The Check is In the Mail

We live in an amazing age.  The technological advances that we have made in the last 100 years can boggle your mind if you really think about it.  We fly on gigantic birds of steel, the physics of which I cannot grasp (not that I can really grasp the physics of anything).  We travel in little metal boxes over miles of super highway.  We can surf the world wide web and find information on most anything, whether good or bad.  We can purchase whatever we want with a couple of clicks of our mouse.  Yes, technology can be a wonderful thing.  Until someone "borrows" our information and uses it as their own.

We have been the victims of credit card fraud several times.  We have no idea how it happens.  If only those that do this would use their genius for good instead of evil, but that's a story for another day.  Recently at a  pharmacy  I wrote tried to write a check for my medication.  It was denied.  DENIED.  Apparently my husband's driver's license number was tied to an account that isn't ours at a bank we've never used.  Someone wrote a bad check for $27.20 in 2004.  Somehow seven years later they have tied it to our account.  So now any store that uses TeleCheck won't take my check.  Even though the clerk at this pharmacy knows me, she couldn't accept my check because the computer told her not to.   The burden of proof is on us.  And so begins the arduous process of trying to prove that we are who we say we are and we did not write the said check.

We have faxed copies of our driver's licenses.  We also had to fax a copy of our social security cards.  And now I have to send a voided check as further proof.  So far they haven't asked for our blood types but who knows, it could be the next requirement.  If someone did not steal our identities they now have everything they need to do so.  Arrrgh.  It's the little stuff like this that makes me crazy.

What if we had to prove our identity to God?  What if every time that we wanted to talk to Him we had to verify that we are who we say we are.

It might go something like this:

Me:  Hello God it's me Cindy

GOD:  Who?

Me:  You know me Lord, you created me.  I'm your child.

GOD:  You can't be my child.  A child of mine would spend time talking to me and reading my Word.   You spend little time with me.  And you whine about little petty things.  And you got really mad at a car that almost ran you off the road the other day.  You don't show mercy or grace and frankly you have a bad attitude lots of the time.  A child of mine knows that I have shown them much mercy and they are quick to be merciful to others.  They are thankful and do not incessantly complain.


Me:  But God I promise it's me.

GOD:  I will need two-forms of identification please to confirm that you are who you say you are.

God does not keep up with us by our social security number.  We aren't some nameless, faceless number.  We don't constantly have to prove ourselves to Him.  His Word tells us that He knew us even before He formed us in the womb (Jer.1:5)  He loves us so intimately that he knows the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). He holds us so tightly that we are engraved in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).

You are precious to Him.  He knows your name.

Gone Visiting

You can find me over at my friend Lisa's blog today as a guest for her Ladies On a Mission series.   I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

High Maintenance

I have a confession to make:  I am high maintenance.  My husband has said that for years.  Of course I told him that he didn't have a clue, that he was oh so wrong.  But after recently reviewing the "stuff" I took on an overnight trip to my daughter's,  I had to agree.  Dang it.

I like make-up and put on plenty every day; foundation, blush, eye shadow, mascara.    I use special face cream and an eye cream that claim to prevent aging and wrinkles.  (They aren't working.)  I need special cream for my very dry skin and for my recently diagnosed eczema. I have fine hair so I have a special shampoo and conditioner to prevent limp locks  and special mousse to try to plump it up even further.   And I like to use my own hair dryer.

I need several prescriptions for various things.  A pill to regulate my thyroid, one to regulate my hormones (my husband makes sure that I never run out of that one), two pills and two inhalers for my recently diagnosed asthma.  I look like a traveling pharmacy.

And then after I spent an hour removing the sequins from a shirt because I was afraid that they would irritate my skin, I had to face the music.  I am definitely high maintenance.  (Why, you ask, did I buy a shirt that I would have to alter anyway?  It was on SALE and it matched a sweater that was also on SALE,  but I digress.) 

I was telling this to an old friend and she agreed about my being high maintenance about some things.  But she said that in the area of friendship she thought I was a cactus.  I asked, "so you think I'm dry and prickly" ?  She  laughed and explained that even though we might not talk every day, she knew that she could call on me for anything at any time.  We know that we are friends and we don't have to baby our friendship, we are real with each other and there's nothing high maintenance about it.

I can accept the fact that I am high maintenance in the grooming department.  But I don't want to be a high maintenance kind of friend.  They can wear you out with expectations and you will ultimately fail them in some way.  But I especially don't want to be a high maintenance kind of Christian who can't worship on Sundays if the right type of music isn't playing or because I feel like someone in the church has hurt my feelings with some slight, whether real or imagined. I don't want to be the kind of person who feels like God has failed or forsaken me because my circumstances have taken a turn for the worse. I have to admit that I have felt this way in the past.  But God will never fail us no matter how our circumstances might change.

And aren't you thrilled that we serve a God who isn't high maintenance?  We don't have to be in a particular type of dress we have to wear to approach Him.  We can worship Him in a variety of ways, there are no prescribed rituals or formulas that we have to perform in order to  worship Him. We can go before His throne with our petitions at any time.  He never sleeps and will never turn us away.  We don't have to live in fear of not being good enough. Jesus' death on the cross made us good enough.  He won't reject us if we are having a bad hair day, or because have wrinkles or if we don't measure up to the world's standards.  We don't have to work for His love.   His Word  tells us just how simple it is :

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.


             Jeremiah 29:13

Praise His Holy Name!

A Friend's Giveaway

I'd like to tell you about an opportunity to enter a drawing for a Bible Study written by my blog friend Mariel.  Go here for the details and to enter.

Take a Look

I would like to invite you to my friend Adrienne's blog. She is doing a series of posts about the life of Job from a book that she is reading entitled,  Let God Be God by Ray Stedman.

I pray that you will be as blessed as I have been by her insights.

Time to Say Goodbye

I stood in the driveway bawling my eyes out as my youngest headed back to college.  He's a sophomore so it isn't like this was the first time he was leaving for school.  I don't know why I was so emotional.  Maybe because he had been home for a month and I was going to miss him.  I never have been good at good-byes.

But as we go into 2011 there are some things I'll be happy to say good-bye to.  Desk drawers that are over-stuffed with "stuff";  closets bulging with clothes that I can no longer wear.  I don't know about yours, but my home just has too much stuff!  And I'm determined to get rid of that stuff and be careful not to accumulate more.

I am also ready to say goodbye to a few other things too.  I desperately want 2011 to be the year that I draw closer to the Lord and get to know Him better.  So I'm going to have to say goodbye to anything that hinders me from spending time with Him.  Some of these things are good things.  But I'm going to have to choose the Better Thing.  There's  also no room for old thoughts that will hinder me from a closer walk with Him; doubt, fear, anxiety, bye-bye!  Hebrews 12:1 tells us:

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...

 
I must replace the old with the new.  No more room for doubt, fear or anxiety to cloud my thoughts.  Philippians 4:8 says this is what must fill our thoughts: 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

This time I think good bye will be easier!




Life is Good,


Cindy

'Twas the Night Before CHRISTMAS

This is a beautiful version of the story 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by my friend Victoria Bierman Jenkins.   I pray that it will bless you as it has me.


'Twas the Night Before CHRISTmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
None of God's creatures were stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In truth, it was Christ's birth that had put them there.

God’s children were nestled all snug in their beds,
Unlike the baby Jesus, with no place to lay His sweet head;
Mother Mary and Joseph, and some shepherds perhaps
Watched over our Savior as He peacefully napped.
When up in the sky there arose such a clatter,
That three wise men grabbed the best gifts they could gather.
Away to the Messiah they flew like a flash,
To see our Redeemer in the flesh at long last.

The star in the sky gave off such a glow
Shining with the luster of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But the stillness of the star showing they must be near.
It's unclear how long they traveled, but it was quite a bit,
Still they knew by the star's pause that this must be it.
Three gifts they brought to little Jesus when they came,
And they rejoiced as the angels had as they praised His name;

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom He favors!
To the top of the mountains!
To the bottom of the sea!
Our Savior is born to save both you and me!"

As God's children sleep, safe in their beds,
Both Father and Son watch over their heads,
Loving them enough to number each countless hair,
We've no way to earn their love, but every way to share.
Giving gifts as the wise men did is a fun tradition,
As long as the point of Christmas never goes missing.

Deck the halls and trim the tree,
Hang the stockings and dance with glee.
Share the joy of CHRISTmas which no wrapped gift could match,
Tell of the Babe wrapped in cloth who brought us freedom at last;
A bundle of joy lying in the manger,
Sent to save us from unspeakable danger.
His life for ours, what an amazing gift!
He was born so that man might no longer perish!
His life was as pure as the day He was born,
As He taught us the greatest lessons we'll learn;
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love,
Don't try to be pleasing to man, but to God above;
Build on the Rock and not the sand,
Keep an open heart and an outstretched hand.

So many people are in need this Christmas,
Let God use you to fulfill their wishes;
Give as you've been given to,
You provide for others and He'll provide for you;
So speak of His Word, and get straight to His work,
Always giving Him the glory since it all came from Him first.

Remember, it's God's children in this world that are the light,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!