For Goodness Sake

You know that little voice inside your head?  The one that makes comments and suggestions throughout the day?  Not the same utterance as the sound of your own thoughts, but the mouthpiece that seems to come from outside yourself?

Maybe you don’t have one, but I do.  In fact, I’m not sure if I could function without that little voice. 

The Corrosion Effect

“I’ll be happy to stay with the class until the she arrives,” I offered.  My child’s elementary teacher was running late from an early morning meeting and hadn’t made it back to the classroom in time to greet the students.  No biggee.  As a parent, I am certainly capable of monitoring 20 young students while they unpack backpacks and prepare for the morning’s lessons.  It would only be a matter of minutes before the teacher arrived. This would be  easy – or so I thought.

It’s Just Chicken!

Sometimes, we need to pause and remind ourselves, “It’s just chicken!”

Weary from the hours of driving, we pulled into the parking lot.  The endless miles of bland New Mexico landscape enhanced our felt need for a break in our journey.  After counting down the miles until lunchtime, we chose one of those dual service fast food joints – in this case, a Fried Chicken/Mexican Food half-breed.  I mindless pondered why anyone would try to integrate the two varieties while my children to battled their way out of the travel-laden minivan.

Good Intentions Gone Bad

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”  ~Unknown

Here’s a saying who’s origin dates back to as early as the year 1153.  Although, personally, I thought it originated with my mother!

This expression always befuddled me as a child.  I knew what “good” meant.  And, as the youngest of 5 children, I thought I had an idea about “hell.”  But these two concepts never seemed to intersect with the other.  How could they be used in the same sentence? 

What’s the Rush?

I had an unexpectedly late start to the airport.  It’s Saturday afternoon and I am in a hurry to return home so that I can celebrate Easter and my youngest daughter’s birthday with my family.  True to characterization, I am verbally coaxing the driver’s around me to move faster or move out of the way.  Don’t any of these people have someplace to go?  By the way they are driving, you’d think they had nothing better to do today than impede my progress.

Crimes Against Humanity

Recently, our pastor challenged us to live our Christian life in the “No Spin Zone” (to borrow a phrase from The O’Reilly Factor.  In other words, our daily walk should be authentic.  There should be no reason for a follower of Jesus Christ to put external “spin” on their personal beliefs, choices, or actions in order to get them to seemingly “fit” within the values espoused by the Christian faith.  Plain and simple.  Do I live that kind of life?  Can I avoid the cultural pressures to conform, and live day-to-day steadfast to biblical truth?

As a people-pleaser by nature, I know I sometimes struggle with “standing out.”  It is easy to succumb to preserving my “image” in order to avoid the uncomfortable tension of being “out there,” standing up for something on my own.  However, my Christan faith often calls me to that exact place.

True Love

(Must be read as a dramatic narration to receive it’s full value.)

We stumbled in the door of the crowded restaurant.  A growing shared hunger and the need to stretch our legs had led our family of four to this place in hopes of a respite from the unending Texas highway.  It was the only place in the area, the golden arches drawing us in to it’s fat-filled high-carb trap like a spider into it’s web.  As we stepped inside and took our place in line, I imagined this lonely, yet familiar, place must draw thousands of other travelers from the busy road.  From the looks of the building, it had stood it’s ground a long while.

Our extended wait in line allowed us each a bathroom visit, leaving behind rotating sentinels to defend our claimed position.  We even had time for a supervised return to the car for jackets to ward off the over-eager air conditioning, hoping to restore blood-flow to our limbs before we lost all sensation.  Finally, the wait was over; our moment arrives.

Gifts Without Measure

One of my fondest  love languages is “gift-giving”.  I cherish even the smallest item received from a friend and I spend countless hours selecting the perfect gift when shopping for someone else.  In case you are unfamiliar with Gary Chapman‘s concept of “love languages”, a love language is a preferred method of expressing and receiving love.  We each have a method that is more meaningful to us than any other.  For me, exchanging gifts has significance that inexplicably transcends the exterior token.