Sacred Mundane: The Blog

My real struggles with generosity usually involve embarrassing things. 

Why is it I can write checks and give lots of our income away, and yet I can still remember that time when God said to give all my chocolate chip cookies to the neighbor and I practically threw a fit in protest.

What on earth?

I had another surprising incident last week. This time for a ministry that provides pillowcases, lotions, make-up and toiletries for women rescued out of human trafficking.  I searched through my bathroom and pulled out every bottle of lotion, soap and toiletry item that was unused. But then I spotted two make-up powder compacts, and hesitated.

Can you believe I actually stood there in the bathroom and held those two powder compacts and could barely bring myself to give them away?? I reasoned: Well we don’t have much money anymore. So I hate to give these away and then have to buy more. 

 Rees Howells words floated through my mind: “First need, first claim.”

Rees Howells’ life philosophy was simple. Everything belonged to God.  So when a need arose, Howells would use his resources to meet that need. He refused to have any thought of saving it for later just in case he might need it. In his mind, God would provide for every single need whenever it arose, so he could give freely to whatever situation was at hand. He would not hold back from alleviating a need if he had the capacity at that time to do it.

I stood and looked at the make-up. I had already put a lot of stuff in the bag. That was plenty, right?  

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.” Proverbs 3:27

I still remember when Shawna shared this verse with me more than 12 years ago. She was attending a Bible Study and the speaker’s words had really ministered to her, encouraging her deeply. She thought about going up afterwards and sharing with the speaker, telling her what a gift she’d been in Shawna’s life. But then she hesitated. She didn’t want to be seen as flattering, and there were plenty of other people already talking to the speaker. No need to take the time and go up there, right?. But the Holy Spirit brought this verse to her mind. She sensed that she was not to withhold that encouraging, thankful word from the speaker when she had the power to go up and give it to her. In other words, if she had the gift of true, kind words, it was wrong to not share them honestly with the speaker.

What a powerful thought.

How often do I withhold some good from others? Whether it’s my un-opened make-up, warm chocolate chip cookies, or just a word of true grace-filled encouragement.

Why do we withhold good?

With our money, we know it’s because we’re afraid we won’t have enough. And sometimes it’s harder to give away stuff than it is money. The reason we love money is because we love stuff. As I stood there staring at these two ridiculous make-up compacts, I had to ask: Do I think that God can’t give me more powder? Good grief! Besides, I dare say the dear girl being rescued from SLAVERY deserves to be pampered more than me for crying out loud!  I had to shake my head at myself.

 But why do withhold other types of good? Love? Kind words? Compliments and affirmation? Encouragement and praise? Are we afraid that if we build others up then we’re somehow less? Is there not enough of God’s love and favor to abound to us all? There is. There absolutely is. We certainly don’t want to give people flattery or say things that are untrue, but when we have genuine words of encouragement for others, I believe we amiss when we withhold that good and do not share.

What is the “good” that you can either give or withhold today? Sometimes practical? Stuff? Money? Words of encouragement? A compliment? Kindness? I pray we would be generous today and give wherever there is a need, not withholding good from those to whom it is due. Bless you, and thank you so much for reading!

While I was giving Heidi a bath last night, apparently a sweet scene was unfolding in the living room here at the home of Jeff’s dad and step-mom. Jeff was trying–with no luck–to get my computer to work. He had it all taken apart, but still nothing. He asked Dutch to pray.

Dutch laid hands on my laptop and closed his eyes: “Dada God, please heal Mommy’s laptop.” 

A few more tweaks, screws back in. One more try.

It worked. 

I have absolutely no biblical evidence for the laying on of hands onto electronics, but all I know is that this little Dell I’m typing on was dead and now is alive. 

And I’m grateful for it.

I love that Dutch didn’t stop and think how silly it was to lay hands on a laptop. I love that his simple, childlike faith simply did what seemed natural to him. And now he’s asleep on the floor next to our bed, and I pray God grows his faith–and mine–to pray for more dead and malfunctioning things every day and see them come back to life. And I don’t just mean laptops, but lives, marriages, relationships.

Is there anything “not working” in your life right now? I have no idea what God is doing in your situation, but perhaps for a moment we can suspend our doubt and pray with childlike faith for whatever concerns us today? I pray for faith and peace as you lay hands on whatever concerns you today. Thanks, friends, for reading.

At 5am this morning we drove off for a road trip. 11 days, 2,708 miles and 19 family members we will visit as we trek down to Arizona and back. And last night as I packed everything into my dad’s truck, my laptop slid out of the cab, falling onto the concrete garage floor.

It doesn’t work anymore.

So. Here we are. As you know, my Sacred Mundane mantra is, Everything Matters. And because everything matters, some things don’t. Because every moment and every circumstance is an opportunity for our growth and sanctification, I can smile when my computer breaks as we leave on an 11-day road-trip and I have not a single post scheduled.

*Smile*

Because really, people—it’s a blog. Right? It’s only a blog and it’s only a computer and God is doing glorious, beautiful, enormous things in this world, and perhaps just for this day—or 11 days—I will just have to set aside my normal and enter myself into His activity in a different way.

I wonder if sometimes the enemy’s job is so easy that all he has to do is convince us that every inconvenience is a really big deal. That we are a really big deal.

Thankfully, God is a really big deal. And so big that whatever inconvenience comes our way today, we are STILL able to tuck ourselves into God’s master plan and be used by Him for His glory and our good.

I do have some things I’m looking forward to writing about, looking forward to sharing. But for now, I will relax. Pray for you. Pray for Shawna. I’ll scribble down thoughts on napkins and spend extra time in His Word.

Is there some inconvenience thrown your way today? How might you smile and choose to tuck yourself into His plan for the day in a different way than you realized? How can the inconvenience alert you to His activity? Prompt you to pray? Bring you back to your knees? I pray grace for you today, for whatever comes your way. And perhaps, friends, you might pray for the 6 of us tucked into a pick-up for 12 hours today. :) Thank you so much for reading.

She knows nothing but shining.

She twirls, head back, her laugh a waterfall, cascading, filling the room. I laugh too, holding her damp starfish hands in my own, twirling with her, jumping, dancing.

Unencumbered. 

Right then, as I dance with Heidi, I feel how God intended us to feel. Wildly loved. Cherished. Beautiful. Uninhibited. Free. I listen to the song that’s playing, and a tear spills over, down my cheek, as I look at her and realize that her entire life will be filled with opportunities for that shining to be dimmed. Hidden. Shrouded.

Shrouded by shame.

After Eve sinned, she hid.

We’ve been hiding ever since.

She hid, rightly, because she had nothing but fig leaves to cover her marred image of God.

But we have the blood of Jesus Christ.

Shame was defeated at the cross. 

Because sin was defeated at the cross. 

Apart from sin we have nothing to be ashamed of.  “When we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Meaning this: We need not walk in shame. 

My shining daughter knows nothing of shame. She knows nothing of the cruelty of 10-year-old girls (and 32-year-old girls!). She knows nothing of abuse. And even though I call her my little bunny, someday someone will call her a beaver because of those precious, beautiful teeth.

The world will sling mud at us, that we know.

So will we walk in shame? Or will we shine?

I remember a few years ago Jeff and I attended attended an art unveiling in Bend.  At the unveiling, we met the painter’s wife and two daughters.  One daughter, a freshman in high school, had some birth defect which had misshapen one side of her face.  However, when I met her, she just shined, beaming, welcoming me and oohing and ahing over Dutch, teasing that she wanted to be the president of his fan club, and wondering if she could marry him when he grew up.  She stood tall and looked me in the eye, a glowing, beautiful, shining, utterly confident girl.  She obviously knew this truth.

Whether or not we walk in shame depends entirely upon what we believe. About God. About ourselves. About the cross.

If the cross has covered all of our sin, we have nothing of which to be ashamed. 

We can shine.

As Heidi and I continued to spin, dance, laugh, I prayed God’s mercy on my little girl, that she would shine His glory all her days. The song we were listening to? You were made to shine by the Sonflowerz. The dear girls I had the joy of ministering with last weekend. They wrote this song after talking to a 12-year-old girl who had been bullied and ridiculed by other girls, who had been walking in shame. It goes like this:

I won’t repeat what they said
They tore you down and broke your heart
The words resound in your head
And make you feel like nothing
I know you’re chosen for great things
Child of God, a work of art
Fancy clothes and diamond rings
will never match what you are worth
Hold on to the beauty inside of you
No one can take that away

You were made to shine
A brilliant light to radiate His glory
You were made to shine
Its your life, its a new beginning
More than the stars in the night sky
You were made to shine

Now is the time to stand your ground
Be the spark you’re meant to be
Let the glow of love abound
Show the dark its remedy
God’s love is the fire inside of you
No one can take that away
You were made to shine

Oh You were made to shine His glory
Oh You were made to shine
Oh You were made to shine His glory
Oh You were made, You were made
God’s love is the fire inside of you
No one can take that away

I pray, sisters, you could believe Christ’s work on the cross to remove all shame, and walk in fullness and freedom today. Now, it’s time for you to go dance. Thanks, friends, for reading.