Making My Bed

I made up my bed today.

I know--for most people that is just a given. But it's pretty significant to me. A few years ago I could have convinced Martha Stewart that making up a bed was absolutely insane. I said that it was a pointless task. I hated it and I never, ever, ever did it.

Thankfully, a couple of years ago I began to learn that my mind, emotions and physical state all work together. It turns out that every area of my life is inextricably linked. Who knew? So basically what I realized is that when my house is a wreck then I am kind of a wreck as well.

Eventually I had to do one of the most difficult things we have the option to do in life and admit that maybe, just maybe, I could have been wrong about some things. For starters--accepting that perhaps making up the bed could somehow be a good thing?

So I did it. I made up my bed. I decided that everyday I would just pull up the sheets, throw on the pillows and make it up. It didn't have to look perfect. That wasn't the point. The point was just simply to get it done. So I did it.

Over and over again.

It may not seem like a huge thing. Making up a bed? Not a big deal. It's really not. The habit created itself so quietly that I didn't even realize it was mine until today. When I looked at my bed and thought, Now that's nice. You stubborn old mule--THAT'S NICE! And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Obviously it's not pointless and I don't hate it. It's not insane. Insanity is always doing things the same way but expecting different results...

 

And I hope it's apparent that this is not about whether or not a bed should be made. At all...

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." Andy Warhol

It was one thing. Just one small thing. That I changed.

An accomplished housekeeper I am not. I will never be. Actually, you know what? Scratch that. Maybe I will be one day! Maybe one day my house will be on the cover of Martha Stewart's magazine and she will interview me about my mad housekeeping skills. Yes! And we will laugh about how I used to never make up my bed.

You just never know... Right, Martha? But for now, a made-up bed is good enough for me.

Thank You, Charlie Sheen

A couple of funny things from the kids mouths today...

First was Glory. We received some chopsticks for Christmas and she wanted to eat her macaroni and cheese with the them. I told her she could try but it would be pretty difficult. She asked why it would be difficult and I told her because we weren't used to eating with chopsticks, we always eat with a fork. And then she asked who did eat with chopsticks. I told her that lots of people do but that Chinese people are really good at eating with chopsticks because in China they eat with chopsticks like we eat with forks.

Then she said, "Mommy, I know how to say 'Chinese' in Spanish." I asked how.  "Oklahoma," she informed me.

Okaaaay.

Then for Jonah's funny. We were driving home in the dark and he and Glory were in the back. All of a sudden I hear him yelling, "I'm WINNING! I'm WINNING!"

(Just let it be said--I am such an idiot.)

I yell, "JONAH! Where did you hear that!?" He just kept yelling I'M WINNING over and over again. I was astonished that he was saying this. Finally he said "What mom? I'm winning! Me and Glory are racing."

Oh, yeah. Get a grip, Mom.

*Sigh*

Books for 2012

I have purchased several books on my Kindle that I have not read entirely. I just keep buying new ones, reading about 1/3 and then getting the next one. It is so EASY to do on the Kindle and for a book lover it can really get out of hand. I have got to stop it. So for 2012, I am not going to read any new books but rather finish the ones I have already started. It happens that there are 12, one for each month.

Here they are:

The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer
Jesus + Nothing = Everything, Tullian Tchividjian
The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul
What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert
You Lost Me, David Kinnaman
Give Them Grace, Elyse Fitzpatrick
Gospel, JD Greer
The Discipline of Grace, Gerald Bridges
Freedom of the Will, Jonathan Edwards
The Reign of Grace, Scotty Smith
To Live is Christ, Beth Moore
The Problem of Pain, CS Lewis

Perhaps I will write about each one as I finish in an effort to hold myself accountable. Perhaps.

What are you reading?

I am thankful for the gospel.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9

"Our greatest need before conversion is the gospel, and our greatest need after conversion is the gospel. We never move on, only deeper in." Burk Parsons

Thankful for to be moving deeper by His grace.

On Tolerance

Is putting up with someone the same thing as loving them?

Suspecting that I already knew the answer, I recently asked the Lord to shed some light on this for me. If I don't agree with someone or don't relate with them...if I am annoyed with them or maybe they are just not very nice to me...as a Christian I am commanded to love these people. I know this. But as a human, I am inclined to reject them. So the solution for me has always been to just  "put up with them." But is this love? Putting up with people?

The word that the Lord first brought to mind as I contemplated this is tolerance. I came to realize that what I do much of the time is merely the practice of tolerance. Somewhat of a buzz word in our culture today, tolerance is generally considered to be a good thing and apparently I have embraced it, too. I have believed that if I just put up with these people, behave myself around them, keep my thoughts about them to myself, then I am demonstrating love. If I can just manage a smile and some formal niceties when I am around them, then I am being a good Christian.

But the practice of tolerance, or putting up with people, is a far cry from the love of Christ. Think about how God demonstrates his love: "while we were still sinners he died for us" (Rom 5:8), and that Christ suffered...for the unrighteous...to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18)  Christ suffered, to the point of death, for a relationship. Not tolerance.

Tolerance is everything we can give of ourselves without suffering. It's literally all we can do to tolerate someone. It is a man-made plan that leaves God totally out of the picture. Tolerance is a way that seems "doable."  Loving requires something more. Loving will always require us to suffer. Loving will always require grace. Loving will always require surrender and dependence. What God has revealed to me is that I'm tolerating quite a bit, but not loving much at all.

We are certainly called to tolerate people. But there's more to it than that. The question is, am I tolerating someone in love or out of a self-righteous attempt to be good or even politically correct? The way to tell the difference is by asking the question, Is the goal of my tolerance of this person to have a relationship with them? If the answer is no then we have tolerance with out love. The result of tolerance alone will always be indifference while the hope and goal of tolerance in love will always be relationship.

When we settle for tolerance, we ignore what God does through Love. Intentionally, sincerely, selflessly, sacrificially, relentlessly--He pursues us, He loves us. Tolerance is a cheap substitute for Love.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,  being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Eph 4:1-7, NASB)