God Recycles

One thing you should know about me is that I am one of those people who go through life in stages and usually remember occurrences in my life associated with the “period” that I was in at that time. I am very committed to that project at the time, but it doesn’t take me long to get bored with it and move onto something new.  For example, I sold Discovery Toys for awhile and was totally into it, bought the kit, did some shows, and I did pretty well with it, but it only lasted about 6 months.  Then I moved into the home remodeling business, well actually it was just my home…after watching Trading Spaces a few times, I thought, “Well, that looks easy enough” and I began gutting my kitchen.  I did really well at taking it apart, but when it was time to put it back together, I kind of lost interest, and it never got done at all and we sold the house. Recently I got REALLY involved in using old t-shirts to make new things.  It started out as a class project for my students, making scarves out of squares cut from t-shirts.  My students absolutely loved it.  It was so simple that they could easily do it themselves, and more importantly the parent’s were super impressed.  While doing the project at school it sparked that little obsession gene in me that got me hooked into my “Recycling T-shirts” phase of my life.  If I sewed one scarf over Christmas break I sewed 40! I didn’t just stop at this pattern; I got on Pinterest.com and had a different pattern every day.  My students were like…Wow, you really like scarves!  One day Paden and I went to the Salvation Army to buy shirts.  When we pulled up, Paden said, “mom, this isn’t right, I feel like we are stealing from the poor”.  I said A. We’re the poor and B. We are actually helping the poor with our purchase.  Before we left the store she found a sweater and 2 sweatshirts for herselfJ

Anyway one day when I was in my sewing “zone”, I began to think about God and it just came to me that God recycles us, just like I am recycling these useless t-shirts.  Man himself was made from the recycled dust of the ground, so says Genesis 2:7… He takes a broken down, poor excuse of a human being and turns them into a beautiful righteous saint that will inherit the riches of an eternal life.  How awesome is that? I knew that this would be my next devotion so I started to peruse through the verses dealing with Renewal.

But before I did that I went to Google, and much to my surprise I found a VERY interesting recycling story… Apparently there is this coffee that is called Kopi Luwak, It is based in Indonesia and considered a delicatessen.  In fact it costs $200 for a pound of coffee and that does not include shipping.  But let me tell you how they get this coffee.  So…first they have these beautiful coffee flowers that look like a gorgeous bundle of honeysuckle blooms and then you have these sweet red cherries that contain the coffee bean.  This is where an animal that is called a Civet, it looks like a cross between a raccoon and a mongoose, comes in and eats the cherries…and then the cherries goes through his digestion system and mixes with all his digestive juices and then when he poops the workers go through his poop and gathers up the coffee beans that came from the cherries he ate.  They wash them off of course and then dry them out and then package them up as gourmet coffee drinkers for lots of money…Now that my friends is recycling!!!  And first of all who sits around and says, hey here’s an idea.. let’s go through that poop and dig out the beans and make coffee with it????

Okay, maybe I should stick with what the bible says.  My concordance had the verses that most of us are familiar with, such as:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Then there it was in my concordance T. I. T. 3:5….Where???? Oh, yeah, Titus…I heard of that book once.  Well honestly, I was like where is Titus…Old Testament, New Testament??? Eventually I found it, and it was so small I decided to read the whole thing. I want to focus on chapter 3 verses 3-8. 

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

I love how Paul really wants to get our attention here with “This is a trustworthy saying”  It’s like he is saying everything I say is from God and the Truth, but this, my friend, you can take to the bank….there’s no if’s, and’s, and but’s about this one!   Reread verse 5 and 6! Don’t you love when God “pours” out his love and grace on you?!?!

I hate to do this to you, but here is what I want to leave you with today…No matter what kind of poop you have been in or find yourself in, Jesus can pull you out and recycle you into a valuable heir with the assurance of eternal life!

To "Tebow" or Not To "Tebow"....That is the Question!

If you came here for a blog about football, you are in the wrong place…If you came for a blog about Tim Tebow, you are in the wrong place…if you came to a blog that is probably going to stir up some controversy, then you are more than likely in the right place.  With that said, I would like to preface this with the assurance that I am not condemning anyone, nor am I perfect.  Usually when I am preparing a devotion, I do so with my own faults in mind .So, if you feel your toes being stepped on – remember that I am crushing my own firstJ

What is Tebowing? (This information from tebowing.com, a website that made me incredibly uncomfortable)

Tebowing is apparently a verb that means to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different. (This definition actually came from Tim Tebow himself in a quote from his Tweet)(A tweet is from twitter, and if you are not familiar with tweeting…I can’t help youJ)

After doing a little background check(Reading a Denver Post blog), I found that tebowing.com was actually started by someone named Jared Kleinstein, who after watching a Denver game from a bar in New York convinced his friends to kneel down and bow their heads to pay homage to the Bronco quarterback. (Ummm, this really bugged me) Once he got home he posted the picture on Facebook…and the rest you could say is history. (Check out full story for your self on blogs.denverpost.com, the title is “The Story Behind the Tebowing Craze”) The article says…“Kleinstein said the initial picture and website were truly meant as a tribute to Tebow. He understands it could be viewed by some as mocking the quarterback, but that was certainly not the intent.”

Okay….Am I the only one that thinks that this is mocking God, not to mention mocking prayer??? I want to tell you that I am a huge fan of Tim Tebow, the person.  He has a great testimony to share and truly wants to put focus on God.  He has used his talents and stage to bring attention to the bible and faith, and I love him for that.  I do not doubt for one minute that when Tim takes a knee to pray during a football game that he is giving total glory to God.  I do worry, however, when people take a knee pretending to give glory to God, just to take a picture of it to post on Facebook or Tebowing.com.   I was actually saddened, and a few times disgusted, as I was scrolling through some of the pictures on the website. Some of them had their heads bowed, only to be sheepishly looking at the camera and smiling.  UGHH! 

So…I went to the Bible.  The first mention about prayer in the Bible was from Gen. 4:26 “Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.”  Hmmm, coincidence that the beginning of prayer and the birth of a child were mentioned in the same verse??? Especially the birth of a boy child???  After learning this little jewel of information, I kept being drawn to Matthew 6:5-15 where Jesus is teaching about prayer. I don’t want to take this out of context so go check it out for yourself, but specifically verses 5 and 6….”and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  (6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” 

My Bible has a commentary out to the side, and I think it truly sums this up perfectly.  “Doing the right things for the wrong reasons to gain the honor and recognition of others, undermines the purity of our good works.  Jesus encourages us to let our deeds be seen so that onlookers will glorify God, not so they will be impressed with us.”  Please do not be ashamed of your faith or for your belief in God, but please be careful of making a display of it, just to be making a display of it.

So, for all my friends who I have made really mad with this post…..Go Broncos!!! Better luck next yearJ  (and I really and truly mean that!!!)

Black-eyed peas??? Nah, don't need em', I've got God!

Growing up I had several “rules” I had to follow…Do not open your umbrella in the house, do not lay your hat on the bed, double back and go a mile out of the way if a black cat crosses your path, and eat your black-eyed peas on New Year’s day, to name a few.  Yes, my dad put the “super” in superstitious.  I’m not sure, but I think it goes back to his Native American upbringing and my Grandpa Bruner.  Well, this is something that I have held onto as well….not so much the black-eyed peas cause I am not a big fan, but most everything else.  My husband gets incredibly irritated at me when I freak out at finding his hat on my bed.  I have told him a million times NOT to do it because it is bad luck, but then he scolds me by saying that as a Christian I shouldn’t be superstitious, which I fully agree, but I just can’t seem to get over it.  Well, imagine my surprise when my perfect non-superstitious husband HAS TO HAVE black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day…and not only that, he makes everyone else eat them as well.  SMH..(that means Shaking my head – this knowledge I got from Facebook)

 Anyway, I decided to do a little research on exactly why we are supposed to eat black-eyed peas, I mean, if there is an actual “reason” why we do something that makes it right….right????  I am not sure how accurate my sources are because I just “Googled” it, but for the most part several sites were saying the same two things.  One thought was that it was a Jewish tradition to be eaten at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, as recorded in the Babylonian blah blah blah..(blah blah blah – means there were a bunch of words and stuff I didn’t understand).  The other thought was that it came from the Civil war era, when the Union troops came through and stripped the southern countryside of all the food, crops and livestock, and destroyed whatever they could not carry away. (so says Wikipedia) At that time, the “Northerners” considered these field peas only suitable for the animals to eat and did not take the time to steal or destroy these humble foods.  (Humble…now we’re talking!  I love the word humble, and I would SO love to be it, this is my daily struggle, along with the superstitions of course.)  This was what was left for the struggling south to eat, but little did those northerners know that they were jammed packed with nutrients.  Black-eyed peas became a major food source for surviving confederates. 

While I love that this little legume has some history and tradition behind it, I feel that we should not place our good luck and livelihood on this humble little bean, but rather put our hope into a humble man who came to the earth to die for each and every one of us.  As I was doing my research, the bridge to the song, “Praise You in this Storm” from Casting Crowns kept going through my mind (God speaks to me through song A LOT)…It says, “I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth”.  This was not written by Casting Crowns, it actually came from God, via David in Psalm 121.  Go ahead and take the time to look up the whole thing…It’s a good readJ  Don’t look for hope or prosperity in the wrong places. Our hope comes from God and God alone.  I want to end with one of my favorite verses Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  No mention of a bean there my friends….God Luck to you this yearJ

It is no coincidence that Dog spelled backwards is God!

I am not a theologian, but I know there are huge debates on whether dogs will make it to heaven.  My opinion is that there will be, because God loves me that much. If you have a different opinion, that is fine, just keep it to yourself.  Just kidding, kind of:)  Some of the people that I have had this debate with says that a dog has no soul.  Apparently those people have never looked their dogs in the eyes when you are getting ready to go somewhere and your dog knows that you are leaving and he just goes into depression mode and starts to follow you and sulk around.  Nor have they experienced being sick on the couch and having their dog never leaving your side.  

Now, I don't want you to misunderstand what I am getting ready to say...I am in no way, shape or form saying that my dog is God, or that God is my dog, but I think that God gave us dogs to show us his unfailing love for us.  I think God has used dogs to demonstrate exactly how he feels about us. Below I have listed some of the things that occur to me when I think about my dog....

My Dog:

Is always glad to see me come home. 

Will still love me even when I get mad at him.

Hates it when I leave him.  He stands at the window and watches with sad eyes.

When I am not paying attention to him he does something that forces me to focus on him. Usually this includes going to my closet and picking out my most expensive "heels" and brings them to the living room in full view.  My dog has very good taste when it comes to chewing on my shoes.

Disciplines me.  When I have been gone too long he may tear something up or relieve himself where he shouldn’t. I am not saying God relieves himself in my house, but I am a firm believer that God allows things like trials and struggles to come into our life so that we "step-up" our Christian walk with him. 

Follows me from room to room.

He does not like it when I have been around other dogs. Oh, and he ALWAYS knows when I have been with "others".

I have to feed and water him everyday.  Care to him and give him attention.

Protects us from enemies.

He gets super bothered and frustrated at those creepy tiny ticks.  I think of the ticks as satan because even though sometimes you can’t see them, you don’t even know they are there and then they bite you, and can cause a lot of sickness and hurt.

A dog’s love is almost impossible to destroy, because it’s not a love you earn — it’s simply a love you are given.

Do you think maybe “man’s best friend” is really pointing us to the One who is truly our very best friend? I think the similarities between my dog and God are not coincidental.  Sometimes I hear at my house, "You treat the dog better than you treat me".....God deserves better treatment than the dog.  John sums it up for us in John 15 starting at verse 9...(this is where Jesus is talking to his Disciples) hmmmmm - I was going to type it all out for you, but if I do, you will not get into the word and check it out for yourself!  But I will share with you one verse that stands out to me...

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." 

Go ahead, find your bible....hopefully you are not having to dust it off...but do keep reading, cause it doesn't stop there.  But this is where today's blog is going to stop.  Appreciate your dog today, but most importantly Celebrate the Love God has given you!!!