A Haphazard Display

Everything noteworthy, of interest or important ends up stuck to our refrigerator door. Some things are temporary and get a magnet. Other things are more permanent and get scotch tape. In looking at the haphazard display, I see a representation of my life. It's sort of like a scrapbook page...

A picture of Steve & I - I am thankful to have the wonderful husband I do. He and I had a beginning against all odds. We did everything wrong. Without God, we would definitely not be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary this May.

He is SUCH a good father. I am so envious when I see him with our girls; they have exactly what every daughter should have growing up, exactly what I did not have. He loves God and wants His will above all. He truly is a gift to me.

Pictures of our family - How sad it would be to have no one's picture to display. My daughters, my niece and sister, my parents and in-laws; I'm thankful for them all.

My daughters, of course, are the joy in my life. They are all so wonderful and different. I thank God every day for the gifts they are and pray that they will have nothing but goodness in their lives.

Pictures of friends, present & past, sometimes both - I smile when I see them. Some of my friends who knew the old Katie from back in high school or my early twenties, I wonder what they think now. I certainly hope they see a difference. I love to think about why God has had us cross paths again. Interesting possibilities...

Art made by kids - My house is covered in it, but the coveted spot is the refrigerator. Their artwork is made and given in love. The picture my niece drew for me is up there, and when she sees that I kept it and put it in a place of honor, I hope she'll know how much I love her.

Freedom of expression and creativity are valued in this house -- so much that I let Hope put stickers on the wall. Her "Ooooohhhh" was too much to resist, she thought it was just so pretty.

Magnets - They hold things that show we have a purpose, goals, work to do...and a good life. Faith's dentist magnet means that we have health care and can afford for her to be seen by a dentist. Other magnets are simply decorative, but they hold resources and schedules. This is a blessing and a reminder to be thankful for busy days, days filled and not empty.

Bible verses - The foundation our house is built on. Nourishment for the journey. A light in the dark. Where we turn when we have questions, are worried, are scared, are hurt. God's promises to us.

My God has richly blessed me. He has made up for the years of the locust.

Joel 2 The Message

I'll make up for the years of the locust,
the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
I sent your way.
You'll eat your fill of good food.
You'll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.

At the car wash...

Today was the first warm, sunny day in months. I did what many people did today; I took my van to the car wash!

I go to an automatic car wash, one that's attended by real, live people who take your cash, rinse your car, and after the wash, dry it.

I don't know about anyone else, but I always get nervous when it's time for me to put my front-left tire into the conveyor belt. As I was driving forward, SLOWLY, the guy who had taken my money was motioning me to keep coming forward. I rolled down my window and asked him if I should keep the car in "drive".

"No! Put it in 'neutral' and leave it there." He even looked at my dash board to see if I had followed his instructions...pretty important ones I would guess.

So, my wheel was properly in the conveyor belt, my vehicle was in "neutral", and I sat back to relax for a minute. I was watching the giant sponges soap up my windows and thinking of how wonderfully-squeaky-clean the van was going to look when we were done.

God revealed to me how this whole process was a bit like how we should look when we come to Jesus to be saved, to be cleansed of our sin. We should no longer be in "drive" -- we have to put ourselves into "neutral" and let Jesus carry us through that car wash. We can't cleanse ourselves of sin, Jesus has to do it for us. If we're still in "drive", it's going to mess something up in a serious way.

I had a conversation this past weekend with a woman at church. She told me she was still working on "getting saved". Since she had just told me that she was walking with Jesus, I asked her why she thought she wasn't saved.

She told me that she doesn't do everything right, doesn't make the right choices, the ones that God wants her to, and that she hadn't started living her life completely for God. She was still in "drive".

We are told in the Bible that we are unable to be saved by our own doing -- it's all on Jesus and the trust we place in His sacrifice on our behalf.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (New International Version)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

I do believe that during our walk with Jesus, we come to a point of conviction to change habits, lifestyles, purposes. But, those are changes of the heart that God does. They are evidence of our salvation, not requirements to be met BEFORE salvation.

When I relayed this to the woman at church, she got a big smile on her face -- Good News, indeed!

We all need reminders in this world of "drive" that the gift that Jesus extends to us is simply that, a gift. Put your vehicle in "neutral" and let the mud and grime of life be washed away by the only One who can.