​Every now and again I feel like I’ve “got it all together.”  My prayer life seems to be in order, I’m knee deep in loving and helping and serving and I can get a little “inflated”.  I should know by now that is the time when he’s gonna grab me with a lesson.  The story in this post isn’t mine.  I don’t know who wrote it but it fell into my lap and I really believe it was God saying…hey Sheri…what about this? Read this and see what I might be asking you to work on.  It’s about relationships, not just rules and procedures.  Being a disciple is tough work.  This story left me examining my heart in a giant way.  I think that’s something he likes us to do.  Maybe this story will hit you as hard as it did me.

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a highchair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the highchair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.  I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty, and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.  We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists.. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?’ Erik continued to laugh and answer, ‘Hi.' Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.’ Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.’ Somehow, I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.’ I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.’ I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not.. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity. How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.’ If this has blessed you, please bless others by sending it on. Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.

A Seed to Plant: Read the story more than once…get past the whole stranger holding your baby thing and really feel what the message of the story is.​

Blessings on your day!

Growing up, we had a neighbor who was one of the dearest, sweetest souls God sent to earth.  We loved her so much that my brothers and I called her Grandma Marge.  We weren’t related to her, but we sure were connected at the heart.  Grandma Marge knew heartache, she knew injustice and she knew sadness.  She also knew and loved the Lord so what bubbled from her soul was joy and laughter and a wisdom that could see right through you.  She lived a wee bit more than a century and that keen wit, sweet heart and wisdom shined like a light right to the end.  Grandma Marge was a master at noticing and teaching my brothers and I lessons with very few words.

Grandma Marge was one of the few people who knew that chocolate and coconut are my favorite flavors ever.  I didn’t tell her it was my favorite but she always had candy when we stopped by for a visit and I guess she noticed that was the kind I always picked.  I remember one day my mom sent my little brother and I over to her house to borrow some eggs.  Of course, we sat down for a great visit and the candy bowl was out on the table.  I remember that there were circus peanuts and candied orange slices (BLECK!!!) and one of the chocolate coconut candies.  I figured I was safe because my brother loved both of those awful orange candies but for some bazaar reason, he ate the one I wanted.  I didn’t say a word and remember politely telling Grandma I wasn’t hungry.  I didn’t think any more about it and after our visit she handed us the bag with the container of eggs, and we headed home.  Not long after we got home, my mom called me into the kitchen to help fix supper and she told me to look in the bag from Grandma Marge.  In the bottom of the bag there was a little brown sack with a note and 3 chocolate coconut candies.  The note said, “I’m not the only one who notices when you do a good thing. Love, Grandma Marge”  

Her note seems to scream a very relevant thought right about now.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who has felt the division and craziness in our country and I’m also sure I’m not the only one who has felt sick to my stomach and cried and prayed sometimes feeling numb with disbelief and dismay.  We’ve absolutely been called to fall to our knees and pray but I’ve been feeling like it’s just not enough.  I’ve been wondering how to make our nation collectively take a deep breath and begin again honestly, kindly, prayerfully and justly.  Late last week I asked God, what in the heck can I do?  As I sat quietly waiting for a nudge or a thought my mind went racing back to that note from Grandma Marge. We’re being called to do the next right thing in the eyes of the Father…that’s it!
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I can’t control a single person.  I have no influence over anyone in power.  I am not eloquent and persuasive.  All I can do is share God’s truth and slather everything in prayer, but I was feeling so inadequate until her note reminded me of the truth.  God notices when you do a good thing.  God sees his faithful, especially amongst a sea of unfaithfulness.  Thank goodness we aren’t judged in groups or by city, state or nation.  He sees us each as his beautiful child and he will notice our deeds and actions.  That note from several decades ago brought me peace in my turmoil.  I pondered all of it for a few days and wondered if being faithful myself was enough, and, as usual, God gave me a wink of encouragement.  I was listening to a teaching about the book of Judges which is a story of one destructive, bloody, devastating battle after another and the speaker reminded the listeners that God recognizes the faithful in all times and circumstances.  Grandma Marge was right, she wasn’t the only one who noticed things.

A Seed To Plant:  Write the words BE FAITHFUL on some sticky notes or cards and scatter them as a reminder that our job on this earth no matter what the chaos around us is pretty simple!​

Blessings on your day!

This Friday marks my second Valentines Day without a stack of paper cards and candy from a room full of kids and I kind of miss it.  With the little lovelies it was so fun to see their sweet handwriting spawl all over that tiny card trying to fit all the letters.  With the middle lovelies it was entertaining to watch the pre-teen awkwardness as they handed out their heart shaped cards and treats to everyone in the class.  Opening those cards and treats always filled the room with giggles and a sweet kindness and I miss that.  Love, friendship, kindness and fun are the themes of the day and when you think about it, those are gifts the Lord gives freely and longs for us to embrace.  I came across some pretty funny and brutally honest elementary school Valentine messages online and thought I’d share them and encourage us to think of them in terms of our faith and the Father’s love.
**Valentines Day is cool, you are too, you can be better, but I still love you.  I know this has got to be the message Jesus wants to send me on a regular basis!
**Dear Valentine, I want to inform you I kind of love you.  Don’t laugh, I’m serious.  Sometimes in the middle of our mess, we find it hard to feel lovable but He’s there…every minute of every day not just “kind of” loving us but completely loving us…and He’s serious about that!
**Dear Valentine, I love you sometimes!  I think some days that’s exactly what my faith life looks like.  I don’t trust as big and hope as hard and love as completely as I should when things get tricky and this message made me realize it just might look like I only really love Him sometimes.  I’ll need to work on this one!
**Happy Valentines Day Teacher, you are the 2nd best teacher ever! This one made me really stop and wonder how many times I put God’s love in 2nd place behind my own wishes, plans or desires.
**Dear Valentine, You are lucky you are alive. Gosh, I sure am!  While this simple message seems a little harsh and maybe even threatening, I had to laugh because it’s so true and I’m not sure I thank the Father often enough for the gift of being alive.
**Will you be my Valentine YES or NO.  Reply: Not right now, I have somebody else but ask me again in a week or two and I might say yes then. This screams…until I get tired of the way things are and then I’ll give you a try.  Lord, please help me be a committed disciple.
**Love is like when you’re missing some teeth, and you smile anyway because you know your people will love you back no matter what you look like. Now that’s true love!  It doesn’t matter what we’re missing or what we’re in the middle of or what kind of craziness is happening, He still loves us bigger than we can imagine.
**If you wanna catch a Valentine, just shake your hips and hope for the bests. O good golly I’m really glad hip shaking isn’t part of the recipe for being loved by the Father although Scripture does say “dance before the Lord with all your might” so I’m going to have to ponder this one!
 
A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time this week soaking in the Father’s love…google Scriptures about God’s love and sit with some that touch your heart.  Take the time to give out some Valentine messages or treats just for fun as a way to pass the Father’s love for you on to someone else.
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Blessings on your day!
 
 

​As I head into the second month with my word CONTENT,  I’m amazed at how many times and places I need that word.  I realize there are way too many times I try to craft things myself and try to fold up God’s plan to make it fit in my spaces.  The thing I wasn’t expecting with this simple word was the way it causes me to slow down and really look around.  If I’m going to be joyful and content where I am, I have to find out where that is.  I have to slow down and see what he’s doing around me and quit trying to squirm out of the things I didn’t plan, didn’t want or don’t enjoy so much!  I sometimes get wiggly and restless and hear my mom’s voice saying, “Just simmer down, this will probably be good for you if you keep your eyes open and your mouth shut”!
 
I walked into a department store dressing room last weekend with some dresses draped over my arm.  I didn’t leave with a new dress, but I left with a lesson.  There was a lady in the dressing room beside me who was also looking for a new dress and she had drug in more than a dozen choices and they all shared a similar quality…they were the wrong size. As I was leaving, she stopped me and asked if I might have a minute to help her.  She said each of the dresses she had selected seemed to have a faulty zipper and she wanted me to help her get them zipped up so she could pick one.  As I struggled to tug up the zippers one after the other just didn’t fit so I asked her if she’d let me go out and choose a couple for her to try.  She was completely frustrated, and tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she agreed.  I quickly grabbed a couple of dresses in a different size and brought them back to the dressing room.  I heard her laugh as she came out with the first one all zipped up and she looked lovely.  She ended up buying both of the dresses that zipped and left all the others behind.  We had a great talk about trying to fit into things and places that just weren’t made for us.
 
I drove home that afternoon without a new dress but happy that a sweet lady whose name I don’t even know went home with two.  I was very content to ponder the lesson that unfolded in the dressing room of a JCPenney department store.  You see, it may have started with dresses, but the lesson goes so much deeper.  I realized how often I try to squeeze or bust my way into something that isn’t for me.  I try to wiggle things around and make them fit to my liking or plan.  I’m content to shove myself into the familiar rather than “size up”.  Like the maidens who tried to squish their foot into a glass slipper that didn’t fit in Cinderella, I go through life trying to force things to fit together my way.  The two new dresses and the glass slipper fit the right lady because they were the ones that were meant for it.  When we rest where our feet are, the Lord will always bless us with just the right things, but we have to be willing to let him offer us what fits perfectly.  Sometimes situations can seem tight and scratchy or big and bulky but if we ask for the grace to wait contently, he will, in his perfect time present us with something far more lovely, comfortable and perfectly detailed. 
 
Saturday night I went to a fancy party in an old dress from the back of my closet and I knew it wasn’t the prettiest dress or the smallest dress or the fanciest dress, but it was a perfect fit and God gave me the grace to feel comfortable and content…and I thanked him for that!
 
A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time in prayer thinking about the places and situations that aren’t a good fit and ask God to help you figure out how to “size up” according to his plan.
 
Blessings on your day!