Crockpot Theology

I have rediscovered a love for cooking with my crockpot. Actually I've rediscovered my crockpot. It was a wedding present (26 years ago!). It has a funky orange, green and brown design that gives its era away--very retro. As my work schedule has increased, I've needed time-saving ways to cook for my family and so I pulled the old crockpot from the back of my pots and pans cabinet. It's like a treasure I forgot I had! For the past 3 months I've cooked in it at least one time a week, sometimes more. Throw a bunch of vegetables and some meat in the crockpot in the morning, and when I get home from work, wonderful smells of a tender, succulent stew are greeting me at the door.

The secret, of course, to a crock pot's success is SLOW, steady heat. When food is subjected to this kind of process, it becomes very tender and all the flavors blend together. I thought about how that also can apply to life. The processes that have broken me and made me a better more tender individual have been things that have taken a good amount of time. Being a parent is probably one of my crock pots of life. I laugh sometimes when I remember what I was like before I had children. I had lots of goals but they were pretty self-centered. Our first pregnancy was not planned. It seemed to put a big obstacle in the middle of our career plans and dreams. I was in an internship to become a marriage and family counselor and I had to stop out for awhile to have my baby.

Although I felt such awe and love for my new baby daughter at her birth, my adjustment to being a new parent was not carefree. Our baby was collicky and didn't sleep well for 5 months--so we didn't either. I felt overwhelmed at figuring out how to bathe, clothe, feed, diaper, entertain this new little life that I was responsible for. Everything in my life was contingent on this little creature!

Finally after a few months, I returned, very part time, to interning in counseling. I was worried that my time away from the practice would make my skills rusty, but I found that my counseling instincts had been sharpened as I cared for my child. I had wanted to become a better counselor, but I had actually become a better person. As I was forced to set aside my own agenda and care for another life, my heart had become more tender and I was able to see and feel things that I was too selfish to see before.

Meditating on this inspires me to have hope for similar outcomes for other areas of my life where I feel overwhelmed right now. My prayer is that I will surrender to the process God is doing in my life and come out on the other side a softer, gentler, more authentic version of myself. Maybe that's why God says WELL DONE to those tender souls who finish what He's called them to do.

Come and Sit a Spell

For the first 16 years of our married life, my husband and I were in some sort of schooling. We were very productive during this time of our life--We got 4 graduate degrees between us and all 4 of our children were born. Like most graduate students we didn't have much money. We also moved a lot (around 17 times) looking for affordable and safe housing--which was hard to find!

As we looked at the many different houses we had to choose from, I was always especially drawn to the ones that had a front porch. I mentioned to my co-worker how much I felt drawn to porches and she bought me a calendar that had beautiful glossy pictures of porches from all different kinds of locations. Just leafing through the calendar pictures brought a calm, serene feeling to my otherwise harried life.

In a time of life when we were never in a location for too long, porches reminded me of the importance of slowing down and spending time with God and with people--valuing relationship. Porches are the part of the house that a person encounters first. Maybe there are rocking chairs that beckon someone to sit for awhile, or maybe there's just dead plants and rusty toys. How do I extend myself to others? Do I welcome people into my life or do I send a message that I don't have time for them?

Just before my husband finished his final graduate degree (Hooray!), my son, then 5, took a liking to The Andy Griffith Show reruns. Regularly our whole family would end up around the television totally taking in our 30 minutes of life in Mayberry. Many time Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea and Opie would find themselves on a Sunday afternoon on the front porch. Andy was strumming his guitar and everyone else was semi-comatose. They were just being with each other. Peacefully.

That is how I want to extend myself to others. I want to offer God's love to people and welcome them as they are. Words are fine, but they aren't necessary. Being comfortable and authentic with each other are what's important. That kind of fellowship goes down like a cool drink of iced tea on a hot summer's day.

So whatever situation you may find yourself in today, pull up and sit a spell with me. Enjoy the small selection of "porch music" I've assembled, close your eyes and feel the warmth of God's love and the sun on your face. . .

Frustrations of a Blog Party Newbie

Wow! I'm new to this blogging party scene, and it's been quite an experience figuring things out! I know the instructions are probably simple for most to understand, but it took me awhile to figure out how to get myself registered. I'm still not sure what the heck a Mr. Linky is, (or a widget!). They sound like science fiction creatures. Anyway, I think I got around everything o.k. Feel free to look around my blog.

I love to write about places that I find God in my everyday life. As a Christian, I want to learn to hear God's voice more clearly. I find on my journey that what I need to learn most is how to stop ignoring God! It's so easy in the process of a busy life to just zoom by and miss that God was even involved. So, this blog is my way of holding myself accountable to look for God in the big and small places in my life. Hopefully along the way I will make some friends in the blogosphere!

My wish list for prizes in this party are: #11- Aromatherapy from Oils for Wellness; #19 - $50 gift card to Target #24 - Prisoner of Circumstance from Justbeingme1 After that anything like gift certificates, candles, or oils.

Everyday Heroes

I'm not much of a phone person. I much prefer communicating by e-mail. It gives me time to thoughtfully craft my responses or questions to people, and it takes a lot less time. I'm constantly in awe of those people who are attached to their cell phones. How do they do it? What is there to talk about? How do they get anything else done? ( I could think of more questions, but I'll stop there.)

I talk to my Mom long-distance by phone about once a week. She always wants to know what's new. That question regularly stumps me. I know my Mom would be happy to hear whatever I would have to say--even if it's just that I changed peanut butter brands--but sometimes I honestly feel like NOTHING is new. I get up, have an hour to myself, get the family up and feed them breakfast. After everyone is out the door for school and work, my day is filled with counseling appointments at work or duties around the house. After school I cart people to practices etc. and once again focus on getting everyone fed and in for the night. The next day I repeat. Of course there are little differences here and there, but overall that is my life.

There is an underlying feeling when I'm lost in the monotony of my everyday life that I'm not doing anything remarkable. I'm just being a Mom, a wife, a teacher, etc. . . Sometimes I long for a change, but the truth is that whenever I get a chance to get away for a bit I miss it.

My oldest daughter had to constuct a school project depicting the major influences in her life. To do this she went through our big box of family photos. (It's the over-sized shoe box where I stuff any photo that I promise myself I will later put in an album.) As I looked at photos from even the last year I was amazed at how each of us in the family had changed. Even though the daily routine of our lives was pretty unchanging, we were still growing, and maturing. I look at my youngest child and remember so vividly when she was born. How can she be 11 already? It happened one day at a time. My husband and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary last year. How can that be? It's one day stacked upon another, upon another, upon another. . .

I am realizing that some of the most consistent, steadfast, and lasting things that I have in my life are the fruit of seemingly endless days of doing the same things: Getting up and being a Mom even when I don't feel like it; staying married through the good and the bad; showing up for work even when it isn't fun. Faithfulness.

It's not going to be anything that makes the headlines in the newspaper. (Julie Cole made her kids pancakes for breakfast this morning!) But over time those actions build lives, they shape destinies, they bear good fruit. When those actions are not there in someone's life they leave a huge hole that needs to be filled.

So here's to all the everyday heroes who got up today and faithfully did what the day required of them. Even though it may feel unimportant or unremarkable, there's good fruit ahead if we stay the course.

Waiting. . .

I don't think I know anyone who loves waiting. From ATMs to drive-thrus our whole society keeps inventing things that make it possible for things to be done more quickly--and supposedly with less hassle. Waiting used to be more of a normal occurrence. Before home computers were so prevalent, if I wrote a letter to someone, stamped it and stuck it in the mailbox, I would know that some time had to pass before I could expect a response. Today with email, I can type out my request and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to have a response back in minutes.

Waiting adds a rhythm to life that's often forgotten. Seed time (waiting) then harvest. Conception (waiting) then birth. There's a cliche that says "Good things come to them that wait", but there's not too many people lining up to find out if that's true. It's often something we find out by being forced to wait.

I'm in a season of waiting right now. And to make matters worse, I can't even really tell you exactly what I'm waiting for except that it's a change for the better. Is it spiritual change? physical change? emotional change? I hope so. I can sense in my spirit that there's something new on the horizon, but that's about it. There's a growing expectancy inside of me that makes it difficult to keep doing the same old same old. It's a little bit like I felt right around the 8th month of my pregnancies. "Let's get this baby out!" But at least when I was pregnant I had some idea of what kind of change was going to happen.

At other times I feel like I'm the baby waiting to be born--I'm growing and becoming prepared to be brought into something new.

But the waiting is hard. To keep going I've needed some signposts. Whenever I plant a garden in the summer I put a little stick next to the rows of vegetables I've planted and then I put a picture on the stick to see what I can expect. I regularly visit and water this place anticipating signs of growth and change.

God has given me some great promises from Scripture for this wait. I have written them down and earmarked them in my Bible. I keep coming back to them and let them water my spirit while I wait for signs of growth, both inside and outside of me, to confirm that change is coming.

I'd love to end this note with a neat and tidy ending, but I'm in process. I can tell you that I'm hanging onto the belief that God wouldn't ask me to wait for something that's worthless. I'm excited to look back on this and know at least in part what the wait was for. I'll keep you posted. . .

God With Us

Probably just like the rest of you, I've been running around trying to get everything checked off of my Christmas list before December 25th rolls around. With Thanksgiving falling later this year, I have only become more panicked that I might not accomplish my goals.

We don't decorate as much as some people do, but the inside of our house has several corners where we have decorations with twinkling lights. In the last couple of weeks my youngest daughter, Deborah, has asked me several times if I would put on the Christmas music, turn off all the houselights and sit with her while we enjoy the twinkling lights. At first, I never felt like I had time to "just sit", but to please her I made time. However, I made sure she knew it would only be "for a little while." Each time I've done this I've been surprised at how the fog of this busy season lifts and I gradually begin to feel the warmth and peace that only Christ's presence can bring. In that moment I am reconnected to Jesus, My Saviour, the reason for this holiday.

There's a story in the Bible about two sisters,Mary and Martha, who were close friends of Jesus. One time when Jesus was visiting their home, Martha busied herself preparing the food and other details for Jesus. Meanwhile Mary plopped herself down on the ground to listen to what Jesus was saying. Martha, understandably, got upset by this and tattled to Jesus about Mary and asked Him to scold her for her laziness. Jesus explained to Martha that by sitting at His feet, Mary had actually chosen the more important thing.

It's so easy to get caught up in details and planning. If I'm not careful they can actually rob me of my ability to be fully present for whatever I'm supposed to be celebrating. This Christmas season, my daughter reminds me that it's in sitting, in slowing down and being WITH Jesus that I've chosen the most important thing--my relationship with Him. Isn't it just like Jesus to give US presents on HIS birthday?!

The Power of a Word

I remember after I got married how my Mom really urged me to quickly send out my thank you notes to all the people who gave us wedding gifts. I did it, but it was a chore trying to write something sincere in over 200 notes! I was surprised at how many people warmly told me they appreciated my thank you card.

I wish I could say that I continue to be wonderful at writing thank you notes, but I'm not. I'm much better at verbally thanking someone (or emailing a thank you) if the chance arises. For some reason, hand-written letters are things I rarely get around to. Recently, however, I received two different hand-written thank you notes from others. As I read them I could feel my heart warm toward the people who took the time to thank me for something I had done that they appreciated. It's amazing how much power two words have to bless someone, and how many times I miss the chance.

We all know that words have power, but I wonder how often we really think about it. Words are like tools that we can use to build up or tear down. I read a study about how it takes 10 compliments about performance ("I like the way you play the piano", etc.) to erase the effects of one critical remark about performance--("You stink at playing the piano".) It takes 100 compliments about our personhood--("You are a wonderful person") to erase the effects of one critical remark about our personhood--("You are stupid"). Holding such power in our mouths is an awesome responsibility.

There's a story in the Bible about how 10 men with leprosy came to Jesus asking to be healed. He told them all to go and wash in the river and they did and were healed. They all went on their merry way in health--except ONE of them returned to thank Jesus for healing him. Jesus told him his faith had made him whole. None of the other men lost their healing, but I have to believe there must have been something special that happened inside the man who remembered to thank Jesus for his healing.

A Japanese scientist has studied the effects of words on water by freezing the water crystals after certain words are spoken or even just attached to containers of water. He has found that words of prayer and healing yield beautiful symmetrical water crystals while words of cursing bring about chaotic scattered crystals.

The beautiful little picture attached to this that looks like a snowflake is actually a frozen water crystal taken after someone said the words "Thank you."

If the human body is composed of mostly water, think of the incredible inner work of beauty that those two words construct within a person when they hear, or when they say "Thank you."

As I enter this season of Thanksgiving, I'm committing myself to saying thank you more often. It reconnects me to the goodness of God, it's great for my insides, and it blesses others. It takes so little time and costs me nothing--that is unless I ever decide to actually write it out and send it in the mail!