Teacups and Toasters

We took our daughter to the Bass Pro shop for an egg hunt last weekend (finding candy eggs in fishing line tackle = way cool) and after the hunt there were crafts to make, tables to visit, and an Easter bunny to see. Well, Partycake wasn’t sure if she wanted her picture taken with the bunny. So, we got a glance from a distance at first. She stared him down for a few moments and then asked, “is he going to open his eyes?”

This bunny had no pupils! The black outer part of the eye was there and then a white inner part…but no pupil. He looked completely soulless. Partycake made it quite clear that she had no desire to sit upon his fluffy knees. Freaky fuzzball.

Of course, Easter commercialism is a little freaky and more than a little soulless. Why is it that some companies (Hershey, I’m looking at you) find it quaint to market chocolate crosses?  Chocolate bunnies, I have no qualms with, but don’t ask me to eat a chocolate replication of the very foundation of my faith.  The cross is where my Savior defeated death and abolished my debt.

We may not push the Easter bunny at our house, but Partycake does get a filled Easter basket, we dye eggs, and had little fluffy toy chicks hanging out around the house (until the cat hid them/ate them..) We do focus this season on making sure that she knows why we have Easter and why we celebrate it in the spring. Namely, new life. Our theme has been, Jesus makes all things new. He does. I am new. I am not the same person I was ten years ago. I am not the same person I was yesterday. Continually, He makes me new.

Bunnies, chicks, eggs, and other natural themes may have roots in pagan rituals, but I don’t think it necessary to condemn their presence. Afterall, God created all these natural things. They are His beautiful design and Christ was right there from the very beginning. We just have to give them the right meaning. A new meaning.

I hope you have an awesome Easter filled with beautiful weather and a filled tummy. I hope, despite the commercialistic, soullessness of some marketing strategy’s, enjoy chocolate and  jellybeans. We have to find joy in Easter, in a risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

(Ain’t no joy greater than that.)

Your adornment must not be merely external–braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:3-4

Yesterday was a really good day. It just was. Partycake was exceptionally well behaved. Everything was smooth. Everything had a tinge of sweetness.  And LOST, well, perhaps that was the only downer to the day because it was so short of an episode.  Really, though, I found myself thinking throughout the day that there were certain qualities present that just aren’t always there. Rather, they are, but I’m not.

I’m not at all a fan of self-promotion-feel good- you are your own god books, but I do think the outlook you give to any given day, does help.

Yesterday easily could’ve been mundane. Grocery shopping. Laundry. Cooking. All that jazz. But waking up and giving it a,  let’s do this right, kind of mentality was really worthwhile. I love my family and am trying really hard to have a gentle and quiet spirit, the kind pleasing to God, on a daily basis. This is tough for me, but not as tough as it once was. Having this goal has really strengthened relationships. Quiet doesn’t mean that I let Partycake get away with whatever and that if I disagree with my beloved that I don’t tell him. It just means that I don’t freak and talk crazy smack. I suppose Gentle is the real key word.

Anyways, yesterday was a good day. Today was too. Tomorrow is yet to be seen, but the forecast is nice anyway.

I cannot refrain from saying within and without;

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty

Who Was and IS and IS to come!”

Revelation 4:8

This post is a little personal. However, I was reading a passage in 1 Corinthians recently and it re-enforced something that I already knew. It was something that I needed to hear again and I know that I’m not the only one that can directly benefit from it.

When I was in middle school and high school, I had some serious self-image issues. This is not an uncommon thing for girls and perhaps guys experience it in some ways too. Media bombards us with images of what is considered beautiful, attractive, sexy, etc. etc. And unfortunately, it seems that a lot of people base their opinions of others and of themselves on what the media says is hot. It’s hard not to. I never really based my opinions of others on what the media said, but it sure didn’t help me when I looked at myself in the mirror.

I’ve always been tiny. I think perhaps the Scottish based legends and myths on the appearance of my ancestors. People used to think I was about five years younger than I actually was. I remember specifically, an instance wherein, I went out to eat with my parents and one of my friends. When we were seated the waitress brought my parents and friend regular glasses and she gave me a kids cup with a lid. I was around fourteen.

(Embarassing, but true!)

The issue with being a tiny person never went away. I struggle to maintain a healthy weight even though I eat like a shark. I just have to deal with it and I’ve learned to deal with it. Yet, I didn’t learn to deal with it via some self-promotional, inner-awareness book. I didn’t learn to love me. I’ve learned to deal with me and work to make myself more like my Creator. In doing so, I’ve learned a very very glad thing.  One day my Creator, Jesus Christ, will give me a new body, that He has designed just for me. Certainly, He designed the one that I reside in now, but it’s only a temporal one. He’s got an eternal one for me and for all who call on Him.

“But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

³⁶You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

³⁷and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

1 Corinthians 15

When we die, we will shed our earthly bodies, as if shedding a coat and with Christ we will reside. We have a spiritual body. Though it may resemble the former, it will be heavenly and is not the same one that we now wear.

***NOTE:  (DO NOT SEEK DEATH! If you are unhappy with your body image, death is not the answer. God holds the plans for our life here on Earth and He has given us our earthly bodies for a reason, whether, or not we like them. Believe it, or not God wants us to enjoy being in them. Check your five senses. He gave them for good reasons.)

We should take care of the bodies that we have because they are to be a temple to the living God, but don’t take care of it in vanity. Don’t spend much time worrying over the size and shape and complexion. Be content and know that your Creator has made you beautiful.

Imagine that you are in Nazareth at the time of Jesus life on Earth. You go to the synagogue every Sabbath and one day a local, Jesus, comes in. He’s back from spending forty days in the wilderness, not eating. He’s back in his home town and in He comes. He stands up to read and the book of Isaiah is handed to Him. He opens the book and chooses this passage:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

He closes the book and sits down. You, like everyone else present, stare at Him. This man who some have watched grow through boyhood has just proclaimed that He is the One. Jesus then turns to you all and says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The thing is… you know He’s not crazy. Why do we find it so hard to believe in miracles? I think that’s the question that we all need to ask ourselves. You can find the above scripture in Luke 4:14-21 and if you read a little further, you’ll find that He angers the crowd of Jews to the point that they chase Him out and are ready to push Him off the edge of a cliff. Why? He was bringing peace to the Gentiles and not just Jews. He told them this with more quotations from the Old Testament. This was huge and mortifying to those gathered in the synagogue.

Knowing Jesus will bring huge and mortifying things into our own lives as His Light reveals what we cannot hide. The Truth of His Word is powerful and life changing. I pray that you have found it this Christmas and are willing to embrace the One.

“Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’
your love, O Lord, supported me.”

Psalm 94:17-18

“And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.”

Isaiah 62:5

Lately, I’ve found myself accumulating bitty headaches and major heartaches. Both of which, can easily leave anyone feeling jaded. I’m sharing this minute personal information because there is a great need for restoration in the soul when this happens. If we don’t take time to be restored, we’ll become noticeably shabby.

In a little over a week, after being closed for most of the year, Space Mountain at Disney World will be officially open again. It has gone through a lengthy refurbishment that was long overdue. It’s been given new sequences, paint, in queue games to play, new cars, and a new, yet duplicate track.  It’s been brought to the 21st century, so to speak. From what I’ve heard through chatter on twitter and the blog realm, the soft openings have not been disappointing to the few  able to experience them. It’s the classic ride everyone loved – all shined up. And there are a lot of people that cannot wait to experience the roller-coasters restoration.

We as individuals, may not have a mass amount of people lining up at our doorstep to witness our restoration when it comes, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Actually, I think any persons restoration is far more significant than that of an old roller coaster (no matter how fun they say it is).

So, how do we go about restoring ourselves? Well, I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and a pumpkin muffin, which does leave my tummy feeling a bit warm and happy. Still, my soul can only be restored through God’s word. In one of the most quoted Psalms (Psalm 23) it says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake.”  He, Christ, alone can restore our souls. All the headaches and heartaches will only sit at bay, waiting to return, if we do not seek full restoration through the risen Savior.  Grant it, you will still have troubles, perhaps even many more, once you accept Christ into your life, but you’ll be on that path for His namesake, and one day there will be rest, AND even better… your soul will feel restored. There may not be fireworks, or a glowing aura of light in the moment you find Him, but your soul will know it has been restored. The heaviness of headaches and heartaches will be lifted. He carried the weight of the cross, so that you don’t have to.

Restore and rest.

Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
James 3:4-5