Fruit Smoothies

We just returned from a fabulous family vacation to a Beaches property in Jamaica. Wonderful time! And one of my favorite parts was the food. So many different things to choose from and all of it fresh and delicious. My absolute, hands-down favorite? The fruit. Fresh from the island - delicious! Each morning we'd head to the buffet breakfast and I would order a fruit smoothie. Made to order right in front of me. Fresh, frothy, blended perfection in a cup!

I could select from 7 different fruit choices, blended with ice and a splash of pineapple juice. Each day was different, I never had the same flavor and all were perfect! I was the master of my smoothie, determining what went in (and what did not). The best - Pineapple, Banana, Mango, Cantaloupe. Yummy!

And I got to thinking how my life is kind of like a fruit smoothie. How many times have I taken a bit of this and a splash of that, thrown them all together and mixed them up to create a "flavorful" concoction? How many times have I reduced (or eliminated all together) an ingredient to make my smoothie more appealing to someone else (or many someone elses)? Have there been times that I threw a bit of something extra in to "fit in" just a bit better? have I eliminated entire ingredients that didn't seem to "fit" with the world?

I'm not necessarily talking the obvious ingredients here either. (it's not the big stuff!) It's the subtle, the border-line, the gray stuff, that makes the smoothie seem a bit more appetizing. Have I simply added enough "God" to make my smoothie Christian, but enough world to keep it from being labeled radical, intolerant, judgmental? Have I thrown in some ideas that sound great, I mean really great, but are completely unBiblical? What does my smoothie include? Is it different from everybody else's or is just a slight variation on the rest of the world's?

How's your smoothie?

God is...

good.
Sometimes this is really hard to believe. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't questioned the goodness of God. We live in a world full of not good. Natural disasters that destroy homes and towns and people. Evil people who behave in horrible ways hurting others. Accidents that leave children without parents and parents without children. Wars, famines, earthquakes, pandemics...the list is infinite. Evil surrounds us. Everywhere.
And where exactly is this good God?, you ask (and I have asked on occasion) How can a good God just watch this and do nothing?

Nahum 1:7 - The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust him.

The world was once good. Back in the beginning, God looked at everything He had created and said it was good. Everything was good, just like He, the creator, was good. And it stayed good, until we messed things up, disobeying God and ushering in evil onto the good earth. And although we turned the world from good to not good, we did not change God. He remained (& still remains) good.

So, where is He exactly, this good God?, you ask. While we're hurting and crying and weeping with pain and suffering all around us. Where is He? 

The words of Nahum 1:7 say it best.  He is close. He is a strong refuge. He is good and is waiting for you to run to Him, trusting in His goodness to see you through the troubles that surround you. Run to Him...He is good!

too comfortable?

It seems to me that the older I get the more I enjoy routine.  Change gets more and more difficult with each passing year.  Our first move when I was an oh, so young 22 year old was much (MUCH) easier than our 7th move at the age of 32.  Seems that in that decade I had accumulated "baggage" that made it harder to make changes.  I would rather at times just stay unchanged and keep the same course.

Because, of course, that path is comfortable, familiar, routine and change is uncomfortable, unfamiliar, unknown.  And I would prefer to "know".  

But what if that comfortable, familiar path is not the right one for me to be on?  What if I'm comfortably journeying down the wrong way.  No one can ever be assured that comfortable is correct.  Sometimes we must be made uncomfortable to see God, to discover His strength, to be amazed by Him. 

explained life

***it's been a while.  i'll call it writer's block.  but, i'm back****

"Live a life that demands an explanation."  by Francis Chan

Demands an explanation?  There are really two ways to go with this.  One, reminds me of an American icon who passed recently.  His life, on display for anyone caring to watch, definitely could be unique enough to demand an explanation.  Definitely.

The other brings me back to Revelation chapter 3.  A life devoted solely to the will of God. This kind of life would, in this world at least, be so different it would stand out like, well Michael Jackson.  And it would require an explanation.  Demand it, in fact.  

This life, demanding a reason for it's behavior, would be hot.  Hot!  Nothing lukewarm ever needs to be explained.  Lukewarm is blendy, normal, routine, run-of-the-mill.  Oh, it might have it's slightly "good" qualities.  Deeds enough to show anyone interested that it's not pagan.  But is that what we're after?  Are we called to do a bunch of good deeds in the name impressing all we tell?   In Revelation 3 the church is scolded not because it doesn't do any deeds, but because it's not hot.  I'm sure there were plenty of people serving and "doing".  Checking their box, marking off their time, showing others how much they could contribute to the church.  But hot, not so much, Jesus tells them.  And their good deeds?  Well, the King of Kings was not impressed. And isn't that who we should be caring about?

It's a tough line to walk on.  To read this quote by Francis Chan, I could easily conclude that in order for others to wonder "what's up with her?" I need to "do", "serve", "hang out at the church" and show others that I'm different.  But I think Jesus clears that up in a single short section of scripture in Revelation 3.  He's not looking for our deeds, aimed more at impressing our neighbors than our Lord.  He's looking for us.  He simply wants me.  He wants you.  And when we are talking to Him, listening to Him, devoted to Him, the outpour will inevitably be hot.  And this heat will not be understandable to others.  It may not even be seen in full by others.  For if I'm doing and serving my King, my Lord, my God, why would I need to tell anyone else what I'm doing?  Why would they need to know about the evenings I've spent at the church, the time I've spent serving a needy family, the money I've contributed to causes?  Only the one I serve, my Savior, would ever need to know that.  

The explanation that would be demanded to explain my life would then be the result of my contentment, my joy, my peace, my faith in any circumstance or situation I'm handed.  The explanation cannot be the result of the deeds I make sure everyone knows I'm performing, but in the peace that passes all understanding that radiates from my life.