Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Happy Fun Girl: Jesus called Shotgun!
Happy Fun Girl: Jesus called Shotgun!: Where do I even begin? This past Sunday I could hardly contain my excitement! Most people who are close to me know that Easter is one of ...
Jesus called Shotgun!
Where do I even begin?
This past Sunday I could hardly contain my excitement!
Most people who are close to me know that Easter is one of my very most favorite holidays of the whole year if not the most.
I also love Independence Day.
And yes, Christmas is cool too, the whole miraculous virgin birth and all, but seriously?
To rise from the dead after three days? That's pretty stinkin' amazing and something worth really celebrating!
I love Easter and the hope in the message of the resurrection and a chance for new beginnings.
Okay, and chocolate marsh mellow bunnies, and egg hunts. You can really cash in at my mom's house on Easter. Way to go Dinah, you beautiful gazelle. :)
It's spring, things are fresh, it's a time to celebrate and reflect on just what Jesus did on the cross for me that day. For all of us really. You don't have to believe it happened. To many people, it's foolishness.
That's okay.
Love and hugs anyway and especially.
Personally, I do believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, but back to my story, because it's gonna blow you away. Bang!
So, I wake the girls up Easter morning, "We're not going to church today," two of them announce half asleep.
"Boots," my oldest is missing in action. No one knows where she is.
Cheerfully I say, "Okay, I'm not going to argue with you on Easter Sunday," and I leave by myself looking forward to the day but still not sure which church I want to go to.
I'm in San Antonio. I have choices.
Max Lucado's church? I've never been there and he is awesome, but, it's also on the other side of town and I'm not riding on a full tank of gas lately.
My old church The Turning Point is not in existence anymore. Bummer. I love those people.
Rockhills? I love Rockhills but that's a door that's sort of been closed for personal, relational reasons.
Besides, I don't want to send the wrong message or appear to be stalking on resurrection Sunday.
Some things just can't be brought back from the dead.
Kudos though to Chris Taylor and his worship team for rocking every service. I read they were playing some Rolling Stones that morning, but, mmmhhh? "Which way do I go Lord, which way do I go?"
Bandera Road City Church? That's the one I had contemplated last week and it is just up the road from my mom's house.
I allowed the three second pause in case he does want to give me some clear direction.
BRCC it is then.
Excellent.
I drive windy Mainland road, praying the whole time out loud to myself, "Lord, I just lay my whole life down at your feet. You see what it has been like. I give you my finances, my career, my relationships, my children, my book, Pig's Big Adventure...I lay it all down to you. I ask for favor and a new career path. I pray that you will open doors for this book and provide new opportunities, expand my territories, please! I praise you, I love you and I trust you with everything in my life. It's all yours anyway. Feel free to show up on my behalf any day now, today would be good. It's Easter after all and I love you, just sayin.' "
It went something like that anyway.
Now, Pig's Big Adventure, my children's book that's soon to be published by Westbow Press, is a sort of true story about a baby pig that escapes from a portable petting zoo and ends up living and learning the importance of boundaries, home, family and friends in an upscale San Antonio subdivision.
So guess what? I drive to the church, park my truck and almost get to the door when I spot a crowd gathered.
Reenactment of the resurrection? Nope, there was much more of a crowd here than the one that showed up to check out the empty tomb back in the day.
I look over shoulders in front of me and totally freak out, "Are you kidding me? Is that a portable petting zoo? OMgosh!! Look at that baby pig!"
"Do you want to hold him?"
"Heck yes I want to hold him! I just wrote a children's book about a petting zoo and a pig! I want to kiss his snotty nosed little snout and snuggle him in my bosom and take him into church and seriously get our pig praise on!"
Tears of joy and a smile I could not stop stayed with me the whole service.
The girls would not believe this! Ya snooze, ya lose.
Don't go out...can't kiss the snout.
I have not even been to this church in about 5 years!
What?
God is soooo the man!
To top it all off, the service was great!
In summary, the message was, "Don't let your worst ways, effect your best days."
In other words, when trials and tests come, 'cause we are promised that they will, we have the overcoming power NOT respond with our less than best, default position.
Our "worst way" wallowing is not the first way we should respond.
I know that in my heart, but honestly it's sometimes a struggle to hoof it out in "best way" behaviors.
But with God, all things ARE possible, right?
"Power me up, Lord! Come into my little pig pen of a mess and help me out of here already, please!"
Let me just tell you, "IT" has been coming against me for a while and even more so since Sunday.
There are things going on in my life and the lives of people I love, and we know it is going to take nothing short of a miracle to overcome some of these obstacles.
But I believe!
And really, this is so much cooler.
When and then,
I can truly say, "Look what the Lord has done!"
I am now in a place where it can only be done by Him. I'm out of DIY options.
When he finally does come through, it will be to the total glory of God.
I have not one thing to boast about except his awesomeness because I feel like I have been spinning my wheels and not in a NASCAR good kind of way.
It's felt like a drag race though.
Or just a drag, mostly. :)
But I feel that the finish line is close. I can practically see that checkered flag.
It matches my checkered past.
Jesus is in the driver's seat.
I need power from his top performance engine. I need to refuel and continue to pray for better ways of coping with fear, finances and my uncertain future.
I pray not just for better days, but God's best days because I also know that I know, that I know, the enemy keeps trying to high jack my vehicle and steal the wheel.
Just last night, there was an attempt to slam me into a guard rail.
I won't go into the details of what went down, let me just say that a bizarre and crazy turn of events manifested and ruin the entire book deal.
For a minute or so, I thought it was over.
A drive by and hit and run, all in one.
I started to get discouraged, but then it hit me alright, like a bug on the grill of my Dodge.
Quickly, I saw the course.
VAROOM! Start your engines!
I started shouting and pacing the kitchen, "OH NO! We war NOT against FLESH AND BLOOD, but principalities of darkness and spiritual things that set itself up against the Most High God!! OH NO!! This is not going down like this! Get behind me Slewfoot! If God is for us, who can be against us?"
"This is not about this issue or that issue. This is not a fight between the people involved. This is the enemy doing what he does! Trying to deceive and destroy...trying to sow doubt, confusion, hopelessness and coming against the very people who give God glory. Lord, you are going to do something with and through this book! Get behiiiiiiind me Satan!"
I called my friend Cindy and shared with her what was going on and we agreed it was not going down like that! Glory! Glory! Where two are gathered....
Within minutes, literally, it changed.
In the middle of writing this blog, God jumped in, intervened and came through as our winner, again!
Faith and Love won.
I want to write in all caps to convey how excited I am but I'm often misunderstood and it may be taken as yelling.
MY GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!
Okay, it is what it is. It's yelling! It's SUPERPRAISE!
The enemy can get behind me! Sit down and shut up in the backseat where you belong!
God has called "shotgun" and he's the driving force that will help us cross the finish line!
Bang!
This past Sunday I could hardly contain my excitement!
Most people who are close to me know that Easter is one of my very most favorite holidays of the whole year if not the most.
I also love Independence Day.
And yes, Christmas is cool too, the whole miraculous virgin birth and all, but seriously?
To rise from the dead after three days? That's pretty stinkin' amazing and something worth really celebrating!
I love Easter and the hope in the message of the resurrection and a chance for new beginnings.
Okay, and chocolate marsh mellow bunnies, and egg hunts. You can really cash in at my mom's house on Easter. Way to go Dinah, you beautiful gazelle. :)
It's spring, things are fresh, it's a time to celebrate and reflect on just what Jesus did on the cross for me that day. For all of us really. You don't have to believe it happened. To many people, it's foolishness.
That's okay.
Love and hugs anyway and especially.
Personally, I do believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, but back to my story, because it's gonna blow you away. Bang!
So, I wake the girls up Easter morning, "We're not going to church today," two of them announce half asleep.
"Boots," my oldest is missing in action. No one knows where she is.
Cheerfully I say, "Okay, I'm not going to argue with you on Easter Sunday," and I leave by myself looking forward to the day but still not sure which church I want to go to.
I'm in San Antonio. I have choices.
Max Lucado's church? I've never been there and he is awesome, but, it's also on the other side of town and I'm not riding on a full tank of gas lately.
My old church The Turning Point is not in existence anymore. Bummer. I love those people.
Rockhills? I love Rockhills but that's a door that's sort of been closed for personal, relational reasons.
Besides, I don't want to send the wrong message or appear to be stalking on resurrection Sunday.
Some things just can't be brought back from the dead.
Kudos though to Chris Taylor and his worship team for rocking every service. I read they were playing some Rolling Stones that morning, but, mmmhhh? "Which way do I go Lord, which way do I go?"
Bandera Road City Church? That's the one I had contemplated last week and it is just up the road from my mom's house.
I allowed the three second pause in case he does want to give me some clear direction.
BRCC it is then.
Excellent.
I drive windy Mainland road, praying the whole time out loud to myself, "Lord, I just lay my whole life down at your feet. You see what it has been like. I give you my finances, my career, my relationships, my children, my book, Pig's Big Adventure...I lay it all down to you. I ask for favor and a new career path. I pray that you will open doors for this book and provide new opportunities, expand my territories, please! I praise you, I love you and I trust you with everything in my life. It's all yours anyway. Feel free to show up on my behalf any day now, today would be good. It's Easter after all and I love you, just sayin.' "
It went something like that anyway.
Now, Pig's Big Adventure, my children's book that's soon to be published by Westbow Press, is a sort of true story about a baby pig that escapes from a portable petting zoo and ends up living and learning the importance of boundaries, home, family and friends in an upscale San Antonio subdivision.
So guess what? I drive to the church, park my truck and almost get to the door when I spot a crowd gathered.
Reenactment of the resurrection? Nope, there was much more of a crowd here than the one that showed up to check out the empty tomb back in the day.
I look over shoulders in front of me and totally freak out, "Are you kidding me? Is that a portable petting zoo? OMgosh!! Look at that baby pig!"
"Do you want to hold him?"
"Heck yes I want to hold him! I just wrote a children's book about a petting zoo and a pig! I want to kiss his snotty nosed little snout and snuggle him in my bosom and take him into church and seriously get our pig praise on!"
Tears of joy and a smile I could not stop stayed with me the whole service.
The girls would not believe this! Ya snooze, ya lose.
Don't go out...can't kiss the snout.
I have not even been to this church in about 5 years!
What?
God is soooo the man!
To top it all off, the service was great!
In summary, the message was, "Don't let your worst ways, effect your best days."
In other words, when trials and tests come, 'cause we are promised that they will, we have the overcoming power NOT respond with our less than best, default position.
Our "worst way" wallowing is not the first way we should respond.
I know that in my heart, but honestly it's sometimes a struggle to hoof it out in "best way" behaviors.
But with God, all things ARE possible, right?
"Power me up, Lord! Come into my little pig pen of a mess and help me out of here already, please!"
Let me just tell you, "IT" has been coming against me for a while and even more so since Sunday.
There are things going on in my life and the lives of people I love, and we know it is going to take nothing short of a miracle to overcome some of these obstacles.
But I believe!
And really, this is so much cooler.
When and then,
I can truly say, "Look what the Lord has done!"
I am now in a place where it can only be done by Him. I'm out of DIY options.
When he finally does come through, it will be to the total glory of God.
I have not one thing to boast about except his awesomeness because I feel like I have been spinning my wheels and not in a NASCAR good kind of way.
It's felt like a drag race though.
Or just a drag, mostly. :)
But I feel that the finish line is close. I can practically see that checkered flag.
It matches my checkered past.
Jesus is in the driver's seat.
I need power from his top performance engine. I need to refuel and continue to pray for better ways of coping with fear, finances and my uncertain future.
I pray not just for better days, but God's best days because I also know that I know, that I know, the enemy keeps trying to high jack my vehicle and steal the wheel.
Just last night, there was an attempt to slam me into a guard rail.
I won't go into the details of what went down, let me just say that a bizarre and crazy turn of events manifested and ruin the entire book deal.
For a minute or so, I thought it was over.
A drive by and hit and run, all in one.
I started to get discouraged, but then it hit me alright, like a bug on the grill of my Dodge.
Quickly, I saw the course.
VAROOM! Start your engines!
I started shouting and pacing the kitchen, "OH NO! We war NOT against FLESH AND BLOOD, but principalities of darkness and spiritual things that set itself up against the Most High God!! OH NO!! This is not going down like this! Get behind me Slewfoot! If God is for us, who can be against us?"
"This is not about this issue or that issue. This is not a fight between the people involved. This is the enemy doing what he does! Trying to deceive and destroy...trying to sow doubt, confusion, hopelessness and coming against the very people who give God glory. Lord, you are going to do something with and through this book! Get behiiiiiiind me Satan!"
I called my friend Cindy and shared with her what was going on and we agreed it was not going down like that! Glory! Glory! Where two are gathered....
Within minutes, literally, it changed.
In the middle of writing this blog, God jumped in, intervened and came through as our winner, again!
Faith and Love won.
I want to write in all caps to convey how excited I am but I'm often misunderstood and it may be taken as yelling.
MY GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!
Okay, it is what it is. It's yelling! It's SUPERPRAISE!
The enemy can get behind me! Sit down and shut up in the backseat where you belong!
God has called "shotgun" and he's the driving force that will help us cross the finish line!
Bang!
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