Slot machine God?

I got one of those forwarded emails today, you know the kind that's probably been around the world 187 times. This one told me that if I repeated their prayer, I would receive lots of money. It actually said that someone who used this "formula" received the exact amount of money they needed to pay off their credit card! Can you believe that?

I was shocked at first, until I really stopped to think about it. How often do we treat God like an ATM machine? Push all the right buttons, and out pops whatever you want. Sometimes I think we view Him as a slot machine. Although we don't really expect to win, we'll invest a dime or two, yank the arm and if we're lucky, we'll hit the jackpot. Blessings will fall at our feet. Bells will ring. Life will be good.

God does want us to live an abundant life (John 10:10). He loves to bless us (Matt 7:11). However, as with any other relationship, we are going to have times of growth, sadness, frustration, questions, pain, even discipline. God wants our love as much as we want His blessings. He wants to walk, sit, talk, laugh and cry with us. He wants to share life with us.

Picture this. God is at a work table. He's forming something with His hands. He's bent over the table with His work-light beaming down on the new creation. He turns it ever so gently in His hands, shaping it just right. He spends months working on it. No one can see it until He's done. People try to peek in through the windows, but they can't really see any detail. Every day for almost a year, He returns to His workshop and works on His project. Time slips away from Him as He sits on the stool, making small adjustments, forming and shaping each part.

Finally after 9 months has passed, He sits the creation down and says with a smile, "Perfect." He leans back on His stool, cocks His head to one side, breathes a little sigh and smiles. He has invested so much time into this little creature. You can see the love in His eyes as His gaze is fixed upon his newest creation. After a while, he takes a deep breath and stands up. Time to deliver this little one to his earthly caretaker.

God has been doing some research, long before He began work. Searching for the perfect person to entrust with His new creation. They would have to be special. Now the time has come. His delivery comes in the form of a baby.

As the new mother cradles the baby in her arms, His heart is filled to overflowing. He gets that warm feeling in His chest as He sees them bonding. As mommy learns to care for her new baby, God stands watching with His chin lifted, biting His bottom lip. There, she's got it. That's right. Hold him carefully, mommy. He's fragile.

As the baby grows, God delights in watching him take his first steps, learn to talk, throw baby food across the kitchen. The first day of school, God's heart breaks as the little one cries and trembles in fear. He so desperately wants to take the child into His arms and buffer Him from any hurt. But He knows the child must learn, so He watches lovingly. Come on, son. Trust me. Just go inside. I've picked out a wonderful teacher for you. I've even worked it out so you'll meet a friend that you will have for life. I know you're scared. Just trust me. I've already been there, preparing things for you.

Eventually the boy grows up to be a teenager. He's on the high school football team. As God watches the boy run up and down the field, He jumps to His feet, screaming, "That's my boy! Run, son, run! Yeah! You go, boy!" His heart races as it swells with love. He is so proud, and he carries a big smile on His face all the next day.

Over the years, He watches as the boy goes through good times and bad. As the boy gets older, he gets busier and less interested in spiritual things. God longs to talk to him. He longs to sit and dream with him. God knows what's on his heart, what excites him, what scares him. If only the little boy, who is now a man, would turn to Him. He waits, but day after day, the man never slows down long enough to get to know God. Sure, he prays from time to time. "God, give me this. God, help with this. God, I want this." But He doesn't spend much quality time with his Father.

God wants to bless Him. He wants the man to really know Him. There is so much He wants to teach Him, so much to show Him. God created Him with specific purposes in mind. He gave him certain talents to use, certain people only this man could reach. But the man just ignores God, going about his daily routine, only thinking to pray when he wants something.

God continues to watch the man, His beautiful creation. He thinks back to the workshop and all the time they spent together there. His heart is sad, but He keeps on watching the man, helping Him, trying to reach Him. He sends certain things into the man's day, hoping each one will make the man stop and notice God. But right now, the man is too busy to notice.



Right now, as you sit in front of your computer, God is gazing at you. He remembers the time you and He spent together as He formed you in your mother's womb. He remembers your first day of school and the last broken heart you had. He remembers the day you won the big game, and how excited you were on your 12th Christmas morning. He saw you when you fell off your bike and when you helped that old lady in the grocery store. You make Him grin. He laughs at you when you're funny. He hurts with you when you cry. He knows when you're scared, and He's already been ahead of you checking things out. He's there now, waiting to hear from you. He loves you so much. Why don't you go talk to Him for a while?

Who do I trust?

My heart is extremely heavy tonight. Through a series of events that have unfolded today, I have come to realize that I have not trusted God with my life.

Have you ever had a feeling way deep down inside, a feeling that something was meant to be or supposed to happen? A feeling that whatever this "thing" is for you was just right. A feeling that won't go away, no matter how much you try to rationalize or deny it. No matter what you try to stuff in its place. It's just there, lying somewhere below your heart - right in the core of your body. If you've ever had the feeling I'm talking about, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Maybe this is the place where your "calling" resides. I don't know. I can't help but wonder if this is like a portal in my soul, the place from which God whispers to me the great mysteries of a life with Him. But sometimes He doesn't give many details (or any details), and I find it difficult to acknowledge that I hear anything because what I do hear scares me.

The thing is, I think that "feeling" can sometimes bring great joy and peace, but other times it can scare you to death. When God calls us to do something, often it will seem so foreign to us. He doesn't let us in on the details. He doesn't always reveal the ending. I didn't realize until today how much I rely on the ending.

So today I've been met with this harsh reality. I think God wants my life to take one direction. But that direction is full of uncertainty, uncharted waters-so to speak. So I came up with my own version of my life and have been pursuing it in vain for many years. Out of fear, I've squelched that little voice inside me. I have decided that my life should go this way or that way. These are the things I know and am comfortable with. I can have my little life and still serve God, right? Wrong. But see, I can do this and this and this for Him. I'm good at this and this, and I can use that to work for Him, right? Maybe-but that's NOT the point. I have been rationalizing my attempt to manipulate God into giving me what I want. I have been trying to hide behind the familiar and chase after something that feels comfortable to me. God hasn't called me to be comfortable.

So I am sad tonight. I am faced with the knowledge that I have to truly let go of the things I have chased over the years. Things that are familiar and comfortable. I love those things. The thought of letting go of them makes me sad (and scares me). If I let them go, I have no control. I have no pre-packaged answers in case God doesn't come through like I think He should. At least these "things" I am clinging to have a face, something tangible I can see and grab on to.

But God wants me to cling only to Him. I do love Him, and I thought I trusted Him. Obviously I have trusted more in myself. I need to make the plunge, let go and jump blindly into the "darkness" where only God is in control. I feel like I am standing in that doorway. I know I need to let go and trust Him, but my hands are clamped onto the door frame. I am sitting in the belly of the whale and have been for years. I think it's time I was vomited up onto the beach.

Party Game

As promised, here are the instructions for my new party game:

Invite your friends over and ask them to bring a Bible and concordance (if possible). You might also want to have a Thesaurus on hand.

There are no "points" in this game. The only point is to help us to recognize God more readily, and to see Him in absolutely everything.

The game goes something like this. Look around the room. What's the first thing you see. A chair? Okay. Now let your mind explore the word chair for a moment. How can you connect that to God? Try looking up the words "throne," "seat," "seated," and "chair" in your concordances. Then look up the verses in the Bible.

Next thing you see. A lamp? Okay, trying looking up "light" or "lamp." See where I'm going? It's great to have a thesaurus on hand to help expand your search. You can do this with just about anything you see.

The more you play this game, I think you'll be amazed at how alive the world becomes to you. You might be driving down the road and see a tree and think of Christ hanging from a tree. The road itself might remind you that 'small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life...'(Mt 7:13-14). Maybe you see a dog and are reminded of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 whose daughter was suffering from demon possession. She told Christ that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Because of her faith, her daughter was healed.

The point is to train yourself to see God in everything. It's a fun thing to do with friends. Your excitement will build off of each other. And discovering God together always brings people closer together!

Enjoy! And let me know how it goes...

eBay

Hello, my name is Aleah, and I am addicted to eBay.

Someone please help me! I have discovered that I am hopelessly addicted to eBay. I find myself sitting in front of my computer, near exhaustion. With bloodshot eyes, I strain to see the screen. My hand is cramped (much like Fred Sanford's arthritic claw) from being wrapped around my mouse for hours. As the bidding whips into a frenzy, I find myself throwing caution to the wind, bowing up like a cobra determined to win. What actually ends up happening is that I pay WAY more than I probably would have otherwise, simply for the satisfaction of winning. Whew.

Now, as you will learn, I am generally able to squeeze a spiritual connection out of just about anything. I love to look at the world around me and find ways to relate it to God. In fact, I have invented a whole "party game" for just that purpose (party game instructions to come later).

Anyway. As for selling to the highest bidder. How often do we do that with ourselves? How often do we sell ourselves to the highest bidder? Do we choose God (who will always be the TRUE highest bidder)? Or do we choose the world (Satan's playground)?

Satan will spin out a counterfiet that glitters so bright it would make Elvis himself stand up and take notice. As we sit back and watch the bidding war to see who will win our time, money, hearts, and souls, let us not be blinded by all the glitter.

Is your life on the auction block? How about your money, your time, or maybe even your soul?

Bible study or Sunday night football?
Encouraging words or gossip?
Serving or selfishness?
Stewardship or debt?
Commitment or adultery?
Sacrifice or greed?
Meditation or busyness?
Honesty or lying?

Who will win? They are all bidding for your life right now.

Satan's graceful, yet deceptive hand is wrapped around his mouse. Christ's nail-scared hand is wrapped around his.

Who's bid will you take?

My Frog

I have a frog.
He likes to blog.
Lives on a log.
I have a frog.

One day my frog
while on his log
was eaten by a hog.
No more frog.

I have a hog.
He has no log.
He doesn't blog.
Boring hog.

I have a dog.
He bit my hog.
He wrote a blog.
Applaud the dog.

I took the log
of my long-lost frog.
I lit a fire.
Roasted hog.

No more frog.
No more hog.
Only my dog,
who likes to blog.

Black Out and Clue In

I think we should have a National Black Out Day. This would be a day with
no electricity. We wouldn't be allowed to drive cars. We'd be forced to
slow down.

Let me just say that I am the last person in the world you might imagine to
survive without modern conveniences. My friends compare me to Suzanne
Sugarbaker and laugh at the thought of me going camping (that's another
story for another day). I am the person with white knuckles sitting in
traffic reminding myself that I am a Christian and don't use those kinds of
words. I hate to be hot. A day in Alabama with no electricity would be
brutal, but I think we need it nonetheless.

Hear me out. I recently watched a movie about an attorney who had to go
live on an Amish farm for a period of time while working on a case. She had
to go 20 miles up the road to use a phone. The only light she had at night
came from an oil lamp on her bedside table. She had to function without her
computer. It was quite the adjustment.

Growing up, my Grandpa used to take me to Tennessee to some Amish farms
there. He used to buy syrup and other things from them. I always thought
they were so weird. No electricity, boring clothes, no cars, etc. I can
remember one trip in particular where I stayed in the car and an Amish boy
around my age (10 or so) came over to the car. He stood right outside my
window and just stared at me. I guess we were weird to them too.

They worked with their hands all day. They worked hard. Families and
communities pulled together to get things done. Yes, it may take longer to
get somewhere or to get something done. But the quality of life for them is
so different from ours. If you've ever bought furniture or baskets from the
Amish, you will know that the quality of craftsmanship is significantly
greater than something you could buy at the mall. Made to last, sturdy.
They put their hearts and souls into what they do. Probably because they
have time to.

What if we were forced once in a while to slow down, to do things the old
fashioned way. What if we really took pride in our work, quality rather
than quantity. What if we spent time really talking to our families rather
than watching TV. What if we slowed down long enough to remember what's
really important, to invest ourselves into people. What if we all did that,
even for just one day.

Maybe we need a time to "black out" so we can clue in to what really matters
in life.

Back pockets

In the corporate world, I often hear salesmen refer to the back pocket. They will meet a potential customer and offer their sales pitch. If things aren't going smoothly or they need an extra boost to close the deal, they'll have something extra in their "back pocket." It might be a special discount on price or an extra freebie. Whatever it is, it sweetens the pot. They don't expect to use this bonus, but it's there just in case. A back-up plan.

When God calls us to do something, He doesn't always reveal the process by which He will carry things out. His timing is not our timing. His methods are not our methods. When we are staring into the dark with nothing but a call from God, sometimes we want to generate a back-up plan.

God may call us to wait on a certain type of person to marry. If the wait is too long, we may decide God needs our help. We begin settling for less and compromising our dreams and values. We overlook things we normally wouldn't tolerate. We try to twist and squeeze our choice to make it fit the design we were originally called to wait for. Maybe our model has many of the characteristics we are looking for. But what about the missing pieces? God would never give us an incomplete blessing. He wants to lavish us with things beyond our comprehension, yet we often expect Him to show up with half-mangled, yard sale leftovers. God doesn't work that way!

Maybe God calls us to leave our careers and pursue something new. Rather than taking steps of faith, we might remain in an unpleasant work environment. If God can't show us a five year business plan with income projections, growth potential and profit margins, we might not take Him seriously. I'm not suggesting we walk off the job the first time we have a bad day, but sometimes God calls us to do things that seem crazy to us. He asks us to trust Him. We might not know where the money will come from, but He will provide.

God doesn't usually reveal the ending up front. If He did, why would we need faith? The Bible shows us repeatedly where God called someone to do something extraordinary, yet only gave them one puzzle piece at a time. The rest of the pieces awaited them on the journey, and He didn't offer them a back-up plan. We do see, however, these same Bible characters pulling something out of their back pockets from time to time. Their back-up plans usually back-fired, as do ours.

"Don't be misled. Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."
-Galatians 6:7-9