Such contrast...so sad

This morning at church we heard a great sermon on the psalms and in particular, Psalm 1. In this Psalm, we are shown that there are 2 paths that each person is on. We choose, in lots of little decisions throughout the day, which path we are going to walk on. We choose, in lots of big decisions too.

We read, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked....but his delight is in the law of the Lord...He is like a tree planted by streams of water...In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff that the wind drives away....The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

So what is the abundant life? the "perfect" life? Christ came so that each person may have life and have it abundantly (See John 10). A life committed to Jesus may not look perfect from the outside and is certainly not without struggle and tears. BUT, and that is a very big BUT, it is certainly a life of abundant and perfect joy, the perfection of Christ which cleanses us and redeems us, and an eternal life in and with Him.

Then I came home and opened the paper to read something very sad. On the front page of the Indy 500 insert is the main story entitled "He's got it All"...."Dario Franchitti has the movie star wife, two Indy 500 titles and all sorts of wonderful hobbies. It's a perfect life..."

Unfortunately, that author is not joking or being sarcastic. And there are millions of people who share his view and see Dario's life as perfect, as "having it all". I don't know Dario and so I will not presume to think I know whether or not he knows the Lord. But, what is sad is that we all can fall into this line of thinking. We think that things, stuff, fame, power, money, etc. lead to "having it all."

Let's not forget that this man, like every single person on earth, has hard times, struggles, tragedies, fears, temptations, failures, etc. Do Indy 500 titles help in those times? Does a movie star wife compared to a "regular" housewife help any more in those times? Do fun hobbies fill voids that only Christ can fill?

Its easy to skim past how these lies creep up in our own lives but maybe I could turn the questions a bit to fit us. Do job promotions or high-paying jobs help in hard times? Does a spouse, friend, or child comfort us more than Christ in those times? Do hobbies, shopping, sports, music fill voids that only Christ can fill or do we go to those things for comfort and peace instead of Christ?

May we, on this day, choose to walk the path that is centered on God's truth and that truly leads to the abundant life that includes "having it all"...peace, holiness, righteousness, God's power, love, truth....and the list goes on.

Best Mother's Day Ever

Granted I've only had 3 mother's days, but, nonetheless this was the best by far. After a great message at church and the wrapping up of 2 years in the book of Matthew, we headed home to do nothing more than relax. For brunch, my wonderful husband made my favorite brunch type meal...cheese blintzes drowned in a strawberry topping. After spending some time outside, my wonderful husband again gave me the royal spa treatment. He knows how much I love being pampered and so I received both a massage and a FACIAL!! From none other than Mr. B himself! What a trooper...as I scrambled to find every face product I own and then proceeded to explain what to do. He definitely is wired to be an engineer but in his heart he is the biggest most selfless servant I know personally. For dinner, he made me my favorite BLT pizza on the grill, we ate outside, went on a walk and then watched a movie at night while devouring chocolate cakes in a mug. My gift from Mr. B and the two little B's is a chaise lounge to put on our patio for those rare moments I can sunbathe in my backyard!

My most favorite part of this Mother's Day which is truly straight from the hands of my oldest is pictured below which he made at preschool...

The mug, as you can see, is somewhere between hideous and abstract and I absolutely LOVE IT!! I am so excited to drink my coffee from it. He may not be an artist but that little boy as a HUGE heart.

Lastly, the mug was supposed to be a surprise, which Noah informed me weeks before when he told me he had a secret that he was making a mug for me and I was not to tell anyone because it was a secret. You gotta love little kids!

AWOL?

That has been me....majorly absent! I can't believe it has been almost 2 MONTHS since I've written. And that's not a good thing. Life got a little hectic in March between working, birthdays and vacation. But honestly, I have kinda crawled under a rock. Not physically obviously but emotionally or mentally or something personal like that. It's like when you see a hermit crab curl back into his shell. Reason? Nothing specific other than our human nature. At least mine. The Lord calls us to keep our eyes on Him, on serving Him and others. And when we don't, we start looking at ourselves. Over time, we became so focused on our own day-to-day problems, schedules, tasks that we in essence become hermit crabs stuck in our shell.

Well, no more! By the Lord's grace, I'm comin' out of the shell and back into the world that exists for more than just me :) It doesn't mean the day-to-day problems, schedules and tasks disappear. But, I have decided they don't need to rule me or overtake me. One of my favorite songs reminds me that nothing is too big for us because Christ Jesus has already overcame. It goes, "All authority, every victory is yours!"

May we not forget that chaos, lack of sleep, crazy schedules doesn't mean we have to curl into our self-absorbed and self-focused shells. We can face it with grace and the peace of God because Christ has overcome and every victory is His...including our seemingly "too big" problems!

Check out this link to listen to the song....awesome lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjYWrpNoCs