How Do You Measure Your Life?

I had another post in mind to share with you today, but a quick check on facebook this morning sent me in a whole new direction.

First I saw – and shared – this picture:

Then I scrolled down and saw my daughter Lauren’s – totally unrelated - status update:

"stop thinking about what you don't have and start thinking about what you do have.

well that's my convicting moment of today. thank you Jesus."

Seems a theme is going on today, yes?

When Lauren was on a mission trip in Uganda, she spent time teaching at an orphanage. The children there owned nothing but what could fit in a cigar box. And yet they eagerly shared their most prized possessions with the Americans. One young girl gave Lauren her baby picture so she would remember her. Another girl unraveled the end of the sleeve of her sweater to give Lauren a piece of yarn for a bracelet. She literally shared the clothes off her back.

Lauren didn’t want to take these treasures, but to refuse would crush these children’s hearts, as they’d mistakenly think she didn’t want to remember them.

It was a powerful lesson to appreciate what we have rather than longing for what we don’t have. Yet sadly, she – and we - have to learn this lesson over and over again.

And it’s not just “things” that we yearn for. With my mother-in-law and my dad experiencing devastating effects of aging, it’s easy to see how much they no longer have. It requires devoted effort to look past the infirmities and be thankful for the abilities that they still possess. Doing a crossword puzzle would be sheer joy to someone who lost their eyesight or mental acumen. Walking across the living room with a walker would be a thrill to one who is wheelchair-bound.

From prison, Paul wrote to his beloved friends in Phillipi, “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

“Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Phil. 4:4-9 MSG)

If I measure my life by what I have, my measuring cup overflows - with Jesus, my loving family and friends. When I find myself contemplating what I don’t have, I make the choice to follow Paul’s advice to meditate on what’s true and gracious, best not worst, beautiful not ugly… for that's the secret to peace. 

How do you measure your life? 

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Wrinkled Ladies

Beyonce has nothing on Anita Renfro and us wrinkled ladies!!





I often lament my wrinkles. They started to reveal their ugly selves when I was in my 30's. The only benefit to those additional creeping pounds from my 40's is that my wrinkles smoothed out a bit. I heard somewhere that middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle.

My mother-in-law is 92 (don't tell her I told you), but the woman has NO wrinkles. Really!   And don't tell me that worrying give you wrinkles. It's her hobby. She'd win the gold if worrying was an Olympic event, yet her face is as smooth as it was 40 years ago. There oughta be a law!

I, on the other hand, am not a worrier, but have a lovely wrinkle collection! They say wrinkles are just "antique smiles." Who knew I was an antique collector??

Someday though, I'll be wrinkle-free!! Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Eph. 5:25-28

When I wash stuff, I create wrinkles, but when He does the cleansing, He removes them! Along with all our other imperfections. Can I hear an Amen?

On a weirdly similar theme, the winners of the book giveaway "Who Calls Me Beautiful?—Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God" are Karen Lange from Write Now, Jeanette Levellie from Audience of One and Cecelia, Quiet Spirit from Following My King. You are each so special and encouraging to me. Thank you!

Thanks AND Book Giveaway

What a joy to spend a day with the women of Calvary Chapel North Jersey on Saturday. It was a special day dedicated to the beauty of the Lord, and the beauty that He instills in us.

How good and pleasant it is when sisters live together in unity! Ps. 133:1

My first thought was how good it was to be there, to be in the company of such lovely women.  And I remembered someone else who said,"It is good for us to be here."

One day, Jesus took His inner circle, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain. Miraculously, Jesus was transformed into a figure of blazing white, and He was joined by Elijah and Moses. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here..." Matt. 17:4

Peter also suggested building 3 shelters so that they could stay on the mountaintop. But that wasn't God's plan then, nor is it now. In His grace, He provides us spiritual mountaintop experiences, but He doesn't want us to set up camp and stay there. Were we to stay permanently up on the mountain, the people in the valley would never get to hear the good news. Also, fruit doesn't grow on mountaintops. Fruit grows in the valley.

So thankfully, we get glimmers of glory, and then we are  commissioned to share what He has shared with us. We enjoy brief periods of R + R before we head back to the struggle, back to the valley. Yet whether on the mountaintop or in the valley, He is with us.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Ps. 23:4 NLT

So as much as I would love to stay on a retreat, experiencing the sweet joy and fellowship with God and His people, it is necessary to take what I've gleaned and return to the frontlines. To continue the blessing and as a thank-you to the women of Calvary Chapel, I am giving away the book "Who Calls Me Beautiful" by Regina Frankin. I will make 2 copies available.

Who Calls Me Beautiful?—Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God


Who Calls Me Beautiful? helps you to identify the forces that influence your life and affect how you understand “beauty,” and encourages you to embrace a biblical and spiritual balance that honors the God who created you.

“I am an ordinary woman who has faced the same struggles that other women face,” says Regina Franklin. “But we have an extraordinary God who sees us as His beautiful vessels.”



Contest Rules:


1. For the Calvary gals, if you sign up to be a follower or subscriber to Eternity Cafe, and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.


2. If you already follow or subscribe to Eternity Cafe and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.

Contest ends Wednesday, May 5th

Spring Break

The hubby, kids and I will be traveling to Florida next week for Spring Break.

Think - a geriatric version of Where The Boys Are.

I have previously shared with you my trite observations of this lovely southern state when I visited my folks last September - Why I Don't Live In Florida. But with our summer days largely spoken for with mission trips, cross-country camp and dance training, we decided to head south for Spring Break. Frankly, I'm rather honored that my college kids have agreed to spend their spring break with their parents. We're just so cool... 

We're flying out of LaGuardia, and I have been praying nonstop that there would be no geese around when we take off. I honestly have imagined our vacation spent on the wing of a plane floating in the Hudson River. I pray that our pilot is as skillful as Capt. Sully Sullenberger.

Once in sunny (and by sunny, I mean excruciatingly hot and humid) Florida, we'll be spending a few days with my folks and a few days at the beach. Please keep my dad and stepmom in prayer as he has been in and out of the hospital with prostate cancer procedures that have weakened him and stressed her.

And feel free to keep my hair in prayer. As some of you know, I have naturally curly (and by curly, I mean huge, intermittently frizzy) hair that expands with the humidity. I am powerless to fight it. And of  course, I hate the way I look when it's curly. Ladies, why is that???? We straighten our curls, and curl our straights.

But the humidity foils all our efforts. Ahhh - the great mystery - the very same humidity that swells my hair makes another's straight hair flat. Just like the very same boiling water will make an egg hard, but a carrot soft. So we must conclude - it's not the humidity nor the boiling water that is the problem, it is how we react to it! Likewise, a difficult circumstance will reduce one to tears, yet cause another to fortify her reserves. And so we must conclude - it's not the circumstance that is the problem, it is how we react to it. We can't always control the circumstance, but we can control how we react to things. To carry this a little further - When in hot water, we should be more like a coffee bean than the egg or the carrot because the egg and carrot react to the hot water, but the coffee actually changes the hot water. In it's brokenness, it infuses the water with its fragrance and substance and positively affects the situation. It creates an improved environment. I'll need to remember that this week :)

And so, my friends, as we speed along towards spring, may you have a blessed week, and I'll catch up with you on the other side!


Susan
ps - Speaking of mysteries and seasons, here's a favorite - Daniel 2:19-23
During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king."

Your Roots Are Showing

"But blessed is the (woman) man who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in Him.

(She) He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Once a month or so, my pup and I have "Grooming Day"! She visits the groomer, and across the street, I get my nails done. This Thursday was a triple grooming experience as I needed to have my hair done as well.


 I hadn't visited my wonderful hairdresser, Nina, since May. You can imagine the mess. I need regular touchups to cover the gray, but I had to confess that I had been cheating on Nina. I was using a product called Root Touchup which got me through the summer, but that only takes care of a small portion of my head. My roots needed real attention, and thanks to AnnMarie & Nina, on Thursday, they got it.

The Bible has something to say about our roots from a spiritual perspective. Jeremiah tells us that the woman who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him, is blessed. And it’s not just feeling blessed, it’s a blessing with tangible benefits.

(She) He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

The roots of a tree planted by the water naturally grow in the direction of the water. They stretch out to be fed by the stream. They search for that life-giving source. They don’t wait for a gardener to show up with a watering can. Likewise, we ought to seek the life-giving flow of Living Water, the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to nourish us, not just depending upon a church sermon or Sunday School class to feed us.

It does not fear when heat comes;

The droughts in California cause the timber to be bone dry allowing a tiny spark to ignite a devastating fire. But wetlands have no fear of the fire. If we have partaken of ample Living Water, we need have no fear of the heat when it comes - and note, Jeremiah says “when” heat comes, not “if” it comes. We can be sure that heat will come, but if our roots are well watered, we will be like that tree standing firm.

its leaves are always green.

Years ago, my friend, Therese, and I sat in a car under tree near a streetlight for hours sharing our hearts. It was autumn, and we noticed that most of the leaves had fallen off the tree, except for one area of the tree near the light. The light kept the leaves on that part of the tree green and alive reminding us of our need to stay near our source of life-giving Light.

It has no worries in a year of drought

Why wouldn’t the tree have worries in a drought? Because it has stored up enough water to sustain it during dry periods. There is no doubt that we will have dry periods, too. But that is not a cause for worry. The Bible calls itself our spiritual food (milk and meat). I’ve heard it said that sometimes reading the Bible is like dessert, so delicious we could savor every morsel. Sometimes, it’s like cereal, a bit dry, but we eat to sustain us and provide building blocks for growth. And still other times, it’s like medicine. It may not satisfy our tastebuds, but it provides healing. Drought or not, we ought not to worry (Matt. 6:33, Phil. 4:6).

and never fails to bear fruit.

The by-product of abiding in the Vine is bearing fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is not like a gift of the Spirit which is given at the discretion of the Giver. Fruit is the consequence of obeying and remaining with Jesus, the Vine. An apple tree can’t produce more fruit by force or wishful thinking. No huffing & puffing on the part of the tree will result in more fruit. Fruit is produced on a branch that is firmly attached, is fed, watered and in the light . . . over a period of time.






One last thing about roots - the Bible tells us that we if we miss the grace of God, a bitter root can grow and cause trouble (Heb. 12:15) and that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). These are roots to be avoided because they will poison the tree.






The roots are what sustain the tree. No more root touchups here! Let’s make sure our roots are firmly planted, stretching toward living water, free from fear and worry, and bearing good fruit. Then we can be proud to say our roots are showing!






Susan

True Beauty!

23 years ago, when my husband and I were dating, he decided to share some scripture with me. Such a darling! As we sat side-by-side, his hand stroking my hair, he said, "Your hair is like goat's hair." Yup, that's my guy! He went on to declare that my nose was like the "tower of Lebanon." So romantic!! We've joked about that to this day!

Wasn't I suprised to come across this hysterical video. Enjoy!!




That's true beauty!

Susan