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Picture by Caprice Miller

“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” – Proverbs 27:9

The aroma of popcorn is immediately recognizable.  Just the scent is enough to help complete a movie experience.   Even if you don’t consume it yourself, you can still enjoy the buttery goodness just from the smell. The sense of smell can be so sensitive and can trigger a variety of emotions.  There are just certain things that are so pleasantly familiar that it kind of gives a sense of comfort just to recognize the smell.   For example, the smell of cinnamon and vanilla reminds me of Christmas and some amazing family memories.  And the smell of Old Spice reminds me of hugs from my daddy.  You’re probably thinking of your own “trigger scents” right now. 

In a similar way, time with friends also gives us that sense of comfort.  When we spend time with great friends we walk away with a renewed sense of joy.  We look forward to the next time we get together and we feel encouraged.  Time spent with great friends makes you want to be a better friend too.  The right friends in our lives should be reflective of what my pastor calls the “Right THEY”:

Tough – they’ve got your back and you can depend on them.

Honest – they will be honest and truthful even if it may hurt a little…in love.  Sometimes we need help hiding that little touch of crazy we might have.

Encouraging – they build you up and remind you of what’s important and what your blessings and gifts are.

Yielded – they are yielded to God’s direction in their lives, so it’s natural they will help you stay on track with God’s direction in your life too.

The right THEY in our lives are like the pleasant smell of “perfume and incense” the verse above speaks of.  These friends help us to maintain perspective when life may be spinning.  They share our joy when something great happens.  They share our sorrow when we need a shoulder to cry on.  When we can’t remember what our blessings are and what truths God has for us, these friends help us remember.  Yes, they laugh with us, cry with us, celebrate with us, encourage us and point us in the right direction when we might find it hard in the moment to hide our crazy. 

For some, you may have a whole group of friends that fit into this THEY category.  For others, there may just be one or two.  In any case, take a moment to thank God for them.  And then, take a moment to thank them for being that THEY in your life.  Perhaps this would be a great time to share some popcorn and create more memories.       

Frozen In Your Tracks

Picture by Caprice Miller

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  – Luke 6:45

It must have been REALLY cold on this day in order to freeze water like this in mid-stream.  What a great picture it made though.  It makes you wonder how long this water ran before it froze.  It almost seems like it could have been the work of a fairy tale character with special “freezing powers”.  I wonder if the character would be considered a hero or a villain.  A hero might have frozen the water they couldn’t get to the spout to turn the water off, so they just froze it to save time and more wasted water.  A villain may have frozen the water because they were just annoyed by the sound of running water or maybe wanted to stop the water supply of a village.  That’s just wrong!  These motives could tell us a little about the character of….the character.  Is the heart of the character good or evil?

What does your character say about you?  The verse above gives some insight to how we can recognize what kind of character a person has.  I wonder if the hero in the scenarios mentioned before ever had their character misjudged because of their actions or words in a heated moment.  Fear and anger can sometimes cause us to act out of our normal character.  Acting out of character could be enough to “freeze” those around you wondering “What in the world just happened!?”  In contrast, a person of a more “villainous character” doesn’t really worry about being misjudged.  They use a common practice of “freezing” those around them to maintain control.  Others are not sure what will happen or what will be said next.  Everyone else is in a constant state of “walking on eggshells” so that this person will not turn those freezing powers on them. 

We have all experienced times of frustration that pushes our buttons.  The difference is what the actions that occur from the button pushing say about the character of our hearts.  Do we feel a quick sense of remorse realizing that our actions have “frozen” someone in our lives?  Or have these actions and words become a common practice that is to be expected from us without remorse?  These questions will determine the next action that takes place – an apology that leads to a thawing and reconciliation or simply moving on deciding that others should just learn to stay out of your way….let them stay frozen. 

The thought that should really freeze us all in our tracks is something that Jesus warns us about in the following verse.  He expands on the message of what is stored in our hearts and warns us of the consequences: 

“³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” -  Matthew 12: 35-37

Our words and actions are powerful and can be used to build others up or tear them down…freeze them.  Sure we can find ways to justify why a person may have needed to be “frozen”. But what we choose ourselves makes a difference in the lives of others. It also reveals what is truly in our hearts. 

Take a moment to rewind your mind and reflect on the words and actions of the past days.  What do they say about what’s stored in your heart?  Does it freeze you in your tracks to think you might have to answer for those words and actions?  If so, ask God to clean your heart and replace what is there with His goodness.  The result will be an overflowing of His love from a grateful heart.     

Vertical Value

Picture by Caprice Miller

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:14

AAAWWWEEE!!!!!  Just seeing these little guys makes me want to go into the little high pitched voice that we use when a baby is present.  They look so cuddly and cute….like a baby would be.  At first glance you would think they are all the same cute.  But it doesn’t take long to realize they are each unique in their own special way.  And each way is just as adorable as the other. 

It’s interesting to think about the differences though.  Being that these little guys are meant to be sold to an admirer, the subjective opinion of the potential buyer comes into play.  To take a page from the Toy Story script, what if they could hear what opinions were said about each?  “I don’t like red.”  “There’s too many hearts on that one.”  “The stitching on that one is messed up.”  Picky, picky people! 

Now, what if we do that to each other?  Oh wait….we do.   Social media has made it so easy to make derogatory comments about people with no thought that those comments might actually be seen by that person.  Out of sight, out of mind, right?  In this age of technology, chances are that people are searching for what is being said out there about themselves.  How many “likes” do we have or who commented on the post?  In essence, we are searching for our identity and value in the eyes of others, even if those others are strangers who know nothing of us. 

Sadly enough, before we even look at social media, many of us have a tendency to begin this type of dialogue with ourselves.  We deem ourselves not pretty, skinny, fat, talented, smart, whatever enough and stamp ourselves with a label of “not enough” and “unworthy”.   This usually is brought about by the comparison game we play with ourselves.  Once again, we look around at others for our identity….our value.  We determine our own worthiness and value simply by how we measure up to others from our own perspective or someone else's. 

It’s time for a new perspective.  The verse above is taken from Psalm 139.  If you read this short little chapter, there is verse after verse that tells us how special we are to God….The Creator of the Universe.  Think about it – He created the entire universe and as human beings, we are His most precious creation.  He created us to have a relationship with Him.  You are so precious that He knows your thoughts, when you get up and lie down.  (Psalm 139:1-4)  He knit you in your mother’s womb.  (Psalm 139:13)  He gave His Son for you. (John 3:16)  If we are created with such special care, how is it that we look at ourselves and see something so contrary to that? 

When we decide our value from a horizontal perspective – from those around us – we end up shunning God and His precious creation.  We are choosing not to recognize our uniqueness, the talents He has given us and His deep love for us.  Instead we choose to concentrate on the uniqueness and talents of others and wish we had what they have instead.  Chances are, they are doing the same thing.   But when we make a choice to look up and understand that our true value comes from a vertical perspective – from God - our world could be turned upside down.  We begin to view ourselves and our talents differently.  We begin to view others from this perspective as well.  A sense of gratitude starts to bubble to the surface – just like the writer of this Psalm.   We end up standing in awe of God’s unique and masterly designed creation.  Not in a boastful manner, but in thankfulness of life.  We discover that those “quirks” that we took for granted are really unique talents that were given to us.  We begin understanding and accepting His love for us. 

Change your perspective today.  Know that your “Vertical Value” is a much better and truer perspective than your “horizontal value” ever could be.  Take a moment to praise God because you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Now, tell someone else that they are too.  Accept the love God has for you as His unique creation and let that love overflow to the world around you.

SSSHHH....Do You Hear It?

Picture by Caprice Miller

“So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.  There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.  But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” - 1 Kings 19:8-9

When Caprice sent this picture she mentioned that the fish didn’t have a name.  “How sad to have no name.” she said.  When you look at it you can kinda see that is looks a bit scared.  No wonder it’s found its way to this little aquarium cave.  I can imagine this little nook of a cave might give it some solitude so it can rest...I assume fish do that.  I know humans have to.    Many of us would probably like to find a cave of our own to find some solitude and rest for ourselves.  It’s a crazy world out there and sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the whirlwind of it all.  Our lives can become so out of control that we can’t even remember who we are much less how we ended up where we are.  Not that we forget our names, but more of our identity.  The thought comes to mind that “If I can’t remember who I am, does anyone else know who I am?”   Have we become just “another fish in the tank” swimming aimlessly in an exhausted stupor not knowing where to go or who to turn to?

When we find ourselves in this state of mind, it is so easy to isolate ourselves and think we are the only ones to ever experience this feeling of exhaustion and aloneness.  But we certainly are not.  The Bible shows us someone who experienced this.  One of the interesting things about this person is that when he experienced this emotional valley, he had just had the amazing opportunity to demonstrate God’s power as he defeated 400 prophets of Baal.  But then a not-so-lady-like lady named Jezebel got really mad because those guys were on her side.  She decided she would kill Elijah.  So, he does what most of us would do, he jerked up his cloak and took off!  But wait, isn’t this the guy who just defeated those 400 prophets of Baal in the name of God?  Shouldn’t he have even more confidence to stand up against this “lady” and say “COME AT ME!” knowing he is God’s man?  But this is what happens when we go too long and hit the preverbal wall.    We begin to feel as though we could be invincible, especially after something amazing happens in our lives.  We keep trying to ride that wave but eventually, it has to crash and we end up beached or worse, drowning in the undertow. 

If you continue to read in 1 Kings 19:10-14 we see how God takes care of Elijah by slowing him down, giving him rest, nourishing him and providing shelter.  We also read that God tells Elijah He is about to pass by and how God was not in the mighty wind or the earthquake or the fire that passes.  You then read,

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – 1 King 19:12b “…Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” – 1 King 19:13b

The picture that comes to mind is a father that finds his son lost, hungry and exhausted.  Initially the father says “What are you doing here!?”  The son cries and starts trying to tell him what’s wrong.  Then the father comes closer, puts his arm around him and says “son, what are you doing here?” 

When we get to that place where we just want to curl up and cry and the world has just left us in an exhausted, hungry heap, know that you are not alone.  God is right there.  He knows who you are and what you need.  The wind will be strong, the earthquakes will shake you, and the fire will possibly scorch you, but be still and listen for the gentle whisper.  God is drawing near to put His comforting arm around you so you can tell Him all about it. 

SSSSHHHHHH…..do you hear Him????

You Are Worth More

Picture by Caprice Miller

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:8-10

 

I have a thing for miniature things.  Tea sets, doll houses with tiny furniture, even miniature food such as sliders and tiny desserts.  Even though dimes are not the smallest in amount, they are the smallest in size of the coins.  So, naturally, that makes them a favorite coin.  They tend to be shinier than the other coins too.  It makes me a little giddy to think of a bunch of dimes all together like they are in this picture.  When you have a collection of something like miniature things or anything else for that matter, it makes a much better display when you keep them together.  They take on a characteristic of being “unique in their likeness”.  In other words, even though the item is a part of a similar/like collection, they are all unique in their own way.  As the collector of the items, I would immediately notice if one were missing.  And, yes, like the lady in the parable above, I would search and search until I found it.

But how does a collection of miniature things relate to a meaningful discussion about God?  Are we, His creation, suddenly like a collection item to Him to sit on a shelf (all be it, a very special shelf, I’m sure) and be admired for our “uniqueness in our likeness”?  NOT AT ALL!!!  The parable from Luke is one of three that Jesus tells in sequence.  He begins with a missing sheep, then talks about the missing coin and then ends with a prodigal son.  In our humanity, these situations would probably find us saying “it’s just a sheep.  I have 99 others.  Oh well.”  Or  “Well, I thought I had another coin.  Oh well.  I guess it will turn up at some point if I did.”  Or  “Ungrateful kid!  After all I’ve done for you!  See how you like it out there on your own.  Don’t come crawlin’ back here though when you fail!”   But with each story we find that there is great distress for what is missing.  And then even greater joy when it is found.  If you haven't read Luke 15, you should.

God created us to be in relationship with Him.  Like the father in the prodigal son story, it grieves Him greatly when we choose to walk away.  But He is always wanting you to come back home though.  Many times we convince ourselves that there is no way we could come to Him.  There is too much baggage and we have to clean up before we even try and just hope that He even accepts us.  But consider the son in the story.  He had just gotten to the lowest point of living in a pig pen and eating with the pigs too.  Imagine the humiliation this Jewish guy went through.  Chances are he didn’t have a chance or the money to get “cleaned up” before going back home.  So he was probably still his messy, pig covered self.  But when his father saw him, none of that mattered.  He RAN to his lost son!!! 

Don’t think you have to “DO” before you can come to the Father.  The work has been “DONE” through the sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.    God has given us the opportunity to have that relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  He offers that to everyone.  He is like the father of the prodigal son.  He is waiting for us to come to Him no matter what condition we are in.  He meets us where we are.  Know that you will be a cause of celebration when you decide to run to His waiting arms. You matter so much to Him and you are precious to Him. 

Ready to run back? Just pray this: Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and that I have messed up from time to time. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that God raised Him from the dead. I choose to follow You, Jesus, and I confess that You are my savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. I love You. Amen.

Oh The Choices!

Picture by Caprice Miller

 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’  - John 14:6

There is something so nostalgic about these globe-like dispensers.  When you would see one as a kid you immediately began the begging and bargaining routine with you parents – “Can I have a quarter?  PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE?!?!?!?!?”  And if they didn’t have one you would probably start in on various nearby strangers hoping that they couldn’t resist that sweet, innocent face.  Hopefully, they would have what you needed to get what you wanted so you wouldn’t have to go to plan B or C and begin tapping in to a life of crime just to find that stinking quarter so you could get that piece of gum.  

Consider how these dispensers have changed over the years in order to attract kids to drop a quarter in.  it seems to be more about the machine than what’s inside.  The “maze” machines are the best.  When you drop your quarter in you get to watch as the ball of sweetness rolls all the way down to the little trap door.  And as depicted in the picture above, just the vast array of choices can put a kid into sensory overload.  Now it’s not just one quarter they need, it’s a roll of quarters.  And if you notice the one in the middle of the bottom row, it seems to be empty.  That immediately makes you feel slightly disappointed because there was obviously something in that one that everyone else wanted too.  Now it’s gone.  Makes you feel a little sad if you think about it really hard……but never mind that when you have so many other ways to try to satisfy that sweet tooth!

The crazy thing is that these sweets are all created in very similar manners.  If you have ever watched one of those shows about how these things are made you will see there are key ingredients mixed together and then eventually they are added to a giant tumbler where artificial colors and flavors are added.  They all taste pretty much the same depending on the level of sweet and sour you want.  And the gum very quickly loses its flavor and becomes hard to chew.  You then are left with a need for something to get that taste out of your mouth wondering if it was worth the trouble to drop that quarter and thinking a picture really would have lasted longer.

It’s interesting how we are designed with a desire to be satisfied in some way.  Maybe it’s just a sweet tooth at the moment.  But ultimately we have an innate desire to find that “thing” to complete us.  Somehow we instinctively realize there is more to life than what meets the eye.   Similar to the picture above, we find all sorts of things that seem like it will do the trick.   Money, relationships, drugs, shopping anything that could fill the void – at least temporarily.  Eventually we begin searching deeper and searching for that “true meaning of life”.  There are all sorts of avenues the world offers.  How could any be wrong really?  Each avenue seems to say that by doing “this, that and the other” you will earn that thing to fill that missing piece inside.  Eventually, you will be good enough to attain your goal of completeness. 

Choices, choices, choices…..what to do?  And then there is this guy, “Jesus”, so many seem to talk about.  What’s the difference between His way and everyone else?  As the verse above states, Jesus tells us in the Bible that He is the path to our Creator.  Not A path…..THE path.  He can claim this because He is the one and only Son Of God.  He lived a perfect life, died a sinless death and then defeated death through His resurrection.  He alone fulfills a multitude of prophecies in the Bible.  It is overwhelming the evidence we have to prove that He is the Messiah, our Savior, The way, the truth and the life.  And the most amazing thing is that we don’t have to try to live the perfect life ourselves to have Him in our lives.  He already did that for us.  That’s what His life was about.  He lived, died and rose again so that we could have a chance to live an eternity in Heaven…to be with our Creator.  But how do we do this?  Well, you don’t have to have quarter to drop, thank goodness.   A life that has Jesus can simply begin with this simple prayer:

“Dear God, I admit that I am not perfect, that I have sinned and that I have messed up from time to time. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that God raised Him from the dead. I choose to follow You, Jesus, and I confess that You are my savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. I love You. Amen.” 

It really is that simple.  There is something interesting that happens when you ask Jesus to fill that void in your life.  While this prayer is the simplicity of it, there is a work that He will begin on the inside of you.  He will change you from the inside out continuing to help you become the person you were created to be and to be able to have an eternity in Heaven.  You will realize that the more you learn about Him, the more you want to share.  And now it’s up to you to make the choice. 

Don’t be distracted by the artificial choices the world offers that so quickly lose their flavor and lead nowhere.  Make the lasting choice of asking Jesus into your life and see how He satisfies. 

Marketing The Best

Picture by Caprice Miller

“I will praise you as long as I live,  and in your name I will lift up my hands.” – Psalm 63:4

It’s hard to see how this guy would not get the attention of passersby.  Who wouldn’t have a double-take of a 50 foot blue gorilla waiving his hands in the air?  At that point, we have a choice of reactions.  We can either speed past this monster because it looks like it wants to eat us OR we could stop at the establishment it has taken residence atop of and see what this “Grand Opening” is all about.  Whatever decision is made, the point is that you are not going to miss this thing.  It is getting a reaction out of us one way or another.  This is basically marketing 101.  Getting the attention of a potential costumer is step 1.  Bringing them in to the establishment is step 2 and helping them to realize what you have is what they can’t live without is step 3. 

When you look around at our society today, this technic is being used from the simplest of technics to the most outrageous.  Whatever it is, our goal is to make people want what we have.  It is human nature to just be drawn to things that entice us so much that we can’t help but check it out at least.  And if it is really compelling, we can become consumed with it.  That’s really what worship is.  Whoa!  Isn’t that supposed to be reserved for God?  Worship is actually a part of our design.  We were created with a desire to worship, be consumed by, be in fellowship with, to follow our creator.   But, with anything meant for God’s purposes, the enemy has a way of hijacking it and twisting it to make it something else.  Today, we can easily find ourselves worshipping a sports team, a celebrity or even the pursuit of the all-mighty dollar (commonly referred to as “success”).  We don’t exactly call the action “worship”, but upon closer examination, if we are honest with ourselves, it’s worship.  We become captivated by it, our attention is immediately drawn to anything about it, we want to learn as much as we can about it, it’s what we talk about the most, it’s what gets us excited.  By definition, “to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).” (according to dictionary.com), we worship.

So, what does worship have to do with marketing 101 anyway?  Well, if we have something that we know will be life altering for anyone who has it, we should never keep that a secret.  And yet, somehow many have decided that when it comes to letting others know about the amazingness of God, “marketing” is off limits.   But when we think about it, there is no better product to market than a relationship with our Creator through Jesus Christ.  We have to realize that our very lives and what He has done for us is marketing.  We should understand that if we follow Him, our lives are supposed to be as such that if someone looks at us, they want what we have.  They wonder how we can praise and have joy in the midst of certain circumstances.  They wonder why we choose to be in His house each weekend and during the week.  They wonder where some of the encouraging words we offer come from.  We can all be used as God’s marketing tools, if we allow ourselves to.   We have to ask ourselves though, is our relationship with Him close enough to be used to attract someone else?  We have something in our lives so much more worthy to market than what is in our world.  Don’t limit how God can use you by not sharing it.  Praise His name in private as well as in public.  Love out loud to show His love for others.  Let others see that you have something they need for themselves – a relationship with their Creator.