Simple Pleasures

Do you know what really gets me feeling like a child? Snow.

It snowed last night. I don't know why it did. It seems this part of the country can't make up its mind what season it'd like to be. Winter? Summer? It doesn't know.

I was on my way out from my church's high school youth group meeting when I noticed how much it'd been coming down. I exchange a few friendly jokes and farewells, laughed at a friend who said he strongly dislikes the snow (he's from Texas), then proceeded to my car. I walked with face toward the sky and probably would have walked into something if it were in my way. Fortunately the path to my little gas-efficient Civic was clear. "I'm not from Texas," I thought to myself. "I love the snow."

Nothing puts me in a state of delight like the snow does. There is some childish mechanism that God has gracefully placed my adult soul that switches on whenever the air turns crisp and I get the feeling that icy crystals will soon cover the ground. I am forced to stop and appreciate the fluff falling around my face; and even just for a moment I am a little girl full of wonder and everything becomes a miracle again.

In Matthew 11:25, Jesus says, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."

As an adult, I constantly battle arrogance, stubbornness, and too much seriousness. I find myself turning my nose up at things I once delighted in - thinking, "How childish!" But then the Holy Spirit convicts me, revealing to me that it is my own pride and jealously that causes me to react in such a way. And I am reminded that being childlike is a wonderful thing. It is a sad day when adults learn to no longer have fun, to delight in simple things, and even refuse to engage in childlike imagination. How beautiful it is when a full grown person can stoop down the level of a child and be filled once again with all the pleasures, wonders, and humility of childhood.

Oh the Rain

It's been raining so much the past few days. Can I be honest? I love it. I know it's annoying to walk in - and to drive in, but it has this way of filling me with a sense of renewal and refreshment. Just like the Holy Spirit brings up springs from the dryness of the soul to fill us with the living water of Jesus Christ. Rain is a sign of blessing and has been since the ancient days. Oh, how refreshed I feel these days.

Yesterday evening I read a psalm that really captured my heart at the moment. Psalm 63 reads:

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as longs as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with
the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

...the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God's name will praise him...

AMEN.

Welp, there's a holiday coming up and you know what it is: V Day. And while many people are celebrating their love for another person, some people might be inside experiencing resentment and hurt for past heart aches and disappointments. Let's be honest. There are a lot of you out there, no matter the age. A wound is a wound no matter the size.

And it is custom on this holiday to try to forget those pains or maybe to dwell on them, possibly even to try to 'punish' those who have recently or long ago hurt us through jealousy, etc. etc. How many of you have taken on a love interest simply to spite a past love interest?

But instead of running from the wounds or dwelling on them or rubbing in the guilt of someone who has inflicted them on you, why not try something new this Valentine's Day? Why not forgive? Yes, forgive.

Jesus came to this earth to die for our sins and make forgiveness possible for everyone. No matter what wounds and heartaches we caused Him, His love for us covered over our sins. He came to bring forgiveness. And if God can forgive us, than we have no right to hold unforgiveness towards others. God desires to break His redeeming love into our broken relationships and either restore them or bring closure.

So this week as you think about those who have hurt you, why not make a commitment to learn to forgive. And...in other cases, maybe this V-Day is the right time to ASK for forgiveness as well. Forgiveness brings a kind of freedom that we cannot truly grasp - a freedom that our spirits hunger for. Let's represent what the 14th is really about this year and love one another as Christ loved us.

What's A Dame To Do?

I recently came across a board game called What's A Dame To Do? And I found it fascinating. First of all, it's one of those 'get to know you' games, which is great. I am driven by relationships and am therefore a huge fan of anything that involves getting to know people better (in a kosher way, thank you!). Of course, it would only be a game for girls, though it'd be very interesting to pull guys into it. But then I wondered if even women might be a little hesitant to play the game. I mean, after all it is meant for girly girls, or so it seems. So it got me thinking about this issue that has been coming up lately: being okay with being a girl.

In today's society women made it possible for them to be seen equal to men. This does not always pan out in practice, but it certainly is striven for. After years of fighting for the right to join the military, be a working mom, live independently from men successfully, and even have children without the help of a man (!), there has risen a culture where women are beginning to believe they have to be men. Bare with me on this one, but I do see that often women (without realizing) feel in order to compete with men, they have to be like men. And there is now this negative stigma around being girly. Being girly is for women who aren't successful, women who aren't smart, women who aren't as superior. You may think it's harsh, but it truly is the attitude many women have taken upon themselves. I know because I've been there and I've recognized it in others. Countless others.

AND IT IS SAD! What is wrong with being a woman? Nothing. God created man and woman to be unique, and to be wonderfully special within that uniqueness. God loves it that women are so often in touch with their emotional side. God loves it that women are so often relationally driven. God made us with the desire to be delighted in, the hope to be adored, and the need to be loved. I can imagine Him delighting when we get excited over a boy. I can imagine Him laughing when we turn red after being told we are beautiful. I can imagine Him compassionately holding us when tears flood down our face over a broken heart or hurt feelings. He truly is that kind and wonderful Father with the kind of laugh that comes up from the depths of His gut, and the kind of arms that wrap all the way around you and absorb you into Him. And we are His daughters; His beautiful, delightful, lovely daughters. And that is a wonderful, wonderful reality.

So, girls, be excited about being you - a woman. Don't be embarassed about being too girly or feel ashamed when you want to feel beautiful. It's a wonderful thing to be a woman. And when we finally let go and embrace the female inside of us, there is a freedom that comes and a joy that penetrates to the core of our womanly-souls.

Praise God!