve the money he has, a skill that will serve him well.

When I wondered whether it was prudent for him to spend so much of July traveling with a Christian singing outreach group and going on a mission trip, God strengthened him spiritually and showed me I would be fine without him around all the time.

He's given him enough conflict to understand the journey may not be easy, yet showed him good friends can make it better.

When I questioned him spending so much time alone in his room, God was helping him detach.

He put in his gut an urge to handle some things himself. (Already I'm getting the, "Mom, I'm fine" speech.)

When he got lost, God showed him how to make do without my help.

Even in the conflicts he's faced this summer, I see God has truly captured his heart.

How can I have room for anything but overwhelming gratitude?

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:17-18

Lord, thank You for hearing my prayers concerning my son. I trust You, Lord. You give me hope for his future and security in your plan which far surpasses mine. Make him into Your vision of who he should be. Be near us all in this adjustment. We love You. Give us Your rest and peace.


Visit Iris for more Thankful Thursday posts.

I Promise I'm Not a Ventriloquist

Want this button?

When I asked my husband what is fun for him, what his favorite activities are, the first three things out of his mouth ended in, "with you."

(Hmmm. I like where this is going.)

And then when I pressed him and said, "Well, I mean, like, in general, what do you like to do?"

"I don't know. . . It's fun to go out to dinner with friends. That's always fun. And I like our weekends away. Those are really good. . . I don't know."

(Uh oh, I'm hearing that defensive, please stop drilling me tone. Better wrap this up, Tam.)

And then he said, "It doesn't really matter what it is as long as you're there somewhere."

(Ooh. Nailed it, honey. Nice.)

"Good answer," I said leaving the room, "You're going to look very good on the blog today."

Now, how do you think I should award those brownie points?


Visit Chrysalis for more Marriage Monday posts.