La Bielleza y Unidad de la Cruz

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one: Listen to better music.
 Step two: Look for Him.
 Step three: Be a Tiger Christian 
 Step four: Talk About Him

 La Bielleza y Unidad de la Cruz.  
 The Beauty and Unity of the Cross.  


Our church has a wing, and hidden away in there are a variety of cultures that come from Mexico and Central America.  They meet in that wing, praise the Father, preach the word, and grow.  Our Hispanic congregation has been meeting for about 18 months, with at least 20 baptisms.  Today, they left the wing they have come to know, and joined us for worship.  We prayed, sang, and heard the word of God in Spanish and English.  As one church. 

It reminded me of the days when I lived in Dimmitt, and we experienced the same thing with the Spanish Church of Christ.  How powerful it is when we let go of barriers, and let ourselves be unified in Christ.  

When I was in Zambia, I taught a man what a smore was.  I had a gritty melting marshmallow mashed between half a graham cracker and a piece of chocolate. My hands were filthy, but then again, so were his. We were being smoked out by the fire, and it was darker than dark. In Zambia, the stars shine radiantly, for no other reason than there isn't any competition for their light.  They own the place. The light from the fire flickered across the man's face, and it was amazing to see his joy after eating a smore for the first time.   I would imagine that was how God intended it.  Zambian and Texan, smore eaters.  Spanish and English, singers of praise.  


La Bielleza y Unidad de la Cruz.  It really is beautiful.  With all of the unrest in the world, especially in the past month, I have to seek this beauty, and let it get my attention-- because the beauty of the cross shines like those stars in Zambia, out into a dark world that doesn't stand a chance.  


Third Day lyrics that I love: 

"Praise to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Our God and our King, to Him we will sing
In His great mercy, He has given us life
Now we can be called the children of God
Great is the Love that the Father has given us
He has delivered us
He has delivered us
Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called
Children of God"

Until the Whole World Hears

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one: Listen to better music.
 Step two: Look for Him.
 Step three: Be a Tiger Christian 
 Step four: Talk About Him 

Is it just me, or is there some sort of stigma with talking about God? Sometimes it seems like under the church house roof, we talk freely about Him, but once we step back into the "world", we somehow become hushed.  Saying that I have done research is perhaps a stretch, but I educated myself using Google, and I learned that we say about 20,000 words a day. You might consider the fact that I'm a teacher and a woman, and well, let's just add a zero to that number for myself.  

Of those 20,000(0) words a day, I don't know that I even say 10 about God. Why is that? I'd venture to say that whatever we are talking about is where our attention is.  We talk about others, the weather, movies, books, ourselves... and somehow, we leave Him out.  I think that in order to fix my attention on God, as Roman 12:2 says, I am going to have to start talking about God more.  

To be fair, this requires a few things: bravery, transparency, and faith.  Satan is out there ready to threaten security and laugh in the face of believers. I think, though, that if I wish to be changed from the inside out, I've got to do whatever it takes. World, get ready. I'm ready to tell you what God's doing in my life.  

Great lyrics to a Casting Crowns song: 

"Ready yourselves
Ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
Ready yourselves
Ready yourselves
May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise
Until the whole world hears Lord we are calling out
Lifting up Your name for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness we're crying out
As the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears
Lord let your sleeping giant arise
Catch the demons by surprise
Holy nation sanctified
Let this be our battle cry"

Sink or Swim, I'm Divin In

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one: Listen to better music.
 Step two: Look for Him.
 Step three: Be a Tiger Christian  

Tonight on the drive home I heard an old Steven Curtis Chapman song that made quite a bit of sense in relation to my goal of the Roman's 12 Project: to present my life as an offering to God. And, in light of step one for this month, the chorus goes like this: 

"I'm divin' in, I'm goin' deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow
In over my head I want to go
The river's deep, the river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swim, I'm divin' in"

 On Thursdays a group of us gets together to eat and discuss topics intended to help us grow.  Tonight's topic was on Christian Fatigue, and the argument was made that if being a Christian wears you out, maybe it's not really a lifestyle for you, and instead, a chore.  Because a chore is not something you invest in, and a lifestyle is.  

So, you can see why Steven Curtis Chapman got me thinkin.  And if not, don't worry. I'm about to clear it all up.  

The last two lines in the chorus are key.  "The river's water is alive, so sink or swim, I'm divin' in."   I think we all know the river's water is alive.  We've got a little something in being a Christian for ourselves-- eternal salvation.  Can you see the bumper stickers? Avoid Damnation- Get Jesus!  Ticket to Heaven- Get Jesus!  

I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing. It is, in fact, quite a nice little perk.  

But, there's more, "So sink or swim, I'm divin in."  Well, we all know God rules. He's the Superman/Dumbledore/Captain Planet/Michael Jordan winner of all time. Why would we ever consider sinking?  

But, I wonder, how many Christians would there be if sinking or swimming was an uncertainty?  Maybe we are victims to Christian Fatigue because we really weren't all that invested in the first place.  Maybe if we loved God, got invested in a sort of "Sink or swim, I'm divin in" kind of way, being a Christian would be more of a lifestyle, and less of a chore. 

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Christian

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one: Listen to better music.
 Step two: Look for Him.
 Step three: Be a Tiger Christian 

So, I haven't read this. But it's all over the news, and several articles have surfaced since it's release.  As a teacher, I think about our future a lot.  I wonder what will become of us once the kids I teach are running the place.  I watch different parenting methods and consider new education trends.  I find the Tiger Mother's philosophy fascinating, and if I'm honest, I think there's something to it.  Now, let me be clear. I'm not suggesting we all start telling children they are trash.  But, I do kind of agree with instilling a sense of work ethic in kids.  How can that not lead to success? 

January's goal is to focus on God.  How can I do that if I give excuses for everything I do?  Step three for this goal is to be a Tiger Christian.  I am seeking out a relationship with my maker, my master-- how dare I slack off? No one ever said being a Christian would be easy. It takes time, dedication, and sacrifice. It concerns me that I spend more time checking Facebook than I do thinking about God.  It's also possible that I have a better relationship with my iphone than with God. We could blame it on our generation, technology, "being normal" etc.  Why is it so easy to come up with labels and excuses for our behaviors? Sometimes I feel like we try to cancel out our behavior if we can give a reason why it happened. Then maybe we aren't all that responsible for it.

Instead, I am seeking the philosophy of a Tiger Christian: that I will seriously attend to my Lord, I will avoid excuses for my behavior, and I will actively seek him out.  Romans 12:2 calls me to not become so a part of my culture that I become distracted. I should focus on God. Surely I love God more than my iphone...

Amy Chua talks now about how not everything in her memoir is meant to be used as a manual. She made mistakes.  So, when I say step 3 is to be a Tiger Christian, I am talking about focus, no excuses, and love.  She sees this philosophy as one done to provide more for children, showing them love through expectations and boundaries.   She says in an interview with Time Magazine that she was raised by a Tiger Father who limited her choices when she was young, which led to infinite choices as an adult. 

I can't help but think of God here.  Earth is limited, but heaven is a soaring, out of the box, question mark-- which holds no boundaries.

Give Me Your Eyes

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one: Listen to better music.
 Step two: Look for Him.

 After working out, I threw my things on the floor and put Hurley on his leash for a walk.  As we walked around the neighborhood, I realized just how cold I was going to be. Short sleeves, ratty pants, and soaked with sweat. Throw in January at dusk, and I needed Hurley to hurry up.

With all that going on, I guess my focus wasn't really on God, but rather on how uncomfortable I was.  Suddenly, I heard steps behind me, and a little man was walking behind me, quiet as a mouse.  I feel like I tromp around like a dinosaur, so it startled me when I turned around and found him so close.  What's sad is that my immediate reaction was defense. I was alone with a poor excuse for a guard dog, and it was getting dark. 

When I actually looked at the man's face, I saw the kindness in his eyes, and the calmness in his step-- hence the quiet walking.  He smiled and asked, "Aren't you cold?"  I had to laugh. Yes, in fact I WAS cold. And I was too blinded by it to see an opportunity to show love to a neighbor.  The little old man passed me on the sidewalk and walked into his house. 

The funny thing about listening to better music, is that you start to notice different things.  I love Brandon Heath. He sang these words on my radio this morning, and I think they are pretty fitting for my evening. 

Give me your eyes for just one second, 

Give me your eyes so I can see, 

Everything that I've been missing, 

Give me your love for humanity. 

I Aint Sayin She's A Gold Digger...

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

 Step one to focusing on God: Listen to better music.

I ran away from the rain and into the gym, which was crowded with body odor and new year's resolutions.  I love to work out. It's my sweat therapy.  I have my pandora playlist set perfectly, centered around The Black Eyed Peas.  I pretend to have more rhythm while I watch all the muscles walking around, and I imagine that this would be my sound track if we were in a movie. But, in compliance with January's goal, I changed my pandora station to a more appropriate tune.  One hour with God to work my spirit, while I worked my hams.

At first I was sure I had Spiritual ADD. There were so many thoughts bouncing around in my head, I couldn't focus. I missed the beat of my old music and the urge to walk with a swagger on the treadmill. 

Somewhere around the 200th burned calorie and the fourth round of Casting Crowns, it struck me.  I couldn't seem to get a recent parent conference off of my mind.  At one point during the meeting,  the mom simply said, "I just pray."  Because she didn't know what else to do to help her child. 

Possibly the hardest thing about teaching (and I assume parenting), is that you can't do it for them.  You have to equip children with the skills they need to succeed and somehow push them out of the nest... hoping they fly.  What's crazy is that this is what God does with us.  And the crazy part? He chooses to be this way, letting us make mistakes and fall.  How frustrating must it be to give us what we need, teach us what to do, and watch us fall right out of the nest on our big flying debut? I think it makes His love for us even that more special. 

And really, maybe that mom is on to something.  

The Happiness Project

I don't consider it a coincidence that the same day a friend loans me The Happiness Project, that my daily bible reader would have me read Romans 12, my favorite chapter in the bible. 

This book is right up my alley. I love to do lists, resolutions, and schedules. I can't help it.  While serving as a self-help book, The Happiness Project  analyzes how to increase happiness in your life.  Gretchen Rubin, the author, writes about her experiences and how she dedicated a year to simply having more fun.  She listed 12 resolutions, one for each month, and came up with realistic goals that would accomplish her resolutions.  It takes 30 days to make a habit, and after thirty days with one resolution, she added on the next. The idea was that at the end of her journey, she would be more happy than she was when she started.

Here's the thing.  I'm pretty happy, and really, I do this already! I decided to get more sleep, so I made it a habit. I decided to work out, I made it a habit. I wanted to drink coffee and play angry birds before the day started, so I made it a habit. (Okay, I read my bible, catch up on facebook and challenge opponents on words with friends too).  All that to say, I am happy. 

Back to Romans 12.  Like I said, I don't think it's a coincidence that I read this chapter the same day that I started The Happiness Project.  The first verse alone spoke to me loud and clear, differently than the thousands of other times I've read it in the past:

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."  Romans 12:1 (The Message)

Hmmm... so instead of a happiness project, it seems like I need to do a Romans 12 Project.  Who knew Paul had it figured out way back then?  I've broken down the chapter into 12 goals that I hope to add to my lifestyle.  

January: 
Focus on God  - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Verse 2.

February: 
Give Thanks- "I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him." Verse 3. 

March: 
Be Involved- "In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around.  The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body..." Verses 4&5

April: 
Be a Child of God- "Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't." Verse 6

 May: 
Just Help- "If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; If you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate;" Verse 7


June: 
Keep a Smile- "If you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face." Verse 8 


July: 
Love from the Center- "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good."  Verse 9

August: 
Others First- "Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle." Verse 10

September: 
Faithful in Prayer-  "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder." Verses 11&12

October: 
Be Hospitable- "Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality." Verse 13

November: 
Be a Friend- "Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down." Verse 15

December: 
Bless Enemies- "Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath... Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. 'I'll do the judging,' says God. 'I'll take care of it.' Our scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good." Verses 14, 16-21


The Romans 12 Project: Placing my everyday life before God as an offering. 

Sharing Secrets

It's the little things, right?

So, my downstairs toilet started running nonstop in like July. I know, it's January...but I can't afford expensive house repairs, so I ignored this problem and tried not to use that toilet. Well, after months of this, the toilet began to stain. No matter how long I left bleach to soak and scrubbed till my arms were sore, those ugly brown stains wouldn't go away. When people came over, I had to convince them that I truly do clean my bathroom.

Today has been a very productive Saturday. I was cleaning said toilet bowl when I decided enough was enough! I put down the scrubber and lifted the back lid off of the tank. I felt around, and suddenly it stopped running! I found the misbehaving part, tightened a screw, and would you know, that toilet works like new!

Although, it still looked like crap. Literally.





Here's a shot taken after soaking in bleach and lots of scrubbing. Yuck!

I told my aunt Lisa about all of this, and she recommended a product. I immediately went to find it and tried it out as soon as I hot home.

2 minutes later...




Look at that shiny clean bowl! It took hardly any scrubbing this time!

Curious about my miracle product?




Hiding our in the Dollar Store... For ONE DOLLAR.

Seriously. Works better than Lysol or clorox bowl cleaners... And way cheaper.

At the end of this adventure, my toilet flushes normally and sparkles with pride.


I apologize for those revolted by toilet pictures, but if you can't get excited over clean toilets, what's the point of dealing with daily crap? :)




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