The Devil’s Panties

       I have a love/hate relationship with my spanx.  When I first put them on under my dress, I love them…angel panties; after wearing them all day and taking them off, I hate them…nothing short of devil’s panties.  And as I look at the painful bluish/purplish rings around my thighs where they have sunk in and successfully started to suck the blood-flow to my legs, I wonder why bother???  Those lumps and bulges never hurt anyone…why do I insist on smoothing them out??

        I even went as far as looking up ‘girdle’ (aka: spanx) in the dictionary.  Here are some of the definitions:

“A belt or sash.”  “A corset that creates a more slender appearance.”  “A flexible, slimming garment.”

Well.  Now, that just sounds lovely.  Mr. Webster did however, fail to mention that while wearing these beautiful “belts or sashes” you will be unable to do the following:  Laugh without cracking a rib, breath without gasping, have a coherent conversation due to lack of oxygen, walk without making the “swishing” sound, sit down and stand up quickly,  divert attention away from the ‘indentions’ that perfectly circle around your thighs, bend over, etc. etc. etc.

        In all seriousness, I think a lot of times I am guilty of wearing spiritual spanx.  Things and situations in my life aren’t exactly what they should be, and they create a little bulge here.  I’m not completely surrendering things to Him and that creates a little lump over there.  But instead of working on those issues with Him, I try to cover them up with the “Christian appearance”.  I try and try so hard to put up the Godly front, that by the time I’m home and I take it off, it’s too late…I’m bluish/purple.  My prayer is that I will let Him have control of everything, no matter how ugly and embarrassing it may be.  Give my mess to Him and let Him smooth it out for me.

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”

1 Peter 5:7  KJV

Sitting By a Brook in a Drought

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.  And the word of the LORD cam unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward and hide thyself by the brook of Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often wondered why the Lord told Elijah that a drought was coming and that He wanted him to go sit by a brook.  I mean, a BROOK??  The Lord could have told Elijah to live be the Jordan since it was so deep.  He could have told him to sit by one of the huge lakes.  But instead, he chose a BROOK?  A puny little stream which would obviously be one of the first bodies of water to dry up in a drought.  And if it didn’t dry up first, would be drank up in a drought!

I’m sure when the Lord told Elijah where He wanted Him to sit; it didn’t look promising for Elijah.  But, the Lord had other plans.  Maybe He wanted to prove to Elijah that even in tough times, He would sustain His children.  Elijah was obedient:  he didn’t question it (out loud, lol) or try to take matters into his own hands, like I may have tried to do…he simply started walking to the brook and sat up camp.  He was waiting on the Lord’s plan to unfold, which it did.

When I am going through tough times and it seems like I won’t survive, I want to trust His plan.  I want to be able to say, “Okay, Lord, you know what you’re what you’re doing” and set up my camp.  Even if my campsite isn’t where I think it should be, and my means of survival seem slim to none, I want the Lord to help me realize that Him and His mercies are all I need for survival and He will sustain me!

Blood Harmony

    I’ve been told that when Emily and I sing together at church, our voices sound the exact same when we sing the same part. I sing harmony most times and I have found that it’s easier to harmonize with her than anyone else.  That is because of something referred to as blood harmony.  Blood harmony is when immediate family member sing together they reach a level of harmony that is effortless.  It is almost like you are harmonizing with your own voice.  Genetics reveal that immediate family members share the same tone to their voice.  They have the same nature and nurture to the voices which makes it extremely easy to blend into one sound.  No matter the amount of practice, blood harmony can never be mastered unless you are actual blood relatives.

    Blood harmony is also a term that neurologists have adopted to help treat patients who are hanging in the balance…they could go either way:  back into life and consciousness or death.  That’s why they urge family member to use their voices to talk to the patient: try to coax them back into consciousness.  The patient hears the tone and voice and it is like they are hearing their own voice.  It doesn’t always work, of course, but it is one of the most urged forms of treatment for some patients.

    I may share a blood harmony with Emily that makes singing easier, but there is one harmony I have that’s so much more important.  I share a blood harmony with Jesus.  He bought me with His blood a long time ago and now I’m an heir. 

When I was a little girl I heard His voice and it harmonized with something in my heart and He coaxed me to choose life – EVERLASTING life.  It’s easier for me to synchronize my life after Christ than after things of the world.  I want people to hear Him when I talk, see Him in my actions, and feel Him through my doing.  I’m so glad that when I was that little girl I made the most important choice for myself and harmonized my life with His.  It hasn’t always been easy and I’m by far perfect, and made more mistakes than I can count, but my life, blended with Him, has been nothing but beautiful harmony throughout my journey so far.

 

“Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

Philippians 2:2 KJV

Pumpkin Boy

Well, it’s officially here.  The time of year when mom gets out a 3 foot tall stuffed decoration, shaped like a boy with a pumpkin head.  He has affectionately been named “Pumpkin Boy” over the years.  This little guy is made for decoration, but mom LOVES to scare people, so we have found an alternate purpose for him…to scare each other, lol. 

Pumpkin Boy has ended up standing in closets, behind the shower curtain, under the sheets, anywhere you can imagine and when you hear the scream, you just laugh and know that someone has discovered Pumpkin Boy.  (Entertainment around this town stinks!  LOL!)  You know that when you walk into mom’s, there’s a great possibility that you will be scared by Pumpkin Boy…you know it’s coming, but you let your guard down for a second and he gets you everytime.

That’s how I feel about satan.  You know he’s always hiding somewhere: Tempting you with something, putting thoughts in your head, trying to just steal your joy.  A lot of times I get complacent with my walk with the Lord and let my guard down.  That’s when satan pops up.  I want to keep my defenses up against him and not let him sneak up on me.  I know he’s out there, hiding in places I may least expect the devil to hide.  I want to stand guard and keep my heart and life protected from whatever he’s preparing to throw at me! 

“And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Job 1:7 KJV

And as for Pumpkin Boy…I’m already thinking of a new hiding place for him!  J