Blog

Have you ever gone smile hunting?  It is really fun.  All you have to do is catch someone’s eye as you pass them and smile!  Usually you are rewarded with a smile in return.  The worst that happens is the person will just look away.  I love the opportunity to brighten someone’s day by such a simple act of kindness, and it is totally free.  Unfortunately, I can tell by the somewhat frequent startled looks I get, just before a smile in response to mine, that smiles are an unusual occurrence in our world today.

It is even better if I have a chance to connect a little more with someone than just a smile.  Take cereal boy for instance.  I was in the breakfast aisle in WalMart and I saw a young man restocking shelves.  The look on his face said his day had been boring at best.  I smiled and asked him how it was going.  He responded, “It’s going.”  I mentioned something about cereal and my kids.  We talked for two minutes at the most, but when he went back to his boxes of cereal he had a smile on his face.  It didn’t cost me anything, in fact I felt cheered up myself.

As I was reading to my children this morning out of the book of Proverbs in the Bible, I came across this verse: “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  I looked up the word ‘refresh’ and a couple of definitions are actually to cheer or revive.  There is the explanation about my smile hunting hobby.  That is why I feel better, even though I have given something away in the form of a smile.

What about you?  Would you like to join me in my hobby?  It would be so awesome if we spread so many smiles that it was no longer surprising to see a stranger smile at you in the grocery store.  I know there are so many things wrong with the world today, and a smile might seem like such a little thing, how could it be worth it, what difference could it make?  To that I say, we have to start somewhere.  If we start smiling at people, maybe we will truly start seeing other people.  That could lead to finding out where they are in life, and that could lead to coming alongside them, and that could lead to relationship and that could lead to conversations about Jesus.  And Jesus always leads to changed lives.  It could all start with a smile!

“He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  Proverbs 11:25b

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness in the world.  All things break.  And all things can be mended.  Not with time, as they say, but with intention.  So go.  Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.  The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”  L.R. Knost

Last week during a piano lesson, I was teaching a student about rests in the music.  I was explaining that for there to be a real rest, he would have to let go of the piano key completely.  For some reason this is very difficult even for advanced students, everyone has the tendency to hang on to the note until striking the next one.

Rests in music are very important, they create space in between sound and also anticipation for the next note.  As musicians we can use them to create a lot of interest and depth to our music.

As I heard myself tell this particular student, “You have to let go to really rest,”  I smiled as I caught the bigger truth in the statement.  We all have a hard time with this concept!

How often I have thought, “I’ll sit down after I finish this one more thing!”  I probably should just let it go.  The harder I hold on to things the less rest I have.  Have you found that to be true in your own life?

I am always amazed by Jesus.  He didn’t heal everyone.  Sometimes I’ll be reading about His life and want to question Him, “Jesus you forgot some of them, look at all those crowds that were waiting to be healed.”  He knew what He was doing though, He knew He didn’t come to earth to physically heal everyone, but to be a sacrifice to heal the whole world’s souls.  He had to let go sometimes and rest.  If even Jesus had to let go and rest, that probably means we should too.

As rests in music create space between sound, so also can rests in our life create space for us to truly appreciate and process our life.  As we learn to rest, it also gives us a chance to hear God’s still, small voice and receive the amazing love He has for us.  Then we have the energy to go on again, making beautiful music with our lives.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found Him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’  Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else–to the nearby villages–so I can preach there also.  That is why I have come.'”  Mark 1:35-38

Is your laundry room winning?  I know it can feel like it sometimes, (maybe most of the time?)

When we built our home we positioned it to take advantage of a beautiful view of the mountains.  We didn’t realize when we designed the house that no one would end up walking around to our “front door,”  but would instead come in through our laundry room.  Instant accountability!  I certainly didn’t want a big pile of laundry to be the first thing my friends saw as they entered my home.  Beyond being an entryway, my laundry room is also not so much a “room” as a walkway from the kitchen to the pantry and family room.  As you can imagine I traverse that way many times a day.  What I have found is that makes it very easy to keep up on the laundry.  I will throw in a load as I pass by, or switch wet clothes to the dryer.  Most of the time this keeps the dirty pile under control.

In a lot of houses the laundry room is off in a corner, in a garage, or downstairs.  This can make it easy for the laundry pile to grow to scary proportions making us want to avoid it.  Besides, who knows what is lurking in there?  You don’t want to hear about my mildew horror stories from the past.

All this made me think about us and the “laundry rooms” we have inside ourselves.  When we are more open with our close friends and invite accountability in our lives, we keep the scary emotional baggage, (or dirty laundry!) to a minimum.  However when we stuff it away in the basement of our souls, it just sits there, molding and festering and eventually causing a lot of problems.  Just like clothing is easier to wash as it gets dirty, hurts are best dealt with when they happen.  I mean, who really wants to dig into a two-week old gym bag, much less something someone said to you a month ago that is still sitting in your heart, wounding you.

I would encourage you this week to reach out to a friend.  Tell them what’s on your heart and ask them what is going on in their life too.  Give yourself permission to receive and give grace.  Remember we are in this life together, dirty laundry and all!

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;  wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”  Psalm 51:7

My home-made laundry soap recipe:

Warm 2 quarts water in a big metal pot.  Grate 1/6 of a bar of Ivory soap into it. Whisk in 1/4 cup Borax and 1/4 cup Washing Soda gradually, (this is different from the baking soda you would cook with.)  Pour into 1 gallon bottle and add hot water until full.  Shake occasionally until cooled.

Have you ever longed for a “do-over” in life, remember those from childhood?  When you would miss the ball, or fall down in a running race you could just shout out, “Do-over!” and everything was okay again.

In grown up life, things don’t seem to be that easy.  You have probably seen or at least heard of the movie, ‘Groundhog Day’.  In the movie, Phil gets stuck living the same day over and over again, which so happened to be Groundhog Day.  Basically Phil got unlimited do-overs.

We might think, “That’s great, but that is just a movie, in real life there are no fresh starts.”  However, with God there are!  We get brand-new grace every single morning.  An automatic do-over from God Himself.  Jesus takes all the mess ups from the day before, all the ugliness, all the hurts and mistakes onto Himself and gives us grace, undeserved favor instead.

As Phil learned in the movie, it is what we do with that grace that really matters.  He started from a place of selfish recklessness and despair, then he realized that the only thing that he could change in his life of repeated Groundhog days was himself.  From that point on he started to work on himself and also on serving others.  I am probably pulling a lot out of what is not actually the most edifying movie in the world, but I think that is what it comes down to for us as well, what are we going to do with the fresh grace we are given today?

Today could be the day we finally forgive someone, today could be the day we say no to destructive habits in our lives, today could be the day we are set free.  How awesome and amazing is that?

Hebrews 3:13  “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.”

Lamentations 3:22-23  “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions, (or grace) never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Quite the question isn’t it?  One I have always found difficult to answer.  I seem to be able to understand others fairly well, but when it comes to myself it is a different story.  I am guessing this might be true for more people than just me.

We all have messages we received in childhood.  Unfortunately, some of these messages were not the most kind or even the most accurate.  The problem is, we believed what we were told.

For instance, maybe you were told you were clumsy.  Throughout your life, any time you take a misstep you hear a little voice reminding you how clumsy you are.  We can even try to change who we are based on negative feedback from others.  I always felt that my personality was a little too much, the message I heard was to hold myself back some, don’t be too enthusiastic.  So consequently, I did.

Trying to battle the false messages rolling around in our heads is difficult.  However, the Bible has a lot of truths in it to arm us for this battle.  We are told in Romans 8:1 that we are no longer condemned if we are in Christ.  Then in Galatians 5:1 it reminds us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again.”  Such as with things like accusing whispers from our past.

I love what it says in Ephesians 4:24, “Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  Isn’t that awesome?  Jesus can take away all the negative ideas of who we think we are, and allow us to be our true, whole, new selves in Him.

Of course, it does still take some practice to be who we really are.  I’m not quite there yet, but when I get to the point where I can truly be who I really am, I will walk into the room, throw my arms wide and say, “I’m here!”  And for the first time, I will be.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32

Don’t worry, this isn’t a post on saving trees or holding your breath lest you add to the greenhouse effect.  I’m talking about your more  immediate environment.  Our physical, emotional, and spiritual environments affect us more than we realize.  For example, I used to keep my desk in our living room. Having so many small children it just made sense.  I could use my “command center” without leaving the main living area because we all know what happens when mom steps out of the room for a moment!

When I decided to start writing however, I knew I would never be able to concentrate while in the midst of boisterous family life.  My walk-in closet is finished doing double duty as a nursery, so I moved my desk in there.  I was surprised how great my “writing studio” felt and I am encouraged and comfortable when I sit down at my computer.

Just like our physical environment, our internal emotional environment can affect us.  If we are allowing our negative emotions to rule us, our environment will lack peace.  I want my home to be a place of encouragement and laughter.  I want to smile at my children and give out lots of hugs.  I find when I focus on being grateful for the gifts God has given me it is so much easier to do these things.

Our spiritual environment, our hearts and souls, are the most important environments to change.  When I allow my heart to soften towards God and His best for me, I am transformed.  I am a control freak by nature so for a long time I tried to change my heart and soul on my own.  It never worked.  When I finally surrendered to God’s grace and amazing love, my internal spiritual environment changed.  In some areas it changed so much that I no longer recognized myself!  In other areas it is an ongoing process.  I have to remember to let God refashion my heart after His every day.  I am encouraged to do this when I think of David in the Bible, who even though he is called a man after God’s own heart  spends pages in the Psalms writing of the journey of his own continuing heart transformation.

As we move into the new year I pray that you will feel empowered to change your own environment!

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  David in Psalm 51:10

For a link on how to create a clutter-free workspace click here!