Yearly Archives: 2013

Failing to Succeed?

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I’m a terrible clothes shopper and hate to go to malls. Set me in a women’s clothing store with an assignment to find a new outfit, and I’d rather flee the country.

Maybe that’s why my closet is full of outdated items, most of which are older than a decade. Modernizing is just too complicated, not to mention time consuming, expensive, and sometimes humiliating. My failure rate is high.

As I see it, there are 9 clothes-shopping stresses:

  1. Racks and racks...Giving up several hours of precious time.
  2. Finding a store with clothes designed for 60-somethings.
  3. Getting acquainted with a store’s layout and inventory.
  4. Pawing through endless racks of clothes.
  5. Choosing a variety of items to try on, hoping they’ll morph into a cute outfit.
  6. Squaring off with a full length mirror in a harshly lit dressing room.
  7. Creating 3 piles of clothes in that small space: (A) Possibles; (B) Rejects;             (C) Needing other sizes or colors.
  8. Re-finding the racks of other sizes and colors.
  9. Repeating 1 – 8.

Even after all that, the whole convoluted process may be fruitless, requiring a 1-9 do-over on a later date. It’s a mystery to me how so many women find this process enjoyable.

Today I found myself in yet another massive mall making a third attempt to find a business-casual outfit that I’ve needed for some time. I put it off as long as possible, not wanting to spoil an otherwise good day. Friends suggested I try a place named Chico’s.

Chico'sWhen I stepped into the store, a little flame of hope flickered. A dozen other women my age were working the racks, chatting over great sale prices. Maybe this would be my one-stop-shop.

Our lives are full of things we don’t especially want to do, not necessarily dramatic ordeals but just everyday tasks. We know that if we want to act like responsible adults, we must tend to them. Shopping for clothes is only one of hundreds, and though we might tackle these jobs in fits and starts, for the most part they get done.

But what about spiritual tasks?

Are we excited to push other things out of the way to make room for them? Or do we look at things like prayer and Bible reading as duties we “must tend to?” Do we approach them with eager expectation, or do we see them as non-obligatory chores?

Bag of goodiesToday I left Chico’s with a bag of goodies, but that’s not usually the case after my shopping excursions. More often than not, I finish empty-handed.

When I go “shopping” for more of God, however, I’m always successful, 100% of the time.

“Acknowledge God…. and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

September 26, 2013

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BrookeThroughout the year 2010, I blogged about each of my 7 children on their birthdays. That included my 2 in-law children (children-in-love), but one was missing. That’s because Brooke hadn’t yet joined our family. As a matter of fact, 2010 was the year she and Klaus first met, and on June 22 of this year, she became a Nyman.

To her credit, she hasn’t been intimidated by her new husband’s large family but has joined our ranks with enthusiasm. Maybe that’s because she lives all of life enthusiastically. I love her exuberance and the fact that it bubbles out of a heart committed to Christ.

Brooke-made jewelry

 

Brooke has strong creative genes that show through in her interior decorating, her cooking, her jewelry (left), her wardrobe, and her passion for antique-ing. She can turn almost anything into a work of art and is not above “dumpster diving” for her supplies, most recently orange crates for book shelves. She also sells her creations at flea markets, craft fairs, and in boutiques.

A champion at bargain-hunting, she loves a “rare find” and enjoys stretching a dollar. Surely her careful spending will be a gift to her marriage and family for the rest of their lives.

I fully believe God brings marriage partners together in ever-unique ways in answer to the prayers of both the man and the woman. And if their parents are also praying for the Lord’s choices, how can they miss? Hearing the origins of these love stories is fascinating, especially hunting for God in the details.

Although Brooke and Klaus were raised in towns 110 miles apart, our move to Michigan in 2009 and Klaus’ arrival in early 2010 turned out to be pivot points in bringing the two of them together. I’ll never forget the excited text I received while visiting daughter Linnea and family in Florida, the day after Klaus met Brooke. “What do you think about me dating a 19 year old?” Since he was 29 at the time, it was a good question.

I responded by asking if she was a Christian, and when he said, “Yup!” I figured, why not?

Brooke and KlausThree years later, the two of them are having fun feathering their nest and settling into married life. And since we live less than a mile apart, I get to see a great deal of them.

One of Brooke and Klaus’ favorite Scripture passages is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

They both trusted the Lord to direct their paths to each other, and as the verse says, if they continue to depend on his understanding over their own, he will continue showing them which paths to take.

Brooke, we’re so glad you’re finally on the family birthday roster. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.” (Psalm 37:5)

Celebrity or Commoner?

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September never fails to include a few lovely summer days, and today was one of them. Rather than have my devotions at home, I grabbed Jack and headed for the beach, our shared favorite place.

Pretty stones.While he romped in the dunes and did happy dances upside- down on the sand, I took a few minutes to walk the wave line looking for pretty stones and the occasional piece of beach glass.

Since the waves were small today, the stones were small, too. “Mini’s” we call them. But they’re every bit as pretty as their larger counterparts. Walking along slowly picking up stones, I spotted a piece of aqua-tinted beach glass. A few feet further there was a brown one, then two frosty-white ones. Step-after-step I found more and more until I had 24 in all, quite an unusual yield for a short strip of beach.

24 pieces.It’s interesting that beach glass is man-made and stones are God-made. Both are frequently taken home as treasures, but they’re very different from one another. The bits of etched glass are glamorous, rare, the “celebrities” of beach finds. Attractive stones are more common, easier to find, and have no special sparkle.

People come in those two varieties, too. Some sparkle with fame and fortune, whether through Hollywood, Washington DC, Wall Street, or even in a pastorate. We can easily become enamored with these superstars, putting them on mental pedestals, since the rest of us are much like commonplace beach stones by comparison. We’re ordinary and have no reason to grace a magazine cover or be interviewed on TV.

Because of the stark difference between celebs and non-celebs, we commoners can sometimes fall into the trap of wondering if we’re accomplishing anything significant in our lives. If we fall prey to this kind of analysis, though, God has some comforting news for us.

Let’s pretend we’re the beach stones, and the “movers and shakers” of this world are the beach glass. God is the one walking along the shore, except that he wouldn’t do what I did this morning, picking up only the choicest finds. He would arrive at the beach with a giant scooper big enough to lift every single piece off the sand, glass and stones alike. They’d mix together indiscriminately, and once he got us home, he wouldn’t separate us into separate piles. Every piece would be equally valuable.

Mixed together.Picturing God on the beach behind the controls of a scooper is silly but expresses the truth that he loves each of us equally and offers eternal salvation to all in the same way. Living an ordinary life without sparkle or flash does nothing to diminish our “chances” with him. He loves us all, and when we say yes to him, he’ll take us home.

“God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News…. that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34-36)